Coming Up Week 6

As a Catholic school in the Edmund Rice tradition, Lent, the solemn 40-day period before Easter, holds significance. On Ash Wednesday, students receive ashes in the shape of a cross on their forehead. These ashes are created from the palms used during the previous year’s Palm Sunday Mass. They symbolize the penance observed during Lent and remind us of our own mortality. During the Mass, as the priest or lay minister applies the ashes, he says “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return. (A Complete Guide to Catholic Lent 2024 | Dynamic Catholic)

Ash Wednesday liturgies will be led by teachers across numerous camps and retreat settings on Wednesday 5 March. Our Faith and Mission team has prepared the liturgies and ashes. Camp providers have been contacted regarding the provision of vegetarian and seafood meal options.

Camp Week and Claddagh Retreats

There is great excitement around the campus as students prepare for camps and retreats. Please refer to the information letter, itinerary and packing list previously sent to you via email. Remember to pack a good quality raincoat, garbage bags and consider applying waterproofing spray to shoes.

Wet Weather

You may be aware that a tropical low is currently hovering over the Coral Sea. Meteorologists are uncertain about the potential impact on Southeast Queensland's coastal regions next week. The college has been closely monitoring the situation and has contacted all camp providers. Alternative activity options have been discussed, and all providers are confident in delivering a safe and enjoyable camp experience.

At this time, the camp program will proceed as scheduled. However, if conditions worsen over the weekend, we will communicate with families, students, and staff regarding alternate arrangements or the postponement of camps. We remain hopeful that the camps will run as planned, but our decisions will always prioritize the goals of the camping program and the safety of our students and staff.

CAMP SUMMARY

Year 4: Departing Monday 3 March, going to Mt Tamborine, and returning Tuesday 4 March.

Year 5: Departing Monday 3 March, going to Sunshine Coast Rec Centre, and returning on Wednesday 5 February.

Year 6 Group A (Year 6 Nolan & Treacy): Departing Monday 3 March for Canberra, and returning on Thursday 6 March.

Year 6 Group B (Year 6 Lynch & Bodkin): Departing Tuesday 4 March for Canberra, and returning on Friday 7 March.

Year 7 Group A Year 7 Conn, Lynch, Treacy and Wynne (split 15 students): Departing Monday 3 March, going to Emu Gully, and returning on Wednesday 5 March.

Year 7 Group B (Year 7 Bodkin, Campbell, Nolan, Wynne (split 13 students): Departing Wednesday 5 March, going to Emu Gully, and returning on Friday 7 March.

Year 8: Departing Wednesday 5 March, going to Camp Laurence, and returning on Friday 7 March.

Year 9: Departing Tuesday 4 March, to 5 different Sunshine Coast Hinterland camps, and returning on Friday 7 March. 

Year 9 PLEASE NOTE | A letter regarding possible scenarios relating to the upcoming unpredictable weather patterns that may affect camp has today 28 February been shared on the app.

Year 10: Departing Wednesday 5 March, Gold Coast Performance Centre, and returning Friday 7 March. 

Year 12: Claddagh, various locations, Wednesday 5 March to Friday 7 March.

Camp Phone Line

This year we have introduced a camp phone line 3878 0501. If you call during office hours (7:30am – 4:30pm) it will go through to main reception. after hours select the relevant camp and connect or leave a message with the camp leader. It is only to be used for urgent matters. Please note camp location have variable telephone signals.

Tuckshops

Camp Week, 3 to 7 March there are different arrangements for our Tuckshops due to so many students being off campus. Please make note of the below information and speak with your son about this.

• The Bakehouse (tuckshop for Years 8 to 12) will be OPEN all week with a reduced menu.
• Paddy's Place (tuckshop for Years 4 to 7) will be CLOSED during Camp Week.
• Students in Years 4 to 7 who are at school on any day during Camp Week will be able to purchase morning tea and lunch from The Bakehouse.
• The tuckshop will be open for breakfast each day with a reduced menu.
• The tuckshop will not be open after school during Camp Week.

KEY DATES

Week 6

Camp Week | Years 4 to 10

Wednesday 5 March to Friday 7 March | Year 12 Claddagh Retreat

Friday 7 March | Junior Band Day

PRINCIPAL'S BLOG

Saturday was a busy day the College, fostering our ATC community connections, past and present. The day started with a friendly grudge match between Past Students and our 1sts Volleyball team. It was wonderful to see so many current students and parents there, passionately led by our Year 12 group and the camaraderie and friendship between our past and current students.

