Dear Parents and Caregivers

I hope that you enjoyed the 75th Anniversary Celebrations which were held last week on Saturday. It was wonderful for our College to host over 1,000 guests on what was a beautiful Spring day. 

Some highlights for me included the outstanding variety of performances by our students as well as the gathering of past students from 1946 to 2020. It was our pleasure, as the “Community of 2021”, to host so many of you either as past students and/or current parents on the day. 

Our goal, moving forward, is to ensure that the connections which have been established from this event continue to grow in the future. Thank you and congratulations to the current students on being outstanding ambassadors for Concordia on the day. 

Your feedback, via email to the College, on how the event went for you as well as suggestions and feedback on what can be considered for future will be greatly appreciated. Thank you to all the staff, led by Mrs Bianca Coleborn, for the work done in making this event possible and such a huge success.

In the old King James version of the Bible Psalm 90, verse 10 records the life-span of a human as threescore years and ten; or perhaps fourscore, if we have the strength. That is 70 to 80 years. In biblical times that would have been a ripe old age indeed and not that common - the average life expectancy was below 30. A threescore and ten was seen as a special blessing from God.

When the founders of Concordia College set up this institution in 1946, they looked to the future, but certainly in the stories I have read their focus was also firmly on pressing contemporary issues and concerns with getting the College established, and it took some years before stability developed. 

Their vision for a coeducational boarding school was quite radical for the time, as most other non-government schools were single gender schools. The decision to go coeducational reflected Luther’s promotion of education for all, deep in the DNA of the Lutheran church. The founders wanted the College to provide a good education with a Christian focus to prepare girls and boys for service in the church and the world.

Our Athlete Development Program is now partnering with The Fit Lab. This program is available to students in Years 5-12. 

Click here for further information.

Why you chose Concordia Lutheran College for your child or children's education is both insightful and important to us.

We’re interested to learn what was important to you and your family before and during your decision-making process, why you chose an independent school and why you felt Concordia was the right choice for your family.

We are asking parents to complete the What Parents Want Survey, which is being conducted by Independent Schools Queensland. The survey is anonymous and the data will provide us with important insights to better understand and support prospective and new families in our College community.

It is important that as many members of the College community as possible complete this survey. We will receive a personalised report for Concordia from Independent Schools Queensland if we have enough people from our College complete the survey. Again, the survey is anonymous so we will not receive any identifying information about those who complete the survey.

The survey takes between 15-20 minutes and we would be truly grateful if you are able to take this time out of your busy schedule to help us by completing it. Click the button to take the survey:

We had a wonderful turnout at the 75th anniversary celebration on Saturday 4 September. Many thanks to everyone who was able to attend and celebrate Concordia's past, present and future with us.

A sincere thanks to everyone who helped to make the day a success:

• To the organising committee who spent many months planning the event - thank you!
• To the students who volunteered with setting up and helping at the event - thank you!
• To the parents who volunteered their time setting up, working at the event and packing down at the end - thank you!
• To the chefs and kitchen staff for preparing beautiful food for our guests to enjoy - thank you!
• To the staff members who worked in the Kids Zone during the event - thank you!
• To the musicians and music staff members who performed so beautifully throughout the afternoon - thank you!
• To the Grounds Crew who worked so hard preparing our grounds to look their best as well as working so hard to set up everything for the event - thank you!

Mrs Bianca Coleborn
Director of Marketing & Enrolments

As part of our Humanities and Social Sciences Curriculum, we have organised an excursion for Tuesday 12 October, to St Helena Island for our Year 5 students to develop their knowledge and understanding of prison life experiences. Please click on the parent letter for more information. Parents are requested to go to Parent Lounge to submit your permission by Thursday 16 September.

• Login to Parent Lounge >
• Click on Events & Payments >
• Click on - JC 2021 Year 5 St Helena Island Excursion >
• Accept >
• Save

Important Note: Please check and ensure your child's medical conditions and Emergency Contact Information is up to date.

On Friday 8 October, our Year 5 students will be attending a leadership day at Koojarewon Youth Camp. Please see the attached parent letter for more information.

PERMISSION REQUIRED:
Parents are requested to go to Parent Lounge to submit your permission by Friday 17 September 2021:
• Login to Parent Lounge >
• click on Events & Payments >
• click on JC 2021 Year 5 Leadership Day >
• Accept / Decline >
• Save

Important Note: After submitting your permission, please check and ensure your Parent Lounge Portal is up-to-date regarding your child’s Emergency Contact Info and Medical Conditions.

Should you any further queries regarding this event, please contact your child’s teacher.

Sporting Schools
Our Junior College Sporting Schools program has finished, and the students loved running around and playing Hockey which was held at HSC this term.

Regional coaches and development staff delivered these sessions, and they have a wealth of experience to share with our students. They also provide links to community and club opportunities that students can take advantage of if they choose.

The sessions went for one hour, over five weeks and credit must go to the students' enthusiasm and participation throughout these sessions. We are looking to run some more programs in Term 4 which will be confirmed later.

