The Power of One
Recently, we faced a situation that no school hopes to find themselves in – one of their students being struck by a car near the school. A situation that sends chills down the spine of every parent and evokes mental images that may be hard to erase. Thankfully, by the grace of God, Phoebe is making a very good recovery in hospital and she continues to be supported by the excellent staff at Toowoomba Base Hospital and her loving parents, family and school friends.

The power of one incident
Days after the incident, I was left thinking about it and reflected on the power that one incident, event or interaction can have on the life of people. For us as a school community, this one event has heightened our awareness of the importance of reminding our students about road safety and self-awareness of their environment.  For me, as a mother of two daughters, it has reminded me of the fragility of life and the bond that I share with my girls. For me, as the Principal of the College, it has reminded me that we can never stop making the safety of our girls a priority. The power of one event can be truly life-changing.

The power of one relationship
Caring for your girls is a privilege and a great responsibility that is entrusted to us at St Ursula’s College. Our care for your daughters presents itself in many ways. Our Pastoral Programs support understanding of her wellbeing needs that are age and stage appropriate. Our Academic Care Program supports her academic progress in light of her holistic social, emotional and physical development from girl to womanhood. The Growth Coaching Program, while still in its infancy, supports her ability to resolve her own challenges and fosters her resilience in new situations. But, at the end of the day, it is about how we as a school foster relationships with her. Teachers have the power to inspire and condemn in one look or a quick turn of a phrase. Our adolescent girls are quick to pick up on nuances, inflection of voice, and body language and from this, make meaning of situations. Girls are perceptive learners and are in tune with how we shape our relationship with her and therefore, by extension, on how you shape your relationship with her too.

Each of us is imbued with the power of one - one relationship at a time. Each relationship that we shape is an extension on how we wish to be spoken to, treated and ultimately respected as an individual. Pope Francis shares: “Communion means common-union, we form a great family, where every member is helped and sustained by the others.”[1]

The power of one community
In the light of the recent the accident, I have witnessed how we have ‘sustained’ one another. Our College School Captain Isabelle Coleman expressed her sentiments to me that she was proud of the fact that we came together as a strong community to support this family, as well as the staff and students affected by the accident. I, like Isabelle, am also proud of the fact that we, through the power of one community, offered swift counselling, support, love and hope to many.

I am also thankful to the families who have contacted me extending their prayers and food parcels to help the family. These are the tangible signs that God is at work in our community.  I encourage each of you to reflect on how you exert your ‘power of one’ in your daily interactions with others in the world.
I ask that you to continue praying for Phoebe as she recovers and also consider the anguish of the man who struck her. To the many people who also supported our staff, the pedestrians, the drivers and the children near the site of the accident- we say a heartfelt thank you. 
                              
Loving Father,
Look upon our Phoebe with eyes of mercy,
May your healing rest upon her,
May your life- giving powers flow into her body and into the depth of her soul, cleansing, purifying and restoring her to wholeness and strength.
St Ursula, pray for us.
St Angela Merici, live in our hearts forever.
Amen.
 
Our New Zealand Brothers and Sisters
I also take the opportunity to ask you to pray for those families in Christchurch, New Zealand. Especially those who have lost loved ones or have been injured or affected by this senseless act of terrorism in their sacred space.

We reach out to our brothers and sisters who find themselves reeling from the horror of these actions that saw innocent men, women and children struck down during their time of religious devotion. A message sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, on behalf of Pope Francis, said the Pope was “deeply saddened to learn of the injury and loss of life caused by the senseless acts of violence” at the mosques. “He assures all New Zealanders, and in particular the Muslim community, of his heartfelt solidarity in the wake of these attacks.” He also offered prayers and blessings to those injured, those grieving, those who died and emergency personnel.”[2]

Let us remember the inspired words of St Francis’ peace prayer at this time. Our prayer is that we all be made instruments of peace and where there is hatred, let us sow love.

Serviam Men in our Community
I wish to acknowledge the dedicated service of two men in our community. Firstly, I would like to personally thank Mr Michael Keogh who has served on the College Board for nine years. Michael and his wife Sandra have been parents at the College and Michael's aunt was an Ursuline Sister. Michael has a strong sense of what it means to serve and has dedicated his time and legal expertise to support the College.

I also thank Mr Ian Lewis who served on our Board Finance Sub-Committee. Ian is a current parent at the College and has brought a wealth of knowledge on matters financial to this team. During my interactions with him, Ian has always put the needs of students at the core of these thinking and decision-making processes. I will miss his practical support, sense of humour and common-sense advice on financial matters.

