St Saviour's College Newsletter 2022 Term 2 Week 6

Principal

Sorry Day - Our Call to be People of Unconditional Love

Last Sunday’s Gospel centred on a promise of unconditional love. We are told in John’s Gospel, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (Jn 14: 23). Even though this text was written close to 2000 years ago and Jesus modelled this sense of unconditional love to all humankind so perfectly, historically, human beings have not always taken heed. We are constantly challenged by the notion of unconditional love when we see firsthand how people can so dreadfully treat each other. In our very own history, we have seen the atrocious treatment of our First Nations at the hands of our early European settlers in the late 1700s and this treatment continued across the ensuing centuries. Historical records tell of interactions with our First Nations Peoples that are stories of harm, injustice, violence, inequality, sadness and inhumane treatment.

Thursday 26 May marked the 24^th ‘Sorry Day’ to be held in Australia. To say sorry is an act of love - an act of unconditional love - because it takes courage, vulnerability and self-awareness to admit and own culpability. I am pleased that over the past decades, we as a nation have made considerable efforts to own our challenging past and reframe our treatment of our First Nations People. This was publicly marked in history by the delivery of a very important speech back in 2008.

This week on Assembly, we reflected on the words of former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd’s public apology to our First Nations People.

Here is an excerpt of his speech:

Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
We reflect on their past mistreatment.
We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.
The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.
He goes on …
For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.
To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.
…. For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.
A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.

On this day and on all days I pay my respects to the indigenous people of Australia and their elders, past, present and emerging. With that, I pay my respects to the great mercy women among us who are proud First Nations Peoples. At St Saviour’s we work with these incredible young women to ensure equal opportunities with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in history.

Our hope for our First Nations People and all people is the experience of unconditional love.

Camps

Across the past two weeks, our Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 students have had the wonderful experience of camps. These camps are valuable times of learning, relationship building and self-discovery. I would sincerely like to congratulate all the girls on their engagement with and positive participation in these camps. In addition, I thank most sincerely Mr Rod Hickey, Ms Kara Jensen, Mrs Megan Schulze, Mr Julian Smith, Mrs Berni Gray, Mrs Alyson Holmes, Mrs Narinder Loi, Mrs Michelle Reid and Mr Greg Leathart for their supervision and assistance of the girls during these experiences. In addition, many thanks to our Middle Leader: Student Wellbeing, Mrs Juanita Doherty, who puts in so much effort in the overall organisation of all these experiences, working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that all aspects run smoothly. How blessed we are to have such great opportunities for our girls at the College and such wonderful people who generously give of their time to make this happen. Thank you.

Mercy Girl for a Morning

Last Friday, we hosted almost 30 girls for our inaugural ‘Mercy Girl for a Morning’. It was wonderful to welcome these future Mercy Girls to our community to share in morning of fun, learning and friendship. Special thanks to the many staff who have been involved in the organisation of the morning.

Farewell

We bid farewell to Ms Tanya Brown who has been a valued member of our McAuley House community for close to three years. During her time at the College, Tanya has served as a Boarding Supervisor, a Senior Boarding Supervisor and Acting Boarding Manager. We thank Tanya for consistently ‘turning up’ for our boarders and serving them in her capacity as their carer. We wish Tanya all the very best for the future and thank her sincerely for the wonderful contribution she has made to the McAuley House residential community.

Prayers Please

May we remember in our prayers the community of Robb Elementary School, Uvalde, Texas, and all affected by the tragic mass shooting. We pray for the souls of the nineteen Year 4 students and two teachers who sadly lost their lives and for the families and friends who grieve them. May they experience God’s unconditional love during this terrifying time of confusion and uncertainty.

Blessings for the weeks ahead.

Sharon Collins
Principal

Deputy Principal - Curriculum

Year 7-10 Assessment

Students across Years 7 to 10 are now moving into the assessment phase of learning. Week 6 (this week) is always a great time to check back over the assessment calendars (published HERE https://www.ssctwb.catholic.edu.au/assessment-calendars  on the College website) and check in with your daughter about how she is planning for success in the coming weeks. Spaced practice is just one way to ensure students can recall and retain important new learnings – mind mapping and note making is another.

