Principal's Log

It was exciting to hear the energy from both staff and students on their return from their Music Camp last weekend. The joy and sense of achievement that flowed was a testament to the quality of experience generated by our musicians engaging and creating together. We thank our music students for their enthusiasm and Mrs Aleisha Tuaine, Mrs Helen Williams and Mr David Simpfendorfer for their leadership of this highly valued experience.

Year 9 STEM students also greatly enjoyed the opportunity to attend a QUT workshop conducted by third and fourth year engineering students in Brisbane this week. The STEM students had the opportunity to work in teams to build a prosthetic arm that performed a novel task after having learnt some key concepts about the mechanics of arm movement from the QUT engineering students. They then had to pitch their ideas to the engineering students who role played potential commercial developers without engineering experience. This was an invaluable experience for students who developed a greater insight into creating solutions for real world problems as well as the skills required to communicate their ideas to people with different backgrounds and expertise. We thank Mr Wes Warner for organising this great experience.

It has been great to see students engage strongly in our Pacific Action Groups (PAG) this year. Each PAG provides the opportunity for students to lead new initiatives in the College. Through engagement in the Academic, Cultural, Pastoral Care, Environmental and Mission and Service Groups, Year 5-12 students can strongly shape future directions in each of these areas. All groups are open to any student who wishes to make a difference. These groups provide important opportunities for the growth of student agency and efficacy as they develop leadership skills and influence their world. We thank our Year 12 Captains and staff who support these groups and wish all of our Pacific Action Groups well for the year.

May God grant us the calmness of mind to centre on our values as we negotiate choices.

Dr Bronwyn Dolling, Principal