Are you an accountant or entrepreneur?
Following the resignation of Mr Ian Lewis on the Financial Sub-committee, we are looking for a suitable person to replace him. This individual will need to have expertise in finance and may be an accountant or an entrepreneur. We meet after school hours and dedicate ourselves to the strategic goals of the College and fiscal responsibilities. If you are interested, please contact my P.A., Mrs Kathy Sperling – Ph: 4631 0824 or kms@st-ursula.qld.edu.au
 

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Farewell and thank you to Michael Keogh 

Saturday 23^rd March saw the St Ursula’s College Board farewell and thank, long standing Board Director, Michael Keogh. Michael generously shared his legal knowledge and gifts of wisdom and discernment in the deliberations of the Board.  More recently Michael has been the Chair of the Board’s Policy Oversight and Risk Management Committee, bringing his insight and skill to the workings of this area of vital importance for the College. His nine years of service on the Board, would equate to approximately 54 Saturday Board meetings and numerous sub-committee meetings.

In his role as Director, Michael truly served in the true sense of the College motto: Serviam: I will serve.

The St Ursula’s College community sincerely thank Michael for his contribution to ensuring that St Ursula’s College continues to be a Catholic educational and residential community in the Ursuline Tradition, dedicated to the education and care of young women. We wish Michael and his family every blessing for the future.

Ms Angela Travers
Board Chair

• Feedback will be given on the following four areas:
  • Coping with demands of the subject 
    • This refers to how students are responding to the academic demands of a subject. 
  • Using Class time productively
    • This is looking at how students engage in learning time in the classroom. For example, how students are working on given activities (either independently or in teams); asking questions achieving learning intentions and success criteria.
  • Completion of set tasks
    • This relates to completion of in-class learning activities, homework, drafting and assessable tasks.
  • Using Feedback to deepen learning
    • This relates to how students are using the feedback given to them to deepen their learning. 

• Each of the above four areas will be reported on via three qualifiers:
  • Evident – The student demonstrates the above characteristic.
  • Sometimes evident – A student may show some of the characteristic but not all. For example in mathematics a student may do well on fractions but may struggle with algebra. Thus a teacher may use sometimes evident.
  • Not Evident- The student has not shown any evidence of the characteristic in the area being reported on.
• Pastoral Care comment. All students will have a Pastoral Care comment.
• NO A-E results for any subjects.
• Total number of absences and total number of late arrivals.
• Interview Recommended or Welcomed. If it says recommended then this is the teacher letting you know they would like to have an interview with you and your daughter.

• A letter will be sent out in the coming week providing you with the necessary information on when the system will be open and how to log on and book interviews.
• This year we would like all students to attend these interviews with their parents. It is a great opportunity for all parties supporting your daughter’s growth to come together.

• Studies in this system are UNIT based. Unit 1 is 15weeks long and does not finish until 24^th May. Your daughters will have work to focus on during the Easter holidays. Most subjects will have final assessment due in from the 17^th May- week 3.
• Unit 2 starts on the 27^th May and will conclude on the 19^th September. 
• This will mean that full attendance till 3:05pm on the last day of each term is critical.  Term 3 this year will see our Year 11 students beginning their Year 12 units and assessment that counts towards the ATAR. Students will need to be in classes until the very last day. 

“The future does have a name... and its name is hope.” – Pope Francis
 
This coming Sunday is the fourth Sunday in Lent. The readings this weekend are a very familiar piece of scripture, the story of the Prodigal Son and his father’s generous love. What is it that makes you hunger for so much in life? Where do you look for satisfaction? Have you ever been tricked by your hunger and strayed from the truth of the situation? What part of you needs to turn back towards God without any fear of rejection? Below is a link to a short Lenten reflection based on this reading.

https://vimeo.com/user25724315/review/317136365/6312fc1f07
 
God of abundant mercy,
You have prepared a rich banquet for us.
May all our hungers lead us to you that we may feast only on what will bring us true contentment.
We ask this prayer in the name of Jesus your Son, And in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
 
An interesting article in this month’s Australian Catholic Magazine challenges us to think about what we can do for creation through out Lent. Can we fast from waste?
 
Going Zero-Waste for Lent – by Alice Foddy
                                     
Thinking about what you might do to get closer to God this Lent? Perhaps consider something that will get you closer to creation, too.
Lent is my favourite time of year. I love the feeling I get from fasting and strengthening my connection to God. In the past I have fasted from chocolate, Facebook, Milo; lots of things that I didn’t need in my life. But last year I decided to fast from an attitude that I had and a way of living.

