ON A FIRM FOUNDATION: THE HISTORY OF TRINITY LUTHERAN COLLEGE 1981-2021

ON A FIRM FOUNDATION T HE HI S T OR Y OF T RINI T Y L U T HE R A N C OL L E GE ( K T O Y E A R 12 ) 19 8 1 T O 2 0 2 1

ROBIN KLEINSCHMIDT OAM

ON A FIRM FOUNDATION THE HISTORY OF TRINITY LUTHERAN COLLEGE (K TO YEAR 12) 1981 TO 2021

ROBIN KLEINSCHMIDT OAM

Copyright © 2021 Trinity Lutheran College, Queensland All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission.

All inquiries should be made to the author.

First published and printed October 2021 Design and layout by Sarah Lelliott Design

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A U T HOR ’ S F ORE W ORD

There is some debate about where the Yangtse River in China really begins. Geographers have nominated two sources in the glacial melts of western China, each becoming a substantial stream before the two merge to form the mighty Yangtse River. It is an apt image of the origins of Trinity Lutheran College, where two separate but related schools joined to form a single flourishing educational institution, Trinity Lutheran College.

Trinity Lutheran College Ashmore has one identity, though operating on two separate campuses. In its present form it began in 2002, when two previous schools, Trinity Lutheran College and Trinity Lutheran Primary School, amalgamated to form the school which exists today. Each had its own history, its own heroes, traditions, goals and methods. Yet with much in common, and with a strong history of cooperation and mutual assistance, they met and merged as equals.

This history of the college attempts to describe those histories and traditions and the events which shaped them, acknowledging them as equal partners until the merging to form a single entity in which each party respects and celebrates the past of the other as they move ahead as one.

Schools are complex and diverse organisations. It is rare, indeed it is almost impossible, for any one person, even the most energetic and keen-sighted Principal, to have a comprehensive view of everything that is happening in their school. What is important on one day or in one year may prove later to be of lesser significance in the whole scheme of things, while seemingly minor events or decisions may prove later to be of critical importance. Students, parents, teachers, school administrators, school governors, church authorities and community members may all have a different perspective on what is important in the life of the school today and in the past.

Consequently, some readers may be disappointed that what was important to them in their time at one of the “Trinities” is not included in this history. This is the result not only of different perspectives, but also of the necessary constraints of space.

Students are the heart, the raison d’être, of a school. Yet to report all their activities and achievements over a span of forty years would be impossible. I have tried to provide a sample of them by touching down on a limited numbers of events, activities and achievements at particular times as illustrations of what has occurred or been achieved at other times. I apologise to those who are disappointed that the touching down did not coincide with important aspects of their own school life and experience.

It has been said by a wise educator that the quality of a school cannot rise above its staffroom. The character and quality of the teachers, from the newest graduate teacher to the most experienced senior administrator, will determine the character, the tone, the effectiveness of the school.

Trinity Lutheran College and its predecessors have been blessed with teachers whose belief systems, professionalism, teaching skills, commitment, personalities, example and loyalty have shaped the college and its students. Similarly, the work of support staff and of countless volunteer parents merit greater recognition than this history can afford them.

Some attention has been given to the appointment and departure of senior administrators and educational leaders, as their numbers and developing roles reflect the growing complexity which flows not only from increased school size, but also from the changing nature of education and its regulation by external authorities.

Trinity Lutheran College is avowedly a Christian school in the Lutheran tradition. Its origins are deeply embedded in the desire to provide children and adolescents with an educational setting in which they both learn of and experience the love of God in Jesus Christ. It is still the goal of the college today. A description of events and programs and activities, which is the only tool available for this history, cannot adequately convey the ways in which Christian faith and Christian values are intrinsic to all the college is and does, even if imperfectly at times. This is the firm foundation on which the college is built.

Robin Kleinschmidt OAM June 2021

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A C K N O W L E DGE M E N T A ND T H A N K S

I have attempted, as far as possible, to derive the factual material of this history from written documentation.

That, however, provides only a bare skeleton of the story, with many gaps. I have had made available to me an array of resources, including School Council and College Council minutes and reports to those bodies, annual reports, official correspondence, strategic plans, scrapbooks, yearbooks, special anniversary publications and sundry other documents.

Dr Tsae Wong has offered generous cooperation during the whole research and writing process. I thank her for authorising access to official documentation, and extend sincere thanks to Mrs Carole Morris, Mrs Leesa Merifield, and Ms Rebecca Licastro for facilitating it. Mr Robert Hoff, Mrs Ida Caldwell and Mr Ted Cambridge have provided interesting additional printed material in addition to their extensive personal memories. Mrs Carole Morris and Mrs Leesa Merifield were my official contacts in the college.

Mr Matt Qualischefski and Mrs Carolyn Thistlethwaite provided comprehensive campus tours with informative commentaries. Mr Phil Hinds always had the requested information at his fingertips. Mrs Jane Holmes was the welcoming and cooperative face of the college, arranging work spaces, as well many cups of coffee. Mr Paul Kleinschmidt filled gaps in the information from the official documentation.

From those who have been Principals and Head of College, I have received a generous response to requests for assistance, whether in face-to-face interviews, or by telephone calls or emails: Mrs Joy Dickerson, widow of Mr Joe Dickerson, Mr Peter Eckermann, Mr Robert Hoff, Mr Jeff Minge and his wife Janne, Mrs Ann Mitchell, Mr Peter Nitschke, and Dr Tsae Wong.

I received full and willing cooperation and assistance from all whom I contacted for information. Some gave time generously for extended face to face interviews and follow-up. Others replied to telephone calls and emails, always willingly, some only briefly, some at length and on multiple occasions. Some made helpful comments on draft texts. I offer them all my sincere thanks: Mrs Carrie Allwood, Pastor Michael Alfson, Mr David Bird, Mrs Wynsomme Biskaps, Mrs Ida Caldwell, Mr Ted Cambridge, Mrs Genevieve Cooper, Mrs Lorraine Copelin, Dr Bronwyn Dolling, Pastor William Heidrich, Mr Alan Jakstas, Mr Geoff Kleinschmidt, Mrs Moira Kleinschmidt, Mr Tim Kotzur, Mr John and Mrs Maria Lennerth, Mr Ian Louttit, Mr David Lyon, Mr Danny MacKenzie, Mrs Lyn MacKenzie, Mrs Karen Mitchell, Mr John Niebling, Professor Tim Prenzler, Pastor Sam and Mrs Alicia Simpfendorfer, Mrs Bobbi Stapleton, Mr Peter Stiller, Mr Rick Strohmeyer, Mr Geoff and Mrs Abbi Stumer, Mrs Judy Taylor, Mr Anthony Vassallo, and Pastor Dirk Willner.

Mrs Carrie Allwood and Mrs Maria Lennerth worked assiduously for many days at selecting appropriate photographs, assisted by Mrs Karyn Ainsworth. Mr Geoff Stumer gave invaluable assistance through access to his amazing collection of photographs and memorabilia, and Mrs Abbi Stumer provided generous hospitality to the workers at their home.

Finally, I thank my wife Noela for her encouragement and patience with my physical absences and my emotional absence at my desk or at the computer keyboard.

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CONTENTS

Author’s Foreword

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Acknowledgement and Thanks

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Chapter One

Preparing Good Soil

Chapter Two

The Planting

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Chapter Three Abundant Harvest

25

Chapter Four

Cultivating A New Field

49

Chapter Five

Another Successful Planting

61

Chapter Six

Another Harvest

79

Chapter Seven Talking Over The Boundary Fence

97

Chapter Eight

The Fence Is Down. One Field

111

Chapter Nine

Plentiful Harvest

141

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CHAPTER ONE

PREPARING GOOD SOIL When the first students and teachers came together at the end of January 1981 for the start of the first school year of Trinity Lutheran Primary School at Ashmore, it was not only the beginning of an exciting adventure in school building but also the culmination of many years of dreaming, planning, researching and working by a number of Lutherans on the Gold Coast.

A diverse range of people, conditions and circumstances converged to bring the school into existence. The first was the importance assigned by the Lutheran Church to Christian education.

Education has always been valued highly in the Lutheran Church from its very beginnings, when Martin Luther declared that he esteemed “the calling of schoolmaster” above all others. He considered that literacy was essential for the nurture of Christian faith and that literacy was therefore the right of both women and men, girls and boys. The Lutheran Church in Australia has a rich history of Christian schools.

Both in Queensland and in South Australia the first Lutherans were missionaries who established schools to instruct the aboriginal children.

Among the German Lutheran pioneers in South Australia and Victoria, Lutheran schools were regarded as essential to the life of the congregation.

The teacher (usually only one) was held in esteem, next only to the pastor, and the two invariably worked closely together. The stakes were high – the Christian instruction and nurture of the coming generation and the preservation of the Lutheran faith and practice.

Lutheran schools flourished until the devastation of closure by government legislation during World War 1.

In Queensland the church culture and the immigration history were very different. As a result, although many Lutheran schools came into existence, competent teachers were in very short supply, and the schools failed to thrive. As a result, when the wartime decree to close them came into force, there were only a few Saturday German language schools still operating. The modest post-war revival of Lutheran primary schools in the southern states failed to eventuate in Queensland.

Not until 1945 and 1946 did Lutheran schooling reemerge, this time as secondary schools at Indooroopilly and in Toowoomba. The soil for the growth of Lutheran schools seemed barren and unpromising.

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Once again, however, it was decisions by government which enabled change. In the 1960s and 1970s Commonwealth Government support for nongovernment schools emerged and grew, with funding eventually provided both for recurrent expenditure and for capital building costs. For those who still yearned for Lutheran Christian schooling for their children and grandchildren, the prospects seemed bright. Quite rapidly Lutheran congregations began to establish primary schools. New secondary schools were opened, and the church experienced what became known as the boom in Lutheran schools of the 1970s and 1980s. Good soil for new Lutheran schools had been found and was being tilled.

On the Gold Coast in the 1970s the oldest and largest congregation, Trinity Lutheran Church at Southport, had been undergoing a transformation. Pastor Martin Prenzler was strongly committed to a program of welfare ministry to those who suffered social, physical or intellectual disability or disadvantage. After his arrival in 1973 he took Trinity Lutheran Church on a journey of mission outreach through service to those with special needs. In the space of a few years a large number of services were established to care for a diverse range of needs– Trinity Lutheran Kindergarten, a children’s Occasional Care service, Trinity Child Care Centre, Trinity Accommodation Support Service for disabled clients, Trinity Family Support Centre, Trinity Gardens providing aged care, Trinity Court providing hostel accommodation for the aged, together with a flourishing bookshop, the Gold Coast Christian Bookshop, and a bargain centre which provided funds to support them. As a consequence of these activities, the congregation achieved a strong community profile and a high level of public acceptance.

Pastor Martin’s vision was infectious and his gentle but persistent approach and firmly persuasive dedication to these ministries gathered strong support. But there were also concerns. Although generous government funding enabled their successful operation, it was the congregation who had to undertake responsibility for both the financial needs of these enterprises and their management. There emerged in the congregation also a loving concern for those they were serving, a welcoming and friendly social environment which became tangible to those who came into contact with the congregation, both as clients of the services and as teachers, parents and students of the new school.

The congregation developed an environment which fostered successful ministry enterprises, and an open, welcoming social culture to nurture them.

There was already a strong commitment by the congregation to ministry to children. The Child Care Centre had opened in 1978 and had an excellent reputation. The congregation’s Sunday School was flourishing with a very large enrolment and an excellent program. New families were joining the congregation because of its children’s ministry, especially the day care centre, and some were seeking a continuation of

Pastor Martin Prenzler

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the Christian teaching their children were receiving there. Good soil in which to grow a new Lutheran school. Trinity congregation was one of several in Queensland where the success of kindergarten and child care programs generated a desire among parents both within and outside the church for a seamless transition into Lutheran primary education.

There were also powerful influences from significant persons within the congregation. Foremost among these was Mr Eddie Mackenzie. His childhood experience in attending the Lutheran Day School at Pella in the Victorian Mallee region had made a deep impression on him, and he became passionately committed to the establishment of a Lutheran Primary School on the Gold Coast where children would learn of the love of Jesus in their daily school life as he had done. His wife Lila shared his passion, and together they worked tirelessly for the establishment and advancement of the school they dreamed of.

Eddie shared his dream of a Lutheran primary school on the Gold Coast with many, but particularly with his longstanding friend Jack Strohmeyer, also a Trinity member. Together they were to become enthusiastic advocates, stalwart supporters and hard workers for the school which was the fulfilment of their dream.

...THEY WERE TO BECOME ENTHUSIASTIC ADVOCATES, STALWART SUPPORTERS AND HARD WORKERS FOR THE SCHOOL WHICH WAS THE FULFILMENT OF THEIR DREAM. Their commitment provided a solid base for the plans of Pastor Prenzler who, in 1975, proposed publicly that the congregation consider opening a Lutheran primary school. A joint committee of investigation with the Miami congregation was set up, but it was soon decided that because of the distances the Southport congregation should operate alone. Eddie Mackenzie and Jack Strohmeyer became the new unofficial steering committee for a new school, invoking also

the support of another interested Trinity member, Ben Stephan, a recent arrival from Brisbane.

As the movement for a Lutheran primary school or, as they were usually referred to, a Lutheran Day School, developed momentum, some members of the congregation caught the vision of a dynamic new avenue for ministry, and many offers of assistance were received. But the challenges were immense, with financial implications far greater than for any of the congregation’s previous projects.

Late in 1978 when the congregation agreed to establish an official Planning Committee for a Lutheran primary school, it predictably included Eddie Mackenzie.

Kevin Cooper was appointed Chairman. Among other members were Pastor Martin Prenzler, Karen Mitchell, Peter Stiller and Genevieve Cooper. A survey in the congregation and the community rejected a proposal to begin with Years 1, 2 and 3 in favour of Years 1 to 7. After consultation with representatives of the Commonwealth Department of Education and the Commonwealth Schools Commission, where they received an assurance that Commonwealth Government recurrent funding would be provided, the committee calculated that it would be feasible to proceed with the project if the congregation could provide donations and interest free loans of $70, 000.

