Principal's Log

It has been a term where we have enjoyed seeing young people grow as people and in what they have been able to achieve.  We have celebrated publicly outstanding achievements with many groups and individuals and more privately the important small steps forwards that each young person has made.  We have come together as a community to have fun and to provide rich opportunities for young people.  Growth in life involves making the most of opportunities, recognising and celebrating progress and developing resilience, discernment and persistence through mistakes and disappointments.  Growing through the highs and lows of life is an important life skill.  We would hope that people have also appreciated that a gracious God walks with them and blesses them each day.  The Pacific village has been strongly engaged in growing young people this term and I thank all staff, students, parents, College Council members and friends of the College for the important part they have played in enriching the lives of young people.  There has been tremendous goodwill and energy.

We celebrate the success of our Junior Robotics team of Year 4 to 8 students who travelled to Maryborough and competed against 80 teams of senior and junior students in the Sumo Robotics Tournament this week.  We congratulate all teams and particularly that of Varsh Surapaneni, Noah Taverner and Ethan Donahue who won the Monster division and our Year 6 team of Ashton Clues, Josh Lusk and Julian Schirripa who placed second in the Midget competition losing to a Year 12 team.  The third team of Maddie Clues (Yr 4), Liam Brown and Luca Buttrose also performed very well.  We thank Mrs Janine Stone for her leadership of these teams.

We look forward to our Year 9 students returning from their outdoor education experience on Friday.  This 12-day expedition provides a unique opportunity for growth and we thank Mr Nick Tait for his leadership of this experience and staff  Mr Duncan McNee, Mrs Angela Hill, Mr Chris Mundy, Mr Chris Bartlett and Pastor Tim Jarick for the time given to lead and support groups of students.

We thank those families who participated in the Focus Group sessions over the past fortnight.  They have provided some valuable feedback to the College that will be incorporated into our strategic planning processes for the next four years. Year 11 and 12 student leaders, executive members of the Friends of Pacific and staff have been invited by email this week, to join our College Council for the strategic planning consultation day on Saturday, 13th October, next term.

We say thank you and farewell to Mr Adrian King who has inspired a love and appreciation for music in his role as Head of Instrumental Music since July 2007.  Adrian’s tremendous talent as a musician, his enthusiasm, joy for performance and generosity of time in working with young people has been greatly appreciated by staff, students and families.  We look forward to our ongoing relationship with Mr King as a music tutor and wish him all the best as he enjoys a change in pace in the next phase of his life.

May God grant us the ability to recognise and celebrate the many small joys we encounter in our daily lives.  We wish everyone God’s richest blessing as you enjoy a change in pace over the coming fortnight.

Dr Bronwyn Dolling, Principal