I encourage all parents to take some time this week to sit with their daughters and check in with them on the assessments coming up over the coming weeks and ask these questions together:

• Do I know what I need to know to succeed in this assessment?
• If I don’t, how can I find out?
• Where are my study materials for upcoming exams/scaffolding for assignments? (Books, notes, Canvas, Class onenote)
• How can I practice my knowledge and skills before the assessment?

Some students find this time of term to be a source of stress and pressure – but organisational techniques and planning for success are key in alleviating some of this stress and pressure. It may also be a good time to talk to your daughter about some of the strategies she can use to ensure she can stay calm and clear headed under pressure – mindfulness strategies, deep breathing.

Remember – some stress is normal – it actually helps us to perform at our optimal level! It can be helpful if your daughter knows that all of us feel some level of anxiety and stress in high pressure situations.

NAPLAN

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere commendation to all Year 7 and 9 students who undertook NAPLAN in Weeks 4 and 5. The girls greeted each morning ready to face the challenges presented. I was so proud to see them planning their narrative responses, doing their working out on paper in the Maths paper, and using all the strategies of elimination and key word identification to help them choose the right answers. I commend all the girls for the focussed and diligent attitude they brought to the tests. Individual student NAPLAN results will be available in late August. 

Year 11 and 12 Unit 1/3 Reports

This week, Year 11 and 12 Unit 1 and Unit 3 Reports will be published to the parent portal for students in Years 11 and 12. These reports provide parents and students with important updates on student progress in both General, Applied and Certificate Courses. Your daughter’s report card will include a summary of her learning behaviours, as well as information around the content that has been covered and her performance both holistically in the subject and on individual criteria assessed in the subject. Your daughter will also receive specific feedback on how she has demonstrated success and how she can improve in the future. I encourage you to read this report together and reflect on the feedback contained in this report card. Should you have any questions or queries about the reports, please do not hesitate to contact your daughter’s classroom teacher in the first instance.

Year 12 EEPP

The Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office will be offering the External Exam Preparation Program again this year to students attending Toowoomba Catholic Schools. This program seeks to bring together students from across the diocese in the common pursuit of excellence in academic achievement in their General External Exams. The program takes place in the second week of the September school holidays (from Sunday 25 September – Friday 30 September). The subjects offered this year will be:

• English
• Mathematics General
• Mathematics Methods
• Physics
• Chemistry
• SOR
• Specialist Mathematics
• Biology
• Possibly Modern History and Legal Studies depending on student interest

I encourage all students sitting General External Exams in these subjects to fill out the expression of interest form when it is released in the coming days and mark this program in your family diary. It is an exceptional opportunity and one that complements and extends upon the learning covered in class across Units.

Jessica Wade
Deputy Principal - Curriculum

Assistant Principal - Mission and Student Wellbeing

Faith and Mission

This week, the students and staff from McAuley Homeclass 1 and 2 opened assembly with a beautiful prayer and liturgical reflection:

We gather from many walks of life, but we are unified
as one heart in the body of Christ.
In our time of worship, open our ears to hear your voice,
open our eyes to see your glory, open our minds to receive
your word, open our hearts to perceive your presence.

Amen

“Obedience is a way of showing love, though it’s usually not fancy. Sure, it can be hard to obey sometimes. The rules aren’t always what we want to do. But Jesus makes it clear that keeping the commandments is how we remain in his love. Where else would we want to be but Jesus’ love? Today, make a point of obeying those God has put in charge of you.

"We thank you, O God, for all those who are with us in love and service – the people who put our needs before their needs, who are sensitive to our every response and reaction and who reach out to us when we are troubled or upset. May they always be blessed with the peace that comes from knowing their work is appreciated. May they be blessed with happiness as they share so fully in the joys we share and blessed with the love they so readily give.”

A heartfelt thanks to McAuley 1 and 2 for their prayer and these words.

The personal contributions that Homeclass students and staff make to our weekly Assembly is just one of the things I love about working at St Saviour’s. It is heart-warming and affirming of the true loving nature of our College community.

