According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, children’s participation in reading for pleasure dropped by 7% between 2017 and 2022. What are we to make of this in light of the fabulous Book Week we just enjoyed? Are we losing the battle for children to read for pleasure? What is more disturbing is that the …
Are we losing the battle for children to read for pleasure? Read More »
Do you remember when your child took their first steps? Or put on their shoes for the first time? What about the ground-breaking moment when they use the toilet or ‘potty’ for the first time? Do you remember clapping and cheering every attempt despite how many times they fell down, put the shoe on the …
Term time is busy! We are all in the rushed routines of waking up the kids, preparing lunches, ensuring the uniforms are clean, finding that elusive left shoe and then getting everyone out of the door in time. The afternoons can be just as hectic with after-school activities, supervising homework, cooking the evening meal, doing …
I don’t know about you, but having our biggest day of the year (Open Day) followed by our huge Shine on the Arts a week later, left me a little frazzled. I’m sure you enjoyed seeing your children perform and catching up with friends at the food trucks but let’s also admit that we are …
After the torrential rain of 2022’s Open Day, Saturday’s blue skies and dazzling sunshine were a welcome change that drew in the crowds. Our campus was buzzing with excitement as families, students, staff, and friends gathered to celebrate and experience the vibrant atmosphere. We also experienced a lot of new families visiting us this year …
I always find I gain more from an event if I know in advance what I want from it. Have you thought about what you want from this year’s Open Day? You might just want to visit your child’s classroom or see them perform however, Open Day is a perfect opportunity to ask questions about …
Thirteen questions to ask at this year’s Open Day Read More »
You can experience friendship in France, brotherhood in Belarus and camaraderie in Cuba but mateship seems to be quintessentially Australian. Many associate Anzac Day with mateship in Australia but the roots go back much further. Origins of Mateship in Australia The origins of mateship in Australia can be traced back to the early days of …
Yes, it is a sensationalised heading but also completely true. The Australian Defence Force has just joined the ranks of world governments banning TikTok from all of their devices, citing security concerns. The scary side of TikTok TikTok is open (to a certain extent) about collecting personal information from its users. The app’s privacy policy …
Banned by world governments but in your child’s hands! Read More »
Funny Face Filters Do you remember the attorney in west Texas who accidentally had a cat face filter on during a Zoom call? It was a very serious meeting with 394th Judicial District Court but the poor attorney didn’t know how to turn off the cat filter. In frustration, he said that the meeting should …
Last week marked the terrible anniversary of one year after Russia’s first formal act of war on Ukraine. Unlike any other war, this one has been on our TV, social media and digital news sites every day for just over 365 days. TV news often gives warnings or blurs out the worst of footage but …
Welcome back to a wonderfully normal (so far) 2023 school year. After three years of extreme weather, restrictions, delays and closures, I think we are all going to enjoy everything 2023 has in store for us. Each year, it is our tradition to embrace a bible verse theme for the year and I think the …
Translation: Six reasons to thank our Japanese students It might be tempting to think we are the ones doing the favour when we host international students but I’m sure we benefit just as much, if not more, from their visits. We just farewelled 19 middle school students from Yamanashi Gakuin, West of Tokyo in Japan. …
In the last fortnight we have had three large events, the Dance Showcase on the 14 October and then the Secondary and Primary Sports Presentations last Friday. All three events were fantastic showcases of what our students have been working towards during the year. The dancers showed grace, teamwork and a certain fearlessness as they …
Our Primary School students have been big bucket-fillers for many years now however, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, ‘bucket-filling’ is used to refer to positive attitudes and behaviour. The analogy is that we all carry an invisible bucket of our emotions and feelings. When our buckets are full, we are …
Have you thought about your ‘big picture’ parenting goal? Our immediate goals might be to have our teen clean up their room or stop our toddler from drinking from the dog’s bowl but what about your big goal as a parent? Our children grow up quickly and I often hear parents lament about not feeling …
It is not often we have the opportunity for a special parenting event with specialist guest speakers like we did on Monday so you might be surprised to hear that we have another treat in store for you, but more on that later. I hope you were able to attend the parenting seminar on Monday …
