Dear Parents and Caregivers

What a wonderful celebration of the Arts was held last week on Saturday. As an inaugural event, the Arts in Focus event brought the College together as well as achieved everything it was intended to do, to showcase the incredible talent of our students. 

Thank you to the Arts staff for the planning and student preparation which went into the showcase and congratulations on hosting this rich event. Thank you to the many staff and parent volunteers who stepped in to support the Arts staff before, during and after the event.

Welcome back to our Year 3 and 11 students from their respective outdoor education camps this week. Thank you to the staff who planned, supported and visited the students at their camps this week. Many thanks also to parents for your support and encouragement of your children to attend these wonderful opportunities which provide them with life, social and growing up experiences which will stand them in good stead for years to come.

Last Saturday, I was privileged to attend the inaugural Concordia Arts in Focus event, combining all campuses in showcasing various Arts – visual, music, drama and dance.

Evidently, a lot of work had gone into organising this day and it ran really well – including a coffee van and barbecue provided by the Parent Connect group. A big thank you to all involved!

At Concordia Lutheran College, we are aware of the many blessings that God has provided us with and the responsibilities that come with being so blessed! We are encouraged to share our gifts with others, so that all may experience God’s infinite love and care.

Walk My Way is part of The Grace Project, which since 2019, has helped more than 62,500 refugee children to go to school!

This year again we have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives and future of refugee children.

$26 will allow one child to attend school for one year, including learning materials! It is facilitated by Australian Lutheran World Service, a government approved aid organisation, with a great track record for helping those most in need.

Could the Concordia community send 100 children to school next year? Come and join the Concordia Community for the Walk My Way events this year!

Central Zone Track & Field Carnival 2022
With a beautiful day presenting itself for our athletes and spectators to kick start the day, it is pleasing to say that our Central Zone Track and Field representatives had a wonderful day at O'Quinn Street last Wednesday. 

Our athletes were rewarded with nine students being selected in the Central Zone team to compete at the Darling Downs Trials on 24 August. A number of other students only just narrowly missed qualifying times or distances and to be selected with only the top two competitors through to the next level. 

This is the "nature of the beast" and of which these carnivals teach our students so much, such as being able to perform on the day, and is a great lesson in resilience when put in the "pressure cooker" so to speak. 

Concordia is immensely proud of your efforts!

Many thanks to everyone who has already completed the Sports survey asking what sports our students are participating in, what clubs they play for and what they are interested in participating in.

We will be using this information to inform our Sports strategy moving forward, so the more members of the community who complete it, the more accurate the data will be.

So far, we have had just over 170 submissions for the Sports Survey. If you would like to have your say and help shape the future of sport at Concordia, please complete the survey by clicking on the following button. We estimate it should take you a maximum of 1-2 minutes.

Term 3 could be officially named as the camping term as our Year 3 students were the next year level to head off to camp yesterday. From all reports, they have had a fantastic time and there are sure to be some very tired little campers tonight. Thank you to the staff who attended the camp but also to those who assisted in the organisation and planning for this trip. 

Food at School 
Food at school is a vital part of student learning. We have three ‘meals’ throughout the day and each has an important role to play. 

Crunch and Sip/Fruit break - This is a mid-morning snack where the students are able to stop for a few minutes to have a quick snack and a drink of water. For the ‘crunch’ snack, we encourage it to be fruit or vege sticks such as carrot or celery. Please bring this snack in a separately named container or as a whole fruit such as a banana. 

Lunches (both breaks) - We like to encourage our students to bring healthy food for school lunches. Foods that cover the food groups of fruits and vegetables, dairy, grains and meats are highly recommended. We do discourage foods high in sugar as this impedes students’ ability to concentrate on their learning. Be mindful to include enough food for the whole day. 

We also like to encourage "nude food" in the lunch boxes every day. Some of our students are currently learning about the impact of waste and plastics in our environment. Did you know that about 400 kilograms of waste is produced by each Australian household every year? If possible, please consider this. 

Blessings for the week ahead.

Click here to view HSC's Events for Term 3, Week 7.
Click here to view WSC's Events for Term 3, Week 7.

Mrs Juanetta Priest - Director of Campus (Hume Street)
Mrs Jackie Minnikin - Director of Campus (Warwick Street)

The students in Years 4 and 5 have been studying Acts of Service. Mrs Monika Bennett came and spoke to them during Term 2. They were so captured by the stories that she told, that they decided they wanted to do something to assist. As a result, we are learning a little more about Loanialu and gathering Head Lice products to send to Vanuatu. The following is a script that Rylee and Seth will present to the students during Assembly.

Assembly Script from Rylee and Seth

Our JC Year 6 class will depart and head to Cairns for Week 9 of this term.

To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion, the Queensland Government, through the Great Barrier Reef Education Experience Program, provided a subsidy to the school of $150.00 per student who will be attending the excursion.

We wish all of our Year 6 students, their teachers and our parent helpers, a safe trip. We look forward to following them each day through their Seesaw blogs. 

It was very exciting to see that many of the books that we have in our Primary Library collections have been announced as 2022 Book of the Year award winners today. 

