This week we recognised and celebrated our national Reconciliation Week with a special assembly and Tutor Group activities spread across the week. Reconciliation week started on May 26 with the milestone of National Sorry Day and will finish on June 3, the anniversary of the Mabo decision. This year’s theme for the week is Now More Than Ever. It identifies that if things become divisive, the worst thing that can happen to our country is that we will become disengaged or disconnected to one another. Now is not a time for this but rather a time to learn to listen, learn and act.

On Monday, we were fortunate enough to have some of the students from the Umbarra group at St John Fisher College join our students to perform Indigenous dances for the whole school. We also spoke about the significance of reconciliation and this week and how the students can actively contribute to fostering reconciliation.

Reconciliation Week is a time when we come together as a nation to acknowledge the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and affords us the opportunity to reflect on our shared history. Like many other countries across the globe, this history has times of great feats and significant events, but also times of disappointment, wrongdoing, regret, and shame that has impacted upon Indigenous communities. Knowing the events of this history allows us the chance to learn from the past and move forward together to try and reconcile these wrongs. During this week we encourage students to contribute to reconciliation by undertaking the following challenges.

• Educate themselves by learning the truth about historical events regarding colonisation, the Stolen Generations, and the ongoing impact on Indigenous communities.
• Listen and Learn by engaging with Indigenous voices and other mediums such as reading books, watching documentaries, and listening to stories. Knowledge can empower change, or at the very least, offer a balanced view.
• Question Assumptions by not blindly accepting or challenging stereotypes and misconceptions. Learn to understand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and recognize their differences.
• Celebrate Culture of our First Nation’s people and appreciate the richness and differences of Indigenous traditions.
• Speak Up by using their voice to advocate for justice, equality, and reconciliation and encourage respectful conversations to learn from each other.
• Support Initiatives: Get involved in school or other initiatives that promote reconciliation including those in our College Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP) when they are offered.
• Be Inclusive reach out to Indigenous classmates and build friendships and celebrate diversity within our school community.

In my final comments to the students during my assembly address I reminded them that they may not have been part of the problems caused in the past, but they can certainly be a part of the solutions that can be offered in the future.

Open Day was another great success on Tuesday. I was very proud to look around and see so many of our staff and students attend and show our great school off to the many visitors that attended. I received wonderful feedback about our young people who ran tours or participated in events or performances and also about the friendly and helpful nature of our staff. Good schools develop good culture because of the willingness of the people within them to connect and this occasion was a great example of this. I would like to thank all the parents who encouraged their son and allowed him to be a part of this event. Special mention also to the staff within the College Development Office led by Mrs Stacey Bishop for their planning and marketing of this event.

Our Music department also delivered an outstanding evening of entertainment with the Strings and Choir evening at the Sandgate Town Hall on Thursday evening. As I have stated previously, if you like music and singing you should try to make one of these performance events irrespective if your child is involved. You will be blown away by the talents of many of the students within this school.

There is another concert next week (Tuesday 4 June) with performances from our bands including Jazz and percussion.

Over the past two weeks, the College Leadership Team have met with the architects from Elevation Architecture to start the conversation around our new Master Plan. The College Master Plan committee chaired by Mr Ian Turton from the School Advisory Council will also start convening to work on the plan in the near future. It is envisaged that the plan will be completed by the end of this year with a view to the next 10 years.

On Wednesday, we hosted the AIC Cross Country Championships at Curlew Park. Our team came 7th overall with some notable performances from Henry Pollock (Year 5), Noah Anthony, Ben Ingram and Alex Rosuck (Year 6), Parker James (2nd in his age group), Jackson Leslie Trent Kearney, Emmet Burow and Percy Page (middle school), Hamish Page and Lucas Mancini (Year 10) Alex Holm (Year 11) and Angus McKenna in the senior team. Special credit also to Jacob Brind, Oscar Kummer, and Harper Cooper, who stepped in at the last minute and put in solid efforts.

The final weeks of this term will see the last two rounds of the AIC Sports of Football and Rugby against St Edmund’s Ipswich and Iona College. This week we play St Edmund’s College in our Back to Shorncliffe Day fixtures. This is a tradition each year where we mark the final round of home games to honour our past students and the current Year 12 students who will be playing at Curlew for the last time. We also host the parents of Year 12 students to a morning tea at 10:30am to thank them for their many years of contribution to the College sport as well. I hope to see many parents there this weekend.

The students have also received their fund-raising forms for our Shore2Gate fundraising walk on the last day of this term. We ask that each student endeavour to raise $40 each. This will allow us to make some helpful donations to Caritas Australia for the Papua New Guinea Landslide Appeal and the other charities that we support. We will also use some of the funds raised to improve our facilities at Curlew Park. Please support us by working with your son to collect $40 or more for some great causes.

We are now approaching our assessment weeks and each of our students should be well planned and prepared for the work ahead. There should be no excuses for having to study and prepare for these.

I look forward to catching up with parents from the Year 12 cohort next Monday night to discuss the next stage of their senior academic pathway and the forthcoming KAIROS retreats.

I also look forward to seeing many of you at our Back to Shorncliffe Day tomorrow. This will be a real surprise to those who have not experienced this event in the past.

Live Jesus in our Hearts!

Chris Mayes
College Principal