On Thursday evening, we conducted our first ever OpenHouse live stream event at St Laurence's College. This was a virtual event designed to give prospective families an insight into our community. We had an excellent online interest during the evening. I wish to thank Lachlan Rolls, Mrs Bridget Totterman and members of the College Leadership Team for being on the panel to answer questions from the public. I also thank Michelle Prendergast, Stewart Williams, John McGeachin, Paul Taylor and Nick Lieschke for supporting the evening with their technical expertise.

OPEN DAY AND PRINCIPAL'S TOURS
Due to current restructures our Open Day has been moved to Thursday March 24. I also will be conducting Principals Tours on March 2, March 10, March 16, and April 28 from 4pm. All information about these events is available on the College website. A link to the OpenHouse event is available here.

ENROLMENTS
I am currently in the process of finalising interviews for students who wish to attend the College in Year 7 2024. Year 5, 2024 interviews will be conducted in Term 3. Should you have a son eligible for enrolment in those years. I ask that you contact the College Registrar on enrolments@slc.qld.edu.au or 30101104.

COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS
It was announced this week that restrictions for schools will change from March 4. Specifically, face masks will not be required to be worn in schools from 6pm on March 4. Restrictions on gatherings, assemblies and other events have also been lifted. 

Density limits have also been removed from school protocols. This is great news for our community, as we will be able to return to a close to normal calendar. Several events have been postponed, and these will now be able to go ahead after March 4. 

Of course, if your son is ill, they still need to remain at home.

ORDINATION OF BISHOP TIM NORTON
On Tuesday, I attended the ordination of Bishop Tim Norton, with Isaac Bowey and Dominic Wojciechowski. This was held at St Stephen's Cathedral. We were representing the Catholic Colleges and Schools in the Archdiocese. Due to restrictions, not all could be invited. It was a privilege to be present. Bishop Tim comes from a missionary background, having worked in prisons, on the streets of Sydney and in Mexico. He brings a different lens to the role of Bishop, and he has asked us to pray for him at this time.

INTRODUCING THE SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL
On Monday, our Council met for the first time this year. We welcomed our new chair, Dr Michael Drew, and some other new members.

The Council comprises:

• Dr Michael Drew
• Genevieve Green
• Jo Richards
• John Vaitsas
• Michel Batch
• Stephen O'Kane
• Ben Lowrie - ex officio
• Chris Leadbetter - ex officio
• Heather Batchelor – minutes

This Council has provided valuable advice over the years to support our Mission.

THE COLLEGE FOUNDATION
On Wednesday evening, our Foundation met to elect office-bearers. The Foundation provided the College with much needed funds to support boys who would not usually be able to afford a Lauries Education.

Introducing our Foundation: 

• Professor Allan Layton – Chair
• Rob Siganto – Deputy Chair
• Will Siganto
• Bernie McGowen
• Antony Raiteri
• Dane Fitzgibbon
• Paul Begg
• Sharyn Finn
• Michelle Prendergast
• Chris Leadbetter

I thank all members for their great work in supporting our mission.

UKRAINE CRISIS
We offer our thoughts and prayers for all those directly involved in the war in Ukraine. We particularly pray for the innocent civilians who are caught in this conflict. Today, as a school community, Mr Paul Corfield and Students led the student body in a prayer for peace.

PRAYER OF ST FRANCIS

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

 Where there is hatred, let me bring love.

 Where there is offence, let me bring pardon.

 Where there is discord, let me bring union.

 Where there is error, let me bring truth.

 Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.

 Where there is despair, let me bring hope.

 Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.

 Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.

 O Master, let me not seek as much

 to be consoled as to console,

 to be understood as to understand,

 to be loved as to love,

 for it is in giving that one receives,

 it is in self-forgetting that one finds,

 it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,

 it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.

I wish all Volleyballers well this week as we play St Peter's College. Unfortunately, Cricket and AFL was cancelled due to the inclement weather.

MR CHRIS LEADBETTER
Principal

ASH WEDNESDAY  
Next week we celebrate Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday, is the first day of Lent. We receive the ashes on this day which reminds us that we believe Jesus is the source of all life. That just as the bush burns and Ash falls to the ground and in time seeds of new life are sown, so too does our new life come from Jesus.

We sometimes don’t follow God’s law of love. We hurt people. We act selfishly. On this day, we tell God that we are sorry for these things and we ask God for his help during the next six weeks so that we can become better people and change our hearts. This year, we celebrate that we are One in the Spirit in an inclusive community. Ash Wednesday is a time we remember when we may not have welcomed others or made others feel excluded. We also ask God to help us to be forgiving. Others can hurt us but we must forgive them. Lent is a time to think of how we can improve our lives so that we can be more loving people, just as Jesus taught us. Through our good deeds, the seeds of new life will grow.  

