Boarder News - Term 3, 2019

This week's contributors: Mr Adrian Wiles, Mr Jason Smith, Mrs Maureen Taurima, Mr Ross McKeown and Chris Marschall.

Introduction from Ross McKeown (Boys' Houseparent)

I would like to thank all those who contributed to the newsletter, especially Bianca and Christine from Marketing, whose expertise made the newsletter so vibrant, in showcasing the varied and busy lives of our Concordia boarders.

I hope you all enjoy this newsletter!

From the Head of College - Mr Adrian Wiles

My boarding experience dates back to 1976 when I first became a teacher and boarding staff member at Kormilda College in Darwin. While I freely admit that not everything was perfect, we did have a chance to build a ‘state-of-the-art’ facility as a result of Cyclone Tracey destroying any remnants of previous boarding houses. In the day, it was a facility that had all of the modern add-ons to ensure that it was an exemplar of best practice. How times have changed!

We now know that there is more to boarding than providing for buildings and infrastructure, and I am pleased to say that the newly formed ‘Learning in Residence’ program sets out to address the four pillars that lead to the life-shaping experience that boarding can become. The Concordia Lutheran College Strategic Plan states that we aspire to ‘lift interest in national and international boarding in a coeducational setting’ and it says that we will ‘continue to expand and promote the ‘Learning in Residence’ programs in line with best boarding practice’. As a school, we have made a great start to addressing the strategic challenges, and there are many examples of where we have made significant headway in consideration of the pastoral, academic, cocurricular and extra-curricular programs for our students.

The broader program

We now have a much stronger interaction on matters pastoral - between the day school and boarding community. The sharing of daily student reports through the REACH technology with all significant staff, a follow up with students that involves all of the resources available in the College, the inclusion of the Housemother in weekly pastoral meetings are just a few changes that have been made over the past twelve months. We now map out the cocurricular offerings in areas such as sport and music, and we are actively encouraging students to be involved in at least one of these activities each term. Events such as the Term 1 Boarder Camp and visits to the Universities are all new, focused and exciting additions to the structured program. We have just farewelled students from Wuxi, China, and our International connections are strengthening. We can claim the highest number of international students in a secondary boarding setting in Toowoomba, which is an important factor as we educate Concordia students in a global environment. In future years, I look forward to our students visiting other countries through reciprocal arrangements. As these programs develop, then we will be reporting to parents through the normal reporting processes of the College i.e. Semester Reports.

Academic program

The availability of the Library resources for study at night, growing expectations on senior students to take responsibility for their learning, and the introduction of a number of academic tutors to support students are all initiatives that are very much in the early stages of development. As a Senior Staff Team, we are also excited about the future introduction of programs that will allow parents, students and staff across the College to track student progress in real time. This program will allow parents and guardians (in particular) to ask the right, informed questions concerning the learning progress of their sons and daughters. 

As you are aware, this is a ‘work in progress’, but I am happy to report that after just twelve months, the changes are showing all the signs to indicate that we are heading in the right direction.

Finally, we have welcomed new students, along with Mr Ross McKeown (Boys' House Parent), and some very talented Residential Tutors this semester. Every blessing to those who have joined us, and I look forward to continuing to build this very special residential program for the benefit of the wider Concordia community. 

Kindest regards

Mr Adrian Wiles
Head of College

From the Director of Campus - Mr Jason Smith

I crashed my horse….!

Hello to everyone who is connected to Concordia’s Learning in Residence. I should probably start by winding the clock back to 1989. That was the year that I started boarding at Concordia Lutheran College. I was in Year 11 and started with a broken leg as a result of a cattle mustering accident (I crashed a horse into a cow!). My leg recovered and I went on to have the most enjoyable two years. Friendships that I formed then still stand to this day. 

From Concordia I headed to Brisbane to study a Bachelor of Technology Education. Six months into my first year of university, my parents’ farm was in severe drought. Being one of five children, I was given two options: either work out how to support myself or come home and work on the farm (I was ineligible to receive financial assistance from the government). Fortunately, there was a Residential Tutor’s position at St Peters Lutheran College in Brisbane. I spent the next 3.5 years working in boarding and picked up other jobs around the college to make ends meet. At that stage, St Peters had 360 boarders and the house that I was in had approximately 60 boys in it. To this day, I credit my approach to teaching to my experience working alongside extraordinary staff, most notably, Richard Stokes (Now Executive Director of Australian Boarding Schools Association) and Eric Wilson (Risk Services Manager, Lutheran Education Queensland).  As a student studying education, working in boarding taught me that knowing my students was the most important basis for any high-quality educational endeavour. 

The transition from being a boarder in Toowoomba to studying in Brisbane was one that I felt well prepared for and working in a boarding school at the same time, was a match made in heaven. Boarding life has certainly changed in many ways since those days and I am so proud of the Learning in Residence Program that we have implemented here at Concordia. There is, however, one thing that hasn’t changed… the speed of a PNG boarder with a touch football under their arm. My goodness… I couldn’t catch them back in the 1990s and I am certain that I would not catch them now! 

God bless you all and look forward to catching up when the opportunities arise. Please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time if you want to have a chat about anything boarding or school related. 

Mr Jason Smith
Director of Campus

My Life as Housemother from Miss Maureen

(not sure why I get the miss as I am a Mrs - Miss makes me feel young)

For as long as I can remember there has never been anything more important to me than being a great mother. Be it for my own children or the children of the hundreds and hundreds of parents whose children I have looked after over my many years in Boarding. 
Housemothers are not only mother-like to students but also to our Tutors.

