It is always good to feel the energy that comes into a school as staff and students return at the start of a term. We welcome everyone including new students and their families and Ms Katie Child as a Middle and Senior College teacher. Ms Child has taught at Brisbane Girls Grammar and at Siena and is a passionate teacher of English, HASS and Physical Education. We welcome Mrs Marnie Whittaker back from maternity leave and wish Mr Brett Kersnovske every blessing as he leads Mumba House this term.
Over the holiday period, the Melbourne Cultural Tour enabled Middle and Senior College students to be fully immersed in a rich performing and visual arts experience as they revelled in attending various performances as part of the Melbourne Arts Festival. Students also enjoyed the opportunity to visit a range of sites and experience different aspects of Melbourne life. We thank Mrs Helen Williams, Mrs Ceilidh King and Mr Steven Lake for the leadership of this experience.
We continue to work through alternatives for our Year 9 Outdoor Education Experience and are hoping to inform our Year 9 students and parents of these arrangements at the start of next week. Rearrangements of this type are complex, particularly in the current context where areas continue to be impacted by the effects and after effects of bushfires. Student safety is always our number one priority and we thank families for their patience as we finalise arrangements.
We wish our Year 6 students all the best for their Canberra experience next week and thank all of our staff who are attending. Mr Stuart Pohlner will be leading the experience, along with Year 6 teachers Mrs Linda Sydes and Mrs Kim Kiernan. Further communication will be sent directly to Year 6 families today.
Head of Outdoor Education Mr Nick Tait has formally resigned from the College this week. Mr Tait has ensured that planning for the Year 6 experience and the Year 3 Camp has been completed over the holiday period. We appreciated the leadership that Mr Tait has provided in Outdoor Education and the Duke of Edinburgh experiences over the past two years. Director of Students Mr Ben Ryan and Head of Staff and Students P-5 Mr David Druery, both of whom have expertise in Outdoor Education, will continue to oversee the remaining experiences for the year.
We congratulate Mr Damian Davis on his appointment as the Head of Staff and Students P-5 from next year. Mr Davis very capably fulfilled the role as Acting Head of Staff and Students P-5 at the start of the year. His passion for educating young people and capabilities as an innovative educator and leader saw him selected above highly capable, experienced leaders from Queensland and interstate schools.
Mrs Anne Marie Gerlach, who is currently the Coordinator of Senior School at Canterbury College, will be taking on the role Head of Learning Senior College from the start of next year, supporting the learning of Senior College students. Mrs Gerlach has had extensive leadership experience including being a member of the Griffith University School of Environment, Planning Discipline Professional Advisory Board and the Queensland University of Technology Education Faculty Professional Academic Advisory Board, been a leader of the Australian and Queensland Geography Teacher’s Associations, current QCAA State Panel for Geography and the QCAA Learning Area Reference Committee for Humanities and Social Sciences. This appointment will then enable Ms Sue Arahill as Director of Learning P-12 to have a strong focus on the ongoing pedagogical development of staff across the College as education continues to evolve.
We give God thanks for the many people in our community who graciously serve each other and the broader community with joy!
Dr Bronwyn Dolling, Principal
