Dean of Studies | Mrs Julie Quinn

“The Power of One”

Our farewell to our Seniors last week was filled with emotion and great memories from 2017 and past years. As we departed the Valedictory Dinner from the venue of City Hall last Friday evening, our Seniors departed knowing that they had strived to be the best that they could be. During the week, we had received the individual QCS scores from our testing in late August. Their results reflected their unwavering commitment across the year to every single QCS workshop and to the two demanding testing days. These results came from their ability to function seamlessly as a group; their strength was in their commitment to themselves and to each other. We all functioned as the one team - staff, students and teachers, we were all unified and moving in the same direction. The power of this approach was a key strategy to their success. Although mathematically implausible, the sum of the parts was far greater than the whole.

I share a wonderful and insightful tribute to the Terrace experience from a very dedicated mother of a Senior-

So all of a sudden, tomorrow will be the last day that we walk through the gates at Terrace as parents of current students - and it would be remiss to not try to let you know how very grateful, very fortunate and very blessed we have been to have had Terrace’s unwavering support, concern and wisdom for the past ten years – and beyond!

It has been a privilege to become part of fabric of life at such a wonderful school – where, like our sons, we have made our friends for life. This has been such an exciting and emotional week– our Terrace journey has been an extraordinary ride .


There exists an extraordinary community at Terrace, of people who support, advise and advocate, people who encourage, comfort, nurture and work tirelessly to make us all better .

From a personal perspective – my journey at Terrace has been in one sense a veritable cornucopia of cupcakes! It now occurs to me that, in a metaphorical sense, the making of a Terrace cupcake is not unlike the making of a Terrace Gentleman.

It is a serious venture and always best to gather a team.

Like all good projects, we plan, we prep, we plan, we organise, we plan – we shop!

We lovingly pull together the best ingredients we have available to us – sometimes its premium, mostly we wing it.

Sometimes we follow the recipe, carefully measure the raw materials, throw them together and beat until malleable – figuratively!

When we have a somewhat workable mixture, we place them in a pre-heated oven, toil away busily in the background, hope for the best, but persistently watch them evolve.

Sometimes they work out well, sometimes not so – we are often distracted, overwhelmed and overworked! Occasionally, for some inexplicable reason nothing goes well and we don’t know why – but rarely is there an issue that a generous dollop of white chocolate ganache won’t fix.

Then when we think they are ready, we dress them up smartly in their finest red and black, stand back and take a moment to admire our creations. Bold, striking, but deceptively sweet. Not always perfect but something worthwhile – something we are proud of.


Then we get here, to the end of this phase, we fix the cellophane, tie the ribbon, gently place them in the well-prepared wrapping and realise that – yes! – it was a lot of effort – but undeniably worth it!

Reports

Reports will be uploaded to Parent Lounge on Friday 1 December. This Semester 2 report will include a grade for Term 4 results, a grade for the Semester 2 result and an annual grade. Academic medals are determined upon the Semester 2 results. From these results an academic summary will be compiled. This summary includes identifying students who have made significant gain or significant loss within subjects. This data is essential in our tracking and mentoring of students.

Thank You

Finally, as the term and year conclude, I would like to express my thanks to both the boys and to families for your support across the year. We enjoy a wonderful community spirit at Terrace, of both support and commitment to striving for excellence in all we do. That excellence ranges from making the effort to spend the hours on study and assignments, to concentrating and hence making the most of the classroom, to helping a mate or friend who needs support either pastorally or academically. We are all very blessed by this empathy and respect that we continue to have for members of our immediate and extended community.

My best wishes for a safe and relaxing Christmas holiday. Hopefully the hustle and bustle of the school year will abate and allow family time to be shared and enjoyed. I look forward to journeying together for another rewarding year in 2018.