On Friday, the very significant contribution and achievement of members of our community were recognised at the 2019 Caloundra Electorate Community Awards. Students Hudson Horne and Samantha Hutton were nominated in the Young Achiever of the Year category, Oshi Kirkley, Will Martell and Zaida Williams were nominated in the Young Sport Achiever of the Year category, staff members Mrs Leah Croke and Mr Mark Hauser and Friends of Pacific Chairperson Mrs Jenny Lee were nominated in the Community Volunteer of the Year category. Well done to all nominees for their achievements and contributions to our wider local community and congratulations to Samantha Hutton who won Young Achiever of the Year!
Our Year 6 students have enjoyed their time in Canberra, visiting a range of nationally important sites including Parliament House, the Australian War Memorial, the Australian Electoral Commission and Government House. A highlight for the group was the opportunity to meet with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and present him with some small souvenirs from the Sunshine Coast. We look forward to welcoming them back this Friday and thank Mr Stuart Pohlner, Mrs Linda Sydes, Mrs Kim Kiernan, Mr Darren Hooper, Mr Brendan Delaney, Mrs Melissa Ousley and the outdoor education aides for their guidance of the group. We particularly thank Mr Pohlner for leading the experience well.
We are pleased to inform our community that the Year 9 students will be going to Mt Binga for their outdoor education experience at the end of this year. The 10 day experience will commence on Wednesday 20th November and have students returning on Friday 29th November. Mt Binga is run by Immanuel Lutheran College and we have appreciated their assistance and support in developing this program at short notice. We thank Mr Ben Ryan and Mrs Natalie Campbell for the work they have done in organising the experience from Pacific’s perspective. Further details will be sent home to Year 9 families via email in the coming days.
We congratulate our Head of Careers Development Mrs Wanda Hayes who has been invited to be part of the Australian Governments Vocational Education and Training (VET) Stakeholder committee to provide advice around the implementation of the $525 million Delivering Skills For Today and Tomorrow package. Mrs Hayes is one of 19 people selected to be on the panel which includes representatives from business, consumer groups, peak bodies, registered training organisations and public, private and not for profit providers from across the country. We are privileged to have someone of Mrs Hayes capability, connection and experience providing advice to our students about their future pathways. Mrs Hayes will be making a presentation at the Friends of Pacific meeting next Tuesday October 22nd at 6.30pm.
We look forward to celebrating Grandparents and Friends Day and then Viva La Arts next Friday 25th October. During the day we will have the opportunity to acknowledge the important role that grandparents play within our families and community. In the evening, we are very much looking forward to celebrating and being entertained by the visual and performing arts talents of our students. This new event is a student led initiative and it promises to be a great night for the family.
Our basketball teams have once again had a strong season and we congratulate all players and teams on their growth. We wish our seven teams who are through to the semi finals all the best this Friday night. Thank you to all of our coaches and managers and particularly our Basketball Coordinator Mr Mark Hauser for his generous and inspiring leadership.
The debating season has now concluded for 2019. Pacific successfully competed in three competitions this year and it has been great to witness the development and growth of students’ debating skills. We congratulate our two teams of Lucy Dimond, Amedy Buchanan, Maggie Princehorn, Abigail Tracey, Noah Beasley, Lachlan Buchanan, Olivia Gartrell and Alexander Jose who reached the finals of the Sunshine Coast Schools Debating Competition. We thank Mr Alex O’Connor for his leadership of our debating program and coaches Mrs Rae Hall and Mrs Ceilidh King for their support.
We wish our Future Problem Solving team of Jasmin Groves, Sebastian Box, Piper Reid and Trixie Willett and individual participants Charles Box and Logan Pohlner all the best at the National Finals this weekend. The topic will be ‘Coping with Stress’ and finalists will consider how exponential change and fast-paced trends in society will increase stress in the future. We thank Mrs Jo Belchamber for her leadership of this experience and Mrs Rae Hall and Ms Petta Scheiwe for their assistance.
As a community, we look forward to welcoming back our 2009 Graduates this Saturday afternoon for their 10 year reunion. It is always a delight to connect with and hear of the journeys our young people have engaged in since leaving the College.
May God gives us the stillness we need to be fully present for people and His word.
Dr Bronwyn Dolling, Principal
Pre-Rep Session