Please click here for the Training Schedule for Term 3, Week 10 and Term 4.

Care Outreach has been supporting Outback families for over 25 years. Many rural and remote families are in their 10th year of drought. These families need us more than ever this Christmas.

In Term 4 the Junior College will be again supporting Care Outreach with their Christmas for the Bush appeal. You can help by donating...

• Non-perishable food and Christmas treats
• Toys and family gifts
• Toiletries
• Pre-paid visa cards

Donation baskets will be placed in every classroom. 100% goes to our farmers! For other specific needs, please visit Care Outreach and click on the 'Christmas for the Bush' tab.

Our Year 6 students are ready to go, sporting their Cairns Travel Shirt.

All students need to arrive at Hume Street Campus at 5.15am for a 5.45am departure. Please note that we will have a coffee van here at HSC for those who have missed their morning coffee.

The Opti-MINDS Creative Sustainability Challenge is an inclusive team challenge which EMPOWERS participants to THINK, CREATE & COMMUNICATE. Our team consisted of six students between the ages of Year 4 to Year 6 from both Junior College campuses. The chosen OptiMINDS team for 2021 was: Quade (Year 6 HSC), Charlotte (Year 5 HSC), Thomas, Anya and Dinaksi (Year 5 WSC) and Marcus (Year 4 HSC). They were selected by Mrs Juanetta Priest and Mrs Jackie Minnikin after a four week trial period with six other students by showing creativity, out-of-the-box thinking and most importantly, team work. 

Wow! What an amazing week we have had. It has been incredible, and I have the highest regard for our teachers and support staff. The teaching and learning that occurs on a daily basis is phenomenal. I think Bec Denny put it into words perfectly. Thank you, Bec, and everyone who made the many positive comments.

“Good evening Juanetta, I just wanted to convey how wonderful I felt after attending the festival of learning tonight. As a long-term parent that thrives on the spirit and community of our school, I have truly missed the catch ups and experiences like tonight. It was spectacular! Every year you and your amazingly dedicated staff bring a new dimension to displaying what the children have been up to, but this year took the cake! Music, food, laughs and connection all added to a beautiful night strolling around enjoying the accomplishments of our children. Thank you to everyone and of course to our much-adored teachers. Well done, HSC!! 👏🎉❤️” Bec Denny

Click here to view HSC's Events for Term 3, Week 10.

Have a lovely weekend and enjoy time together.

Mrs Juanetta Priest
Director of Campus

On Thursday 16 September our Student Council ais holding a $1 icy pole day at first break (10.45am to 11.30am). Please send along $1 if your child/ren would like to buy an icy pole.

Due to swimming lessons in week 10, Robert Williams will be having all of the lessons on Thursday 16 September. Could all students from Years 1 to 5 who are registered for lessons please bring their tennis racket along on Thursday 11am to 11.30am.  

On Friday 20 August, Prep to Year 2 students will commence their swimming lessons at the Concordia Aquatic Centre. Each of these classes will participate in eight lessons over the last few weeks of Term 3. There will certainly be some tired little swimmers by the end of Term. Click Here for the swimming timetable.

Please ensure that students have the following:

• Dressing gown - this is great for the students to wear to and from the pool as we don't know what the weather is going to be like;
• Thongs
• Swimming togs - Prep students please wear your togs to school and pack underwear
• Goggles
• House swimming cap
• Towel

To avoid any lost items, please clearly label all of your child's items including their shoes, underwear and uniform.

On Friday 15 October, students from Years 3 to 6 will commence their swimming lessons at the Concordia Aquatic Centre. Each of these classes will participate in eight lessons over Term 4. Click Here for the swimming timetable.

Please ensure that students have the following:

• Dressing gown - this is great for the students to wear to and from the pool as we don't know what the weather is going to be like;
• Thongs
• Swimming togs - it would be great for Years 5 & 6 to wear their togs to school as they will be leaving straight after assembly on Fridays
• Goggles
• House swimming cap
• Towel

To avoid any lost items, please clearly label all of your child's items including their shoes, underwear and uniform.

On Friday 15 October 2021 the Hume Street Campus will be holding a movie night from 5.30pm. The movie, The Secret Life of Pets 2, will be screening from 6pm with food and refreshments available.

For more information please see the flyer below. To register your attendance please click here. 

HSC Movie Night Flyer

Please note that there will not be any tuckshop in Week 10. Tuckshop will resume in Term 4 Week 2.

Tennis coaching will be available for Term 4. Please click below for the relevant information:

• Years 1 to 6
• Prep

Traditionally Term 3 is one of our busiest terms of the year and this year has been no different at WSC. Week 9 has seen swimming lessons commence for our Prep to Year 2 classes, our Year 4s busily preparing to present their Individuals of Eminence on Wednesday night, and of course our Year 6 class finalising all of their learning for the term so they can jet off to Cairns next week.

