18 March 2019

Principal’s Reflection

Like most, I was left speechless after hearing of the tragedy that unfolded in Christchurch on Friday. Lots has been written since but I would like to share the thoughts of Dave Andrews who works with disempowered people and those at risk in South Brisbane. I thought he put into words a lot that I was thinking….

When I was last in Christchurch, I went to the Masjid Al Noor for Friday prayers, sat at the back on a chair and prayed with the older believers, who were specially targeted and systematically slaughtered by Brenton Tarrant. I still do not know whether my friend, Hajj Ibrahim Abdelhalim, who is the Imam of the Linwood Mosque, is alive or dead.

NZ Prime Minister, Jacinda Adern, was appalled at what she called ‘an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence’. She went on to say ‘Many of those who will have been directly affected by this shooting may be migrants to New Zealand, they may even be refugees here. They have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us. The person who has perpetuated this violence against us is not. They have no place in New Zealand. There is no place in New Zealand for such acts of extreme and unprecedented violence, which it is clear this act was.’ And now we know the NZ Prime Minister was right. The perpetrator was not a New Zealander. He is an Australian. ‘One of us’.

And if there is any doubt Brenton Tarrant is ‘One of us’, ‘One of us’ in the highest office in our land, leapt to his defence. Shortly after the attack Australian Senator Fraser Anning was quick to blame the victims. He tweeted: “Does anyone still dispute the link between Muslim immigration and violence?” “As always, … the media will rush to claim that the causes of today’s shootings lie with … those who hold nationalist views, but this is all cliched nonsense. “The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place.” We Australians must admit there has always been a strains of intolerance and violence lurking just beneath the surface of our civilisation that have erupted in breathtaking acts of bigotry and brutality from time to time - whether its killing Aboriginal peoples to take their land or killing Chinese labourers to stop them ‘taking our gold’ or killing Muslims for daring to immigrate to ‘our country’. We need to acknowledge our propensity for intolerance and our proclivity for violence, and the fact that, given those factors, we cannot continue to sow seeds of animosity without reaping atrocities, such as this, committed by the extremists among us.

It is not enough to condemn the attacks, we need to deal with the underlying attitudes in our culture that aid and abet these attacks. How can we deal with our propensity for intolerance and our proclivity for violence that lead to atrocities such as these?

After the holocaust the Jews did a study of Germans, whom they called ‘Righteous Gentiles’, who effectively resisted the intolerance and violence unleashed under the Nazis, and found that they had three characteristics in common that made all the difference:

1. they were brought up in families that nurtured their emotional capacity for empathy towards others, or what we call ‘love’
2. they were taught at school and/or church to have an intellectual commitment to the rights of others, what we call ‘justice’
3. they all knew Jews personally, not as abstractions, but as flesh and blood people, as colleagues, relatives and ‘friends’

Security may track threats. Police may arrest perpetrators. But there is no quick fix. No short cut. If we want to create a culture in our country that resists the current Islamophobia, we need to encourage everybody we know, in every way we can, to develop their emotional capacity for empathy towards Muslims, their intellectual commitment to the rights of Muslims, and their personal relationships with Muslim friends.

School TV Special Issue on Christchurch - The Christchurch massacre is one of the most extreme acts of terrorism the world has seen in recent times. For New Zealand, it was a loss of innocence. SchoolTV was actually filming in Auckland when news broke of the harrowing events unfolding in Christchurch. Unfortunately, this will impact on many kids throughout Australia and New Zealand. Some parents and care givers may struggle to explain this tragedy to their young people, many of whom are already struggling with high levels of anxiety about the state of their world.

It is important to put this event into context for children of all ages. Although we cannot control what happens in our world, we can choose the way we respond. The distressing nature of this event will never be forgotten, but at the same time we should not allow it to permanently disturb or destroy our future generations.

In this Special Report, parents and care givers will be provided with practical strategies on how to talk their children in a reassuring manner. It will also highlight the necessity to be aware of the signs of trauma, should a child be adversely affected. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback.

Here is the link to your special report

Catholic Schools Race Day – thank you to all who supported this event. Very grateful to all of our sponsors for their support. Peter O’Beirne, as coordinator, does a fantastic job each year with this event.

