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The students must be congratulated on how well and quickly they have settled back into school routines and school life. Thank you for your part in supporting and encouraging the students on this journey. It has also been very affirming to see, first-hand, how the student body has reached out to support those students who are new to Concordia this term. 

I would also like to welcome our new families to Concordia. We are so excited to have you join the Concordia family and look forward to forging a strong and transparent working relationship with you as together we work to achieve the very best outcomes for your student.

Congratulations and well done to those students who have recently achieved personal milestones and goals, overcome physical challenges, or excelled in various sports codes. Some of these achievements include the recently held Kokoda Challenge, swimming results and rankings, weightlifting and equestrian riding but to name a few. 

It’s great to see our Concordia students achieving great results across so many areas. Congratulations parents and families as you support your student on their respective journey. Thank you too, to those staff members who have supported and continue to support and encourage these students across these many disciplines.

Building quality working relationships and working closely with every student and family at �鶹��ý are essential processes which are underpinned by an approach of consistent, regular and transparent conversations and meetings. As we continue to fine-tune these working arrangements, to make them consistent across all three campuses, I am writing to let you know about some minor adjustments and inclusions which will be built into this process moving forward:

• Should any family or staff member request a meeting with the other, both parties will be asked to provide agenda items for this purpose. This will allow for the easy flow of meetings as well as allowing all parties to come prepared to the meeting.
• The College will also provide each family with a list of the attendees attending the meeting.
• Minutes will be taken at the meeting and distributed, with any resulting action items, to all attendees afterwards. Once the minutes are approved by all parties, they will be accepted as presented.
• A follow-up meeting will be agreed to if required.

We hope that this transparent and fluid process will make the whole process of meeting more time efficient and user friendly. Your feedback in fine-tuning this process is also encouraged.

Mr Anton Prinsloo
Head of College

Last week I was privileged to get the second COVID-19 vaccination, so I am now immunised against the nasty virus, or at least against its worst effects – according to the scientists. It doesn’t change life much, unlike in some European countries or the US where vaccinated people are afforded privileges in terms of travel and assembly.

When our daughter travelled to South America in 2019 to participate in a YWAM course and mission trip, she needed to have certain vaccinations, including one for yellow fever. In fact, without certification of this vaccination she would have not been allowed to return to Australia.

All Concordia families are warmly invited to participate in the Parent Connect Barefoot Bowls event taking place on Sunday 8 August from 2pm to 6pm at South Toowoomba Bowls Club. 

The cost for adults is $25 and children under 12 are $10. The cost includes nibblies, a meal and club membership (required to play).

To confirm your attendance, .

This should be a very enjoyable event for the College community. We hope you can join us for an afternoon of fun and friendly competition!

We are very conscious that our Year 3 students have another ‘first’ in Term 3… it is their first school overnight camping experience. 

While this is a little stressful for some students, it is majorly stressful for many parents. To assist both students and parents in this ‘first’, Koojarewon offer an opportunity for an optional pre-visit. This is a great opportunity for you to come out to the camp grounds and check out all of the facilities including the dorms, kitchen and dining hall and the overall camp environment. Camp staff will be there to field any questions from students and parents. The Year 3 teachers will also be there too. 

If you are feeling a little unsettled about the upcoming camp, or would just like to come and check it out, feel free to come along on Monday 26 July between 3.30pm to 5pm. Address for Google Maps: Koojarewon Youth Camp, Borghardt Road Highfields.

We will be hosting an information session for our Year 6 Parents so that you can learn all about our Year 6 Trip to Cairns. We will be completing an induction for the Parent Helpers that are going on camp. The details of this meeting will be …

Place: Year 6 classroom, WSC
Time: 5.30pm - 6.30pm

For COVID-19 purposes, please .

This week we started Parent Connect Facebook Groups for WSC and HSC. These are online spaces where members of our College community can introduce themselves, find out about parent events taking place and, as the name suggests, connect with each other.

We’re inviting you to be a part of this community building initiative for your Junior College campus.

To join the group, you must have liked the �鶹��ý (Official) page. The page can look different depending on whether you are accessing the Facebook page via desktop, tablet or smartphone. Look to the menu on the Concordia page and find the Groups option (note: on Desktop, it may be hidden under the More tab).

When you find the Groups menu option, you will be directed to a page that has Concordia’s linked Facebook groups. Click on the WSC or HSC Parent Connect group and it will take you to that group. You will be required to answer a couple of easy questions to ensure you are a member of the WSC or HSC community.

