Volume 30 Issue 16 Tues 21 May - All Hallows' School

Deputy Principal's Message

Ms Carolyn Liddy

Study and Exam Blocks

As the end of Term 2 approaches, our secondary students are reviewing and consolidating their learning, with our Year 11s participating in exam block this week, followed by Years 9 and 10 next week.

Our study and exam blocks are a time of intense focus and dedication as students strive to achieve the personal goals they have set for themselves.

Parents and caregivers play a vital role during this time by encouraging students to adopt effective study habits and time management skills. Creating a structured study plan, setting realistic goals, and seeking help when needed are all important strategies that help students effectively manage their workload and stress levels. It is also important to maintain a healthy balance between study and relaxation by taking regular breaks, participating in some type of physical activity, spending time in nature, and getting adequate sleep.

We wish all our students well during this important revision time and commend them on their efforts.

Year 11 Progress Interviews

Progress Interviews are an essential part of our school's commitment to student academic care, providing an opportunity for teachers to meet with students to reflect on their work to-date and reaffirm their goals for the future. We are continually impressed by the level of engagement and thoughtfulness our students bring to these discussions, including their level of self-awareness regarding their strengths and areas for improvement.

Year 11 Progress Interviews will occur next week, with preparations now well underway.

We thank all members of our dedicated staff for their commitment to our students' growth, and to parents and caregivers for their supportive partnership in helping our students prepare for these valuable learning opportunities.

National Volunteer Week

This week, Australia celebrates National Volunteer Week. According to the Volunteering in Australia 2022 research, 56.0 per cent of Australians engage in formal or informal volunteering. At All Hallows’, we are blessed to have an abundance of generous community members who volunteer to support our programs in all manner of ways. We have many opportunities for formal volunteering, including involvement in our Parents and Friends Association, Mothers Network, and Parent Support Groups. We are also grateful to our many community members who volunteer to work at our Tuckshop and those who support our Mercy Action projects.

Our staff and students are also amazing volunteers, generously giving their time to participate in our twenty Mercy Action programs. I am pleased to take this opportunity to thank our generous community members who volunteer to support our school's mission - “to educate young women in readiness to embrace their future with confidence and self-knowledge so as to live Gospel values.”

Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians

This Friday is the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians — a day that commemorates the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in historical events, and highlights Mary's role as a helper and protector of Christians. It is a day to reflect on Mary's assistance and seek her guidance and protection in our lives.

In our year to Listen with Curiosity, Speak with Courage and Act with Integrity, we turn to Mary, Help of Christians, for her guidance and inspiration.

Almighty God, deepen in our hearts our love of Mary Help of Christians.
Through her prayers and under her protection, may the light of Christ shine over our land.
May Australia be granted harmony, justice, and peace.
Grant wisdom to our leaders and integrity to our citizens.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

Every blessing to you and your family in the week ahead.

Ms Carolyn Liddy (Deputy Principal).

Dean of Mission

Amazing fundraising efforts

St Stephen's Cathedral Sesquicentenary

Respect and Pride Day

Last Friday the world marked IDAHOBIT Day - a day designed to highlight the continuing abuse and discrimination experienced by many people who identify as LGBQTIA+. In Australia, 2 out of 3 young people experience abuse due to their identity and 35% of LGBQTIA+ Australians have experienced verbal abuse in the past 12 months. At All Hallows’ School, we are deeply committed to building right relationships that respect the God-given dignity, diversity and uniqueness of each individual.

On Thursday 23 May, staff and students are invited to show their solidarity with, and respect for, those who identify as LGBQTIA+. LGBQTIA+ people generally experience disproportionate rates of bullying, harassment and discrimination and in Australia.

Our School takes great pride in being a place of welcome to all, and the way in which we embrace our diverse community is what makes All Hallows’ such a wonderfully warm environment.

Respect for all underpins the Sisters of Mercy mission. Always, the Sisters are at the leading edge of fostering community acceptance and belonging, holding firm to the belief that all are made in God’s image. Catherine McAuley wrote about the love and respect that is due to us all. She believed, “If we love God, we will undoubtedly love our neighbour also; they are cause and effect” (Retreat Instructions p147).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes particular mention of people who identify as homosexual in calling us to treat all people, particularly those who identify as LGBT+ with “respect, compassion, and sensitivity” and to avoid “every sign of unjust discrimination” (2358). In May 2022, in response to questions about the hospitality to members of the LGBT+ community, Pope Francis explained that God does not disown any of God’s children and “the style” of God is “closeness, mercy and tenderness.”

