Burdekin Catholic High School

From the Principal

Return of Br Tony - Marist Brother

I have spent time listening to and engaging with workshops and formation opportunities with Marist Brother, Tony Leon, for many years at Chanel College, Gladstone. You could imagine how pleased I was to hear that he was coming to spend time with us here at BCHS. For our community it was Br Tony's first visit in twelve years. Opportunities for our staff and students to be embraced with our Marist Charism are precious. Br Tony is a very skilled and faith-filled ministry leader. Our staff spent 2 and a half hours last Monday, after school, with Br Tony leading us through our focus for the year 'First Light'. I was very touched by the writings of Tony Clarke, Director, Marist Mission and Life Formation, that Br Tony shared with us and opened for us to share in conversation.

The theme FIRST LIGHT invites us to recognise the world as the place in which we discover God. God’s Spirit is in Creation. The first words of God were “Let there be light” (Gen 1:3), and with that our world dawned into existence. We can recognise and experience God’s Spirit through the beauty and goodness of everything that the world holds and reveals, the spring buds on a tree, the warmth of the sun on your face, the sharing of a meal at a soup kitchen on a winter’s day, in the eyes of a stranger. Everything reveals the presence of God (1 Cor 10:26).

Br Tony also spent time with our young people. Faith formation complements our religious education program and many other facets of our ministry program at the school. Having an experienced ministry leader lead our young people to open up their human hearts to the possibilities of a deep relationship with God is a blessing. It is a space of invitation, a space to build spiritual awareness. A space that we are grateful for at BCHS.

Thank you Br Tony and our whole community for taking a moment to be open to possibilities.

Lorraine Wolffe
Principal

Celebrating 50 Years 1974-2024

1981 - First Senior Graduation - Br John with School Captains Desley Hyne and Enzo Minuzzo

1974 - First School Assembly as Burdekin Catholic High School

From the Deputy Principal - Curriculum and Administration

From the Assistant Principal - Pastoral

As we prepare to move into week 7 and the busy assessment period of Term 1, it is a timely reminder that our high expectations remain. At the core of our high expectations is ‘respect’, with a focus on students making choices that are respectful to themselves, others, learning, our school, and their faith. Students are reminded of the importance of being aware of the impact of their choices on themselves and others. Students should be drawing on their Marist values including Family Spirit, Love of Work, Simplicity, Presence and In the Way of Mary. In doing so, they will contribute to a safe and productive learning environment where we can all be ‘One in Christ’, as per our school motto.

To strengthen the respectful environment that we have at BCHS, we made some updates to the Personal Mobile Device (PMD) Policy this year. The updates made prioritise student wellbeing and safety. The updates are also supported by recommendations from the Anti-Cyberbullying 2018 Taskforce. Our ‘Away for the Day’ policy requires mobile phones, including smart wearable devices, to be away from when students arrive at school and until dismissal at 3:00pm. We would like to congratulate our students on their willingness to meet our expectations and for ordering physical bank cards over the holidays to make purchases from the tuckshop. Currently, many students are choosing to store their phone in their bags/lockers which is a storage choice which we support. We would like to remind our students and families that there is also the option to store devices securely in the school office for the day. With phones away for the day, parents and students are to use the school phone line for contact during school hours.

Finally, while on the topic of positive choices, I would like to remind families about our Rewards Days. Our positive behaviours system includes our Praise Notes which can be given out all term and our Rewards Days. Rewards Days occur twice per year at the end of each semester and acknowledge students who continually meet our high expectations. Our eligibility criteria to attend Rewards Days has been updated and this year the criteria is as follows:

- No more than 6 x Respect Room detentions during that semester

Year 7 Spotlight

The focus for our 2024 Year 7 cohort is ‘Family Spirit’. To welcome our Year 7s into the BCHS Family, the focus for the first few weeks has been on forging strong bonds with their buddies in Year 12. In the first week, the Year 7s partook in a host of buddy activities including Buddy Bowling and also attended a Welcome Mass at the Sacred Heart Church. To further strengthen these buddy bonds, the Year 7 and 12 Pastoral Day was held on Monday in Week 3. The morning was dedicated to students rotating through five different team building activities. After a delicious sausage roll and party pie lunch, the students and teachers were off to the Ayr Pool for a swim. The day concluded with a performance from Theatre group Shake & Stir; ‘Terrortorial’.

Our Year 7 Families were also warmly welcomed into the BCHS Family at our Year 7 Parent Information Evening on February 7^th. The evening provided families with the opportunity to meet our Senior Leadership Team, Pastoral Leaders, Homeroom Teachers and Classroom Teachers. Our families were also informed about key academic, religious and pastoral processes as well as upcoming key dates. The evening concluded with a Q & A session in the year 7 homerooms.

Chiara Guy
Assistant to the Principal - Pastoral Care

Commissioning Liturgy

Last Wednesday we celebrated our Commissioning Liturgy to induct all the Year 12 students as leaders of our school community, commission our Student Representative Councillors, First Nation leaders and our Year 12 Student Leaders. The Year 7s new staff and students were acknowledged and welcomed to our school. We were blessed to have parents and family join the students and staff to celebrate and pray that our new leaders be guided by God’s Spirit. The Commission Liturgy reflected the Marist theme for 2024 First Light – Reveal the Spirit. We hope and pray that our whole school community finds encouragement in the words of St Paul who reminds us that “Everything brought into the light becomes light!”

Please click on photo to see clearly

Two weeks ago, we celebrated our Ash Wednesday Liturgy marking the beginning of Lent. During this time Christians around the world observe a time of repentance, prayer, and fasting as a way of preparing for the celebration of Easter. The cross adorned in purple has been standing tall in the quad as a constant reminder to students that we are in the season of Lent. Each homeroom has a Caritas Project Compassion box for students to make donation of loose change. The major fundraiser is the Walkathon that will take place on Thursday 28^th March. Family and friends are encouraged to sponsor their child using the QR code below. Keep those donations coming to help our brother and sisters in less fortunate communities.

