23 March 2020

Principal’s Reflection

When John Howard unexpectedly won the Federal election in 2004, he famously described himself being like, “Lazarus with triple bypass”. Even those without much knowledge of Scripture or faith know the story of Lazarus, who the Gospel next Sunday tells us, was a mate of Jesus. Lazarus must have died unexpectedly and when Jesus went to visit the tomb, we’re told by St John, that Jesus raised him from the dead. This is a pretty impressive miracle and it is not surprising that it is one piece of scripture that is familiar to people of all faiths and none. None of us can expect to experience death and life like Lazarus but we may be able to apply this story to some of the other ‘tombs’ in our lives. Most of us have parts of our lives that we don’t want to access and we certainly don’t want anyone else to either. It might be a secret we can’t share, a sin we can’t confess or a memory we want to bury. At its worst, it can be a lifestyle or a pattern of unethical behavior we have divorced from the rest of our lives. We may even con ourselves into believing that all of this is normal and ‘not so bad.’

These tombs often look similar. They seem small on the surface but, as we get away with our secrets we bury ourselves in them more deeply. We jealously guard the entrance, spend energy defending our tombs and we’re ashamed if anyone rolls away the stone and see the mess inside. The Gospel tells us that Jesus stands at the entrance of tombs and calls us out. He invites us to face down the fears that keep us locked in secrecy and to move away from shame. He invites us to embrace repentance and to recognize the price to be paid for being our best selves. Jesus constantly invites us to walk back into light and enjoy the healing touch and forgiveness of the Risen Christ.

Learning @ Shalom – I will email parents a fuller letter about the processes we have in place to ensure the continuation of learning in some difficult times. We are following the current advice of Government and our doors are open and teachers are teaching. Many students will have assessments to complete. Some will have exams. Particularly for students in Year 11 & 12, it would be most important to attend school for those exams. If your child is being kept at home at present, I would hope that they could attend school for the exam even if we have to place them in a more secure space. Please contact your child’s teacher or Learning Area Coordinator if you would like to access this provision.

A Strategy to Help Deal with the World at the Moment

Naplan 2020 has been cancelled. With everything that is going on, this is a pretty sensible move on the part of the Government.

School TV – I think it will be important that good conversations are had by parents with their child/ren about Covid19 and how things are unfolding. School TV provides some great articles of interest to parents on lots of issues. There is a link on our Webpage. The following link will take you to some good info on Covid19

Financial issues will confront many families in the coming weeks and months. Please know that we will do everything possible to support you through this time.

Mr Dan McMahon
Principal
McmahonD@shalomcollege.com

Newsletter Articles

Curriculum

NAPLAN Cancelled

As you are no doubt aware, NAPLAN is cancelled for 2020. Shalom was well prepared for going ‘online’ for NAPLAN testing. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Megan Munckton, Middle School Coordinator for her organisation and thorough preparation towards NAPLAN at the College.

Curriculum and Assessment

The College is open and classes are running as normal. If your child is not at school and is well enough to keep up with their work, they are to access their normal classroom resources through the platform they normally would use with their classroom teacher (eg: LMS, OneNote, Google Classroom etc). At this stage, it is not possible for teachers to respond to each student individually with the work that they missed. Students will need to ensure they are accessing the LMS and checking their emails to ensure they are keeping up to date.

Staff have already spoken to their classes and identified where Term plans and resources are located on the various learning platforms used at Shalom (LMS, OneNote, Google Classroom etc.). This means that students can continue to engage with their class work from home.

Students who have assignments due are to submit these online through the Student Café (if required) or in the teacher submissions folder. It is expected that students are well aware of any assessment due dates as these are published in Student Café and communicated to students when completing individual assessment tasks.

For students completing examinations and particularly those in Year 11 or 12, please make every effort for them to attend to meet their assessment commitments. The senior exam schedule for Week 9 and Week 10 will proceed as planned. If necessary, we can provide a more isolated environment to allow the assessment to be completed. Please contact your child’s teacher or Learning Area Coordinator if you would like to access this provision. We do not want students unnecessarily disadvantaged academically in the current environment.

