The Week Ahead - Term 4, Week 5
Monday 2 November to Friday 6 November 2020
From the Head of College
As this publication goes to print, we celebrate a number of major milestones in the College’s annual calendar:
- Friday 30 October is the internationally recognised ‘World Teachers’ Day’, but at Concordia we celebrate the magnificent work of all staff – particularly in this very challenging year. Thank you to all Concordia staff members – you make a difference in the life of all students who enter this very special Christian environment.
- Saturday 31 October is Reformation Day, the anniversary of the day Martin Luther is said to have posted his ninety-five theses on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, Germany (31 October, 1517), later identified by Protestants as the beginning of the Reformation.
- Sunday 1 November is All Saints' Day; a day when we as a Church community commemorate those we have lost, as well as the Christians who have lived before us and have testified to their Christian faith. This is a very special day for Christian families as it is a time where we come together to remember, and honour loved ones.
From the College Pastor
Community News
LYQ Summer Camps
After a rollercoaster year, we can't wait for camps this summer. Camping is such a great way to escape the everyday, learn some new skills, make some great friends, create memories you can treasure forever and learn more about the secure hope that God offers. This summer should be a cracker with some great opportunities in December and January to celebrate the end of the year and start the next with a bang!
To find out more check out the information flyer of some great camping opportunities for young people in Years 3-6 and Years 7-12 in December and January. Keep in mind that new COVID-19 measures mean that places on camp will be limited. This may mean that your favourite camp books out faster than normal.
Financial support is available to families who wish to participate in these summer camps. Please click here to access Financial Support Applications.
If you have any questions about LYQ camps please call us on 07 3511 4080. We can't wait to welcome you to camp this summer!
Come & Try for Years 6-12 students
Please contact SSC Sports Coordinator, Mrs Jana Anderson, for further information.
Project Based Learning at Concordia
Junior College
Outside School Hours Care
Stephen Street Campus
Future Planning
Over the past two weeks on Stephen Street Campus, there have been two very exciting discussions taking place in parallel. Our Heads of Department, including our newest 2021 member, Mrs Angela Sten (HOD English), spent a whole day planning, visioning, blue-sky thinking, developing and shaping how our curriculum should look from 2021 and beyond.
This was an incredibly energising day of frank open discussions around opportunities for improvement and innovation. Alongside this body of work, Mr Darren Pope, Learning Enrichment Coordinator, has been driving the Reflect 2 Pivot (R2P) project that will allow us to shape a collective learning narrative for Stephen Street Campus in order to develop a clear understanding of what great learning looks, sounds and feels like here at Concordia.
The R2P workshop on Tuesday night had approximately 30 participants and I must say that it was a very valuable two hours of work that resulted in some very well-articulated, high impact areas for us to focus on going forward.
Themes of seamless technology, flexibility in timetables and learning spaces, strong values and professional development around pedagogy were common across both forums. As both of these projects take shape, there will be more opportunities for parents, students and staff to continue to have input into shaping the future learning environment and experiences here at the College.
In Jim Collins' book, Good to Great he speaks about the importance of having “the right people on the bus”. There is no doubt that the “Stephen Street Campus bus” does have the right people on the bus and I am very excited to be part of a team that is reimagining learning with such passion and capacity to enact change.
From the Careers Department
Speed Interviews
For the past two Wednesdays, some of the Senior students have been participating in Speed Interviews. These students had the opportunity to speak with representatives from Downs Group Training, Golden West Apprenticeships, Aurora Training Institute and MEGT in an interview context. The students have now been registered with these employment services in the search for an apprenticeship in 2021.
Congratulations to Jeremy Crouch, Liam Musch, Oskar Fowkes, Zeb O’Shea and Will McConville on taking the initiative to take this opportunity in their search for an apprenticeship. The feedback received from the interviewers was positive and their behaviour and professionalism was very well-received.
Vocational Qualifications
As a result of the new Senior curriculum that has been introduced this year, there has been an increased interest from students to enrol in vocational qualifications. Certificate III or higher qualifications can contribute to students’ ATAR. In addition, most Certificate courses accrue QCE points which can contribute to each students’ Queensland Certificate of Education, where they are working towards accruing 20 points.
News from RESET
Thank you to the families who in the past 12 months, have collected and contributed towards the 7kg of bread tags that are being donated to the charity group Bread Tags for Wheelchairs. That is 7kg kept out of landfill.
If you eat bread and have bread tags, please collect them and send them in to me at SSC. It is one small step we can take toward keeping plastic out of landfill.
Thank you also to students who are continuing to place bottles, cans and juice boxes in the 10 cent recycling bins outside The Open Door and in crates displaying the recycling label around the Campus. All money raised from this initiative goes back into the Student Council funds that buy items for the student body.
Families can donate their cans and bottles by using the code: C10243143 when taking their bottles and cans to the recycling centre.
Mrs Carissa Jaworska
Senior College Coordinator
Sport News
Queensland Representative
Last month William Cox participated in the Queensland Orienteering Long Distance Championships. Over 100 students from all around Queensland took part in this two-day event. Orienteering is a competitive international sport that combines racing with navigation. Participants use very detailed maps to select routes and navigate through diverse and often unfamiliar terrain in the fastest time.
Besides needing excellent map reading skills, an orienteer needs great concentration and the ability to make quick decisions about the best route under pressure while running at high speed.
Results from these events were used to select the Queensland Schools Honour Team of 20 students. Usually, this team would represent Queensland at the Australian Schools Orienteering Championships scheduled to be held in Tasmania but unfortunately this competition was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions precluding interstate travel.
Congratulations Will, on your selection in this Honour team.
Term 4 Training Times
Boarding
Congratulations!
This is the time for the graduating Year 12 students. They have celebrated, they have been lauded and now it’s final exam time. I am happy to say that they are also being appreciated by the wider community.
I was very pleased to be invited to the Toowoomba Mayoral Achievement Awards last weekend. Students from all over Toowoomba were presented with awards for overcoming difficult circumstances in their endeavours to gain a great education. We were very happy to have Year 12 boarder, Matthew Sharp, be presented a Mayoral Achievement Award at this special presentation ceremony.
Matthew was presented the award on the basis that he has been a Concordia boarder from Year 7 through to Year 12, and for these years he has overcome the stresses of being isolated from his family while at boarding (except holidays and family visits), to complete his schooling. Matthew’s family live over 300 kilometres away from Concordia. Due to the prestige of receiving this award, Matthew’s parents, Adrian and Marion, travelled to be at the special awards event, where Matthew was presented with a medal and certificate from the Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor, Cr Paul Antonio.
At this time, I would also like to congratulate the other boarders, who have tirelessly supported the Year 12 students. One such time of support came from Chrissy, Nadia and Keisha, who worked very hard in hospitality support at the Valedictory Dinner. Well done!
Have a great week!
Mrs Maureen Taurima and Mr Ross McKeown
Boarding Houseparents