26 Feb 2015

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.
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