For the final newsletter of Term 4 and the year, Mr Leadbetter has produced a video for your enjoyment.

Please view it HERE.

MR CHRIS LEADBETTER

College Principal

Christmas Community Giving: 

On Thursday, we had guests from Vinnies and Micah Projects come to the College to collect all the items that have been so generously donated by families for Christmas Hampers. Both guests shared the stories of people who will benefit from these hampers over the Christmas period. Last week, our community showed its generosity as our Seniors came through the main quadrangle during home class and had students place their items in the back of a ute. The ute was overflowing with items which is a testament to what it means to our community. The drive has been an overwhelming success this year and we cannot express enough the generosity of our families.

This week, we also went out to Emmanuel City Mission to hand over a $5,000 donation. This donation along with the generous support of one of our Old Boys helps support our Sion House breakfasts and lunches we serve during Student Development. We are humbled to continue our partnership with Emmanuel City Mission.

Christmas Blessings: 

I wish all families many blessings over this Christmas period and hope it is time spent with family and understanding what is important. Christmas reminds us of the birth of Jesus and that Jesus came to model for us a God based on love, compassion, mercy and justice. Coming to Lauries each morning I often drive by Musgrave Park and see the amount of tents popping up on a daily basis. The current economy sees many families and people needing to choose between a meal or a roof over their heads. During this time, we can often question where Jesus is but the Jesus born on Christmas is the Jesus present in the breadline or the lines at Emmanuel City Mission. It is the compassion and love shown by Jesus that compels the generosity of communities like ours to walk humbly, with mercy and love justly.

East Timor Immersion 2024:

The East Timor Immersion takes place in the June holidays of 2024. Please see HERE for more information, including an itinerary of the immersion trip. From previous trips, one key place I would like to share with you the is the Orphanage we stay at while we are based in Dili. There are still spots available so if you are interested please respond HERE.

The total cost of the immersion is $4,100 with a $500 deposit due on the November 1 2023. If you would like more information about the immersion, please let me know and I am happy to follow up with you.

Payment Schedule Due Date Payment Amount

1st Deposit: 1 November 2023 - $500.00

2nd Deposit: 29th January 2024 - $2,050.00

Final Payment: 15 April 2024 - $1,550.00

If you have already registered, you are not required to register again. By now you will have received notification of the payment portal being open. Some highlights of the immersion include:

Children of the Dominican Orphanage – Dili, East Timor

While in Dili, students will stay at the Dominican Sisters Orphanage. As part of this experience, our students will spend time with the children – accompanying them to school on one of the mornings also take them on a beach excursion.

Many of the teens and adolescents who live in this orphanage lost their parents during the atrocities of the Indonesian backed TNI militias, in the lead up to and the aftermath of the 1999 Independence Vote. The younger children have been come into the care of the Dominican Sisters due the poverty of their parents as East Timor struggles to gain its feet since it gained independence.

Unfortunately, only one child of the seventy living at the Dominican Sisters Orphanage has been adopted in recent times. The children lack books for their education and the basics children in the Western world take for granted as well as many other basics of life. However, they gain love and companionship from each other... and rely on the dedication and care of the devoted Dominican Sisters.

East Timor Village Experience

We then venture into the mountains into the villages outside of Dili, for a village experience. These villages have been supported by the Christian Brothers, Edmund Rice Foundation and Mary Mackillop Projects. Some of the activities include:

• Visits to Edmund Rice/Mary MacKillop supported projects
• Activities with local school
• Sport activities
• Walks through community farms
• Meeting with community leaders

The ‘Beans of Hope’ project was established in Railaco villages in the Ermera District of Timor Leste in 2015. From small beginnings, it has grown to include 665 farmers. The goal is to improve the livelihoods of farmers through generating a sustainable and fair income from Vanilla Farming.

MR PAUL CORFIELD

Dean of Identity and Community

Career Counselling

For any students wanting to discuss career information, post-schooling pathways, job skills etc. please see Mr Moscos in the Careers Office.

Phone: (07) 3010 1158 

Email: pmoscos@slc.qld.edu.au 

Aviation Australia Information Session

Now is the best time in a generation to take off with an aviation career in engineering. The aviation industry is experiencing a severe shortage of skills and as growth returns in domestic and international travel, the industry desperately needs a passionate and well-trained workforce to support aircraft maintenance.

Aviation Australia is inviting those interested to attend an information session to find out about our Certificate II in Aircraft Line Maintenance delivered via the VET in School program, and Certificate IV in Aeroskills courses, with the opportunity to enrol on the day. Hear from instructors and students about their experiences with the course. There will also be a guided tour of our Technical Training Hangar.

Closed-in shoes MUST be worn to enter the hangar. Please register your interest here.

Bond Student for a Semester

The Student for a Semester program gives high-achieving students enrolled in Years 11 or 12 at an Australian High School, the opportunity to gain an authentic university experience before finishing high school. Students enrol in a Bond University subject and study in-person at their Gold Coast campus alongside university students. The Student for a Semester program will not only leave students with newfound knowledge about study and life at Bond, but will also help them to gain a deeper understanding of the university experience, and a potential credit towards your future university degree at Bond. For more information, please see the Bond University Student for a Semester page. 

Any student interested in completing the Student for a Semester program must see Ms Lightbody in Diverse Learning (nlightbody@slc.qld.edu.au), to organise school approval to participate in the course. Applications need to be in by 8 December, however, it is asked that interested students register their interest by no later than 29 November 2023.

Thank You

The Careers team would like to thank all of the staff, parents and students for a great 2023. We get to work with people to future plan and problem solve and it is always great to work collaboratively with all of you. This year has seen the work experience program and SLConX events continue to see strong engagement, as well as students from Year 9 starting to consider strengths, interests, values and skills in their schooling and future career planning and our Year 12s continuing to engage in active career exploration throughout the year. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We look forward to working with you all again in 2024.

MR PAUL MOSCOS

Careers Counsellor

Farewell 2023 – academic excellence as part of the ‘new normal’

When I reflect on 2023, the phrase ‘back to the new normal’ resonates. Through the tumultuous preceding years, we have emerged to what can now be considered as the ‘new normal’. What is meant here is that while learning from home is a distant memory, the business of the pre-COVID era has re-emerged, but with new modes of online learning and confidence in the use of ICT’s, along with new ways to communicate such as online parent teacher interviews, virtual subject information evenings and event live streaming. But what has remained constant throughout, is that our teaching staff have worked extremely hard to ensure we teach our students to the best of our ability, regardless of the situation.

I take great pride that our academic culture has improved significantly over the last four years. In particular, 2023 has seen continued growth in academic achievement, something which I did not think was possible. As you can see by the graphs below, there has been an extraordinary 50% increase in Academic Gold Excellence Award Winners and a 40% increase in Academic Gold Merit Award winners since 2020. This is an outstanding achievement and is quantitative evidence to suggest a significant improvement in academic culture, stemming from the exceptional work of students and staff. Parents and caregivers are also key to help instil this sense of personal excellence and pride in academic achievement, within our students.

Some key highlights of 2023 include:

• Hosting the 2023 EREA Leaders of Learning conference. This national conference was an excellent way to bring together colleagues from around Australia to share knowledge and ideas as part of a professional learning community.
• The implementation of the Diploma in Business – an external course delivered on site, which enables a guaranteed ATAR upon successful completion.
• The continuation of the Professional Learning Team (PLT) initiative which focuses on improving pedagogical practices within the classroom. In 2023, PLTs followed an inquiry cycle called ‘Teaching Sprints’ to develop and implement High Impact Teaching Strategies.
• Once again, our continuation of the essential components of an effective ‘Lauries classroom’ through the Agreed Practice Framework, which calls teachers in every lesson to clarify and articulate what students are learning, why they are learning it (both locally and for the real world), and what success looks like at the end of the lesson.
• The continuation of the implementation plan for German as an alternative language of study.
• The continued emphasis on strong industry links through our outstanding VET department, very ably led by Mr James McLauchlan

I know I and my team are truly blessed and proud to lead the fundamental Teaching and Learning component of your son’s Laurie’s Journey, within such a wonderful College community. This strong teaching and learning tradition; focused on a multiple pathway’s philosophy of liberating education, rich in history and shaped by our mission to contribute towards the graduation of the Lauries gentleman, is core to our mission.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank my dedicated Assistant – Ms Samantha Harris for her unwavering support this year. I also want the thank the Admin Services team and all support staff who help us perform our role to the best of our ability. Finally, I want to thank our teachers and Middle Leaders for their outstanding work and dedication to supporting your son to achieve their best.

Year 12 students – release of final results

QCAA has released a memo detailing how Year 12 students who have graduated (and their families), can access their Senior results and certificates. This is through MyQCE. Results will be available at some point on Friday 15 December.

The memo can be found [HERE].

Christmas Holidays – wind down or wind up

I am sometimes asked, “what should my son be doing over the holidays to prepare for the following year?” I am a firm believer that the best way for your son to prepare for next year is to relax, refresh and re-energise their batteries. I certainly do not recommend that students complete vast amounts of schoolwork. Rather, I would encourage the reading of books that may suit an interest or need. Our Library staff are more than willing to recommend books for students to read over the Holiday period.

Conclusion

2024 is shaping up to be another challenging but exciting year. We are looking forward to welcoming new staff, in unique and exciting roles.

I wish all in our community a Merry and blessed Christmas and a safe New Year. We look forward to welcoming back families in 2024 and pray for our Year 12 graduates as we wait for the release of their results on Friday 15 December.

Live Jesus in our hearts…Forever!

Best wishes,

DR LIAM HERBERT

Dean of Teaching and Learning

It's truly remarkable to think that we have arrived at the final week of school in 2023; the past 12 months of sport have been amazing and the level of involvement, rivalry and enjoyment experienced by our entire sports community has been exceptional.

The College achieved outstanding levels of both participation and outcomes in sports this year. St Laurence’s College consistently challenges the other member schools in the association to expand the range of sports offered in the AIC. In 2023, the College fielded numerous teams across all sports and eagerly stepped in as the supplementary team when other schools lacked the numbers to form an age group team. The College once again hosted the AIC Touch Carnival in late October, with an increased number of teams compared to last year and the College also took part in other sports such as eSports and Water polo.

2023 will be remembered for some fantastic achievements in our sports program. Our top A teams in almost all sports enjoyed very successful seasons. This was demonstrated by the First XIII AFL, First XV Rugby, and First IV Chess teams all winning championships. Our Tennis team also had a highly successful season, securing a close second place, while our First XI Football team finished in second place in their competition. When considering our sports program, we also place great emphasis on our performance in the 'aggregate' shields. In this aspect, a major highlight was our Football program, which earned its first-ever overall aggregate trophy in many years, with an impressive 11 teams winning premierships. In AFL, our remarkable success continued as we secured our fifth consecutive AIC aggregate victory.

Sport in 2023 would not have been possible without the dedication and support of a large group of individuals. We extend our gratitude to Mr Leadbetter and the entire College Leadership Team for their ongoing support of students' sporting endeavours. We also express our thanks to all the coaches, managers and officials who ensured the smooth operation of sports this year. St Laurence’s College continues to be the envy of most schools due to the exceptional commitment and generosity of staff who dedicate their time and effort to students outside the classroom, particularly in the realm of sports. Special recognition goes to the sports office team consisting of Mr Richards, Mr Wiltshire, Mr O'Connor, Mr Barnes and Mr Nydam.

This year, the College also established a partnership with the Manchester City Football Club. We extend a massive thank you to Mr Davies, who coordinated this program with utmost professionalism and made a highly positive impact on our students and the entire sports community at the College. Just recently, the school hosted our inaugural Manchester City Football School Lauries Cup and the afternoon was a tremendous success, enjoyed by parents, staff and students alike.

I express my gratitude to all the parents who have supported their sons' sporting journey at Lauries in 2023. A special thank you goes to the students of St Laurence's College for their exceptional participation in sports at the College.

2023 AIC Sports Excellence Awards

Congratulations to the below-mentioned students who have attained College AIC Sports Excellence Awards in 2023. These awards will be given at the first school assembly of 2024.

Year 5: Theordore Feddema, Oscar Shaw, Jack Adams, Digby Yeates, Dylan Swan, Eric Bonavia, Bailey Manning.

Year 6: Ralph Larsen, Eddie Waters, Charlie Waters, Zachary Keating, Blake Ireland, Lachlan Yeates, Lachlan Northcott, Josh Johnston, Kirby Tornquist, Zachary Bodnar, Atlas O'Malley

Year 7: Rory Batch, Mitch Benham, Bradley Stewart, Riley Jones, Jack Arnold, Hudson Lynch, Eli Corbette, William Wowor

Year 8: Hunter Swan, Edward Gore, Cooper Titherage, Vanne Thomas-Greer, Bill Wiltshire

Year 9: Kaelan Reynolds, Ben Trenow, Tom Vaseo

Year 10: Joshua Madden

Year 11: Finley Arnold, Riley Clarke, Pat Churchward

On behalf of the entire Sports department, I extend my wishes for a merry, safe and joyful Christmas and New Year to our entire community!

Please take note: The Sports Office will remain closed from 3.00pm on Friday 1 December until 9.00am on Monday 8 January. During the break, we will periodically respond to sports office inquiries through the sports office email account (sdepartment@slc.qld.edu.au). To stay updated with all the holiday activities, please regularly check the College App.

MR PATRICK BYRON

Head of Sport

I would like to thank all Lauries musicians and their families for an enjoyable music year. There have been some wonderful concerts throughout the year.

We wish the following Primary students well as they represent St Laurence’s College at the State Honours Ensembles Program at the Qld Conservatorium of Music this weekend. Lachlan Barnes (Clarinet), Kalel Haigh (Flute), James Page (Double Bass), Beau Palun (Trombone), Lachlan Pfeffer (Cello), Lachlan South (Clarinet), Russell Tjhin(Cello).

Little Brotherhood 2024 Singing Surfin’ Safari - Save the Date | 17-18 February

Our 2024 Singing Surfin' Safari is booked for the weekend of 17-18 February. This camp is always a wonderful way to start a great year of singing.

Next year, members of Little Brotherhood will travel to the Gold Coast for an overnight stay before leading the singing at the Mary Mother of Mercy Catholic Church mass on Sunday in Burleigh Waters.

A detailed camp itinerary and packing list will be sent early Term 1 once invitations can be sent via parent lounge.

For now, please save the date as numbers for this trip will be limited.

2024 Trivia Night - Save the Date | Friday 23 February

The Lauries Music Support Group will be hosting their annual Trivia Night in Term 1 next year.

Our theme will be 'Heroes vs Villains' and tickets are expected to go on sale in the coming days. Please keep an eye on school socials and app for more information.

Interested in becoming more involved in 2024?

The Lauries Music Support Group are an essential part of the different concerts and events throughout the year. The committee will be hosting a Meet and Greet on Tuesday 6 February.

Any parents or guardians interested in joining the committee, or helping with any of our events next year are welcome to join us at 6pm in Mu1 (located in the Music Department).

We wish everyone a safe, enjoyable, and musical Christmas.

Strike up the Band!

MR ROSS CAPERN

Head of Instrumental Music

The Lions Head Supporter Cap and Lauries Supporter Cap are now available for $40 each! These hats have already had huge interest so be quick.

If you are interested, visit The Lauries Shop or contact them via 07 3010 1100.

For those who weren't able to celebrate with us on the night of the Year 12 Graduation Mass and Ceremony, please view the event HERE!

For those who weren't able to celebrate with us on the night of the Primary School Awards Celebration, please view the event HERE!

St Laurence's College will be hosting the 'Cuskelly College of Music Summer School Program' and members of the Lauries community are invited to attend. Please find more information HERE.

Please see information below re the 2024 Lauries Mothers Camp.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Next February, St Laurence’s College is welcoming back the Japanese students from Ritsumeikan Moriyama High School. We are very much in need of Homestay families for these well-mannered and delightful boys. There are 45 students in the group, your support is very much appreciated.

Please see attached a flyer with the details and contact information of the Tour Operator.

Tour Operator: Global Student Institute. www.thegsi.com.au

Email: sachi@thegsi.com.au

Call or Text: Sachiko & Nathan 0412 173 912

The College has partnered with the Australian Homestay Network (AHN) to facilitate safe, supportive homestay placements for students.

To find out more information, please see the attachment HERE.

It has been a massive year for St Laurence's College in 2023 - check out some of the highlights from throughout the year below!

2023 - A Year in Review

Trimester 1 Sports Highlights

Trimester 2 Sports Highlights

Trimester 3 Sports Highlights

For those who weren't able to celebrate with us on the night of the Secondary School Awards Celebration, please view the event HERE!

Please see a message below from Clarks Logan City Bus Service

Dear Schools,

To assist with a smooth transition from 2023 to 2024 can you please forward (or provide) this information to students/parents/guardians.

Existing Bus Pass

Students with an existing bus pass need to reapply if:

1. Their home address has changed
2. They are repeating a grade
3. Transferring to a different school in 2024 (this includes transitioning from Primary to High School)

Automatic renewal of bus passes is a result of data matching process and relies on the accuracy of information held by:

1. Department of Transport and Main Roads
2. Centrelink
3. Clarks Logan City Bus Service and
4. The school the child attends

What do Parents need to do when they receive a continuation letter from Department of Transport & Main Roads

Continuation letters will be forwarded to Parent/Guardian from DTMR.  Please keep these letters.

Once received, letters can be brought into Clarks Logan City Bus Service Depot, 42 Jutland St, Loganlea for processing after the 17^th January 2024, during office hours Monday-Friday 10am – 2pm.   (Original letters and 2023 pass must be submitted).

Please ensure that your child’s details are identical and current with each of the above-named entities.

Applications for the 2024 school year can be applied for online at www.qld.gov.au\schooltransportassistance from mid-November, 2023.

All enquiries can be directed to Clark’s Logan City Bus Service email info@clarkslogancity.com.au

For more information refer to our website www.clarkslogancity.com.au

Please see more information from Bus Queensland re School Bus Pass Information 2024 HERE.