The balance of the initial and ongoing capital costs could be covered with Commonwealth Government capital grants and bank loans. The Planning Committee was being optimistic in relation to the grants, because in 1978 the Commonwealth Schools Commission did not provide capital grants until a school could prove its financial viability after a full year of operation. No capital grant had yet been made to any school in its establishment year. Fortunately, this changed in 1980, when capital grants were offered for the first time to beginning schools, including two new Lutheran secondary schools in Queensland.

Early in 1980 an appeal for donations and loans was launched under the leadership of Mr Wilf Cambridge, the manager of the Gold Coast Christian Bookshop.

The bookshop became the centre and the public face of the school planning. Publicity material was displayed and distributed from there and, later, enrolment forms.

Committee member, Peter Stiller, placed the financial

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Nevertheless, at a meeting on 11th May 1980 Trinity congregation voted formally to establish a Lutheran Primary School opening in 1981.

Wilf Cambridge

challenge before the congregation. But despite the positive attitude among many members, the response was disappointing. Gifts and promises of loans amounted to only $37,000, barely half of the target sum. Was this to be the end of the dreams?

There were other obstacles to be overcome. Kevin Cooper’s growing professional responsibilities led him to resign as Chairman. He was replaced by Jack Strohmeyer. The congregation had proposed an opening date at the beginning of 1981. Many believed this to be impossible. They had no buildings, not even land on which to build, and no Principal and staff. A submission to the Queensland Government for the grant of suitable land had been rejected. Land would have to be located and purchased, buildings planned and constructed. Approval to operate a school had to be obtained from the Queensland Government.

Proving the need for the school required detailed demographic studies, projections, and reports. Careful thorough work by committee members produced the required information, and approval from the Minister for Education was received. Approval was also required from the Queensland District of the Lutheran Church, which had not yet established a support structure to assist the development of new schools. To some the challenges seemed overwhelming and the tasks impossible in so short a time.

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When in June 1980 the Planning Committee brought a comprehensive and detailed submission to the LCAQD District Finance Council with a request for approval for the new school, they had well developed plans, but only $9,000 cash, promises and pledges of gifts, and fund-raising plans, though as yet those plans had encountered a disappointing response. The Finance Council was preparing to deny approval for opening in 1981, suggesting a later starting date. In response one member of the Southport delegation argued that the congregation strongly believed that a school opening in 1981 was God’s will. If they were correct, the school planning would succeed; if not, other obstacles would prevent its establishment. The argument was accepted, and the requested approval was recommended to District Church Council, where it was approved.

With the reality of the school becoming clearer, stronger financial support emerged from the congregation. Wilf and Sylvia Cambridge mortgaged their house to provide collateral for a bank loan.

To this was added, at that time in strict confidence, the promise from Mr Ben Stephan to bequeath most of his estate to the school. (Because of a later change in circumstances the bequest did not finally eventuate, but the declaration and intention had served its intended purpose.) The first financial hurdle had been overcome.

Acquiring land for the school was the next critical step. An approach to the Queensland Government for the sale or grant of Crown land had been rejected. By April no progress had been made in finding a suitable site, despite many inspections by Eddie Mackenzie and Jack Strohmeyer. Karen Mitchell approached Norman Rix, a respected local real estate agent, who identified ten blocks of land in the preferred areas, the corridor between Southport and Nerang, which at that time was only sparsely developed. Many blocks were inspected by committee members, only to find that were too small (ten acres was the optimum size being sought), flood prone, or otherwise unsuitable.

PASTOR MARTIN PRENZLER Martin Prenzler was born into a family of pastors. His grandfather, his father, his two younger brothers and two cousins were all pastors of the Lutheran church.

He was ordained after studying at Immanuel Seminary in Adelaide, and initially served as relieving pastor in a succession of Queensland parishes – Boonah, Haden, and Kingaroy. In 1953 he accepted the call to Alberton when his father was serving the adjoining Beenleigh parish.

One of his spiritual heroes was the famous medical missionary Albert Schweitzer, from whom he derived his passionate commitment to welfare ministry and mission. His pastoral experiences strengthened this commitment and, in his second parish at Nambour (1960-1972), he was the prime mover in the establishment of a halfway house for women with psychological disabilities, as well as in establishing retirement units.

Beneath his gentle manner lay a firm persistence and determination and a capacity to motivate and win support.

In his next parish at Southport (1973) he led Trinity congregation on a remarkable journey into a range of effective welfare ministries and services which catered

for the needs of small children, the aged, the intellectually disabled, and women who were victims of domestic violence.

His leadership and encouragement of the establishment of Trinity Lutheran Primary School was a logical continuation of his commitment to service ministries. He was intimately involved in the school in its foundation years and passed to others his vision for a Lutheran secondary school.

HE LED TRINIT Y CONGREGATION ON A REMARK ABLE JOURNEY INTO A RANGE OF EFFECTIVE WELFARE MINISTRIES AND SERVICES. In 1978 on a trip to Germany he was able to visit the famous Bodelschwingh Institute at Bethel (Bielefeld), perhaps

the prime example of loving Christian service and care for the intellectually and physically disabled. The visit inspired and confirmed his passion for the work.

He had long been involved in church governance of the Hopevale mission and aboriginal community in far north Queensland. In 1983 he accepted the call to serve the congregation there, remaining until 1989 when he moved to his final parish in Gympie. There he motivated the development of Zion Retirement Home.

He and his wife Lois retired to Ashmore in 1993, but he soon returned to full time ministry, taking up the pastorate at Mt Hagen in the New Guinea Highlands for two years. They returned to Ashmore, where he was involved in volunteer work in the parish ministries. He passed away unexpectedly in June 1999. His funeral was held in the school hall of Trinity Lutheran Primary School. He was universally loved and respected. His wife Lois still lives on the Gold Coast.

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EDDIE MACKENZIE Edmund (Eddie) Mackenzie was born in the Mallee region of western Victoria into a farming family.

However, the family had also produced, and was to produce in the future, a number of pastors and teachers of the Lutheran church. He attended the Pella Lutheran Day School at Pella until the age of eleven, when his family moved to Queensland to a farm in the South Burnett. He was strongly influenced by his Lutheran school experience, and he developed a strong commitment to Lutheran schooling where children could learn and experience the love of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He was a talented self-taught tradesman in several fields, working as a builder and cabinet maker, in aeroplane repairs during WW2, and as a furniture maker.

A gifted wood carver, he made most of his own tools and equipment. When he moved to the Gold Coast, he established a furniture factory which also produced specialist parts for traditional furniture.

He built the furniture for many Lutheran churches and school chapels.

Eddie had a vision for a Lutheran primary school on the Gold Coast, which he communicated to many, but especially his

close friend Jack Strohmeyer, a fellow member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Southport. Together they generated a body of support within the congregation for a school. They were joined by Ben Stephan to form an unofficial steering committee until an official committee was elected by the congregation in 1978. Eddie and Jack were tireless in identifying and evaluating potential school sites.

He and his wife Lila were acknowledged as founders of the school, and as school patrons were honoured by having a school house name after them. In 2007 Mrs Lila Mackenzie, who was also a tireless worker for the school, was able at the age of 96 to attend the Trinity Lutheran College Grandparents’ Day with two of her great-grandchildren.

HE DEVELOPED A STRONG COMMITMENT TO LUTHERAN SCHOOLING WHERE CHILDREN COULD LEARN AND EXPERIENCE THE LOVE OF GOD. After his dream became a reality in 1981, he continued his support in practical ways, joining in frequent working bees and regularly finishing work early to tend and water the new grass and plants on the developing school site. His support for the school continued unabated until his health failed.

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JACK STROHMEYER John (Jack) Strohmeyer overcame the difficulties of his childhood and early adulthood to become successful and highly regarded both in the church and in the Gold Coast community.

Raised by his grandmother in the Kingaroy district after the death of his mother, he worked as a young man in Brisbane, in the Kingaroy district and the Fassifern Valley, where he eventually bought a farm and married; a marriage which lasted for 70 years. He and his wife, Irene, had four children. After moving to Southport in 1949 he owned and operated a business providing firewood to local businesses and households. Still later he worked as a steam engine driver for a local sawmill.

In retirement he had time to contribute to the community as well as for personal recreation. He helped to found the Lutheran Indoor Bowls Club and later the Gold Coast Indoor Bowls Association, of which he was president for many years.

For his many contributions to community life he was named Gold Coast Senior Citizen of the Year in 2001.

Jack and Irene were loyal and committed members of St Matthew’s Lutheran Church and later Trinity Lutheran Church, Southport. He was for many years the chairman of Trinity congregation.

His long-term friendship with Eddie Mackenzie predated the amalgamation of the two Lutheran congregations in 1967. From Eddie he learnt the value of Christian education and came to share his vision and determination to see a Lutheran primary school established on the Gold Coast. He shared in the work leading up to the establishment, chaired the Planning Committee, and joined the efforts to find suitable land. His loyal contributions to and participation in school life continued to the end of his long life. He felt honoured to be declared

HIS LOYAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO AND PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL LIFE CONTINUED TO THE END OF HIS LONG LIFE. a founder and patron of Trinity Lutheran Primary School and was proud to have a house named after him. He and his wife were regular guests and visitors at school events and functions.

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BEN STEPHAN Bernard (Ben) Stephan was the youngest of the eleven sons of a farming family at Roadvale near Kalbar in the Fassifern Valley.

He had one younger sister. He and his brother William (Bill) owned a farm at nearby Obum Obum.

He became a well-known figure both in church circles and in the wider community through his musical ability and interest. He was an accomplished pianist and his dance band, Black and White, provided the music at dances, parties, and other community functions for about twenty years until the early 1950s. He had a fine singing voice, and often featured as a soloist at community concerts, and later at congregational concerts after he moved to Brisbane.

During World War 2 he served in the army Provost Company.

In Brisbane he was a faithful member of St Andrew’s Lutheran Church on Wickham Terrace. He and his brother Bill bought and ran several hotels in Brisbane. The last before his retirement was the Orient Hotel at the corner of Queen and Ann Streets, Petrie Bight.

They owned and ran at least one picture theatre and operated a well-positioned carpark in Spring Hill not far from

Wickham Terrace. In retirement on the Gold Coast in the 1970s he and his brother established an enviable reputation for their jams, pickles and preserves, winning countless first prizes at the Gold Coast Show. A faithful worshipper at Trinity Lutheran Church, he sometimes arranged bus trips for the members. He became a strong supporter of the Lutheran Primary School long before its opening in 1981 and

HE WAS A GENEROUS BENEFACTOR AND WAS ACKNOWLEDGED AS ONE OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE SCHOOL continued as a vocal and visible advocate for it. He and his brother frequently ran street stalls to raise funds for the school, selling their jams and preserves

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and many plants. He was a generous benefactor and was acknowledged as one of the founders of the school. As one of its patrons he was honoured by having one of the three school houses named for him. His financial support was consistent, including the donation of a grand piano for the new school hall in 1986. On occasions he would pay the school fees for families encountering severe financial difficulty.

He and his brother Bill died two months apart in 1990.

Eventually a local landowner contacted committee member Karen Mitchell with the offer of a 9.2-acre site which was not listed with any agent. Known as Timber Top, it was being used to run a small dairy, pasturing both dairy cows and horses. It was situated at the junction of Nerang Street and Cotlew Street in Ashmore, a new and still developing suburb. The land was steep, with a gully running between two ridges down to a creek in a flatter space near the street junction. It was strategically situated for future growth.

To some committee members who viewed it from the top it seemed an impossibly rugged site to build on; those who looked up from the small flat area at the bottom of the slope saw great potential. Their view prevailed, and the Planning Committee recommended the purchase to the congregation. The purchase price was $10,000 per acre, a total of $92,000. The congregation took out an option to purchase, but there was a long delay while the Gold Coast City Council considered the application for zoning approval, and the option expired. The owner, Mrs Rothery, graciously agreed to extend the option without penalty. It was late June before the purchase was finalised. Pastor Martin Prenzler was able to negotiate very favourable terms, including vendor financing.

Karen Mitchell

The terrain would present a challenge for building and would require extensive landscaping. it was not an easy site to develop as a school. This land selection set a pattern for later Lutheran schools on the Gold Coast. The later sites of both Trinity Lutheran College at Ashmore and St Andrew’s Lutheran College at Tallebudgera were hilly and steep, presenting serious challenges for the planning and construction of buildings and other facilities. All three schools found creative and effective solutions to the problematic topography and created beautiful school grounds.

The committee approached the local architectural firm Burling Brown and Partners. Architect Darryl Brown drew up plans for the Stage 1 buildings, a fourclassroom building with wide verandas, a toilet block, and a covered lunch shed which would also serve as a wet weather play space. A master plan for the whole site was also produced, including a principal’s residence, which was intended to form part of the first building stage. The congregation awarded the building contract to Cordukes Pty Ltd, one of whose principals was Mr Brian Carey, whose children were attending Trinity Day Care Centre and later became Trinity Lutheran Primary School students. The available

The school uniform. Year 1 class, 1981

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A Uniform Committee was formed, including Mrs Lila Mackenzie, Mrs Genevieve Cooper, Mrs Doris Sherman and Mrs Jennifer Pinder. Many options were considered and numerous mock-up uniforms created before the green and brown colours and style were agreed upon. The projected enrolment numbers were too small for commercial uniform manufacturers to be interested. Mrs Lila Mackenzie undertook to sew all the uniforms in the required sizes, a mammoth task which she continued for several years until the enrolment of more than 200 made the work too demanding for one person and financially attractive for professional manufacturers.

essential capital grant, but with restrictive conditions.

If building commenced before the grant was made official, the offer would become void. But the contract could be awarded and earthworks could be done, and so earthmoving equipment soon appeared on the site to carve out a level building pad on the lower slope of the southern ridge. The lateness in the announcement of the capital grant of $115,000 caused a serious delay to the building program. As the predictable summer storms struck and wet weather began, progress on the building was further delayed. On 10th December 1980 the laying of the foundation stone by Senatorelect Mrs Florence Bjelke-Petersen was conducted in wet weather, with Jack Strohmeyer acting as the chivalrous umbrella bearer for the senator as she unveiled the plaque, and umbrella duty becoming a new responsibility of other committee members.