Les Miz in Bundy – Les Miserables is my favourite Musical of all time. It is being performed by the Bundaberg Players shortly. Get a ticket! Good luck to all the Shalom community members who are taking part –

Cast:

Rhonda Cutmore
Alana Clark
Cheryl Petersen
Sarah Krebs
Kurt Reid
Jordan Nio
Hayley Pennells
Liam Pratt
Natalie Greer

Vocal tutor: Robyn Edgar

Orchestra:

Ian King (conductor)
Bernadette Connolly
Sean Udal
Anna-Jane Vaschina
Nathanael Pascoe
Lucaeja Morrison

Crew:

Madeleine Krebs

Crazy Hair Day @ Shalom – Thursday March 28 – there are very few of us who have not been touched by the scourge of Cancer. Next week we will be raising funds for Leukaemia research and we ask all students to make a gold coin donation. Details of what students can do with their hair on this day will be in the Newsletter next Monday. We have so many to support and far from least is our own Laurie Robinson from our Maintenance staff and our College Caretaker who is going through Chemotherapy treatment at the moment and undergoing Bone Marrow transplant later this week – from a donor from Germany! Please support this initiative.

Mr Dan McMahon
Principal
McmahonD@shalomcollege.com

Newsletter Articles

Student Formation

Year 7, 2020 Enrolments

Please ensure enrolment application forms for Year 7, 2020 have been submitted to the Shalom College office on or before 3 May, 2019.

Enrolment Form:

Prospectus:

Important Notice re Enrolments

If you have a child in Year 6 and have a child here at Shalom, you do NEED to fill out an enrolment form and place an application by the due date.

Mrs Elizabeth Austin-Campbell
Deputy Principal
acampbelle@shalomcollege.com

Absentees

FOR ALL ABSENTEES

Preferred option is Email absentees@shalomcollege.com or Phone Absentee line 41558181

ALL student absentees should be notified to the office by 9am each day. If no notification has been received, an absentee text message will be sent out to parents to advise of the student’s absence.

Mission

Pope Francis wrote an encyclical (letter) to the all the peoples of the world encouraging everyone to ‘care for our common home’. This came to mind this week when I saw an article encouraging people to give up single use plastic for Lent. What a great idea! Not so easy but certainly worth a try!

Mrs Mary Taylor
Assistant Principal – Mission
TaylorM@shalomcollege.com

Administration

Year 11 and 12 Exams

The exam timetables for Year 11 and Year 12 Term 1 Exams are below. Please note that Year 12 will have home study during the exam block from 29 March 2019 – 4 April 2019. Year 11, however, are working with the new Australian Curriculum and hence do not have an exam block. For Year 11, normal classes will continue with students leaving their classes when they need to sit an exam.

Brendan Maher
Assistant Principal – Administration
maherb@shalomcollege.com

Family Zone

Family Zone is a fantastic option to manage your child’s internet use and keep them safe. Family Zone is mandatory for any device that a student brings into the College, including mobile phones. It is provided free by the College, the link is provided below.

Family Zone - Phone 1300 398 326

Mr Matthew Mills
IT Manager
millsm@shalomcollege.com

Year 7 Immunisations

Reminder 2019 Immunisation Program for Year 7 Round 1

The Year 7 students that returned a signed and completed consent card earlier this term will be vaccinated during school on Wednesday 20 March or Monday 25 March (note, due to large number of students this clinic is now over two days)

The vaccinations will be conducted by a team of authorised and registered nurses from OzCare.

Parents are encouraged to ensure their children have breakfast on the morning of the vaccination.

Ozcare will contact all guardians directly if a student (with a completed and returned consent form) did not attend the Shalom clinic session.

Year 7 Catch Up Clinic is scheduled at Ozcare for Wednesday 3 April 2019.

For further information about the School Immunisation Program please call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) or visit the link below or click on the following links; immunisation through the school program

The following resources are also available for you:

The Public Heatlh Act 2005 requires the school principal to disclose student and parent, legal guardian or authorised person information to the eligible Year 7 and 10 immunisation provider if requested

Mia Dawson
Office Manager
Mia_dawson@shalomcollege.com

Quiet Achiever

This weeks Quiet Acheiver is Seth Gayton.

I received lovely news from a fellow teacher last week to point out a simple, helpful gesture by Year 7 student Seth Gayton. Seth had noticed that a palm frond had come down into the path of fellow students and staff, becoming a bit of a hazard in the process. Whilst many students would walk past this unbeknownst, Seth stopped and cleared the path removing the palm frond.

Whilst this is an easy and simple thing to do it highlights Seth’s willing nature to lend a helping hand and be involved in all that he can. Seth is a very well-mannered and polite young man who understands that the little things we do and say, can make a big difference in others’ lives.

Mr Adam Knott
Hogan House Coordinator
knotta@shalomcollege.com

Pathways

Should I Join the Defence Force?

The Defence Force is more than just being a soldier. Across the Australian Defence Force (ADF), there are more than 200 career opportunities, featuring world-class training and education.

