The Anchor that Grounds Us

We wish all of the Dads and significant carers in our community an enjoyable and meaningful family time this coming Sunday. I am the proud Father of three young women and have recently enjoyed that parental signpost of having our eldest daughter commence full time work. I am attending her university Graduation Ceremony today and greatly looking forward to it and the celebrations thereafter. For those of you with younger children, I encourage you to savour the time as the adage that it all goes so fast is absolutely true!

We look forward to the Year 7 Father/Son event on Thursday evening. This is an initiative introduced in 2022 and we hope to keep building on this positive emerging tradition. Thank you to everyone who is joining us for this special time, and if you haven't already registered, please do so via Parent Lounge before 9:00am Tuesday morning. Parenthood is a vital part of the Edmund Rice tradition. Blessed Edmund’s vocation as a Catholic educator was greatly informed by his own fatherhood to Mary, his daughter who he raised as a single parent with the support of his extended family. We are greatly blessed by the parental support of our students at ATC and our partnerships between home and school.

Vocational Education and Training Recognition Assembly

Tomorrow, the College recognises and celebrates the achievements of our Year 12 students who are completing vocational education and training courses at certificate and/or diploma levels later this year. We are very proud of our students who access traineeships and apprenticeships and value the enriched pathways these students have because of our school-based programs. These achievements form a significant portion of our annual educational outcomes. I take this opportunity to warmly congratulate all these students, their parents and caregivers and their dedicated teachers who have supported them in this journey.

Formal Music Concert

Following our musicians' resounding success at the Queensland Catholic Music Festival, we are anticipating a terrific evening at the annual ATC Formal Music Concert  this Friday evening at Riverlife. Best wishes to all in preparation and thank you to parents and caregivers and our outstanding Music Team led by Mr Jonathon Bolt.

Pupil Free Day

This Friday 1 September  is always an important day in preparing for the new school year when our new Year 4 and new Year 7 students join us for the day while our current students enjoy a pupil free day. We look forward to an energetic and welcoming day with our newest students.

Enrolments

I remind current families that if you haven’t contacted our Enrolments Office to apply for a future position at the College for a sibling of a past or current student, to please do so as soon as soon as possible as we have now completed the Year 4 2024 and Year 7 2024, 2025 and 2026 enrolment processes.

Further, a reminder that if a family is withdrawing a student, a full term’s notice is required please as the following term’s fees are due at short notice as the College may not be able to enrol another student in a short timeframe. This is articulated in the Parent College Agreement at the time of enrolment and is a common clause for schools such as ours.

STAFF NEWS

Mr David Robertson

Connacht Head of House, David Robertson has shared with me recently that he will retire at the conclusion of 2023. David is presently on long service leave and will return to the College in Term 4. David has enjoyed a long and rich career in Catholic education and, in particular, with Marist College Ashgrove, St Rita’s College and most recently at Ambrose Treacy College. As a young and growing school, we have been fortunate to have someone of David’s experience with us as a Head of House and member of staff during this latter phase of his career. I take this opportunity to thank and congratulate David and we look forward to his return from leave after the September break so that he may finish positively with his Connacht Seniors and be farewelled by the House community of students, staff and parents and the wider ATC community.

2024 Staffing

We are presently recruiting for the College Leadership Team position of Dean of Learning as I shared last week. We will miss Ms Lara Morgan next year and we wish her well. After the September break, we will commence recruitment for the inaugural position of Director of Human Resources. As a young school, we have not yet introduced this key role to our organisation, and we are most certainly now in need of it.

Joining David Gardiner, Lisa Mortlock and David Robertson in retirement next year are Mr Brett Tompson, a greatly respected and loved member of our Junior School teaching team and Mr Kevin Van Der Weide who has completed numerous contracts for us in recent years with the Maths and Science teams in the Senior School. Both Mr Tompson and Mr Van Der Weide are vastly experienced, calm, positive and relational educators and colleagues who will be fondly missed at the College in 2024.

Taking leave from the College in 2024 to  welcome new babies into their lives are Ms Katrina Holmes-Blissner, Ms Alicia Madigan and Ms Jayne Ogilvie. We congratulate them all wish them safe and enjoyable journeys.

Also taking leave in 2024 making time for travel, self and family are Mr Sam Bebendorf and Ms Varna Metcalf. We wish them a wonderful 2024 and look forward to their return in 2025.

As can be seen, Mr Gardiner has been very busy leading our staffing and recruitment processes in an extremely challenging employment market. I thank him and all staff who have been assisting as we have busily planned timetabling, staff appointments and teams for 2024. There is more to come no doubt but we are well positioned after what is always 'round one of the education draft' in August each year.

Exams
Best wishes to students from Years 4 to 12 as they complete assessment and exams over the final three weeks of the term. Learning the still new Senior School system is important for everyone in the community. Our Year 12 students will complete ‘mock exams’ which simulate their final external exams which are held in October and November. These are vital exams this fortnight for our Year 12 students as they prepare for the real thing. The mock exams provide students with the opportunity to assess their strengths and growth areas through feedback provided by the data and their teachers who are working with them in preparation. Best wishes to all.

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