Before building commenced a ceremony was held on the site to mark the beginning of the school’s journey. On 31st October 1980 Mr Ben Stephan, school benefactor, did the honours at a Turning of the Sod ceremony with local alderman, Cr Athol Paterson. However, building could not yet proceed. The Commonwealth Schools Commission had promised the

The wet weather not only delayed progress on the building. It also revealed a drainage problem.

Ground water from the neighbour’s property at the top boundary flowed down the central gully onto the flat area at the bottom of the hill, passing through the play shed on the way. Subsequent building by a developer on the adjoining land on the crest of the hill

funds proved to be inadequate for the whole project, and the principal’s residence and the canteen were removed from the contract.

Mrs Flo Bjelke-Petersen laying the foundation stone

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The foundation stone plaque of Stage 1

Darryl Price and Peter Stiller at Trinity Creek

exacerbated the problem, so that in heavy storms the run-off was many metres wide. Even in fine weather and after the gully had been partially filled in and grassed, it was called Trinity Creek! The problem was largely overcome after negotiation with the neighbour.

He agreed to pay for an 18 inch (45 cm) underground pipe through the gully and beyond the buildings. From this point the school would pay to continue the pipe down to the creek. The earthworks from later building programs provided fill to build up the area into a series of flat grassed terraces. This long-term project was finally completed during the construction of Stage 3 in 1984. The drainage work was done by the plumber Norm Mitchell, another Trinity member and loyal school supporter, with the volunteer assistance which had already become a hallmark of the school.

EVEN IN FINE WEATHER AND AFTER THE GULLY HAD BEEN PARTIALLY FILLED IN AND GRASSED, IT WAS CALLED TRINIT Y CREEK! The total cost of the first stage of the school, including the purchase of the land was $357,000. This was funded by a bank loan of $175,000 over 25 years at 12.5% interest, the first year to be interest only.

Fees were set at $400 per year, with a $40 rebate for members of Trinity congregation.

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Mrs Karen Mitchell, Mr Joe Dickerson, Mrs Lyn Mackenzie

Time was running out for the appointment of a Principal. At that time all teachers in Lutheran primary schools were called to their positions, not appointed, with a reduced salary scale set by the church. The church authorities provided a list of those available for call. The first calls to become Principal were declined. Then a new name appeared on the call list.

Mr Joe Dickerson was a Lutheran teacher from the USA who had recently returned to Australia and had been employed by the South Australian Education Department to teach at a school at Maitland. His strong desire was to return to teaching in a Lutheran school. He accepted the call to become the founding Principal of Trinity Lutheran Primary School. Two other teachers were required for the anticipated enrolment of more than 60 students. Two teachers who were members of Trinity congregation were called and accepted the call to be the foundation teachers. Mrs Karen Mitchell was a member of the Planning Committee. An accredited Lutheran teacher from the USA, she had already given sterling service to the fledgling school. Mrs Lyn Mackenzie brought years of experience in a local state school and a strong knowledge of Queensland curriculum.

They too were appointed on the church salary scale.

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Lois Prenzler

The Planning Committee recommended the new teachers, but it was the congregation which issued the call, employed them, and undertook to support them.

In the absence of a principal, since Joe Dickerson was still employed in South Australia, the Planning Committee had also to undertake many tasks which would normally have been the responsibility of the Principal – setting up enrolment procedures, interviewing parents and enrolling students, selecting and ordering books and equipment, selecting and purchasing furniture. By dint of strenuous effort all the arrangements were made. Principal Joe Dickerson arrived in Southport on Christmas Eve 1980. Mrs Lois Prenzler had been conducting enrolment interviews prior to his arrival and continued to assist the principal as new enrolments were received. All was ready...

Except the all-important school buildings.

ALL WAS READY... EXCEP T THE ALL-IMPORTANT SCHOOL BUILDINGS.

JOE DICKERSON Joe Dickerson came to Australia at the suggestion of an Australian, Pastor Norman Habel, one of his lecturers at Concordia University in St Paul, Minnesota, and enrolled at Luther Seminary in Adelaide.

After recognising that he was called to a ministry in teaching rather than as a pastor, he taught for a time at a Catholic school until he and his wife returned to the USA to complete their studies at Valparaiso University in Indiana. When their financial situation prevented their return to Australia, he accepted a call to Zion Lutheran School in Detroit, where he rebuilt and re-established the declining school.

Lutheran schools and, although he had no Queensland connections, he was offered and accepted the call to become the Principal of the new Trinity Lutheran Primary School at Ashmore in 1981.

After two years of pioneering work at Trinity, he accepted a call to a new Lutheran school in Ceduna in South Australia, where aboriginal children were being moved from camps into a

HE WAS OFFERED AND ACCEP TED THE CALL TO BECOME THE PRINCIPAL OF THE NEW TRINIT Y LUTHERAN PRIMARY SCHOOL AT ASHMORE. In 1980 they achieved their goal of returning to Australia, and Joe was appointed by the South Australian Education Department to teach at an aboriginal mission school on the Eyre Peninsula. Trained for and committed to Lutheran education, however, he had also placed his name on the call list for

school setting in the town. On his return to the USA with his family, he was called again to Zion in Detroit. With skills and experience in leading and improving schools in decline, he subsequently taught at New Haven in Indiana and three Lutheran schools in California. He passed away in 2014.

13 LUTHERAN COLLEGE

Stage 1 foundations

Foundations of the play shed

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Stage 1 classrooms

CHAPTER TWO

THE PLANTING The beginning of the 1981 school year was fast approaching, but the buildings, delayed by a late start and bad weather, were far from ready. Emergency arrangements were quickly put in place. The church hall in Carey Lane behind the church was made ready, set up with desks, chairs, blackboards, books and storage. It was to be the temporary home of the new school for two months.

The opening of enrolments had quickly proved the need for such a school. Enrolment enquiries and applications had flowed in steadily at the rate of up to ten per day. Principal Joe Dickerson was contacted about enrolments even on Christmas Eve, the day of his arrival in Southport. On opening day, 27th January 1981, 73 students were in attendance. One absentee was ill, another still travelling from Victoria. Among them were five grandchildren of Eddie and Lila Mackenzie The three teachers were installed in office at a service in Trinity Lutheran Church on 22nd February. A choir of students sang at the service, the beginning of a rich musical tradition which was to develop in the school. As the school grew, this installation of teachers became an important annual event.

Mrs Lyn Mackenzie taught Grade 1 in the separate hall annexe. In the main body of the hall, divided only by screens, Years 2, 3 and 4 were taught by Mrs Karen Mitchell, and Grades 5, 6 and 7 by Mr Joe Dickerson.

On at least one occasion the six upper classes had to abandon their classrooms when congregational activities, organised long before, took precedence. In wet weather all were confined in the building. Youthful creativity produced lunchtime activities for their own amusement. Narrow unsealed Carey Lane became a cricket field. Hitting a six onto the roof of an adjacent building with a tennis ball was an achievement, but not popular with those who had to retrieve the ball!

It was not only the facilities which were rudimentary.

Mr Wilf Cambridge, the School Council treasurer, came to the school every fortnight to pay the teachers in cash. He also became a frequent visitor to the school on its permanent site to coach the school sports teams and as a regular at working bees.

By the end of March, the new buildings at Cotlew Street were finished and ready for occupation. Parents with their vehicles were recruited to assist in the

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The opening of Stage 1

urgently awaited move. It took only 45 minutes to load all the vehicles and transport the whole of the little school’s furniture and equipment to the new buildings at Ashmore. This cooperative effort was the first of countless examples in the following years of loyal support and assistance from a committed body of school parents. A community was being created.

The new buildings were dedicated on 24th May 1981

by Pastor R J Mayer, President of the LCAQD, and officially opened by the Premier of Queensland, Mr Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

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At once the work on the grounds began. It was sorely needed. To enable students and teachers to negotiate their way across the clay and rough ground, wooden planks had to be laid. It was especially difficult in wet weather. Most of the students enjoyed playing on the rough dirt and stone, but it could not be allowed to remain so. Regular, often weekly, working bees were organised, calling on both members of the congregation and school parents to begin the landscaping of the grounds. A pattern of volunteer assistance was established which continued for many years.

The Stage 1 buildings

The first buildings before landscaping

The beautiful, well-tended grounds of the campus today owe much to the volunteer work done by large numbers of committed parents and congregational members in the early years of the school. The shared effort cemented an intimate three-way relationship among school, parents and congregation. Retaining walls were built, clay and stone removed and large areas raked in preparation for spreading of soil and planting grass. Steep banks were stabilised and planted, soil spread and turf laid. The Issell family, school parents, owned a nursery and were landscaping contractors.

Mr J Bjelke-Petersen opening Stage 1

THE BEAUTIFUL, WELL-TENDED GROUNDS OF THE CAMPUS TODAY OWE MUCH TO THE VOLUNTEER WORK DONE BY LARGE NUMBERS OF COMMITTED MEMBERS...

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Working bee

Working bee

Working bee

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Working bee

A finished project

At the end of any contract or order Mr Issell brought any excess turf and planted it, often assisted by the children. Trees and shrubs were provided in the same way. At times the children used the fire hydrant to provide water for the newly planted grass and plants.

As long as his health allowed, Eddie Mackenzie was among the workers. For several years he made a practice of closing his factory early almost every day so that he could come to the school to water plants and newly laid grass. Teachers of the early years remember him working during the day outside their classrooms at gardening and landscaping tasks.

The support of parents was formally harnessed by the initiation of the P&C Association under the chairmanship of Robin Mackenzie, followed in 1982

by Mr Les Mathies. Already in the first year the parent body included a large number of families from a professional background, and they put their diverse range of skills into the service of the fledging school. This potent mixture of skill, generosity and commitment was to be an outstanding characteristic of the school for the whole of its history.

Joe Dickerson, a strict disciplinarian, established strong expectations of students very early in both their learning and their behaviour. He insisted that the teachers were to couch their instructions to students in positive terms rather than with negatives and prohibitions. Years before official encouragement of sun safe practices, he was insistent on children wearing their hats when out of doors. Physical education was introduced early, and students were transported by bus to a local swimming school for swimming lessons. It was the beginning of a strength in the school which developed into a special characteristic.

The small flat area at the bottom of the hill became the large oval of today at an early stage. The Gold Coast City Council had a crew doing drainage works on Nerang Road where the creek crossed under it. In conversation with the foreman, Joe Dickerson learned that large amounts of soil and fill were to be stockpiled and then transported elsewhere for dumping. In an agreement which benefited both parties, it was arranged that the soil would be dumped and spread on

the adjacent school site, thus creating the basis for the large and useful sports oval of today. Trinity students played team sports in a local school competition.

Karen Mitchell coached softball, Joe Dickerson soccer, and Wilf Cambridge, the School Council treasurer, cricket, and later soccer also.

Enrolment enquiries continued to flow in. The 1982 school year began with 104 students and two new teachers, Mrs Dagmar Chivers and Miss Lexeen Kowald. Mrs Lyn Mackenzie took a year of leave to complete her studies for accreditation as a Lutheran teacher, returning in 1983. More teaching spaces became an urgent need, and planning for Stage 2 began in order to provide four more classrooms. The new building was opened on 11th October 1982 by Mr Doug Jennings MLA, the local Member for Southport and dedicated by Pastor David Stolz, Vice-President of the LCAQD. Already the little school was developing a reputation for effective teaching and learning, strong discipline, high standards of behaviour, and Christian teaching and care. The motto of the school, No other foundation- Jesus Christ, was being lived out day by day.

IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF A STRENGTH IN THE SCHOOL WHICH DEVELOPED INTO A SPECIAL CHARACTERISTIC. The school camps which were to become a loved feature of school life began early, though in a simple format. The older students undertook a three-day (two night) camp close by, on the site which later became the college’s Ashmore Street campus. There were no amenities, facilities or accommodation, but abundant wildlife. In the fine weather the children constructed their own bush humpies to sleep in.

At the end of 1982 Joe Dickerson left the school to accept a call to become principal of a new Lutheran school in Ceduna, South Australia. The school was to serve aboriginal children who were being relocated from scattered camps to a central school in the town.

Joe Dickerson’s experience with ethnic communities and with schools in challenging social situations

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equipped him well for the role, and the LCA gave approval for the call to be issued to him even though the statutory four years of his current call had not yet elapsed. He had served the new school at Ashmore faithfully and effectively, with all the difficulties and sacrifices which accompany pioneering, and holds the honour of being its founding principal.

One of the foundation teachers, Mrs Karen Mitchell, resigned from her teaching role at the end of 1982, but continued her involvement with part time assistance in the library.

Once again, the congregation was unsuccessful in its calls to prospective principals until, finally, an interim arrangement became necessary. Mr Malcolm Ruediger was a recently retired Principal of government schools in South Australia. He agreed to come to Southport as Acting Principal in 1983 until the position could be filled permanently. With an enrolment of 128 in its third year, the school operated in consolidation mode, as he could not be expected to take the initiative for future developments. When he returned to South Australia at the end of Term 2, teacher Michael Groves undertook the principal’s tasks in the short term.

With an eye to the future a time capsule was filled with relevant material, including miniatures of the school uniform, handwriting samples, and other examples of school work from every student, and was laid down beside the first classroom by Eddie Mackenzie and Jack Strohmeyer at a ceremony on 24th May under a rock which had been “liberated” from a property in the hinterland. The time capsule was duly opened as intended twenty-five years later in 2007 but, sadly, it proved not to be water tight and many of the contents were damaged.

The demand for a Christian school in the area had been judged correctly. As the reputation of the new school grew in the community, new enrolments were still being registered in large numbers. The policy of the Lutheran church in Australia was that its primary schools should be single stream, one class at each year level. In Queensland this meant a maximum enrolment of 210.

