Civics and Citizenship This is the INAUGURAL Year 8 Civics and Citizenship class; the very first Secondary Civics and Citizenship class for Parklands Christian College. Our first lesson was spent discussing what it might mean to be a citizen. One of the students shared that she’d noticed that, in many …
This is the INAUGURAL Year 8 Civics and Citizenship class; the very first Secondary Civics and Citizenship class for Parklands Christian College. Our first lesson was spent discussing what it might mean to be a citizen. One of the students shared that she’d noticed that, in many places, the Australian National Anthem has changed from “We are young and free” to “We are one and free”. One response to why people might have thought this was the case had me biting my lip, but the reasoning was understandable!
“Maybe the people who first wrote the Anthem and sang it are really old now and they don’t think that ‘young and free’ is very inclusive any more?”
Mrs Mandy Ross
Head of Faculty – English and Humanities
We’re delighted to be partnering with your family in 2023, as we unite to support your children in their educational journey. A LITTLE ABOUT ME …
We’re delighted to be partnering with your family in 2023, as we unite to support your children in their educational journey.
Since mid-2016, I have been in the role of Head of Secondary and assisting with deputy-like-tasks, and am honoured this year to be offered the inaugural role of Deputy Principal. Back in 2011, I started teaching at Parklands and was taken with the tangible culture of care and connectedness here, where valuing right relationship is key and as a teacher I was encouraged to try out my ideas for making enjoyable and effective learning experiences. My daughter had watched alongside for years, hearing the lovely stories about staff and students and wanting to be part of this environment. It was with joy that she moved to Parklands for Year 11 in 2022, and she has thoroughly appreciated the warmth with which she has been embraced by students and staff. She’s excited about Year 12 and I am loving us being at the same school together, serving the same community.
I’m excited for the year ahead and am grateful for a smooth start up (impacts of the building program aside) with words like ‘lockdowns’ and ‘delayed starts’ being a distant memory. My thanks extends to our property & cleaning teams for their massive effort in readying our facilities and to our administrative staff for providing their caring service amongst disruption. I’d also like to thank our Student Leadership Team for their warm welcome to families on Day 1 and for spending the day with Year 7 students as they transition to secondary. We have a wonderful team of educators and staff who have been drawn to Parklands this year, and I give thanks to God (the Master Recruiter!) for forming our quality team for 2023.
Mr role as Deputy Principal gives me the opportunity to focus on Education from P-12, providing vision and support to our teachers, aides and support staff as we continue to improve the educational service that we provide at Parklands. It was a joy to begin by uniting our teachers and aides, both primary and secondary, for our educational vision launch during the student free week.
I extended the vision theme that I’ve had for secondary, EDUcurious, to include primary, and focused on embracing the unique contribution that every staff member and student brings to our College. The bible uses the metaphor of one body having many parts (1 Corinthians 12:12-27), whereas I drew on my Fungal Biology major at uni (yes, that is a real subject!) to have our staff model the structure of a mushroom and used fungi as our metaphor (some fun photos of enthusiastic staff below!). All this to say, let’s appreciate and work in our strengths and uniqueness, and design learning experiences that are inclusive of all our students and give them the opportunity to shine in their uniqueness, as we all work towards helping our students become all that God wants them to be.
I’ve so enjoyed seeing many of you back on campus (and thank you for all the encouragement) and I look forward to catching up with others at our upcoming events. If I can be of any help this year, please email me at jgrounds@parklands.qld.edu.au or to book a meeting contact pa@parklands.qld.edu.au , though classroom teachers and the relevant Head of School is usually a better first contact, being that bit closer. For anything broad about the College or suggestions for improvement, I would love to hear from you.
Jessica Grounds
Deputy Principal
School Transport Assistance Scheme The Queensland Government offers financial assistance to parents of both state and non-state school students travelling to and from school daily …
The Queensland Government offers financial assistance to parents of both state and non-state school students travelling to and from school daily by private arrangement. This is known as STAS (School Transport Assistance Scheme).
Please phone the Gold Coast office on 5630 8857 to clarify your eligibility. Alternatively you can visit their website: http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/schooltransport
Tuckshop news The tuckshop will be open EVERY day this year, Monday-Friday! Secondary Students please note all hot food purchased from the Tuckshop needs to …
The tuckshop will be open EVERY day this year, Monday-Friday!