Leading up to Book Week and this announcement, I have been sharing these stories with the students and I am thrilled that some of my personal favourites have won awards. The winners in some of the categories are as follows –

Book of the Year: Younger Readers 
A Glasshouse of Stars by Shirley Marr

Honour Books
Dragon Skin by Karen Foxlee
Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief by Katrina Nannestad

Book of the Year: Early Childhood
Jetty Jumping by Andrea Rowe

Honour Books
Walk of the Whales by Nick Bland
Amira’s Suitcase by Vikki Conley

Picture Book of the Year
Iceberg by Jess Racklyeft [text by Claire Saxby]

Honour Books
Stellarphant by James Foley
Just One Bee by Christopher Nielsen [text by Margrete Lamond & Anthony Bertini]

We will celebrate Book Week and these books next week with our annual Book Parade at each campus on Wednesday. I am looking forward to seeing all of the amazing costumes and the students sharing their books with each other.

Pyjama Storytime will be held at each campus as per the flyer in this edition of The Week Ahead. 

Mrs Karen Maben 
Junior College Library Coordinator

On Monday 5 September to Friday 9 September our JC Year 6 students will be attending the exciting Cairns Trip. Please find attached the Parent Information letter including the Itinerary and packing list. 

All students are to be dropped at Hume Street Campus by 6am for a 6.45am departure.

PERMISSION REQUIRED:  

• Parents are requested to go to Parent Lounge to submit your permission by Wednesday 17 August 2022:
• Login to Parent Lounge >
• click on Events & Payments >
• click on JC 2022 Year 6 Cairns Trip >
• Accept >
• Save

*Please click on the Jotform link below to fill in that you give permission for staff to administer Panadol to your child if needed.*

Link: Year 6 Cairns Trip Permission to Administer Panadol

After submitting your permission, please check and ensure your Parent Lounge portal is up-to-date regarding your child’s Emergency Contact Info, Medical Conditions and Food Allergies/Dietary Requirements.

Should you any further queries regarding the Cairns Trip, please contact your child’s teacher

The HSC Parent Connect will be running our annual Father’s Day Stall on Wednesday 31 August. There will be $5.00 gifts available to purchase.

Gifts - Your child/ren may like to purchase a present for Dads, Grandads or any other special Fatherly role models. All orders and money are due by Friday 26 August. 

Please place the money in an envelope marked with:  

• Child’s name
• Amount in envelope
• Number of gifts to be purchased

HSC Father's Day Stall Gifts and Volunteering Information

Please note that due to scheduled events at SSC, there will be no tuckshop on Thursday 1 September. Tuckshop will be back on the following week.

At HSC, Tuckshop is held on a Thursday. All orders are to be completed online at My Student Account by 3pm each Wednesday. Please notify Reception by 9am on Thursday if your child is absent and we will cancel their order. Tuckshop will finish in Week 9.

The Parent Connect will be running our annual Father’s Day Stall on Thursday 1 September. This year there will be both $5.00 and $10.00 gifts available to purchase.

Gifts - Your child/ren may like to purchase a present for Dads, Grandads or any other special Fatherly role models. Money will need to be brought to school on Thursday 1 September.  If you would like your child to purchase more than one gift (maybe for Grandad?), there may be an opportunity for them to do so.

Please place the money in an envelope marked with:  

• Child’s name
• Amount in envelope
• Number of gifts to be purchased

At WSC, Tuckshop is held on a Wednesday. All orders are to be completed online at My Student Account by 3pm each Tuesday. Please notify Reception by 9am on Wednesday if your child is absent and we will cancel their order. Tuckshop will finish in Week 9.

Wow, what a busy but thoroughly enjoyable week. This week I had the great privilege of seeing the best of our students across a number of events and activities – what an amazing showcase of talent we have within our small community!

Arts in Focus

I wish to thank those from our community who attended and provided such positive feedback about our Arts in Focus event, held last Saturday at the Empire Theatre Armitage Centre. 

At times I had to pinch myself that the performers in front of me were high school students, given the polished dance, drama and musical productions. 

Our Visual Arts display was also a fantastic cross section of the different techniques and mediums used by students to express themselves and ideas. Well done to all staff who helped put this event together – the many hours you have invested certainly paid off.

The Elevate Term 3 Webinar series is focusing exclusively on Essay Writing, and how parents can help their children become better essay writers at home.  

The next webinar will be focusing exclusively on Note Taking - I’ve included all the details you’ll need below to promote this webinar to your parents, but please let me know if there's anything else I can provide - we'd love to see your parents come along to the event:   

Wednesday 24 August, 6.30pm
How to Help Your Child Write Better Notes   

Here's what Elevate will be covering: 

✅ The most effective way to structure notes

✅ The three levels of acquiring knowledge and how to implement this with your child at home

✅ The power of deliberate practice and the fastest way for your child to improve their marks.

Click here to register for this free webinar.

Representative sport:

Orienteering
Congratulations to Selina Richards who recently competed in the Queensland Schools Orienteering Championships at Mt Crosby.

Team sport results:

Touch
• Primary Boys: SMC Primary 8 d Concordia 1
• Primary Girls: Concordia 9 d Fairholme College 3
• Under 15 Boys: SMC 15 Blue 14 d Concordia 2

Basketball
• U15 Boys: Concordia drew with Highlands 
• U17 Boys: Allstars Purple 68 d Concordia 42

Term 3, Week 6 - wow, where has this year gone?

Our Year 11 students were at Coolum on their Leadership Camp this week. What a beautiful place to relax and make memories.

Mock exams start for Year 12, Disney excursion for Year 8 students and this Saturday we will be hosting our first Boarder Disco where we have invited our Stephen Street Campus Day students. Everyone is pumped and eager for Saturday to arrive. Many photos to come next week.