(It was assumed that 30 students could be enrolled in each class!) This pattern was about to be challenged at Trinity. Already, in 1980, visiting representatives of

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the Commonwealth Schools Commission, when they became aware of the demand for schooling in the area and the potential growth, asked why the congregation was planning for only a single stream school. In early 1982 the architect, in planning the Stage 2 building, became aware of the enrolment pressures and asked about the possibility of expanding the planned enrolment. During 1983 the School Committee reviewed the growing enrolment application list, considered the option seriously and decided to introduce double streaming at once, beginning with two Year 1 classes in 1984. An application to the District Schools Council met with some suspicion, especially as the school was still in its early growth phase. But the numbers were compelling and the school was operating successfully.

Approval was granted, making Trinity Lutheran Primary School the first in the Lutheran Church of Australia to double stream.

APPROVAL WAS GRANTED, MAKING TRINIT Y LUTHERAN PRIMARY SCHOOL THE FIRST IN THE LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA TO DOUBLE STREAM. In this year of transition, the School Council encountered some difficulties. It was a committee of Trinity congregation and made governance decisions on its behalf, such as planning for Stage 2 of the building program. In the absence of a permanent Principal, however, it was compelled also to make management decisions normally reserved for the principal. Peter Stiller, Chairman of the School Council, spent every day at the school when he was not rostered for work as a police officer. Lines of responsibility and accountability became blurred for parents and families unfamiliar with Lutheran schools. The confusion was quickly resolved with the arrival of the new principal. What remained clear and unchanged was the welcoming and accepting attitude of the congregation to school families, some of whom were finding a church home there.

Construction of Stage 2

Opening of Stage 2

Malcolm Ruediger

Pastor Prenzler and Eddie MacKenzie laying down the time capsule

Peter Stiller

Michael Groves

Filling the time capsule

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School fete

School fete

Barn Dance

Arts and Crafts Show

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School fete

Dinner auction

Kleinschmidt’s barn, site of Farm Days and Barn Dances

Ladies’ Christmas function

Dinner auction

Arts and Crafts Show

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An active P&C Association under its chairman, Dr Darrel Price, was establishing and started enduring traditions. It was in 1983 that the Association presented the first Trinity Art Show under the leadership of Mrs Cynthia Williams, a role she continued for four years. Held in the classrooms and on the wide verandas, the display of art and craft was the beginning of a tradition which endured for more than thirty years. Every second year it was combined with the school fete. The Dinner Auction and the Fashion Parade also established long traditions, and continued to build the strong sense of community which surrounded the school. The 1983 Art Show profit of more than $2,000, together with $5,205 raised by the Ladies Auxiliary, as well as strong support for working bees, were evidence of loyal parent involvement. 1982 had witnessed the beginning of another long P&C Association tradition, the Barn Dance at the Kleinschmidt farm at Otmoor, Upper Coomera. Chairman Les Mathies and his committee had postponed the event because of bad weather but, after a week without rain, it was rescheduled.

On the night a sustained downpour resulted in fifteen centimetres of farm mud and water through which the 325 guests had to wade to the venue. It wet the feet but did not dampen the spirits and the Barn Dance became a popular annual event. Both events typified the energetic and loyal involvement of the parent community, which was to be an enduring feature of the school.

Greeting by Pastor Sam Simpfendorfer

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Trinity congregation had previously held congregational services in The Barn on the Kleinschmidt farm. The school now began a tradition of a Farm Family Day, including a church service, another tradition which endured for many years. More than 200 people attended the first occasion in 1983.

All this was achieved as the search for a permanent Principal continued. Mr Robert Hoff was the Principal at St Paul’s Lutheran Primary School at Blair Athol in suburban Adelaide. During his eleven years as Principal the enrolment had risen from 30 to 280 (P-7).

He had declined the call to be the founding Principal of the school but, when he received a second call to Trinity, he accepted and took up the position in Term 4 of 1983. He was installed at a special service in Trinity Lutheran Church on 9th October. A new Principal’s residence had been built at the top of the ridge adjacent to Nerang Street and was ready for occupation when the Hoff family arrived – Robert, his wife Sandra, and their two daughters. The house was dedicated on 9th October, the same day as his installation service.

Installation of Robert Hoff Oct 1983

C H A P T E R T HRE E

ABUNDANT HARVEST When Robert Hoff accepted the call to become Principal at Trinity Lutheran Primary School, the School Council of St Paul’s Lutheran School at Blair Athol in suburban Adelaide graciously permitted him to leave his position there early in order to take up his new role at Trinity in Term 4, late September of 1983.

His assessment of the school as he perceived it was a tribute to those who served in the founding years. He found a good educational tone, positive discipline, a supportive and pleasant working environment in wellappointed classrooms, a cooperative, friendly, and respectful attitude among the children, and positive involvement in school worship life. However, it was also clear that after almost a whole year of virtual marking time without day-to-day leadership planning for the future, the school needed to begin a new phase of community engagement and energetic progress.

Robert Hoff was the right person for the task.

On a personal level he and his family experienced a warm welcome and acceptance in both school and congregation. It was a promising start to thirteen years of dynamic and effective Christian leadership.

In one of his first communications to parents he wrote in some detail about the importance of partnership among school, parents, and church in the upbringing of children. Each has pre-eminence in some part of the child’s growth and development. It was a constant theme in his leadership in the following years. One strategy to achieve it was the introduction in 1984 of home visits by the teachers.

Almost immediately he was confronted with the impact of the decision to introduce double streaming, beginning with Year 1 in 1984. Some parents were concerned about the potential loss of intimacy and sense of family of a smaller school. While acknowledging the legitimacy of these concerns, he pointed out the benefits of a larger school, especially the opportunity for specialist teachers and programs in music, art, and physical education, and for catering for students with special needs. At the same time the class size could be reduced from about 30 to 27.

Most important for him was the conviction that sound Christian teaching and witness were equally possible in a school of 400 as in one of 200 students.

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ROBERT HOFF Born in Whyalla in South Australia, Robert Hoff grew up in Adelaide, receiving both his primary and secondary education in state schools.

Tertiary studies at Wattle Park Teachers College provided his initial preparation for a teaching career, which has been supplemented during that career by accredited courses at Lutheran Teachers College and Luther Seminary and short courses in Boston, Philadelphia, Hanoi and Jerusalem.

His early years of teaching in state schools brought recognition of his abilities and advancement to a demonstration school at Prospect.

In 1973 at the age of only twenty-four, he accepted the call to become the founding Principal of St Paul’s Lutheran School at Enfield, where he served for eleven years. Responding to persistent calls from Trinity Lutheran Primary School in Southport, he became Principal there in October 1983, leading the school until 1996. He established strong community links and built a vibrant school community with both depth of learning and breadth of educational offerings.

From 1997 to his retirement in 2018 he served as Principal of Immanuel Lutheran Primary School at Novar Gardens in Adelaide, developing it into the largest Lutheran primary school in Australia.

HE ESTABLISHED STRONG COMMUNIT Y LINKS AND BUILT A VIBRANT SCHOOL COMMUNIT Y. His wife Sandra has provided strong support for all his work. He has travelled extensively overseas, often in association with educational conferences and study, and has served in leadership roles in many organisations both within and beyond the Lutheran Church. These include the Independent Primary School Heads Association (IPSHA), where he has been both state and national President.

26 LUTHERAN COLLEGE

Within the church he has served on many boards and councils, including as chairman of the Queensland Lutheran Schools Council and on the national Board for Lutheran Schools. He has consistently maintained and implemented the role of schools in the mission of the church.

Watching sport and listening to classical music have been sources of great pleasure. He and his wife now live in retirement in Adelaide.

The 1984 school year began with a non-teaching Principal, eight teachers, all with Lutheran accreditation, including two for the two Year 1 classes and a part time Special Education teacher for the upper years, seven support staff and many parent volunteers. To provide for the library and office space a double portable classroom had been leased for the year, always a sign of rapid growth. A part-time groundsman/maintenance man had been employed to supplement the continuing efforts of parent and congregation working bees.

The new Principal immediately introduced initiatives to enrich the curriculum. A daily fitness program was introduced for both students and teachers. Team sports would include all students, regardless of sporting ability. Camps for Years 4 to 7 were to foster different relationships between students and teachers, provide opportunities for environmental education in the field, and create experiences which would be the basis of student writing, both factual and creative.

The first trip to Canberra and the snowfields took place in 1984; the first of many annual events keenly anticipated by the Year 7 students.

Installation of teachers 1984

A portable classroom 1984

Installation of teachers 1986

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School camps

School camps

School camps

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School camps

School camps

School camps

The success of so many of the activities of the P&C Association led by chairman Ken Gordon emboldened the Association to accept the challenge of a major project for the association, the construction of a swimming pool. It was a daring vision for a very new school, but the school already had a swimming culture and growing swimming reputation. Group swimming lessons were in place, and in 1983, only its third year, Trinity Lutheran Primary School had defeated St Peters Lutheran College in the Lutheran Schools Swimming Carnival. The six-lane pool, which was built by John Lutze of Summerland Pools at a cost of $75,000, measured 25m by 8m. It was filled in December 1984 and officially opened on 20th February 1985 by Mr Doug Jennings MLA, the State member for Southport. The swimming pool became the catalyst for a long and strong tradition of successful competitive swimming at the school. In the 1990s and beyond, Trinity Lutheran Primary School was dominant in the Lutheran primary schools’ carnivals and recorded

Swimming pool construction

Swimmimg pool construction

nine unbroken years of victory in in the carnivals of S.E.A.T. and APS, the local Gold Coast interschool sports associations. Twenty years later the P&C Association, still thriving and active, included in its list of projects for 2002 the upgrading of the well-used swimming pool facilities, adding changerooms, new seating and toilets. The tradition continues to the present day when, in 2021, the Trinity Lutheran College Foundation is raising funds for the construction of an Aquatic Centre adjacent to the original pool.

The new pool was another step on the path which led to community recognition of Trinity as a school with outstanding facilities.

Ample fundraising initiatives were in place. The second Art Show raised more than $4,000. Other successful annual fundraisers were the school fete, inaugurated in 1982, and the barn dance in August at Kleinschmidts’ farm. The Ladies’ Auxiliary continued its social and financial success with its popular functions.

Swimming pool construction

Swimming pool construction

Pool opening Doug Jennings MLA and Ken Gordon

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Stage 3 construction December 1984

Demountable classrooms could only be a temporary expedient, as the commencement of double streaming created an urgent need for more classrooms. Stage 3, consisting of four classrooms, had been planned, and building commenced in 1984. Incorporating high ceilings for air flow and good natural light, it also included two withdrawals rooms. The building was officially opened on 17th February 1985 by Mrs Kathy Sullivan MHR, the local Federal member. Of the total cost of $189,000, the Commonwealth Government provided a grant of $76,000.

This project and others had been made possible by the 1983 re-classification of Trinity by the Commonwealth Schools Commission to Level 3 for the receipt of recurrent funding. The Commission had assumed that some of the early loans were gifts, which made the schools financial situation appear stronger than it was. When the new treasurer clarified this and similar issues, the higher level of funding became available, which immediately freed up funds for projects such as Stage 2 and the principal’s residence.

During 1983 Pastor Martin Prenzler left the Southport parish to take up a new call at Hopevale, an aboriginal community in North Queensland which grew out of a Lutheran mission. The new pastor at Southport was

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Stage 3 completed April 1985

Pastor Sam Simpfendorfer. Just as Pastor Prenzler had seen the school as a ministry of service by the congregation, Pastor Simpfendorfer considered it an obligation to serve the families of the school with the Christian gospel. He and Principal Robert Hoff shared this vision and, in Pastor Simpfendorfer’s role as school chaplain, he ministered to both students and their families. Pastor and Principal shared a vision of the relationship between school and congregation and worked in productive cooperation. The growth in membership at Trinity Lutheran Church from its other service ministries escalated as more school families joined the congregation and as God blessed the ministry. Large seekers’ classes and ten-week membership classes continued the growth until two services were needed each Sunday to accommodate the increased attendance. Pastor Simpfendorfer regarded home visits as an essential element in his ministry, and they clearly contributed to the effectiveness of his pastoring. Trinity Southport became the fastest growing congregation in the Lutheran Church of Australia. In one month (August 1986) 57 new members joined the congregation, 42 of them through their association with the school, childcare, kindergarten, and other congregational ministries. On occasions Pastor Simpfendorfer

excused himself from School Council meetings in order to make home visits, acknowledging that others could do the governance well, while his primary responsibility was to proclaim the gospel.

In 1985 the enrolment rose to 230 with eleven teachers.

Mrs Alicia Simpfendorfer was employed as part time Special Education teacher, and foundation teacher Karen Mitchell returned to the staff as part time librarian after two years of voluntary library work. A full time Physical Education teacher, Miss Judy Forbes, joined the staff. Mrs Kath Oliver was appointed Deputy Principal. (Mr Michael Groves had filled this role in 1984 in acknowledgement of his leadership in Term 3 of 1983.

He was to become one the school’s longest serving teachers, finally retiring in 2016.) The new teachers were installed at the annual Commencement Service in Trinity Lutheran Church. Many of the new teachers in this and the following years had received their training in Lutheran education at Lutheran Teachers College in Adelaide. Their understanding of the principles and methods of Lutheran Christian education, its educational and theological underpinnings, and their commitment to them played an important part in developing the Christian ethos which was distinctive in the primary school.

The new swimming pool was put to good use.

Swimming classes were conducted for small groups, with every student having two lessons a week. It was a small beginning leading to the dominance in interschool swimming competition which emerged in the years ahead. Although still in its infancy, the school already provided excellent specialist facilities and specialist teachers.

The major event of 1985 was the construction of the community hall. There was no reference to a school hall in the master plan, though it was clearly needed.

In his previous school in Adelaide, Robert Hoff had experienced the benefits of having a large church hall available for school use, but the first priority at Trinity had to be the construction of basic classrooms and the associated facilities for a double stream school. He learnt, however, that a Lutheran primary school in Adelaide had received government funding of 80% of the cost of a hall from the Commonwealth Government’s Community Employment Program

(CEP). Intended primarily to fund facilities for community agencies and organisations, it was also available for schools, though this was not widely known. The government was actively seeking viable projects for its initiative to provide work for the long term unemployed.

