We were blessed with magnificent weather and many visitors at the recent Open Day on Sunday 26 May. I wish to thank the many parents who assisted the P & F with the BBQ and offered support in other areas. Thank you also to the many students who assisted on the day in a multitude of capacities. I received many favourable comments from parents who spoke about the girls and their level of confidence.

I am sure that you will agree with me that the College grounds looked beautiful and the teaching and learning displays showcased the diverse range of opportunities at the College. I am delighted with the significant interest from parents/guardians who are considering an Ursuline education for their daughter. We have also had a significant number of enrolments of Year 10 students due to our rich offerings for senior study. 

If your family or friends are considering an Ursuline education, we are currently taking enrolments for students currently in Years 4, 5 and 6. Be sure that you encourage your friends to follow us on Facebook or contact Meg Coles for more information on a tour on 0448 059 528. This is particularly important for primary school girls who would like to receive invitations to our exciting Challenge Days.

Challenge Days offer a dynamic ‘be a student for the day’ experience. Our experience is hands-on, integrated into multiple curriculum areas and focuses on how girls learn best. Our Challenge Days are free of charge and create a sense of connection to the College while showcasing our facilities and quality of teachers.

Master Plan - We are Growing!
Come and view the Master Plan still on display in the College Library. See how your daughter will benefit from the new opportunities for learning and recreation at St Ursula’s College.

National Reconciliation Week - Building an Inclusive Community
At the heart of reconciliation is the relationship between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. To foster positive relationships, our understanding must be grounded in a foundation of truth. To this end, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have long called for a comprehensive process of truth-telling about Australia’s colonial history. Our nation’s past is reflected in the present and will continue to play out in the future unless we work towards healing historical wounds and educating our students. The Australian National Curriculum looks to how we can better position a more accurate account of colonisation for our students and this is just one of the ways that we can strengthen our nation.

St Ursula’s College celebrates the diversity of all people and we believe that an inclusive community fosters authentic relationships that are founded on the teaching of the Gospels.
 
Statement of Gratitude
Our sister’s family wish to express their enormous thanks to St Ursula’s College and the broader community who have offered prayers and thanksgiving for the cherished life of their daughter. Their daughter has now returned to Country and her spirit dwells amongst the tall eucalypt trees and bushy outcrops of home.

May eternal light shine upon her.

Open Day 2019 was a wonderful day for the College. Not only were we blessed with beautiful weather but also enthusiastic families touched by the warmth, care of our staff and students and the opportunities available at St Ursula’s College. I would like to share with you a small part of what I shared about teaching and learning at St. Ursula’s.
 
The 21^st century is full of noise - information that is not relevant to solve the problem at hand. Information is exploding exponentially. 21^st century learning is ultimately about the capacity to extract what is relevant to solve the problem at hand, to look past the noise to focus on what is needed to succeed. At St Ursula’s College we use every subject as a different context to teach your daughters to filter, to focus and to extract what is relevant to solve the problem.

Information is not our only resource. Processing information is not our only challenge. Our other resource is people. Being able to communicate, collaborate, and work effectively with others is critical to solve problems with the resources we have at hand. As our girls transition from entering the workforce to becoming leaders in the workforce we want to prepare them for the ultimate challenge in leadership which is to bring out the best in people they are leading. To identify in each person the things that are blocking them from being the best they can be and working with them to overcome those barriers. At St Ursula’s College our teaching and learning is about processing and filtering information and working with others in a life-giving way to solve problems. Everyone talks about creativity and innovation. This Is creativity and innovation because the variables, information and people are all changing and we are showing our girls that they need to bring a growth mindset to any situation. They need to believe the answer is out there and solvable with the people, the information and the tools they have at their fingertips. It will require adaptability, flexibility and a willingness to think and act outside the square.
 
This term our Year 10’s have begun the exciting and challenging process of preparing for their Senior studies, considering their skills, interests and strengths as the basis for future pathways. It is the time for them to filter, to focus and extract what is relevant in shaping their pathway. Final subject selections will take place in Term 3 after a SET plan interview with parents, students and a member of the Leadership team.
 
Curriculum Snap shots:

Looking for something to do this Wednesday – JOIN our College Inter-House Athletics Carnival.
Have a great week.

I thought that this would be a good time of year to look at the importance of respectful relationships in the context of “Every Face has A Place”. It is important to look at the character strengths we can draw on in developing respectful relationships that are based on the principle that we are all created in the image and likeness of God.
 
Respect is about valuing people, including people who are different. When you have respect for someone, you feel positive about them and admire or appreciate their actions or behaviour. You can also treat anyone with respect regardless of how you feel about them. This is when you regard someone with consideration and treat them in the way you like to be treated.

Everyone has the right to feel safe, to be treated with fairness, to be valued and feel accepted for who they are.
Respectful relationships are important because they:

Showing respect for others in different ways
To have healthy, respectful relationships you need to know what respectful behaviour looks like. Below are some examples of how to show respect to others.

Try asking yourself - do the important people in your life behave this way towards you?

This week as a country we celebrate National Reconciliation Week. NRW is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.

The dates for NRW remain the same each year; 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively. This year the theme is Grounded in Truth – Walk Together with Courage.

Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Whether you’re engaging in challenging conversations or unlearning and relearning what you know, this journey requires all of us to walk together with courage. This National Reconciliation Week, we invite Australians from all backgrounds to contribute to our national movement towards a unified future.