On Monday 8 August between 6:30pm and 7:30pm, GCC has organised for Melinda Tankard Reist and Daniel Principe to present to our parents, caregivers and the wider community on disturbing new trends among our children and teens. The topic is: “Navigating a se*ed-up world: How can we help our children resist harmful messages from media …
Welcome to Term 3. I hope you had a relaxing break with family and friends. This week we enjoyed our Athletic Carnivals which were a great time of fun, sportsmanship and character. You will be able to read all about the details in the Sports Report when it comes out after all the points are …
No one would argue that the last couple of years have been tough on everyone. We feel a bit battered and knocked around emotionally and there is the very real grief for what we have missed out on. In particular, I feel for those who didn’t have the opportunity to be with loved ones at …
Why should you be worried about a giant blue teddy-like fluffy toy with a big red smile? Well, there is no need for panic but you do need to be concerned and proactive about Huggy Wuggy. Huggy Wuggy is a popular character from an online video game but has become a concerning social media trend. …
My expectations were high for GCC’s first musical in GPAC but the performance exceeded all of them. Students and staff overcame a late start to the year and multiple cancelled practices due to weather and sickness and yet they still delivered a professional and thoroughly entertaining performance. A special congratulations to Eden Foster, our youngest …
Have you ever wondered GCC has so many special programs for our Middle School students? We have Launchpad, camps, pastoral care programs, Middle School Experience Day, fun days and much more. We focus so much attention on our students in the ‘middle years’ because they need it. For all the parents out there with young …
Seven things you need to know about your middle school child Read More »
It’s a busy time at GCC with Open Day last Saturday and the College Musical just around the corner on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 June. Open Day It’s been raining a very long time and we had been praying for beautiful sunny weather for our Open Day but the answer was a resounding ‘no’. …
Have you noticed that every year we seem to have another National Day of ‘something’ announced? There is even a National Day Calendar that has been tracking national days since 2013. The month of May has 187 National Days and that doesn’t count our Mother’s Day which falls on different dates in different countries or …
In the light of recent tragic and near tragic events surrounding bus pick up and drop offs, I thought I would share our procedures with you so you as parents and caregivers can enjoy peace of mind, knowing that your children are safe on buses at GCC. I imagine that you were shocked as I …
We’ve all seen the memes about Queensland winters. One of my favourites is, “I absolutely love winter in Queensland; last year it was a Wednesday.” Last Tuesday morning we enjoyed a minimum of 16℃ which, to me, signified the onset of autumn more than the arbitrary date of 1 March. Unfortunately, the low temperature came …
I was very proud that we had so many students and families come to represent us and pay their respects on Anzac Day, especially with such miserable weather. We couldn’t do this without parent support so thank you to all those who gave up snuggling under the quilt covers to brave the unrelenting rain in …
After the topsy-turvy nature of Term 1, the beginning of Term 2 feels a lot like a new school year even though we are well and truly into it. Students can often struggle with back to school blues at the start of each year and term. The transition from fun in the sun, late nights …
If you didn’t watch the 2022 Oscars, you have probably seen the highlights by now. Everyone is talking about Will Smith slapping the host Chris Rock after Chris made a terrible ‘joke’ about Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. I’m pretty sure that public opinion is now divided into two camps. Did Will Smith …
There has been a lot of talk lately about social media safety but most posts and articles overlook the hidden social media – group chats. We often don’t even consider group chats as being social media and think of them as private chats with friends and family. For the most part, that is exactly what …
Most of you will know that this week we celebrated “You Belong”. You Belong Week is the brainchild of Colleen Crase and the GCC Student Voice with the aim to ensure everyone feels like they belong. You Belong embodies the values of Harmony Week (typically a week later in the calendar) and Anti-Bullying Day on …
When, in living memory, have we had to deal with floods on such a large scale, transition through two years of a pandemic and worry about the threat of a major world conflict involving two superpowers all at the same time? Most adults I know are struggling to cope with the constant assault of local …
This week we held our first-ever combined Leadership Induction Service. Even though the change was brought on by current restrictions, it was such a great whole College event that it may well become one of our new traditions. Student leaders and their families attended the ceremony in the spacious GPAC theatre where they could all …
The Christmas school holiday is usually a six-week long-distance race but when you have an additional two thrown in for good measure it becomes a marathon! I want to take this opportunity to congratulate you all for finishing this marathon. It is wonderful to have the students back for face-to-face learning this week. I would …