ALTHOUGH STILL IN ITS INFANCY, THE SCHOOL ALREADY PROVIDED EXCELLENT SPECIALIST FACILITIES AND SPECIALIST TEACHERS. After enquiries to the Commonwealth Schools Commission in Brisbane established the school’s eligibility, there were only three weeks to the close of applications for the next round of funding. The School Council met immediately. There were no design plans, no costings, and no means of financing the school’s 20% contribution. Note had to be taken of the requirement that the hall would have to be available for hire and use by the local community. Nevertheless, they decided to press on with planning. It would be a facility unmatched in comparable local schools and would further entrench Trinity’s reputation and public profile. Principal Robert Hoff, Council Chairman David Bird and Treasurer Geoff Kleinschmidt swung into action. Several new local school and community halls were visited and inspected. A rapid trip to Toowoomba in a rented six-seater plane enabled inspection of Concordia College’s new hall. Local builder and Trinity Primary School parent, Geoff Small, made available the services of his draftsman who, in seven days, produced plans for a building based on a hastily prepared brief. The project was quickly presented to the Trinity Lutheran congregation at Southport and received enthusiastic endorsement. A decision was taken to seek funding from LLL for the additional $180,000 required to pay the school’s share. There was no time to seek the required approval of the LCAQD Schools Department and District Church Council. This would have to be dealt with later, as would the final details of the finances and building design.

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Construction of the Community Hall

Construction of the Community Hall

Construction of the Community Hall

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Construction of the Community Hall

Construction of the Community Hall

Construction of the Community Hall

The School Council took the decision to incorporate in the building a suite of other spaces. These included a canteen to service the hall, a staffroom and new administration offices in a separate wing.

With strong support and assistance from Mr Graham Rutherford at the Commonwealth Schools Commission and frantic effort locally, the application was lodged in time. The efforts were rewarded, and in the middle of 1984 the school was advised that their application was successful. A grant of $520,000 was offered by the Commonwealth Government, quite separate from the established capital funding through the Commonwealth Schools Commission.

It was a condition of the grant that construction had to begin as soon as possible. The rapid pace could not slacken. The construction was undertaken by builder Geoff Small. He soon encountered an unforeseen problem. Because it was an employment program, the conditions of the grant required that conventional construction methods were to be replaced by the most labour-intensive methods, which would require a large team of previously unemployed men. Trenches were dug manually. Concrete was produced by means of onsite concrete mixers rather than trucked in.

The congregation at the opening

Close and detailed supervision was required for the sixty or seventy men usually on the building site.

The original costings had not factored in the cost of this unconventional and expensive approach, and consequently funds ran out when the building still lacked a roof and flooring. The project was about to come to a halt. Then another remarkable coincidence (or divine intervention) occurred. Robert Hoff, on a visit to Adelaide for a family occasion, was seated as an invited guest at an AFL match next to the recently re-elected Premier of South Australia, Mr John Bannon. They were known to each other both through their shared football club involvement and because the Premier had been the local member for Robert’s Adelaide school. On hearing of the financial dilemma at Trinity, Mr Bannon offered to contact Mr Ralph Willis, the responsible Commonwealth Minister. The outcome was an offer of an additional grant of $120,000. The project was able to be completed at a final cost of $828,000.

(Note: It has not been possible to locate all the financial records relating to this project. Some of the quoted figures may not be fully accurate. It appears that the contribution from the school may have risen from $180,000 to $248,000, perhaps for the additional administrative spaces.)

Ralph Willis MHR

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Mr Robert Hoff, Principal

Mr David Bird, School Council Chairman

The hastily designed building incorporated a hall on two levels with seating for 700 and a spacious foyer which also served a new administration wing. The new facility would provide generous space for school assemblies and worship, for musical and drama activities and gymnastics, with storage for equipment, and for large community events. The first such event was the school’s third Art Show, held over three days in August 1985. Construction was completed in nine months, and in compliance with the aims of the CEP it provided employment for about seventy previously unemployed workers.

The Community Hall was dedicated on Reformation Day, 31st October 1985, by Pastor Reinhard Mayer, President of the LCAQD. The official opening was performed by the Hon Mr Ralph Willis MHR, the Federal Minister for Employment and Industrial Affairs. Since that time it has been the venue for countless school and community events: chapel services, school assemblies, an LCAQD District Synodical Convention, concerts, musicals, gymnastics, and P&C Association functions, especially the Arts and Crafts Exhibitions, which became a popular event in the Gold Coast social calendar. It was hired out for many community events, with occasional controversy when community and political events were confused by the public with school events. In 1986 school patron, Mr Ben Stephan, combined his love for the school and his love of music in the gift to the school of a grand piano for use in the hall.

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Mr Doug Jennings MLA and Pastor Reinhard Mayer

The hall also became the worship venue for a new preaching place of Trinity Lutheran Church. The growth of the congregation had required the calling of a second pastor, and Pastor Roly Nuske accepted the call during 1985. He played an important role as chaplain in the school as well as pastoring the new preaching place members. More contemporary worship forms appealed to many who did not come from a traditional Lutheran background as well as to young people. There was whole-school worship

MORE CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP FORMS APPEALED TO MANY WHO DID NOT COME FROM A TRADITIONAL LUTHERAN BACKGROUND AS WELL AS TO YOUNG PEOPLE. in the hall every Friday, with each class doing a presentation in turn. These class presentations were often repeated for the congregation on Sunday. This created another incentive for parents to attend.

There was an unspoken and unwritten obligation on teachers to attend church every Sunday and, for most, it was already their regular practice. With continuing growth and its own worship venue in the school hall, the Ashmore worshipping group constituted itself at

Pastor Sam Simpfendorfer, Vicar Michael Braunberger, Pastor Roly Nuske

the beginning of 1991 as a separate congregation in the Southport parish, taking the name Living Word congregation, with Pastor Roly Nuske as its pastor.

Together with Pastor Glen Schultz he continued to act as chaplain for the school. Early in 1992 Pastor Nuske accepted a call to Bethania, and was replaced by Pastor Maurie Richter, who also undertook chaplaincy responsibilities at the school.

This development had implications for the school beyond hosting the congregation in its hall. The school and Trinity congregation were inextricably linked. The school was owned and operated by the congregation.

Its School Council was elected by the congregation.

The teachers were worshipping members of the congregation. There was a huge investment of time, work, financial support, and loyalty to the school in Trinity congregation. But in the new circumstances with another congregation worshipping at the school, with many of its members school parents, the governance arrangements needed to be reconsidered.

The two congregations set up a Parish Council which, among its other duties, also elected the Trinity School Council and was ultimately responsible for the governance of the school. Living Word congregation continued worshipping in the hall until the congregation and Trinity Lutheran College cooperated in the construction of The Trinity Centre on the college campus, which then provided a new worship home for the congregation. At that point the intimate association

Pastor Roly Nuske at a harvest Thanksgiving service in the hall

of school and congregation was broken, although the new pastor, Pastor Geoff Hartwig, continued to work as chaplain to the school, and the congregation’s governance role remained.

Robert Hoff’s early commitment to community building was an emphasis which continued through the years during which he led the school. It was so marked and so successful that in later years one of the long-term teachers claimed that the school did not enrol just students, it enrolled whole families. However, the community building was not limited to the school/ family and teacher/parent relationships. Robert also promoted strong and positive relationships among teachers and all other staff members. Staff retreats at Kooralbyn, O’Reilly’s and Tipplers were not only enjoyable and relaxing social events, but effectively built morale and positive relationships. Retreats also brought together teachers and School Council members to form healthy, trusting relationships.

Generous budget allocations were made for teacher professional development.

As double streaming progressed, so also the building program to accommodate the increased enrolment continued. In 1987 Stage 4 was constructed, comprising classrooms, a new library, and a computer room. The building was opened on 27th May 1988 by Mr Ben Stephan. The P&C Association, led in 1986 by Mr Peter Croke and in 1987 by Mr Paul Beveridge,

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Ben Stephan opening Stage 4

provided the bank of networked computers. The school was enhancing its reputation for providing some of the best specialist facilities among Gold Coast schools. In 1993 its leadership in technology in education on the Gold Coast was formally recognised when it installed a computer network system and video facility at a cost of $70,000. This was subsidised

by Apple to the extent of $30,000. The system enabled students to complete assignments electronically and to submit the finished product as a disc or a video. This was a remarkable innovation at the time, and was acknowledged by Apple, which nominated Trinity Lutheran Primary School as an Apple Newest Innovative Technology School.

An earlier recognition of the high standards being achieved at Trinity had occurred in 1987, when Trinity Lutheran Primary School won the inaugural Lutheran Schools Excellence Award from the national Board for Lutheran Schools. The award was presented at an official ceremony by Mr Ken Albinger, Executive Officer of the LCAQD Schools Department.

Mr Robert Hoff, Mrs Marilyn Castle and Mr Peter Stiller receive the Lutheran Schools Excellence Award from Mr Ken Albinger

Double streaming was completed in 1991, with two classes in every level from Year 1 to Year 7. The full enrolment in that year was 405. In the following years to 2001 continuing enrolment pressure was met by enrolling additional half classes in Years 5, 6, and 7, taught as composite classes. This took the enrolment to well above 400. In 1988 Peter Weckert had replaced Mrs Kath Oliver as Deputy Principal. School expansion was not finished. A growing community demand for pre-school education was recognised, and Trinity Lutheran Primary School was again leading the way in educational developments. On 14th July 1992 Sir William Knox, President of the Association of Independent Schools of Queensland (AISQ), officially opened a new building designed to accommodate two prep classes with two teachers and a full-time assistant.

In 1995 the next building program, at a cost of $840,000, resulted in the spacious new Library/ Resource Centre, a building which introduced a new architectural style to the campus. Located high on the ridge near Nerang Street, it commanded the extensive view over the campus previously enjoyed by the principal’s residence. A spacious undercroft provided facilities for computing and music technology.

Mr Ken Albinger presents a Lutheran Education Australia award to Mrs Lyn MacKenzie

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Stage 4 under construction

It was officially opened on 20th October 1995 by Mr Colin Thiele AC, the distinguished South Australian author who had relocated to Queensland and who had grandchildren attending Trinity. The facility was dedicated by Pastor J V Vitale, President of the LCAQD. The total project cost was approximately $840,000, of which the Commonwealth capital grant provided less than $50,000. That the school could afford to fund so substantial a building program was evidence of its financial stability. New building then paused until 2001, when new music studios were constructed at the eastern end of the site. Providing soundproofed teaching rooms for visiting instrumental teachers in the flourishing music program, they were opened and dedicated on 4th May of that year.

By the mid-1990s Trinity Lutheran Primary School had developed such a reputation that it was widely regarded as the school of first choice. With the prep classes the enrolment rose to 480 in 1994, even after the normal class size was reduced to 25. As waiting lists grew, there was discussion of triple streaming to meet the demand, and for several years a third composite Year 6-7 class was enrolled.

The patterns and priorities established in the early years of Robert Hoff’s leadership of the school were maintained and strengthened. School camps, still with parent volunteers fell into a regular pattern, with Year 4 at Camp Wollumbin, Year 5 at Camp Currigee, and Year 6 at Camp Bornhoffen. Year 7 students travelled to the national capital and the ACT and went on to visit

37

Construction of the Prep rooms

In the Prep playground

The library under construction

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Sir William Knox and Mr Peter Stiller, Chairman of the School Council

Construction of Prep rooms

The library finished

Mr Colin Thiele opening the library

the snowfields. Beginning in 1988, Year 3 students enjoyed a three-day camp at Woollahra Farmworld near Beaudesert.

From the very beginning the teachers had provided extra-curricular activities (now usually called cocurricular) for students. As the years passed, the expanded student numbers, the talents and interests of the teachers, and the increase in the number of specialist teachers created a rich and diverse offering of cultural, sporting, and academic activities outside school hours. They included sports, music, chess, debating and drama. It was a fortunate coincidence that from its very beginning the school attracted teachers with strong musical ability and interest.

In 1984 the Trinity Band, comprising teachers from the school, had its popular debut at the school’s Winter Fair. For many years, with changing numbers, membership, and name, they provided musical leadership and entertainment at school and P &C functions, and school and congregational worship.

This flowed over into a rich musical life for students.

The annual school musicals were exciting and enjoyable for students and parents alike, and hard work for the teachers and volunteer parents. The tradition began in the school’s first year. In 1981

Mr Ron Burling, architect, at the library opening

Lyn Mackenzie and Joe Dickerson created a production of The Three Bears with the assistance of parent, Mrs Annette Croke, involving every student in the school. Mrs Croke wrote a musical on the theme of Pooh Bear specially for the Year 1 students. The venue was the school hall of Southport State High School, but subsequent productions were presented at the Albert Waterways Community Centre at Broadbeach. The new hall made it easier both to prepare and to present the musicals, and they could become more adventurous.

Mrs Heather Doecke was the director for some years.

Some of the earlier musicals were Party (1984), What to Do on a Rainy Day in the Ark (1985, reprised in 1990), Spindles and the Lamb (1986), It’s Cool in the Furnace (Part 1 in 1988, Part 2 in 1991). For many years Mrs Annette Croke was the valued volunteer accompanist

IT WAS A FORTUNATE COINCIDENCE THAT FROM ITS VERY BEGINNING THE SCHOOL ATTRACTED TEACHERS WITH STRONG MUSICAL ABILIT Y AND INTEREST.

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David Bird presents sports trophies.jpg

The Hoff-Minge singing duo.jpg

A teachers’ Christmas choir

on the piano. The annual musical remained a feature of school life until, with the transfer of Year 6 and 7 students to the Ashmore Road campus, it was believed to be too difficult with only younger students. The last musical by the P-7 school was Space Jump to Bethlehem in 2000. But the dramatic and musical impulses and the tradition were strong, and within a few years the reconfigured P-5 primary years were again producing musicals to the delight of proud parents and with great benefits to the students.

