Week 8, Term 3, 2025 | Friday 5 September

Celebrating Father’s Day at Canterbury College

Father’s Day provides us with an opportunity to pause and reflect on the vital role fathers, grandfathers, and father-figures play in the lives of our students. At Canterbury College, we know that the support and guidance of a caring father or mentor can be one of the most powerful influences in a young person’s journey of learning and growth.

One of the highlights of our College calendar is the Father’s Day BBQ, held alongside the Dance Spectacular. Each year, this event provides a chance for families to connect, share a meal, and celebrate the unique bonds that make our community strong. It is always a joy to see students and their dads enjoying this time together, and this year we hope you enjoy the special take-home BBQ treat from all of us here at Canterbury.

On a personal note, this year I feel especially blessed to have my own dad visiting to spend time with our family. I know how fortunate we are to share these moments together, and it reminds me how precious and significant this day is for all families.

At Canterbury, we also recognise that families take many forms. Father’s Day allows us to celebrate all those who step into the role of guide and supporter: uncles, grandfathers, brothers, mentors, and friends who provide encouragement and wisdom.

To all our Canterbury dads and mentors, thank you for the time, love, and example you give so generously. May this Father’s Day be a moment of joy, gratitude, and connection for every family in our community.

Motivating Learners: How Canterbury Sparks Curiosity, Confidence & Growth

At Canterbury, we don’t just teach, we ignite a passion for learning. Motivation is the heartbeat of our classrooms, driving students to explore, persevere, and thrive. From our youngest learners to those preparing for their final exams, we champion both intrinsic (self-driven) and extrinsic (externally encouraged) motivation through purposeful, student-centred strategies.

Here’s how we bring learning to life:

Learning That Matters

We design experiences that connect with students’ interests, making learning personal and powerful. When students see relevance in what they’re learning, they lean in and ask questions, dive deeper, and discover joy in the journey.

Goals That Grow With Them

Our teachers guide students in setting clear, achievable goals. With regular check-ins and visible progress tracking, we celebrate every milestone to build confidence, resilience and a sense of accomplishment.

Relationships That Empower

Canterbury classrooms are safe, supportive spaces where students feel seen, heard, and valued. Our teachers invest time in understanding each learner’s strengths and challenges, creating a foundation of trust that fuels academic and personal growth.

Feedback That Fuels Progress

We believe feedback should be timely, specific, and focused on growth. Students are encouraged to reflect, adapt, and set new goals, developing a mindset of continuous improvement and self-belief.

Passion That’s Contagious

Our teachers bring energy, curiosity, and enthusiasm to every lesson. Their love for learning and their subject areas is infectious, inspiring students to tackle challenges with optimism and persistence.

Together, these practices create a culture where motivation flourishes and not just at school. Many of these strategies work well at home too. Parents and carers can support motivation by showing interest, helping set small goals, offering choices, and celebrating effort. When school and home unite to nurture curiosity, confidence and independence, students grow into lifelong learners ready to take on the world.

Celebrating Student Voice Through Student Led Conferences

Over the past few weeks, Junior School students have been working diligently with their teachers to select a portfolio of learning activities to share with family members during our Student Led Conference week. This week, our classrooms were buzzing with excitement as eager students proudly showcased their learning to mums, dads, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

The purpose of our Student Led Conferences is not only to welcome families into our learning spaces, but to empower students to take the lead in guiding their families through the learning journey that led to each final piece of work. These conferences provide a meaningful opportunity for students to reflect on their progress and share their achievements with those who matter most. Through these conversations, families gain deeper insight into the learning that has taken place, what the learning intention was for each activity, the new concepts explored, the challenges faced, and how students plan to build on their learning moving forward. Encouraging children to be active participants in their own educational journey is essential, and Student Led Conferences are a powerful way for students to develop confidence, ownership, and pride in their learning.

Our Student Led Conferences also coincided with Celebrating Father’s week, creating a wonderful opportunity for students to enjoy some special activities with their dads during the afternoon. Across our Junior School classrooms, there were heartfelt trophies, hilarious surveys, and even some friendly “dads vs students” challenges that brought plenty of smiles and laughter. The celebrations continue this week with our upcoming Father’s Day BBQ on Friday, a chance to come together as a community and honour the amazing dads and father figures in our students’ lives.

Performing Arts: Concerts, Competitions and Success on the National Stage

Following the Junior School musical Frozen and the Music Showcase at Brisbane’s Customs House, Canterbury’s Performing Arts program has continued to flourish this term.

This past weekend, Canterbury College students made a remarkable mark at the 2025 Strike A Chord National Chamber Music Championship, featuring in all three Queensland groups to reach the Grand Finals at Melbourne Recital Centre. The IncrediBows (Haydn and George Li) won 1st Prize, ATC Trio (with Isabella Oxenbridge) took 3rd Prize, and Quartet Alla Zingarese (Haydn, George, and Isabella) earned the 4MBS Prize for the top Queensland group. During the adjudication, Canterbury’s Coordinator of Piano and Chamber Music, Mr Tim Li, joined a national panel to discuss the benefits of students playing in smaller chamber music ensembles.

The Winter Music Festival concluded last week with two outstanding concerts, Symphonic Splendour and Heavenly Voices. Both evenings showcased the exceptional work of our bands, strings, and choral ensembles. A special highlight was the acknowledgement of our 2025 Year 12 musicians, who gave their final concert performances. We congratulate all students and their ensemble directors and thank our families and audience members for their support in making these concerts such memorable occasions.