In the most recent document from the Vatican, the declaration “Dignitas Infinita” on Human Dignity, released in April, the Church wishes, first of all, “to reaffirm that every person, regardless of sexual orientation, ought to be respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, while ‘every sign of unjust discrimination’ is to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression and violence.” (#55)

Having a sense of true belonging is such an important aspect of student wellbeing. A landmark 2014 Australian research report Growing Up Queer, by Professor Kerry Robinson et al from the University of Western Sydney, found that “schools were identified as the major site in which homophobia and transphobia prevailed”.

It is vital that our community works together to ensure that All Hallows’ School is a place of welcome for all, providing a safe, supportive and respectful environment, in keeping with our Mercy ethos.

Respect and Pride Day on 23 May, is an awareness raising day to fight against discrimination against people who identify as LGBQTIA+. We have clear guidelines on dress. Students are invited to wear their house shirts over the top of their formal uniform while at school. They must travel to and from school in full school uniform. As it is an awareness-raising day, there is no fundraising element but we hope that the colourful reminder of our diversity is also an acknowledgement of our innate human dignity.

Mrs. Claire Easton (Dean of Mission).

We Pray For

Liturgy Notice

School Events

Parent & Caregiver Events

Dean of Teaching & Learning

Publication of the Year 11 and 12 Curriculum Guide

QTAC ATAR Report 2023 Supporting Presentation – Year 10

We have also previously published a range of QCE and ATAR information, including the QTAC Published ATAR Reports and explanatory videos. These are all located within our Year Level Information Moodle course / QCE and ATAR. The Report is publicly available on the QTAC website QTAC ATAR Report 2023 and we have produced a presentation for Students and Parents regarding the reading of the report QTAC ATAR Report 2023 Cohort for Parents and Students.

This 13 minute presentation should be viewed in conjunction with the report.

This report provides an overview of the calculation of the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) for the 2023 Queensland Year 12 student cohort. The report includes a summary of subject enrolments, the outcomes of the inter-subject scaling process and the allocation of students to ATAR bands. I include the excerpts below from QTACs communication.

When reading this report and interpreting the data, it is imperative to observe the following:

Inter-subject scaling is the process undertaken to map each QCAA subject and completed VET qualification to a common scale. This allows raw results in different subjects to be compared fairly.
Subject Scaling is a comparative measure based on actual subject achievement data and is expected to be different from one year to the next based on the capability of the student cohort for each year. QCAA subject results are the true achievement levels.
The performance of students in each subject, each year determine the scaling of a subject. Students should not select subjects based on predicted scaling outcomes but should choose subjects they enjoy, are good at and which meet any prerequisites for courses they want apply for.
Schools, students and parents are advised not to use historical scaling data to predict future outcomes.

For an end to end breakdown of the ATAR calculation process, we invite you to read the Calculating the ATAR in Queensland guide published in July 2020. Questions regarding this report may be emailed directly to atar@qtac.edu.au.

Additional points that I wish to note on the reading of this document include:

Scaling information is unique to each cohort - this scaling information is relevant for the 2023 cohort only and is subject to change annually.
The process used for scaling in Queensland is non-linear, that is, the effect of scaling varies dependent on where a student has performed relative to other performances in the state (i.e. their percentile). You will see that the scaling effect may be up in one performance range and down in another, or that the positive scaling is higher or lower across different performance ranges.
The distributions of percentiles are for the state-wide cohort – not All Hallows’ School (we are a subset of the state-wide data).
It is positive to see that this information is transparent and publicly available to provide confidence in the implementation of the new QCE.
This information affirms our key messages on program selection from Year 10. They continue to be that students should select a program that offers an appropriate challenge; includes what they are good at; includes what they have demonstrated performance in; and includes what they may require as a tertiary prerequisite for future pathways.

Should you have any queries or seek clarification on any points within this document or within our presentation, then please contact me via deanofteachingandlearning@ahs.qld.edu.au

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