I went zero-waste. It’s a term that has been thrown around a lot lately. In essence, living a zero-waste lifestyle means finding alternatives to throwing things into landfill.

I made the decision that for 40 days, I wasn’t going to throw anything into my bin. I didn’t succeed 100%, but that was ok. I was driven by the fact that landfill waste produces green-house gasses, and plastic is polluting the environment.

I felt a responsibility to do something. Pope Francis talks at length in Laudato Si’ about the ‘throwaway culture’ and that was what I wanted to fast from in my way of living.

I researched and wrote a list of 40 things that I was going to do to change my way of being. When I reached Lent, I found that every day I was finding two or three more ways that I could reduce waste, so 40 quickly turned into over 100! And zero waste turned into being a minimalist, a DIYer, a plastic-free life-stylist, a fair-trade buyer and an op-shopper!

My zero-waste lifestyle is not perfect. I still have days where I have exhausted all my creativity and I must throw things away. On average though, my weekly rubbish bin is the size of a mango.

The one thing that I treasure about the experience more than anything, is the closer connection that I have to God and his creation. Living zero-waste informs every decision that I make during the day. And when I’m unsure, talking to God always helps.

Making decisions about what to do has in some ways become easier and other ways become harder. For example, I always say no to single-use plastics (straws, plates etc.). But when doing something like buying a present for someone, I think about who made this? Where did it come from? What is it made from? Does it come in some sort of packaging? Can I make this myself? How will I wrap this?

To give inspiration for Lent, here is some environmental fasting inspiration.

1. Reduce – Fasting from things
Try buying only what you need, nothing more. Meal planning is a great way to reduce waste. I always go to the shops with a list to reduce my impulse buying.
I find that this allows me to focus on family and friends not things.

2. Refill – Fast from big supermarkets
Find ways to refill containers and bags in your local area. Make/find some reusable fresh produce bags and find places that you can bring your own containers. Some bulk food stores stock sauces, spices, washing liquids and washing powders. Check out the local markets for fresh produce.

3. Recycle – Fast from just throwing things away into the ‘normal bin’
Research how to recycle paper, tin and glass the best you can. Think creatively about how you can recycle anything else.

4. Rot – Fast from throwing away food scraps, they are so useful
Try composting and using the compost to grow your own veggies. This is a great one with the kids, because they learn about how food is grown, they get enjoyment in seeing things grow and they can learn responsibility.
 
As we continue our Lenten Journey you are welcome to join with us in our Holy Week Prayer service on Thursday April 4. As part of our College assembly we will gather as a College community to reflect on this Lenten journey. The assembly will commence at 8.40am in the Salo Centre, all are welcome.
 
Year 12 Artwork – While on Year 12 retreat the students worked collaboratively to bring a piece of art to life. This art piece is the Year 12s' representation of “Every Face has a Place”. The students were asked to reflect on the gifts and talents that they bring. They then created an image of a face, personalised it with this message before adding it to the canvas. I thank all the Year 12 students who contributed so thoughtfully and to Ms Sandra Jarrett for bringing the piece to life with her finishing touches.


An ANZAC Day Service will be held at the College on April 24. You are invited to join with us in this commemorative service. The service will commence at 8.45am in Kerrielaw.  RSVP to principal@st-ursula.qld.edu.au

Also on April 24, nine students (Lucy Guersten, Elena McKee, Charlotte Corfield, Jess Fea, Emma Schriek, Julia Lynch, Gabrielle Wilson, Lauren Walker and Abbie Rollans) accompanied by Ms Ann Brownlie and Ms Meg Ballon will be travelling to central Australia for a service immersion program at Santa Teresa, 90km south east of Alice Springs. The group will spend 3 days at Uluru gaining insight into the history and culture of the region before travelling to Alice Springs. In Alice Springs they will meet with two Ursuline Sisters who are based there, Sister Mary Wicks OSU and Sister Ann Surtees OSU before travelling to Santa Teresa where they will spend 7 days working with the community. We wish them safe travels.
 

Leading a child safe culture…
 
St Ursula’s College alongside the Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic schools firmly believes student protection is everybody’s business. The safety and wellbeing of our students is of paramount importance. Student Protection processes and guidelines are in place and these procedures reflect the legislative and regulatory reporting requirements and the policies of the College. All staff are trained in these processes, and in addition there are seven nominated staff members known as Student Protection Contacts, whom students and staff can access.