My daily routine is not unlike that of a mum at home except there are more children to keep in line. All sorts of appointments and sporting commitments to get to. Growling about incorrect uniforms, unpolished shoes, loud music, unmade beds and, most recently, unnamed clothing to mention a few. Praising and commending students who have done well, etc. And then there is the best parts like greeting them when they arrive home from school, having a chat about the day’s events, sharing a few laughs and activities, supporting those who have had a bad day. Yes, just like adults there are a few however this is generally short lived.  

Then there are days when a student says on arriving back from school and seeing a huge chocolate cake on the bench “Miss, I was only today thinking about your chocolate cake. You’re the best.” 

Over my many years too scared to count now, I have found that one of the biggest things that boarders miss is food, food from home, cakes and biscuits that their mums and grandmothers cook for them. Seldom do they moan about the kitchen cooking but the smell of a cake or bread cooking in the oven warms the hearts of many students and adults alike. 

Today I would like to share my Chocolate Cake recipe with you all. It’s a winner and never fails. 

Miss Maureen’s Chocolate Cake

Use a large bowl and throw all the ingredients in. There are no steps, just plonk into the bowl! 
Set oven on 160 degrees Celsius first. Grease and line cake tin (that’s the hardest part).

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar (I only put in 1) 
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 200 grams margarine
• 2 teaspoons bi carb soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (I leave this out as I do not like vanilla)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups self-raising flour
• 1 cup warm black coffee 

Mix all together with fork or a mixer whichever you have on hand. Bake in a large cake tin for approx. 50 minutes. Test centre of cake with a skewer. Cool and ice. ENJOY!

From Boys' Houseparent - Mr Ross McKeown

From Kuranda to Toowoomba

I would like to say a big hello to all who read this newsletter. I commenced as a Houseparent at Concordia in Term 3. What a welcome in that I have been so overwhelmed by the kind and caring staff and students at the school, and in particular those in boarding.

I moved to Concordia and Toowoomba from far north Queensland. There I lived about 40 minutes west of Cairns, in a small town called Kuranda. It is known as the “village in the rainforest”, and is a popular tourist venue because it is the stopping point for the local scenic railway, and Skyrail. The Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is a 7.5 km scenic cableway running above and through the National Park, basically through rainforest. The whole area surrounding Kuranda is rainforest, and is regarded as one of only two pristine rainforests remaining in the world.

While this sounds perfect, it also comes with consequences. We have very friendly wildlife, including goannas walking on our verandah, snakes at the door, and huge spiders in the bathrooms. Then there is the occasional 20 metre tree that decides to lie down, either across our driveway, or on my two week old car!

So it is a big change for me to come to Toowoomba, but one I am loving, even though I admit I am looking forward to spring. Boarding is great, and I am excited about the remainder of the year.

Mr Ross McKeown
Boys' Houseparent

A Day in the Life of the Boys' Boarding Captain (Temme) - Chris Marschall

My name is Chris Marschall. Out of school time, I live a quiet life in Goondiwindi, but during school time I am the Temme Boarding Captain!

Why did I become the Boarding Captain? Besides getting the biggest room in the dorm, I became the captain because I like to talk to the other boys, I like to have fun, and I like to do things. Thinking about it, talking to the other boys is the best part of being the Boarding Captain. I also sometimes have to talk to the school in assembly. I get up and talk about what has happened lately in boarding to the whole Campus.

Otherwise my day is a usually like this:

• I wake up, shower and get dressed
• I ‘motivate’ the other boys to get ready
• I help with roll call and head to breakfast with the others
• After breakfast I help the younger ones get ready (nah, often just talking) and even clean my room sometimes
• Then after school I help with the afternoon snacks
• Relax, or teach the younger boys about gaming (Xbox)
• More roll call and getting the boys to dinner
• And then we are into study, get ready for sleep, then lights out

Saturday and Sunday are different, as we usually get to sleep in, relax and often do an activity.

That’s it ! I hope you enjoyed my story.

Chris Marschall
Boys' Boarding Captain

Term 3 Highlights

Christmas in July

Christmas in July was a celebration of fun, based on the fact that the boarders are always on holidays at Christmas time, so it was decided to have a mid-year Christmas celebration. Luckily for us, Santa was actually living in one of the dorm rooms (and completing his Year 12 studies this year), rather than hibernating in the North Pole. Also luckily, he was able to secure a bag load of presents, and with the addition of decorations and Chrissy music and food, the night was ‘HO HO HO’ magic. 

Three Week Visit by the Wuxi Experimental School from China

With the visiting Wuxi Experimental School from China (boys and girls) we heading off to the Gold Coast for a day of fun. With our school driver Mr Barrie Knott, and a gourmet selection of food, we hit the golden strip.

First some R&R and shopping at Pacific Fair, with the adults sipping a coffee, and the boarders cruising the shops (I did see some of them stop at the Krispy Krème shop). Back into the bus we went to hit the beach for some lunch. Of course the boarders ran through the edge of the water, as we warned them “don’t get too much sand all over you” (why did we waste our breath?).

Then the highlight was Sea World. It doesn’t matter how many times you go there, it is always lots of fun!

As the sun was starting to set, Barrie safely drove us back to our boarding home in Toowoomba, without much noise as everyone drifted in and out of sleep. Waiting for us on our return was freshly cooked pizza and a quiet night. 
 

NAIDOC Celebrations

One of the highlights of the NAIDOC celebrations was the NAIDOC Dinner. It was a pure delight to see the courage and grace of the students facilitating the NAIDOC event under the direction of Mrs Charada Grimes. Normally the boarding food is of a very high standard, but the food for this dinner was of a standard you would expect from a first class restaurant. There was a presentation including photos of some of the remote locations where many of the boarders live when they are not at school. At the end of the evening was an artistic island dance from the girls including Miss Maureen.

Mr Ross McKeown
Boys' Houseparent