We look forward to seeing you there!

I had the pleasure of joining each class this week for some of their learning. It was exciting being involved and seeing the rich learning that was occurring. I wholeheartedly agree with Sean Junkins when he states, “I would rather have one day of authentic student engagement than a career of handing out worksheets.” 

As I moved through the rooms, it was exhilarating to see our students engaged in active listening, problem solving, teamwork and hands on learning. After being involved in Year 5 and 6 during their Math Pathways Rich Learning Task, we thought it would be fun to make it into a challenge for all. Please see the details of this challenge below.

 to view HSC's Events for Term 3, Week 3.

Have a wonderful weekend and please feel free to join us at Emanuel Lutheran Fellowship at 9am on Sunday if you have time.

Mrs Juanetta Priest 
Director of Campus

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.

Week 3 Family Challenge

• Read the 
• Gather around the table and have fun working out the answers together;
• Return to HSC Reception.

You will be rewarded by …

• Spending fun and thought-provoking time with your family;
• Seeing the high-quality thinking that is occurring in Year 5 and 6; and
• Winning a coffee voucher from The Encouraging Cup for the first correct fully answered task. The Encouraging Cup is on campus each Thursday from 7.45am.
• Enjoy and have fun.

It is with sadness that we have let parents know that Christine has resigned her position effective immediately due to family health issues. Christine has been our piano teacher and Accompanist for many years and her experience, professionalism and enthusiasm for our music program will be missed immensely. 

In the short term this means piano lessons at Hume Street Campus will be temporarily suspended. The College has started the process of engaging a new piano teacher and parents will be notified as soon as an appointment is made. We will keep parents informed as the recruitment process develops. In the meantime, please keep Christine and her family in your thoughts and prayers. 

We will be beginning our Prepping for Prep program on 5 August. If you know anyone who is requiring Prep next year, please let them know we only have a couple of spaces left! 

Anyone who is interested in securing a spot for their child should contact Mrs Bianca Coleborn, our Director of Marketing and Enrolments, to start the process.

Today we were fortunate to have Pastor Thomas lead us in our Chapel service for the very first time at WSC. It is wonderful for us to have a College Pastor again and some of our classes have already enjoyed Pastor Thomas coming to visit. Our new Chapel time is at 11.15 am and we look forward to some of you joining us when you are able.

Our Head of College Mr Prinsloo, has also enjoyed spending some time at our campus over the last couple of weeks as he is eager to get to know our community. You will see Mr Prinsloo on campus on Monday afternoons as he attends Assembly, and then again on Friday mornings, where he will join the staff out in the playground before school. He will also share in our Chapel time each week. If you are on campus during those times, please introduce yourselves to Anton as I’m sure he would love to meet you.

Next week we welcome author and illustrator Kathleen Jennings to Concordia. Kathleen is a former Concordia student and will conduct a workshop for our Year 5 and 6 students on Tuesday. WSC will also host a Words and Wine evening with Kathleen for our community on Thursday night. We would love to see you there if you can make it. 

Parent Connect Facebook Group

Make sure you join our new Facebook group for WSC families! See the Junior College section of the newsletter for instructions on how to join.

Year 3 camp visit
A first school camp for a student can often be exciting, and a little overwhelming at the same time. As our Year 3 students are heading off on camp later this term, Koojarewon Youth Camp at Highfields has invited our Junior College Year 3 students and their parents to an Open Camp Afternoon on Monday. When visiting on Monday, the students will be able to see where they will eat, sleep and participate in activities when they go on camp. If you have a Year 3 student, I encourage you to visit Koojarewon on Monday.

 to view WSC's Events for Term 3, Week 3.

Blessings for the week ahead.

Mrs Jackie Minnikin
Director of Campus

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.

We are excited that Mr Les Lord is running Chess Coaching sessions on Thursday mornings from 7.45am to 8.30am in the Resource Centre. 

If your child would like to participate please submit your permission and payment on Parent Lounge in the Events and Payment section.

It's Friday and it's raining.

We developed a little tradition in our family that, whenever it rains, we simply say, “Thanks God for the rain.” Having grown up on the land, rain was everything. Water in tanks, feed for stock and hope for the future. On the flip side, it also meant repairs to fences at creek crossings and, being a dairy farm, it meant a less than pleasant working environment. 

