Dear members of the Terrace Family,

Last week’s return of all students was welcomed, with lots of enthusiasm, smiles and reconnecting with mates.  Certainly, the traffic in Rogers Street has dramatically increased both in the morning and afternoon. I thank people for their patience and awareness at these times.  Over the coming weeks, work will begin on a designated school crossing in Rogers Street.  Please be aware of these works as you travel on this street.  Work should be complete and the crossing operational for the start of Term 3, significantly enhancing safety for all students.

While last week’s return to school was successful, it is critical that all students settle quickly into good routines and practices.  Issues such as having the correct equipment for lessons, concentrating in the classroom, completing homework and redeveloping study plans are critical and need to be happening now.  Your son’s teachers are reinforcing routine this week, and this is an important message that you can also reinforce at home.  It is strange, but there are only three weeks left in this term and exams commence in two weeks’ time. Even though we have only been back at school for a short time, we are very much into the business-end of the term and the students need to adapt to this.  We will need to work together to support the boys during this time.

Hygiene messages continue to be reinforced, and I ask that you reinforce these messages at home.  Hand washing stations and hand sanitiser are available across the campus, and all students need to make sure that they regularly wash their hands during the day.  This is something we can control, and it will have a positive effect on the health of the students, our staff and the wider Terrace Family.

The College continues to receive updates from the Queensland Government and QCEC in respect to the Roadmap to Recovery and guidelines for various activities.  The information we receive is changing daily, but we hope to be able to provide a comprehensive update on a range of events and activities in Week 8 for the remainder of this term and also for Term 3.   

Thank you for the support you are providing to your sons and the College during this difficult time.  I will continue to provide updates weekly.

I would also ask the Terrace Family to pray for Mr Frank Ferro, who passed away over the weekend.   Frank is remembered as a loving father to Peter (Year 12) and friend to many within the Terrace Family.  May he Rest in Peace.

Reconciliation Week events have been celebrated across Australia for the past two weeks.  As a College, we have continued to develop the conversation around Reconciliation and how we, as a Catholic School in the Edmund Rice Tradition, must play a role in the Reconciliation Story.  My thanks to Mr Terry Thompson, his team and a number of students who have ensured that the issue of Reconciliation remains central to our values as an inclusive Terrace Family.  A number of our indigenous students and families gathered last week to share story; highlighting the issue of and the hope that together, we can continue the journey to Reconciliation.  

In closing, the College is aware of a highly inappropriate post on social media generated by a small group of students. We share in the community disappointment in regard to this, particularly given the recency of Reconciliation Week activities at the College.  The actions of a small number of students in no way reflect the College's values and explicit teachings. We are treating the matter seriously and dealing with it as an absolute priority.

Dr Michael Carroll
College Principal

This week has seen progress with planning for the year’s first opportunity to conduct Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews. While we usually avoid making changes to the College calendar, the events of the past few months have forced a significant overhaul of events scheduled for the remainder of the year. Interviews will now be held on Wednesday 15 July and Wednesday 22 July, from 1.30-8.30pm on both dates. A major benefit of the date change is that the first day of Term 3 will now be a full school day, rather than a student-free day. This extra day, along with the days added to Week 10 of this term, help to minimise the impact of any time lost during the learning from home phase.

Along with the change of date and times, the other significant difference will be the mode via which the interviews will be conducted. Current restrictions preclude us from planning to have a large number of visitors on campus and it is difficult to predict when these restrictions might be relaxed. Hence, we will be conducting online interviews via Microsoft Teams. 

The following contains some important preliminary information about the process involved.

• Bookings will be made by parents/caregivers via the usual process.
• Bookings will open on 30 June and close on 8 July. The new system means we will not be able to reopen bookings after the first round of interviews. 
• Parents/caregivers will be emailed with interview times and links to join their meetings on 13 July.
• Interviews will be conducted via Teams and will be of 10 minutes duration.
• You do not need any experience with using Teams and you do not require the Teams App to participate.
• As always, students are strongly encouraged to attend interviews with parents/caregivers. They will also be an excellent source of tech support for those who require it.

Detailed information about how interviews will be booked and conducted will be sent home before the event. While nothing can substitute for face to face interaction, we look forward to the opportunity to experience a new way of connecting teachers with our families.