Secondary Students please note all hot food purchased from the Tuckshop needs to be preordered online.
There is an opportunity for parents to contribute to the life of the school by volunteering their time in the tuckshop.
The tuckshop has been growing since moving to the new facility and with growth in sales we would really love your help!
Please contact our Tuckshop Convenor, Marie Rushin, on 0422 637 370 or email tuckshop@parklands.qld.edu.au
Enrolment Flyer Parklands Outside School Hours Care is situated within the school grounds of Parklands Christian College. The OSHC service caters for children from Prep …
Parklands Outside School Hours Care is situated within the school grounds of Parklands Christian College.
The OSHC service caters for children from Prep to Year 12, operating before and after school care and also vacation care. Prep children who are starting their first year of schooling are able to attend vacation care commencing January 2023. Before-school care offers a simple but nutritious breakfast for the children and activities and programs are based on the children’s interests, ideas and feedback. During the school term, the service operates daily from: 6.30am-8.30am, and 3pm-6pm (with office staff available from 2pm). Vacation Care runs from 6.30am-6pm.
Parklands OSHC has qualified educators and is an open-door service that welcomes and encourages all family’s input, suggestions and feedback.
Should you wish to discuss any care needs, please pop in to see us or contact us via:
Phone. 3297 0577 \ 0417 009 408
Email: parklandsbookings@bigpond.com
Please note a current enrolment is required for all bookings including casual and emergency care bookings.
We look forward to assisting with all your care needs.
Miss Rachel
Parklands OSHC
Uniform Shop Hours (School Days Only) Mondays 8.00am – 10.00am Tuesdays 2.00pm – 4.00pm Thursdays 2.00pm – 4.00pm Uniform Shop Location Address/Parking: 24 Hillcrest Rd, …
(School Days Only)
Mondays 8.00am – 10.00am
Tuesdays 2.00pm – 4.00pm
Thursdays 2.00pm – 4.00pm
Uniform Shop Location Address/Parking:
24 Hillcrest Rd, Park Ridge Qld 4125 (located on the left hand side, at the end of Hillcrest road).
For further information:
Phone: (07) 3380 4256
Email: service@theschoollocker.com.au
Uniform Shop Facebook Page
/PCCUniforms
SHOP ONLINE @theschoollocker.com.au/schools/parklands-christian-college
Community Builders Sunday Parklands Christian Church is hosting ‘Community Builders Sunday’ on the 26th of February and would love to extend the invite out to …
Parklands Christian Church is hosting ‘Community Builders Sunday’ on the 26th of February and would love to extend the invite out to all PCC staff as we showcase & pray for our College, staff & leaders.
Roar Youth would love to invite all secondary students to Colab Night. A city wide outreach to lift up the name of Jesus.
A night full of Epic competitions, giveaways & prizes, amazing food and a time to lift up the name of Jesus.
24th February at Parklands Christian Church
Park Ridge Panthers FC Park Ridge Panthers Foster Carers Needed You-Be-You-Newsletter 1.You-Be-You-Information-Kit Hockey Park Ridge Pirates Junior Football Club Come and Try Come and Try …
In Sync Kids OT have a satellite clinic within Parklands Christian College providing private Occupational Therapy Services specifically to students of the school. In Sync Kids Occupational Therapy specialises in sensory integration and neurodevelopment. Kelsey Hackett is the Occupational Therapist and point of contact for the satellite clinic within Parklands Christian College.
Kelsey Hackett has experience working as a paediatric occupational therapist since 2015 in the United States and has relocated to Brisbane in 2021. She has her Bachelors of Psychology and Master of Occupational Therapy degree. She has worked in the clinic-based and school-based settings with children of all ages and a wide range of diagnoses for the past 7 years.
For any additional information regarding Occupational Therapy services, please contact Kelsey Hackett kelsey.hackett@insynckidsot.com and feel free to look at the In Sync Kids OT website for more information http://www.insynckidsot.com
Does your child experience difficulties in any of the following areas?