Provisional Marks - Year 12

Friday, March 20 saw the result upload for the first piece of summative internal assessment (IA1) that contributes towards ATAR. All General and General Extension subject results go through “confirmation”, which is a new external state wide quality assurance process implemented by QCAA. While this confirmation process takes place, the result your student achieved on their IA1 assessment is now called a ‘provisional’ mark.

The QCAA confirmation process allows for comparability of the judgement of student assessment responses using Instrument Specific Marking Guides (ISMGs) and the matching of student assessment responses to relevant Syllabus Reporting Standards. Therefore, the submitted ‘provisional’ mark may be adjusted during the confirmation process to reflect comparability across all schools throughout Queensland. The first confirmation event will take place in April with another following in September.

QCAA informs schools when this process is complete and we will inform students when their ‘provisional’ result for their assessment becomes a ‘confirmed’ result. This information will also be available to students via their QCAA Student Portal account.

QCAA have provided a link for Frequently Asked Questions related to this process and the current events in relation to the Coronavirus.

Mrs Gail Norris
Assistant Principal – Curriculum
Gail_Norris@shalomcollege.com

Mission

Living in these very uncertain times many of us have found some comfort in prayer. When we feel life spinning out of our control sometimes it is our safe place or refuge. For others the need to know what the correct response is to these fast moving changes is overwhelming. Click the link to a reminder of how we should act in these times of stress. It is a Christian response but really when you read it is also a human response.

One of the responses is that of A Spirit of Sacrifice. I would like to congratulate our wonderful Year 12 students who have been forced to sacrifice what they thought their final year would look like. They have received the news of dates and events changing with grace and maturity.

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

ANZAC Day

Mr Peter Robinson
Student Welfare
High Performance Program
Peter_Robinson@shalomcollege.com

Family Zone

School Closures

If the school has to close for any length of time, the school will be changing the Family Zone calendar to “Rest Day” for those days. This will mean that parents will be in charge of filtering their own children’s accounts during this time and not the school.

Zone Manager App

Zone Manager is an app that can be installed from the App Store and Google Play to make managing student’s Internet access even easier.

Download Zone Manager for free via the App Store or Google Play

What can I do in Zone Manager?

Log in to your online account
Add, edit or remove family members and their devices
Update routines and calendars
Allow device borrowing
Monitor alerts more frequently
Timely response to Access or Quick Time change requests
Change your PIN or passwords
Seamless linking to the online account

Is there anything that Zone Manager can’t do?

At the moment, you will still need to log in to your online account to:
Manage Home Zone
Complete school registration
Purchase additional products and services
Cancel Family Zone

Assistance Stall

Parents who would like assistance with their Family Zone account on Tuesday or Thursday afternoon can book appointments through

Mrs Stephanie Johnson
IT Service Desk Manager
Stephanie_Johnson@ShalomCollege.com

Year 12 Induction

Photos from the Year 12 Induction have been uploaded to the Shalom Media Store.

Please click the link – Parent’s usernames are the same e-mail address that is used to communicate with the College.

Photos on this website are digital copies only, not a printed photo. Photos of the YEAR 12 INDUCTION are free of charge.

2020 Immunisation program for Year 7 and Year 10

Shalom College is participating in Queensland Health’s annual School Immunisations Program. All Year 7 and Year 10 students will be offered free vaccinations as recommended on the National Immunisation Program to protect against vaccine preventable diseases. In 2020, Year 7 students will be offered human papillomavirus (HPV) and diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (whooping cough) vaccination. Year 10 students will be offered meningococcal ACWY vaccination.

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

The Shalom College 2020 clinic dates are

Round 1 – Year 10 Meningococcal ACWY – Tomorrow – Tuesday afternoon 24 March and perhaps Thursday and Friday.
Round 2 - Year 7 HPV2 – Monday 12 October and Wednesday 14 October

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

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

Year 7 and 10 Catch Ups Clinic will be scheduled at Ozcare, date to be advised.

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 ant parent, legal guardian or authorised person information for eligible year 10 immunisation provider if requested.

Year 7 2021

Year 7 2021 Applications Close Friday 8 May

Enrolment forms must be submitted with a copy of the birth certificate and latest report card.

Mrs Georgia Halpin
Community Relations Officer
Georgia_Halpin@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.

Pathways

“The Careers Department”

The Pathways Department is excited to introduce “The Careers Department”. This digital information platform is what we wish we had when we were in high school. This gives students access to careers information that will give them real direction. Successfully planning a career starts with knowing the options, and the realities of them.