The Defence Force offers a clear path, guaranteed salary and superannuation, and the chance to progress in your career and education. You can gain tertiary qualifications while serving and work at the cutting edge of technology, with the latest equipment and tools.

The Defence Force is more than just studying for a degree to get a job. Your service will include challenges and you may be deployed to some of the world’s most dangerous places. Your time training will teach you leadership, character and life-skills to face obstacles, while earning a good salary and generous super.

Like any pathway, the Defence Force isn’t necessarily the right decision for everyone, however the range of options means it is becoming a real choice for more people. To find out if the ADF is right for you, read more here:

You will find this and more valuable resources on the Shalom College Careers Hub on the website and Intranet (under the Pathways tab).

Defence Careers Information Sessions

If you are considering a career with the Navy, Army or Air Force, a defence careers information session will be held on Tuesday 19 March, at 11.25am in Loyola. There will also be a session at the Young Australian Hotel, North Bundaberg from 6.00pm – 8.00pm. These sessions will help you to learn more about the various roles available and chat to defence personnel to find out first-hand knowledge.

Australian Defence Force Gap Year

Are you considering a gap year? Get an exciting 12-month taste of life in the Navy, Army or Air Force, and enjoy full job training, meaningful work and memorable experiences plus much more. It’s a great opportunity to get a feel for military life. To be eligible to apply, you'll need to be an Australian citizen aged between 18 and 24 on completion of military training (dates vary by job). You'll also need to have completed Year 12 (subject passes required vary by job) and have passes in Year 10 English and Maths. Refer to individual job pages for more information.

Applications for all roles are now open and will close as positions are filled. For more information go to:

Mrs Liza O’Donnell
Pathways Coordinator
Liza_ODonnell@shalomcollege.com

Movie Under the Stars

Keep this date free for the best FREE entertainment you’ll have all year!!

This Friday night is the McAuley Movie Night, our fundraiser for our house Charity Carinbundi.

and share in an outdoor experience watching  a great movie on the Big Screen.

Where: Shalom Undercover Area
When: Friday 22 March
Time: 6pm-9pm
Movie: COCO

Ms Paula Van Dalen
McAuley House Coordinator
vandalenp@shalomcollege.com

Debating Competition

Shalom College is participating in the Rotary District High Schools debating competition. Teams are entered in the year 7 and 9 competition.

This year 22 teams from 6 of the Districts High Schools are involved. The competition will run as a 4 round competition from 2 May until 13 June. The students compete for the perpetual District Trophies and in the process learn valuable skills in preparation and presentation of public speeches.

The district coordinator is seeking the support of any parents who may be interested in being involved as adjudicators. No experience is necessary as full training and support will be provided to anyone interested.

If you can help for one debate, only younger students’ debates or as a senior adjudicator for the whole competition, please contact the Shalom team coordinator Patricia Allen (4155 8111) or email Brian Ilett -b.ilett@bundabergwestrotary.org

As the roles and speakers in the teams can be rotated each week of the competition students are still able to express interest in competing by contacting Mrs Allen (allenp@shalomcollege.com)

Library News

Did you know the Shalom Library has a range of magazines as well as books for students to read?

They can be borrowed to take home but are also a great way to fit some reading into the day before or after school.

Some of our titles include:

Teen Breathe

This is a relatively new title with many very readable articles about how to live a positive life with articles on mindfulness, kindness, self-help and issues such as friendship and social media.

Australian Geographic

This is a staple in the library and a must for lovers of the natural world, our environment and Australian landscape.

National Geographic Kids

This is a new subscription for the library this year so as yet we just have one issue. Immensely readable especially for students in Years 7 and 8 who want to know more about the world around them.

Miss Wendy Davis
Teacher Librarian/English Teacher
Wendy_Davis@shalomcollege.com

Shalom Writers

There’s been more creativity and inspiration from the Shalom Writers Club over the last week. There are some great writing posts on our blog. Last week we experimented with using visual images as writing prompts and the writers came up with some wonderful ideas. It’s amazing how quickly an idea for a novel can appear!!

Follow the link to read a beautiful, brief poem on change and growing resilience.

Another poem recently explored the power of words to affect our daily lives.

Shalom Writers meet on Monday afternoons in Beerarlem until 4pm. The group is open for students in Years 9-12. See Miss Davis for more information.

Miss Wendy Davis
Teacher Librarian/English Teacher
Wendy_Davis@shalomcollege.com

Instrumental Music

Make It Swing Workshops

Wow, what a day we had here at Shalom last Monday with the famous professional music artists, John Morrison and Jacki Cooper. John worked all day with musicians from the Jazz Bands and Jacki with the singers. To have clinicians of this calibre was certainly a treat and we only hope that the students had fun learning from the best in the jazz world.

