Although this is the first week back for our students, our staff began seven days earlier undertaking professional development courses before enjoying our annual lunch to celebrate those staff that have been 10 years with the College. This year those staff members were; Lynn Wiggins, Wilma Offord, Andrea McDonald, Lin Smith, Jon Brown, Rob Maguire, Brad Evans and myself.

It was a little tricky trying to present a certificate to myself so thanks to Bert Kasselman who hosted the event on my behalf.

There were some beautiful speeches made and it’s at times like this that we are all very aware of what a privilege it is to work at Glasshouse Christian College. One of the main reasons our staff enjoy such a great workplace environment is thanks to you, our families and students. You embrace the great atmosphere and contribute to the family feeling we enjoy. GCC is a place where people care for each other and that is one of the things I cherish about being Principal at this great College. 

Full steam ahead on construction

Over the holidays the new bus shelter on Roberts Road was completed and looks fantastic. It was great seeing it in use this week and has made the whole bus pick up procedure a lot safer and more streamlined. With our sub-tropical climate, it is great that the students can wait for their buses out of the rain and sun. The addition of guard rails is an extra precaution that increases our students’ safety.

Construction on the Sports Centre is at full force and we are on track for completion this August. Anyone in the area over the holidays would have been able to see the huge crane at work from most viewpoints in Beerwah! Hopefully we will begin using this wonderful facility before the end of this term.

It has taken a little longer than expected to establish the foundations of our new Music Block (Stage 1 of the Performing Arts Centre) at the front of the College but everything is still on track for its completion early next year. There are exciting times ahead.

As I have reported earlier, our new oval/playspace has been slower progress but our engineers continue to work with the various authorities on our downstream drainage issues. Hopefully the earth works will be able to continue back on site again soon.

Students forgetting their lunch

In the past if a student came to school without any lunch they would usually present at Main Admin where one of the ladies would make a sandwich and provide a snack for the student. Unfortunately, though the sheer numbers of students this year that are doing this has meant that we are struggling under the weight of this practice and we have had to reassess our procedure. For this reason please note that the following will apply if your child presents at Main Admin without lunch;

• You will be contacted to say that your child has no lunch to see if you can bring some in
• If this is not possible we will provide a simple lunch of a sandwich and a small snack. This will be at a cost of five dollars and will be billed to your school account.

GCC Students in Grease at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre

I would like to congratulate Jasmine O’Brien, Hudson Cameron, Lexi Brannigan and April Hatcher as they were part of the ensemble cast for Grease the musical at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre last weekend. I was privileged enough to see the extremely entertaining show on Saturday night amongst a packed audience. I am sure that Jasmine, Lexi, Hudson and April benefited greatly from being part of such a professional experience and they did a great job!

Advertise your business for free! GCC Business Directory

At GCC, we are always looking for ways to strengthen our College community and support our families. We also recognise that many of you run small businesses. I would like to offer you free advertising for your business in our weekly newsletter and on our website. Here is how it will work:

• If you are an owner or manager of a small business and have children at Glasshouse Christian College then you are eligible.
• Businesses must not be contrary to the values or the Christian ethos of the College.
• Two businesses will feature in our newsletter each week and the information will go in a permanent page on our website. The selection of which businesses featuring at what time is entirely at the discretion of the College.
• You are responsible for updating the College on any changes to details.
• The College does not take any responsibility for the quality of goods and services advertised through this feature.
• The College retains the right to remove the business listing once the children have left Glasshouse Christian College or at the Principal’s discretion.
• You fill in the GCC Business Directory Expression of Interest below including photos and as much detail as possible.

GCC Business Directory Expression of Interest

The featured businesses will then go on a permanent web page that will form a directory of College family businesses. We hope that College families will use the directory as a first port of call for locating services. Please note that the directory is only a mechanism for connecting families and that the College takes no responsibility for the quality of the goods and/or services provided by any business.

If you need more information you can email Sandy Johnson at [email protected]

Upcoming Events

By the time you read this the Primary and Secondary Athletics Carnivals will be over. We will have photos and details ready for next week’s newsletter but in the meantime, I hope you check out our Facebook page for the photos and news as it comes to hand.

Next week we farewell our Year 7 and 9 students as they go on camp and I look forward to hearing all about their adventures upon their return.

Please remember to check the calendar on the home page of our website on a regular basis for upcoming events. The calendar is ‘live’ in that as soon as a change is made, it feeds directly to the calendar on our website.

Mike Curtis, Principal