On Ash Wednesday, students will gather in their House groups for a special ceremony. The boys will then receive the ashes from their House leaders and staff. Traditionally, a cross is placed on a persons forehead with the Ash but under COVID and as directed by the archdiocese the ashes will be sprinkled lightly over the students head.

Pope Francis has called for Catholics to make this a day of fasting and prayer. 

“And now, I would like to appeal to everyone, believers and non-believers alike. Jesus taught us that the diabolical evil of violence is answered with the weapons of God, with prayer and fasting,” 

Families may wish to join with the fasting in some way, but keep in mind that students need to keep their energy to get through a school day. Students may give up technology or something else for the day as a way of fasting. A statement like this reminds the students of what others are going through in such turbulent times in the Ukraine. 

PRAYER FOR PEACE: 
On Friday at 12.10pm we paused for 30 seconds to peace and solidarity with Ukraine. We then said the prayer of St Francis, asking God for peace. We continue to pray for peace and safety of the people of Ukraine. We hope that there may be a peaceful resolution and no more harm or loss of life, home or family will come. 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

 where there is hatred, let me sow love;

 where there is injury, pardon;

 where there is doubt, faith;

 where there is despair, hope;

 where there is darkness, light;

 where there is sadness, joy.

 O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

 to be consoled as to console,

 to be understood as to understand,

 to be loved as to love.

 For it is in giving that we receive,

 it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

 and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

 Amen.

MR PAUL CORFIELD
Dean of Identity & Community

ACADEMIC AWARDS CELEBRATION
On Wednesday, we acknowledged our Black and Gold academic award winners at a special celebration. I am delighted and very proud of all our award winners. I am sure Mr Leadbetter will share this news with you earlier on in the newsletter. Still, I am very proud of our outstanding 42% increase in Gold award winners, compared to this time last year. I thank all teachers and students for their outstanding efforts.

We hope to welcome parents of Gold Academic Award winners to the College for an Academic Afternoon Tea, at this stage scheduled for Thursday 10 March – 3.45pm for a 4.00pm start. More information will be sent to families closer to the intended event.

ACADEMIC TUTORING
A reminder that Academic tutoring has begun. I encourage all students to take advantage of this opportunity. Heads of Faculty and senior teachers offer their free time to provide extra academic support for those students who need assistance.

The Academic Tutoring Schedule can be found here. 

STUDY STARTER
GOOD NEWS - Study Starter is commencing next Monday. I thank our Academic Prefects who have already begun to tutor students as part of Study Starter. A reminder to parents and students that Study Starter is held every Monday and Wednesday after school until 4.30pm in the Library. All students are welcome.

LEARNING WALK – YEAR 10 ENGINEERING CLASS
This week we welcomed other teachers into the Year 10 Engineering lesson for Learning Walk observations. Students were given a task to design, build and test a straw tower. Students moved through the Engineering Problem Solving Process where they ‘Explore’ the problem through research, ‘Develop’ ideas through sketching and analysis of designs, ‘Generate’ a solution through building a prototype of the tower, and then ‘Evaluate’ the prototype through testing. It was amazing to see the designs developed by students. The lesson focused upon the ‘Connection’ domain within the teaching and learning framework. Students were encouraged to connect the engineering problem to a problem within the wider community and building industry.

LEARNING WALK – YEAR 11 LITERATURE (MR NEILL SMITH - HEAD OF PEDAGOGY)

Mr Neill Smith’s Year 11 Literature class Learning Walk was also this week. Mr Smith is a new staff member this year, and comes to us from Aviation High. He is very experienced in writing education, as well as Literature and Philosophy. In Year 11 Literature, students are currently studying the book – Cellist of Sarajevo. Mr Smith’s class conducted a different type of Socratic circle. Students developed questions based upon Wiederhold’s (1995) question starters, which attempts to encourage higher-order thinking. It is also intended to assist students develop deeper, well-structured and philosophical questions about the text to encourage respectful and insightful discussion. This leads to new ideas and connections for students. Students were very clear about what they were learning, why they were learning it, and what success looked like for them at the end of the lesson  Students were also clear about their learning progression. The lesson focused on the ‘Challenge’ domain in the Teaching and Learning Framework where students questioned norms and each other, as well as their own thinking. Well done to Mr Smith and his students for such a wonderfully respectful discussion, yet very rich learning experience. 