The annual Carols Concert, beginning as the Festival of Carols in 1984, was a highlight of the school musical year. By 1991 there were three visiting instrumental teachers, and from 1991 to 1997 Mr Paul Eötvös was employed to organise and conduct the school

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Teacher musicians

Teachers lead the way in drama (Goldilocks)

orchestra. Mrs Heather Doecke was for many years the part-time coordinator of the music program and had brought it to an excellent standard with a variety of opportunities for students. When the size and complexity of the program called for a full-time coordinator, she did not wish to make that time commitment, and Miss Nadia Ansell (later Mackenzie) was appointed as Trinity’s first full-time music

THE MUSIC PROGRAM HAD BROUGHT IT TO AN EXCELLENT STANDARD WITH A VARIET Y OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS.

Cool in the Furnace 1998

Junior school musical

Junior school musical

specialist in charge of the instrumental and choral programme in 1997. By 2000 the school boasted eight instrumental and choral ensembles supported by a full-time music specialist and eight visiting instrumental teachers and a successful instrument hire scheme for students. Trinity choirs competed regularly in the Tropicarnival eisteddfod, often taking first prize.

Choirs regularly performed in concerts and school functions and events as well as at special congregational worship services. In 1984 the Lenten services at Trinity Lutheran Church were led by school students with class presentations and the school choir. More than 600 people attended the services. By 1991 the enrolment of more than 400 allowed for two

Cool in the Furnace 1998

choirs, a Senior Choir (Years 4 to 7) and a Junior Choir.

Heather Doecke and Robert Hoff conducted the two choirs. By 2000 there were four large choirs.

Another service where the school choir sang was in May 1986 when the first Sunday worship service was held in the new community hall. The 132 people who attended were the forerunners of a preaching place at the school which, in 1991, became a separate congregation within the Southport parish with the name Living Word. It was closely linked to the school both by its place of worship and by the composition of its membership. It flourished and continued to grow rapidly in numbers. The links to the mother congregation at Southport remained strong.

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Every activity, in classroom, in music and other cultural pursuits, in sport and in daily interactions provided an opportunity for a child to discover a talent, a skill, an interest where they could shine. On a delegation of Lutheran Principals to the USA in 1991 Robert Hoff encountered the tagline Every child a star.

It resonated so truly with what was being fostered at Trinity that he introduced it to the school on his return, where it rapidly acquired the status of a second school motto, even inspiring a school song of that name by teacher Jeff Minge.

From the very beginning Joe Dickerson had placed an emphasis on Physical Education, and Robert Hoff aimed that every child should have an opportunity to compete in team sports regardless of ability. The P&C Association and congregational/parent working bees had over some years provided enviable facilities.

Athletics carnivals began with the second year of the school. The first school swimming carnival was held in 1984. Annual swimming and athletics carnivals among Lutheran primary schools were already well established.

Trinity shone at swimming, which had always been its strength. After the success in winning the Inter-Lutheran Swimming Carnival in 1983, they were second in 1987 and finally won again in 1990, repeating that victory every year for the next seven years.

The school choir entertained at the Barn Dance

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Originally the students had been assigned to two houses for school competition, each named for its house colour. In 1984 the increased enrolment and broader range of activities called for expansion. Three houses were formed and given the names of the three acknowledged school founders and patrons – Mackenzie, Stephan and Strohmeyer In the late 1980s formal opportunities for local interschool competition emerged. In 1989 a new school sports organisation came into being. S.E.A.T. brought Trinity Lutheran Primary School into competition against the primary sectors of Somerset College, Emmanuel College, and All Saints College. It offered inter-school competition in athletics, swimming, and cross country. In 1990 Trinity won the S.E.A.T. Swimming Carnival, which was swum in the Trinity pool. Team sports were also introduced, and by 1991 Trinity was fielding four girls’ and four boys’ basketball teams and two boys’ cricket teams.

Swimming was not the school’s only strength. In 1991 they also won the Inter-Lutheran Athletics Carnival.

Victory in S.E.A.T. athletics eluded the school until its first win in 1996. A chess group provided another challenging opportunity, which included inter-school competition. S.E.A.T. also sponsored student art exhibitions which were hosted by Trinity in its hall.

Students in worship

Chapel service in the church 1984

Students in worship

Student choir in worship

Christmas concert 1990

Student choir in worship

Pastor Gerald and Mrs Betty Dahlenburg

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School netball team 1993

Lutheran Swimming Carnival at St Peters

Winning the Stephan Trophy for athletics

SEAT swimming trophy winners

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John and Maria Lennerth

Student offerings at chapel services became the means by which the students supported overseas mission causes and learnt the practice of generosity to those in need. In 1984 $600 was donated to Australian Lutheran World Service to support its Ethiopia Appeal (famine relief). From 1986 to 1991 chapel offerings sponsored the mission work of Pastor Gerald Dahlenburg and his wife in Indonesia. In 1991 $5,000 was also donated to assist homeless young people.

Support staff are sometimes the unsung heroes in schools, especially in the pioneering years, when job descriptions do not do justice to the variety of tasks they fulfil because there is no one else to do them.

Trinity Lutheran Primary School was not alone in being blessed with skilled, loyal, and versatile clerical

TRINIT Y LUTHERAN PRIMARY SCHOOL WAS NOT ALONE IN BEING BLESSED WITH SKILLED, LOYAL, AND VERSATILE CLERICAL AND OTHER SUPPORT STAFF. and other support staff. Joe Dickerson was his own secretary, as often happened in the first years. In 1983 Mrs Muriel Dickson took up the position of school secretary, giving sterling service until 1990.

The role then fell to Mrs Maria Lennerth. She served as the principal’s secretary, school registrar, and administrative assistant for the primary school until 2002. In 2003 she assumed enhanced responsibility as registrar of the whole newly amalgamated school before becoming Director of Admissions for the whole college, based in the Ashmore Road campus, in 2004.

She continued in this position until 2013, completing a remarkable twenty-four years of service.

and the area around the newly completed library was bare. He established extensive gardens, assisted by working bees which he organised four times a year.

They attracted up to thirty workers and ended with a late afternoon barbecue. There was never a need to hire specialist equipment. Some parent always had what was needed. Many trees were provided by a family “Buy a Tree” scheme and major plantings on National Tree Day. The urgent need for working bees gradually diminished and the advent of stringent workplace health and safety regulations finally put an end to them. John’s duties were diverse, and included morning and afternoon bus duty, supervision of parent pick-up, assistance on Sports Days and on school trips, as well as the inevitable general odd jobs.

The work of bursar was carried out from 1982 by Mr Geoff Kleinschmidt in a voluntary capacity. When he joined the School Committee in 1982, he took over the role of treasurer from Mr Wilf Cambridge. He developed a deep understanding of school finances, especially government funding, which maximised recurrent funding and enabled the school to achieve the largest possible government capital grants as the building program progressed. He worked closely with Principal Robert Hoff, and his entrepreneurship and acumen enabled the school to achieve financial stability. At his initiative and on the advice of a school finance consultant, Peter Hollett, the school

Her husband, John Lennerth, also worked at the school for almost nineteen years. In 1995 he gave up his lawnmowing franchise to become the first full-time groundsman at Trinity Lutheran Primary School.

The hard work of the working bees in the foundation years had provided the extensive basic landscaping structure, but plantings and gardens were sparse, Mr Geoff Kleinschmidt

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Another significant and long-serving volunteer was Mr Geoff Stumer. A professional photographer, his business, Silver Shadow Photographers, was responsible for official school photographs for several years. More importantly, he served as the school’s unofficial official photographer from the planning period for more than twenty-five years until 2004.

His detailed photographic record of the school and its history became the subject of a major event, The Stumer Collection, in June 2007 to display his work and honour his service. He also provided nighttime security at the annual Art Shows, both before and during the events. This continued long after his children had finished their schooling. His long and valuable service was recognised by the naming of the Stumer Room in the library at the Ashmore Road campus in 2007.

Geoff Stumer and David Caldwell

Foundation was established in 1995. Its initial funds came from an annual parent contribution of $200 and from the excess funds from the thriving P& C Association after it had paid for its projects. Over a period of time the school had built or purchased four houses, the ownership of which was transferred to the Foundation. Many of the new Lutheran teachers came from interstate, and affordable housing on the Gold Coast was scarce. The houses provided lowcost rental accommodation for those who needed it, and the rent was sufficient to pay off the loans on the houses. In another act of great generosity, these houses were constructed at cost by parent-builder Tim Crowe. From 1984 Mrs Pat Huth was on staff with growing responsibility for bookkeeping and accounts for twelve years. Her husband, Bruce Huth, was in charge of maintenance at the school, working in a team with John Lennerth. Geoff Kleinschmidt resigned from the position of honorary Bursar at the end on 1996, and Mr Graham Withers was appointed the school’s first employed Bursar.

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The construction of the swimming pool was not the only major contribution from the very active P&C Association. Its work and fund raising provided a wide range of facilities, from cricket practice wickets to computer networks. The Art Show proceeds climbed to more than $60,000 gross in 1992 and continued to grow from there. It became a keenly awaited occasion in the Gold Coast social calendar and brought to the school a number of local celebrities. The official openings were conducted by luminaries including local, state, and federal parliamentarians such as: Premier Rob Borbridge, the Mayor of the Gold Coast and noted artist Hugh Sawrey. The Gala Dinner Auction became another important social event and major fund raiser. The Ladies’ Auxiliary was both a valuable social group and a successful source of school funds. At the same time parental involvement with their children’s education was being encouraged, typified by parental attendance at school camps and participation in them.

Golf days and tennis days for parents and teachers encouraged strong social relationships and were later shared with Trinity Lutheran College.

1996 was a year in which the school celebrated its fifteenth year with a variety of events. The highlight was the anniversary worship service attended by more than 1,100 people. Beginning with a student procession with banners, it included sacred dance, student drama, school choirs, and music groups of past students. A school which had reached its maturity, Trinity used the celebration events to honour

the people who had, under God, brought it to that maturity – past students, the early Mothers’ Support Group which became the Ladies’ Auxiliary, the school pioneers, long standing teachers, both those still on staff and those who had moved on, former executive members of the P&C Association, former members of the School Council, the parish pastors who had served as chaplains.

Athletics Shield for the first time, and the Swimming Shield for the sixth successive year. A Trinity student won the state division of the National Science Competition, and another won the Regional Award in the Nestle National Writing Competition. A Trinity team came second among Gold Coast Schools in the Maths Team Challenge. After fifteen years the school had much to celebrate.

During 1996 Robert Hoff accepted a call to become Principal of Immanuel Lutheran Primary School at Novar Gardens in suburban Adelaide. It was an even larger school than Trinity and presented a new challenge after thirteen years of outstanding work at Trinity. He had led the school through a time of remarkable growth in enrolments, facilities and diverse educational programs, the development of a cohesive and loyal parent community, and the maintenance of strong links with both Trinity and Living Word congregations. In the last year of his principalship the school was served by twenty-two teachers, including a special education specialist with two assistants, sixteen of them full-time. Support staff included four clerical/office staff, a library assistant, and two full-time grounds and maintenance men. Two part-time specialist music teachers provided a rich program which included two choirs and an orchestra of twenty-four players. A broad sporting program catered for both team and individual sports and achieved outstanding success. Trinity won the S.E.A.T.

Robert Hoff and his wife Sandra left behind their two daughters, Jodie, and Sarah, both of whom continued to make an active contribution to Lutheran education in Queensland.

The Hoff family

Mr Jeff Minge, who had been Deputy Principal since 1992, led the school as Acting Principal from the beginning of 1997. In the middle of the year the School Council confirmed his appointment as Principal, with Mrs Ann Mitchell as Deputy. He took over the leadership of a school which had developed strong traditions and an enviable reputation for its academic standards, breadth of curriculum, sporting and music programs, family engagement and loyalty, and Christian ethos and witness. A casual appraisal might have judged that what lay ahead was a period of stability and consolidation. Yet the next five years were to witness not only exciting growth expansion of educational opportunities and programs of the school, but also developments which would bring radical change to the operation of Trinity Lutheran Primary School.

Robert Hoff welcomes Jeff and Janne Minge, 1990

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JEFF MINGE GRAD DIP TH (ED), DIPT, MACE, MACEA

Jeff Minge joined the teaching staff of Trinity Lutheran Primary School, together with his wife Janne, in 1990.

He had taught in South Australian government schools for six years before taking up a teaching position in 1988 in the Lutheran primary school at Ceduna (now called Crossways). The school had been founded in 1983 by Joe Dickerson, who had also founded Trinity Lutheran Primary School. At Trinity he held the position of Senior Primary Coordinator in 1991, and in 1992 he was appointed Deputy Principal after the departure of Mr Peter Weckert.

With the resignation of Principal Robert Hoff, he became Acting Principal in 1997 until his appointment as Principal was confirmed by the School Council in the middle of the year. During his tenure as Principal he oversaw major extension and refurbishment of the classrooms.

Among his strengths was a love for the performing arts, which flourished under his leadership at the school.

The innovation and the high standards academically and in co-curricular activities which had characterised the school continued under his leadership.

With the amalgamation of the primary and secondary schools to become Trinity Lutheran College in 2002, he became Head of Primary School in the new structure, a position later altered to Head of Campus Cotlew Street. His wife Janne was also a long-standing member of the teaching staff of the primary school.

He and Janne retired in June 2012.

AMONG HIS STRENGTHS WAS A LOVE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, WHICH FLOURISHED UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP AT THE SCHOOL.

48 LUTHERAN COLLEGE

C H A P T E R F OUR

CULTIVATING A NEW FIELD In the 1980s many parents were seeking for their children a seamless education from Prep or Year 1 to Year 12. This was true also of families in Lutheran schools. The church operated a growing number of primary schools and secondary schools, but only one offered a seamless P-12 education.

There were structural barriers against extending a primary school into the secondary years. Secondary schools (colleges) were owned and operated by the District, whereas primary schools were owned by congregations, parishes, or associations of parishes.

A secondary school could add primary classes, but a primary school could not operate secondary classes without ceding ownership and passing over the school to District control and governance.