Brother Tony Leon

Staff participated in Marist Spirituality this week lead by Brother Tony Leon, from the Marist Brother. He unpacked the 2024 Theme First Light to staff. His engaging presentation had the staff involved in group activities and reflection on what this theme means to us as educators in a Catholic school with a Marist tradition. Tony also did a small group activity with our Religion Education teachers which was invigorating and insightful. The final presentation that Brother Tony did was with our Year 12s. It had been 12 years since he spoke to our Seniors. He took this opportunity to talk to them about Servant Leadership and the upcoming Retreat.

Year 12 with Br Tony

From the Year 11/12 Pastoral Leader

During week 5, our senior students had the privilege of hearing from two incredible guest speakers, Jaidyn Lambie-Fabbro and Larni Vasta.

Jaidyn, manager of Fabbro Diesel Services, enlightened us with invaluable insights from an employer's perspective, emphasizing the crucial aspects of punctuality, attitude, presentation, and effort. These qualities are not just keys to success but also pillars of professional excellence!

Meanwhile, Larni, an ex-student of BCHS, shared her personal journey and how the principles instilled by our school continue to guide her through her Bachelor of Education at JCU. Her dedication to applying BCHS rules in her daily life is truly inspiring and a testament to the lasting impact of our school's values.

Thank you, Jaidyn and Larni, for empowering our students with your wisdom and experiences!

Kristie Stennett
Pastoral Leader

From the Science Department

7.1 SCIENCE GET HANDS ON AT HOME

In the dynamic world of science, our Year 7.1 students have been immersing themselves in the wonders of biology.

Through a recent homework assignment, these budding scientists embarked on a hands-on exploration, collecting an assortment of leaves from around their home. Guided by their curiosity and fueled by their passion for discovery, they meticulously crafted a dichotomous key, a testament to their growing understanding of classification principles.

Now proudly displayed on the walls of their classroom, their meticulously curated collection serves not only as a showcase of their hard work but also as a source of inspiration for future scientific endeavors.

From the Guidance Counsellor

After a long day, many of us turn to screens, be it for binge-watching on Netflix, playing video games, or anything in between, as a means of unwinding. However, the prolonged use of screens can impact various aspects of our lives, from disrupting sleep patterns, affecting job performance or our general mood. This edition of Schooltv is dedicated to exploring strategies for effective screen time management, offering conversation starters, and providing additional insights on the subject.

https://bchs.catholic.schooltv.me/newsletter/managing-screen-time

Feel free to reach out to me anytime via email or by calling the office.

Michael Dixon
Guidance Counsellor

School TV

Wellbeing Survey

Career News

Work Experience

BCHS encourages students to participate in work experience. Work experience provides numerous benefits. It can consolidate a career path you have been considering, it can lead to a School Based Apprenticeship or employment after school.

Career Focus - Fintech Engineer

What is a Fintech Engineer?
‘Fintech’ is a portmanteau of ‘financial’ and ‘technology’, meaning these engineers blend expertise in programming and finance to create cutting-edge solutions for banking, investing, and digital payments.

What skills and strengths are needed?
Successful Fintech Engineers have a strong foundation in computer science and a range of programming languages. They use analytical thinking to understand complex financial systems; creativity to develop new software applications to improve the way we handle money digitally, and adaptability to keep pace with rapidly advancing technologies and changes in the finance industry.

What are the pathways?
University degrees in computer science, software engineering and related fields are a starting place. Double degrees combining engineering and commerce/finance are also an option.

Source: www.careertools.com.au

Sport @ BCHS

Weathering the Storm:
The 2024 Swimming Carnival Triumphs!

Rain failed to dampen the competitive spirit at the 2024 Swimming Carnival. Despite the weather, students participated enthusiastically, supported by the invaluable assistance of the Burdekin Swim Club and the staff of Burdekin Catholic High School.

With the absence of the 50m backstroke event (due to the weather), fairness in awarding the age champions and runner ups remains a top priority, so your patience with this is much appreciated. These will be given out at an assembly in the near future (date TBC).

Looking ahead, we celebrate the lessons of resilience and teamwork. The carnival's success is a testament to our community's unwavering commitment to excellence.

In conclusion, the 2024 Swimming Carnival exemplified both a competitive spirit and a strong sense of teamwork. A big thank you to everyone who contributed to its success.

Shining Star

Congratulations to year 9 student Sophie Michielin for her selection in the u15 Northern Girls Netball team. Sophie will travel to Caloundra with her team in late April to compete at state championships. We wish Sophie all the best when she is away.

Co-curricular Music

We have had a great start....students are still welcome to join.

Traffic Management

Gibson St has designated pick up zones on the school side of the street. There is NO designated crossing on this street. There are reminents of an old crossing space, which has not been supported with a school crossing supervisor as we do not meet the criteria for the government to supply us with one. We can not allocate a teacher to supervise crossing this street as you must have qualifications in traffic management.

Collecting your children from school by car requires a community response to ensure that all our students remain safe at this time.

Please:

do not wait for your child on the opposite side of Gibson Street
do not encourage your child to crossGibson Street through parked cars in the afternoon
do not park in No Standing sections on Gibson Street
do pick up your child on the school side of Gibson Street
do go up and around the round about on Gibson Street to be on the school side
do move towards the space in front of the oval and ask your child to walk to this area and wait
do delay your pick up by 10 minutes, to reduce the traffic congestion

Burdekin School Sports

Northern Trial Dates

No. 18 Term 1 - Week 6 Newsletter, 2024