A wide and diverse variety of roles make up the wonderful staff of our College. One member of staff who won’t be well known to our families is Mr Omar Murua Gomez, who works on our grounds and maintenance team. This week, Omar decided to stay and complete a few jobs at work while his wife went into labour and subsequently gave birth in the front yard at home! Unfortunately, Omar was a little late getting home, but his wife Carla and baby Lucas are doing exceptionally well. Our congratulations to the family.

On the topic of the College calendar, families are strongly advised to use the online calendar as your source of information about events and dates. Many dates on the hard copy calendar have now been changed, the online version is updated as changes are made. 

Best wishes to all as we approach the end of Week 7.

I enjoyed observing how well students transitioned into the classroom last week. There was definite enthusiasm in catching up with their friends and peers, sharing stories and recommencing handball battles. Encouragingly, students settled quickly back into the classroom routine, guided by their teachers to reconnect with their learning. 

The next two weeks will see students submitting assignments for a number of subjects. Additionally, exam timetables have been distributed to students. Exam timetables are also available from the College App. Therefore, students will need to juggle both their assignment completion and prepare for their upcoming exams. Organisation is the key to being successful. Students should have updated their study plans with their exam dates and planned their revision program.

Confirmation is the annual quality assurance process for ensuring the comparability of student results for summative internal assessments in General and General (Extension) subjects. The confirmation process involves QCAA assessors reviewing a selected sample of student responses to summative internal assessments for every subject, in every school, to check that teachers have used the instrument-specific marking guide (ISMG) accurately and consistently when marking their students’ work. Our Year 12 students have recently had their Internal Assessment (IA1) subject results confirmed. All 25 Terrace Senior subjects have been confirmed. Students will be able to access their results via Student Connect on the myQCE.qcaa.qld.edu.au website from 18 July.

Finally, congratulations to the following students who have achieved outstanding results in the 2020 UQ/QAMT Problem Solving Competition:

• Year 8 – Hayden Sharpe and Tom White – Commendations
• Year 9 – Harry Barnes, Reuben Dooley, and Will Ames – Commendations
• Year 10 – Ryan Wong – Second Place
• Year 12 – Yang Zhang – First Place, Justin Jeyarajah and Pat Gleeson – Second Place, Matthew Cho – Commendation

These results are a fantastic outcome and are reflective of the talent, passion and enthusiasm that these students and Mathematics staff have for Mathematics at the highest level. Congratulations to all who competed in this competition.

Why is our physical health so much more important to us than our psychological health? It is an interesting question raised by psychologist, Guy Winch. Winch’s discussion centres on the need to be your own best friend by taking a proactive approach to emotional hygiene. One aspect of his presentation that I believe reflects what many of our young men fall into, is the trap of rumination. Rumination is the costly habit of replaying a negative event over and over in your mind. It is a debilitating habit that we can all feel the strong urge to do, and find it very hard to break. Winch puts forward the two-minute distraction method as an effective way to break the need to ruminate. Listening to a song, playing with the dog, taking the washing off the line (wishful) are a few of the many immediate minor deviations that may assist in breaking the cycle. It is about being persistent until it becomes a natural reaction. Research shows that early signs of positive changes in emotional wellbeing can be measured within a week of employing this strategy. The need to protect your self-esteem by avoiding rumination is one of a number of interventions that assist in becoming more compassionate to ourselves. 

With the end of semester exams approaching, I want to reinforce the need to combat exam stress by maintaining a balanced approach in the coming weeks. Sleep, exercise and nutrition always need to be front and centre when laying a solid foundation to achieve the best of your ability during exams. When the boys consistently start taking short cuts in one of these areas, it can potentially undermine their ability to perform cognitively. 

I ask that you discuss with your son/s a safe travel home plan should the College be required to close under a COVID-19 directive.  If there were to be a transmission or infection at the College, it is likely that a closure notification would come at short notice via the College App, SMS and by email. A safe travel home plan for students would need to consider the following.

• Students would not be permitted to use public transport.   
• Identify a pick up spot in the immediate Spring Hill area to assist in reducing traffic congestion around the College. 
• Students will be released from school once the student has informed their PC Mentor that a parent/guardian has arrived in the immediate area for collection.  
• Any student with unconfirmed travel arrangements will be supervised at the College until arrangements for safe travel home can be confirmed. 

