Farewell and Thank You

This week sees the ‘end of an era’, with one of our long term Prep teachers, Mrs Andrea Ahrens, heading off to retirement, new adventures and the next chapter of her life.  This comes after over 20 years of service to our students and the College.  In that time, Andrea has taught and had a key hand in the formation of hundreds of our students, been a parent in the College herself, and even been part of the College Council for several years before beginning employment here.  Andrea was initially employed at the College before ‘Prep’ was in existence in Queensland, and was a key person in the establishment of our early years programme and its eventual transition into Prep.  We know that there will be many students, from the current Preps right through to our Year 12s, who will be sad to see their very first teacher leaving the College this week.  Mrs Judy Gardner will be stepping into full time teaching of Prep from Semester Two.

Also finishing up in a few short weeks is Mr Paul Clifford, who has been looking after our ICT systems at the College for over 12 years.  In that time Paul has seen a second campus come online—and was largely responsible for literally getting it online along with the two campuses connected.  He has seen the implementation of the BYOD programme, another major milestone that would have suddenly seen the number of devices needed to connect to our network skyrocket, as well as the number of accounts that needed supporting at the same time.  Keeping an ICT system running is like herding cats.  Continual updates and changes to software, the advent and corporate introduction of Office 365 and, then, the daily support and troubleshooting to keep computers, projectors, WiFi, email, TASS and a host of other devices operating and behaving, typically all deciding to happen at the same time.  We have been very blessed to have Paul’s calm and friendly face at the College.  Mr Douglas Giles will commence in a new role as ICT Manager early July.

We wish both Andrea and Paul every blessing and thank them for their many years of dedicated service and commitment to our community.  Thank you to them both.

Semester One Reports

Our first set of semester reports through SEQTA are very nearly ready.  All the data required from staff has been inputted, and currently SEQTA are just finalising the reports themselves for testing.  As this is our very first run with these reports they are, of course, brand new and will require a fair amount of testing for bugs and errors that will not occur in future cycles.  Hopefully they should be ready for release within a week or so, but we will not release them until we are confident they are working as we expect them to.  When they are released, you will get an immediate notification through the Engage app, and will be able to view, and download, the report which will be in a PDF format.  A big thank you to our teaching staff, who have had to completely learn a brand new system this year!

As we head into holidays, I pray that you get to spend some quality time together as a family and enjoy the precious moments you get to spend with your child.

Blessings,

Simon Hughes
Head of College

Reminder—Pupil Free Days

Please be reminded that the first two days of Term Three—Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 of July—are pupil free days for Prince of Peace.

We look forward to welcoming students back on Wednesday 14 July.

Highlighting Students’ Success

We love to highlight the personal achievements our students make in their extra-curricular activities (sport, dance, arts, music etc), with special Facebook posts or POPCORN articles throughout the year.

If your child has shown determination, success or courage in one of their activities we’d appreciate hearing about it!

Please send any details along with a few good photos to mnoon@princeofpeace.qld.edu.au

I Was Hungry and You Fed Me

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:35-40

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. Have you ever been in need? Did you ever travel the world and find yourself a little short of money or food and you have an amazing story to tell about the kindness of someone who helped you?

Perhaps you have found yourself in need in other ways. You may be struggling with mental health worries or financial concerns and it is in these times you notice most the kindness of a small gift for you of money, food, a coffee or just a moment where someone has just stopped to give you their time and listening ear.

So what is serving? What is it about? In our busy, now super busy world do we notice the needs of others? Or are we too busy instead putting ourselves first – first before parents or grandparents, first before our children, first before our friends. Yes we need downtime to refresh but when we are so busy we can’t even see the needs of others around us it might be time to stop and ponder for a moment.

When last did you notice someone hungry and stop to feed them with a meal or with a word of encouragement of Jesus to feed their hungry soul? When last did you stop to visit someone who is sick? When last did you take time to bless your partner, child or extended family members?

Jesus came not to put Himself first, rather He came to serve us dying on the cross as a sacrifice for our sin. He took our place, as a humble servant putting you and me higher than Himself.

Serving is God’s love in action in our every word, action, thought and attitude. We serve God by serving each other and sharing this love, peace and hope with those around. It might be a smile or a hug but when you serve others Jesus says to you, ‘Whenever you served the least of these sisters and brothers of mine, you served me. Go in peace for I am with you always.

Pastor Mark Gierus
College Pastor

Spectacular, Spectacular

On Friday and Saturday night, audiences were wowed by the talent and the spectacle. A clever storyline, provided an opportunity for individual talent to be showcased. The cast from Year 2 to Year 12, shined both individually and collectively.  Congratulations to all the students involved, you should be so proud of what you achieved.  Thanks to our student back-stage crew. Spectacular, Spectacular proved to be a wonderful opportunity for learning and to grow through challenge.

Thanks to Mrs Brady, Mrs Rachow, Mrs Edwards, Mrs Grimes, and Miss Murray for their leadership of the project.  Thanks to Mrs Grosas and her team of helpers for providing refreshments. Thanks also to those many hands that made pack up at the end of the evening a breeze.  Thanks to Stephen Grimes, and Jeremy Bellis from IJS for the fabulous sound, lighting, effects and three stages.

Leadership 2021/2022

Over the last month, our Year 11 students have engaged in applying for a Senior Leadership position. We affirm all the students who were prepared to put their name forward. We were overwhelmed with quality candidates, and the new student leaders were announced on Tuesday.

Congratulations to the following students on their appointments to leadership positions 2021/2022.

Reporting

We are busy finalising the end of semester reports for students. Please note that reports will only be available via SEQTA.  If you have not yet activated your SEQTA account please contact us and we will organise a new welcome email.

The reports will summarise students’ overall grades for subjects. The change to reporting format is to supplement the progressive reporting now available via SEQTA Engage. Students will be able to access their report via SEQTA Learn.

Walk My Way

Preparations are well under way—on Friday we will come together as a College and raise awareness and raise funds to send refugees to school. Students are able to wear house shirts or Walk my Way shirts on Friday. In the spirit of fun we are a running a crazy sock competition on Friday to raise some additional funds for the cause.  There will also be a sausage sizzle on Friday with gluten free options available.

Thanks for your support in Semester 1. Wishing you all a relaxing and safe semester break.

Michelle Nisbet
Head of Senior Campus

Warhammer Club Will Continue Next Term

Warhammer has finished for this term but we start again on Saturday 17 July from 1pm until 5pm at the Senior Campus.

If you would like to play or paint come along and find out more, or see Mr Roberton.

The pictures below show three stages of painting a miniature that is used in the game.