The Careers Department website is a digital solution that engages students and parents. It includes virtual work experience, podcasts, video, career timelines, virtual tours, interactive job maps, career interest and work style profiling, and more. The platform features over 800+ pieces of industry relevant content across 32 industries.

This week we emailed all Year 11 and 12 students their log-in details. We encourage you to log in with your child and check out this brilliant resource.

The below Powerpoint will give a greater overview of what we hope becomes a very popular resource for Year 11 and 12 students.

Defence Force YOU (session)

If you are interested in the Defence forces I would strongly recommend that you attend a Your Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) session. The YOU session is designed to provide a less formal opportunity to find out more about the ADF. You will be able to talk to current serving Defence members about your interests and your eligibility for the many opportunities the ADF has to offer. You will not need to conduct the Fitness Test at the YOU session, this will not be conducted until after the Assessment Day later in the process.

YOU sessions will be held at the Bundaberg Multiplex on Wednesday 1 April & Thursday 2 April 2020. The sessions are ready and live to be booked to. Students can head online to the link below and click apply now, once they get to the end it will bring up the available Bundaberg sessions to book to. Be quick as they will fill up fast!

If you have any issues, contact Tamara Gunn, Events Coordinator, Defence Force Recruiting, Maroochydore on 5459 8723 or tgunn@dfr.com.au

Shalom University Expo Cancelled

Acting on public health advice to protect against COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Shalom College has made the decision to cancel the Shalom University Expo scheduled to be held on 18 June. We understand that this is disappointing, but we believe this is the responsible thing to do to ensure the health and wellbeing of our community. We look forward to your support in 2021.

The Pathways Team
Mrs Liza O’Donnell, Mrs Kathy Laing & Mrs Julia Fox
Liza_ODonnell@shalomcollege.com
LaingK@shalomcollege.com
Julia_Fox@shalomcollege.com

Quiet Achiever

Year 12 Student Edward Ryan was recently chosen in the Queensland Team after leading Wide Bay to the State 16-19 years Cricket Championship title. Ed, our Rice House Captain goes about his days in a very unassuming manner which completely belies the effort and care he puts into everything he undertakes. He is a Rice Legend.

Miss Claire Stallard
Rice House Coordinator
Claire_Stallard@shalomcollege.com

Year 12 Health

Year 12 Health students have designed health campaigns that intend to develop our community as a safe driving resource for all drivers. Please take notice of the campaign messages over the coming weeks and monitor your driving behaviours.

Mrs Nicole Anderson
Senior Health Teacher
Nicole_Anderson01@shalomcollege.com

Sport

A decision has been made by the BDSSS to cancel the rest of the Summer Sport season (including Finals Day).

The BDSSS Management Group has also made the decision to cancel the District Cross Country, BDSSS Rugby League and BDSSS Head of River Rowing Regattas all scheduled for Term 2.

All representative school sport has been cancelled indefinitely

The Shalom College Cross Country (set for the last week of this Term) is also cancelled.

Shalom College After School Activities (SCASA) will continue as normal until further notice.

Mr Simon Gills
Sports Coordinator
Simon_Gills@shalomcollege.com

Chess

This event has now been cancelled

The Bundaberg Chess Club is holding the 2nd Sunday Junior Chess Tournament on Sunday 29 March from 8.45am – 12.30pm at the U3A Building (upstairs) next to Improvements Gym on Woongarra St. Cost will be $8.00/day. A maximum cost of $16.00 per family, for 3 or more players. $7.00 for each player if you bring a new friend to chess. The cost includes 6 rounds of competitive chess each tournament plus a chess lesson from Mr John Harris who is a top rated chess player in Bundaberg. All children need to bring a water bottle plus sufficient morning tea. All inquiries about Bundaberg Chess Club Junior Chess competitions should be sent to mobile: - 0418686497 or email presidentjohn@live.com.au.

Mr Brendan Maher
Chess Coordinator
maherb@shalomcollege.com

Instrumental Music

Shalom College has an amazing music program that is open to students of all ability levels. Whether you have played before or are a beginner wanting to try something new we have something to suit you!

Lessons can be taken in the following studies: