For the first newsletter of 2024, Mr Leadbetter has produced a video for your enjoyment.

Please view it HERE.

MR CHRIS LEADBETTER

College Principal

On Monday 29 January and Thursday 1 February, students will participate in the “From Little Things, Big Things Grow” retreat. This retreat is designed to introduce the students to what it means to be a student of St Laurence’s College. 

Monday 29 January: Callan, Duhig, Hogan, Kilian and Nagle

Thursday 1 February: Rice, Sion, Treacy, Xavier, Waterford and Xavier

As part of the retreat, the students will hear from John Hanley who represents the MND & Me Foundation that is linked to our College through Old Boy Scott Sullivan who was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease and later passed away. John is living with MND and his story is an inspiring one of resilience in the face of adversity and provides a solid grounding to the students about the types of qualities we try to build.

Year 10 Student Development:

The service element of Student Development begins next week. Could I please encourage parents of Year 10 students in Callan, Duhig and Hogan to keep an eye on their emails as permission forms will be coming out for students external visits. These visits occur during Period Two of a Day 8 and add to the 20 hours of service that students require for their Cert II in Active Volunteering.

East Timor Immersion 2024:

The East Timor Immersion takes place in the June holidays of 2024. Please see HERE for more information.

MR PAUL CORFIELD

Dean of Identity and Community

It was wonderful to see our boys come back to school this week. Their energy and enthusiasm was infectious and has certainly energised our teaching staff. A special welcome to new families and particularly new students.

Tips for starting the Academic Year 

Below are some tips that might help students and families as we begin our academic year:

• Establish a routine – very important to get back to normal sleep routines. I know the first couple of days can be difficult for students as they adjust from holiday hours to school hours. Study routines are also important to ensure students review work and prepare for the next day.
• Get organised – I ask students to start a plan of their week, particularly a study planner, and use their diary as a tool for reminders.
• Connect outside the classroom – we find that students who connect outside the classroom, are more engaged in the classroom. Students can form deeper College connections through a variety of sports, clubs and music. There are many opportunities here at the College.
• Seek support – as always, if students are struggling, please reach out to your Head of House and/or a counsellor.
• Sleep, exercise, and nutrition – it is extremely important for students to sleep at least 7-8 hours per night. This involves switching off electronic devices one hour before bedtime. Exercise and a healthy diet (limiting sugary drinks and food) are also important for overall health and wellbeing and can help students to maintain focus throughout the day.
• Set yourself up for success – come to each class:
  • Ready to learn – focus on the lesson content, listen when explicit instruction is given, and review work at home,
  • With the correct equipment,
  • With an open attitude of listening and respect for all, including the teacher and other students.
  • 
    

Agreed Practice

I spoke to students on Assembly yesterday about the importance of good learning habits and adhering to the College Agreed Practice Framework. The main aim of Agreed Practice is to ensure consistency of teaching procedures across the College which will establish an environment that is conducive to effective teaching and learning.

Part of the Agreed Practice, at the start of every lesson, teachers will clarify for students:

• What they are learning,
• Why they are learning it; and,
• What success looks like for them.

These three concepts are also excellent conversation starters for parents if they wish to understand what their son has been learning throughout the day.

Academic Support

There are a variety of ways that students can access academic support. Very soon, we will publish the academic tutoring schedule and in Week 3, we hope to begin Study Starter again this year. A reminder that Study Starter is held every Monday and Wednesday after school from 3.15pm - 4.30pm in the Br Campbell Resource Centre (Library). The purpose of Study Starter is for students who need a quiet space to start their work, and who perhaps require extra help with their studies. We are lucky enough to have academic alumni who volunteer to help our boys. The library will also continue to offer extended opening hours (7.30am - 5.30pm), to cater for students.

Upcoming events

I draw your attention to some important upcoming events that may be of interest to parents:

• Year 8/9 Information Evening – Monday 29 January at 6pm
• Year 7-9 PAT Testing (throughout Week 2)
• Academic Awards ceremony and afternoon tea – Wednesday 7 February at 4pm
• Year 10, 11 and 12 Information Evening – Wednesday 7 February at 6pm

Assessment Calendars

Assessment calendars will be distributed as soon as possible. These documents are essential to organise study habits, as well as for students and parents to forward-plan key dates. I encourage all parents and caregivers to discuss their son’s assessment planner with them.

Please note, that these dates are a guideline to assist with planning. The specific due date for each individual subject and indeed, for each individual class assessment item, can be located in Student Café.

We wish all families a wonderful start to the year.

Live Jesus in our hearts…Forever!

Best wishes,

DR LIAM HERBERT

Dean of Teaching and Learning

The ACER Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) are another source of evidence in a suite of data sources, including NAPLAN, school-based examinations and assignments, in-class diagnostic testing, attendance records and verbal/anecdotal evidence collected by teachers. Together, these sources offer a rich variety of information that provides a detailed picture of teaching and learning across the College.

PAT tests are comparable over time and across year levels because of inbuilt statistical scaling measures. While the story they tell about the progress of our students is an important one, they should, of course, never be considered in isolation – it’s what they add to the bigger picture that makes them so valuable.

The tests are mapped to the Australian Curriculum and they provide overall descriptions of the types of skills mastered and those still to be developed based on demonstrated performance.

Middle School students will complete the PAT-Reading and PAT-Mathematics test in Week 2 of Term 1 in ERPAC. For your knowledge, please see the specific dates in which students will complete the test:

Year 7 (C-N) – Tuesday 29th January (as part of the Academic Orientation Day)

Year 7 (R-X) – Friday 2nd January (as part of the Academic Orientation Day)

Year 8 – Wednesday 31st January

Year 9 – Thursday 1st February

Soon after, test results will be analysed and then used to develop ongoing teaching materials and programs aligned to the needs of students across the Middle School.

The support of parents and students in this endeavour has been vital to its success. Your keen interest in the schooling of your child, particularly the monitoring of their progress over time, helps to ensure a liberating education for all those in our care.

MS ZOFIA KENTROTIS

Head of Teaching and Learning (Middle School)

Welcome to 2024 Careers at Lauries. My name is Amy Dyer and I will be working as the Careers Counsellor at the College for the upcoming year. Feel free to reach out to me at 3010 1158 or via email at adyer@slc.qld.edu.au. I am eager to initiate discussions about careers and pathways with the students and am excited to meet everyone in the weeks ahead.

There will be many events and opportunities throughout the year to learn and understand Senior pathways for both students and parents including:

Year 12

• Year 12 student meetings (conducted throughout Semester 1 with each Year 12 student)
• QTAC/ATAR/QCAA information sessions
• Career expos, assemblies and university sessions
• SLConX and Work Experience

Year 11

• Career expo and assemblies
• Medicine/Dentistry information sessions
• SLConX and Work Experience

Year 9/10

• Year 10 SET Planning (in school time)
• Year 9 Senior schooling information sessions (in school time)
• Year 9 subject selection interview afternoon/evening
• Student Development sessions (in school time)
• SLConX and Work Experience

Work Experience

Over the November/December/January school holidays, the St Laurence’s Careers Office had approximately 35 students go out into various fields to complete work experience. It was excellent to see students enthusiastically participate in the various opportunities, with many employers commenting on their positive attitude and work ethic and their willingness to participate in work experience during their holiday break. In this most recent work experience block, students completed placements in a large range of industries, including:

• Accounting
• Air Conditioning
• Agriculture
• Architecture
• Construction
• Drafting
• Diesel Fitting
• Electrical
• Engineering
• Hospitality
• IT
• Laboratory Science
• Law
• Landscape Architecture
• Physiotherapy
• Plumbing
• Real Estate
• Retail
• Stage Production
• Steel Fabrication

It was also very encouraging to see some students securing casual employment and opportunities for school-based apprenticeships from their work experience.

For information on the Work Experience program for 2024, including the application form, please click here. Please note that students in Years 11 and 12 who are completing a VET pathway will complete work experience through the Structured Work Placement program run by the VET Office.

UCAT Opening Date

Students looking to gain entry into provisional medical courses or dentistry courses may wish to sit the UCAT. The UCAT is a requirement for entry into a large number of these courses throughout Australia and some in New Zealand. Here is a list of courses at various universities that require the UCAT to be completed to be eligible to apply.  Applications to sit the UCAT open on Tuesday 5 March and remain open until Friday 17 May, with testing held between 1 July and 9 August. The UCAT website has a wide range of practice resources available to students. For more information or to register, please click here.

Senior External Examinations
Any students in Year 12 who are proficient in a language other than English may have the opportunity to complete the subject as a Senior External Examination. Completing one of these subjects means that it can contribute to a student’s ATAR and will gain them 4 QCE credits and may also provide adjustment factors for university entry. The language subjects offered are

• Arabic
• Indonesian
• Korean
• Latin
• Modern Greek
• Polish
• Punjabi
• Russian
• Tamil
• Vietnamese

Applications for this are open until 30 April 2024 – you must register through the school. The QCAA has not yet advised the cost of enrolment, but the 2023 price was $71.03, so it is expected that it will be a similar price for this year. Interested students are asked to email careers@slc.qld.edu.au as soon as possible, or come into the Careers Office/ 

Defence Force Work Experience Program

The Defence Work Experience Program provides opportunities for young Australians interested in a career at Defence to gain exposure to the type of work that is available. Defence is committed to providing a national work experience program designed to:

• demonstrate the wide variety of interesting careers available within Defence
• ease the transition of students into the workplace
• contribute to the development of the skills of young Australians

Opportunities are available for both secondary and tertiary students and you must be at least 15 years of age at the time of the placement. Click here for more information including:

• Information for students
• Information for parents
• Information for educators
• How to apply
• Student stories

MS AMY DYER

Careers Counsellor

As we welcome our new families in Years 5 and 7 to the College this year, students and parents alike can be comforted to know that many students have passed through the gates, under the Jacaranda trees of Stephen’s Road sharing similar anxious energies and anticipation for future opportunities. I wish to thank all the Year 12 students for their assistance with the younger students, being their “transport buddies” for the first few days. Many stories have been received by the College of Year 12 students going above and beyond in their efforts to assist the younger boys, even walking them to the door of their house.

Our Year 12 students also helped our Year 7s settle in on their first day, acting as tour guides, helping organise lockers and helping the Heads of House induct students into their House.

Events

The past weeks have been extremely eventful at the College. We have held the information evenings for Year 7 and our Primary students. The College would like to thank all parents who attended the evenings. 

However, if you could not make it, recordings of the evenings will be sent to families in the coming days.

Year 7 Alternate Program

This week our Year 7s have participated in numerous events, workshops and presentations helping them to learn the ‘Lauries Way’ and key staff who are there to assist in various departments. This coming week will be another busy week with our Year 7s experiencing camp, Retreat and an academic orientation day.  

Commissioning of our Year 12 students. 

This morning the College commissioned the Year 12 cohort as Seniors for 2024. The students were presented with their Senior badges from a Middle School Leader and their Head of House. The 2024 student leadership group, were also commissioned with their badges, presented by Mr Leadbetter and accompanied by their parents. The Year 12’s have started the year extremely well and we hope they continue their good work in being leaders of our Lauries community.

Principal’s awards

The Merit System formally acknowledges and affirms those students who consistently model the behaviour of a 'Lauries Gentleman' and who make outstanding contributions across all areas of College life. Students will receive specific affirmations and awards following the accumulation of merit points.

All staff are able to award merit points. All students are able to receive merit points. Students will be awarded merit points across three dimensions of College life – Academic Achievement, Co-curricular Participation & Service to the Community. 

On Wednesday, College Principal Mr Chris Leadbetter awarded over 90 students with Principal’s awards for 2023. These students are:

Gianfranco Andrade, Harrison Arnold, Rory Batch, George Bellas, Harry Brandon, Riley Brehmer, Christian Brew-Graves, Finnbar FitzGibbon, Sean FitzGibbon, Jacob Flint, Kaiki Goodair, Augustus Gwynne, Angus Jones-Sheppard, Angus Leinster, Mikhael Mendis, Isaac Mewing, Maddox Nguyen, Frederik Peltola, Liam Pipia, Isaac Piyong, Adam Pryer, Thomas Spence, Bradley Stewart, Thomas Tiong, Elijah Totterman, Eric Bodnar, Flynn Cameron, Jordan Cupo, Christopher Dettori, Luke Ferrer, James Gormley, Lincoln Hayward, Xavier Heise, Nicholas Hiew, Jonathan Izzillo, Ji Jenkins, Matthew Lutz, Kaelen Luu, Ethan Malos, Lachlan Manning, Charlie Matthews, Thomas McKirdy, Mackenzie Murphy, Matthew O'Sullivan, Sebastian Przybylo, London Saegi. Alexander Scruton, Curtis Sheppard, Thomas Snelling, Samuel Stallman, Edward Tanner, Joel Tesfaye, Thomas Waller, Eli Weier, Harrison Whinnett, Liam White, Callum Wraight, Andrew Young, Matiyas Al-Patti, Joshua Anthony, Joseph Bock, Angus Clark, Alexander Crolla, Declan Hansel, Izaac Iconomidis, Lachlan Lerner, Jacob Lindsay, Ryan Madappatt, Josiah Spence, Rylan Tang, Samuel Totterman, Kyle Berryman, Oscar Clancy, Ethan Connelly, Oscar Dean, Erik Dwyer, Luca Ellero, Harrison Fox, Simeon Jeremijenko, Ethan Kazoullis, Ethan Luu, Atticus Lynch, Morgan Oiso, Anton Raggl-Erbs, Jack Rea, Samuel Toshack, Sterling Toth, Anlin Tso, Alexander Brimblecombe, Patrick Hayles, Kyle Latimer, Tobey Parker, Jamin Somerfield, Nathan Wicks

Date Claimers

Monday 29 January – Year 8 & 9 Parent Information Night

Thursday 7 February – Senior School (Year 10-12) Information Night

Again, the Pastoral Team welcomes all students, whether they are returning or just beginning their Lauries journey. We walk with them as they journey to reach their version of excellence for 2024.

The pastoral team wishes all students the best in the coming weeks and as always. Live Jesus in our hearts… Forever.

MR DAVID KNIGHT

Dean of Pastoral Care (Senior School)

Welcome Back

Another Year, another busy time for sport! Welcome all to Sport for 2024. This year we hope to give every boy at Lauries an opportunity to represent St Laurence’s College across the broad variety of sports we offer. I am pleased to see that many students throughout the College have already begun training and trials for the various sports available in Term 1.  

Recently we had Cricket trials for our First XI and this was highlighted by a second place finish in the AIC T20 Competition. This is an outstanding achievement and congratulations must go to all the boys involved and to Mr Cameron Wigan for his coaching and tireless preparation of this team.

College App

All families are reminded that the College App serves as the primary means of communicating information to the sporting community. This includes season information booklets, weekly schedules and team lists. The College App also allows us to push any cancellations or changes of sporting events directly to all families. This is an incredibly important tool, and it is vital that all students and families have access to it. 

Trials

This Thursday and Saturday, the majority of teams will be playing their final trials before the AIC season commences next weekend. The majority of trials this weekend will be against St Edmund’s and Ambrose Treacy. 

Good luck to all boys for this weekend!

MR PATRICK BYRON

Head of Sport

We would like to welcome both new and returning students and families. We have another exciting year of music ahead of us! 

Ensemble Rehearsals and Instrumental Music Lessons  

All rehearsals and lessons commence next week beginning Monday 29 January. Lesson times will be communicated via email once timetables are finalised.     

Music Communications 

The Music Department will this year use the College App as our main point of contact with families.  

We have redefined the groups under Music and do ask you take a couple of minutes to update your subscriptions to ensure you receive the relevant notifications for this ensemble. 

