Concordia is an active member of Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ), and during this week we will be hosting functions for governing board members from Independent schools across the region. It is good to know that the College can host such forums and that our school is held in high esteem by industry based peak bodies such as ISQ. 

With the current heightened awareness around COVID-19, I again remind our community of the important take-away points that keep our school safe: 

Health reminders 

The key elements of good health practice remain: 

• Stay home if you are feeling unwell, and get tested if any COVID_19 symptoms are evident 
• Wash hands with soap after using the toilet or after sneezing, and dispose of tissues correctly 
• Exercise social distancing where possibly and abide by the health guidelines as managed by the College 
• Sign in and out of campus offices if you are visiting the College 

Thank you for your support and cooperation with this critical matter. 

Mr Adrian Wiles
Head of College

I had the pleasure of attending the evening concert and was blown away by the standard of these young performers. The final combined orchestra had a staggering 150+ musicians on stage and produced an amazing sound. 

Many thanks to Ms Georgina Meecham for all the hard work she has been putting into preparing our students for this event. The standard of this year’s festival was very high and our students have worked very hard to be included. A special thanks to Mrs Carmen ‘Chappy’ Walmsley who took time out of her very busy schedule to support our students and supervise the entire festival. 

Congratulations to the participating students: Chloe Armstrong, Novella Kebede, Maria Kroehn, Annika Madden, Isaac Maden, Jade Schimke, Adelaide Siddans and Hana So-Yoshida. Keep up the good work. 

Mr Paul Edwards
Coordinator of Music Performance

Here are a few things about me:

I enjoy: Spending time with my fiancé and son. We enjoy daily walks, travel (pre-COVID) and being outdoors.

My favourite colour is: Yellow.

I spend my down time: Studying or at the gym.

My favourite food is: My granny's sponge cake.

My favourite drink is: Coffee.

On the weekends: I spend time with my family and volunteer with newly arrived refugee families.

My favourite day of the week is: Sunday because we go to church, have brunch and attend the farmers' markets.

My favourite place: Is my home.

My pets name is: Saint, he is a Samoyed dog.

My favourite sports: Volleyball and boxing. 

Our staff will be limbering up over the weekend in readiness for our Staff versus Students soccer game on Tuesday. Looking forward to seeing us all enjoying this event.

Don’t forget we have an afternoon tea on Tuesday 3pm to 4pm to celebrate our time with Mr Adrian Wiles. This will be an afternoon tea at the Resource Centre for all parents and students whose parents are in attendance. We will also have a time on Thursday at Chapel and Assembly to wish him well.

If you have not booked in for your Parent Teacher Interview, please do this. If you would prefer a zoomed session, please email and let your teacher know.

Click here to view HSC's Events for Term 2, Week 9.

Have a wonderful weekend and stay warm.

Mrs Juanetta Priest
Director of Campus

With the crisp change in the weather, how appropriate for us to be collecting Winter Woollies for those in need. Thank you to all that have donated items for both children and adults. At Assembly on Monday, we will welcome a representative from Civic Assist who will gratefully accept some of these donations and make sure they go where they are needed most. If you would like to join us, Assembly will be held in The Shed at 1.30pm.

On Monday afternoon I invite you all to spend some time with us as we say the first of our farewells to our Head of College Mr Adrian Wiles. If you are able, please come along as we thank and recognise Adrian for all that he had done for Concordia. We will also have a chance to say goodbye at our closing Chapel service next Thursday at 10.15am. All are welcome to attend.

Blessings for the last week of Term 2.

Click here to view WSC's Events for Term 2, Week 9.

Blessings for the week ahead.

Mrs Jackie Minnikin
Director of Campus

Next week also heralds the beginning of the week of farewells to Mr Adrian Wiles. Parents will have noticed that functions are being held on all three campuses to provide the opportunity for families to pop in for a final catch up with Adrian. Our Stephen Street Campus function for families is being held on Wednesday 16 June from 3pm to 4 pm in our Function Centre. I look forward to seeing you there, as we collectively express our gratitude to Mr Wiles for his incredible leadership. 

As we are preparing to farewell Adrian, we have also had the opportunity to get to know Mr Anton Prinsloo, our incoming Head of College. Mr Prinsloo has been onsite all week and experienced everything from boarder dinners to chapels. We do pray for every blessing to be upon Mr Prinsloo as he moves to the high country and establishes himself in our community.

Mr Jason Smith
Director of Campus

Here are some student reflections on what they learned during the workshop:

• There are more people in this world going through this than I thought; and we take everything for granted too often. 
• The hope that so many refugees have is to have freedom. It’s crazy that people like us did not know about this. They work so hard to achieve their dreams. 
• Living in a refugee camp is a lot harder than I thought. You still have to work hard continuously. 
• Being a refugee is hard. Living with other people is complicated and you have no privacy, and it’s hard to get food and water. 
• There are 190,000 refugees in one camp that was built for 80,000 people. 
• 60% of the world's refugees are children.