Year 9 Retreat - The Homeless Experience

This year, we welcomed back Julie Inskip and Rachelle from St Vincent de Paul to facilitate a workshop for the day. With a focus on the vulnerable in our society, Julie gave a face and voice to those in our community who experience homelessness. Founded in the Catholic Social Teachings, Julie was able to recontextualize personal values and connect these with the Gospel values in discussions and activities with our Mercy Girls.

Mercy Girls are kind
Mercy Girls strive for excellence … Once a Mercy Girl …

On Sunday, Mrs Loi, Bianca, Sandrine, Daniella and I headed out to Wilsonton Heights Park for the weekly Sunday Street Retreat with the Toowoomba Rosies team, led by Mandy.

Despite the damp weather our spirits were still high. The menu for our BBQ brunch consisted of burgers with steakettes, sausages, bacon, eggs, fried onions, sauces and a selection of salads. The Rosies team served hot and cold drinks, noodles, hot soup and a morning tea of cakes and slices whilst the BBQ items were being prepared.

Many conversations were had with the families who came along on Sunday for the BBQ. These families presented from many cultures and walks of life, and of all ages. Our girls took great delight in chatting with these families and learning more about them and their circumstances.

Shai commented that it made her feel good about herself, that she could give back and help those in the community: “Just having a conversation, goes such a long way”.

We are always learning about others and ourselves. Mrs Wade was also be pleased to know that during the Street Retreat, the St Saviour’s Team used Math, Literacy, Physics, Meteorology, Health and PE, Music and Drama!

We recommend Rosies to all students aged 16+. Letters for volunteering can be collected from Student Services. Coming together in faith as the heads, heart and hands of Mercy, our volunteers model our core values of Compassion, Hospitality and Justice.

Recently, we had a request for warm items such as scarves, socks, gloves and beanies from Joe Robertson and the Rosie’s team as we are headed for a cold winter. Donations such as Cuppa Soups and Cuppa Noodles are also requested. These items are the most popular at the street retreats. Please drop off any donations to the Rosie’s table at Student Services.

Student Wellbeing

Community Engagement

Last weekend our Saviour's Sisters competed for the second year in a row at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod. Mr Jed Burley and Mrs Jenni Potter have been working hard with these girls and should be proud of their efforts – they are sounding wonderful!

The Choir set out to beat last year’s score of 78 and they achieved this with a final score of 82. The choir performed beautifully and received fantastic feedback from the adjudicators.

Choir members include Elize Tom, Penny Sanders, Peace Sourire, Maryam Abawi, Eliza Morcom, Sarah Abawi, Alby Darnell, Giliann Pamalaran, Adolphine Buloze, Indi Cavendish, Madi Smith, Sienna Stockwell, Sophie Moore, Furaha Iranzi and Bianca Gardner.

Denim For Dolly Campaign

Last Friday, Xavier House led the Do It For Dolly initiative. We raised over $150 for the Do It For Dolly Foundation and across all of the Homeclasses, we made nearly 300 butterflies! This was such a massive effort, so thank you to everyone. Many thanks to Mr Hickey and the rest of you all for getting behind this initiative in such an enthusiastic and compassionate way.

Parent Engagement

The Daniel Morcombe Foundation Website

Visit https://danielmorcombe.com.au/safe-bedrooms/ to access this helpful and informative resource for parents and carers and their children and teens. Safe Bedrooms is a suite of resources which equips parents and carers with the tools to lock predators out. Online grooming can happen to any child. However, 97% of Australian parents and carers hadn’t previously considered online grooming a threat. Safe Bedrooms provides information for parents and carers on how to recognise, react and report online grooming. Through the series of videos and resources, parents and carers can learn about the warning signs of online grooming, how to protect their children and what to do if they are concerned about a child. By becoming informed, parents and carers can keep their children safe online.