If so it may be the result of an underlying speech and language difficulty. Speech Pathologists study, diagnose and treat communication disorders, including difficulties with speaking, listening, understanding language, reading, writing, social skills, stuttering and using voice. Speech Pathologists assess and provide life improving treatment, support and care.
Michelle Sparg is an independent, mobile, private certified practicing Speech-Language Pathologist with 24 years of generalised and highly specialist experience having worked with Kindy, Primary and Secondary Students.
Michelle Sparg, a certified practicing Speech-Language Pathologist, is in her 9th year of working successfully at our school alongside students, parents, teachers and learning support staff to maximise learning potential within the classroom.
For further information on this highly valued service currently offered at our College, please contact Michelle Sparg on sparg4@bigpond.com or 0435492716.
Moon Lee Tae Kwon Do classes have started up again in the school hall (BSC) on Mondays 3.30 – 4.30 pm.
New students and previous students are welcome.
For more information phone the instructor, Colin Garrick (8th Dan Black Belt 45 years experience teaching) Ph: 0438 865 800 or the Club Office: 1300 101 303
It’s a New Year and we have a few changes to our Student Care & Wellbeing team. We are very excited to introduce some new …
It’s a New Year and we have a few changes to our Student Care & Wellbeing team. We are very excited to introduce some new faces as well as a new room!
The Responsible Thinking Classroom (RTC) has a wonderful team of staff including:
With a Bachelor in Social Work, Gabrielle will be joining us one day a week as our newest Social Worker and RTP Facilitator. Grace is also joining us as an RTP Facilitator as well as assisting with administration. Grace is currently studying to receive a Bachelor of Social Work. Together we are able to not only help students make positive informed choices, but we also have the time to get alongside students and support them to develop their social and emotional skills.
As well as introducing new staff, we are also excited to share that we’ve moved! The Responsible Thinking Classroom has changed locations and you can now find us in L5 – the previous drama room just below the library. This is also where you’ll be able to find Mrs Andrea Armanasco, Deputy Head of Primary, and Mr Colin Elvery, Head of Middle School. This year we have an awesome opportunity to work closely with Andrea and Colin, as well as our Secondary Year Level Coordinators, to increase the strength and breadth of our behavioural and wellbeing processes.
Michelle has been termed the ‘teenage expert’ by the media and is sought after for her compassionate, and grounded advice. In 2000 she quit teaching and established a harm prevention charity, called Youth Excel. Her days were filled with running small group support programs for girls ‘at risk’ of dropping out of education, and she soon became well known for successful outcomes with tweens and teenagers who did not flourish under more traditional forms of therapy.
Over the next 20 years, Youth Excel continued to grow and expand. The Youth Excel Centre was established – a multi-disciplinary clinic offering psychology, counselling, mentoring for children and teenagers. It was there that her team of twelve offered big-hearted, innovative services to over 150 families each week. Michelle personally had the privilege of working with many hundreds of young people and their families as a mentor.
Today Michelle uses her experience to write and speak in schools, community events and through media. Her best-selling parenting and children’s resources, including the highly popular Everyday Resilience Journal, have sold over 100 000 copies worldwide and have been translated into several languages.
If your child is between the ages of nine and twelve, you are in the throes of the ‘between’ years. Not quite a child and not yet a teenager, tweens embody a very specific stage of development that once understood will revolutionise the way you parent, educate and support those in your care.
TWEENS will help you understand what kids need NOW, before the teenage years.
This book is practical, grounded in research and offers valuable insights from my survey of over 2000 parents and tweens. Together, we will explore your child’s friendship issues, mood swings, confidence crises, technology habits, sibling rivalry, body image concerns, tricky behaviour and the road ahead.
You can purchase this book at: https://michellemitchell.org/tweens-book/
Greetings all, The year is well and truly underway for all of us. Firstly, a great big welcome to all our Year 7 students and …
Greetings all,
The year is well and truly underway for all of us. Firstly, a great big welcome to all our Year 7 students and their families as you begin your journey through secondary education. We are thrilled to have you as a part of Middle School at Parklands, and I trust that your time with us is a blessing to you. A special welcome also to the new families to Parklands, and we pray that you are able (students and families) to find your place in our community. Our desire is to care for all our families in our college community, so we trust you feel welcome.
