Principal’s Log

Volunteers play a very significant role in enhancing the opportunities for young people at Pacific. We are greatly enriched by the generosity of spirit that sits within our parents, students and staff. It was good to be able to celebrate with some of our volunteers who were able to join us for afternoon tea this week. We very much appreciate the gift of time, skills and resources provided by our volunteers throughout the year through the support of Pacific FC, PLC Netball, OCEANFest, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day stalls, Open Day, BBQs and all of the community and co-curricular activities of the College. The generosity of our volunteers adds great colour and possibility into our community.

We welcomed our 2024 Prep families to the College this week. The afternoon provided the opportunity for parents and carers to begin to form connections over afternoon tea and gain further insights into the learning experiences of our Prep students. Participation in this event is one of the early steps in learning more about the important role that parents play as partners through their children’s educational journey. We thank our parents for attending and Mr Damian Davis, Mrs Sue Zweck, Mrs Anna Maher, Mrs Shelly Hogan and Mrs Grier Elliott for their leadership.

On Tuesday, seven students and Year 5 teacher, Mrs Kim Kiernan cut at least 20cm off the length of their hair in support of the Cancer Council Queensland’s Ponytail Project. All funds raised by participating students along with the gold coin donations received from the Middle and Senior College Casual Clothes Day will go towards essential cancer support services, prevention programs and lifesaving research. This is the third consecutive year Pacific leaders have supported this great cause. The Ponytail Project has fostered a sense of community and camaraderie among the students and instilled the values of compassion and generosity. By actively participating and contributing to the fundraising efforts, our students have demonstrated their commitment to making a difference in the lives of others. We congratulate all the students and Mrs Kiernan for ‘rocking the chop’ and thank our 2024 Pacific Lutheran College leaders, Ayrisa Jones and Kiana Campbell, who led the fundraising event and showed their commitment and excitement to make a difference to the lives of people affected by cancer. We also thank Ms Leigh Finter, Director of Students, for supporting our leaders through this student led initiative.

We wish our Year 3 students well as they enjoy their first overnight Outdoor Education experience at Pacific. The Year 3 program is focused on developing confidence in the outdoors whilst experiencing a night away from home. Students are supported by staff to stretch and celebrate moving along the independence continuum through the engagement in nature-based activities including natural construction, roped activities, guided hikes and beach games. We thank Head of Outdoor Education Mr Paul Brace for his overall planning and leadership. We thank teachers, Mrs Suzie Naidu, Mrs Fiona Schefe, Mr Steven Healy, Ms Pia Henriksen, Ms Sigrid Davis, Mr David Druery, Ms Sara Taverner and Mr Rob Belchamber for their leadership and support on camp.  We look forward to learning of the students overall outdoor learning experience when they return tomorrow afternoon.

On Monday evening, students Scarlett van den Hurk (Year 5) and Lucy Dimond (Year 12) attended the Awards Ceremony for the ‘Telling Stories’ short story competition run by Mooloolaba Rotary, UniSC and Voices on the Coast. There were around 180 entries and they were shortlisted in the top 25 stories. The topic was…I had no Choice! We congratulate Scarlett on being placed first in her category and Lucy for reaching the top 5 for her category, receiving a highly commended award. We congratulate these students for their efforts.

We welcome Mr Dominic Connors who will be teaching Mrs Natalie Van Dongen’s classes as she takes leave for health reasons for the remainder of the year. Our prayers are with Mrs Van Dongen who has appreciated the support of this community.

We give thanks for the diversity of our community and pray that we would grow in our capacity to understand, celebrate and co-create for good together. We also pray for those impacted by wars and bushfires.

Dr Bronwyn Dolling, Principal