Student Reminders

The College also employs a best practice model of engaging with families and to provide a restorative approach to conflict within the community. Our College Pastoral Program embeds the PERMAH approach to wellbeing, with a Catholic lens of our Core Values. Our Wellbeing team actively encourages:

• Partnerships with other schools (St Mary’s College, St Saviour's Primary School. Our Mercy partner schools and other Toowoomba Diocesan and Catholic Colleges).
• Family Engagement by invitation to our regular College events, our fortnightly newsletter, social media platforms (check out our Facebook and Instagram pages!)
• Strong community ties with local support and social justice agencies such as Toowoomba Transition Support Services, St Vincent de Paul, Protea Place, St Patrick’s Parish.
• Intervention and Postvention strategies on campus for identification and referral for students who may need support, across all year levels.
• A supportive Wellbeing Team, trained and with experience in restorative practices and mental health and wellbeing, consisting of:

Assistant Principal: Mission and Student Wellbeing, Mrs Heather Hagemann
Email: heather.hagemann@twb.catholic.edu.au

Middle Leader Student Wellbeing, Mrs Juanita Doherty
Email: juanita.doherty@twb.catholic.edu.au

Middle Leader Student Wellbeing Support, Mrs Megan Schulze
Email: megan.schulze@twb.catholic.edu.au

A fulltime Psychologist in the role of College Counsellor, Ms Renee Hunter
Email: renee.hunter@twb.catholic.edu.au

A College Chaplain, Wednesday to Friday, Ms Catherine Skuse
Email: catherine.skuse@twb.catholic.edu.au

A Cultural Liaison Champion, Monday to Friday, Ms Amii Brown
Email: amii.brown@twb.catholic.edu.au

Useful Wellbeing and Support Links for Students

Beyond Blue is one of Australia’s best known mental health and wellbeing support organisation. They provide support programs to address issues related to depression, suicide, anxiety disorders and other related mental illnesses. Along with a comprehensive website, the beyond Blue Support Service provide 24/7 phone support, Chat online 1pm-12am / 7days a week, email support and a range of community chat forums 1300 22 4636 www.beyondblue.org.au

Kids Helpline is a free Australian telephone and online (webchat and email) counselling service for young people aged between 5 and 25. 1800 55 1800 https://kidshelpline.com.au 

1300 MH CALL: Mental health access line

1300 MH CALL (1300 642255) is a confidential mental health telephone triage service that provides the first point of contact to public mental health services to Queenslanders. 1300 MH CALL is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and will link to the caller’s nearest Queensland Public Mental Health service.

https://www.qld.gov.au/health/mental-health/help-lines/1300-mh-call

Use of Mobile Phones and Earbuds

As per the guidelines outlined in the College Student Planner, students are not to use personal electronic devices (mobile phones or earbuds) at school within the hours of 8.30am – 3.00pm, without permission from the Principal. Any device found switched on in the possession of a student while they are at school will be confiscated and the parent/carer will be contacted by the office. The electronic device can then be collected by the parent/carer at the end of the school day. The instruction is clear and Homeclass teachers spent a good deal of time ensuring this was clearly communicated during the start of year Housekeeping session in Week 1. Students have all been asked to sign pages of the Guidelines in their Student Learning Journals to indicate their compliance. These can be found on page 8, so please discuss these with your child. We trust that parents and carers are supporting the address of this matter from home by encouraging our girls to comply with College Guidelines. 

eheadspace provides free online and telephone support and counselling to young people 12 - 25 and their families and friends. 

Call 1800 650 890, 9am-1am AEST / 7 days a week. https://headspace.org.au/eheadspace/ 

Student Reminders of College Guidelines and Expectations

Out of Bounds Areas

The Student Learning Journal (diary) has a clear, colour-coded map of the College grounds, indicating areas which are out of bounds, as well as areas in which students must have adult supervision. I have given several reminders on Assembly to students and staff about this in recent weeks, so please review the Learning Journal to ensure compliance with this document.

Bullying (inclusive of cyberbullying)

There is no place for bullying at St Saviour’s College. Bullying is a repeated pattern of behaviour which includes name-calling, taunting, mocking, making offensive comments, kicking, hitting, pushing, theft, inappropriate text messaging, sending offensive or degrading images by phone or internet, producing offensive graffiti, gossiping, excluding people from groups and spreading hurtful and untruthful rumours.

