ConcordiaLutheranCollege

Friday 18 September 2020

From the Head of College

End of Term

The end of another school term is upon us. It has been an exciting, yet unusual journey and I acknowledge and thank our parents and extended families for your support of our Concordia Lutheran College community, and the learning and teaching programs at Concordia. You are appreciated!

Thank you to all staff – this week we saw our Year 6 students enjoy their ‘Canned-berra’ experience as an alternative to what should have been a week trip to Canberra. Thanks must go to Mr Paul Baker, Mrs Allison Busiko, Mr Andrew Tennent and many other staff members who provided a program to remember. Amazing creativity ensured that our students enjoyed a special program that recognised them as they complete their final Junior College year.

It is interesting to note the number of staff who will continue to be engaged in school-based activities during the holidays. The perception is that all staff have two weeks holiday – I can assure our community that our staff will take some time out, but that many will also be available for various events such as auditions for the 2021 production and the Year 12 Tutorial Program.

A reminder that the Stephen Street Campus Reception and the Business Office will be open during normal business hours throughout the two week break.

May God bless you and every family over the coming weeks. Safe travel if that is what you intend to do, and I look forward to welcoming you back on Tuesday 6 October.

Kind regards and every blessing

Mr Adrian Wiles
Head of College

From the College Pastor

Community News

MS Readathon

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's MS Readathon. What a great success!

HSC P&F Mango Fundraiser

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

Project Based Learning at Concordia

Junior College

Junior College Christmas for the Bush

Each year, our Junior College participates in the Christmas for the Bush service project, in order to assist our rural neighbours and make their Christmas a little brighter.

“Christmas for the Bush” is an annual event run by Care Outreach, delivering groceries and Christmas gifts to struggling families in rural and remote regions. So many farming families continue to battle in the grip of the current drought. Loss of income, isolation and depression are some of the issues these families continue to experience.

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Rio's Legacy and Movie Fundraiser

At the beginning of 2020, we welcomed Remi and her family into our HSC community. In 2018, Remi's younger brother Rio, passed away after suddenly becoming unwell at age of 18 months. Remi turned four just weeks before he died.

Since this time, Remi's parents, Karen and Ryan have founded a charity called 'Rios Legacy' aimed exclusively at raising funds and awareness to support terminally ill children and their families. There are currently only three children’s hospices in Australia. For more information about this charity please visit www.rioslegacy.org.au .

Rio's Legacy, has an upcoming fundraiser and a great opportunity for a holiday family movie night. Support children with a terminal illness by watching this movie together as a family these school holidays.

Thank you for your support and we hope you enjoy Jungle Beat: The Movie on behalf of Rio's Legacy.
All details and tickets can be purchased by clicking here.

JC Sport Articles

Sporting Schools
Our Sporting Schools programs have concluded at each Junior College campus and the students had a great time running around and playing both Basketball (WSC) and AFL (HSC).

Regional coaches and development staff deliver 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 run for one hour, over six weeks and credit must go to the students' enthusiasm and participation throughout these sessions. Thank you to all who assisted in some way to provide such opportunities for our students - it is greatly appreciated.

League Stars
The League Stars program offered to HSC students after school has now winded down. This was an initiative by the NRL targeting grassroots development and participation of Primary aged students and ran for six weeks.

It has been fantastic watching the students’ involvement in these sessions and their competitiveness in a host of modified games and challenging drills in the great game of Rugby League.

Well done to all the participants and NRL Development Officer, Mitch Sargent, for his guidance and work with our students this term.

Jump Rope for Heart
Our Years 3 and 4 students have jumped into their Jump Rope for Heart program during their PE lessons this term. They have really embraced not only the skipping component but also the important fundraising efforts of this great program that Concordia has supported for many years. The Jump Rope for Heart program teaches students the benefits of getting physically active and the importance of healthy behaviours to look after their heart.

In addition, at the same time, they give back to the community by raising funds to help save Australian hearts in many ways. Over the past seven weeks, our students have raised over $7000. This is a fantastic effort from these four classes and they logged more than 120 hours of skipping by themselves. Congratulations to our Years 3 and 4 students on their amazing efforts throughout the term, both with their skipping and fundraising.

