Middle Senior School Communications, 17 October 2024

Term 4 - Week 4

Term 4 - Week 4

21 Oct - 12 Nov:  Yr 12 QCAA Exams

Future Dates

Saturday 02 Nov:  Yr 10 Celebration

04 Nov – 08 Nov: Yr 10 Work Experience

04 Nov - 08 Nov: Yr 11 Emu Gully Camp

Important Dates

Thursday 7 Nov:  CPA Soiree / Calvary Sport Awards

Friday 15 Nov:  Year 12 Final Chapter / Graduation

Thursday 28 Nov:  7-11 Awards Service 

A Note From Mrs Gostelow (Our College Principal)

Dear Parents and Carers

I am so delighted that our students and their families are enjoying the recently completed waterway. The peace of the flowing water and what I hope will become the beauty of the surrounding gardens are designed to celebrate joy in God’s beautiful creation.

The waterway collects run off water from nearby roofing and the carpark, stores it in a purpose-built tank downstream (overflow passes on to the water retention basin beyond) and then pumps it to the top end of the waterway from where it cascades to the tank. A great sustainable design – thank you to our Property Manager Mr Vezos for the design and build.

We are keeping the water very shallow deliberately so that we don’t have to fence this area and restrict access. This week I have been sharing with our students how we will Respect our Environment through using the newly opened space wisely! There are those who say I am optimistic in my venture to get the cooperation of hundreds of young people, but I AM optimistic about our students responding positively to using this space well.

In essence students cannot run, stand, balance on the logs, stones, or surrounding lawn. They cannot touch the water nor throw anything into the water.

What can they do? This guideline is easy: they may sit on any stone edging of the waterway if they can reach it via the lawn. Feet on lawn, bottom on stone – enjoy the shade and the running water. They can also sit on the low wall boundary if they can reach it from the lawn. When the grass is dry, they can sit there too.

I would appreciate your support in keeping our students and their siblings and visiting friends out of the gardens, away from our vulnerable four gum trees (one is concerning us as it has not responded well to all the construction and change around it) and away from the water. Please feel free to enjoy the waterway and its surrounds while staying safe.

Thank you for your continuing support. We appreciate your partnership with us.

Blessings

Cherylynne Gostelow

General Notices from Mr Arraiol (Head of Wellbeing and Culture)

Empowering Students online

During our formal assemblies, we have been promoting the phrase “No Hate, Mate” as a positive and non-confrontational way for students to address mean or hurtful behaviour they encounter online. We have also encouraged students to block individuals who engage in unkind behaviour towards them online. These steps are part of our commitment to online safety, empowering students to advocate for themselves and their well-being in digital spaces. Please join us in supporting this initiative by discussing the importance of these actions with your child, helping to build a respectful and safe online environment for everyone. But if at any point Calvary students experience harmful or hurtful behaviour online, especially ongoing and targeted behaviour, they are encouraged to take screenshots and report these via email or using Stymie.

Leadership 2025

We are excited to announce two leadership opportunities available to students in Years 7–11 for 2025. Applications for House Leaders and Student Connectors will open next week and will close at the end of Week 5 (3:20 pm Friday 1 November 2024).

A brief summary of these roles entail: Our House Leaders will work alongside our House Captains to foster a vibrant House culture, organising and promoting participation in various House Challenges throughout the year. Student Connectors will collaborate with our Counselling team to redirect students who may find break times lonely, assist in coordinating and hosting fundraising events for Children of Compassion and promote mental health among students such as RUOK Day activities. Both roles require a commitment to meet weekly or fortnightly during lunch breaks and to serve at different times throughout the school year. Please encourage your child to consider if one of these leadership positions aligns with their interests. 

Alternatively, students may want to earn a College Leader Badge by using their talents to positively impact the Calvary community. Students are encouraged to speak with Mr Arraiol about the possibility of starting a club or offering a service such as coaching, tutoring, cleaning, or gardening on an ongoing basis within our school.

If your child is interested, please encourage them to apply and take advantage of this opportunity to develop their leadership skills and make a difference at Calvary.

Cafe Specials - Week 3 Term 4

General Notices

Event Permission Process Update

We are excited to announce that we will soon be offering our families Consent2Go, a digital solution that easily enables you to keep your child’s health records accurate and provide consent for school events, excursions and camps in a secure and timely manner.

Consent2Go is used in many other schools across Australia and New Zealand and is proven to be easy to use for parents and the school.

Why are we changing?

For student safety it is vital that their information is as up to date as possible and complies with government regulations. 

Consent2Go will replace our current process and will be the channel that informs you about school incursions, excursions and camps, allows you to provide your consent and be the collection point for student health information.

It has an easy-to-use parent interface, including a parent app and we are confident you will find it a much easier process for you.

When will this change occur?

We are working through our implementation schedule currently and are looking to soft launch the new system during Term 4.

Over this Term you will be provided with updated and further instructions on how the new system works.

Year 12 Valedictory Service

Calvary Performing Arts Soiree & Calvary Sport Awards

Coming Up Events @ Calvary

Our current College events can be found on our website: https://www.calvarycc.qld.edu.au/events/