Welcome back to the last term of the school year. I would like to also make special welcome to the new students and families who began with us this term. Traditionally the fourth term is always the shortest term of the year. This year is no exception with students in Year 12 graduating in the seventh week and the rest of the school exiting in the eighth week. The final week is a marking, reporting and professional development week for the teaching staff.
Over the holiday period we had students from Year 11 and staff involved in immersion opportunities....
Welcome back to the last term of the school year. I would like to also make special welcome to the new students and families who began with us this term. Traditionally the fourth term is always the shortest term of the year. This year is no exception with students in Year 12 graduating in the seventh week and the rest of the school exiting in the eighth week. The final week is a marking, reporting and professional development week for the teaching staff.
Over the holiday period we had students from Year 11 and staff involved in immersion opportunities. Firstly, Mr Alec Gold and Mr Chris Walsh travelled to Timor Leste with four of our young men. They joined forces with staff and students from St Laurence’s and St Edmund’s Colleges to build a community hall for one of the villages as well as assist with maintenance and repairs with other facilities. The other group of students travelled with Mr Tim Kenny and Mr Nic Consiglio to Noonkanbah. This is a remote indigenous community in Western Australia. During their visit the young men worked with students within the school. Later this month some of their students will also join our community for a short period of time. We are particularly thankful to the staff members who could travel with the students to allow them such experiences.
Mr Frank Torrisi has also been travelling on an immersion with a group of EREA senior leaders over the holiday period and during this week. Frank has been to Ireland and India during this time. He will return to work on Monday.
I would like to also congratulate Ms Elizabeth Gaber and Mr Troy Schultz. During this week, they have been attending the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) conference in Sydney. They were accepted to present a paper on the work that they have been doing at the College in the areas of academic tracking and mentoring. It is wonderful to see that the great work that they have been doing to also be shared with other schools across the country.
Over the holiday break and during this week, Lachlan Connors has been training and competing with the Australian Schoolboys Rugby Team. Lachlan has played against an Australian Schools Barbarians team and the Fijian Under 18 team this week and will play against New Zealand Schools tomorrow afternoon.
By now, your son(s) should have received their results for the assessments that they completed at the end of the last term. It would be a good time to talk with them about their results and how they are going with reaching their targets by the end of the year. Whilst this last term might be short in days, it still carries high expectations for school work and outcomes. This is particularly pertinent for our Year 12 students. Please do not accept or believe the urban myth about the last term of Year 12 not counting for much.
I would like to thank all the parents who gave feedback regarding the proposed College Shared Vision document. This information will be collated and amendments will be made to the document where relevant. This will then drive some of the initiatives for the next five-year strategic plan.
On 17-19 May this year, the College undertook an EREA School Renewal. You may remember that at the time, I explained that this is a part of a five-year cyclical process completed by EREA to review the programs and practices of the College to ensure that we are authentic to the EREA Mission and Charter. The report has now been compiled and approved by the EREA Council. I will publish a copy of the review as soon as possible. This will be done through communications from Mrs Jackie Upton. It is a very strong affirmation and indicative of the practices of the College over a lengthy period.
During the first three days of next week, our Year 11 students will be participating in their leadership program. The purpose of this program is to prepare the student body for their leadership roles as the senior student body in 2018. The workshops will be facilitated by staff, students and external agencies. The program will take place at the College on Monday and Tuesday and the students and House Deans will be off-campus on Wednesday. The program will also run into the evenings over the first two days. In my experience, these programs are always energizing and positive experiences for all the participants; staff and students. I look forward to being a part of this year’s program.
Our final sport for this year is Track and Field. This Friday afternoon will be the first of three lead-up meets before the championships to be held at QSAC on 24-25 October. This year our Year 11 and Year 9 students will attend the Championships to support our athletes.
Live Jesus in our Hearts!
60 Park Parade Shorncliffe QLD 4017