Both campuses had their “Jump Off” days this week and this was a great fun way to conclude the program and show the College community, their skills and efforts through a series of skipping routines and circuits both skipping individually and in groups.

I would like to thank the Year 3 and Year 4 teachers and all parents for their support in assisting with all aspects of this very worthy program. I do believe there are some video footage from these events on our Seesaw platform highlighting our students having fun.

Friday Afternoon Sport
The usual eagerly awaited Term 3 Friday afternoon Inter-School sport competition was cancelled due to restrictions and implications with COVID-19. As a result, we devised a plan to offer sport to our Years 5 and 6 students in the form of an Inter-House competition held at their respective campus. Students have competed in Soccer for the first four weeks and Oz Tag during the last four weeks.

Students have really been embracing this competition each Friday, whilst competing for their Houses for bragging rights, with some great battles and games going down to the wire. Last week, students played their final session of Oz Tag to wind down the term.

Each week, points were awarded to the Houses for the games played, tallied and then accumulated from both campuses for both sports. The points were allocated as follows:

3 points for a win
2 points for a draw
1 point for a loss

It was truly remarkable how close some of the results were at respective campuses, with only a few points separating the WSC Houses in the Oz tag component. A big thank you to the Years 5 and 6 teachers along with SSC sport coaches who assisted each week to provide such opportunities for our students.

OVERALL COMBINED CAMPUS “COVID CUP”

Inter-House Champions for Term 3 2020

1st - Stedman 69 points
2nd – Kessler 57 points
3rd – Altus 53 points Congratulations to Stedman House!

Mr Darryl Fry
JC Sport Coordinator

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Outside School Hours Care

Hume Street Campus

From the Director

YAY! A record made for 2020

Believe it or not, we have just finished our first full term of in class learning for 2020. What a wild ride we have all been on. No wonder everyone is as tired as they are but congratulations to everyone, students, staff and parents for making it to the end of Term 3.

Chapel – Term 3
This week saw us finish our series on Dr Seuss. The Year 5s shared Dr Seuss’ story of Too Many Daves. The brief synopsis of this story was that a mum had 23 sons and she named them all Dave. How confusing that would be! I can’t even keep the names of my two daughters straight!!

Our Bible reading “I have written your name on the palm of my hands. Your walls are never out of my sight.” Isaiah 49:16a reminds us that God has our names written in the palm of his hands and no matter what, he knows us each by name and never gets us confused with anyone else. He is always there to listen to us, to comfort us and to provide for our needs. How blessed are we. Speaking of being blessed, our Blessing Song for Week 10 was very special as it is the signed version of the song. Watch it with your child/ren and see if you are as good as them at picking up the signing.

Kindy and Hume Street Campus Transitions
Starting school is an important milestone in a child’s life and supporting children to successfully transition to school helps foster their enthusiasm for lifelong learning. School, Kindy and families all have an important part to play in assisting children to successfully transition to school. Our transitioning statement talks about this transition and how it works. Our Kindy children have been having a great time getting to know the various areas and teachers at the big school’.

Kindy Prep Transition Vision

A couple of questions that have been asked recently that I know will be being asked by multiple people, so thought I would answer them here.

Q: Will there be gaps in my child’s learning because of the interruptions this year?

A: Yes, there may be some topics that may not have been covered fully, however, we will map these thoroughly for each year level and these will be passed onto the following year. The gaps will not be significant as we have had more time in the classroom (less excursions and incursions) to spend on the core subjects of Literacy and Numeracy. As you can imagine this will be a worldwide situation.

Q: When will parents be allowed back onto the grounds?

A: We don’t know the answer to this. The Medical Advisor sets the rules and these are then handed down to our governing bodies such as QLD Ed, LEQ (Lutheran Ed QLD) and ISQ (Independent Schools QLD). We follow their guidelines, so when they say parents are allowed back on campus, we will be welcoming you with open arms … socially distancing arms of course! Please remember, Parents are always welcome to ask for a Zoom meeting, phone call, or a meeting in person after school.

