The Queensland Plan

Last month a summit was held in Mackay to discuss how Queensland should collectively plan for the future. More than 400 community representatives came together to develop questions that all Queenslanders are now invited to answer. Responses will then inform the development of The Queensland Plan , a thirty year vision for our state.

My initial reaction was “What an impossible thing to achieve!” Our nation is changing at such a fast rate that it is impossible to imagine what it will be like in 30 years, so how can we create a vision for this. Then as I looked at the questions asked, I realised that the focus is on things that are timeless; things that we need to always strive to achieve.

The Queensland Plan questions are:

* In the context of living in the community, how do we move our focus from me to we?

* How do we create and foster an education culture that teaches skills and values to meet global challenges and optimise regional strengths?

* How do we empower and educate individuals, communities and institutions to embrace responsibility for an active and healthy lifestyle?

* How do we structure our economy to ensure our children inherit a resilient future?

* How do we strengthen our economic future and achieve sustainable landscapes?

* How do we attract and retain the brightest minds and ideas where they are most needed and capitalise on global opportunities?

Next term, the Honourable Andrew Powell MP will visit the College to speak to the seniors and invite them to give their input into The Queensland Plan. The government are also holding a competition for students to enter that will help in shaping the vision for our state and I encourage students and parents to provide their input and get involved. See http://queenslandplan.qld.gov.au/get-involved/have-your-say/index.html

This reminds me of what education is like. In the future it is certain that the content we teach will change and the process of delivering it will definitely change. What must never change are the values we instil on our young people. These are our College “GREAT” Values which never change.

Next term we focus on the value “Attitude” which is probably the most misunderstood value. We want our young people to develop a positive attitude that is so powerful it will help them to set and achieve amazing goals. As I look at our values, I constantly come back to the first value – GODLINESS. Without this value, attitude is at risk of becoming negative and something that we want to steer our students away from. I’m looking forward to next term talking to students about what a Godly attitude really means and how they can develop this in their own life.

Rotary Young Driver Awareness Program (RYDA)

On Wednesday of week one next term (July 17), our Year 11 students will be attending the RYDA program held at Corbould Park. This is a great program funded by the College and Rotary and endeavours to help prevent some of the terrible carnage we see on our roads by making our young people aware of some of the hazards of driving. Please make sure your child is attending this important day.

We also have a wonderful guest speaker, Michael Teague coming to speak on our first assembly back after the holidays. Michael was severely injured in a motor vehicle accident and has an important message that all drivers need to listen to.

I trust you have a wonderful winter break with your child and I look forward to what God has instore for us next term.

David Heyworth, Head of Senior School