Dear Parents and Caregivers

Thank you for your patience and support as we face the wet College driveways, walkways and fog which has embraced Toowoomba this week. Thank you to the staff for the many creative ways which they have created this week to keep the students moving to counter any cabin fever which may have begun to set in. 

As with any major event which keeps us on our toes, there are great advantages to the abundance of rain which we have been receiving such as dam levels, rainwater tanks and swimming pools all topped up as well as the city and the surrounding areas still looking lush and green this close to winter. Please stay safe on the roads as you navigate the extra driver-care needed in these weather conditions.

I returned to Concordia on Thursday after having attended the Lutheran Principals’ Australia [LPA] Conference in Adelaide earlier in the week. Meeting with and engaging in quality conversations and professional development with 88 other Lutheran Principals was a very rich and affirming opportunity. I have returned feeling very proud to be associated with this College. 

The pastoral care, learning culture and working relationships among us as a community are right up there and among the best and yes, we won’t get it right every day but our culture of, “it’s okay to make mistakes” and starting with a clean slate consistently stand us in good stead.

It’s that time of the year again, and while I have a feeling that it is becoming more a routine event, there is still stress and pressure attached to the annual NAPLAN tests for both students and staff.

While these tests do provide some tools to help us reflect on our teaching and learning as a community, they are also used in less helpful ways and can only give a snapshot of certain aspects of learning.

At Concordia, we seek to educate the whole person and prepare students for a life beyond school, as life-long learners and people who know that they are valued and have positive contributions to make to wider society. On our website we state: Concordia Lutheran College exists to nurture and empower young people to shape and enrich our world through a life of faith and service. 

This involved far more than NAPLAN scores. Of course, life involves assessment, responsibility, testing, comparisons – and I think we need to prepare our students for those things, but this is not all.

Concordia's 2022 Open Day will be proceeding as planned on Saturday 14 May from 9.30am to 12.30pm.

While the wet weather has presented some challenges, we have made adjustments to ensure that everyone stays safe and we can still showcase our wonderful school to our guests.

There has been a very high level of interest in event with a significant volume of registrations in the past three days. 

Thank you to everyone who has worked hard in the lead up to Open Day. We look forward to seeing our students and parents at this event. We truly appreciate everyone who has volunteered their time to support us tomorrow.

If you haven't already, you can download the Open Day app by using the link below. This app presents an overview of everything happening at Open Day. There will be notifications sent throughout the day keeping you updated.

The Concordia community is invited to join us for Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience on Friday 27 May in the Concordia Function Centre.

Dubbed the world's number one tribute show, Faulty Towers sees Basil, Sybil and Manuel from the classic comedy show Faulty Towers join us for a two hour dinner show filled with fun and frivolity.

The trio are returning for a second time to Concordia after our audience was delighted by them in 2018. Here are some photos from that show:

Please note the worship has changed to Picnic Point Heller Street Park.

The HSC Parent Connect are running a Homestyle Bake Fundraiser. For more information please click here.

Persistence and resilience are two of the characteristics we refer to each day at the Junior College, and this week we have had to dig deep in both of those areas. Our students and staff have faced a challenging week of extremely wet weather and have done this admirably. A huge thank you to everyone for being patient and flexible as we managed this weather event.

Thank you to everyone for your support and welcoming smiles to Mrs Rowena Weier and myself as we take on the leadership of both Junior College Campuses in Juanetta’s absence. We have both felt very supported this week and are looking forward to working with you all throughout the rest of this term.

Below please find some information about the upcoming Colonial School. There is much interest and excitement among the Year 5 students and many questions remain to be answered: “Wait and See” is my response to several queries. 

If you have any concerns please let me know, but this is a fun educational experience which is very worthwhile. WSC students will need to be dropped to school at HSC for this event, starting at 8.30am.

JC Year 5 Colonial School – Monday 23 May, Hume Street Campus

A visit by the "Colonial School' will provide the students with the three Rs. The activities will include a selection of the following lessons.

• An introduction to the dreaded Edwardian Classroom punishments.
• A cleanliness inspection to see if students have washed behind their ears and cleaned their fingernails.
• An arithmetic lesson using those fine old pounds, shillings and pence which will never be replaced.
• A Victorian textbook spelling test designed to embarrass the classroom best spellers.
• A writing lesson using the latest copperplate writing style.
• A reading lesson from the latest texts that have arrived in the colony from reputable British publishers.

Excursion Uniform - Students are encouraged to dress in clothing appropriate to the 1918 era on this day.

Edwardian boys should wear long trousers or jeans with long socks. The long socks should be worn over the trousers. Alternatively, knee length shorts could be worn. A shirt with or without collar and boots or closed shoes are necessary to complete the picture. Braces could also be worn.

Young Edwardian ladies can wear a long dress or a skirt and blouse. Young ladies should remember not to expose their ankles.

Of course, everyone's shoes should be polished (the teacher will probably check these). Fingernails should be short and no dirt under the nails. In Edwardian time, coming to school dirty could mean that the student in question would receive four strokes from the teacher's strap or cane.

Food during the excursion - As we would like this to be a whole day experience in times of school life in Edwardian times you may consider sending recess and lunch in keeping with the era. Bread and cheese or bread and jam (no butter) wrapped in brown paper or a damp tea towel and tied with string would be appropriate. No poppers but water could be sent. An apple a day keeps the doctor away should be remembered!

WSC students will return to their campus by College bus for a normal school pick up.

The day promises to be a great learning experience for the children.

