Acting Principal's Report
What a Year
What an amazing year we have had at Concord School. I feel extremely privileged to have been the Principal of Concord during 2019 with the abundance of success that has been evident. This year we have had our largest ever cohort of students. These students have coped beautifully with the temporary lack of space that we have had as our building works have commenced.
We have successfully completed our school review, developed a whole school approach to Writing and increased student voice and agency in learning with an improved SRC and weekly class meetings.
I have watched our students grow and mature over the year and it was especially pleasing to witness our very first full day of transition on Tuesday. We welcomed over fifty new students to our school and gave them the chance to get to meet their new teacher and classmates. This preparation will set us up for an extremely positive 2020.
Staff Farewells
In a career that has spanned over 40 years with the Department of Education and 10 years at Concord, Helen Edmonds has decided to retire. Helen has worked at Concord as a Coach, Mentor, Leading Teacher and Assistant Principal and has helped to shape the strategic direction of the school. She has been a wonderful ambassador for our school and we wish her well in the future as she embarks upon her new journey.
Lynne Codner also retires at the end of this year. Lynne has been a dedicated teacher with the Department of Education since 1969 . Her passion and knowledge have been evident and many students have graduated from our school with extensive knowledge in preparing food and the etiquette one should display when eating a meal thanks to Lynne’s diligent lessons. We will miss Lynne and we thank her immensely for all the work she has done at Concord School.
Graduation
On Thursday the 5th of December we held our very first graduation dinner. All Year 12 students gave a speech and celebrated the culmination of their 13 years of schooling. It was wonderful to sit down for a formal meal and reflect upon their time at Concord. Congratulations 2019 graduates, may the future bring you everything your heart desires.
Classrooms and Class Numbers 2020
With the completion of our building works not expected until September, we are running the school with a finite number of classrooms available to accommodate our students in 2020. Long term we will have a wonderful new double storied classroom block however for 2020 we are having to increase the number of students in many classrooms. This particularly impacts our Secondary classrooms. Please be assured that that the ratio of staff to students will continue to remain high and while there will be more students in some rooms the number of staff is increased proportionally.
Two 7/8 PreCal classes will be combined for 2020 and will be located in what was our old school library, parents of these students have received a separate notice from Helen Edmonds, Section leader. There will also be a Secondary 7/8 class in what has traditionally been our main staffroom.
See you in 2020
I would like to thank all of the staff at Concord School for continuing to go above and beyond to ensure our students are ‘the best they can be’. Great thanks is also given to our parents and carers who work so hard to support the students. A very special thank you to our students who continue to inspire us. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We look forward to Thursday the 30th of January when we welcome back our students fro their first day of 2020.
Kirrily Lamers
Acting Principal