John and Jacki with Shalom Students

Gala Showcase Concert

Rehearsals have commenced for the ‘mini-musical’ which will be staged 7 and 8 June. This concert will show off the talents of students in all three performing art departments, Dance, Music, Drama in separate items culminating in the final item which combines the three together.

Absenteeism

If your child/ren are unable to attend a rehearsal, please send an email to the conductor or to myself and I will forward.

Concerts

The first concert for the year will be a Senior Jazz Band lunchtime concert scheduled for Thursday 21 March followed by the Autumn concert scheduled for Wednesday 27 March in the PAP theatre starting at 7.00pm. Most groups will be performing one item each which won’t make it a late night.

Les Miserables

Come along and see the large number of Shalom College staff and a couple of students performing in this amazing Music Theatre stage production at the Moncrieff Theatre 29, 30 March and 5, 6 April. Not only will you see ‘another’ side of a couple of staff members as their characters, you will also see our own Maestro, Ian King conducting the orchestra which also has music staff, current and past students performing.

Please do not hesitate to contact me for any query in relation to the Instrumental Music Department.

Mrs Robyn Edgar
Instrumental Music Coordinator
edgarr@shalomcollege.com

Duke of Edinburgh Award Program

Shalom College is currently offering the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award program for Year 9 or 10 students who are 14+ years of age. We are also offering support to any 16+ years students who would like to complete the Duke of Ed. Gold award program or any of the bronze award recipients from 2018 who would like to do the Silver award program.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is an international youth development program for 14 – 25 year olds. The program enables young people to step out of their comfort zones whilst:

Learning new skills
Getting active
Exploring new places
Helping out in your community
Meeting new friends
Receiving recognition for doing activities you already do
The award programs can also
Earn credits towards your QCE (1 point for bronze)

Help you find a job – increasingly recognised by employers. The program enables young people to gain experience in many of the skills employers look for – communication, problem solving, initiative, organisation, ability to work both independently and as part of it team.

What’s involved?

To complete the Bronze award program students must complete four award sections:

Service – get involved in your community and give service to others
Skill – build your skills in something practical or creative eg, drawing, painting, fishing or music
Physical recreation – take part in something active such as football, dancing, swimming, surfing, the gym
Adventurous journey – discover a sense of adventure and do something challenging with your friends – practice and final journeys (2 days & 1 night) The Adventurous journeys for 2019 will be in May, Term 2.

Skill, service and physical recreation are one hour a week for three months for two areas and for six months for your major. A lot of what students are already participating in outside school hours can be counted towards these award requirements. Eg. Music , swimming lessons, sports training and playing.

Costs: $161.00 for your first level of the award ($115.50 for each award level you do after)

Additional Costs for adventurous journeys (these are kept to a minimum)

Camping fees
Canoe hire
Travel costs

For more information on the program click on the attached link to the Queensland Duke of Edinburgh International Award website:

If you are interested in participating in this exciting program please see Mrs Bishop in the Rice block staffroom or email me @ bishopd@shalomcollege.com

Students Excel at Queensland Athletics Championships

The weekend of 9 and 10 March saw a few of our Students compete at the Queensland Athletic Championships.

Nathan Donaldson

Nathan competed in the 100, 200 and 400m races.

The 100m was Nathan’s best and most competitive race with 2 open wheelchair racers lined up at the start alongside him. Nathan bought home three Gold Medals.

To top off what was already a great weekend, Nathan handed over his old racing chair frame to young Josh Brass from Beenleigh. Josh is an up and coming 9-year-old in wheelchair racing and many other sports.

Nathan Donaldson

Kharla Hills

Kharla competed in 5 events over 2 days including 100m, 200m, Long jump, Triple jump and 90m sprint hurdles. Kharla put in an amazing effort over a very hot and gruelling weekend.

100m Sprint – Heats, 3rd. Finals 5th
200m Sprint – Heats, 2nd. Finals 4th with a new personal best time of 25.28 seconds.
Long jump - 4th overall with a new personal best jump.
Triple jump - 3rd
90m Hurdles – 6th overall

Kharla came away with a Bronze medal for Triple Jump, she can now look forward to the Australian Junior Championships in Sydney in 3 weeks’ time.

Kharla has qualified to compete in the 100m, 200m, 400m, Triple jump and 90m sprint hurdles but has only nominated for her strongest events - 100m, 200m and Triple jump.