Parents will also be able to use Parent Lounge to see which ensembles are relevant for their family.  

To view, please select ‘Extra Curricular’ under the ‘Student Details’ tab.  

Little Brotherhood: Singing Surfin’ Safari Camp Invitation (17-18 Feb) 

Little Brotherhood will once again be travelling down the coast for their annual Singing Surfin’ Safari.  

An invitation has been sent to members of the group through parent lounge. Please note places for the camp are limited, so don’t miss out.  

LMSG Trivia Night: Heroes vs Villains (23 Feb) 

Tickets are now on sale for the Lauries Music Support Group’s 2024 Music Trivia Night: Heroes vs Villains. Join us and test your knowledge across a wide range of categories, including the famous music round.  

To purchase tickets click here:  https://SLC2020.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/117238  

SLC Old Boys and Community Choir Season  

An invitation to parents, family members, friends, current and former staff, Old Boys to join this year’s SLC Old Boys and Community Music Season for 2024. There will be an Old Boys Choir, Guitar Orchestra and String Ensemble. Rehearsals will commence next Monday 29 January at the times below:

• 5.30pm for Guitar Orchestra in MU1(Top Floor of VAPA building).  
• 6pm - String Ensemble in the String Hub.  
• 6pm for Community Choir in the Chapel; and   
• 6.30pm for the Old Boys Choir in the ERPAC singing room.    

Rehearsals will run for six weeks concluding with the Old Boys and Community Music Concert on Monday 11 March at St Ignatius Church, Toowong.    

Simply use these links to sign up:  

Old Boys Choir: https://forms.gle/hxPKwVUEofFCEFCL9 

Community Choir: https://forms.gle/HDxiaSEqhzrNkTNw7 

Lauries Music Support Group Meeting Tuesday 6 February 6pm Music Department:   

Room MU1 (Top floor VAPA building).  

A great way to support your son at SLC is by joining the parent’s music support group. Meetings are once a month on the second Tuesday of each month (term time). Meetings are informal, generally less than an hour long and a great way to hear the details and help with the planning of upcoming music events! If you are unable to make the meetings but available to help at concerts/events, join the group so you can be on our email list and be kept up to date. Please contact the Music Department if you have any questions.  

Holiday Music Happenings  

It was wonderful to have Lauries staff, students, parents and Old Boys singing and playing the Christmas masses at St Ignatius Church Toowong. Lauries staff, Dr Young, Mr Brown and Mr Leinenga are all music ministers for the Parish.    

We had a wonderful response from both staff and students for the 2024 International Summer School, which was hosted by Lauries in the first weeks of January. Both teachers and students travelled from across the globe to further their musical studies in Opera, Jazz, Composition, Music Theatre, Music Education, piano & instrumental music. Our own Dr Anthony Young taught choral conducting and musicianship.

2024 Music Events

Please view all upcoming Music Events HERE.

Please contact the music department: music@slc.qld.edu.au or telephone 3010 1138 if you have any questions regarding the music program.

Strike up the Band!

MR ROSS CAPERN

Head of Instrumental Music

Students in Years 8 - 11 who are interested in joining the Cadets Photography Program are encouraged to email the Communications Office on communications@slc.qld.edu.au

These students will be able to photograph sport, concerts and other College events and have their work published on the College's social media account, Lauries Magazines and Annuals.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Robotics Club (Grades 5-9)

Robotics Club provides students with an opportunity to learn block coding through Lego robotics. Students will attend weekly training and be given the opportunity to compete in three different tournaments. Training occurs in S2.3 (STEM Building) on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons from 3.10pm - 4.30pm. Depending on your commitment, skill level and interest, some students will be provided with an opportunity to further develop their coding and robotics skills using other coding platforms and tournaments. Students can access further information via the SLC Robotics SharePoint Page. 

Please fill out the Robotics form if you are interested in attending in 2024. This will need to be completed regardless of whether you are a returning student or not. Applications close on Friday 2 February. Students will be emailed over the weekend with training to commence on Tuesday 6 or Wednesday 7 February. 

