The Week Ahead - Term 1, Week 7
Monday 9 March to Friday 13 March 2020
From the Head of College
Coronavirus update for schools
A few parents have asked the College about our plans regarding the Coronavirus situation that is evident worldwide. We follow and act upon the Commonwealth Government guidelines and advice, as passed onto us through Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) and Lutheran Education Queensland (LEQ). Any changes to the advice will be passed to parents/guardians and staff, if and when such changes become available. Our Leadership Team meets regularly, and our current discussions are around planning for scenarios, should there be a need in the future to act as directed by the relevant authorities.
In the meantime, parents and guardians are encouraged to remind their sons and daughters about personal hygiene e.g. washing of hands. As a school, we will be bringing this matter to the attention of all students over the coming weeks.
Parents and extended families should be aware of the current and changing restrictions and guidelines as they apply to overseas travel. These can be accessed through the DFAT Smart Traveller site.
From the College Pastor
Community News
Date Claimer: Jazz Under the Stars
On 14 March, our Big Band is playing in the festival Jazz under the Stars, with seven other schools and the Australian Army Big Band. Adults $5, students free. The event is being held at Toowoomba Anglican School with a 4.30pm start, bring blankets and chairs. There is a barbecue and cafe available throughout the evening. Click here for further information.
International Film Crew on Campus – The Film Guys
Next week, Concordia will be hosting team members from an international production house that specialises in memorable and exciting videos that drive results. The Film Guys have an extensive history of creating entertaining, interesting and engaging videos for boarding schools in the United States and Jordan.
The team want to break into the Australian market and Concordia is the school they have chosen to work with. We have been working together for almost a year to discuss ideas and to help them understand Australian culture.
The team arrive on Wednesday 11 March and will be here until Friday 27 March. They will be meeting with staff and students for the first few days before they commence filming.
Here are some examples of their work:
We look forward to seeing what they create for Concordia!
Mrs Bianca Coleborn
Director of Marketing & Enrolments
NAPLAN 2020
Students at Concordia will be complete the NAPLAN online tests in 2020. In readiness for this, students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will sit a practice test in March so they are familiar with how to undertake a test before the scheduled testing days. The writing test is still handwritten by students. The Reading, Conventions of Language and Numeracy test will be completed online. Click here for further information.
If you have any concerns please do not hesitate to make contact with Mrs Juanetta Priest at Hume Street Campus, Mrs Jackie Minnikin at Warwick Street Campus and Ms Wendy Bowen or Mrs Roslyn Cook at Stephen Street Campus.
Inter-House Cross Country
The Inter-House Cross Country is being held on Wednesday 11 March. Please click here to view the day's program.
New LLL Banking App!
The LLL is pleased to announce the release of our banking app!
Designed specifically for banking on the go, the LLL app is simple, secure and convenient, and is available now for download now for free.
To download the LLL app depositors can visit the App Store or Google Play or searching for LLL Australia in their preferred store.
Vocal Voyages
Project Based Learning at Concordia
Junior College
TDPS Individual Chess Tournament
Seventeen students across both Junior College Campuses took part in the annual Toowoomba Districts Primary Schools Individual Chess Tournament held at Highlands Christian College on Tuesday. It was amazing to see over 400 participants from across the Toowoomba region be involved in eight rounds of intense strategy and sportsmanship to win each game. Congratulations to all students who represented the College and they are to be commended on their individual results achieved at the tournament.
Outside School Hours Care
Hume Street Campus
From the Director
CLC Junior College Classroom Management Process
Lutheran schools have for the past 10+ years used the Restorative Practices approach to supporting student behaviour both in the classroom and school as a whole. Margaret Thorsborne is a specialist in this area and all of our staff have been trained by her or one of her associates in Restorative practices. She states, “Restorative practice is a proven approach to discipline in schools that favours relationships over retribution, and has been shown to improve behaviour and enhance teaching and learning outcomes.” If you would like to know more about Restorative practices please refer to Marg’s website.
In a nutshell, these are the steps we go through when a situation or incident arises.
- Staff are notified by preferably the student/s but sometimes the parents.
- Staff talk to the student/s involved in the situation or incident. The initial aim is to get the WHOLE story. Having the whole story is important as it will usually change the outcome considerably.