On behalf of our HSC staff, I would like to thank you for your ongoing support though these crazy times. The learning that has been achieved this term is well worth celebrating. Seeing the Years 3 and 4 students complete their inventions study with a graphed analysis of their business model, was nothing short of phenomenal, but now it is time for a rest. We pray that you all catch up on some Rs… rest, relaxation and recovery.

See you in Term 4.

Mrs Juanetta Priest
Director of Campus

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Getting to Know our HSC Staff

Angela Norley - Year 1 Teacher

In my working life, I have ...

taught for nearly 30 years in Lutheran Education – more than 20 of those have been at Concordia. I’m not quite part of the furniture.

I am grateful for ...

the opportunity to work in such a warm and Christian environment as we have here at HSC
finding things to smile about in the classroom each day
precious time with family

What brings me joy ...

seeing students embracing learning and achieving their learning goals
InitiaLit (yes, it’s that good!), Dr Seuss, music and mosaics
a nice long walk

Biggest challenges of 2020 ...

learning all things technology in preparation for online learning (this technology wombat was really in the pit!)
helping our youngest son and his fiancée adapt their wedding to a party of five amidst the COVID restrictions in April. We are all set for an encore wedding in April 2021.

Greatest excitement of 2020 ...

finding out that I’m going to be a granny, courtesy of our eldest son and his wife – we can’t wait to welcome bubba Norley early next year!

HSC Year 3 to Year 6 Swimming Lessons

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.

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No Tuckshop This Week

Please note: There is no Tuckshop this week. It will recommence in Term 4, Week 2.

HSC Tennis Coaching - Term 4 2020

If your child is interested in tennis coaching in Term 4 2020, click on the relevant flyer below for further information:

Warwick Street Campus

From the Director

As I sit and write my final The Week Ahead article for Term 3, I am still trying to decide if this was the longest term ever, or one that went by in a flash! Traditionally, Term 3 seems to be the busiest term of the year and even though things were a little different, it lived up to its reputation!

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Word on the Street

The word on the street is that whoever gets a Gold Merit at WSC gets a special morning tea with with Mrs Minnikin and can also invite a friend to join them. Congratulations, Anya on your Gold Merit certificate. Anya and Annabelle enjoyed a selection of treats for morning tea on Wednesday.

WSC Prep to Year 6 Swimming Lessons

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.

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No Tuckshop this Week

Please note: There is no Tuckshop this week. It will recommence in Term 4, Week 2.

WSC Tennis Coaching - Term 4 2020

Tennis coaching will again be available in Term 4. Please click on the relevant flyer below for more information:

Stephen Street Campus

SSC Update

Year 12 Fun Day

Year 12 students and their Home Class teachers enjoyed some time together celebrating their wonderful success in Term 3 on a well-deserved ‘fun day’ this week.

After working very hard all year, this was a fantastic opportunity to foster the friendships our Year 12 cohort have and allow them to enjoy some special time with each other as the year draws to an end. Bowling, laser tag and arcade games kept them very busy all morning (and got very competitive!) followed by a a barbecue lunch, cake and some photo time in the spectacular Laurel Bank Park afterwards.

Many people throughout the day commented on the exceptional behaviour, manners and respect that our group displayed, which certainly made the teachers very proud. A great day was had by all.

Mrs Jess Merretz
Year 12 Home Class Teacher

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Tennis Coaching at SSC

Are you interested in tennis coaching at Stephen Street Campus? Click here for Term 4 information.

Boarding

Boarding News

USQ Japanese Gardens

After enjoying a fabulous barbecue brunch on Sunday, a group of boarders were shuttled out to the Japanese Gardens at the University of Southern Queensland. There they spent a couple of hours walking and talking. As well, the beautiful flowers of Toowoomba in September were in bloom for the students to enjoy. Everyone enjoyed a relaxing and memorable day.

Mocktail Night

On the last Sunday of Term 3, the Dining Room hosted a Mocktail Night for the boarders.

While this is a celebration for the boarders for completing another challenging term of school, it is presented in such a fashion to help foster the growth of their social skills.

While nibble food and fancy drinks are at the centre of the Mocktail Night, the students have a fantastic time socialising. The night even closed with some of the students putting on their ‘go to’ music, and dancing. A round of applause for the Catering Team finished off the fantastic evening.

Mr Ross McKeown
Houseparent