Finally, many of you would notice the roadworks occurring on Rogers Street at the moment. The Brisbane City Council are installing a much-needed crossing for students. While it is not quite in the area we would have liked to maximise student use, it is certainly very welcome. With the significantly increased traffic around the College since the resumption of classes, can I remind both students and parents/caregivers to be extra vigilant during pick-up and drop-off time around the College especially over on Victoria Street. I ask that parents/caregivers do not cut through the staff car park or use it as a pick-up spot for students in the afternoon. 

On behalf of all the staff, we are thrilled to have all Year 10s back on deck at Waterford. From what we have observed, the boys look happy to be back with their mates and have settled into the regular routines well. We want to reinforce the importance of students settling back into the Terrace Way. We hope this continues to bring some normality back to their lives. 

During the transition back to school, a number of boys have taken up the opportunity of additional tutoring that our teachers have kindly provided. There are multiple tutoring sessions that continue to be offered if boys still need extra support.  Week 7 and 8 bring the due date for some assignments and then the focus will shift to preparation for the upcoming exam block. 

All students have been provided with a copy of their exam timetables for this term. The exam timetable is also available on the Terrace App. To alleviate the work pressure mounting toward the end of term, an early start to the revision process is recommended.

In Term 3, all Year 10 students will be offered free vaccinations as recommended by the National Immunisation Program schedule to protect against Meningococcal disease. Queensland Health Information packs will be distributed to the boys early next week. If you could please have your sons return the signed consent forms to Waterford Reception by Wednesday 10 June.  To avoid any delay in processing, please be sure to fill in all the areas on the form inclusive of health care details and signatures. 

Finally, with the increased traffic around campus, please be careful of movement to and from parks and any other school areas where pedestrians are crossing. 

Stay safe. 

With Queensland slowly reopening, we are very aware of the need to keep healthy and avoid a second wave of illness.  As mentioned by Dr Carroll in his letters to the Terrace Family, there are plenty of opportunities around the College to assist the students and staff to stay safe and healthy.

Within the Cultural environment, we have also taken steps and have created a roadmap to Cultural commencement within the College.  We have enacted a step down approach, outlining where we are and what will be happening in the coming weeks and months in line with the Government and Chief Health Officer’s mandate.  These are clearly visible for all students around the Music studios, Speech and Drama suite and Chess rooms.  As we move forward and other activities are able to return, Theatresports, Public Speaking and Debating, we will update our roadmap.

If any family has a concern regarding safety and health for students within the Cultural environment, please contact the Culture Office and together we will work towards addressing those concerns.

GTCouchella@Home

Congratulations to the members of our Symphonic Wind Ensemble who participated in Distance Harmonies – Hymn for a New Day.  We are very proud of our students for their involvement in this global online performance. We now work towards our finale. It is big and it will take weeks, so please stand by.

Terrace Chess

With the confirmation that GPS Chess will proceed in Term 3, Chess training has recommenced in earnest.  A modified training schedule will be forwarded to all families shortly.  In the interim, I would encourage our students to participate in the online tournaments and training offered by Gardiner Chess.

2020/2021 Entertainment Books

For many years, we have promoted the Entertainment Book as a fundraising opportunity on behalf of the Terrace Performing Arts Support Group.  The funds raised from the purchase of the books have certainly added to our Music program.  The book has been superseded by an app to make it even easier to use and find experiences for your whole family.

With restriction easing, there are many opportunities to explore our city.  We would once again like to ask the Terrace Family to purchase the Entertainment Book using the Terrace code.  This will ensure a percentage of the sales come back to the College.

Thank you for supporting our Performing Arts program.

Welcome to Week 7

With the commencement of ensembles, we see the department back in full swing. At the moment we are rehearsing our larger ensembles in groups of 10. This will be modified as new directives are received.

Music Hall has now recommenced. This runs after school 3.15-5pm every Monday in the Music Centre.

A list of workshops that are occurring in the last week of school and into the term break can be found below.

Teaching will continue into Week 10 (this was formerly Staff Week). If you wish to discontinue lessons in Term 3, we need notice to be given two weeks prior to the end of Term 2, which will be next week (Thursday 11 June).