Live Jesus in your hearts…………...Forever!

DR LIAM HERBERT
Dean of Teaching and Learning

CAREERS 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

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, will gain them four 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
• Vietnamese

Applications for this are open until April 30 and cost $69.30. Please contact the Careers Office to register.

UCAT REGISTRATION
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 (including UQ’s Provisional Medical Program and Dentistry and Griffith University’s Dentistry). Applications to sit the UCAT open next week on March 1 and remain open until May 17, with testing held between July 1 and August 12. The UCAT website has a wide range of practice resources available to students. For more information or to register, please click here.

UQ SPARQ-ED IMMERSION
Year 10, 11 or 12 students interested in Science can apply to participate in the UQ SPARQ-Ed Immersion. Students can still apply to take part in the July or September programs. The purpose of the program is to give students the opportunity to work with scientists and like-minded peers on pressing biomedical problems facing society. Note that students interested must complete an application form, which has a section requiring endorsement from a teacher. For further information about the program, please click here. 

UQ FUTURE EXPERIENCES IN AGRICULTURE, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (FEAST)
FEAST is a three-day program designed for Year 11 and 12 students interested in exploring careers in agriculture, animal care, plant and food industries. It runs during the June school holidays at UQ’s Gatton campus, with students staying onsite for the duration. For further information about the program, including specific dates, costs and inclusions, please click here. 

UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE HANSEN SCHOLARSHIP
The University of Melbourne Hansen Scholarship applications are due by March 9. The scholarship is offered to high achieving students who have experienced financial hardship. Successful applicants get financial support, accommodation and academic support to help them succeed in their tertiary studies and access the University of Melbourne network of scholars. For further information, please click here.

MR PAUL MOSCOS
Careers Counsellor

As the school year develops, students should now have an idea of how their study, work, co-curricular and extra-curricular commitments balance during a usual week. The Pastoral team have a plethora of resources on time management, study plans and goal setting which students can utilise to fulfil their potential, most of which have been provided to House Mentors and Senior Mentors during our mentoring program this week.

AIC SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIP
The AIC Swimming carnival will occur on Tuesday 8 March. All students in Year 10 will be invited to attend along with the Year 12 Spirit Committee. A specific letter will be going to all students and families who are directly involved with this event.

COMMISSIONING ASSEMBLY
The Commissioning of our Year 12 students will occur at 11am on Thursday 10 March. We look forward to welcoming all Year 12 parents to the College for this very special event.

This week students have begun their mentoring with a teacher from the College. Below is a previous article from Luke McKenna who oversees a Pastoral program called Unleashing Personal Potential. The article outlines a simple strategy for setting goals through passwords on electronic devices. Luke writes:

RATIONALE
Research in the fields of neuroscience and psychology state that goal setting actually works. The most successful people in the world set goals. A useful way to fast track our goals is to create a goal orientated password to unlock our devices. We unlock our devices several times each day. Setting a password goal, frequently reminds us of what we are striving for, bringing our top priority goal into focus, every time we unlock our device. This works because of our RAS (Reticular Activating System), in our brains. Our RAS acts as a filter for our brain- it blocks out most of the data that our brain receives every second. This allows us to hone in on the things that are most important to us. By changing all of our passwords to reinforce a goal we are trying to accomplish, we will put it top of mind, and unconsciously focus in on ways to make those things happen (Adams-Miller 2014).

DESCRIPTION OF POSITIVE EDUCATION PRACTICE 

1. Decide what your top priority goal is (it could be to do with school work, relationships, extracurricular, etc.) 
2. Next, make your goal password-ready. Be creative. Use shorthand, abbreviations, numbers. For example, if you want to achieve certain grades (3A’s and 2B’s in Semester 1), it could be 3A2Bsem1; or if you want to run 4km in 19 minutes (at the cross country carnival this year), the password goal could be 4k19mins. Other examples are: try1newthing2day, Read20mins, 20pushups, 1actofkindness 
3. If you have access to a device take the time now to change your password.

MAIN MESSAGE
Fast track your goal by bringing it to top of mind with a password goal. More information for parents and students can be found on Luke McKenna’s website http://www.unleashingpersonalpotential.com.au/

The pastoral team wishes all students the best in the coming weeks. 

Live Jesus in our hearts… Forever.

HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL
Mr David Knight 

Our school is participating in Queensland Health’s annual School Immunisation Program. All Year 7 students will be offered free vaccinations as recommended on the National Immunisation Program schedule to protect against vaccine preventable diseases. Year 7 students will be offered human papillomavirus (HPV) and diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough).  