Mrs Tanya Appleby – Principal
Ms Bernadette Witham – Deputy Principal
Ms Jennifer Langton – Assistant Principal Pastoral Relationships
Mrs Debbie Ryan- Assistant Principal Identity and Culture
Ms Shauna Green – Counsellor
Mrs Jan Pearman – Head of Boarding
Miss Jodi Marshall - Boarding

The current posters around the college will be updated in the near future to include photographs for easier identification.

The student protection symposium held last week provided a valuable opportunity to hear about the enhanced systems that have been put in place in schools to strive for best practice in the area of child protection. A number of contemporary issues were discussed including cyber safety and prevention strategies.

Bruce and Denise Morcombe opened the symposium with an informative presentation highlighting the extensive work done by the Daniel Morcombe Foundation in respect to not only education regarding personal safety but also the work done with assisting victims of crime and early intervention. Judi Fallon from the Alannah and Madeleine Foundation drew our attention to keeping our adolescents safe in the digital world that they live in and reinforced the need for parents to have an adequate system of supervision and to gain as much education as possible to provide support for their children. Recommended best industry resources are available through:
Kids Helpline: https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/cyberbullying
eSafetyCommissioner: https://www.esafety.gov.au/education-resources
eheadspace: https://headspace.org.au/eheadspace/

“To love God with all your heart, and your neighbour as yourself, is worth more than any sacrifice”
 
Prayer for Rain
O God, our Creator, you are the source of all life. It is through your divine providence and infinite power, that the wonder and splendour of all creation surround us. "How majestic is your name in all the earth." We pray to you who calms the raging waters and commands the wind, to provide us sufficient rain to meet our needs.

During this time of drought, we are mindful of our dependence on you for all that sustains our body and soul. We pray for the cooling, gentle rain that will once again bring life to the fields and crops that feed us, restore the colourful rainbow of flowers and the cooling shade of the trees.
We ask for these blessings through the intercession of Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth.  Amen.
  
It has been an exciting few weeks here in Brescia House.  A range of events gave the girls many opportunities to be engaged across academic and co- curricular – their achievements are remarkable. Equestrian, futsal, basketball, netball, and rugby are proving to be most popular with the girls. As soon as they arrive home from their sport there are big smiles at the front door saying “we have won” or “we have tried our best”.  We are very proud of the girls for getting out there and having a lot of fun achieving their goals.

The girls worked tirelessly to bake pink cupcakes to raise funds and awareness for the drought. A special mention to our Year 7 and 9 students who helped bake and decorate. Mikayla Davey and Riley Flynn spent their morning tea and lunch break to sell the cakes. A small amount was raised for Aussie Helpers. I had to remind the girls, that it is not the amount that counts but simply the enthusiasm and commitment to this wonderful charity group. Every time I chat to a parent, the worry on their faces, telling me their story of struggle, makes me want to work and pray harder.

The Toowoomba Show Holiday is Thursday 28 March. If you would like your daughter to attend the show, please let us know so we can organise the kitchen and activities plan. If you have family or friends in Toowoomba and they are on your visitors list, please arrange by Tuesday evening on our “Reach Program”.

The weeks are certainly moving at an extraordinary pace and the end of term will be upon us very soon. Please look at travel arrangements for your daughter and have these entered into the boarding leave electronic system (Reach Program) no later than Friday, March 29. This will allow Jodi and I to coordinate travel plans and have the girls arrive at buses and flights, where necessary.

Master Class after school has become a major focus with extraordinary support from our boarding staff and teaching staff.  The girls are working extremely well and are planning assessments and exams. If you have any concerns regarding your daughter’s study, please do not hesitate to contact me. Support for the girls is in place for next term and I have encouraged each girl to take advantage of the out of hours subject specific tutoring timetable at the College. Mrs Appleby has worked extremely hard to source tutors for Boarding next term. The tutors will be able to help the girls with English/Biology/Science/ Junior Science/ Junior Maths.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like have any concerns regarding your daughter’s boarding experience and well-being.
 
