Dear Parents

We have just completed Week 6 of the Term.  I cannot remember a time when there was so much disruption to the start of a school year and it has taken until Week 6 to have our first ‘normal’ week .  We have experienced COVID-19 restrictions, the delayed start to schooling, the incredible rain event and floods.  Through all of this, our College community has remained adaptable and resilient and I thank everyone for the part they play in making our College such a wonderful community.

With the lifting of some restrictions it is a pleasure to welcome parents back to our College events.  Those who attended our Strategic Plan Information Evening on Wednesday had the opportunity to hear our strategy and direction for the next 5 years and to meet members of our College Council and Executive Leadership Team.  Our Swimming Carnivals for Primary and Secondary also allowed parents to be in attendance and next week, is our Secondary Campus Open Evening from 4:00pm on Thursday 17 March.

There has been an increase in incidents on our trainline.  Today we had the Police Railway Squad speak with our students who travel on the train about safety.  I am grateful for the Police and Sargent Laird, our Secondary Campus, adopt-a-cop for spending time with our students.  Some key take-aways from their talk were:

• Always have situation awareness on the train and at the station. Don’t become distracted by your mobile phone.
• Trust and Act on your instincts
• Plan your route and travel with friends (or other students). Sit near other people in the carriage and advise someone of your expected arrival time.
• Wait near the safety zones on platforms and know where the guard on the train is located so you can sit close by.
• Make yourself aware of where the emergency button is and use it if necessary. This alerts the guard on the train.

Our Year 9 students have their Rite Journey Calling and Departure ceremonies this weekend.  This is a ‘line in the sand” moment for these students as they spend a night at the College, followed by a very early morning hike up Mount Coot-tha to watch the sunrise, returning to the College for breakfast with their parents at 6.30am on Saturday.  The Rite Journey is an important program at the College and is aimed specifically at Year 9 to assist in guiding their journey from childhood into adulthood.

Our Primary students held a free dress day on Wednesday to assist the victims of the recent floods.  This day was very well supported with over $3000 raised.  Congratulations Primary students.

My Best wishes
Steven.

From the Chaplain:

During the week, I had the great pleasure of accompanying three of our Senior leaders as we joined a team of people operating under the name “Rosie’s” to distribute food and other supplies directly to people in need in central Ipswich. This is a well-managed program which deservedly has a reputation for meeting genuine needs in an effective and compassionate way with minimal overheads. Finding programs suitable for students which offer the experience of genuine Community Service while passing stringent risk assessments is often difficult, but joining a Rosie’s street-van ticks the boxes. Over a couple of hours, the three TSAC girls attended the mandatory briefing, travelled to the site, set up tables and served food and drinks, spoke with clients of a range of ages, inspected the nearby Orange Sky bathroom and laundry service and then packed up everything and travelled back to base for the debriefing.

In the near future, we will be offering another genuine Community Service option to Seniors, namely working as volunteers with a local branch of ‘Thread Together’, a charity partnering with the Anglican parish of Indooroopilly. This article (https://anglicanfocus.org.au/2021/02/25/thread-together-brings-new-mobile-wardrobe-service-to-brisbane/) gives a good overview of how the service works, but in short, it’s like Rosie’s but provides brand new clothing to those in need, at a range of selected sites.

Thanks again to Tegan, Paige and Seija for your Service: you were an absolute credit to the College.

Peace in Christ

Reverend Jonathan

Updated Student protection policies and procedures can be found here.