Shine and Prep to 8 years athletic postponements
These two events had been planned for a long time so it was disappointing for everyone when they had to be postponed due to the bad weather. Many of us remember back to last year’s terrible storm which really put a dampener on Shine so we didn’t want a repeat of those circumstances.
The new date for Shine is Friday 11 September and the new date for the Prep to eight years old athletics carnival is Thursday 17 September. Both of these dates are also on the College calendar on the home page of our website and inside page of the newsletter.
I hope you check these dates regularly as I sometimes hear people express disappointment that they have missed out on an event. There is no need for this to happen when the dates are so accessible. We don’t expect our families to read the whole newsletter – just the sections that interest them, but we do hope that everyone takes 30 seconds to scan the upcoming events on the calendar.
Book Week
This was such a big event that I’m sure you will read more about it later on in the newsletter. Book Week was more than one day of dressing up. Our Library team and teachers had a week of planned activities which highlighted the theme of ‘Books light up our world’ and it was a huge success.
This year for the first time ever, our secondary students joined the fun. On Tuesday a plethora of creative costumes and captivating characters flooded into the College. Secondary teachers also dressed up and stayed in character for most of the day which meant most of the staff avoided Amanda Gook in case she accosted them with her staff and commanded, “Off with their head”. The Queen of Hearts was ferocious!
For our primary students, the Book Week parade is the highlight of the week and I am constantly astounded at the detail, fun and creativity that goes into the costumes. I know that this represents many, many hours of hard work by parents and I’m sure your children appreciate your efforts on their behalf.
I am also thrilled by the attitude and efforts of our wonderful primary staff who fully embrace the day. Some year levels joined together to form themed characters like the Prep team who came dressed as the characters from a nursing home based on a Mem Fox book. Year 4 teachers came in matching pyjamas as Jessie from a book by Libby Gleeson and Year 2 teachers dressed as three blind mice. Year 5 teachers took the theme to heart and made costumes symbolising ‘Books light up my world’.
Volunteers’ Lunch
Last Friday our talented Hospitality Department hosted a beautiful lunch for Glasshouse Christian College volunteers. Our volunteers really are the backbone of the College and our students and staff benefit hugely from their gift of time and talent.
A few people said they didn’t know about the lunch in time. We did make a small change in how we invited people this year which may have resulted in the lower numbers on Friday. The invitations were uploaded to the website, included in the newsletter and printed and put beside the volunteers’ sign-in book on 20 July.
If you do volunteer at the College and weren’t able to make it on Friday, we still have a small gift for you. Just ask at Main Admin next time you are signing in.
Julie Peters and the Hospitality students outdid themselves with the food which was delicious and plentiful. We all appreciated the hard work that went into creating such sumptuous meals. One of our volunteers was working too hard at preparing the food to eat the food. A big thank you to Lana Balazs for all her help on the day. If you would like to see photos of the event, please click here.
Volunteers, please sign in at the Main Admin
I would like to take this opportunity to remind all of our hard-working volunteers that it is very important for you to sign in at the Main Admin every time you are on College grounds helping out.
This is how we keep track of who is on campus at any given time, which is to comply with government legislation and good safety principles. It is also critical to have a register of all the people on campus should we have an emergency event requiring evacuation etc.
QCS
On Tuesday our Year 12 students began the day with a hearty breakfast before embarking on two days of QCS. QCS stands for Queensland Core Skills and it is a common state-wide test designed for Year 12 students. Rather than test specific subjects, the QCS identifies a set of generic skills identified in the Queensland senior curriculum.
Over the two days of testing the students will complete four papers; a writing task, a short response test and two multiple-choice questionnaires. The test was compulsory for all students eligible for an OP and optional for those not going for an OP.
New changes for Year 11 students in 2018
You are probably no doubt aware of the changes concerning senior schooling and university entrance scores due to the extensive media coverage it received last week. These changes will apply to our current Year 8 students when they enter Year 11. In brief, the changes are that the OP system will be replaced by a Tertiary Rank system. This will bring us in line with most of the other states and will mean that the rank received in Queensland will have standing right across the country. It will also mean that there will be no more QCS tests, but it could mean that each subject could have an external exam component to it. As yet the scheme is thin on details, but we will keep you fully informed of these changes.
New app for parents
Learning Potential is a new app to help parents be more involved in their child’s learning from Prep to Year 12. The app is put out by the Australian Government and is freely available on Google Play or from the App Store. You can tailor this app so you only received tips, advice and activities for your child’s age group. The App will be updated on a regular basis and looks to be a valuable tool for parents to enhance their involvement in their child’s education journey.
Click on this website to learn more: http://www.learningpotential.gov.au/.
Mike Curtis, Principal