Dear Parents

Farewell Class of 2022

Last week the College farewelled the Class of 2022 at their Valedictory Assembly and last night our Year 12 students gathered for one last time, with their parents, to celebrate the end of their formal education at their Night of Reflection. It was a particularly special time for 20 of our seniors (and their parents) who started their TSAC journey 13 years ago in Prep. Our Year 12 students have been wonderful leaders of the College and a source of pride and inspiration for many.  We now wish them well as they begin their external examinations next week.

Arts Magic

Over the last few weeks, our dance students were privileged to be able to work with professional dancers from the Australasian Dance Collective and the Queensland Ballet, as part of the Arts Magic festival in Springfield.  Last Friday evening, a large crowd filled Robelle Domain to see the gala concert and it was a delight to see some of our students performing in the combined schools’ choir.  The Creative Arts is one of the rare activities where students can perform beside professionals at the same standard.  Congratulations to all our students involved.

Optiminds

This weekend, our Opti-MINDS Media and Communications Team will compete in the State finals of the Opti-MINDS competition at The University of Queensland. Under the guidance of Mrs Jennifer Tucci, the team has prepared a presentation focused on mental health and its impacts on school environments. We wish our team every success with the youth forum, spontaneous challenges and their presentation.

Instrumental Music Fees – Secondary Campus

Instrumental music is an important part of our curriculum offering and is a compulsory learning opportunity for students in various year levels on our Primary Campus.  After this compulsory period, instrumental music lessons become voluntary.  In the past, the College has offered voluntary instrumental music lessons free of charge.  This is not common practice in schools.  From 2023, the College will introduce a fee for instrumental music lessons on the Secondary Campus.  The cost of these lessons will be reflected in the College’s fee pack which is intended to be released at the end of next week.

Carnival of Light

The Carnival of Light is a light-themed evening of fun activities, games and competitions held in the Sports Dome.  This annual community event is hosted by St Andrew’s Parish Church who meet on our Secondary Campus. The Carnival of Light is on next Friday, 28 October from 5:00 – 7:00pm and is suitable for children of all ages.  Don’t forget to wear your best fluro gear.

My best wishes
Steven Morris

Dear Parents

It is the season to farewell our much loved Year 12 students as they head into their final exams. At the Valedictory service last week, I shared some words from Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Chapter 12:

 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

I reminded the students of the way these words from Paul connect with the words they have been carrying around on their blazers all these years: Faith, Honour and Service.

Faith means knowing what you believe and why you believe it. When someone tells you they love you, how will you know it’s true? What kind of evidence persuades you? Just living in our society takes faith. We hope the 12s will keep exploring their faith, while respecting the faith they find expressed by others, in whatever form it may take.

“Outdo one another in showing honour,” says St Paul. Honour could be defined as ‘knowing and doing what is morally right’. Are the 12s leaving school with a deep understanding of moral right and wrong? We trust they have learnt that not only is acting honourably the right thing to do, it is always satisfying in the future to be able to look back on the ways you’ve acted honourably.

“Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers,” says St Paul. I’m grateful for all the Seniors who engaged in service work in their time at TSAC. Our society really depends on people being willing to serve others and when you do, you can expect to rediscover the joy which comes from helping those who need it.

Bringing all these things together is the idea of gratitude: I encouraged the 12s to spend some of their last days at school thanking the important people in their school journeys, including you, the parents. My gratitude today is certainly for the contribution of our Seniors this year and we wish them well in whatever comes next.

Peace in Christ,

Rev. Jonathan Kemp
College Chaplain