It’s been a very long term which means a lot has happened since our last newsletter.
Open Day
I am always amazed by our Glasshouse Christian College Open Day and the team effort that makes it such a successful day. I have no idea how many people were there but to me it seemed like this was our best-attended day ever. Cars lined up and down Roberts Rd with every available spot taken.
Once again I was excited by the positive feedback after prospective parents returned from their tours. Sometimes new visitors are guarded about their opinion of the College but after our students have taken them on a tour, they are ready to enrol.
I’d like to thank all of our parents who brought their students to Glasshouse Christian College on a Saturday so they could volunteer, perform and take part in this important event. I really appreciate your support.
Our P and F did a fabulous job and used the opportunity to raise $688 in profit from their sausage sizzle. I would also like to thank Fiyah Flavours who donated $210 and Spud Buds who donated $70 from the proceeds of their sales. Not only did their presence take the burden off our Hospitality Department, but these donations will also be supporting our Fiji Mission.
Beerwah Woolworths was good enough to donate more than 100 apples for us to put in our gift bags for new visitors. The apples were to show the College’s encouragement for healthy eating and were greatly appreciated.
Each Open Day we tweak things to improve for the following year but the one thing we never need to change is the star quality of our students. Student Voice volunteers were at College by 8am and their help in setting up was invaluable. They also worked throughout the day and they were still here at 2pm helping with the pack up. Student guides and greeters did an admirable job with new visitors and had been training for the last couple of weeks.
Even though we have wonderful facilities, the number one comment from visitors is how great our students are and it is a major factor in new families enrolling with us. It’s not just our tour guides, but our Hospitality students, performers, and classroom helpers all made a G.R.E.A.T. impression. New families want their children to be like our students. What a compliment!
Beauty and the Beast Musical
Beauty and the Beast was a fantastic show. I am so proud of everyone who was involved in the production; it truly was of an incredibly high standard. What a wonderful showcase of the Arts at GCC!
Our performers were amazing. The leads and support cast showed incredible talent and the musicians were superb. The backstage crew was well drilled, seamless and barely noticeable. The sets were dazzling as were the costumes and props.
It was exciting to see the combination of our students, staff members, parents and friends of the College come together to create something so beautiful.
Our Performing Arts, Music, Textiles and Visual Arts Departments did an incredible job pulling together all of these pieces and producing a show that was enthralling. It is hard to appreciate the countless hours that Stacey and her team put into this project but they managed to make sure that everyone peaked at the right time.
As I enjoyed the musical I had to keep on reminding myself that this was not a professional production but was performed by our students and staff. The bar has once again been lifted. Congratulations one and all and thank you for those of you who came to see the performance.
P and F Trivia
The P and F Trivia Night was a lot of fun. Team Rainbow stole the show with their decorations and costumes. The Blue Team was a sea of blue and white with elegant masks and hair bands (for the ladies) and the black team brought new meaning to the word ‘elegance’. Once again the Purple Team thrashed the Red Team in what is shaping up to be a streak on par with State of Origin.
My thanks go to everyone who joined in the night but especially to Mark and Alaina Westaway who put in many hard hours preparing the questions and ensuring everyone had a terrific time.
The Night of Talent
What a fantastic event the Night of Talent was! The church was beautifully decorated, the student talent was amazing and there were over 170 people in the audience.
Firstly, the Middle and Senior Student Voice (Middle and Senior name for the Student Council) did a wonderful job in organising the night and running the event. It was a great team effort and it was clear after the success of the night that the students were buzzed about their achievement. Thanks to Tanya Cullen who leads and mentors this group of young leaders so effectively.
Secondly, the talent on display was very impressive. It was a common theme at the end of the night of people coming up to me and saying that the next few College musicals are in good hands. There was a dazzling display of singers, dancers and poets.
Isabella Buckland won the Lower Primary category. She gave us a dramatic recitation of all of the Man from Ironbark. There were also amazing singing performances from Bella Campbell and Charlotte Westaway.
First place for the Upper Primary category went to McKenzie Godwin for her dance performance and runner up went to Mason White for his trombone playing as he provided a great soundtrack for the images that were playing behind him.
Finally, for the Middle and Senior category our winner was Ariana Doolan for her singing performance and Kiona Scott and Georgia Breen’s dance performance took second place.
The competition was genuinely very close between all of the contestants. Please congratulate any of these students or anyone who competed last night. It was very entertaining.
It was an impressive night and a great fundraiser for the Student Voice.
Maleny Show achievements
Congratulations to all of our students who entered into the Maleny Show and helped GCC take out approximately 34 prizes. Agricultural Science students won 11 first prizes for: hen eggs, carrots, snow peas, English potatoes, finger limes, passionfruit, collection of organic fruit and four first prizes for Camembert cheese. They also won four second and five third prizes. All of the agricultural produce entries were submitted in the Open section so the competition was fierce.
GCC’s Kitchen Garden embraced this year’s theme of ‘Renew, Reuse and Recycle’ and every class contributed to the handicrafts section. First prize in the bead section went to 2W, first prize in paper craft went to 2G and third prize in the recycled box class went to 1G. In the age divisions, Prep students won third for their drawings and Year 2 came second for theirs.
In the cookery section the Kitchen Garden took out first prize for roasted beetroot hummus, three second prizes (regular hummus, sweet sauce, and tapenade) and two third prizes (ricotta and butter).
Not to be outdone GCC’s textiles students made their mark by winning two first, two second and three third prizes in the machine sewn section.
Tuckshop ordering changes for Primary
Primary families should have received an email home this week advising that Tuckshop ordering is going to be fully online from next term. Online ordering through Flexischools has been working well for Secondary and many Primary families for some time and enables us to keep costs down because of its efficiency.
This change will only affect primary students currently using the paper bag system and all the details are in the email. Our Tuckshop is a service to our College community and does not make a profit. This is because we try and run the most cost-effective service possible and not pass on any extra costs to College families.
Funfest
Funfest promises to live up to its name and I hope you have put Saturday 30 July as a date claimer in your diary. Please keep an eye out for updates from the Funfest Committee to see if there is any way you can help. One way everyone can help is by turning up on the day and having a great time. The event begins at 11am and finishes at 4pm.
Mid-year holidays
Although there are three weeks of holidays, the GCC staff will be back on campus for the third week, undertaking training and professional development. Every second year Christian Schools Australia host the Queensland Christian Schools Conference and our teachers and teaching assistants will be attending this two-day conference. During the rest of the week, staff will be planning for the semester ahead and undertaking specialised training for their department or specialist area.
On behalf of the entire staff at GCC, I would like to wish you and your family a wonderful holiday. As educators, we are so proud of your children and appreciate the many special talents they bring to GCC. We especially value the respect and kindness they show others as it speaks volumes about the kind of people they are. We are truly thankful to be working with such amazing children and supporting parents.
Mike Curtis, Principal.