Earlier this term, our Dance and Music students proudly represented Canterbury at the Quota Beenleigh Eisteddfod, the Gold Coast Eisteddfod, and Secondary School MusicFest. Across these events, students delivered outstanding performances and achieved excellent results. Ensembles ranging from dance groups and chamber ensembles to rock bands and larger music ensembles – including choirs, strings, and bands – were recognised with awards including 1st, 2nd and 3rd placings, Highly Commended, Gold Awards, and the People’s Choice Award. These results are a testament to the talent, commitment, and teamwork of our students and their directors.

In addition, several of our students were selected to participate in the prestigious State Honours Ensemble Program (SHEP), hosted by Griffith University’s Conservatorium of Music. After a successful nomination process, they rehearsed and performed as part of choirs, concert bands, and string orchestras in the Brisbane program in June and the South-East program in July. This intensive program brought together hundreds of students from across the region, culminating in concerts in the Conservatorium Concert Hall. We wish the next group of students every success as they prepare to participate in the State and National programs during the upcoming September holidays.

This week, our Drama and Dance students are also taking to the stage. On Thursday, drama students involved in Queensland Theatre’s The Scene Project travelled to the Kingston Butter Factory for the outcome day, before presenting their performance that evening in the Canterbury Theatre. They were joined by Canterbury’s Theatre Company with their production of Fly-In Fly-Out, a story about navigating first love, flipping chips at the Chook Nook, and figuring out life in a small Queensland mining town. Then on Friday, our dancers will shine in the Annual Dance Spectacular, a much-anticipated highlight of the Performing Arts calendar. Featuring performers from Prep through to Year 12, the evening will present a wide range of styles – from lyrical and jazz to contemporary, hip hop, and musical theatre. Many of these works have already been recognised with awards at recent Eisteddfods. The concert promises to be an entertaining family evening, celebrating dance at Canterbury.

Term 3 has been a wonderful celebration of our Performing Arts students’ talents, and we look forward to even more performances in Term 4.

Managing assessment loads
At the end of the term, many students will have an increase in their assessment load, from assignments due to presentations to exams to be sat. This can become overwhelming for some and impact their wellbeing. Here is how you can support your child navigate this period.

Create a study plan
A visual display, outlining all upcoming assessments and combining these with this with other obligations (casual work, extra-curricular events, and family commitments) allows an overarching view of commitments, preventing any surprises and also allowing an effective plan to be produced. Setting goals for each day or week on what they need to achieve or study can assist in providing additional focus.

Balance and self-care
Study is effective when managed in short chunks of time in an environment free from distractions, allowing the focus needed for the tasks at hand.
Looking after oneself is important, so ensuring regular breaks occur. Exercise, getting outside, mindfulness, a good diet and plenty of sleep are all key aspects of managing stress.

National Child Protection Week 2025

Next week, from 7-13 September 2025, we will be recognising National Child Protection Week. This annual campaign reminds us of the vital role schools, families and communities play in keeping children and young people safe and supported. The theme for this year Shifting Conversations to Action continues to highlight the importance of creating environments where children feel heard, valued and protected. Every conversation matters.

At Canterbury, the safety and wellbeing of our students is our highest priority. We are committed to building a culture where child safety is everyone’s responsibility, and where our practices reflect best-practice standards in safeguarding children and young people.

The Child Safe Organisations Act 2024 (Qld) 

In 2024, the Queensland Government introduced the Child Safe Organisation Act which requires organisations working with children, including schools, to have nationally recognised systems in place to actively protect children and young people from harm.

These systems include:

• The Child Safe Standards – nationally agreed principles that guide schools in creating safe, inclusive and empowering environments for children and young people.

• The Reportable Conduct Scheme – a legal requirement for schools to report, investigate and respond to allegations of child related misconduct involving staff, contractors, and volunteers.

Canterbury is already well-advanced in meeting many of these requirements, with established policies and procedures, trained Student Protection Officers, and a strong culture of pastoral care. At the same time, we are working hard to align ourselves fully with the new legislation by reviewing and strengthening our systems to ensure we continue to meet the highest standards of child safety.

How families can be involved 

Parents and carers play a vital role in child safety. We encourage you to:

• Talk regularly with your child about feeling safe and speaking up if they are worried.

• Familiarise yourself with our College’s Child Protection Policy and Procedures (available on our website: Canterbury College_Student Protection)

• Reach out to our Student Protection Officers if you have any concerns.

Together, we can create the safest possible environment for our children and young people to learn, grow, and thrive.

For further information, please visit:

• NAPCAN – The National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, National Child Protection Week- NAPCAN.org.au

• Queensland Family and Child Commission – QFCC.qld.gov.au

Why we are learning about the weather in Year 1?

Understanding weather and the different types we experience is something many of us take for granted, but it’s a concept we all learned about at some point in our lives. Our Year 1 students are currently diving into this topic as part of an integrated unit that blends both Science and Art.

Throughout the unit, students have explored various weather conditions and discussed how these influence our daily choices, what we wear and the activities we participate in. As part of our daily Weather Watch, students have tracked weather patterns and reflected on how these impact our routines. From chilly winds prompting the need for a jumper, to rainy days reshaping lunchtime play, the children have made thoughtful connections between weather and everyday life.

To complement their scientific learning, students have also investigated how colour can represent different types of weather across the seasons. They examined the use of colour in both scientific contexts, such as weather maps, and artistic expressions. Each student has created a personal art portfolio featuring seasonal masterpieces that showcase warm and cool colour palettes to reflect different weather conditions.

In developing their artworks, students have experimented with a variety of techniques including watercolour, paper collage, tape blocking, and dot painting. These creative approaches have allowed them to visually express everything from crisp, cool nights to bright, sunshine-filled days.

So next time you look out the window and see the glow of the sun or an ominous cloud overhead, take a moment to chat with your child about the weather, there’s a whole world of learning waiting to be explored!

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Parent Information Session with Justin Coulson (Monday 8 September)
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