SCHOOL HOLIDAY WINTER WONDERLAND PACKAGE

The Toowoomba City Council will be offering specialised school packages, with sessions available from Monday the 24^th June 2019. Following the success of last year’s Winter Wonderland event, the Toowoomba Regional Council is pleased to announce that it will be back again in 2019. The open-air outdoor ice-skating rink will be in place on the Civic Square in front of the City Library from Friday the 21^st June until July 14^th, providing a unique winter experience.
Contact:  Darryl Bates .(Principal Community Development) Darryl.bates@tr.qld.gov.au

Volleyball
Leading into the third week of St Ursula’s Volleyball for 2019, the girls were very enthusiastic heading into Tuesday night’s games, coming off a very positive training session. To begin the night, the Year 8 girls showed yet another fantastic performance defeating The Glennie School in three straight sets. The Year 9s and 10s also came away with a victory defeating their respective opponents. Special mention to the Year 12 students who generously offered to arrive early to assist the coaching of the Year 9 team, leading them to a three set victory. The Year 12s faced a tough opponent going down to Centenary Heights State High School in the first two sets. However, the girls showed first class resilience and fought back to win the third set in an excellent display of serving. Overall a great performance from all our teams, who continue to display outstanding sportsmanship, looking forward to the next round as the girls continue to improve both as individuals and in their given team. 
 
Futsal

Congratulations to all of the students who competed in the summer futsal competition held at Downlands College on Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
St Ursula’s College had six teams competing in this competition with three teams reaching the finals. Ursie Year 8s won their final against Downlands College 7-2 in a dazzling display of skill and teamwork. Congratulations to Lydia Jocumsen, Annabelle Ford, Chloe Miles, Elspheth Geraghty, Alex Kohlbach, Sophie Schriek and Caitlin Bowen.
 
The Ursie Year 7 team played their final against Downlands College and lost 5-1 in a gallant performance. Congratulations to Ellie Hock, Suzy Chappell, Abby Wiggins, Molly Van Heerden, Caylee Palmer and Janica Glasson.
 
Congratulations to the Ursie 3 team who were runners-up in a hard fought 5 - 1 final loss to Fairholme College. Team members included Lauren Denman, Scarlett Hofstee, Kelsey Francis, Claire Jocumsen, Lydia Jocumsen and Lilly Earl-Jones.
 
South West Futsal Titles
The Ursie Year 7 team and the Ursie Year 8 team will also compete in the Champion of Champions finals in Brisbane in Term 3. Both teams reached the finals of their division in the South West Futsal titles held at Highfields Recreation Centre.
The Ursie Year 7 team won their final 3-1 against St Joseph’s College Stanthorpe, while the Year 8 team were runners-up to Ipswich State High School. Good luck to both teams in the next stage of the competition.
 
Karate

Valhsala Naidu was involved in the Queensland State Titles on the 16th and 17th. She has done her club proud by bringing in Gold for both the over 54kg Cadet female black belt individual category and the female cadets open category. Valhsala now is Queensland champion in both events. This is a fantastic effort from her. The nationals are in Launceston in August.
 
Archery

We congratulate Kelsey Francis on her success with Under 17 Recurve Short Course at the Queensland Archery Championships. She was awarded Gold, Well done Kelsey!
 
Cricket
After a strong victory over Dalby State High School, our cricketers will be playing in the final against Fairholme College this week. They have improved greatly and their enthusiasm for the game has been evident by the effort they have put into training and games. We wish them well and know it will continue to be a wonderful learning experience for the whole team. Special thanks to current parent, Mr Ian Lewis, who has kindly coached this team.
 
Touch
Congratulations to College Touch captain Emily Ward on being selected in the Titans NRL Touch Premiership team. This is a huge honour for Emily and a reward for her dedication to touch football.
 
Basketball
Our Open team has successfully made their way into the Grand Final at St Mary’s College this Friday night. The team is undefeated this season and face a good St Joseph’s College team at 8pm. Any support for the team would be gratefully received. They have worked hard to unite as a team and have played some fantastic basketball this year. We wish coach Kim Wilson, Mrs Debbie Ryan as team manager and the team every success this week. It will be an exciting game to watch.
 
Netball
Netball trials for all College teams have been completed. All teams are training regularly each week.  Year 7 and 8 teams are training Monday and Tuesday mornings. Year 9 and Senior C teams are also training Tuesdays. All College teams are training together on Wednesday mornings. We are now in a program where each team will train twice a week.

A team selected from the Senior squad will play a trial game this week against St Mary’s College from Ipswich in the Salo. There will be more games against other schools next term and into Term 3. I am currently in the process of finalising dates with these schools for games against local and also Brisbane schools. Caitlin Fry will be overseeing the College netball program and can be contacted for all things netball on collegenetball@st-ursula.qld.edu.au
 

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