I’ve just returned from three inspiring days at the Queensland Catholic Schools Music Festival (QCMF) at Villanova College in Brisbane. It was my first time attending, and I felt privileged to watch more than one hundred of our students perform and showcase the extraordinary talent we have at Shalom. For a regional school, it was clear we punch well above our weight, proudly standing tall alongside the larger Catholic schools of Brisbane.

 

Our results were outstanding with 8 Gold, 11 Silver and 3 Bronze Awards, plus an Excellence Award for an ensemble in addition to the medal award. We also had six individual students recognised for their excellence. Impressive!

 

After our Symphony Orchestra’s remarkable performance, adjudicators offered this advice to the six schools competing in this section: “If you choose big shoes, you need to make sure you have big feet to fill them.” In other words, if you attempt a demanding piece of music, you must have the ability, strength, and talent to deliver it. With only one Gold Award presented in this section, and Shalom the proud recipient, I’d say our feet fitted perfectly!

 

A heartfelt thanks to all staff who made this mammoth event possible. Without the dedication of teachers, bus drivers, supervisors, parents, and students, we simply couldn’t participate. These festivals are a logistical marathon, just ask Mrs Hoban how many bus trips across Brisbane she managed in four days!

 

Meanwhile, in Hobart, our Performing Arts students at the National Dance Star Competition will return with a staggering thirty-four medals: 9 Gold, 12 Silver and 13 Bronze. I think we’ll need extra luggage allowance just to bring them home! A big congratulations to the students, staff, and parents who made the trip from Bundy to Hobart. We will welcome our dancers back home tomorrow. If we combined these results with our QCMF success, we’d give the Commonwealth Games medal tally a real shake.

 

And closer to home, the Coolock Building is ready. Today, some senior classes are timetabled into the new building. Over the coming weeks we’ll gradually increase its use, with Year 12 mock exams running in there Weeks 9 and 10. We still have a bit of gardening and landscaping to be done which will be taking place over the next week or so. The official Blessing and Opening will be held on October 16.