To see more about this year’s theme please click on the link below.
https://www.reconciliation.org.au/national-reconciliation-week/
 
Prayer of the Aboriginal People
Father of all, you gave us the Dreaming. You have spoken to us through our beliefs. You then made your love clear to us in the person of Jesus. We thank you for your care. You own us. You are our hope. Make us strong as we face the problems of change. We ask you to help the people of Australia to listen to us and respect our culture. Make the knowledge of you grow strong in all people So that you can be at home in us and we can make a home for everyone in our land. 
Amen.
 


WHOLE COLLEGE MASS
The College will come together on Thursday June 20 to celebrate a whole College Mass. This will take place at 9.00am in the Salo Centre. All are welcome!

Mrs Debbie Ryan
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL - IDENTITY & CULTURE

Polocrosse
Bridget Shepherd has been named in an Australian U16 girls’ squad for Polocrosse.  This is an outstanding achievement for Bridget.
 
Netball
Congratulations to all of our seven teams who attended the day long QC cup last Tuesday in Brisbane. It was a great day and the girls learned a lot by playing some very good opposition. Thanks to Gary Fry, Taylor Riley, Caitlin Fry and Olivia Cattonar, Mrs Kristy Bidlake and Mrs Kristy Anoleck who joined me to take the teams this year.
 
Well done to all teams who played at Downlands College last Friday night in the annual Merici Chevalier Cup. Congratulations to all teams on the spirit of the way they played the game. Special congratulations to the Senior B team who had a strong win. The Senior A team played a determined game and never gave up, for which we were very proud of them. Congratulations to Downlands College on their deserved win this year. We look forward to playing them again at QISSN in Bundaberg in the school holidays. We look forward to the Newtown Cup against The Glennie School early next term. We will have all seven teams playing at The Glennie School.
 
Inter-House Athletics Day
This Wednesday we hold the annual Inter-House Athletics Day at O’Quinn St oval. A reminder to parents to not park on any footpaths as the Toowoomba Regional Council will be booking cars not parked legally. The paddock will be available to park on.  Girls are to arrive by 8.25am and can be collected by 3pm. I ask that parents please collect them on time as we have had a few recent incidents where staff have had to wait for up to 40 minutes after the advertised collection time for parents to arrive to collect their daughter.
 
Volleyball
The season begins to wrap up with semi-finals this week. Our teams have improved greatly and played some fantastic volleyball which will stand them in good stead for the finals. Good luck to our Volleyball teams.

*|MC:TOC|*

The Senior Dance Troupe have commenced working towards the 2019 eisteddfod season. This year, our guest choreographer is past student, Sarah McCarthy (2017). Sarah has recently completed Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Year and is making a name for herself as a freelance choreographer, teacher and dance artist in Toowoomba.

The English department has had a very busy beginning to term 2. Our girls have been studying hard in English and working towards their assessment. Currently, cohorts are working on:

• Year 7: Analysing poetry
• Year 8: Short Story Writing
• Year 9: Visual literacy
• Year 10: Classic Novel Study
• Year 11 Essential English: Conflict Resolution
• Year 11 General English: Jasper Jones novel study
• Year 11 Literature: Imaginative monologue
• Year 12 English: Classic Novel Study
• Year 12 English Communication: Conflict Resolution

It is great to see our girls getting involved in the English classroom; becoming deeply engaged in their classroom activities, engrossing themselves in quality reading during class time and trying their best to use ‘Word of the Week’ in their work.
 
Mr Troy Edwards
Head of Faculty – English

St Ursula's College will host students from St Ursula High School in Hachinohe (a northern coastal town of Honshuu, the main island of Japan). 

This year's visit will be from Saturday 27 July to Tuesday 6 August (Week 3, Term 3)

The group will consist of 15 female students aged about 14 or 15.  The group's stay of 10 days will provide them with a clear insight into Australian school and home life.  Here at school they will have a busy timetable including participating in classes and going on excursions.  The students will have two weekends to enjoy with their host families and expect to be a part of the normal family routine.  The Hachinohe girls are willing to share a bedroom with your daughter if that is necessary.

If you are interested in hosting a Hachinohe student this year, please contact Cathy via email caa@st-ursula.qld.edu.au.

We will hold a meeting early in Term 3 to familiarise host parents with the homestay program.  At this meeting we will outline in detail what to expect, what the timetable will be, and suggestions for outings and family activities.
 
Mrs Cathy Aitchison
Japanese Teacher

Eisteddfod News
Congratulations to the College vocal ensembles for their performances and success at the recent Toowoomba Choral Eisteddfod.

Results:
Ursa Minors - 3^rd place for Middle School Vocal Ensemble
Angela’s Voices - 2^nd place for Folk Singing Ensemble
College Choir – Highly Commended for Secondary School Choir
Angela’s Voices – Highly Commended for Secondary Vocal Ensemble

Thank you to our College choral ensemble directors, Mrs Vicki Bravery, Mr Matthew Collins, and Mr Jim Dwan. Thank you also to our accompanists and instrumental performers, Mrs Tonia Paroz, Mrs Lorraine Fuller, Mrs Eileen Munro, Alice Schumacher and Emma Baillie.
 
VOICES & STRINGS CONCERT
Come hear our vocal ensembles perform their Eisteddfod repertoire, and also hear the College String Ensemble and Quintet. The Music Department’s Voices & Strings concert will be held on Friday 31 May at the College Chapel. Light refreshments will be available at 6:30pm, and the concert will commence at 7:00pm.
 
Mr Jim Dwan
Director of Music