Any questions, please email bmalcolm@slc.qld.edu.au.

Esports (Grades 7-12)

Esports provides an opportunity for like-minded students to unite and engage in various Esports games. There are a number of opportunities for students to participate in 2024. 

• QUT High School Esports Competition - Training occurs in GR2 (Esports room) on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday afternoons from 3.10pm - 4.30pm. Students will train and compete in an internal double elimination competition. The top performing team will represent SLC at the QUT competition. Games on offer include Overwatch 2, Valorant, League of Legends and Rocket League.
• FUSE Cup – Competitions occur during first or second break in the library. Students will compete in a double elimination format with the top 4 students on each game representing SLC at BSSSC against other SE Qld schools. A competition schedule will be sent to interested students at the beginning or the respective term. 
  • Grades 7-8 – Games on offer include Rocket League (Term 1), Just Dance 2024 (Term 2) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Term 4),
  • Grades 9-10 - Games on offer include Rocket League (Term 1), Super Smash Bros (Term 2) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Term 4),
• Microsoft Flight Simulator – This is not a competition but an opportunity for students to undertake a range of modules as they pilot a wide array of aircraft in a virtual world that intricately mirrors our very own Earth. Training occurs in GR2 (Esports room) on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday afternoons from 3.10pm - 4.30pm.
• META/ACER High Schools Competitions – There may be opportunities for students to compete in external national competitions. These competitions are run outside of school hours with students required to play from their own home computer. More information will become available soon. This option has a cost of $25 per student to cover entry. If you are interested, please email Mr Malcolm directly
• Minecraft Capture the Flag - occurs in Terms 3 and 4 during morning tea and lunch. More information will be published closer to Semester 2.

Students can access further information via the SLC Esports page. Please fill out the respective Esports form if you are interested in attending in 2024. This will need to be completed regardless of whether you are a returning student or not. Applications close on Friday 2 February. Students participating in the QUT competition will be emailed over the weekend with training to commence on Tuesday 6th , Wednesday 7th or Thursday 8th February. Parent consent will be required for students wishing to participate in Overwatch 2, Valorant or League of Legends. Other competitions and flight simulator details will be emailed to students in week 3. 

Any questions, please email bmalcolm@slc.qld.edu.au.

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.

Volunteer opportunities for "St Laurence's College Canteen Volunteers - Term 1 2024" are now open.

Please click on the web link HERE to go to the signup sheet.

To sign up, just follow the instructions on the page - thank you for volunteering!

At the time of enrolment, parents/guardians are given the opportunity to elect not to have their child identified (photographed and/or named) in College related publications and on digital platforms. Should you wish for your child to not be identified for safety/privacy reasons, please email communications@slc.qld.edu.au. A member of College staff will be in contact with you to discuss further. 

Applications for Enrolment for entry in Year 7 2026 are now open!

Enrol HERE  for Year 7 at Lauries!

This event is organised by mums for mums! It is a great opportunity to meet other SLC mums and start sharing the journey of raising Laurie’s Boys. Feel free to get a group of mums together, or please feel brave enough to make the journey by yourself if you're new at the school. We promise you'll leave on Sunday with a new set of friends from all year levels.

Ticket price includes 2 nights accommodation and all meals.

Tickets on sale Tuesday, 30 January 2024 9am! $230 per person

Please find the ticketing link HERE.

There is a limit of 3 tickets per transaction and bookers will be asked to fill in a Questionnaire for each attendee.

Check-In from 4:30pm Friday 8 March
Check-Out is 10:00am Sunday 10 March

Further details will follow by email shortly after the ticket closing date. 

If you have any immediate questions, please email slcmotherscamp@gmail.com

There will be no refunds on tickets purchased (unless the camp is cancelled).

Tickets for the 2024 Lauries Autumn Lunch are now sale!

Come and celebrate your Lauries Journey with us at The Greek Club on Sunday 24 March! After selling out in less than an hour in 2023, be sure to get in quick!

Tickets are priced at $95 each (or $950 for a table of 10)

Purchase your tickets here: https://slc2020.sales.ticketse...