Cyberbullying is a repeated pattern of behaviour defined as ‘the aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or individual, using electronic forms of contact repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself’. St Saviour’s College is committed to promoting responsible and positive use of social media sites.

Winter Uniform

The uniform requirements are as follows:

• White long-sleeved blouse with red piping
• College striped skirt (*below the knee)
• Red tie with College badge pinned in the centre
• College green blazer (optional)
• College white formal hat
• Black stockings (opaque)
• Black leather lace up shoes (no buckles, casual styles, raised heels or coloured stitching)

* It is important that students are conscious of their skirt length remaining below the knee. This may require letting down the hem, to allow for a growth in height.

What is not acceptable:

• Makeup or other cosmetics
• Earrings other than one, in each lower earlobe
• Earrings other than one pair of plain sleepers or studs; no ‘decorative’ earrings
• Earrings larger than 5mm
• No other jewellery apart from a plain, wristwatch
• Coloured nail polish
• Fake nails
• Headbands with bows or any other detail
• Unnatural hair colours or styles
• Hair extensions
• Black socks

“All laugh and pray together not one cold, stiff soul appears.”
Catherine McAuley, circa 1830

For every day, I give thanks – God bless.

Heather Hagemann
Assistant Principal - Mission and Student Wellbeing

Camp Adventures - Years 7, 8 and 9

Year 7, 8 and 9 students recently enjoyed unique learning experiences whilst on their camping adventures focussing on friendship, community, teamwork, self-challenge and bulding resilience.

Library

Welcome

What a great start to the term we have had! We received some wonderful news regarding our school’s entry into the Queensland School Libraries Association competition they ran for Queensland School Libraries week, so check out that news below.

QSLA – Secondary Competition

WHAT: Secondary students (Year 7 - Year 12):  School Libraries - The Heart of Learning. What does this look like for you? Take a photo or produce an artwork to illustrate your ideas.

WHO: Congratulations to our school’s entrant and the QSLA’s chosen winner – Millie. What a wonderful opportunity granted to schools across Queensland and a connection for libraries beyond our walls for the students in our care. We are looking forward to the next opportunity to engage our students with this outstanding competition.

What’s Happening in the Library?

Star Wars Everything! May the 4^th Be with You!!!

Congratulations to Cleo for winning the Star Wars colouring competition.

Star Wars Month is a go! Even with our focus specifically around May the 4^th we are looking to make May our month of Star Wars! Next year will see a whole gamut of activities with a Star Wars focus not just during the week of May the 4^th. What an exciting time it will be.

National Simultaneous Storytime – May 25^th

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) supports National Simultaneous Storytime each year. This year the picture book chosen is Family Tree by Josh Pyke and Ronojoy Ghosh. Check out the story time through this link: https://www.alia.org.au/nss

Sneak Peak!

We have had the Year 9/10 Art students undertaking an extended art project utilising the doors in the library …here is a sneak peak of what they started with:

So, what started as a coloured door then became three white doors:

Stayed tuned for further updates and the finished products in the coming weeks.

New Books in the Library!

We continue to expand our collection with some wonderful purchases of new books. These books are on display both physically in the library and online – in our newsletter and through our library catalogue site. Check out our new books as there may just be something that piques your interest. Check out our online library catalogue as we provide information on what else might interest you based on what books you have enjoyed. The link is provided here:

Non-Fiction and Non-Fiction Picture Books

Fiction and Picture Book Collection

Graphic Collection

Senior Fiction Collection

Donated books – the following were books purchased by the College board for surpassing 200 enrolments. These books are all about empowering women, about finding your inner strength and striving to be the best you can by understanding who you are:

Donated books by the SSC College Board

Stay Tuned…

Date Claimers:

May: Scholastic Family Month of Reading and Star Wars month

Andrea King
Teacher Librarian

Art "Creepy Collages"

The Year 8A artists have recently completed a mini making task around Portraiture and how artists may choose to accentuate and manipulate their sitter’s features, personalities and foibles in portraiture. After investigating the 2022 Archibald Prize, students investigated 1943 Joshua Smith / William Dobell controversy and the court case which saw lawyers argue what made an artwork a ‘portrait’ as opposed to a ‘caricature’. The courts eventually found in favour of the Artist, William Dobell, after his painting was awarded the Archibald Prize. It was an infamous moment in Australia’s art history that played out in the media of the day for weeks.