Vaccines offered in the Queensland School Immunisation Program in Year 7 are as follows:

Human papillomavirus (HPV) - Two doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine GARDASIL®9 will be offered. The recommended interval for the two doses is 0 and (at least) 6 months but up to 12 months after first dose.

Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (dTpa) - One booster dose of adult/adolescent formulation dTpa vaccine will be offered. Most students would have received vaccination against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis when they were pre-school age.

It is important that you read the information booklet contained in the consent pack which was sent home with your child earlier this term. You will also need to consider the information provided by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) regarding the timing of Covid-19 vaccines and the administration of other vaccines. This document can be found here.

Only students with a signed and completed consent card, indicating ‘Yes to Vaccination’ will be vaccinated. If you would like your child to be vaccinated, please fill in the consent card and return it to the Health Centre by Friday 11 March.

If you do not wish your child to be vaccinated, or your child has already been vaccinated with the offered vaccines, please complete the ‘No to Vaccination’ section on the consent card and return the consent card to the Health Centre by Friday 11 March.

The Public Health Act 2005 requires the school principal to disclose student and parent information for eligible Year 7 students to the school immunisation provider if requested. This information will enable the school immunisation provider to determine those who have and have not consented, and directly follow- up with parents of students who have not returned a consent card. This direct follow-up ensures all parents are offered the opportunity for their child to participate in this important school health program. It may also assist you in making decisions about your child’s immunisation needs.

Parents, legal guardians and authorised persons who have indicated ‘No to Vaccination’ will not be followed up by the provider.

School immunisation providers will be bound to comply with the Information Privacy Act 2009 (Qld). This Act stipulates the requirements for the secure collection, use, storage and disposal of personal information to be followed by school health program providers.

The vaccinations will be conducted by a team of authorised registered nurses and/or a medical practitioner from Ozcare. Parents, legal guardians or authorised persons are encouraged to ensure their children have an adequate breakfast on the morning of vaccination.

The vaccination team will be visiting the school to give the free vaccinations on the following date/s: Thursday 31 March 2022 and Friday 7 October 2022.

For further information about the School Immunisation Program please call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) or visit www.health.qld.gov.au/immunisa..

Please be mindful of the road rules around the College and remember do not park across driveways or on yellow lines.  The speed limit once you enter school grounds is 10km.  

As the drop-off zone on Stephens Road is very congested in the mornings and afternoons  we recommend the boys catch public transport where possible. Here is a list of current bus routes which stop on Stephens Road.

• Route 6147: (to Jimboomba)
• Route 130 (to Parkinson via Sunnybank)
• Route 150 (to Browns Plains via Runcorn)
• Route 202 (to Carindale via Carina Heights)
• Route 100 (to Inala via Ipswich Rd)
• Route 873 (to Bulimba)
• Route 107 (to Yeronga)
• Route 555: (to Loganholme via Busway).

For more detailed information on all bus routes including times, please visit https://jp.translink.com.au/ .

To further ease congestion around the school, older boys could walk to one of the many side streets near the College to be picked up/dropped off or you can stagger your pickup time to be later (e.g. 3.15/3.30pm) when some of the traffic has cleared.

A WEEK OF WEATHER  
What a week it has been, and for our sporting teams most of the discussions has been about the weather. Last Friday's Swimming Age Championships were cut short along with the First XVIII AFL fixture against Iona due to a severe thunderstorm coming across Brisbane. During this week, we have had daily forecasts of huge rainfall that have not eventuated until Friday but were enough to cause disruption and cancellations to outdoor venues. It has been a frustrating seven days for players, coaches, officials and families!

As a general guide, we try to make any cancellation decisions regarding training as early as possible. Often these decisions can take into account a number of factors- not just the actual weather itself. These factors could include the venue for the sessions (onsite/offsite), storage of student's bags, transport required, ability to modify sessions and age of the actual students training and playing.

In the case of College training sessions, morning decisions are communicated by 5:30am and afternoon by 1:30pm. All decisions will be "pushed" to people's mobile devices through the College App. This week, we have decided to cancel morning sessions the night before. Hopefully, this gives parents extra time to make alternate arrangements.

In the case of fixtures, a decision is usually made by the 'host' school or the host venue, where an external venue is used (e.g. AFL Club Grounds). Again when these decisions are made, we aim to communicate these as early as possible.

We hope the sun comes out soon and we can have an uninterrupted final three weeks of the cricket and AFL season. We also look to complete the Swimming Aage Championships next Friday!

