The Week Ahead - Term 1, Week 6
Monday 1 March to Friday 5 March 2021
From the Head of College
Staffing update
I am delighted to announce that our College Counsellor vacancy has been filled by Ms Jessica Tobin. Ms Tobin has extensive counselling experience working with children and their families. For the past four years Jessica has worked as a Child and Family Case Worker for Intensive Family Support Service, providing support interventions for children and their families. She also has early childhood experience, having worked for Goodstart Early Learning. Ms Tobin holds a ‘Bachelor: Human Service – Child and Family’ and she has a post-graduate degree in social work. We look forward to our new Counsellor joining us on Monday 8 March.
Construction work in Harristown
Members of our community are urged to exercise a special measure of caution and safety in and around both the Warwick Street and Stephen Street campuses over the coming weeks. We have been advised that the Toowoomba Regional Council will be undertaking major works on the corner of South and Burton Streets. Much of the work will be undertaken overnight; however, there will be a need for caution throughout the day as road conditions in this busy school area will change on occasion.
We have also been advised that the Queensland State Government will be erecting a ‘significant’ security fence around the perimeter of Harristown State High School. Again, I would urge members of our community to maintain a strong concern for safety as there will be extended periods where major works will be occurring in and around our educational precinct.
The support from across our community is required as we seek to maintain a safe environment for our students, staff and parents.
Mr Adrian Wiles
Head of College
From the College Pastor
Community News
NAPLAN Information
NAPLAN tests will be conducted in 2021. All students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are expected to participate in NAPLAN tests. Â鶹´«Ã½ will be conducting NAPLAN texts through Online testing.
All students will participate in an online practice test on the morning of 26 March. The NAPLAN formal testing period commences from Monday 10 May until Friday 21 May.
NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students have already learnt through the school curriculum. Concordia teachers will ensure that students are familiar with the test formats and will provide appropriate support and guidance.
NAPLAN tests are constructed to give students an opportunity to demonstrate skills they have learnt. NAPLAN tests give you information on how your child is progressing against national standards.
Adjustments can be provided for students with disability to enable them to access the tests on an equivalent basis to students without disability.
Parents or guardians may withdraw their child from the tests to address issues such as religious beliefs and philosophical objections to testing. It is recommended that withdrawal be considered in consultation with your child's classroom teacher at Hume Street Campus and Warwick Street Campus or the Year Level and Pastoral Coordinator at Stephen Street Campus. Formal notification must be received by the College prior to testing.
More information about NAPLAN will be provided as we get closer to the testing days.
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Ms Wendy Bowen
Director of Learning and Innovation
Help Needed!
Do you know how to teach the Foxtrot or know someone who can? If you are interested in helping, please contact Mrs Samantha Eagleson, Head of Department - The Arts
Project Based Learning at Concordia
Junior College
From the Junior College Directors
Lent and Easter
Lent is a time to reflect. We often give our students a gift to help us during this time of reflection. Today our students are being given a wooden cross that has a beautiful story. Each cross has been individually carved from the pruned branches from olive trees around Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. These crosses are designed to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand or pocket. They are a wonderful comfort to us, reminding us that we have the ultimate carer who is there to walk with us each day.
Student Leadership
Leadership is a quality that all students at the Junior College are encouraged and supported to develop. This week the Campus Captains from both Warwick Street and Hume Street, accompanied by Mr Andrew Tennent, had the opportunity to attend the GRIP Leadership conference at the Highfields Cultural Centre. GRIP is the acronym for Generosity, Responsibility, Integrity and People. Our Campus Captains joined with other student leaders in our area to further develop interpersonal and intrapersonal skills including communication and team work. Activities such as a dance party at the end of the day was a highlight for one of our captains who had to show his best dance moves up on stage!
Junior College Teacher Collaboration
It is wonderful to see the collaboration of our Junior College staff in supporting our students. Each fortnight, teachers from both campuses spend time together discussing both curriculum and cocurricular activities. We are looking forward to our excursions and camps resuming this year and our teachers from both campuses have begun planning some of these upcoming events. Our first Junior College camp for the year will be for our Year 5 classes who will be heading off to Tallebudgera early in Term 2. More information will be sent to parents soon.
Blessings for the week ahead.
