Dean of Students | Mr Damien Cuddihy

The Inter-House Swimming Carnival last Friday was reflective of everything good about the vertical pastoral care system at Terrace. The Seniors were brilliant at running the activities within their Houses. The attention given to the younger members of our community bought a smile to my face on more than one occasion. Whether it was a House Senior swimming behind a Year 5 boy who was worried about making the 50m, buddies walking back to the College together after the carnival having a chat, or just the hype generated around the relays, it was most pleasing. Congratulations to Barrett House for winning back to back swimming carnivals and to Xavier House who were runners up this year.  On Friday, we look forward to seeing our Year 5s in action at the Inter-House Soccer competition. The event aims to provide a platform for the boys to simply have some fun and to develop the friendships already gathering momentum within the year. The event is being held at Waterford Place and will conclude at 5.30pm. Parents and caregivers are more than welcome to come and watch. 

Last evening, we held the Year 8 Father/Son night at the College. This is always a great evening, with over 130 families in attendance.  The 30 Year 11 and 12 students who acted as small group facilitators were excellent. While media attention often feasts on the reality that some famous sportsmen and celebrities fall short of being good role models to our boys, we are confident that some of the best role models are much closer to home. I hope all those involved walked away feeling reassured that your sons are able to speak up and share insights about their life. 

On assembly during the week, I reminded the boys that mobile phones need to be stored in lockers during the day. Boys who do not follow the protocol will have their phone confiscated until the end of the day. This will allow House Deans to monitor repeat offenders and apply appropriate consequences as required. A further reminder that the boys have three uniform options for co-curricular activities; the playing uniform, the co-curricular shirt or the formal (white shirt) school uniform. Boys wanting to support 1sts teams are required to change into their formal school uniform.

SchoolTV has released a special report titled, Surviving the Final Year. Year 12 can be a source of anxiety for students and parents. Studies show a clear link between students taking care of their health and their overall productivity during the final year of school. Understanding how best to support your son’s health and wellbeing during this time will help them perform at their best. A part of this is acknowledging that not all stress is bad. The art is in finding the right balance. The right amount of stress can encourage students to be at their optimal level of alertness and improve behavioural and cognitive performance. Healthy levels of stress can help tune their brain and focus. This special report outlines several strategies that parents and caregivers can use to support their child during Year 12. The report can be found here https://terrace.qld.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news