I have shared with our students and with staff my work for the year: Opportunity. Through the course of this year, I am going to reflect on this word and hopefully apply it to our journey as Middle School at Parklands. As I have shared with some students, they have such an amazing opportunity to learn and gain an education in Australia that many others their age around the world simply won’t have. Our blessing is immense in this country, and my goal will be to continually remind our students that they are blessed beyond measure. Through these reminders, we hope to raise a generation who begins to appreciate what they have and takes hold of the opportunities that are presented to them.
The education of your children is a partnership between school and home. Within the framework of the Parklands learning journey there is much communication which occurs from our school to home. We want to ensure that there are no surprises when it comes to your child’s education, and that we are informing you of their progress as much as possible.
Please feel free to communicate with teachers and myself whenever you have questions or concerns. All staff have an email address and are very happy to engage with parents. For Middle School parents and student, we have established the role of Year Level Coordinators (YLCs) in Years 7 and 8 to help facilitate effective communication. Below are the YLCs for Middle School, and I would encourage you to connect with them directly if you have queries.
Year 7: Mrs Alanah Braun
Email: abraun@parklands.qld.edu.au
Year 8: Mr Daniel Millward
Email: dmaillward@parklands.qld.edu.au
There have been many different activities for the start-up of 2023 in Middle School. Year 7 and 8 ran through orientation programs to start the year, with getting-to-know-you games and school expectation sessions. Meanwhile, Year 9 started their year on camp, enjoying the outdoors of Bornhoffen in the Gold Coast Hinterland.
All students have been assigned textbooks, timetables, and MacBooks for Year 7 and new students, and have been guided through how to use of all of these. We will be helping students to navigate diaries and calendars regarding assessment and homework dates and working with them to develop good organisation habits.
Shortly, there will be an email listing the assessments for the term. It would be useful to have this printed out and placed in a highly visible area in the house – the fridge door often works. We would encourage you to talk with your children regarding their organisation and get them used to a routine of marking off tasks when they are completed. This allows you to stay informed of where your child is at and helps to encourage those organisational skills at home.
I am looking forward to the great opportunities that our loving God will place before us this year. As we continue this journey together for 2023 let us strive to become all that He wants us to be, and look give our best as God would want us to.
Blessings
Mr Colin Elvery
Year 1 A very warm welcome to our Year One 2023 families! We are so blessed to have your children in our care this year …
A very warm welcome to our Year One 2023 families!
We are so blessed to have your children in our care this year and we can already tell we are going to have so much fun in Year One!
It has been a very busy start to the year, especially with our swimming program. The children have done an amazing job settling in and their behaviour on the bus and at the pool has been wonderful.
We have had a wonderful introduction to our Specialist lessons and are looking forward to the extra learning opportunities we will have each week.
Over the next few weeks, we will be focussing on class expectations and reviewing key concepts in Literacy and Math as we get to know the children.
We have started our HASS unit about Family Histories and are looking forward to discovering more about the past.
Until next time, take care!
Mrs Clausen, Mrs Auld, Mrs Mane and Mrs S
We were so blessed to welcome 60 brand new Year Two students on January 23rd, 2023! Our year has started off beautifully as we learn all the ins and outs of being a Year Two student at Parklands Christian College. The students have shared with us their knowledge gained in Year One through diagnostic assessments and have also shared about their adventures over the Christmas holiday. This year we are blessed to have new teachers on campus and exciting classes to enrich our lives: Australian Sign Language, Music, Technology, Drama, Dance, Health, and Library classes! Year Two has one more week of swimming classes and then we will settle into a routine of learning, laughter, and love. We are looking forward to growing plants in science and measuring them as they sprout, just as we are looking forward to watching our students grow in God’s love (and measuring them as they go!)
Welcome to Year 3! We are so excited to be able to teach your child this year and to get to know you all better. We are looking forward to a wonderful year as students begin their journey in Upper Primary and all it means to start to be a leader in the Primary school.
We had a super busy but also super fun first week back at school! Our first day was filled with getting to know each other, touring the school, and playing some games. We found each other’s names in a mega find a word, began colouring a personalised bookmark to use this year as we transition to reading longer books and had fun finding all our favourite places in the school as well as seeing a few changes.