Lee-Challe Kriel

Lee-Challe competed in the U/17 Girls Javelin and achieved a 4th place.

A huge congratulations to Nathan, Kharla and Lee-Challe for their acheivements at the Queensland Athletic Championships.

Mr Peter Robinson
High Performance Program
Peter_Robinson@shalomcollege.com

Interschool Sport

Cricket

Year 9-10

Shalom maintained its unbeaten record in the Year 9-10 competition with a nine-wicket victory over a strong Isis. With the game moved to the synthetic pitch with a small outfield due to the turf pitches being unplayable following the rain the previous day, Isis batted first and posted a healthy 2-134 with captain Reuben Coleman our only wicket-taker with 2-9 from his two overs. We then staged a superb run chase to achieve victory for the loss of just one wicket (on 133) with four overs to spare. Openers Ronan Dempsey and Reuben led the charge, both retiring on 55 and 25 respectively, with Ronan despatching four sixes, and No. 3 Zachary Richters hitting 20. Jonty McMahon and Matthew Parker also joined the run spree with some big hits as we went on to finish on 2-178.

Mr Vincent Habermann
Team Coach
Vincent_Habermann@shalomcollege.com

Year 7-8 Black

The Shalom Black team bounced back from their first loss of the season in the Year 7-8 division with a 55 run win at the expense of Kepnock. Shalom compiled 4-114 with opener Oliver Boge retired on 52 from 40 balls, while No. 3 River Felstead was the other main contributor with 23. Kepnock could manage only 5-59 with Sean Millett our most successful bowler with 2-8 from 3 overs, while he also effected one of our two runs outs, and opener Tobias Lamond also bowled very well in his 1-15 from 3 overs.

Mr David Bond
Team Coach
bondd@shalomcollege.com

Year 7-8 Red

The young Shalom Red team had a bare 7 players for their Year 7-8 clash with Bundaberg Christian College, but they made a great start with Luke Trebbin bowling a wicket-maiden in the first over and Xavier Freeman striking twice in the second over to have BCC struggling at 3-2. But they recovered to reach 7-132 despite Riley Quinn taking two wickets in successive balls in his 3-26 and Joshua Figallo also picking up a wicket. However, we finished well short with the bat despite a good knock from Cooper De Silva.

Mr Simon Rathbone and & Mr Connor Van Kooten
Team Coaches

Touch Football

Year 7/8 Girls Touch Football

6 March: Shalom defeated Kepnock 3-2
13 March: Shalom defeated Rosedale 8-1

Girls are currently 2nd on the ladder and looking forward to fielding a full team for the remainder of the season now that year 8 camps are finished.

Kylie Giles
Team Coach
Kylie_Giles@shalomcollege.com

Open Girls Touch Football

Open Girls Team defeated Kepnock team 12-0.

MVPs were Florence Fauid, Ella Hagen-Jenkins, Ruby Tobin and Riley Dingle

Mr Peter Robinson
Team Coach
Peter_Robinson@shalomcollege.com

Ten Pin Bowling

Years 10 – 12

At the end of week 3 Shalom is in 3rd place overall with Kepnock first and Bundaberg SHS in second place. Some standouts from Week 3 were:

Eamon Vincent: Series score of 343, 93 points over average with games of 183 and 160
Lydia Stewart: Series score of 195, 13 points over average with games of 99 and 96

Debbie Bishop
Ten Pin Bowling Coordinator
bishopD@shalomcollege.com

Breakfast

Breakfast is now available in the tuckshop for purchase each morning 8:00am – 8:30am.

Items include;

Bacon & Egg Muffins - $3.50
Ham & Cheese Croissant - $3.50
Porridge & Cereal - $3 (self-service option which includes the with milk, bowl & cutlery required supplied)
Fresh Fruit - $1 (seasonal fruits such as; Bananas, Apples, Mandarins etc)

Plus, the already available items of Yoghurt Pots, Up n Go drinks & Flavoured Milk

Students who train before school need to consider utilising the breakfast menu to replenish energy lost during their training sessions, however must be dressed appropriately before entering the tuckshop and must not be late for class.

Tuckshop Roster

Shalom Sunday Markets

New Stallholders Welcome – Please contact Peter Barone 0438 446 269

Markets Tuckshop Roster

Markets BBQ Roster

Community Notice Board

Breast Screen Queensland

The State Government is funding free access to Triple P, which is the world’s most evidence-based parenting program and has helped more than four million children and their parents around the world develop closer, more positive relationships.

Please click on this link, which will take you to the website where you can access information relevant to your situation.

This link will remain in our Newsletter with Triple P sending us regular updates and helpful tips.