TRIMESTER 2 SPORT EXPRESSION OF INTEREST AND REGISTRATIONS 
On Monday 28 February, every boy in the College will receive an email from the Sports Office to allow them to express their interest in participating in a AIC Trimester 2 Sport. STUDENTS will need to click on the link included in the email and complete a short "Expression of Interest" to play Chess, Football or Rugby and participate in Cross Country. The link will only be accessible from the student's College laptop. Home class teachers will assist students – particularly those in Years 5, 6 & 7 to complete.

On Monday 7 March, every boy who expressed an interest in participating in one of these sports will receive a "Parent Lounge Invitation" for that sport. PARENTS are required to accept or decline that parent lounge invitation. Students will not be able to commence trials/training for any sport until parents have give permission for students to participate through Parent Lounge.

Detailed season information booklets for each Trimester 2 sport will be included on the Parent Lounge Invitations and the College App from Monday 7 March. It is important that all families discuss students' availability to commit to their chosen sport for the entire season before accepting the Parent Lounge Invitation.

Detailed information regarding this process, including initial details on sports can be found on the College App.

LOST PROPERTY 
A number of pieces of equipment are lost or misplaced each week with the majority being found and returned to their owner. Often, the items that are missing the longest have been put back into the students' bags without realising. Unfortunately, they can be forgotten about and not found until the end of term or end-of-season bag clean-out. Could I please ask all families to check their son's own sports bags for any lost property that may have accumulated – particularly very large cricket bags!

MR EDDIE WALLACE
Director of Sport

Students are now busy preparing for the first of concerts of the year. Our Intermediate and Senior Ensembles will open the year with respective concerts in Week 8 of this Term. The Lauries Music Support Group (LMSG) is also calling for volunteers to assist with both events. Further information provided below. 

NEW CONCERT TIME

Wednesday 16 March | Intermediate Ensembles Concert | 6:30pm ERPAC
Please note the start time for this Concert has been moved back to 6:30pm. Ensembles Performing: Concert Band 2, Big Band 2, String Orchestra 2, Guitar Orchestra 2, Little Brotherhood, Middlehood.

The Lauries Music Support Group (LMSG) is calling for volunteers to assist with their pre-concert BBQ from 5pm – 6pm. If you can assist, please register via the link below.

https://volunteersignup.org/MFCJY 

2022 PRIMARY MUSIC LEADERS 
We are delighted to announce our 2022 Primary Music Leaders.

Semester One: Ethan Littlefield (6R) & Jack Johnson (6S).
Semester Two: Luka Anich (6S) & Zach Callie (6M).

SAVE THE DATE

Thursday 17 March | Senior Ensembles Concert | 6pm ERPAC. 
Ensembles Performing: Concert Band 1, Big Band 2, String Orchestra 1, Guitar Orchestra 1, Symphony Orchestra, Fellowship of the Strings, Brotherhood, Big Brotherhood.

The Lauries Music Support Group (LMSG) is calling for volunteers to assist with their pre-concert BBQ from 5pm – 6pm. If you can assist, please register via the link below.

https://volunteersignup.org/TLBR9 

Saturday 19 March | Singing Surfin’ Safari | Noosa
Little Brotherhood will return to Noosa this year for their annual Singing Surfin’ Safari. 

This overnight trip will provide an opportunity for team building within the ensemble and for students to give back to the community as they participate in a local Parish Mass. Further information to follow. 

Monday 21 March | Old Boys and Community Choir Concert | St Ignatius Church Toowong 
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 2022. There will be an Old Boys Choir, Guitar Orchestra and String Ensemble. Rehearsals commenced last week at 5:30pm in the SLC Chapel and will runs for another 5 weeks concluding with the Old Boys and Community Music concert on Monday 21 March at St Ignatius Church Toowong.

Simply use these links to sign up:

Old Boys’ Choir - https://forms.gle/6VtKhBzqLjrRXrXS6 

Community Choir - https://forms.gle/9Lt7o2K4Nxkvvdeq9 

CALL FOR DONATIONS | LMSG
The Lauries Music Support Group (LMSG) is calling for prize donations for their St Patrick’s Day Raffle. The raffle will run during the Intermediate and Senior Ensemble Concerts next month. 

All donations will be gratefully received at the music department reception by Wednesday 9 March.

Raffle will be drawn during the Senior Ensembles Concert Thursday 17 March. 

If you need any further information regarding any of the above, please contact the music department: music@slc.qld.edu.au or telephone 3010 1138.

Strike up the Band!

MR ROSS CAPERN 
Director of Instrumental Music

Register your interest here.