Symphonic Wind Ensemble

Members from the Symphonic Wind Ensemble (SWE) participated in a global online performance with 1200 musicians from 20 different countries. The premiere of the work Distant Harmonies-Hymn for A New Day was broadcast online last Sunday. I encourage you to click the link, spot our boys in the video and see if you can catch all Terracians listed in the end credits. Well done SWE!

Music hygiene

A reminder as to what lessons and rehearsals now look like. The following deals with sanitation in both the teaching studio and in the ensemble rehearsal space. 

Paper towel dispensers are now installed in ensemble areas. Antiseptic wipes are strategically placed in areas where many students play the same instrument (e.g. the piano) and in rehearsal spaces. Additionally, a bottle of hand sanitiser gel has been placed in every teaching/rehearsal space. Along with detailed hygiene protocols for staff to follow, hand gel is to be used by students upon entry and when leaving teaching and rehearsal areas. 

If you have any queries or concerns, please contact the Music Department - music@terrace.qld.edu.au

Term 2 workshops

• Thursday 25 June - Big Band 3 Workshop - 9.15-12pm, Treacy Chapel
• Thursday 25 June - Big Band 2 Workshop - 12.15-2.30pm, Music Centre room MU2
• Thursday 25 June - Percussion Ensembles 3 Workshop - 9.15-12pm, rooms 320/321
• Thursday 25 June - Percussion Ensembles 2 Workshop - 12.15-2.30pm, rooms 320/321
• Friday 26 June - Terrace Jazz Orchestra Workshop - 9.30-12pm, Treacy Chapel
• Friday 26 June - Terrace Jazz Combo Workshop - 12.15-12.45pm, Treacy Chapel
• Thursday 9 July - Red Thunder Drumline Workshop - 9am-3pm, rooms 320/321
• Friday 10 July - First Percussion Ensemble Workshop - 9am-3pm, rooms 320/321
• Thursday 9 July/Friday 10 July - Two Day Vocal Camp - 8.30am-2.30pm, rooms 320/321

Rugby Wrap

Please see the below key dates to assist with your busy holiday planning. For more information please refer to the Term 3 Sign On booklet.

Rugby Australia’s Age Grade Dispensation

While the starting policy position is that a player may play in the age group he is turning in the relevant calendar year, and in the age group one year above, the Size for Age Guidelines and Age Dispensation Procedure allows players to play in the most suitable competition. For more information relating to this please click here.

Clothing and equipment

Terrace Rugby players will need to ensure that they have all the appropriate clothing and equipment before the Rugby season begins in Term 3. These are:

1. Terrace jerseys, shorts and socks – these need to be purchased before the end of Term 2 in preparation for our trial game against Nudgee College on the holidays (Saturday 11 July).

2. A mouthguard – a fitted mouthguard from a dentist is strongly recommended.

Please contact tyronmandrusiak@terrace.qld.edu.au with any questions relating to the upcoming season.

With limited sport and few gatherings, all might seem outwardly quiet at Terrace. But after an energetic first week back, Terrace is abuzz with much going on under the hood.

For most years, this includes heading into exams over the coming few weeks. I would like to wish everyone good luck. In what is effectively a five-week term, recalibrating from home learning straight into exam preparation can be tricky – I certainly found the transition difficult. Nevertheless, a short term means we have to make the most of it, whether it be knuckling down on academics or just enjoying the time spent face-to-face.

For the Year 12s, there is some celebration in the air as most (but not quite all) assessment is out of the way until external exams.

On another note, World Environment Day is this Friday 5 June. I encourage everyone to put some thought into reducing our waste – turning off lights, power-points and taps when not in use, having school lunches without packaging, and recycling where possible. 

Finally, Wednesday marked the end of National Reconciliation Week. The week was a time to promote positive relationships with indigenous culture – relationships which, in truth, should be a natural part of Australian life all year round. Year 12s have signed their commitment to this year’s theme, In This Together, on a painting which will find a permanent home overlooking Duhig Place. Major credit goes to Cormac Finn (Year 12) for his significant contribution to the project. Each one of us is encouraged to find respect for heritage, by taking some time to discover the histories of our own families and of the cultures indigenous to the places where we live. That’s my challenge to everyone this week.

As you can see, plenty is happening at Terrace. Moving forward, let’s not take for granted the opportunity to be together in person. 

Have a great rest of the term.