Follow the link below to read this week's message from the Principal: ATConnect | Principal's Message Week 5

LEARNING

NAPLAN 2025

All schools in Australia are required to implement the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in Years 5, 7 and 9. These tests will take place at Ambrose Treacy College between Wednesday 12 March and Friday 21 March 2025 during the morning and middle sessions. Please see the letter on the ATC App from the Dean of Learning for full NAPLAN information.

Register for Elevate’s Parent Webinar Series This Term

Elevate Education delivers high-impact workshops to our students that help to develop their study skills, motivation, and exam preparation. Over the next term, you're invited to join their parent webinar series, where you can help support your child at home by reinforcing the skills they're learning at school. Register for the series by CLICKING HERE below and learn some great practical strategies to help support your child this year. Note that the timings are Daylight Saving time.

• How You Can Make Technology an Ally (& Not the Enemy!) - 12 March 6.30pm (AEDT)
• How You Can Help Improve Your Child’s Memory - 26th March 6.30pm (AEDT)

EXCURSIONS

Year 11 (select ACC/ECO students) | ECOMAN, 3 & 4 March

On Monday 3 March and Tuesday 4 March, from 8.15am to 3.00pm each day, a selected group of Year 11 Accounting and Economics students will be partaking in the ECOMAN Program alongside students from Brigidine College as part of our commitment to curriculum engagement and academic extension. Please access Parent Lounge to ensure the medical and emergency contact details for your son are correct and update if necessary prior to the excursion. Further details have been shared on the app.

Year 4 Ngutana Lui | Thursday 6 March

On Thursday 6 March all boys from Year 4 will be visiting the Ngutana-Lui Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Studies Centre at Inala. On this day, the boys will be immersed in the richness and diversity of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. They will also complete a number of activities including painting, dance and boomerang throwing.

Year 12 Geography

Year 12 Geography students embarked on an excursion to Numinbah Valley in the Gold Coast hinterland to study the impact of the invasive weed, lantana. The purpose of this field trip was to collect data from two distinct sites: one representing an ideal example of the region’s natural bioregion, and another—a former dairy farm cleared last century—where lantana has taken over a disturbed landscape. Using this data, students will produce a report analysing lantana’s impact and proposing potential restoration strategies for the affected area. The trip was an incredible experience for the Year 12 boys, featuring a canoe journey across Hinze Dam to access one of the sites and a nighttime visit to Springbrook National Park’s Natural Arch to witness the famous glow worms. Being in the park at night is always special, but after recent rainfall, it was even more breathtaking—the waterfall thundered through the cave, creating a mist that beautifully enhanced the glow of the worms. A huge thank you to the Year 12 lads for their enthusiasm and contributions throughout the excursion. Well done!

Year 9 Science

Year 9 students attended QUT’s Wind Power: Clean Energy workshop, predicting, building, and testing wind turbines for efficiency. They then researched a regional town, selecting on of three turbine options and presenting a case considering noise, budget, power output, installation costs, and size to determine the best renewable energy solution.

FAITH AND MISSION

Year 7 Mass

The Year 7 cohort gathered today for the annual Mass all students have the opportunity to experience over the course of the year. We heard the story of how Jesus healed a man who had suffered for thirty eight years. We too at ATC are asked to notice when people are in pain and struggling and do our best to help and assist them. Our new students did so well in beginning to learn the songs that tell our story at ATC. This experience of mass is also great learning for their upcoming assessment.

SERVICE

Hospitality Students

Sauce with that? One of the many questions asked by Hospitality students to ensure that patrons have an enjoyable experience at events. The year 11 Hospitality students helped with the facilitation and service of the sausage sizzle at the College Tour. The year 11’s will be completing 12 different types of service shifts over the two-year course and some of these will be at the college. If you see them at any of the college events, feel free to pop in and see their skills in action for yourself.

MUSIC

Camp Week – Rehearsals & Lessons

In camp week there are no rehearsals for Co-curricular ensembles, or regularly scheduled lessons.

Students, please check with your teacher regarding your availability for a lesson if you are onsite or check the timetable for changes.

