Celebrating the Women in Our Community

Final Weeks of Term

Week 8, Week 9 and Week 10 are busy times for assessment and an important one for our three way partnership as we work together in these final 14 days of school for the term. It can be a tricky time for some boys to navigate and can be a time of uncharted mistakes or for some habits to come home to roost!

Please take the time to explicitly manage and discuss this with your son regardless of his age and stage in terms of rest, good food and fluids, sleep, relaxation and focused schoolwork as well as keeping in mind routines such as shined shoes, uniform, haircut and shaving. We appreciate your support as we assist with the same messages at school. Please be in contact with your child’s Homeroom teacher or Formation Leader as required.

NAPLAN

This process is underway positively. It is a point in time snapshot of progression and is not the be all and end all-it is best to keep things in proportion and perspective and be positive about attempting all tasks and doing the best that one can. Please ensure a relaxing and routine night before with plenty of rest and a good, solid breakfast in the morning! We have been happy with the engagement of boys thus far.

 The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a nationwide measure through which parents/carers, teachers, schools, education authorities, government and the broader community can determine how effectively young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community.

 NAPLAN results allow parents/carers and educators to see how students are progressing in literacy and numeracy over time – individually, as part of their school community, and against national standards.

NAPLAN is made up of tests in the 4 areas (or ‘domains’) of:

• reading
• writing
• conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation)
• numeracy.

We wish our students all the very best and thank our staff and parents for their preparation and support of them.

Camp Week

Thank you for your support and understanding as we managed Camp Week 2025 in a complex and quickly evolving time.

I wish to acknowledge our extraordinary staff for their good will, professionalism and calm as we facilitated some of the programs and managed on site learning simultaneously as the scenarios changed each day!

Thank you and well done to Deputy Principal, Mr Jason Sepetauc and his Assistant Mrs Georgie Ingham-Myers who did a massive amount of work in preparation and during the week.

Thank you to all ATC parents and caregivers for your trust and faith in us as we worked through each scenario and decision.

At the commencement of the week, we believed we were just managing considerations for the Year 9 program in the north coast hinterland but as each day passed, the entire suite of programs from Year 6 to 12 were impacted.

Mr Sepetauc will write to families this week to update the community regarding Camp Week.

International Women’s Day

We joined communities throughout Australia in celebrating International Women’s Day last week.

The Ambrose Treacy College community is blessed by the strength, talent and example of women in all domains of school life from Ms Deb Carcary, Ms Liana Baillie and Ms Kate Garrone who form 50% of our College Leadership Team, to our numerous Heads of  Departments and Formation Leaders and dedicated Teachers and School Officers, Advisory Council members, Parents and Friends Executive and hundreds of parents and caregivers.

We celebrate the leadership and example of all women who have contributed to the Nudgee Junior and Ambrose Treacy College communities and give thanks for their tenacity, compassion and generosity in supporting, challenging and forming our students since 1938 and 2015 respectively.

Konan Elementary School

We enjoy a long-standing partnership and friendship with Konan and look forward to welcoming their students and staff to the College later this week for their annual visit. This is always a special occasion for which the young Konan students prepare earnestly with presentations prepared for a special welcome assembly. I look forward to joining our Japanese teaching team in hosting our colleagues for a special dinner on Friday night to welcome them to ATC and Australia again. Thank you to Ms Tasha Damon and her team for their co-ordination and to all of our community who are assisting with hosting and welcoming our special guests.

AIC Swimming

We have enjoyed a strong term in sport across AFL, cricket and Volleyball and our swimmers have been working hard all term in preparation for the AIC championships which were postponed to this Friday afternoon and evening. Good luck to Mr Paul Jones and his team and all of our swimmers both individually and collectively. A special well wishes to our Year 12 swimmers who are working hard and have represented the blue white and green for many years.

Community Prayers

Prayer for Pope Francis

We join the world and the global Catholic community in praying for Pope Francis as he is seriously unwell in hospital.

Loving God:

As Francis, our much loved  Pope, suffers from grave illnesses, we come before you in prayer.

We ask you to look with mercy on your servant Francis, who has served you devotedly and tirelessly as a Jesuit, a priest, an archbishop, a cardinal and as pope.

Most of all, he has served you as a faithful Christian sharing the love, mercy and compassion that your Son showed to all he encountered in his public ministry, especially those who were poor or in any way struggling.

During his papacy, Francis has striven to imitate your Son by reaching out to all who were feeling abandoned, ignored or neglected, making it his special task to care for those who were in any way sick.

As Francis himself now faces serious and complex illnesses, help the doctors, nurses and medical team who care for him,
help him bear any pain with grace and help him to heal quickly.

We ask this prayer through Jesus, your Son.

Live Jesus in Our Hearts-Forever!

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, College Principal