Mrs Juanetta Priest & Mrs Jackie Minnikin
Directors of Campus
Toowoomba Central Zone Swimming Wrap Up 2021
Congratulations to the 38 Concordia students that competed at the Toowoomba Central Swimming Trials at The Glennie School on Wednesday 17 February 2021. This year’s carnival saw a different style of format, with many new restrictions imposed due to Covid-19.
It was an impressive effort by all our athletes with many achieving new personal best times. While several students missed out by the narrowest of margins, a number of CLC students qualified to represent the Toowoomba Central Zone Team which will now compete at the Darling Downs Regional Swimming Championships on Wednesday 3 March in Gatton. The Concordia team will be supplying a major percentage of swimmers from the Central Zone. Great work to all involved in preparing our swimmers, while also top marks to those students who put in the individual effort in their training.
Thank you to Mrs Barbara Riehl, Miss Alissa Turner and Mrs Libby Scouller for their smooth managing of the team on the day.
As mentioned in previous communication, I must also say thanks to our parent community for supporting and encouraging our awesome students in their sporting endeavours, especially during the imposed COVID-19 restrictions. As a representative of Concordia Sport at these events, it is always rewarding to see our students do their best and to hear glowing feedback about our competitors from the members of the community involved. What a great start to our sporting representative programs for 2021. Well done to all concerned and we wish our Central Zone representatives all the best in their next challenge!
Central Zone representatives: Ava Hopper, James Rice, Sofie Osborne, Ollie Dunlop, Connor Gadsby, Emily Holding, Emma Walkington, Evi Purchase, Freddy du Toit.
Mr Darryl Fry
JC Sports Coordinator
CLC OSHC
Tired of the juggle with the morning rush for school? Are you finding it hard to get the children organised, dropped off to school and then find you are still running late for work? Consider Before School Care as an option.
With Before School Care, we drop your children off. We are open from 6.30am each school day morning with a courtesy bus running WSC children to school. Children are welcome to bring along breakfast to enjoy at their own pace before heading to school.
Before School Care costs only $18 per session and is even cheaper with CCS applied. Let us take the hassle out of your mornings!
Contact us today at oshc@concordia.qld.edu.au to find more information or to make a booking.
Outside School Hours Care
Hume Street Campus
Hume Street Kindy Cordial/Milk Donation Collection
For the past three years, Hume Street Kindergarten has worked with Rosies – Friends on the Street gathering donations for children whose families are homeless, or suffer from loneliness.
Did you know that 5.6 million Australians, that is one in four of us, are lonely almost all of the time or on a regular basis? And 66% of people seek friendship as a remedy to loneliness?
Rosies reaches out to those most in need, people who are homeless or at risk, lonely and socially isolated within our communities.
While many organisations are increasingly providing awareness, support, and referral, Rosies focuses on providing friendship and unconditional acceptance during difficult times.
Over 98% of Rosies’ work is funded through kind donations from our local community.
Hume Street Kindergarten this year is collecting cordial and long life milk from 1 to 12 March. This will be used at the Rosies vans at parks for the children from families to come together, have a play in the park together, form some new friendships and have a nice cool drink of cordial after engaging in lots of play.
The longlife milk will be donated to support Toowoomba Homeless Outreach who serve Breakfast to the homeless community every morning. We received a call out that they were struggling with milk for breakfast, and we thought our Concordia Community will be the perfect community help gather donations for such a great organization.
So please consider in your next grocery shop, adding an extra bottle of cordial or long life milk to your trolley, and bringing it to school/kindy and dropping in the donation buckets.
Rosies Prayer
O Jesus,
Make our hearts so human, that others may feel at home with us, so like Yours, that others may feel at home with you, so forgetful of self that we might simply become the place where You and they meet.
In the power of Your love and the joy of Your friendship.
Amen.
HSC Campus Photos – Monday 22 March
HSC Campus Photos – Monday 22 March
Our Campus Photos are scheduled for Monday 22 March. Could you please ensure your child/ren are in the correct uniform. Students in Prep and Year 1 will wear their sports uniform. All students from Years 2 to 6 are required to wear their Formal Uniform.
Family Photos
To enable parents to purchase a Family Photo of all or some of their children who attend Â鶹´«Ã½, photos of siblings will be taken in the Hume Street Campus Hall between 8am and 8.15am on photo day.