The desire to build a Lutheran secondary school in the northern Gold Coast surfaced very soon after the primary school opened. Dr David Caldwell arrived on the Gold Coast and opened his private medical practice in Ashmore, Southport in 1982. As a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, he had a keen interest in lay ministry at both the congregational level and within Dr David Caldwell

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Genevieve Cooper

the District, where he worked with Pastor Gary Prove, the Director for Church Development. He was also passionate about Christian education, and already had a dream of a Lutheran secondary school on the Gold Coast. Although Trinity congregation and its resources were almost over-committed in the establishment of the primary school, Pastor Martin Prenzler, visionary as always, even as he was about to leave the parish, asked Dr Caldwell to lead a task force to investigate the establishment of a Lutheran secondary school.

He became and remained the driving force behind the committee.

The newly constituted Schools Department of the LCAQD had by this time set up a structure and resources to assist the process of establishing new schools, and was able to provide advice and assistance, including the conduct of a feasibility study.

It identified strong local support, and momentum built rapidly. The task force very soon became a Planning Committee which included Dr Caldwell, Mr Robin Mackenzie, Mr Robert Hoff, Mrs Moira Kleinschmidt, Mrs Genevieve Cooper, and Pastor Sam Simpfendorfer, working with the support of the LCAQD Schools Department and its Schools Officer, Terry Armstrong.

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Pastor Sam Simpfendorfer

Early in this process the Schools Department appointed Mr Ian Mibus, Deputy Headmaster at Redeemer Lutheran College, as a consultant to the Planning Committee to provide expert educational advice. It was hoped to open the school in 1986.

Dr Caldwell was a product of the large boarding school at St Peter’s Lutheran College at Indooroopilly, and his positive experience there influenced his commitment to Lutheran education. Initial plans for the college predicted a preliminary cost of $3,000,000, to be built in four stages from 1986 to 1992, and included a boarding school. As planning progressed, the boarding component was deferred and eventually disappeared silently.

Land for the school was a major issue. In this too, Dr Caldwell was indefatigable in his efforts. He identified suitably sized blocks of land in a wide range of locations. He analysed each one, taking into account its position, cost, access to traffic routes and public transport, proximity to Lutheran congregations, size, topography, proximity to existing schools, and other factors, and presented detailed reports of his findings, complete with graphics, to the committee. The major difficulties were size and cost. Only two blocks of

Anticlockwise from top left: The entrance to the site; A quarry and a dump; Site for a school

suitable size and location were identified. Both were unaffordable. The final solution was to lie closer to home, but was fraught with difficulties.

The chosen land was situated at Ashmore Road, Ashmore, only a short distance from the primary school. It was 12.1 hectares of Crown land which some years previously had been considered as a site for the primary school, but was rejected because of concerns about the potential health risks associated with the high frequency power lines crossing the property.

After allowing an easement for the power lines, the property had 7.2 hectares available for building.

Dr Caldwell undertook detailed research on the risks posed by the powerlines, and determined that those risks were minimal. Another study some years later confirmed this view, but the issue emerged again and again until the power lines were finally relocated twenty-three years later It was a rugged, hilly site with virgin forest, abundant wildlife, and a disused quarry at the eastern end. It had also been used as an illegal dumping site for abandoned vehicles, motor cycle parts, numerous sheets of roofing iron and domestic rubbish. The Planning Committee saw beyond the obstacles to

THE PLANNING COMMITTEE SAW BEYOND THE OBSTACLES TO THE POTENTIAL WHICH HAS SINCE BEEN REALISED, AND BEGAN NEGOTIATIONS. the potential which has since been realised, and began negotiations with the Lands Department for either purchase or leasehold. Unofficial support from both the Gold Coast City Council and the Albert Shire Council gave some confidence of success.

However, the application was denied. Undeterred, David Caldwell and his committee met on the site In September 1984 with the Lands Minister, Hon Bill Glasson MLA, and Mr Doug Jennings MLA, the member for Southport. Favourably impressed, the minister requested another more detailed submission to take to Cabinet with his support. Finally in February 1985 the committee was advised by the Hon Lin Powell MLA, Minister for Education, that the government would lease the land for the purpose of constructing and operating a school.

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The terms of the lease were remarkably generous. Two options were provided. The first was outright purchase in fee simple at a cost of $175,000, fixed for five years.

If the purchase was deferred beyond that time, the price would increase annually in accordance with a prescribed formula. The second option was for Special Lease No. 46932 on Lot 121 on CP853123, Parish of Nerang. Rent was to be paid quarterly, indexed annually. As tempting as the low purchase price was, the Planning Committee had no funds available for immediate purchase, and no prospect of acquiring it in the early pioneering years. The lease agreement, also remarkably generous, was accepted by the Planning Committee. The terms of the lease were subject to review every five years. The rent for 1985 was $281, rising to $413 in 1990, $467 in 1995, and $529 in 2000.

Such generosity proved not to be permanent, however, and at the beginning of 2004 the government altered the terms of the lease. From 2005 the rent was to increase to $10,000 a year, payable every six months.

The school has a name and a crest

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The increase in rental costs was an incentive to convert to freehold. The college’s financial situation, although constrained, made outright purchase possible, and so the legal process was set in train. The transfer from the Department of Natural Resources and Mines to freehold was completed on 30th June 2004. The purchase price had risen by indexation to $270,747.

It was an astonishing achievement to have acquired so large a tract of land in such a desirable location, close to the primary school, and at a negligible cost for the first twenty years. Surely cause for gratitude to God and an affirmation of his blessing on the project. In June 1985 government approval was received for commencement in 1987. It had become clear to the committee that commencement in 1986 was not achievable.

The name of the proposed school roused some spirited discussion. It seemed logical that it should be Trinity because of the name of the Southport

Site dedication ceremony. Dr D Caldwell, Mr Doug Jennings MLA (right)

DR DAVID CALDWELL MB.BS (QLD), FRACGP, FACBS

David Caldwell grew up on a large sheep and wheat property at Manilla, north-west of Tamworth in NSW. After attending St Peters Lutheran College at Indooroopilly for five years, he studied at the University of Queensland, graduating with degrees in Medicine and Surgery in 1961. Having taken up a military scholarship, he served as a doctor for five years in the Army Medical Corps. He then worked in a NSW hospital as a psychiatric registrar.

Moving into private practice, he then set up as general practitioner in Sutherland in the south of Sydney, then in Carina in Brisbane, before returning to Sydney to a practice in Lane Cove. His final move was in 1982 to general practice in Ashmore on the Gold Coast, where he remained until his retirement in 1998. He passed away in 2017 after suffering the debilitation of Parkinson’s disease for many years.

David was a committed and faithful Lutheran Christian with a keen interest and involvement in evangelism. His passion for Lutheran education motivated him to become the driving force behind the move to establish a Lutheran secondary school on the Gold Coast, and then to guide its governance for more

than ten years, initially as Chairman of the College Council until 1991. He remained a member of the Council as long as his health allowed, retiring in July 1997.

He consistently directed the wide-ranging publicity and public relations for Trinity Lutheran College, both before its establishment, when he produced most of the published material himself, and later as Chairman of the Council’s Publicity Committee.

HIS VISION, HIS TIRELESS COMMITMENT, HIS ENERGY, HIS CONSISTENT ADVOCACY AND HIS SHEER HARD WORK PROVIDED A FIRM FOUNDATION ON WHICH THE OTHER COLLEGE PIONEERS WOULD BUILD. His vision, his tireless commitment, his energy, his consistent advocacy and his sheer hard work provided a firm foundation on which the other college pioneers would build.

53 LUTHERAN COLLEGE

congregation and the primary school. However, there was already a Trinity College in the region, a Catholic secondary school in Beenleigh, and some were concerned that the two would be confused, a fear that proved valid in later years, although it was never a serious issue. Pastor Sam Simpfendorfer was insistent that the Lutheran cause on the Gold Coast should present a unified and consistent Christian message, even by means of its nomenclature, and his view prevailed.

One by one the hurdles were being cleared. The next was local government approval. Despite the official support for the project from the elected members of the Gold Coast City Council, there was unexplained opposition from some Council officers, occasioning delays and slow responses to the application for re-zoning the land. It was suspected that local government officers resented that the Planning Committee had circumvented the Council’s initial opposition by a direct approach to the government. The approval process moved slowly.

The land re-zoning application to the Gold Coast City Council attracted 28 objections from householders in the adjacent Bishops Wood estate, many of them concerned about the loss of privacy from a future boarding school. But finally, in October 1985, the land was re-zoned to School-Special Purpose. In a generous gesture the Council waived fees and charges of $300,000 for re-zoning and headworks because of the community benefit of the proposed school.

City councillors, it appeared, were more favourably disposed than the council officers. Preliminary land clearing began almost immediately.

On 9th June 1986 a site dedication service was conducted by Pastor Sam Simpfendorfer. Among the 250 people present were Mrs Kathy Sullivan MHR, federal member for Moncrieff, and Mr Doug Jennings MLA, state member for Southport. Both were staunch supporters of Trinity Lutheran Primary School and would give equally generous support to the new college. Prior to this event the first of many working bees was held, attracting mainly committee and congregational members, to clear away some of the most obtrusive rubbish from the site. Some of the rubbish was too heavy and bulky for a conventional

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working bee, and had to be removed by the use of a bulldozer and large truck, both kindly provided by a future parent. It was soon found that the first education which had to be conducted there was to educate some local residents, who continued to use the site as a convenient rubbish tip.

THE FIRST OF MANY WORKING BEES WAS HELD, ATTRACTING MAINLY COMMITTEE AND CONGREGATIONAL MEMBERS, TO CLEAR AWAY SOME OF THE MOST OBTRUSIVE RUBBISH. A submission was prepared to support an application to the Commonwealth Schools Commission for a capital grant to provide buildings for commencement in 1987. The committee undertook a number of visits to other Lutheran colleges. Church approval was a more complex affair. The rapid expansion in the number of Lutheran schools had given rise to a more stringent approval process in 1984, including coordination and final approval by the National Board for Lutheran Schools. Trinity was one of the first schools to negotiate the lengthy and cumbersome process. A submission was prepared for the Finance Committee of the LCAQD Schools Department, from where it progressed to Schools Council, District Finance Council, District Church Council, and the national Board for Lutheran Schools. It then had to be approved by the District Synod, where in May 1985 approval was given to commence Trinity Lutheran College, Ashmore with a future enrolment of 600 students.

Attention now turned to finances. Assurances had been given that the new school would almost certainly receive a Commonwealth capital grant. A major capital appeal was planned under the name of the Genesis Appeal. A contract was signed with a professional fundraiser to manage the appeal but, when he died unexpectedly, Dr Caldwell undertook to run the appeal with the assistance of Robin Mackenzie. The administration of the appeal was then assumed by Council member, Dr Graham Sivyer. The appeal was

launched at a well-attended dinner in July 1985 with a target of $350,00 in gifts and pledges over four years.

By November $260,000 had been pledged, of which more than $80,000 was in hand. The appeal continued, though with some loss of momentum, until 1989. It was based on the assumption of three building stages: Stage 1 in 1986, Stage 2 in 1989, and Stage 3 in 1991.

When Robin Mackenzie was appointed Bursar in 1989, the finalisation of the appeal became his responsibility.

The new school had been assessed by the Schools Commission as Level 10, the most favourable level, for the receipt of recurrent funding. The fees for the first year were set at $240 per term, a low figure which was intended to make the college widely available. In the next years, however, it proved to be too low for viable operation in the pioneering years, and the fees had to be increased gradually in real terms.

The appointment of the headmaster was a critical issue. (There were at that time no women running Lutheran secondary schools in Australia.) The call system for secondary heads had by this time been abandoned and, after advertising and interviewing, Mr Peter Nitschke was appointed. He was an experienced Lutheran school administrator who was the Headmaster of St Paul’s College, Walla Walla in New South Wales. He took up the position on 1st April

Mr Peter Nitschke

1986 so as to be able to oversee detailed planning for commencement with two classes in 1987. Eric Parups from Parups Waring Architects provided a master plan, working drawings for the first buildings, and a breakdown of projected costs.

Although enrolments had been affected by the deferral of commencement from 1986 to 1987, by June 1986 430 enrolment applications had been received, 66 of them for Year 8 in 1987. However, experience would teach later that the mobility of the Gold Coast population and the development of a number of new non-government schools led to some enrolment instability, and that such future enrolment applications were not entirely reliable indicators of actual enrolments.

THE NEW COLLEGE WAS NOW OFFICIALLY RECOGNISED BY THE CHURCH. 1986 was a year of detailed planning. In May 1986 the Synodical Convention of the LCAQD was hosted by the Southport parish in the Trinity Lutheran Primary School hall. Fittingly, it was here that the Planning Committee disbanded and its work was taken up by the College Council, which was elected at that Synod. The first Council included Dr David Caldwell (chairman), Mr Robin Mackenzie (treasurer), Mrs Moira Kleinschmidt, Mr Robert Hoff and Pastor Sam Simpfendorfer from the Planning Committee.

New members were Mrs Jenny Fletcher (secretary), Mr Geoff Pemberton (vice-chairman), Mr Des Heiner, Dr Graham Sivyer, and Pastor Roly Nuske. The new college was now officially recognised by the church.

Whereas the primary school Council was a committee of Trinity congregation and answerable to it, the College Council was a District council responsible to the District Church Council through the Schools Department.

The Planning Committee had engaged the Brisbane architectural firm Parups Waring, which specialised in school architecture and which had provided architectural services to a number of Lutheran schools including St Peters at Indooroopilly, Redeemer at Rochedale and Grace at Redcliffe. It was July 1986

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e power lines above early entrance earthworks

The power lines still there in 2002

before the Commonwealth Schools Commission gave approval to proceed to final building plans and costings. A master plan had been developed and initial drawings for Stage 1 had been prepared. The anticipated cost was approximately $850,000. The Stage 1 buildings included two general classrooms, spaces for teaching Science and Home Economics with preparation areas, an administration office, staffroom, a temporary library and an amenities block.