In response, students used found images to accentuate a collage style portrait, to hilarious effect. Our Year 8 artists made predictions about their characters and went as far as to elaborate on the type of interests, pets and lifestyles of their ‘creepy collage’ characters. As you can see, they each responded in unique and interesting ways to the task!

Joanne Stewart
Art Teacher

Business and Design

Last week the Year 8 Business students' major project was to complete a business plan and run their own business. Students were provided with $20 start-up capital and had to manage all facets of a business including financial management, human resources, marketing and operations. In groups of three or four, the girls did a good job and learnt a great deal about working with others, problem solving and customer service. While most students found running a business much harder than they first thought, they all enjoyed the experience.  

Not to be outdone, our Year 7 Design students have also been busy revamping the SSC Community Garden. Students have worked in small groups to design, plan and construct gardens to enhance our environment here at the College. Sustainability was considered and many of the items used were sourced from students’ backyards and the local tip. As you can see from the photos, they had some fantastic ideas and executed the construction of them well. Students worked well with others and had a great time getting their hands dirty in the garden.

McAuley House Boarding

We have had a bit of an interrupted start to the term with girls arriving on different days, extreme weather and now our next wave of COVID.

Currently we have girls staying in “The Ritz” at various stages of recovery. The girls have managed this so well, just taking it in their stride with older girls looking out for our younger patients and just enjoying hanging out together.

Last week was National Boarding Week where we celebrate all things boarding, opportunities, experiences, culture, diversity, friendship, our wonderful staff and students.

We had a celebratory dinner with the girls' favourite meal - chicken schnitzel, potato bake and chocolate meringue for dessert. We have wonderful kitchen staff who know all the girls and go above and beyond to cater for their likes and dislikes. Thanks Rodney, Jenny and team.

Miss Tanya has accepted another position and her last day with us was Friday 27 May. We thank Tanya for her time, dedication and care of the girls and wish her well in her new role. The girls had an opportunity to farewell Tanya last week.

Miss Christie and Miss Shauna have been busy organising the upcoming social on June 4. We have invited students from other boarding schools and this will give the girls the chance to meet new people in a supervised setting. The theme Zombie Apocalypse should see some great costumes. 

From the Careers Centre

National Careers Week

National Careers Week was held last week – Monday 16 to Thursday 19 May. The week aimed to celebrate careers, career development, raise aspirations, challenge stereotypes and broaden horizons about careers. The program commenced with Lisa Wilkes, Director of Podiatry Point presenting a session on pathways into podiatry and allied health on Monday. On Tuesday, Keryl Wicks from 12RDN gave a very informative session on her winding career path which led her to owning and working at the gym and balancing this with working as a police officer and being a mum of five children. On Wednesday, Steven Paull from Big Dog Services spoke about careers in the disability sector. There was an information session presented by the University of Southern Queensland on Thursday, concluding National Careers Week.

Workshops and Courses

NIDA Online | Introduction to Acting

Tuesday 31 May 2022, 6.00pm - Tuesday 14 June 2022, 8.00pm (Online). Be introduced to the fundamental skills of an action-based acting technique. Connect to your inner playfulness, be present in the moment and learn to create character.

This is a fully online course designed for beginners and is delivered through NIDA’s online learning management system.

