We have just spent a very memorable week saying farewell to our Year 12 cohort - the Class of 2020. It was delightful to see these young students finish their schooling at Concordia Lutheran College in such fine fashion. 

The farewells, Recognition and Valedictory Service, final Chapel Service, and Arrivals and Valedictory Dinner were meaningful and uplifting affairs – congratulations to our students, parents and staff for all that you have contributed to the Concordia community over many years. 

Our prayers and best wishes are with these students as they now move into a period of study prior to their external assessment block beginning on Monday 26 October and extending over three weeks. Many thanks to Mrs Carissa Jaworska, the Valedictory Committee and many other staff and students for a superb effort in organising the restricted activities that appropriately recognised our Year 12 cohort in their final year. Congratulations, one and all!

This week ahead
I was delighted to see our Junior College swim program come to life again this term. It is an important part of what we as a school have to offer and I know that the children enjoy the pool – and importantly, gain those safety skills that are essential as we head into summer.

Covid-19 led to us cancelling our Open Day in 2020, so the Marketing team has built a virtual Open Day website for visitors to see what makes our College so unique and special.

While the website showcases the College to prospective families, it's also provides a wonderful insight to our current families about what really happens at Concordia. I confess that even I was amazed at some of the things I learned while we were building this platform!

I encourage you to take a look at it and share it with your friends and family. There are over 45 video clips on there, mostly 1-2 minutes in duration, so it's pieces of bite-sized information. There are also some amazing performances and humorous videos that really showcase our personality at Concordia.

The website is: www.concordiavirtual.com.au

Here are some of the things you'll find on there:

• Multiple short videos from each campus - some serious, some not so serious
• Photos of teaching staff members at each campus
• Videos from each member of the Leadership Team
• Videos from the different academic departments at Stephen Street Campus
• Overview of all the different subjects on offer at Stephen Street Campus
• Student stories (which will be added to regularly)
• Links to College publications such as Junior College, Middle College and Senior College handbooks, Fee Schedules, Uniform Guide, BYOD Guide (all in one handy location!)

If you have any suggestions for what could be added to our virtual Open Day website, please send us an email at marketing@concordia.qld.edu.au.

Mrs Bianca Coleborn
Director of Marketing & Enrolments

My name is Caitlin Wiggins and I would like to introduce you to a charity I am establishing.

Our region has many diverse groups of different social and economic backgrounds and they can find it difficult to integrate and progress within our community. Sport has always been a wonderful way for people to become involved, meet new people and make lifetime friendships however equipment can be costly and out of reach for many. 

The purpose of this charity is to provide newly arrived immigrants and disadvantaged youth with sporting equipment to assist their integration and involvement into the sporting community of Toowoomba.

How can you help?
We are looking for donations of sporting gear or equipment that you have out grown or do not use anymore ie football boots, sporting balls, cricket gear, running shoes etc. New equipment or voucher donations would also be welcomed.

Where to drop off?
Each Campus will have drop off points and these are listed in the flyer below. 

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact your Director of Campus or myself. I am in Year 6 at HSC. Your support will be appreciated.

The Hume Street Campus P&F Committee is running the annual Mango Fundraiser. Please see below for more information and order form.

As we are nearing the end of our 2020 school year, I would sincerely like to thank you all for your continued support and patience. It has certainly been a tricky year and one that we will not forget for a long time, if ever. 

Concordia was recently honoured by Independent Schools Queensland by being one of their schools chosen to interview due to our successful implementation of teaching and learning throughout the year. This whole process has been successful due to the hard work of both staff and parents. Well done to all of us.

Curious Creatures & Wild Minds invokes thoughts of nature, jungles, sea creatures and dinosaurs, of imaginary and mythological animals, and of adventurers, explorers and scientists.

This year we are asking the students to dress up as ‘Curious Creatures or Wild Minds’ for Book Week on Monday 26 October.

So the students can showcase their costumes, we will be having a Book Week Dress Up Parade at 8.45am in the Hall. This year we will be joined by our CLC Hume Street Kindy. There will be some video footage of this parade that teachers will Seesaw to Parents. This will then be followed by sharing our favourite stories with our buddies – so please remind your child to bring along their favourite book.

We look forward to seeing all the Curious Creatures that arrive for Book Week Dress up Day!!

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 7.

On Monday 12 October, the Year 3 to Year 6 students will commence their swimming lessons for Term 4 at the Concordia Aquatic Centre. Each of these classes will participate in lessons over weeks 2 and 3 of Term 4. 

Please note: NO Parents can attend swimming lessons due to COVID-19 restrictions.

This week has been a memorable one for our Year 12 students at Stephen Street Campus. We were fortunate to join in the celebrations as two of our former Warwick Street Campus students, Ashley Pailthorpe and Sam Hieronymus, visited our Campus before their Valedictory Dinner. During their visit, we recalled some old memories and then made some new ones in the process!  Mr Baker was looking rather proud of himself as he had his photo taken with both of these young men who were former members of his Year 6 cohort. Our 2020 Year 6 class joined in the photo shoot as they too, are getting ready to celebrate the end of their time at the Junior College.

Before Ashley and Sam headed off to their Valedictory celebrations, there was one last memory to recreate. Our current WSC Captain, Meg Osborne, joined Ashley in getting a photo taken just as they had back in 2014 when they planted a tree to commemorate 175 years of Lutheran schooling in Australia (1839-2014). 

We wish all our Year 12 students all the best for the future and to Ashley and Sam, we are proud that you were a part of WSC. 

Christmas for the Bush
Thank you to all families who have already donated to Christmas for the Bush this week. It was amazing to see the amount of items that were presented during our offering at Chapel this week. There is a sneak peak in the photo below of our already full Christmas Tree! This is such a worthy cause and we look forward to the donations continuing over the coming weeks.