We continued the fun during the week with some fun games, including bullrush and heads down thumbs up. We started our journey of learning times tables with some singing and multiplication rotations. We also had fun writing about ourselves as we explored using paragraphs in our writing, which is another big focus for Year 3.
Of course a major highlight was our swimming lessons. The weather has been perfect to cool off in the pool and swimming is always so much fun, as well as learning some skills that we really need to be safe when you live in our climate. Year 3 always love CLS and we started the year with the creation story and a cute craft. It was a great way to end our week.
We are looking forward to a wonderful year of learning, developing our leadership skills, and just plain having fun together. We appreciate all the parents’ help this week with swimming, school supplies and just introducing yourself. We are looking forward to an awesome year together, thanks for a fabulous start!
The Year 3 Team
Dayna Davis, Renée Imms, Sue Martin and Christine Uwamurera
STEM (incorporating science, technology, engineering and maths) is a wonderful opportunity to work collaboratively and creatively. Students can learn how to deal with frustration when things don’t go as planned and how to persist at tough challenges and work together to come up with multiple solutions to problems.
It was wonderful to see all of the different solutions to the problem of how to build a 1m free-standing paper tower using only paper and sticky tape. There was lots of excitement and high-fives when students achieved their goals.
We have also started learning AUSLAN. Students love being able to sign the alphabet and their names. It will be exciting to see their proficiencies improving and being able to use sign language to communicate within the classroom.
Dear Parklands Community, Welcome back to the 2023 Academic Year. Despite the busyness of construction on our site, we were able to welcome our students …
Dear Parklands Community,
Welcome back to the 2023 Academic Year. Despite the busyness of construction on our site, we were able to welcome our students back to school without any real disruption or delay. Do you remember how we started school this time last year? Thankfully this year has been a much smoother start for us all, and we were able to start the year with a full complement of staff, and no lockdowns!
This year we welcomed 823 students from Prep to Year 12. We have a new classroom in our library now which helps us accommodate an extra class in Year 7, and our Prep renovations meant that we could have another class of preppies. We are all very excited about these changes and we all look forward to seeing our new students flourish at Parklands.
It’s also very exciting to see the progress our builders have made during the holiday break. Both buildings in our new Primary Precinct are almost ready for a second-storey concrete slab pour. There are also a lot of other projects happening at the moment. Most of our primary school buildings received a new external coat of paint and a new colour scheme which I think looks great. Our Health Bay is just waiting for its cabinetry, and Student Services staff are working admirably as they manage to work out of the foyer of the Library. We now have 3 Prep classrooms with additional modifications and improvements to come throughout the year. It’s an exciting time to be a part of the Parklands community.
Currently we are trialling a new Collect & Go procedure of an afternoon in the Primary School. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we refine this process. Thanks for all the feedback and ideas so far, keep the constructive comments coming as we work toward a procedure that is safe and efficient. We are all on the same side here, and all trying to improve our circumstances for the betterment of our students and their families. Shade is on the way for students who are waiting to be collected. Remember, if it’s raining we will revert to collecting students directly from classrooms.
In this season of change, it will be important to be patient and communicating effectively. We are trying our hardest to keep everyone in our community informed. Change is sometimes a little hard to adjust to, and often it is the adults that struggle the most. I love the resilience of children as they quickly assimilate change and adjust to new patterns and ways of working. If your child seems a little lost as the year begins, please politely reach out to a teacher or Head of School. We love working with children and helping them overcome obstacles big and small.
When communicating with the staff at Parklands, please do so with kindness. My staff choose to work in the ministry of Parklands because they love children and want to see them become all that God wants them to be. Children are helped best when home and school are in alignment and communicating effectively, and when relationships are nurtured and when people are valued. We want the very best for each child and their family. Every teacher, teacher aide, ground staff, cleaners, and finance staff are committed to the care of our community and we believe that God has hand-picked His staff for this time and season. Let’s appreciate those who are trying to serve, and build them up as often as we can. Anything less is counter-productive.
Proverbs 15:1 states “A soft word turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”. If we are truly interested in achieving positive outcomes for our children, we need to pay attention to, and invest in the relationships with Parklands staff. Let’s approach problems as a puzzle that both teacher and parent can solve together. And let’s trust in the professionalism and experience of classroom staff as they nurture learning and love our children.