Music Supporters

Involvement in Music@ATC is a great way for students to meet and make friends - It is also a great way for families to meet and make connections in the school. ATC Music has a wonderful Music Supporters group who help at concerts and Jazz By The River with BBQs, bar, serving, decorating, set up, raffles etc. We are always looking for more help and fresh ideas so if you would like to get involved, please let us know – our first event for 2025 will be the Autumn Music Concert on Thursday 3 April from 5.30pm.

Vocal and Piano Lessons

Vocal and Piano lessons are available for interested students – please contact music@atc.qld.edu.au for more information.

ATC Guitars

ATC Guitars hit the road for their first gig of the year with the popular "Top Gear" Soundtrack; AKA "Jessica" by the Allman Brothers. Strong playing boys and great solo's. We look forward to seeing what else you have installed for us!

CLUBS

With camp week commencing in Week 6, where no doubt all students will have a wonderful time, the ATC Clubs program will be put on pause and no sessions will run from Monday 3 March to Friday 7 March.

Paddle Play and Golf will go ahead on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 March. Please note that Mountain Biking will have the weekend off.

Wishing all students a safe and fun time during camp week and looking forward to resuming the clubs program in Week 7.

Gardening Club

Tuesday morning gardening club is up and running! It’s a wonderful way of engaging students in some hands-on activities while creating environmental awareness and cultivating a sense of responsibility. The boys have been busy with the first steps to preparing any garden space including weeding, soil preparations and considering various layouts. They are looking forward to the planning, planting, and watching the new crops thrive!

SPORT

We look forward to another big week of sport, good luck to all teams competing on the weekend.

A reminder that Football (Soccer) & Rugby registrations are still open via Parent Lounge. More information regarding trials will be made available in the coming weeks. Next week there is no training, all training is cancelled due to Camp Week. However, there will still be matches for all teams on Saturday 8 March and we expect boys to remain committed and attend their match on Saturday 8 March.

ATC Cricket x QLD Cricket Partnership

As a part of the continued implementation of the ATC Cricket Program 2024/25 Season Strategic Plan, we were thrilled to welcome legendary cricketer Matt Willans at the Year 7 & 8 training session. It was an incredible opportunity for our coaches and players to deepen their cricketing knowledge, particularly their fielding and its impact as the third (and often forgotten) facet of the game! We are excited to continue building upon our partnership with Queensland Cricket for the remainder of the season!

Volleyball 1sts vs Past Students - Tim Walker Cup

It was a battle for bragging rights and the coveted Walker Cup as our 2025 1st VI Volleyballers took on our Past Students VI on Saturday. With former Head of Volleyball, Tim Walker, blowing the whistle, the Past Students nudged out our 1st VI in a thrilling 5-set match. The 1st VI's resilience was on show coming away with a 40-38 5th set win to force the tie-break set. Congratulations to the Past Students for winning back the Walker Cup. We'll see you on Saturday 15 March when we Pack The Cage against Gregory Terrace.

PAST STUDENTS

See Your Future | Meet Oliver Cooper-White ATC2019

After graduating from ATC in 2019, Oliver studied a Bachelor of Design (Architecture) at QUT (Queensland University of Technology) and is currently completing his Masters of Architecture at The University of Queensland. It's been a busy 5 years for Oli, kicking goals like being named on the Dean’s List for Academic Excellence and achieving the highest cumulative GPA for final year capstone unit! His exciting journey has meant a lot of adulting, like moving out of home, living on campus at St. Leo’s College and now in a share house with friends from uni. Oliver is working with an architecture firm in the city while continuing his final studies. In his spare time, you’ll find Oliver surfing or traveling in his van with friends but the big news is that later this year, he’s off to Milan for six months to study and soak up the charm of living la dolce vita!

Past Students take out 2025 Walker Cup

Congratulations to the team of past students who took out this year's Walker Cup vs our 1sts Volleyball team.

