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Last weekend, seven of our Year 12 students undertook the challenge of walking the 96km Kokoda Challenge on the Gold Coast. This team, who were wonderfully supported by their parents and staff, were able to complete this endurance event in around 35 hours. What an achievement physically, mentally and personally for these young adults! As a former marathon/ultramarathon runner myself, I felt their pain, but it was wonderful to see them return to school this week a “little bit taller” about who they are as a person and with so much to tell their peers and staff about. We now look forward to celebrating and acknowledging these students at an upcoming Senior College Assembly in the coming weeks.

Well done to the Junior College and Senior College Touch Teams who represented Concordia at the opening round of the local tournament at Kearney Springs this term. It was great to see these players in action with their determination and never-say-die attitude. Thank you to the coaches and parents for your support of and attendance on the afternoon. We look forward to seeing some more action this coming week.

During the term break, I had the conversation with my daughter, who has two young sons, about one of the challenges that we face as parents is guiding and teaching our children to manage their emotions. While as adults, we’ve learnt to understand and manage our emotions, we still find it difficult to express these at times. For our children it is even more so as they are developing and still coming to terms with their emotions , their feelings and how to express them appropriately. As we struggle to help our children do this, the following ideas may be useful as we help them to learn that it is healthy to talk about emotions and the ways they can express them in a respectful way and in an okay space:

• Model calm behaviour. If you are feeling worked up, take a moment to calm yourself before responding. This will model to your child to do the same when faced with situations that are frustrating.
• Talk about how feelings can be expressed. Set a good example and let them know feelings can be expressed through communicating and talking about it. Encourage them to express themselves when ever possible and let you know how they are feeling by using their words respectfully.
• Name the feeling. Naming each feeling is the first step to helping your child identify them. Calmly ask them what they are feeling and say it out aloud. Is it sadness? Anger? Embarrassment? This helps them to become more in tune with each emotion.
• Identify feelings in others. Having empathy and understanding other people’s emotions is also important. A great way to do this is through books or cartoons. Ask questions like, “ How do you think they are feeling?” [Acknowledgement: The Fathering Project]

We look forward to hosting you at various events happening across our campuses this coming week, from information evenings to a Futures Expo at Stephen Street.

Wishing everyone a safe a weekend.

Yours in Christ

Mr Anton Prinsloo
Head of College

Quote of the Week: “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” [Edith Wharton]

It’s surprising how many people have tried to achieve this, from Leonardo da Vinci to Mythbusters and what sort of things you find when googling the term. Scientifically it certainly presents a challenge, but that’s not the point of the gospel story.

Firstly, it is about the identity of Jesus of Nazareth – and the disciples in the boat certainly get it at that point as their reaction (they worshipped Jesus) shows. But they had much to learn still – as we all do.

Secondly, it provides us with a metaphor. In chapel this week we reflected on what walking on water might look like for each of us, how we might set and approach various challenges, what stepping out of the boat might mean for us.

And I suspect that goes for all of us – if we want to grow, we need to step out of the boat, we might need to walk on water. There are two things to keep in mind with that:

Firstly, sometimes things won’t work out – in the end Peter did sink. But Jesus was there immediately to pull Peter up. We are not alone when we step out of the boat, when we try to walk on the lake. God placed us in a community, where we can support, encourage and cheer each other on, and where we help each other when things are difficult.

The second point to keep in mind is that we have God who promises to be with us, even as he was with Peter – he will never abandon us but accompany us through difficulties and struggles, guide us and fill us with hope and strength along the way.

I have never walked on water (and the closed I came to s by waterskiing wasn’t really a success either). But I certainly have experienced Christ’s support and guidance many times in my life as I have been challenged to step out of my comfort zone.

What does walking on water look like for you?

Have a wonderful Week!

Pastor Thomas Böhmert
College Pastor

On Monday, our Year 3 students have been invited to attend an afternoon at Koojarewon in preparation for their camp on 18 to 19 August. This pre-visit is an excellent opportunity for the students to see the facilities and meet the instructors before attending the camp. Not only is this a great opportunity to alleviate the anxieties of the students, it also eases the anxieties of the parents. I’m sure this visit will cause great excitement amongst the Year 3 classes.

Our Years 5 and 6 band students have been busy preparing for the upcoming Eisteddfod and will be doing a special performance for each campus Assembly on Monday. We look forward to hearing two musical items from the band and parents are most welcome to attend. Assembly times can be found on the Campus events documents below.

Staffing Updates
Mrs Libby Scouller, our Junior College Learning Enrichment Teacher, will take some well-deserved Long Service Leave starting next Monday until the end of the term. As Libby always enjoys being a part of any camp that she can, she will be taking some time out of her leave and will be meeting our Year 6 students when they arrive in Cairns in early September. We wish Libby and her family well as they enjoy some time travelling together.

At the end of this term, Mrs Georgie Meecham, our Year 3 Strings and Strings Ensemble teacher will be taking maternity leave. Georgie has been a wonderful addition to our music program at the Junior College and we wish her all the best as she takes time to be a mum. We look forward to having the Year 3 students perform for us on their respective campus towards the end of this term.

We also would like to acknowledge the work of Mrs Irena Kobald in her role of German teacher at the Junior College for Semester 1. We wish Irena well and thank her for her work at Concordia.

In Irena’s absence, and while we wait for Frau El Attar to return from her maternity leave in 2023, Mrs Christa Connolly will be delivering our Social Emotional Learning program to all students from Years 1 to 6. Social emotional learning facilitates the development of social competencies, decision-making skills, empathy and emotion regulation. This program will involve students in opportunities to learn and practice social skills such as cooperation, managing conflict, making friends, coping, being resilient and recognising and managing their own feelings. Our Social and Emotional program will commence in Week 5.

