T (07) 3394 9999 Absentee Line (07) 3394 9964 E email@loreto.qld.edu.au W www.loreto.qld.edu.au PO Box 1726 Coorparoo DC Qld 4151
Volume 25 - 18 August, 2015 Dear Parents & Students The co-curricular activities offered at Loreto encourage students to develop their interests, gifts and passions and share these with the school and wider community. Students can participate in vocal and ensemble groups, public speaking, drama, chess and art clubs, inter-school and representative sport, and service groups such as St Vincent de Paul, Interact and Caritas. These activities provide a wonderful opportunity to develop leadership skills and character traits such as discipline and perseverance. They also add to the vibrancy of school life and help build connections between students, parents and staff. QUEENSLAND CATHOLIC COLLEGES MUSIC FESTIVAL On Sunday, I was able to attend just a small segment of the Queensland Catholic Schools and Colleges Music Festival (QCMF) which celebrated its 25th year. Very warm congratulations to the Villanova College community on reaching this milestone. There were over 13,000 student performances from 97 Catholic schools in the four day festival. We acknowledge the enormous work involved in organizing an event of this size and thank the Villanova staff and community for hosting the QCMF and providing such valuable performance opportunities for students from all over Queensland. I also acknowledge the contribution of St James’ Primary School and Parish for providing hospitality and venues for performances. This year, Loreto entered 20 Ensembles in the QCMF, involving just under 300 students. In total, these Ensembles received 14 Gold Awards, five Silver Awards and one Bronze Award. This is a wonderful tribute to Loreto music students, staff and parents. Their collective pride and delight at the end of the performances is beautiful to witness. Particular congratulations to Lucy Nielson (Year 12) who received an “Award for Excellence” for her performance in Percussion Ensemble One. These Awards are only given at the discretion of the section adjudicator and are very rare - only 10 to 12 Awards for Excellence are expected during the entire Festival. The following prayer from Michael Leunig captures something of the place of music in our lives and our community. Let us celebrate and praise all those musicians and composers who give their hands and hearts and voices to the expression of life’s mystery and joy. Who nourish our heart in its yearning. Who dignify our soul in its struggling. Who harmonize our grief and gladness. Who make melody from the fragments of chaos. Who align our spirit with creation. Who reveal to us the grace of God. Who calm us and delight us and set us free to love and forgive. Let us give thanks and rejoice. Amen.
Senior contemporary ensemble ‘Sorelle’ performing at QCMF
From Michael Leunig “The Prayer Tree”
Justice
Freedom
VERITY
Sincerity
Felicity