From the Principal

Dear Parents and Carers,

I trust that you have all had a fabulous couple of weeks enjoying the thrill and excitement of the FIFA World Cup and the joy of watching the Matilda’s play.  What a tournament it has been! The Matilda’s journey is so much more than soccer; it has been a declaration that women’s sports are commanding attention, respect, and support on the global stage. Their triumph resonates with every aspiring leader, highlighting that success is nurtured through; teamwork, determination, courage and daring to break barriers! The Matilda’s story has captured a nation and will be sure to inspire the next generation of young women in our care. Mt A is certainly in great company with the Tillies as we placed an unprecedented 4th place at the recent CaSSSA Athletics Carnival last week. Congratulations to all athletes who participated, your spirit and camaraderie trackside was a joy to witness! To our spirit army of Year 7 spectators – thank you for your cheers and support and to our legendary sports trio Charmaine, Kat, and Emma (and coaches) thank you for all that you do to support our athletes on and off the track/field.

“We are all trying our best….”

As we celebrated the highs of the World Cup and our CaSSSA success, this week in our regular Monday morning staff briefing, I highlighted the need to recognise in each other that‘we are all trying our best.’ The hustle and pace of modern life often means that in our haste we are not always forgiving or understanding of where another person is at, and we cannot deeply appreciate what personal trials or challenges others may be facing. Thus, there is a need for us to act with kindness and compassion always. Naturally this applies to our young people too, and it is why, as a staff we are taking time this year to understand more about social emotional learning and how it is such a key success driver in our relationships with each other, our students, and in our ability to engage and learn more fully. 

It’s that time of the year….

It was wonderful this week to announce another outstanding group of students as our incoming captains for 2024. I know that these fine young people will serve their college and community well and that the incumbent Captains will ensure a seamless transition over the coming months. We continue to savour the outstanding leadership of our current Year 12 Captains who continue to do an outstanding job in building strong connections within our student body and in instilling college pride and personal aspiration for our every member of our student community. Similarly, we do recognise that this year we have had our highest number (ever!) of students apply for leadership roles. It is a true testimony to the calibre of our Mt A Year 11 cohort, understandably a disappointing time for those worthy candidates who missed out on formal portfolio leadership roles. That said, there are further leadership roles that will unfold in co-curricular space over the next 6 months and by virtue of being a Year 12 senior, all students are inherently leaders of our College community.

Congratulations to our Staff

2023 has been a momentous year to celebrate and formally recognise the work of our accomplished staff here at Mt A. You may recall that Jane Martens (Leader of Digital Pedagogy and Innovation) has recently been awarded the 2023 “Emerging Education Leadership Award” by ACELQ (Australian Council of Educational Leadership Queensland) and a record-breaking 3 members of our staff: Amanda Bopf, Claire Hatchman and Pasang Tenzing have recently been shortlisted for the Queensland College of Teachers TEACHX Awards. We warmly congratulate these staff members for the valuable contribution that make each day here at the College.

In Partnership we must move….

We look forward next week to meeting with our Parent Panel on Tuesday, where the focus will be on AI in education: challenges and opportunities and planning for parent engagement and areas of focus for 2024. Once again, we thank the parents/carers who are involved in this important partnership for their time and commitment to this important work together. 

God, Lord of all creation, lover of life and of everything, please help us to love in our very small way what You love infinitely and everywhere. We thank You that we can offer just this one prayer and that will be more than enough, because everything and everyone is connected, and nothing stands alone. To pray for one part is really to pray for the whole, and so we do. Help us each day to stand for love, for healing, for the good of all creation. We offer our prayer together with all the holy names of God. Amen.

Adapted from Fr Richard Rohr.

Wishing you all a joyful couple of weeks ahead.

Peace and all good, 

Samantha Jensen