Mrs Jackie Minnikin
Director of Campus

Curious Creatures, Wild Minds invokes thoughts of nature, jungles, sea creatures and dinosaurs, of imaginary and mythological animals, and of adventurers, explorers and scientists.

This year we are asking the students to dress up as ‘Curious Creatures or Wild Minds’ for Book Week on Wednesday 21 October.

So that the students can showcase their costumes, we will be having a Book Week Dress Up Parade at 8.30am in The Shed. There will be some video footage of this parade and teachers will Seesaw this to parents. Students will be sharing their favourite stories with their buddies, so please remind your child to bring along their favourite book next Wednesday.

We look forward to seeing all the Curious Creatures that arrive for Book Week Dress up Day!

On Tuesday 6 October, Prep to Year 6 students will commence their swimming lessons for Term 4 at the Concordia Aquatic Centre. Each of these classes will participate in lessons over the first 6 weeks of Term 4. 

Please note: NO Parents can attend swimming lessons due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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 7.

The Word on the Street is that WSC has talent! This week we have seen some amazing auditions for our Concordia’s Got Talent Competition. The “Golden Buzzer” was an exciting addition to our competition this year and was very well used! We look forward to seeing which of our acts make it to the Grand Final!

Here we are at the end of a week of celebrations for our graduating class of 2020. I do apologise for not getting an article into last week’s The Week Ahead. I have had a misadventure involving a mountain bike and a tree, that has resulted in a broken leg. The good news is that I’m back, my leg is on the mend and we have an exciting term to look forward to. Thank you to everyone who kept the Stephen Street Campus running through a very busy two weeks! Thank you also to my long time “life coach”, Mr Geoff Becker, for suggesting a sporting change to lawn bowls!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of this special week for our Year 12 students. It has certainly marked a significant milestone for us as a College and for our Senior students. With our Seniors now officially on SWATVAC, I wish them every blessing and deep peace as they prepare for their final external exams. 

We look forward to catching up with them at our Year 12 Brunch, Tuesday 17 November, as an opportunity to come together to celebrate the completion of all External Exams. The Scholar’s Assembly will be the next opportunity for a Class of 2020 reunion, where we will recognise the academic achievement of our highfliers and announce the 2020 College Dux. All the graduating class of 2020 are invited and we look forward to hearing what pathways and opportunities students have taken up.

Mr Darren Pope, Learning Enrichment Coordinator, is currently working towards developing a Shared Learning Narrative in conjunction with staff, students and interested parents. If this sounds like something that you would like to engage with, please keep an eye out for the upcoming “Shared Invitational Workshop” that you will be able to be engaged with either on campus for staff and students, or online for parents.

Mr Jason Smith
Director of Campus

On Monday night, we held the Year 12 Recognition and Valedictory Evening at The Empire Theatre to celebrate and recognise our Year 12 students.

In previous years, Monday's event would have been the Years 7 to 12 Awards and Presentation Evening, however COVID-19 prevented us from holding such a large scale event this year. Instead, we combined the Year 12 Valedictory that would normally be held tonight with a special ceremony dedicated to our Year 12 students.

During the event, videos from staff members to the students were played on the screen for all to enjoy. Many thanks to all the staff members who contributed these videos.

You can watch the video messages to each student on the below video link:

Mrs Bianca Coleborn
Director of Marketing & Enrolments

Our 2020 students are about to commence their SWOT VAC week, next week. We wish all Year 12 students a focused week of study, revision and preparation in readiness for the first ATAR Queensland External Exam event which commences from Monday 26 October and finishes on Monday 16 November. 

A letter was sent to all Year 12 parents and students this week. Please read and be aware of this information. If you have any concerns please do not hesitate to ring or email.  

During SWOT VAC week, the College is open for students to come, talk, work and prepare with teachers. Students do not need to wear school uniform but do need to sign in and out of the College at Student Reception.  

During the External Exams, if there is an emergency or a need to make contact with students and parents quickly, this will happen in the following ways. Information will firstly be sent out via the College App, this will then be followed by an email to both students and parents. 

The College wishes you all the very best for next week's study.

Ms Wendy Bowen
Director of Learning and Innovation

Internationally-renowned writer, speaker and advocate, Melinda Tankard Reist, will be in Toowoomba next week to talk to parents about helping children resist harmful messages from the media and pop culture and aspire to respectful relationships.

Toowoomba parents are invited to attend Melinda’s informative sessionat The Glennie School on Monday evening 19 October. Ms Tankard Reist will explain how children and young people are bombarded with hypersexualised messages from the media and popular culture and how even small children are worried about their looks and physical appearance. She will look at how the lives of young people are increasingly socialised, conditioned and informed by exposure to porn-related content online, with the average age of first exposure at 11. Click here for further information.

Duke of Ed has provided me with numerous opportunities to expand my comfort zone through pursuing various challenges. There have been four main dimensions; physical recreation, skill, service and adventurous journey. I have thoroughly enjoyed working as a team with my fellow participants and committing to learning new skills. Duke of Ed has been an exciting program in which to be involved as I navigate the world as a young adult!

Savannah Hayes
Year 12

This interesting and informative article appeared by Maggie Dent appeared in The Guardian recently. 

Congratulations to Mr John Mathews who has been awarded a Level 3 Performance Coach in Sprints by Athletics Australia. John was nominated to do this course due to his commitment towards Track and Field. He completed the course over two days and successfully passed all his post course exams and assignments. 

John is looking forward to working with SSC students and building the Track and Field Program the College in 2021. Training will commence in Term 1.