It will be the parents’ responsibility to get their SSC children to HSC for the family photo and then take them to SSC ready for school before 8.30am. If you would like family photos done could you please collect a family photo envelope from Reception prior to Photo day.
Tuckshop Orders
At HSC, tuckshop is held on a Thursday. All orders are to be completed online at by 3pm each Wednesday. Please notify Reception by 9am on Thursday if your child is absent and we will cancel their order. Tuckshop will finish in Week 9.
Colour Explosion Fun Run
Thank you so much for continuously supporting our school, especially through fundraising. This term, we are hosting a Colour Explosion School Fun Run.
Start fundraising today.
Did you know? Students raise 3x times more when they fundraise online! Visit to create your child’s cybersafe fundraising profile. Instructions are in your child’s sponsorship booklet. You have until Friday 23 April to fundraise, so make sure you get cracking!
The big day is coming!
We are so excited to host our Colour Explosion School Fun Run on Tuesday 30 March. On the day, make sure your child brings a white shirt and old shorts for the Fun Run and waterslide! They will be covered in non-toxic, high quality colour powder from head to toe! They will also need a water bottle and their hat. Sunscreen will be provided in the classrooms prior to the event.
How do prizes work? Help your child fundraise more by setting a prize goal! It’s okay if they change their mind – you order their exact prizes later. You can order your child’s prizes online at by Friday 9 April . Alternatively, complete the back page of your sponsorship booklet when you return your cash donations. Students can choose a prize based on the total amount of dollars raised, or mix and match smaller prizes.
Share in $200,000 worth of extra prize credit! Achieve bigger prizes by helping your child earn bonus credit on their online profile. By reaching fundraising milestones online, you can share in $200,000 of extra prize credit!
Become a Fundraising MonSTAR! Collect all virtual badges on your online profile page and receive your own Fundraising MonSTAR bag tag.
Class Reward Prize. Teamwork counts! If your class creates the most online profile pages each student will receive a Fundraising MonSTAR handball.
FundRazor of the Year Award. Do you think you can top the national leader board? Australia’s highest fundraising student in Australia will win a Razor Prize Pack, worth $4,900!
If you have any questions about the Colour Explosion School Fun Run please contact the office of on 1300 133 022. Thanks for supporting our school and we hope to see you at the event.
Happy fundraising!
Warwick Street Campus
A Special Invitation from the Director of Campus
As you will see in the Word on the Street, students from Years 1 to 6 have been invited to a Glow Disco on Friday 12 March from 6pm to 7.30pm. While the students are enjoying their time at the disco, we thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for our parents to spend some time together with a special Wine and Cheese Evening in the Resource Centre. Come and enjoy some time together to chat and hear about all the exciting things happening at WSC this year.
If you would like to attend, please for information.
Cadbury Chocolate Drive Update
A huge thank you to everyone who has ordered chocolate boxes for our Cadbury Chocolate Drive. We have had a record breaking 110 boxes ordered! These should arrive late next week, and will come home with your children. Let the selling begin!
Tuckshop Orders
At WSC, Tuckshop is held on a Wednesday. All orders are to be completed online at by 3pm each Tuesday. Please notify Reception by 9am on Wednesday if your child is absent and we will cancel their order. Tuckshop will finish in Week 9.
WSC Campus Photos – Wednesday 17 March
WSC Campus Photos – Wednesday 17 March
Our Campus Photos are scheduled for Wednesday 17 March. Could you please ensure your child/ren are in the correct uniform. Students in Prep will wear their sports uniform. All students from Years 1 to 6 are required to wear their Formal Uniform.
Family Photos
To enable parents to purchase a Family Photo of all or some of their children who attend Â鶹´«Ã½, photos of siblings will be taken in the Warwick Street Campus Shed between 8am and 8.15am on photo day.
It will be the parents’ responsibility to get their SSC children to WSC for the family photo and then take them to SSC ready for school before 8.30am. If you would like family photos done could you please collect a family photo envelope from Reception prior to Photo day.
