26 Feb 2015

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Strong first impressions (cont’d) • High-quality Sport and Culture programs few editions of the Terrace News I will further expand on each key focus area. Demonstrating excellence in professional expertise • Some outstanding facilities (Years 5/6 Classrooms, College Chapel) • Some facilities requiring upgrade • Strong Year 12 student leadership • Good school spirit that can be further strengthened • Outstanding facilities at Tennyson • Strong Pastoral Support Program (House system, Buddy system) • Impressive Camp and Retreat program • Eddies Van • Some parents still doing U turns on Rogers Street • Potential to enhance some administrative processes • Great ‘Tuckshop’ • A very welcoming community. These are just some of my early perceptions and as you can note, I have been very impressed with Terrace and strongly believe that the Terrace Family is very real. The co-curricular programs continue to gain momentum and this week at the College Assembly the Captains of Debating were announced. I congratulate Patrick Cross - Captain of Debating Kieran Cook - Vice-Captain of Debating I am confident that these young men will lead the Debating Program with distinction. At the information nights that have been held over the last few weeks, I identified six focus areas for the College Leadership Team for <strong>2015</strong>. I only briefly spoke of these areas and over the next The focus areas are: 1. Stewardship 2. Teaching and Learning 3. Terrace Family 4. Mission and Identity 5. Co-curricular 6. College Leadership Team identity. To begin this week I will detail our CLT Mission for <strong>2015</strong>. It reads: “The College Leadership Team (CLT) actively leads and empowers the Terrace Family to live the College’s Mission as a Catholic School in the Edmund Rice Tradition. We are committed to pursue with energy and vigour a shared vision of: Contemporary responses to the Gospel Holistic Catholic Education The pursuit of excellence Presence to the Terrace Family and the fostering of right relationships Reflection and renewal for growth and improvement Open and transparent communication We will do this by: Being authentic to the EREA Charter Respectful dialogue Active presence and engagement with the Terrace Family Celebrating and empowering the diversity of all staff Use of data to inform our practices Promoting ‘best practices’ in Boys’ education Committing to ongoing formation and professional development Modelling of a strong work ethic Engaging expertise from within and external to the Terrace Family.” Over the following weeks I will detail each of the six focus areas. Finally, this week I ask that you keep in your thoughts and prayers all those people in the Terrace Family that need our support. As a family we are there to support and nurture each other, particularly in times of need. Have a great week. God Bless Dr Michael Carroll College Principal 2
College Dean, Mr Chris Ryan Supporters’ Groups - This evening, the Chairs of the various Supporters’ Groups of the College will gather for the first time for the year. The depth of support that the College enjoys is quite remarkable and the leadership of these people is very important to the living culture of the school. At last count, I believe there are 19 Supporters’ Groups and the wider parental engagement across this diverse range of activities is a blessing. In particular, these gatherings are enhanced by formation around our identity as a Catholic School in the Edmund Rice tradition through the four touchstones of our charter; Liberating Education, Gospel Spirituality, Inclusive Community and Solidarity and Justice. Our Supporters’ Groups animate our holistic education menu, consolidate our relationships and provide opportunities for service, inclusivity and community building. Tonight’s meeting is an opportunity for us all to understand one another’s goals and to work with one another in realizing them within the context of our culture and identity. Thank-you to the hundreds of parents who engage with our groups and give so much to the experience of Terrace students. Staff movements - This week, we welcome back Mr Glenn Brown, our Property and Services Manager, from a well-earned long service leave break. Mr Brown is a loyal, generous and long-serving member of staff who is the epitome of what our community is about. I wish to acknowledge Mr Peter Ford, Mr Peter Eades, Mr Omar Murua, Mr Mark Pulpett and Mr John McDonald for their committed work while someone who knows Terrace inside-out has been on break. Omar completed his time with us this week and we wish him every success. We also welcome Mrs Therese Feagan to the role of Assistant to the Director of Communications, Mr David Potter. Therese joins us while Mrs Alex Ardourel is on maternity leave. We offer Alex, her son Auguste Roy who arrived on Monday morning, and husband Julien, our very best wishes and congratulations. Building update - The recent weather has been challenging our timelines but the roof repair on the Music and Science building nearest the bottom car park is now nearing completion. The big job of replacing the copper roof on the Centenary Building (middle building on the Victoria Street side) is now almost complete. The project team will now commence the replacement of the copper roof on the Level 5 staffroom building - the staff are to be commended and thanked for their extraordinary patience as we have worked through this extended project. There are several other smaller projects that are still being worked on as a result of the November storm event on Level 8 in the GT125 building and in the Treacy Building in particular. Through good planning and co-operation with our project management team, there has been minimal impact on teaching and learning but we thank all students and teachers for their ongoing co-operation. Finally, the scope of the repair required in the Drama and Film and Television classrooms has been completed and this refurbishment will take until the end of Term 2 to complete. Our goal is that these two subjects ultimately gain better classroom spaces and resources as a result. Dean of Students, Mr Damien Fall One aspect of maintaining high standards in schools involves the concept of ‘sweating the small stuff’. This means that, while keeping a close eye on the big educational, behavioural and pastoral issues, it also is important to have high expectations around matters such as hair and uniform. This week, I would like to target school socks as a topic of interest. It is expected that students wear their socks fully pulled up at all times, including while travelling to and from school. The problem is, many boys like to recycle socks that are too old and small for them, so keeping them up becomes impossible. I would ask that parents assist us by doing an ‘audit’ of school socks and possibly purchase some new pairs if some are past their best. Garters also are a wonderful idea and can be a great help in this regard – a few pieces of elastic are a simple solution. I ask for parental support with this matter as it is important that the uniform is worn well. It is not often that the entire round of GPS sport is cancelled as occurred during last weekend’s weather event. No doubt, there were many unhappy boys who missed out on their weekly fix of competitive sport. As I enjoyed a more relaxed Saturday than usual, I reflected on the importance of young men being kept active and taking part in healthy, competitive sport. Not only does it bring physical benefits but there are great opportunities for personal growth that come from team competition. As always, I strongly encourage our young men to be as widely involved as possible. Next Friday 6 March, the GPS Swimming Championships will be held at BAC. To provide support for our swimmers, we will be sending students from Years 5, 6 and 7 as spectators after morning Tutor Group until lunch time. Students from Years 8 and 12 will be leaving the College after lunch to support our swimmers. Each year level is expected to attend only one GPS event per year, and I ask that all of these students are in attendance. I will write to all families with further details in the next few days. As we have hit the mid-term mark, we are around the time when some students will again become due for a haircut. It would be appreciated if parents could be proactive in this regard and arrange for this to happen if required. The College guidelines for haircuts can be found in the student diary. I hope that our students are well into routine with homework, assignments and revision. The term is racing away and good planning and time management are essential keys to success. I wish all of our young men well with their studies and encourage them to always give their very best. 3
Page 1: VOL 43 No. 3 | 26 February 2015 ~ G
Page 5 and 6: Middle School, Mr Russell Cooper Wh
Page 7 and 8: Music, Mr Brad Esbensen This Thursd
Page 9 and 10: TERRACE LADIES GROUP BOOK HERE: htt
Page 11 and 12: The Locker Room begins this week an
Page 14: TERRACE social events • YEAR 11 P

26 Feb 2015

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