Past Students Stories

We invite our 2019 and 2020 Past Students to share their post-school journey with us. Whether it's university graduation, life milestones, career advancement or continued study, we would love to hear from you. Please send your story and photos to communications@atc.qld.edu.au

Please click here to update your contact details.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

School Fee Reminder for Term Payers Only

A reminder for Term payers only who have outstanding balances for Term 1 School Fees, these are overdue and payable immediately. Statements have been emailed. The College’s preferred payment method is BPay, using the Biller Code and Customer Reference (Ref) located at the top right of your Statement of Account. [See attached image] The College offers a range of options to pay your school fees, and you can find the College Fees Schedule, Payment Authority and Edstart payment plan information on the College website. [Link below] If you have any queries, please email the Finance Office.

If you wish to view any of your prior year parent statements, please access via Parent Lounge, Accounts and Payments, School Fee Accounts, Statements.

Sacramental Programme

The Catholic Parish of Kenmore – Moggill is conducting the sacramental programme for Confirmation ( Year 3 and Above ) and 1^st Communion – Penance (Year 4 and above). If your child/ren have received the Sacrament of Baptism you may wish to contact the Parish for more information regarding these Programmes in 2025. Please email the Parish Office on kenmore@bne.catholic.net.au .

P & F NEWS

2025 Meeting Dates - Please note change of location to Waterford

All are invited to join the P&F President, Mr George Patrikios, and the Principal at the P&F meetings  in the Lecture Theatre Waterford, Senior School Precinct at 6.30pm.

(See the College Map - 17. Waterford)

Upcoming Meeting Dates:

Tuesday 11 March; 29 April, 27 May, 22 July, 2 September AGM, 14 October and 25 November for the big 2026 Planning Meeting. 

For any queries, please email the P&F Secretary  pandf@atc.qld.edu.au

P&F Events

Tomorrow evening is the Kick off Cocktails. Thank you to Catherine Jackson, ATC parent and P&F Secretary, and her team for organising the wonderful event for our ATC Community.

• Rugby Night Out - Saturday 29 March
• Trivia Night - Saturday 2 August
• AGM - Tuesday 2 September
• P&F Ladies Spring Lunch - Friday 24 October at Victoria Park

Rugby Night Out - Saturday 29 March - Tickets on Sale NOW

Join Us for an exciting family night out at the Reds Rugby on Saturday 29 March! Get ready for an action-packed evening with your classmates! We're heading to the rugby match for a thrilling experience—come cheer on the Reds as they take on the Western Force. Meet at Waterford Building for some pre-game fun, then we'll all travel together to the stadium via train from Indooroopilly station. Don't miss out on the excitement, camaraderie, and unforgettable moments!

PLUS: To celebrate the ATC 10th anniversary, The Reds are giving away 10 tickets to 1 lucky person for any of the next 4 games at Suncorp Stadium this season! It's simple – just purchase your tickets to the ATC Rugby Night, and you'll automatically be entered into the draw. Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to be part of the action. Get your tickets today!

Tickets available in your Parent Lounge Account.

Let's make some memories and support the Reds together!

For any enquiries and to advise of dietary restrictions, please email the coordinator Kate Turnbull. nkhturnbull@outlook.com

New Second Hand Uniform Shop

Attention - ALL YEAR LEVELS - Donations wanted for the new P&F Second hand uniform shop. Please deliver your secondhand uniforms to College Main reception between 7.30am - 3pm Monday to Friday. Please ensure your donations are clean and in good condition. The more donations we have the more we can help our ATC families and have a successful sale event.

Please contact either Sasha (sashatucker@gmail.com) or Melissa (melkuflik@hotmail.com) if you have any questions in regards to donations or the purchase of secondhand uniforms.

Kick off Cocktails - Thank you

Thank you to the ATC Parents and Friends for hosting our annual welcome event Kick off Cocktails. It was great to gather a crowd of almost 300 parents and caregivers to usher in the new year. Thank you to everyone who helped and came along making this event a most enjoyable occasion.

We also thank our sponsors of the raffles for the evening:

1. MAJOR PRIZE: one term's tuition school fees valued up to $4287.50
2. Floral arrangement from Kenmore Village Florists - valued at $200
3. $150 voucher from Kenmore Shoe Fashions
4. Mother of pearl and diamante necklace from Haemen Mendis Jewelers at Kenmore Village - valued at $135
5. Two sets of Australian designers Najo sterling silver, 14 carat gold plated earrings donated by Studio M by Margarita at Kenmore

These events are key to our partnership with families and we look forward to other community gatherings throughout the year.

Jason Sepetauc

Deputy Principal