Julie’s Chapel message also challenged us to think about what it would be like to be a refugee. She highlighted the importance of education in refugee camps, and spoke of the crowded classrooms and lack of educational materials. $26 is all it takes to support a refugee child to go to school for an entire year. Several students expressed interest in running a ‘Walk My Way’ fundraiser later in the year to help provide education and hope to refugee children. Watch this space!

Mrs Karen Rohde
Teacher

For a long time, humans on this planet have relied on plants as a major source of food. Fruits, in particular, have been very useful. It is believed that there are a whopping 37 billion fruit trees in the world right now. Almost all these fruit trees make fruit that is sold all over the world to be enjoyed by many people. All humans on this planet need fruit, especially us high schoolers. Now most of us may be thinking, ‘I always eat fruit, it obviously doesn’t make my life better in any way.’ Well, that is where you would be wrong. As a society, fruit has become something we take for granted. “Yeah, it’s alright”, most of us might say, but under the surface lies many different truths and benefits that we rarely acknowledge.

We are constantly told about how we should eat healthy and how fruit is important. As you get older, the desire to eat healthy becomes weaker and weaker. Teenagers start to think less about what they eat does to their body, but rather how the food tastes. If we fall into that habit at an early age, it can become dangerous to our physical health as we get older. So, we should start considering the health benefits of what we put into our mouth.

Fruit has a long, long list of health benefits, but today we will only focus on one fruit, the simple watermelon. This fruit has been growing in popularity all over Australia, but it is becoming something that teenagers start to take for granted. Watermelon is a very nutritious fruit. It is packed with vitamins and minerals. For example, watermelons contain, on average, 8.1 mg of Vitamin C per 100 g. Vitamin C is essential for the growth of bones, teeth, gums, and different body cells. The growth of the cells helps facilitate the growth of the body, meaning that the more vitamin C you consume, the more likely you are to grow and grow and grow. Another beneficial nutrient contained in watermelon is potassium. This chemical helps in the facilitation of nutrients into body cells and waste products out of the cells. Potassium also helps one’s heartbeat to stay regular, and this helps when one is exercising as the heart needs to pump more oxygen rich blood to other parts of the body. Watermelon contains rich servings of other minerals and nutrients such as vitamins B5, B1 and B6, as well as containing vitamin A, copper and magnesium.

We could spend all day talking about all the vitamins and nutrients you get from watermelon, but there is even more to the red and green fruit than you might think. Watermelon helps in reducing Oxidative Stress which increases wrinkles in skin due to the imbalance of radicals and antioxidants. By preventing Oxidative Stress, watermelons make growth of skin and hair more flawless, making someone look more aesthetically pleasing to their peers, which is a sought-after ability by teenagers. It also helps in relieving muscle soreness after a long hard day at school. 

Now let’s talk about its name. Watermelon is named because it contains almost 70% water. Water is good for hydration. Teenagers are at a greater risk of dehydration after strenuous physical stress and from the stress on cells in the body to grow. Imagine you are on a beach in the sweltering heat of the Queensland summer. It is pretty obvious that you shouldn’t reach for a bag of hot chips or a steaming hot pizza, the first thing you should reach for is an a cool, refreshing chunk of hydrating and nutritious watermelon. Teenagers should learn to make a habit of appreciating the fruit as it contains an abundance of health benefits, and it tastes even better than your mum’s Lasagne. 

So, let’s start this change of diet. Let’s start making better choices. Let’s not eat a subway-a-day, like I know some of us do, but a serve of watermelon a day instead, because eating healthy is the better way. As a wise Nutritionist once said, “A memorable meal is one that will make you live long enough to remember it” (Carolyn Berdanier).

Who demonstrated some smooth moves? Mr Ross was down with some break dancing and Saturday night fever moves. Lots of hidden talents, Mrs Ross. Lots of prizes were given out to the best dancers. We all are looking forward to the Term 3 Disco. 

On Monday night we welcomed Mr Anton Prinsloo, our new Head of College, with an informal dinner. Mr Wiles, along with Mr Smith, Mr Pope, Mr Bovill and Nurse Libby, attended. A wonderful meal was enjoyed by all. Boarders enjoyed having a conversation with them all. 

Wednesday night- STATE of ORIGIN. - Well, I will say no more. Everyone will be glued to their seats next game hoping for a Queensland win. Best of luck! 

This weekend we will be having Christmas in June and our Boarders' Farewell to Mrs Ross. I will keep you all posted with plenty of pictures in next week’s newsletter.

Mrs Maureen Taurima
Houseparent