As I think about the term ahead, I’m very aware of how it is the entire College community that makes GCC so great. Our parents and caregivers work hard to provide the best educational journey possible for their children. Our students continue to excel in excellence and character and our staff are constantly working to improve the experience for everyone. Thank you.

I hope you enjoyed quality time with your family and friends over the holidays. For those who had to work through them, I hope the schedule was a little less hectic without the school lunches and daily drop off and pickups. A special welcome to our 21 new students who began on Monday.

From “Eagle” to “Eaglet”

This is the first evolution of the Eagle to the Eaglet. We have gone from mammoth 20-page newsletters twice a term to a bite-sized weekly e-zine where you can see at a glance all the articles and click on those which interest you.

Honouring our 10 year staff

Although this is the first week back for our students our staff began seven days earlier undertaking professional development courses before enjoying our annual Staff 10-year lunch on Thursday. This year we held it at the Beerwah Community Hall and celebrated Mark Becker, Wendy Stott, Wendy Hay, Nicole Jen and Sarah Leary for their 10 years of faithful service.

Farewell Mr Havenga and some staff changes

It is with sadness that we bid farewell to Gary Havenga our Head of Maths for the past four years and Maths teacher for the past six and a half. We are grateful to Mr Havenga for all of his dedicated service to the College and we wish him all the very best for the future as he helps oversee the secondary curriculum for a distance education provider. This is something that he has done in the past and it gave him the opportunity to work alongside his wife Michelle.

The College is well placed to cope with Gary’s sudden departure and I am pleased to announce that Neil Capps will be replacing Gary as the acting Head of Maths for the rest of this year. Neil is well qualified to take on this position as he has been Head of Maths at GCC for four years before leaving the College in 2013 to pursue a role interstate. His role immediately before his return to GCC was also as Head of Maths at St Eugene’s, a Caboolture private school. Neil was employed last term as a Middle School Maths teacher but he is a very experienced senior Maths teacher and for this reason he will be taking over all of Mr Havenga’s classes.

Mr Capps’s Middle School classes will now be taught by Ryan Carolissen. The students will be familiar with Mr Carolissen as he has been the students’ teacher since Mr Rogers’ departure in Term 1 and Mr Capps’s arrival in the middle of Term 2. We are very glad to have Mr Carolissen back in the College.

I would also like to welcome back Mrs Patrice Cutlack to the teaching team again after her long service leave. Mrs Jenny Evans, who replaced Mrs Cutlack during this time, will still be with us as she continues with the teaching of the Middle School Art students and Mrs Cutlack will be taking the Senior School classes.

Academic and Diligence Awards Middle School

On Monday we presented academic and diligence awards to many of our Middle School students. At every opportunity we reinforce the importance of working hard and diligently over and above good grades. However, hard work and good grades often go hand in hand and it was interesting to see how many of the students who received academic certificates, were also presented with diligence awards. You can read more in Middle School News and see all the photos here.

Upcoming Events

Term 3 has some very exciting events. This week we had our Primary and Secondary Athletics Carnivals, the following Friday (21 July) is our Grandparents’ Day, our Careers Expo is on 3 August and Book Week is fast approaching in Week 7. Shine on the Arts is on Friday 1 September from 5:30pm so mark it in your calendar now.

The bus zone is moving

It has always been a part of the plan to move our school buses out to the front of the College and out of the College grounds. This is a popular move with the bus companies and it is going to improve and make safer all of the traffic flow through the College.

The new bus zone is going to be located in the area where the footpath has been reclaimed on Roberts Road opposite Beerwah High School. I know this is a popular place for people to park but this will soon be reserved for buses only. In the near future a bus shelter will be established and the zone will be clearly marked as buses only. There is no change yet but it will be happening soon.

No pets

A reminder that pets, particularly dogs or cats, are not permitted at the College. This is regardless of their size, friendliness or cuteness or whether they are on a leash. Thanks for your help with this.

Final thoughts

GCC is a vibrant growing College, and therefore our calendar is not static. I encourage you to check in with it on a regular basis as it is simply accessed via the homepage of our website.

Mike Curtis, Principal