Throughout last term our students have been participating in PE classes and preparing for this year’s Junior College Track and Field carnival which is to be held now in Week 6, Friday 27 May, after being postponed last week due to impending weather forecasts.

In Week 2, our students participated in the pre carnival 800m event which was a great afternoon of competition between all houses with many students running some great times and a number of records narrowly missed being broken. The 2022 Discus events have also been completed, setting the tone for a big day of competition on Friday Week 6 at our Junior College Carnival.

Our Junior College Track and Field program has been released with various information for the day along with event timetable. Communication regarding any changes and reminders will be forthcoming in the following weeks via our various platforms as normal for this day.

The Book Fair is approaching fast and I am looking forward to many excited students coming into the library to “shop” for new books. 

We have just had to make a change to the date at Hume Street Campus. As the Athletics Carnival for Years 3 to 6 has been rescheduled to Friday 27 May, we will now have the Book Fair on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 May. The Library will be open before school from 7.30am and after school until 3.30pm on these two days should you wish to attend the Book Fair with your child. Next week the students will be able to have a look at the books that will be for sale and fill out a wish list to bring home to discuss with you. There will be prizes that some lucky students will receive of Book Vouchers to spend at the Book Fair. Payments for the books can be made by either EFTPOS or Cash. 

I look forward to seeing many of you supporting this wonderful week of events.

Mrs Karen Maben
Junior College Library Coordinator

At HSC, Tuckshop is held on a Thursday. All orders are to be completed online at My Student Account by 3pm each Wednesday. Please notify Reception by 9am on Thursday if your child is absent and we will cancel their order. Tuckshop will finish in Week 9.

At WSC, Tuckshop is held on a Wednesday. All orders are to be completed online at My Student Account by 3pm each Tuesday. Please notify Reception by 9am on Wednesday if your child is absent and we will cancel their order. Tuckshop will finish in Week 9.

In Week 6 of this term, we are very excited to be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair. The Book Fair is an opportunity for students and their families to purchase books. It is a fantastic way to promote literacy by making books and reading more fun. 

The Book Fair will be held on Monday 23 and Tuesday 24 May in the Resource Centre at Concordia Warwick Street Campus. The Resource Centre will be open from 7.30am before school and until 3.30pm after school on these two days for families to come in and browse the collection and make purchases. 

The school earns commission from all purchases made to go towards purchasing more new resources for our library. In the days prior to the Book Fair, students will be given an opportunity to browse the collection and take home a wish list to discuss with their family.

The Book Fair will coincide with the National Simultaneous Storytime 2022 which will be held on Wednesday 25 May. Each year a picture book that has been written and illustrated by Australians is read simultaneously in homes, libraries and schools. This event is hosted by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). 

The book for this year is Family Tree written by Josh Pyke and illustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh. Many of you will have seen this book advertised in the Scholastic Book Club brochure and I know several families have purchased it.

I look forward to seeing many of you supporting this wonderful week of events.

Mrs Karen Maben
Junior College Library Coordinator

Is there a better sound then rain on a corrugated iron roof? My family live in the house that has been owned by my family since it was built at the turn of the 20^th century. My children are sixth generation, so sharing memories with them of my childhood is an absolute pleasure. 

Waking up to the sound of rain on the roof is one of those experiences that has the ability to transport you back in time to childhood memories. I share this because I think it is always important to reflect on how we build rituals, routines and a culture that has meaning to people. 

In a school setting, creating a sense of belonging is critical for our students to feel safe and connected within our community. Over the coming months our Pastoral Care Leaders will be looking at our current practices, and considering further ways to strengthen our community culture, and further reinforce the social and emotional development of our students. I will provide updates as we progress on this journey. 

As we draw close to the end of Unit 1 for Year 11 students, now is an opportunity to make any subject changes. 

If students were wanting to make a subject change, they have until Friday 20 May to do so. Unit 2 has commenced for some subjects and all subjects will be commencing Unit 2 by the end of next week. 

The next available opportunity to make any subject changes will be end of Term 3 before student commence Unit 3 and their Year 12 course of study.

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to make contact.   

Ms Wendy Bowen
Director of Learning and Innovation

Elevate Education's next free webinar for parents is an opportunity to assist your child with “Time Management” and how to “Beat Procrastination”. I would encourage you to take the time to listen to the webinar which is offered to Concordia Lutheran College parents as part of our ongoing partnership with how to effectively study.

Click here to order online.  Online orders remain open until photo day, following that time you can still order by phoning the MSP office (a late fee will be incurred).

Get your band together and tune your instruments. This June, the Battle of the Bands is coming to Toowoomba.

Hosted by the Regional Youth Leaders, the Battle of the Bands is being held to celebrate young artists of all music genres. Showcase your talents, make industry connections and kickstart your musical career by entering this year's competition.

The event will be held on Friday 17 June 2022 at Toowoomba State High School. This year's entrants will compete for a prize pool worth over $7,000 – with prizes for the top three acts in each category. Click here to learn more or click here to download the Battle of the Bands Application Pack.

Hello to the Boarding families -  it's only five weeks until the end of Term 2!

This week has been a big week for our Boarders with most of our boarding students going on a road trip to Movie World last Saturday. Based on feedback from the students, they all had an awesome day riding the many rollercoasters and getting action shots with their favourite Warner Bros character.

We still have many more boarding activities planned for the rest of Term 2 such as Ten Pin Bowling, Games Night, a camp fire and a visit to the cinemas.

In the gallery below are a few photos of our day at Movie World that I hope you enjoy.

Mr Andrew Bull
Boys' Houseparent