Find out more: https://www.open.nida.edu.au/course/OANOIA

Griffith | Creative Portfolio Workshop

Wednesday 29 June 2022, 9.00am - Thursday 30 June 2022, 3.00pm, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, South Bank Campus.  A portfolio is essential to anyone aspiring to study and work in the creative arts. In this two-day workshop you will learn the do’s and don’ts of a successful portfolio. Come along to see how you can make a portfolio that expresses your unique creativity. Participants will choose to work in either Design or Visual Arts and by the end of the workshop you will complete at least one piece of work for your creative portfolio, understand how to photograph and present your work for maximum impact and learn how to write about your own practice and creativity. The workshop is tailored to those in Year 10 and above. Find out more: https://www.griffith.edu.au/arts-education-law/queensland-college-art/portfolio-workshop

5 in-demand jobs you don’t need a degree for

Dental Receptionist
Here’s something to smile about - job ads for Dental Receptionists are up 118%. The first point of contact with patients at a dental practice, a Dental Receptionist is responsible for administrative support roles such as booking appointments, collecting insurance information and maintaining documents. There’s no formal training required, however completing a Certificate III in Business (Administration) (BSB30120) or Certificate IV in Business (Administration) (BSB40120) at an accredited TAFE institution can increase your job prospects.

Employment Consultant
With so many careers being reshaped right now, it’s little wonder that job ads for Employment Consultants are up 90%. Help people who are unsure what to do with their careers, or people who have been out of the workforce or who require specialist support. Formal qualifications aren’t required for Employment Consultants, but you’ll need strong communication and interpersonal skills and ideally have experience in a customer-facing role.

Medical Receptionist
If you are well-organised and a good communicator, a role as a Medical Receptionist could be for you. Job ads are up 93%. This role requires a high degree of organisation and specialised knowledge. The day-to-day responsibilities for this role include greeting patients as they arrive, booking appointments, monitoring stock levels, managing payments and organising specialist consultations. There is no formal qualification required for this role.

Pharmacy Assistant
If you think of yourself as a people person, and enjoy interacting with others, a role as a Pharmacy Assistant could be for you. Job ads are up 91%. This role requires working in shops and providing a high-quality customer experience by greeting customers, establishing their needs and helping them to find products, as well as assisting with the day to day operations of a pharmacy. If you’re organised and have great communication skills and attention to detail, you have the ideal qualities of a Pharmacy Assistant.

Support Worker
If you find caring for others rewarding, this kind of work could be ideal for you. Support Workers play a valuable role in supporting vulnerable individuals. Job ads are up 89%. As a Support Worker, you’ll assist individuals and families with a range of household and personal tasks such as filling out paperwork, administering medication and general household tasks. Most Support Workers learn the skills required on the job, however, some employers may require you to have a Certificate III in Individual Support (CHC33015) at a TAFE or registered training organisation.

Exploring post-school education and training

This Insights paper explores the importance of post-school education and training and explains how myfuture helps students and other young people to explore education pathways. Download: Exploring post-school education and training (PDF, 918 KB)

SBA Vacancies

Aurora

Certificate III Business - Pattysmith's                                              
Certificate III Business - Noodle Box                                                
Certificate III Business - Send & Pack                   
Certificate III Hospitality - The Rock                     
Certificate III Hospitality - Café De Velo                             
Certificate III Hospitality - Kajoku                                        
Certificate III Business - Bakery Cakery                              
Certificate III Hospitality - YodThai Restaurant                
Certificate III Commercial Cookery - The Rock
Certificate III Commercial Cookery - Rak Thai Kitchen
Certificate III Commercial Cookery - YodThai Restaurant
Certificate III Commercial Cookery - Kajoku
Certificate III Business - Pacific Fuels
Certificate III Business - Crackerjack Chicken
Certificate III in Hospitality - Subway
Certificate III in Business - Red Rooster
Certificate III in Hairdressing – John’s Studio, Pittsworth
Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care - Toowoomba Catholic Kindergartens and Care

SBA vacancies are advertised each fortnight in the newsletter and will be emailed directly to all students in Years 10, 11 and 12. If you wish to apply for a vacancy, please ensure you have completed an Expression of Interest Form (EOI), your resume is updated, you have written an appropriate cover letter and that you follow the application directions in the advertisement. Once these documents are completed, hand them (or send via email) to Mrs Cocks, Career Support Officer at  lisa.cocks@twb.catholic.edu.au for submission on your behalf (unless the advertisement has specifically stated that you need to apply online or visit the business directly).

Chris Grierson
Career Development Practitioner