I look forward to working with our community this year. I am committed to encouraging and building one another up (1 Thessalonians 5:11) this year, and investing in good relationships that lead to positive outcomes for our students.
Thanks for choosing Parklands, and for the privilege of partnering with your family. And if I haven’t seen you already, I look forward to seeing you around our campus soon.
Gary Cully
Principal
Welcome to 2023! On behalf of the primary school, I warmly welcome families to the 2023 school year. I trust your family enjoyed some quality …
On behalf of the primary school, I warmly welcome families to the 2023 school year. I trust your family enjoyed some quality time together over the holiday season. Every member of our community is a valued part of the Parklands Family and we look forward to partnering with you as we work together to care for your children and provide a quality Christian education that inspires them to flourish, to love God, and to love others as themselves. We particularly welcome the many new students to Parklands, especially our little learners starting their school journey in Prep. Having personally experienced the Parklands culture of care, I am confident that if not already, you will soon feel connected within our school community. At Parklands, we have dedicated Christian teachers who analyse academic data and spend time collaborating to plan research-based, inspiring classroom learning experiences to engage students in learning.
Although I work as a school leader, I am firstly a teacher, who loves being around children, and working with staff to facilitate children’s development. As such, you will see me out and about the school grounds, and regularly in classrooms. Effective teacher-parent-student relationships are important in this partnership, and I encourage parents to connect with me, when possible, even just for a quick hello and chat. Additionally, I am a mother to Callum, 22, who is currently living the Northern Territory, and Corey 20, who lives at home with my husband Jeff, Stella (our Staffie) and I. I have had the privilege of supporting the setup of a kindergarten while on a mission trip to the New Life Orphanage in Myanmar and look forward to future opportunities to serve on such trips. In 1 Peter 4 we read that through the strength God provides, to “use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” in order to bring praise and Glory to Him. It is an honour to serve here at Parklands and if I have not yet met you, I look forward to meeting you soon.
I look forward to seeing you at the Back to School BBQ on Thursday 2 February from 5pm,. This event provides a great opportunity to partner with your children’s classroom teachers and be informed about their learning journey. Please do not worry if you have children in multiple grades as handouts containing pertinent information will be distributed so you can prioritise your evening. The purpose of these sessions is to provide an overview of the year ahead, and an introduction to classroom teachers, and their expectations for the class. Discussions on individual students and their progress will occur during the official parent teacher interviews or by arranging an appointment with the teacher.
Thank you for your support and feedback as we trial this new afternoon procedure which has been requested by parents for many years. Thank you for your patience in working together to create a system that works for all. Should you wish to collect your children in years 1 to 6 at 3pm, prior to playtime, please remember to check in with your youngest child’s teacher.
Thank you for ensuring your children are wearing the correct uniform, including leather upper shoes, to school each day. Please note, you will not be notified of uniform infringements if you have communicated an explanation via a note, email or phone call. Please contact: uniformpass@parklands.qld.edu.au or 33804200.
Please make a time to meet with your child’s teacher should you require feedback regarding their Parklands journey. Classroom teachers are dedicated to working in partnership with you and are in the best position to support your children and intervene directly. That being said, please feel free to contact me, akingston@parklands.qld.edu.au, for additional support or should you feel an issue is unresolved.
I invite you to join staff and students on Wednesday afternoons at Primary Chapel. Playtime finishes at 2pm, with teachers and students making their way straight down to the church for approximately a 2:10 pm start. During this time, we praise God and celebrate student successes and His work at Parklands. Please note, there will be no primary chapel on Wednesday 1 February, but we look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 8 February.
I pray that the start of the school year has been a blessed one for your families, as you send your older children back to school, and perhaps some of your children to school for the first time. May the peace of God be with you all these coming weeks as we do life together at Parklands. At church on Sunday, one of the leaders whom I have the pleasure of leading with at my previous school, asked me for my highlight of week one. My response to him was ‘as always the children’. I commend you, and the staff at Parklands, for the incredibly polite and respectful way children interact with each other and adults. It has filled my heart, to spend time with your children in classrooms, the playground and around our school. They are a credit to you and I look forward to getting to know each and every one of them. It is truly a privilege to be a part of a community where parents, teachers and students care for each other and strive to build positive relationships that support academic, social and spiritual growth. I’m very much looking forward to partnering with you.
