Glasshouse Christian College has just completed two significant trips during the holidays and even though each had a different purpose, the benefits continue long after the trip is over.

1. Travel forces students out of their comfort zones. Our Fiji Mission trip is the perfect example of this as students confront poverty and conditions they have never seen or experienced before. Being out of their comfort zone builds resilience, inspires problem solving and results in students with a greater appreciation of what they have in life. New situations can be scary but once students figure out that they can connect with people despite the differences, they navigate foreign environments to become smarter, more competent people.
2. Travel builds confidence. On the recent French German study tour students had to master things like travelling on the Paris Metro, ordering dinner in French and finding their way through completely foreign environments. Experiences like this build student confidence to face new challenges.
3. Travel develops cultural sensitivity. The difference in cultures may seem more obvious on the island of Fiji than in the heart of multicultural Berlin but they are just as significant. It is important for our students to learn and appreciate different cultures and sensitivities – especially as it is something we aren’t often exposed to on the Sunshine Coast. This skill will help them shift perspective to see where others are coming from and equip them well in their future careers.
4. Travel helps language skills. Immersing our students in France, where it is politically incorrect to resort to English, helped their language skills more than weekly lessons in the comfort of the GCC campus. Once you travel, you realise that almost everyone speaks at least two languages proficiently. This could spark the desire in some of our students to live overseas and master a second or even third language in the future.
5. Travel is educational. While reading articles and seeing images of the Eiffel Tower or the Mona Lisa in the Louvre are wonderful they are no substitute for seeing the real thing, in situ, in as close to its cultural context as possible.

To read more and see all the photos from our recent trips, click on the links below.

Fiji Mission Trip
French German Study Tour

Announcing new Assistant Head of Primary

As you know, Cheryl Bryers is retiring at the end of this year and Gail Mitchell was appointed to the position of Head of Primary for 2019. This left us with the challenge of having to find someone to fill Gail’s shoes.

I am very pleased to announce that our new Assistant Head of Primary starting in 2019 is Adrian Ford. Adrian has sent us the following bio and photo of himself with his family so he will be more familiar to you when you see him on campus next year.

“Hi my name is Adrian Ford and I’m excited to be joining the Glasshouse community in 2019 as the Assistant Head of Primary. I have worked for nearly 15 years in the Lutheran education system across the primary, secondary, boarding and outdoor education sectors. My passion is to see young people discover their God given potential. I am married to Emily and have three children – Joshua (11), Timothy (9) and Zoe (7). I look forward to meeting you next year and partnering with you and your children in their learning journey.”

Adrian brings a wealth of experience and skill and we are excited by the contribution that he will make to the primary leadership team.


Mike Curtis, Principal