I’m not talking about helmet hair but helmet fire! Helmet fire seems to be a term coined by psychologists but is not in wide use. An article referencing Brendan Hickey in Communique, January/February 2021 describes helmet fire as: “a condition that occurs when people are working hard for long hours under lots of pressure, making …
Unfortunately, not every student receives an academic award or special commendation at our annual presentation ceremonies. Some schools have done away with awards based on the best academic results altogether. Other schools tend toward the practice of ‘every child receives a prize’, regardless of their academic results and achievements. Should we celebrate the best academic …
You can tell it’s the end of the year when you need your calendar open in a special window at all times. Last week we held the DeLorean Showcase, Vocal Recitals, Guitar Recitals, Business Market Stalls and ended the week with the Dance and Drama Showcase. That was on top of the usual incursions, excursions, …
Navigating the dynamics and nuances of friendship at any age can be challenging but especially for our younger students and teenagers. They don’t have the life experience to spot a fake friend and are vulnerable to the hurtful results. I’m sure your children have come home complaining about what their friends or other students have …
My last two blogs have been a bit heavy so I thought it was time to lighten things up and laugh more. Life has been pretty serious for the last two years and sometimes we just need to give ourselves permission to laugh and lighten up. How do you begin to laugh more? It does …
Most Australians consider Halloween as a good excuse to dress up in costumes and beg for unhealthy treats from the neighbours, a bit weird but mostly harmless. Others see it as the increasing appropriation of American culture by young Australians and finally, others see it as something far more sinister. Regardless of how you see …
Three lessons Halloween may be teaching our children Read More »
Netflix’s most ever watched TV series Squid Game, has caused a world-wide stir. The show is so popular that Netflix is being sued by an internet provider in South Korea because it uses so much bandwidth. Reaching 11 million views in the first four weeks of airing, Squid Game should be on every parents’ radar. …
Bobby McFerrin was talking about a whole different lifestyle when he wrote the first a cappella song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart but the title seemed apt for this week’s blog. On Tuesday, we held parent-teacher interviews for our Middle and Senior School students and it struck me that the …
Last weekend saw history being made as Brisbane hosted the NRL Grand Final for the first time since the game began in Australia 114 years ago. Even with the COVID-19 political football and 75% capacity in Suncorp Stadium, the excitement was felt across the nation as the Penrith Panthers conquered the South Sydney Rabbitohs 14 …
Last week we looked at the Unpopular secret behind success and saw that it was not motivation but self-discipline that gets the job done. Self-discipline is the magic power that makes you virtually unstoppable. How do we obtain this magic power? The answer is easy and difficult at the same time. Launched in 1988, the …
The magic power that makes you virtually unstoppable Read More »
Last week we enjoyed Arts Week which culminated in a fantastic Shine on the Arts Night. There were so many performances spread throughout the facilities that it was impossible to see them all. I hope you were able to enjoy as many as you could. Even though I couldn’t see them all, I guarantee that …
Book Week was celebrated in colourful style with creative costumes and an immersion of all things literature. I love seeing students proudly holding the books that inspire their characters and I especially love those costumes that are a bit outside the box. The title of the blog this week is a little provocative, “are books …
For almost two years we have been watching the construction of our new performing arts centre rise from below ground level to the elegant three-storey building it has grown into today. To celebrate the completion, our Official Building Opening was held last Friday 20 August. This is the third and final stage of the Glasshouse …
Do you remember your parents telling you that they had it much harder back in their time? Have you told your kids that they have it easy compared to when you were growing up? Well, there is one thing where our children do have it much harder than we did, and that is dealing with …
Dylan (not his real name but this is his real story) is a 24-year-old from western Brisbane who was vaguely unhappy with his life. He realised he was drifting, didn’t have a focus and wasn’t achieving anything. He enjoyed time with his mates at the pub and at parties, he attempted a few courses and …
For the last 16 months we have all experienced postponed plans, cancelled celebrations and disappointments on a small and large scale. Just when we thought everything was calming down and we could plan ahead, we are back to square one. Disappointment is one of the more complicated emotions to deal with. We could avoid it …