Blessings,
Anne-Maree Kingston
It has been wonderful to have a normal start-up to the new academic year, with no lockdowns or delayed starts. Dare I say it is …
It has been wonderful to have a normal start-up to the new academic year, with no lockdowns or delayed starts. Dare I say it is feeling like we are back to normal; it’s certainly how it should be with the sounds and hustle and bustle of students onsite in January.
Seniors had such a positive start last week, settling into orientation and their classes quickly. They also looked great, thank you so much for your support with the correct uniform. It’s such an important part of our whole school culture and approach, which in turn can assist our students with discipline and motivation and we just love getting on with the important business of learning.
During our orientation program, your child has been asked to think about their goals for the year ahead and to make some practical applications in getting organised for the year ahead. As we are into the second week of term, all seniors should have established a nightly study and revision routine, which will assist in the busy weeks ahead.
Academic success has much to do with well-developed study skills. Setting up and maintaining effective routines for study habits to take place is key. For some, the problem could be in getting organised to use time in a structured and planned manner. Thank you for supporting your children by talking through their goals and by ensuring there is a dedicated workspace and routine for study.
Senior students have been encouraged to use a diary and Home Class teachers will be checking these on a weekly basis. Your child may choose to use an App or some form of personal (paper-based) diary – either is fine.
Other areas to assist with being organised include:
Weekly Overviews + Due Dates + Resources
Your child can log into PAC from their school Google account
A snapshot of assessment due dates emailed home early in each term. Please note, this can be subject to change. PAC will have the most up-to-date information.
For live and up-to-date information on key dates, E.g events, accessible through your child’s account.
We encourage your child to immerse themselves into the life of the College. Recently, an outline of many before, during, and after school clubs and tutorial sessions was emailed to families and students. These include a variety of free programs run by Secondary staff who are passionate about supporting student learning.
Please note that you will need to use the link in this document to register and provide permission for your child’s attendance at these activities. One of the many and varied workshops is Zenith Club, run on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons 3:30pm-4:30pm and coordinated by Mrs Rhoda Crook and supervised by a variety of teachers. Your child may request to have a particular teacher meet at Zenith, when requiring extra support.
Year 10 and Year 11 students are able to request a change of subject up until this coming Friday 3rd February, after which subjects are locked in for the semester.
If your child is feeling unsure about their academic pathway, please encourage them to speak with Mrs Liz Lenton (Careers & VET Coordinator), their Home Class teachers, Miss Julia Matthews (Year 10 Coordinator), Mrs Dianne Furlonger (Year 11 Coordinator), or myself.
We are passionate about senior students knowing there are options and to be in a pathway that matches their interest, skillset and ability – so they can work towards their God given potential.
I trust that your child has had a positive start to the year, is getting organised and set up for success and finds that balance between academic demands, involvements in extra-curricular activities as well as time for relaxation and enjoyment.
If you have any questions or concerns about Senior College, please make contact through the College office or via email at: rwallis@parklands.qld.edu.au
Blessings,
Rebecca Wallis
Head of Senior School
Bus Queensland is making a number of changes to schools’ runs for Term 1 2023 that may impact your child’s travel arrangements. A list of …
Bus Queensland is making a number of changes to schools’ runs for Term 1 2023 that may impact your child’s travel arrangements. A list of these changes can be found at https://www.busqld.com.au/school. If you have any concerns or queries, please contact us at customers@busqld.com.au or 3802 1233.
School Fees Monthly school fees are deducted from your bank account on the 17th unless received by the 10th of each month. Please ensure funds …
Monthly school fees are deducted from your bank account on the 17th unless received by the 10th of each month.
Please ensure funds are in your account one (1) business day before the 17th of the month.
Our preferred method of payment is BPAY, details are on your invoice or alternatively you can pay through the parent portal.
Our Bank Account details are as follows:
BSB: 034115
Account Number: 169944
Please use your Parent Code as reference e.g. ‘21265’
Note: Direct Debits that reject from your account due to insufficient funds will incur a $10.00 fee and loss of discount. An additional late fee of $20 will apply to invoices outstanding at the end of the month.