The recent extension to this way of expressing gratitude for the blessing in our lives, we also have started the slightly stranger tradition of saying “Thanks God for the drought.” For us, this is a way of acknowledging God’s presence with us even through the toughest, driest times in life where we need to draw deeper on the provision of God to get us through.

We are so proud of our staff and students who completed the gruelling 96km Kokoda Challenge over the weekend! You can all be so proud of your efforts and in the way that you supported each other. A huge thank you to the parents and friends in the support team who were there at every pit stop – it was very much appreciated.

Lost property continues to grow by the day. Sadly, a considerable number of items are not labelled and it becomes impossible to reunite them with their rightful owners. Unnamed items include brand new school shoes, near new belts, multiple formal hats and sports caps and a brand-new complete tracksuit.

Please clearly mark ALL your children’s clothing and property – this will greatly assist in the item finding its way back. Please remind your child to come to Student Services and look through lost property when they have lost an item. Sometimes it can take a couple of days to make it there, so please continue to check.

Mrs Karen Watson
Student Services Coordinator

This year to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Concordia, we are hosting our own Portrait Art Competition. Just like the real Archibald prize held at the Art Gallery of NSW, which turns 100 this year, we are celebrating with a Concordia portrait prize. 

The Concordia Archibald portrait prize requires students to create a painting or drawing in A4 size of anyone from Concordia. It might be your best friend, a peer, a teacher, a Pastor or a Principal. All students are encouraged to submit an entry, due Week 5. or see the Arts Department.

Thursday 29 July 5.30pm – 6.30pm marks the return of the College’s annual Futures Expo. Due to the COVID restrictions in 2020 the Futures Expo was moved online, but we are pleased to announce that in 2021 we are back face to face in the Concordia Function Centre.

Exhibitors attending include Defence Force Recruiting, USQ, Tafe, Aurora Training Institute, Golden West Apprenticeships, Australian Lutheran College, MEGT, Southern Cross University, Busy at Work, UQ Skills, Akadia Training and attending via Zoom will be the University of Queensland.

Throughout Years 11 and 12 Sport and Recreation, students have been coaching and training Year 7 students, as part of their assessment and also to create a connection between Year 12 and Year 7.

The subject of Sport and Recreation focuses on the role of sport and recreation in the lives of individuals and communities. It is a subject that provides students with opportunities to learn in, through and about sport and active recreation activities.

Last term, the Student Council decided to hold another Mural Competition, after the success of the previous event. The winners of the competition produced some stunning artistic pieces.

We would like to congratulate the following winning artists:

 1 x 2 metre Mural Winners

1st: Emily Loughlin with her mural ‘Concordia Pride’ – a celebration of the Concordian Family featuring the College mascot lion. The caption ‘Concordia Pride’ is a play on words representing both pride in our school and the sense of family that comes with lions living in prides. It is essentially about recognising our sports teams and other extra-curricular groups, but most importantly, promoting the Concordia spirit.

Runner up: Claire Welsh with her mural ‘What is Concordia?’ – reflection of what makes Concordia what it is. her mural contains a collection of words that she thinks best represent our school community. 

3 x 1 metre Mural Winner

1st: Tyla Parker with her mural ‘Christ at the Centre’ – representing our diversity and inclusivity with Christ at the centre of all that we do. 

The mural winners have certainly represented the College with pride with these great murals. After such a successful competition this year, we hope this competition will be held again in the future.

Lucas MacLeod
Student Council - Media Master

Cross Country State Championships 

Congratulations to Timothy Noll finishing 17th and Chloe Denning finishing 24th in the individual events. Special mention to Chloe and her Darling Downs team for finishing second in the team event this year.

Commit to be Fit

This sessions is held on Wednesdays 3.30pm to 4.30pm. Find your 30 at Commit to be Fit this Wednesday afternoon!

Training schedule 

2021 Olympic Athletes

With the Olympic Games opening ceremony tonight, you may wish to hear more about our Australian athletes by listening to this great podcast:  

Hello to you all! Our improved Learning in Residence program has been implemented this week with students' needs and strengths being addressed by Mr Pat Rudd in consultation with teachers. Mr Rudd will be working very closely with our very experienced tutors to ensure that the support is readily available for your child to complete tasks and assessments in the required timelines. Our team of tutors is here to support students, therefore it is important that we encourage all students to be respectful when interacting with them.