Stephen Street Campus
From the Director
It is so satisfying to see many of our cocurricular activities up and running for the year: athletics, netball, Kokoda, volleyball, basketball, soccer/futsal, cross country, the Athlete Development Program, A Midsummer Night's Dream rehearsals, Big Band, Concert Band, subject tutorials… and the list goes on! I even stumbled across a group of keen Year 7 students and Mr James Bishop in an F1 in Schools workshop! Thanks to the teachers and coaching staff who are investing their time in building capacity in our students and programs.
Today saw a very early start for our Year 9 students, their parents and some of our staff, as we gathered at 4.45am at Picnic Point for our Rite Journey Calling and Departure Ceremony. This simple gathering is the purposeful commencement of the journey that Year 9 students will be embarking on this year. A program of shared discussions, shared experiences and opportunities for these students to reflect on their capacity to understand each other, understand themselves, to gain a sense that there is something more and to know that they can be contributors to the communities that they find themselves in.
Tonight our Year 10 students also gather at Picnic Point for a lovely meal together and to celebrate the growth that they have experienced over the past 12 months. A few of us will be very ready for bed tonight but I have to say that it is a true privilege to share these occasions with our amazing young people.
Lastly, our Year 7 scientists have been having some great experiences this year. Last week they were working with SEQ Water down at Wivenhoe Dam, on a range of water quality, macro-organisms and dam construction activities. Keep an eye out for the work that they are doing next week as they learn about machine vision. They will use drones and software to acquire images and calibrate the software to be able to recognise objects of different shapes and colours.
Keep an eye on Facebook during Week 6 for the most amazing project that our Technology, HASS and IT Departments have created…. an interactive, topographic generating sandbox! This is a sensational piece of collaboration. It will be running on Open Day, so feel free to pop in and interact with it.
Mr Jason Smith
Director of Campus
Free Elevate Webinars
Don't forget to register for the free Elevate webinars. There are still two remaining for Term 1. Registration is essential and is free for parents of Â鶹´«Ã½.
The webinar is run live online from 6pm to 7pm where the presenter will share Elevate’s key research and skills, and will conduct a live Q&A so you can ask them questions directly.
Remaining webinars in this series will focus on the following:
- 10 March - Technology devices and self-regulation strategies.
- 24 March - Note taking skills to help your child deepen their revision.
Sports News
No Sprint Training in Week 6
Please be aware that there will be NO sprint training during Week 6.
Coaches in the Spotlight
Over the coming weeks, we will introduce our community to one of our sport coaches. This week, meet our netball coach, Erin Webcke.
Name: Erin Webcke
Role: Netball coach
Playing Background: I have been playing netball for 14 years. I started playing at a club team in Brisbane and when I moved up to Toowoomba, I played club here. I went on to represent Toowoomba and Highfields including State. I played for the Darling Downs School Girls Team for various years and age groups. I was part of the Darling Downs Netball Academy, Queensland School Girls U19 team in Melbourne, Darling Downs Panthers U19 team for two years, Ipswich Jets Ruby team in 2019 and Ipswich Jets U18 team. All through high school, I was also a proud member of the Concordia team!
Coaching Background: I have assisted at various development clinics and coaching specialist sessions as part of the Darling Downs Panthers and Ipswich Jets teams.
Coaching Philosophy/motivation for coaching: My coaching philosophy is hard work and consistency beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. I believe that the most successful players and most valuable team members are the ones that keep showing up, putting in the hard yards and getting the job done. Effort never goes unnoticed.
What do you enjoy most about coaching: I love seeing girls improve their skills mentally and physically upon every training session and every game. I also love seeing girls put in the hard yards, especially in fitness.
What’s the biggest misconception people have about your sport? That it's not a contact sport! Netball is a vigorous body contact sport and its brutality is very much underrated! It definitely requires a lot of core strength to withstand body hits in attacking positions.
What’s your biggest training pet peeve? When people don't put in 100% effort. Hard work and determination are the most important traits of any athlete in any sport. I appreciate and expect 100% to be given every training session and every game, no matter the skill level or experience.
What’s a trip that changed you, and why? When I went to France and visited the Somme as well as when I visited a concentration camp in Germany. It gave me an undescribable sense of appreciation for the life I live.
What’s the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from? From my Dad - Worrying is like being in a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but gets you nowhere.
Tell us something that might surprise us about you? I would like to go on SAS Australia or the Amazing Race to challenge myself and push past my comfort zone.