The symbol of our theme reminds us that at the heart of all that we do is our students. The two hands guide, support and remain open to the individual. Strength to strength points to how we meet one another in our community.

Acknowledging our strengths and learning journey and appreciating the strengths of others is how we celebrate diversity and express our iLR (imagine, listen, and respect) values culture. Our young people learn, grow and flourish in our supportive community.
The chorus of our College song reads ‘Together we form a community, friends who choose to belong. A rainbow of diversity, we bind together as one. With inspiration, we strive to unite and follow all of our dreams. With perseverance and honor, success is ours to achieve.

The students are the heartbeat of the College and I would like to acknowledge how they have returned to their studies, and focused on the things that matter most (learning, relationships, and wellbeing) during the first few weeks of the College year. As educators and as parents, our partnerships; our open hearts, and our open hands provide strength to our young people and help them to flourish.  While some of our operations are still impacted by Covid, the deep levels of care and commitment for each of our students, their learning, and their wellbeing, remain at the heart of all we do. Thank you to our parents for being open to new ways of connecting during these unusual times. 

Our mutual support and open dialogue strengthen our community. We are seeking some opportunities to connect across this term. On Wednesday we held an online connect session for Year 7 families and a similar event is planned for our Prep families in the coming few weeks. These are informal question and answer sessions where we hope to provide support and encouragement for our College parents. Teachers are sending out regular updates via the HiVE and they are very open to hearing from you as parents. Later this term, Tuesday 1 March, our counsellors are hosting the first of our RiSE events for the year with a focus on Happy and Resilient Families.  This will be an online event and further information will be posted on the HiVE. RiSE is an acronym for events that aim to promote Resilience, Inspiration, Support, and Empowerment in our community. While physically distanced, our connections remain paramount. If I can offer support to you or your child(ren) in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me. vwarner@cac.qld.edu.au 

This term as we focus on Flourishing Minds applying a growth mindset is one of the key elements of encouraging our young people and ourselves to overcome challenges and to build resilience. You might find these two short resources helpful in your home:

Growth Mindset For Parents | Growth Mindset Parenting (mindsetworks.com)
The Power of Captain Yet (Growth Mindset for Kids) | Teach Starter

Flourishing describes the ultimate goal for our College community. Each component of the flourishing framework (Mind, Heart, Soul, and Strength) identifies elements we can focus on to give ourselves proactive strategies to contribute towards flourishing in life.

Virginia Warner
Deputy Principal and Innovation (P-12)