Dear Parents

This week the College has been celebrating National Reconciliation Week.  As a College, National Reconciliation Week is a time for us to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.   During the week our Secondary students experienced creating indigenous art firsthand as they decorated boomerangs during Form class.  For most, it was their first attempt at indigenous art, and I thank Year 12 student, Brayden Chambers, for putting together an instructional video for us all to follow.  Brayden is a talented young indigenous artist who also performed at Chapel and Assembly on his own crafted digeridoo.

Although the wet weather seems to be behind us, our ovals are still retaining water.  Many community ovals are also recovering from their recent saturation.  This has impacted our PE classes, sport training and preparation for the athletics carnivals.  We are hoping that the Primary Interclan Athletics will go ahead as planned, however, the Secondary Campus Interclan Athletics will be postponed until Monday 22 August and will be held at the University of Queensland Athletics facility.

At Primary Chapel, next week, we will say farewell to Leone Patterson, our Primary Campus Receptionist.  Leone has been part of our TSAC community for a long time and we wish her well in her retirement.

The ‘90s Trivia Night is on next Saturday, 11 June.  The Parents and Friends are very keen to build on the successes of last year and I know that this will be a fun evening with some fabulous prizes on offer.  Funds raised will be used to purchase the score boards for our new Sports Centre, to be built next year.   I am looking forward to seeing you there.

My very best wishes
Steven Morris
Principal

From the Chaplain

Dear Parents

One of the small joys of a preacher (or writer of columns like the one you are reading) is to find connections between events in the world and the Bible and/or the Seasons of the Church calendar.  This week we are simultaneously observing National Reconciliation Week (and I have the honour of being the Chair of the TSAC Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group) as well as celebrating the feast of Pentecost this Sunday 5 June.  Pentecost comes 50 days after Easter and is famous for the events described in Chapter 2 of the Book of Acts, in which Almighty God appears in the form of the Holy Spirit among the first disciples and instils them with a courage and passion which never leaves them. They begin speaking languages of many tribes and nations, indicating that God’s love extends beyond the Jewish nation alone, to encompass everyone, everywhere. Hence Pentecost is often called the birthday of the worldwide Christian Church.

As I’ve suggested in Chapel services recently, the Pentecost experience meant the end of a time of uncertainty and anxiety for the first disciples, the end of a ‘liminal’ phase of life where they no longer had Jesus near them in the flesh and had no idea what was coming next.  In a similar way, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have spent much of the last two centuries in a liminal state, wondering what was to become of them. With the advent of National Reconciliation Week, we can start by reflecting upon National Sorry Day, the anniversary of the 1967 referendum and Mabo Day. Among other happenings on both campuses, I commend especially Brayden Chambers of Year 12 who is a very talented digeridoo player and ambassador for reconciliation, for appearing at Chapel on both campuses in the last week. Just as Pentecost brought everyone together in one Spirit, so I pray this Week helps us all to work towards better relations between Australians of all backgrounds. To conclude, here is the NRW Blessing we used at Chapel this week:

With the love of God in our hearts,

May we go and be brave

With the spirit of life weaving us together,

May we seek to make change

With the dawning of the sun,

May hope and healing rise

With the still water stream,

May our eyes be opened wide

As we go forth, carrying the ministry of reconciliation,

May we be compelled to love, in truth and with action

Amen.

Rev. Jonathan Kemp

College Chaplain