- They ask questions such as -
Our Restorative Chats are very powerful in that it teaches the students to take ownership for both owning their behaviour, apologising for their behaviour and then ensuring that they fix it up so that this does not continue to happen. The question is, what happens if it does continue to happen … that is where our CLC Junior College Classroom Management Process comes into action.
If you ever have any questions about the behaviour of your child or to your child, or the processes we go through to address these incidences, we are more than happy to talk with you. Start by making an appointment to talk with your child’s teacher. When home and school support each other, we can achieve amazing things.
Mrs Juanetta Priest
Director of Campus
HSC Tuckshop Dates - Term 1
Please note, due to events happening at Stephen Street Campus, there will be NO tuckshop available at HSC after Thursday 12 March.
HSC Week 7 Updates
Click on Expand Article to view important notices for the coming week.
HSC Week 7 Events
Click Here to view HSC events for Week 7
Warwick Street Campus
From the Director of Campus
As I sat this week and scrolled through our class Seesaw pages, I was again amazed at the work being done each day in the classrooms at WSC. As parents, it is wonderful for you to be able to view these posts on a daily basis and to see the progress that the children are making in their learning. Your comments on these posts have a huge impact on the students as they are always proud to show off their achievements. These posts also enable you to talk to your children about their day at school and to be active participants in their learning journey.
Teachers and students love you commenting on Seesaw posts, but please be mindful that if you would like to communicate with the teachers about things happening at school, email is the most appropriate form of communication. I look forward to continuing to follow our Seesaw posts for the remainder of the year.
Mrs Jackie Minnikin
Director of Campus
WSC No Tuckshop - Wednesday 18 March
Please note, due to events happening at Stephen Street Campus, there will be NO tuckshop on Wednesday 18 March.
WSC Week 7 Updates
Click on Expand Article to view important notices for the coming week.
Word on the Street
Word on the Street is that our Prep students have amazingly healthy lunch boxes! Congratulations Preppies! A healthy lunch assists in healthy bodies and healthy minds. Take a look at some of the photos below.
WSC Week 7 Events
Click Here to view WSC events for Week 7
Stephen Street Campus
The Fourth Industrial Revolution – Industry 4.0
I’m not sure how many of you will have heard the news that we are now in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The first - harnessing steam and water power, second - electricity and production lines and the third – computerisation and the digital revolution. What we are experiencing today is the fourth, the exponential growth of the “Internet of Things” and the “Internet of Systems”. This is having a profound impact on the proliferation of knowledge. According to Shane Parish, 50% of the knowledge that a graduate engineer begins their career with will be superseded within 2.5 to 5 years. I find this quite extraordinary.
Canteen Closure
Please note, due to events happening, the canteen will be closed from Wednesday 18 March to Friday 20 March.
Excavate the Chocolate Chips from a Cookie!
The Year 7 students in History this term have been learning about the varied techniques used by Archaeologists and that Archaeological excavations are a destructive process.
This week they had the opportunity to experience what being an Archaeologist would feel like during an excavation activity involving a chocolate chip cookie where the chocolate chips serve as the artefacts while the cookie serves as the archaeological site.
SSC P&F News
EASTER HOMESTYLE BAKE FUNDRAISER
Less than a week to go to place your orders to get your pantry and freezer stocked up with some delicious goodies in time for Easter and school holidays! Feed the hungry teenagers at a moments notice or have some treats stockpiled for those unexpected visitors and sleepovers. Order forms and menus are now available (you should have received one via your student), alternatively click here to access the order form.
Orders and payments are to be returned to the school no later than Wednesday 11 March and order pick up will be on Friday 20 March between 2pm to 4pm or during Open Day morning on Saturday 21 March.
Sports News
Concordia welcomes Evelyn Page (far right in photo above) as our new Volleyball coach! Evelyn is a highly motivated and experienced former professional Indoor Volleyball player from Peru. She is highly qualified and has competed with the Peruvian national team as a reserve player. Evelyn comes to Concordia as a player/coach of the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Firehawks women's volleyball team.
Boarding
Weekly Boarding News
This week is all about boarding food – food, glorious food!
DINNER ONE NIGHT: meat and veges, and dessert (sorry about the main course photo: they enjoyed it so much it was gone before I could take a photo).
PARTY ANOTHER NIGHT: Matthew Sharp’s 18th Birthday (Cakes cooked and iced by Ms Maureen)
