Aspiring to Grow and Learn

After the AIC Cross Country meet on Wednesday last week, I travelled to Adelaide for the remainder of the week to join the EREA Colleges Board and my fellow Principals for our annual meeting. There are three layers of governance meetings in which I participate on behalf of our community; our National Principals conference of 55 school governed by the Trustees of Edmund Rice Education Australia (TEREA), our subsidiary entity of EREA Colleges Ltd of 20 schools in Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania and our Queensland regional gathering which will be held in Townsville in August.

It is energising and gratifying to meet with our governing body and my peers to discuss a range of educational, legal and assurance matters and to share success and challenge stories of our communities in an environment of high trust, support and experience. The theme of our gathering this year was growth. This is a theme ATC is very familiar with as a young school of only 10 years. In that period, ATC has grown from a primary school of 300 to a Year 4 to 12 school of 1300. I shared our strategic aspirations and achievements highlighting our continuous ATAR median improvement of the past five years, our commitment to inclusion, our dedicated and mission-oriented staff, our ongoing aspiration and goal to join the AIC sporting competition, our College Master Plan and completed capital works and future needs and our focus on acquiring further land to develop a sport and community centre.

It was a privilege to listen to the presentations of other Colleges throughout the country and to feel energised about our own journey, accomplishments and the work that lies ahead. Mr Jason Sepetauc, Deputy Principal joins his peers in Melbourne this week for the National EREA conference for Deputies.

Week 8

In last week’s blog I referred to Week 7 and commencing what can be a challenging time for students, staff and parents as the busyness of the term comes to a head. This is the time that will show the work put in pays off or the work not put in can come home to roost. Thank you for your support at home, with rest and sleep, exercise, homework, study, fun and all the little things such as correct uniform, shined shoes, haircuts and shaving if required. Working together to help students hold their shape through to the break is vital as is calm and constructive conversation that is solution focussed when things don’t go according to plan which can be the case for a host of reasons at this time of term. 

Junior Band Breakfast Concert

Music is a vital part of the ATC community and culture with hundreds of students participating in lessons, bands, ensembles, orchestras and choirs. Congratulations to our Concert Band musicians on your performance this morning for parents and family members. It is always a great pleasure to share in your hard work and talent. The Junior Band is a mixture of students who are well established on their learning journey and fellows who are very much beginners. It is joyful to see their progression and growth and to picture them as accomplished senior musicians at something like the Opera House where we performed last year on our Sydney Music Tour. We look forward to the Junior Band Breakfast Concert this Wednesday morning in NJ Hall.

Assessment and Absence from School

We are now in the final two weeks of a busy time of term with assessment and quite a lot of sickness about. Thank you again for your support at home and communication. The focus for the next fortnight is very much on assessment, exams and finishing the term positively. If your son is absent for an extended period due to illness, I encourage you to reach out to our Learning Office if you are concerned, he may miss assessment timelines or exams. Like all schools, we are currently experiencing relatively high student and staff absence with Flu A, RSV and COVID continuing to present.

For all learning enquiries, please CLICK HERE to email the Learning Office.

Please CLICK HERE for information on the ATC Assessment Policy and Procedures.

Please CLICK HERE to access the 10 – 12 Senior Illness and Misadventure form.

Extended absences of more than a week are to be requested in writing to the Principal at admin@atc.qld.edu.au

Claddagh Retreat

Last week, our Year 12 students took part in the highly anticipated Claddagh journey—an experience that challenges, inspires, and strengthens personal growth as they move through their final year of schooling.  Claddagh is more than just a camp; it is a rite of passage, offering students the opportunity to step outside their comfort zones, reflect deeply, and build stronger connections with their peers and themselves. We are proud of each of our Year 12 students for embracing the journey with open hearts and minds. This rich experience will be a wonderful reference point for them in the coming months towards leaving the gates of ATC as a graduate. Thank you to the Faith and Mission Team, all facilitating staff and all staff back at the College looking after other year level classes during this time.

School Officer’s Day

This Wednesday, we join other school communities in celebrating School Officer’s Day. The role our fellow professionals play across a gamut of contexts within the school is highly valuable and important. There is not a dimension of school life that is not touched by the good will, knowledge, skill and dedication of a person working in a non-teaching role in the school. This Wednesday, we take time to acknowledge our School Officers and to thank and congratulate them sincerely for the vital role they play in our community. We are blessed in spades at ATC by wonderful people who do things great, big and small that make a difference each day to our students, parents and teachers.

AIC Cross Country

Last Wednesday, ATC competed in the AIC Cross Country Championships at Curlew Park. Well done to our AIC Cross Country Team, staff, and supporters on a good effort. While still growing and with room for improvement, there were some pleasing individual and group performances and definitely some positive steps forward taken from last year’s participation. Congratulations on a fantastic individual effort by James Schinard in taking out 2nd place in the Under 16 championship. It was wonderful to speak with several individuals after their race at the course and to hear them pleased and proud of their own improvement from last year.

I was particularly proud of our Open runners as we are grateful for their modelling the way through example, their commitment to each other and their sense of legacy. I am also very proud of the ever-increasing presence of our past students as mentors and role models. Thank you to Mr Lyndon Brieffies, Head of Sport, the coaching team, staff and all supporters who contributed to a successful day. Your time, effort and dedication are appreciated.

Community Prayers

Lord, we pray for those in our community who are suffering. Be with them in this time of hardship and uncertainty. Give comfort and peace to those who have lost loved ones. May their sorrow be turned into strength, and their distress turned into peace. May our hearts remain loving and pure as we seek to always be compassionate to those around us.

God Bless

Chris Ryan