Principal Communications, 8 September 2023

 

Dear Parents and Carers

 

Last night Josh Wilson and I had the privilege of attending the performance of MSS Dance students at the Wakakirri State competition. I was extremely proud of the creativity, the sophistication of the message and the precision of the group’s performance of Unmasked. This dance told a story of not being a slave to the expectations of others in the realm of beauty and fashion but being yourself – a powerful and timely message delivered with courage.

 

Several of our MSS Visual Art students have had work accepted for exhibition at Art Waves.

 

Tonight, our senior Drama students bring us a comedy program they have been working on and on Saturday evening I am looking forward to our annual music Showcase.

 

We know that education in the Arts has a significant impact on the development of students’ characters, cognitive skills and their social skills and I am pleased with the renewal of Calvary’s CAPA program over the past few years. As has become our custom at Calvary, the year will end with a Christmas Carols event – this year to be held on our beautiful Springwood campus and I encourage you to save the date, 26 November and join our community celebration of Christmas.

 

As you know we are making several upgrades to the CAPA facilities on both campuses which will be completed within the next twelve months. I am sure our students and staff will make good use of the renewed spaces as the CAPA program goes from strength to strength.

 

Yesterday, I had a visit from a Principal of another Christian College who saw our Carbrook campus for the first time, and he could not stop his exclamations of how beautiful our campus environment is – so spacious and so green. And he has not seen Springwood yet! At the Principal’s Tours held on each campus earlier this week, our visitors were also openly appreciative of the wonderful campus environment and the facilities our students enjoy. It is easy to forget how extraordinary it is to have campuses that are such a beautiful, peaceful reflection of creation.

 

Over the holiday break we begin a significant campus upgrade at Carbrook as we repurpose and refurbish the Culbert building (a former library built in 2000). This building will house our Stage 3 students upstairs and they are excited to be moving there at the end of this term. A move is a busy time for staff, and I appreciate the way the Stage 3 and Year 7 staff have been preparing for this move while simultaneously providing excellence in teaching and learning for your children.

 

The Year 7 students, who currently occupy the upstairs rooms will be relocated in available rooms across the College in term 4 and I am grateful to the staff and the students who will manage this more challenging time. I am confident that Mrs Nicky O Donnell and her team will ensure a great term 4 experience for our Year 7s as they all look forward to Stage 4 having a wonderfully flexible and contemporary learning space downstairs in the Culbert from January next year. The refurbishment takes place over term 4 and the summer holidays. Next year work on this project will continue to develop outdoor learning areas for each Stage 4 room in the Culbert.

 

Perhaps what excited me most is that part of this project also involves cleaning up our waterway and turning it into a feature our community can enjoy. The entrance to the College will be opened up and the dream is that as you enter the carpark your view of Calvary and its wonderful campus will be open and welcoming. There will be some inconvenience over the next few months as we work to deliver a ‘new look’ Calvary at Carbrook.

 

On our return to school next term several work sites will be fenced off. Phase 1 of this project was the resurfaced carpark and now we are looking to the unfolding of a more connected, even more welcoming and more beautiful campus than we have today.

 

I also want to share with you that at the end of this term Michael Buksh, teacher in MSS will be leaving us as he wants to spend more time with his family that need his assistance. We thank Michael for his work at Calvary, particularly his contribution to the recent Classroom in the City Year 10 experience.

 

Next week our Year 9 students experience Classroom in the Country in the form of the Chinchilla trip where students are invited to look beyond their own experiences of life and gain some insight into life in a more remote Queensland community.

 

I am looking forward to a strong finish to the term next week as we continue to provide learning in and beyond the classroom to ensure a rich and well-rounded Calvary education for each student.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Cherylynne Gostelow