28 March 2022 

End of Term 1

Dear Parents and Carers

Today marks the beginning of the last week of term 1, 2022 – and what a term it has been! Thank you for your support of our staff and your children as we have navigated the ‘delayed start’ ordered by the Premier, incidence of COVID working its way through our community as staff, students and parents have been impacted by infection, a flood experience that had wide impact on our community in and beyond Calvary. Our agility, resilience and courage have been deeply tested by the past two years and the last few months suggest these challenging times are not over yet.

Resilience

Being part of the Calvary community where we seek to model lives built on a firm foundation has been an anchor for many of us. The ongoing challenge is managing our responses to things beyond our control and along with that, seeking to be wise in our responses to what is within our control. My prayer is that we will always model that pathway well for our students, staff and wider community. For me, this is how I seek to live out being a fearlessly authentic learner. I have a strong awareness of the importance of being open to reflection in all I do and looking for opportunities to learn and grow from what I experience. In fact, a book our Executive staff have chosen to study, Resilience by Tod Bolsinger, defines resilience as remaining focused on our purpose (vision and mission) while learning from our experiences. Resilience is so much more than capacity to ‘bounce back’ in response to adversity and challenge. These are truths about living life well that we are sharing with our students (in age-appropriate ways). We know from research that resilience is a capacity that can make all the difference in one’s journey through life.

Staff changes

As we head towards the end of term I want to share some staff news. Stephanie Chua, a member of the finance team, has left us, and we are in process of recruiting an Accountant for the College. Kaitlyn Lane, Year 7 learning designer, has moved on and Francois du Plessis will be welcomed to our Calvary staff at the start of term 2. Liz Nasmyth, who has been part of the Calvary team for a very long time, has also resigned. We thank Stephanie, Kaitlyn and Liz for their respective contributions to Calvary and wish them well in their futures. We also want to thank Felicity Keating for covering the HASS/Dance position this term. Esther Wittwer takes up this position in a permanent capacity from the start of term 2. We are delighted by the addition of Dance to our Curriculum offerings in MSS.

P&F changes

On Wednesday 16 March a motion was passed to dissolve the current P&F constitution for both campuses. The process that follows this includes getting together with our parent body to design the best ways that parents can continue to engage in rich partnership with the College. To this end, next term, groups of parents currently actively engaged with the College will be invited to meet to share ideas. At first, we will invite the parent groups involved in Sport, CAPA, Show Team/the Farm and Junior school class parents to meet. Then the invitation will be extended to other interested parents. If you are interested in joining in this conversation please contact Karen Baker (our Community Engagement Officer) karen.baker@calvarycc.qld.edu.au

Easter holidays

And so, as the term draws to a close, I wish you all a Happy Easter, a restful and good holiday with your children. I have a few days’ leave and am looking forward to spending some special time with my granddaughter as well as taking time out for my own renewal and rest. I wish the same for you all. May God bless you as you celebrate Easter.

Cunningham Pavilion Opening Ceremony

On the first day of next term, I look forward to seeing as many as possible at the official opening of the Cunningham Pavilion at the special assembly to be held on Tuesday, 19 April at 9:00am. We will be meeting in the newly designed community space – the Pavilion and surrounding landscape. Come and celebrate this project with us!

Yours sincerely

Cherylynne Gostelow

Principal and CEO