There is never a dull moment at GCCC and this last fortnight is no exception. When I hear of all the outstanding achievements of our students I feel very proud of our GCCC community. Amongst the celebrations of a growing school and district and state championships it seems that many of our year levels have had excursions and incursions of all sorts expanding their life experiences, knowledge and imagination. Be sure to have a look at the different photos later in the newsletter.
Building Opening
On Monday 11 August we held the official opening ceremony of our E Block, F Block and Engineering building. As E Block consists of the Year 3 and 4 classes these students were part of the ceremony held in the church. We had several special guests also attend including Mrs Judy McArdle, Mr Peter Bickerton (architect), Mr Tim Brown (builder), representatives from our local churches, GCCC Board members and GCCC staff.
Guests were treated to a song from our Senior Chapel Band and a prayer led by our school captains followed by the unveiling of the plaque. We then took our visitors on a short tour of the new buildings. This was followed by a very tasty afternoon tea served by Mrs Julie Peters and some of our Year 12 Hospitality students. Thank you to all the students and staff who represented GCCC superbly on the day.
These buildings are a tremendous asset to our College, in particular for our Visual Art, Interior Design and Fashion and Engineering students.
I would like to sincerely thank Mr Brad Hampson (Head of Engineering) and Mrs Patrice Cutlack (Head of Arts) for all their input into the planning of these new buildings.
Our guests were most impressed with the facilities and all they offer to our students.
Primary District Athletics Champions
Last Friday we were declared Primary District Champions for Athletics. Our team performed incredibly well. I would like to especially acknowledge Lainey Grieve, Cassidy Ferris who achieved Age Champions and Laura Vobr who was a close runner up.
Congratulations to all of the students involved and particularly Mrs Wendy Stott and the PE team for their leadership, after hours training and enthusiasm that help these students do so well.
See our Sports News for more information and photos.
Secondary District Athletics Achievements
We should be extremely proud of the efforts of our athletes at this week’s district athletics. GCCC continues to increase its competitiveness each year with our larger neighbouring schools and we are closing the gap fast. We came 11th in 2012, 9th in 2013 and 7th in 2014. We had some fantastic individual and relay team efforts as well as possible age champions that are as yet unannounced.
We were also awarded the District Athletics Team Spirit trophy. Teachers and coaches from all schools present at district athletics nominate the recipient of this award based on enthusiasm, determination, improvement, encouragement of team mates and willingness to help out on the day.
Queensland Junior Culinary Challenge Success
Following on from their success at the regionals a few weeks ago our Year 10 students, Lani Kombanie and Michaela Lal, went on to compete in the state competition of the Junior Culinary Challenge which was held at the EKKA on Saturday 16 August. Competing against 12 other regional champion school teams our girls finished third in the competition. Both Lani and Michaela received 175 dollars each and a further 150 dollars was won for GCCC. Congratulations Lani and Michaela on your magnificent effort and also to Mrs Julie Peters for your help and support to the students. I would also like to especially thank our wonderful mentor chef and GCCC parent Scott Coulson who works at The Long Apron Restaurant in Maleny as a Commis Chef.
Bookweek
Reading is integral to your child’s academic success at school and the more your child reads the more automatic their reading skills become. It is difficult for a student to understand the meaning of the text when he/she is struggling to recognise the individual words in a textbook. To put it simply, children must learn to read before they can read to learn.
Some of the benefits of becoming good readers include improved spelling and writing ability, gaining knowledge, opening up our imagination and broadening our minds.
This week was Book Week where our attention turns to everything literary. There have been lunchtime activities, riddle challenges, quizzes on assembly and the Book Fair. As I write this article the Dress Up Parade, which is one of the great events of the year, has not yet occurred so we will have to wait for next newsletter to see the great creations our students and staff came up with this year.
Senior School Blazers and Formal Hats
Next year all Senior School (Year 10-12) students will be required to purchase a College blazer and a College formal hat. The students have already been measured up for their blazers and orders have been placed so they will be arriving in the next few months. Like most other independent schools the blazer will be required as winter wear with the formal uniform in terms 2 and 3 instead of the College jumper.
The bucket hat that the students have been wearing will not be suitable attire with the blazer and so the College formal hat will also be compulsory during the winter months with the blazer.
Not only is the College blazer a very smart looking complement to the uniform but we are envisaging that in years to come it will signify a ‘rite of passage’ from Middle School to Senior School and a symbol of what our younger students can aspire to.
Help us win a $20,000 staffroom makeover!
Thanks to QT Mutual Bank we have the chance to win a $20,000 staffroom makeover as part of their “Staffroom for Improvement” competition.
The winning school will be the one with the most votes weighted against the number of students, so any school, small or large has an equal chance to win. We need as much support from our local school community as possible. Even if we don’t take out top prize we have the chance to win a $10,000 as part of the People’s Choice award.
Simply visit www.staffroomforimprovement.com.au to read the terms and conditions and register your interest today. The competition kicks off on 18 August so spread the word and get as many people as possible to vote for our school.
If you are leaving GCCC at the end of 2014
If you are leaving the College in 2014 please remember that we require one full term’s notice as stipulated in your enrolment contract otherwise you will be charged one term’s fees in lieu of that notice. As you can appreciate our 2015 staffing plans, timetabling and budget hinge on knowing what our accurate student figures are going to be. This is why we must know by the end of this term.
If there is a significant possibility you may be relocating for work purposes but this can’t be confirmed as yet please let Sonya Bowden our Registrar know as soon as you can and this will be counted as notice should the relocation come to fruition.
Shine-A celebration of the Arts (August 22 Tonight!)
Tonight is our annual Celebration of the Arts at GCCC known as Shine. Please see the advertisement located next to this article for more details. Shine is always a great night showcasing the dance, musical, dramatic and artistic talents of our students. Everyone is very welcome to attend and I hope to see you there.
Mike Curtis, Principal