Have a safe and warm weekend and blessings for the week ahead.

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

Mrs Rowena Weier
Assisting Director of Campuses

Key messages
About Jump Rope for Heart

• Since 1983, more than 10 million Aussie kids and more than 90% of Aussie schools have taken part in Jump Rope for Heart.
• Every year, more than one million Aussies are involved in Jump Rope for Heart as skippers, teachers and sponsors.
• The Heart Foundation’s Jump Rope for Heart has been keeping Aussie kids active and healthy for more than 35 years while raising vital funds to fight heart disease – the single biggest killer of Australians.
• Jump Rope for Heart is one of Australia’s favourite school activity programs, inspiring kids to embrace skipping as a fun way to get active.
• For more than 35 years, Jump Rope for Heart has encouraged kids to develop positive attitudes to exercise and healthy eating, and to develop healthy habits for life.
• Every year, more than 300,000 kids in over 1,300 schools take part in Jump Rope for Heart with the help of more than 500,000 generous sponsors including families, friends and community members.

Parents of Years 10-12 students are encouraged to watch the video below as further follow-up to the workshop, in what Melissa hopes will lead to further conversations around building a better driving culture within Australia.

Parent Connect Update
Our Parent Connect group met on Monday 18 July to discuss upcoming events and future initiatives. I would again like to thank this small, but very cohesive group for their ongoing passion and investment in working with the College to further build our community connections. The next big event planned is our Family Ten Pin Bowling afternoon on Sunday 21 August (2.30pm for a 3pm start). Families will be able to book a lane and enjoy the festivities which will not only include bowling, but also other fun and prizes. Booking information will be coming out shortly.

Arts in Focus Event – Saturday 13 August
Our Arts Department are busily planning for the exciting Arts in Focus event at the Armitage Centre, Empire Theatre on Saturday 13 August from 2.30pm. This will be a celebration of the amazingly talented arts students and staff that we have at the College. From Music through to Visual Art, Drama and Dance, we are extremely blessed by the arts culture at Concordia, and we look forward to showcasing this to our extended community during this event. Further information along with ticket information (note this is a free event) will be communicated next week.

Week 3 events
Next week, our Years 7-10 students will participate in an interactive theatre performance from a group called Brainstorm Productions. The session, being held on Tuesday 26 July, is called Verbal Combat, and explores the complex dynamics that emerge within peer groups and the harmful impacts of cyberbullying. We trust students will enjoy the dramatic way in which the information is presented, which will then lead to valuable conversations within our Pastoral Care lessons that follow.

On Wednesday 27 July, we will be holding our first transition connect session for parents and students of our incoming Year 7 2023 cohort. These sessions are the starting point for new friendships within the cohort, as well as providing some initial information to gradually introduce students and new parents to life in secondary schooling at Concordia.

Have a great week.

Yours in faith,

Mr Jamie Pukallus
Director of Campus

Personally, I was constantly entertained by her presence, and her interviews with the entrepreneurial guests were not only educational but fun. These speakers were truly inspirational and highly encouraged the audience to strive for their dreams with confidence. We met many important figures in the business world, and it was exciting that after the function we were able to converse with them, and even take photos!

We also participated in a few workshops that encouraged us to challenge ourselves to construct and pitch business ideas in groups. This was especially exciting as we even witnessed Morgan Meadows present his idea on stage in a very creative and humorous way, winning a drone for his pitch. Not only was this an effective way of teaching us to open our minds to vast possibilities, but also enabled us to interact with other schools. I think it was really important for us to gain skills in relationships and communication within future workplaces, especially by having us listen to each other and provide feedback. Not only were we able to interact with these people but we were able to explore a variety of stalls from other business owners. Each person at the stall not only encouraged us to think about our future and how to achieve it, but they also gave us their own stories.

Although the day felt like it went fast, we were able to get a good grasp of the topics covered, while also enjoying ourselves. I truly believe that the majority of the audience was left inspired to start their business journey, while others were at least determined to work hard for their dreams.

Jasmin Long
Year 11

This coming week, on early Saturday evening we have our Japanese students arriving. Our students will have spent the day at Sea World and will return in time to greet and meet our guests. They will spend five days at the College. The group will experience boarding at its best. Our dorm will be full with 42 girls and 25 boys. Our students are especially excited with having international students living with us. I anticipate a few late nights of chatting and getting to know each other. What an experience for our girls/boys and vice versa.

Winter sports are all under way. Thank you to those parents for your ongoing support in transporting your child to his/her external sports events.

Year 8 Camp is just around the corner, and everyone is preparing for this. This will be technology free.

Speaking of technology, it is fast becoming a regular discussion in pastoral meetings regarding boarders using phones while at school. It is ok to take your phone to school, however, it must be placed into your lockers same as for day students. Using the phone during school hours will lead to the phone being confiscated by teachers and taken to Student Services to then be collected after school. If this continues, parents will be notified. Phones can be a huge distraction at school as I am sure you will all agree.

During boarding time, students collect their phones at 8am once all rooms and jobs are completed. This gives them time enough to give you a call or check messages. There should be no further use until 3.15pm. Students keep their phones until 5.15pm and collect again after dinner and study from 7.45pm. These phones are then handed in just before quiet time and lights out.

We ask that you support the College and contact your child during these times.

Our students will be watching Minions and Thor this weekend as their external activity.

Take care of each other and travel safely.

Mrs Maureen Taurima and Mr Andrew Bull
Houseparents