Visiting classrooms and seeing the learning that is occurring is a highlight for me each week. Today, I spent some time in the Year 1 classroom as they shared the work that they had been doing on their Animal Information Reports and dioramas. I even learnt some fun facts. Did you know that the Great White Whale has a flexible neck, and that a platypus has no stomach? Excellent work, Year 1!

Each year before our Year 6 students leave for Canberra, and now Cairns, it is tradition that they share their excitement with us by decorating the window outside their classroom. This week we saw fish and scuba divers painted on the windows in place of snow and toboggans. We wish Mr Paul Baker and our Year 6 class all the best as they embark on our first trip to Cairns next week. We look forward to hearing the stories of camp when they return after the holidays. 

I wish everyone a happy and relaxing weekend and look forward to seeing you all next week for our last week of Term 3.

Click here to view WSC's Events for Term 3, Week 10.

Blessings for the week ahead.

Mrs Jackie Minnikin
Director of Campus

Our OSHC space at WSC is all set up and ready to go! If you are on campus, please feel free to pop your head in and have a look.
If you would like to enrol your child/children in our OSHC, please use the links to our enrolment documents below. 

WSC Outside School Hours Care Parent Handbook
Enrolment Form
Agreement for Families CCS Service Form
Booking and Fee Agreement OSHC
Parent Visitor Adult Occupant Code of Conduct
Paracetamol or Ibuprofen Authorisation Form

Boy, do we have talent at WSC! Congratulations to all our winners who were presented with their certificates and prizes today. Thank you also to Chloe, Annabelle and Ananya for organising this special event for our students. Thank you also to Mrs Lee-Anne Millet for assisting with this process. What do you get for first prize for Concordia’s Got Talent? Three days of free dress!

Please note that there will not be any tuckshop in Week 10. Tuckshop will resume in Term 4 Week 2.

On Tuesday 7 September, Prep to Year 2 will commence their swimming lessons at the Concordia Aquatic Centre. Each of these classes will participate in seven lessons over the last two weeks of Term 3. 

On Tuesday 5 October, students from Years 3 to 6 will commence their swimming lessons at the Concordia Aquatic Centre. Each of these classes will participate in ten lessons over Term 4. Click Here for the swimming timetable.

Please ensure that students have the following:

• Swimming togs 
• Goggles
• House swimming cap
• Towel

To avoid any lost items, please clearly label all of your child's items including their shoes, underwear and uniform.

Tennis coaching will be available for Term 4. Please click below for the relevant information:

• Years 1 to 6
• Prep

It was about 8pm last Saturday, as our 75th Anniversary Celebration Day packing up was being finalised, that I heard laughter and joking coming from the darkness in the vicinity of one of the College’s utes. 

At the end of what had been an enormous effort from our Grounds, Catering and College community, there was still joy. Tyrone, our Operations Manager, was still laughing, cracking dad jokes and in high spirits. When I commented on this, knowing the extraordinary effort that had been required of himself and his team, he commented that it was the community support in setting up and packing down that had made the day “easy” to put on. 

Families and friends of our Year 12 students are invited to attend the Year 12 Valedictory Arrivals near Redlands at Stephen Street Campus on Thursday 16 September. Arrivals begin at 4.30pm and should last approximately one hour. 

Guests are asked to enter via the road adjoining Harristown State High School off Stephen Street (normally the bus exit) and park on the oval in front of the Centre for Scientific Inquiry (CSI). Guests are asked to sign in at the check-in stations available. 

We look forward to seeing you and we are sure you will enjoy watching our Year 12 students in all their glitz and glamour, take to the red carpet! If you are unable to come along to the Arrivals, these will be livestreamed via the College’s Facebook page. 

During Physical Education classes, our Year 7 students are experiencing Sitting Volleyball, which made its Paralympic debut at the Arnhem 1980 Paralympic Games. 

Sitting volleyball is open to athletes with a physical impairment and is played on a smaller court (10m x 6m) with a lower net than used in volleyball. Teams consist of mixed classes in male and female events, with six players on the court at a time. At all times, an athlete’s pelvis must be touching the ground and service blocks are allowed.

Check out the action in the photo gallery below.

Sport Trials and Teams

Cricket: 13-15 Years Cricket trials are coming up, if you would like more information please email jana.anderson@concordia.qld.edu.au.

Softball: Would you like to try Softball? Come down to the Main oval on Wednesday 3.30pm to 4.30pm, meet with Coach Jake and Coach Karen to try your hand. 

Touch Football: Would you like to play for the SSC Concordia Touch team in the All Schools South West Touch competition on Sunday 17 October? Email jana.anderson@concordia.qld.edu.au to register your interest

Wow, our 75th Anniversary celebration was fabulous! A few alumni boarders ventured over to have a quick look around Boarding on Saturday. It was great hearing them chat about the old days. Our current boarders really enjoyed being involved in the celebrations. Many supported in the set up and the tours. Those that were involved in the entertainment did a massive job. Many Old Scholars met up with fellow past students. Mixed emotions, fond memories and rekindled friendships. I am looking forward to our next celebration!