Roadworks, basic earthworks for the oval, landscaping, and other site works were to cost more than $100,000.

Cost pressures forced a decision to delay additional classrooms, office space and the sickbay, which became Stage 1B for construction during 1987.

experience in Lutheran secondary schools. Miss Bronwyn Dolling (Mathematics, Science and sport) had taught at both Immanuel College, Adelaide and Concordia Memorial College in Toowoomba, and Miss Pauline Alcock (English, Social Education and Christian Knowledge) came from Luther College in Melbourne. Four part-time teachers covered the remaining curriculum areas: Mrs Narelle Deeth (German), Mrs Lorraine Eldridge (Home Economics), Mrs Annette Lane (Music), and Mrs Maree Nash (Art).

Pastors Sam Simpfendorfer and Roly Nuske would serve as honorary chaplains and teachers of Christian Knowledge. Mrs Wynsomme Biskaps became the

The potential health risk posed by the overhead power lines remained an issue for the Council. Arrangements were made for a delegation to approach SEQEB to seek an undertaking for the relocation of the powerline easement when the lines were upgraded.

Although Minister Russell Hinze MLA and local member Doug Jennings MLA gave their support, no undertaking was given, and when the lines were relocated many years later, it was a cost to the college.

The selection of teachers was crucial. It was important, particularly in the foundation years, to have teachers who had a clear understanding of the principles and beliefs underlying Lutheran education.

Two full-time teachers were appointed, both with Mrs Wynsomme Biskaps, Headmaster’s secretary

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headmaster’s secretary, a demanding role in a pioneering situation and one she filled competently and loyally for the next five years.

The headmaster proposed a traditional Year 8 curriculum to be taught in a 35-period week: Christian Knowledge, English, Mathematics, Science, Social Education, German, Music, Art, Home Economics, and Physical Education. It was intended to introduce Manual Arts as soon as possible, and there was to be a strong emphasis on the use of computers and computing skills and applications. A prospective parent offered the loan of a Sperry XT computer for the first six months. The decision to include Home Economics from the first year, somewhat unusual in beginning

schools, was based on a desire to provide for students an entry into the flourishing Gold Coast hospitality industry. It proved to be fortuitous, as a succession of excellent teachers led by Mrs Lorraine Eldridge shaped a tradition of outstanding achievement in Hospitality and Home Economics for many years. Similarly, the emphasis on computer technology pointed to the major role which digital technology and electronic communication would play in the college and its educational program in the years ahead.

It was important to foster and win the loyalty and support of the parent body. A Parents and Friends Association was formed even before the college opened and its Executive Committee, led by Chairman

The foundation teaching staff. Back: Mrs Narelle Deeth, Mrs Lorraine Eldridge, Mrs Annette Lane, Mrs Maree Nash. Front: Ms Bronwyn Dolling, Mr Peter Nitschke, Ms Pauline Alcock

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Mr Don Yourell, organised a welcome barbecue on 16th November. Harnessing the loyalty and enthusiasm of parents of a new school requires that they catch and share the vision for the school. The P&F Association of Trinity Lutheran College certainly achieved that from its earliest days, and in the following fifteen years made remarkable contributions to the finances, facilities, activities and culture of the college.

Tenders for Stage 1 closed on 29th October and the contract was let to Hanna and Edmed (Qld) Pty Ltd. In a remarkable parallel to the opening of the primary school, the start of building construction was further delayed by the lateness of the offer of the Commonwealth capital grant, which was not received until January 1987, only four weeks before the school year was to begin. A grant of $204,688 was to be paid in 1987 of the total revised cost of $690,000. As with the primary school, if building began before the grant was offered, it would be withdrawn. Trenches could be dug, underground pipes and cabling laid, but no work above ground level was permitted. Very early it

The first foundations

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became clear that the new college could not open in its own buildings on its own site, another parallel to the primary school. In its alternative accommodation Trinity Lutheran College, Ashmore opened on 28th January 1987.

A landscape architect, Mr R Jones, was engaged to draw up a landscaping masterplan with details for Stage 1.

There had already been friendly cooperation between Trinity Lutheran Primary School and the planned college. As early as October 1983, when the new Principal Robert Hoff produced the first issue of Trinity Times, a whole page was devoted to advertising the plans for a new Lutheran secondary school. The Planning Committee had been given a stall at each school fete to publicise their progress. The Planning Committee meetings were held in the primary school staffroom. The secondary planners and the primary school enjoyed a close and warm relationship. When the Planning Committee became the College Council, Robert Hoff was appointed to the Council. The primary school made office space on its campus available to

Stage 1 under construction

Stage 1 under construction

the Headmaster, Peter Nitschke, when he arrived in April 1986. So, it was not unexpected that when the new college buildings were not ready for occupation at the beginning of 1987, the primary school made space available in its hall for the college to operate until its buildings were finished. It had received similar generosity from the Trinity congregation in 1981 when the completion of its own first buildings was delayed.

The new College Council had recognised as early as its first meeting in May 1986 that there was little likelihood that the buildings could be completed in

Nearing completion

time, and had initiated preliminary negotiations with the primary school about using its facilities if needed.

By July a contingency plan had been in place.

At the end of 1986 five years of planning, adversity, hard work and consistent effort and commitment, of setting goals and overcoming challenges were about to bear their fruit. It was a long-awaited culmination, the fulfillment of a vision, for Dr Caldwell and the large and faithful band of supporters who had travelled the road with him.

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PETER NITSCHKE BSC, DIP.T., DIP.ED., DIP.L.ED., MACE

Peter Nitschke was a product of Lutheran schools and spent most of his working life in them, steeped in their culture and loyal to their principles and aspirations.

He was born in Loxton, South Australia, and attended a Lutheran primary school near Loxton. After the early death of his father, his mother ran the post office at Point Pass, and Peter attended the Lutheran Day School at Eudunda.

After five years as a boarding student at Immanuel College in Adelaide, he attended Adelaide Teachers College and Adelaide University on a teaching scholarship. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science, and after one year of teaching, a Diploma of Education.

Six years teaching in the South Australian Department of Education was followed by a return to Immanuel College as a teacher for four years. In 1972 he was appointed Headmaster of St Paul’s College, a Lutheran boarding school at Walla Walla in New South Wales. During his tenure the college overcame earlier difficulties and achieved stability, both educationally and financially.

He became the founding Headmaster of Trinity Lutheran College, taking up the appointment in April 1986, and led the new school with dedication and loyalty through its pioneering years, establishing a strong Lutheran ethos and high academic and personal standards. After his resignation late in 1991 he taught for one year at Emmanuel College, Carrara, before being appointed as Head of Senior School at St Peters Lutheran College, Indooroopilly.

who had shared in and contributed to the pioneering years at Trinity. They returned to Adelaide, where he still lives. Margaret passed away in 2016.

He had laid a solid foundation for the future of Trinity Lutheran College, modelling Christian living and service, creating strong expectations of student behaviour and effort, and working to build the college into an inclusive community.

He took early retirement at the end of 2002 because of the health of his wife Margaret,

HE LED THE NEW SCHOOL WITH DEDICATION AND LOYALT Y THROUGH ITS PIONEERING YEARS, ESTABLISHING A STRONG LUTHERAN ETHOS AND HIGH ACADEMIC AND PERSONAL STANDARDS.

60 LUTHERAN COLLEGE

CHAPTER FIVE

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL PLANTING 28th January 1987. The first day of Trinity Lutheran College Ashmore was celebrated with a service in the hall of Trinity Lutheran Primary School conducted by Pastor Roly Nuske, and the Headmaster and teachers were installed by Pastor Tom Reuther, the National Director for Lutheran Schools. There were 63 students in two classes, 42 girls and 21 boys.

The new school was a guest on the campus of Trinity Lutheran Primary School until its new buildings were ready for occupation. Office space was provided for Headmaster Peter Nitschke, and one end of the hall was set up as two classrooms, equipped with pin-board screens and mobile whiteboards. The primary school easels provided the only Art facility.

Home Economics classes and Science classes with a practical element were conducted in the canteen.

Sports facilities and play spaces were shared with the

primary students. The availability of the swimming pool was a luxury not to be achieved for some years on the college site. Timetables were adjusted to ease the pressure on play spaces and toilet facilities.

There was a constant need for creative solutions to difficulties and for tolerance and understanding by all parties. It was difficult to create among the college students a sense of their separate and special identity.

Yet for the 26 students who had come from Trinity Primary it was familiar territory, and both students and teachers adapted well to the trying circumstances.

In addition to the appointed teachers, Pastors Sam Simpfendorfer and Roly Nuske provided chaplaincy services and the teaching of Christian Knowledge, assisted by Vicar Michael Steicke. Mrs Margaret Nitschke worked as the part-time teachers’ aide.

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Mrs Margaret Nitschke, teachers’ aide

A temporary classroom space with teacher Bronwyn Dolling

An Education Department school inspector visited the school early in March, and on 31st March Trinity Lutheran College was granted approved status by the Department.

The pioneer students were a diverse group. Apart from those who came from Trinity Lutheran Primary School, many were not known to each other. A major task for the first year was to weld them into a cohesive group with an understanding of the principles and values of the new school, without the guidance of older students. Within the first month, at the end of February, a week-long camp was held at Camp Bornhoffen. In spite of constant rain, it achieved its aims of building a school identity, helping students to know each other, and become a cohesive student body.

The school motto was Maturitas in Christo – To maturity in Christ. The theme of growth and development in every aspect of the students’ lives became a common theme in reports, speeches, and exhortations from both the Headmaster and the Chairman of College Council. It was pleasing that in spite of the early difficulties, there was clear evidence of that growth as the year progressed. Firm discipline, cooperative behaviour, hard work and Christian living were instilled, regardless of which site the college was operating on.

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Opportunities arose very quickly for students to represent and identify publicly with their new school through sport. The Hinterland District Sports Association was formed, which provided Wednesday afternoon interschool sporting competition among six Christian schools. Bronwyn Dolling coached a netball team in a Saturday community competition.

THE THEME OF GROW TH AND DEVELOPMENT IN EVERY ASPECT OF THE STUDENTS’ LIVES BECAME A COMMON THEME. As the year progressed there was competition among Lutheran schools in swimming, athletics, crosscountry. At the first of these, swimming, in early March, the Under 13 boys’ team, from a school just five weeks old, won its division, and the college came third in the only division it could compete in. It was a promise of a strength in swimming and water sports which was to emerge strongly as the college grew. Trinity also sent competitors to inter-Lutheran competitions in chess and public speaking. A debating team competed in three rounds against three other schools.

Rugby

Rugby

A wide range of sports became quickly available

Debating team

1987 Netball team

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House competition became a strong element in school life

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Within the college there were also activities which could involve every student. Three houses were formed for competition across a range of activity.

Students and teachers shared the task of choosing house names and colours, a task which was completed late in May. The selected house names were the names in the local aboriginal language of some of the wildlife which was so prolific on the Ashmore Road site. Each house flag depicted the animal whose name became the house name: Karowmin (kangaroo) red; Booribi (koala) blue; Yowgara (goanna) gold.

house results was keenly anticipated. Competition was organised in three areas, and house shields were donated by college supporters for achievement in different activities: academic (Hoff Trophy), sporting (Mackenzie Trophy) and cultural (Kleinschmidt Trophy).

School families donated house trophies for swimming (Beveridge Trophy) and athletics (Kent Trophy). The Caldwell Cup was awarded to the house with the highest aggregate results across all categories. In 1990 house working bees were introduced with students working beside their parents at the Saturday events.

The house system became a feature of the life and student activity which flourished in the years ahead.

The goal was maximum student involvement, and student loyalty to their houses was marked. The houses also provided a structure for the pastoral care of students, with care groups established within the houses. The end of year announcement of the

While the school was still operating on the primary school campus, there was energetic activity on the Ashmore Road site. Saturday working bees were a feature of the first years of the college.

Peter Nitschke revealed a talent for motivating and organising the already enthusiastic parent body and their achievements gradually transformed the site.

Dr David Caldwell presents the Caldwell Cup

Mr Robert Hoff presents the Hoff Trophy

Mrs Moira Kleinschmidt presents the Kleinschmidt Trophy

Mr Robin Mackenzie presents the Mackenzie Trophy

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Working bees can be fun

Not just men’s work

They can also be exhausting

Among the first tasks was the removal of the last of the material which had been dumped on the site over many years. Former TLPS parents brought with them the enthusiasm, camaraderie and loyalty which had characterised years of Primary School working bees. Sausage sizzle lunches were both a reward and a motivator.

The working bees began in March, so that basic landscaping had begun even before the first building was complete. The commitment of parents who had enrolled their children in a school without buildings or facilities generated confidence and hope and deserves to be remembered with gratitude and commended. Not only did they give their time and physical labour but also many generous gifts in kind to supplement the basic facilities the new school could afford. One father who had a contract to construct seating for EXPO 88 in Brisbane used the same method and materials to provide the tiered seating in the front car park.

Much of the landscaping material was donated. A mini amphitheatre was constructed to provide an outdoor meeting venue, and timber on the site was shaped with chain saws to provide temporary outdoor seating.

Trees, shrubs, and other plantings were often provided by the workers free of charge. The distinctive row of poinciana trees between the main entrance road and the oval are a lasting testimony to the fathers and family members who prepared the site and planted them and many others. By 1989 several working bees attracted more than 100 willing workers. Continuing for several years, the working bees not only made The timber and brick amphitheatre built by early volunteers is now integrated into the modern landscaping

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significant improvements to the developing grounds but also formed bonds of friendship and camaraderie, cemented loyalty to the college, and generated pride in its development.

The basic earthworks for the oval were completed in April, but the surface was not yet suitable for use.

Emu parades were a common event to remove rubble in preparation for seeding. They continued into 1988. Parents and College Council members were among the groups who walked the oval in lines picking up sticks and stones. On Thursday afternoons students would do an emu parade before PE lessons or team games, carrying buckets or large plastic pots to carry away stones and clods. The progress to the

Regular emu parades cleared sticks and stone

Earthworks for the main oval

beautifully grassed surface of today began with very low-tech methods.

A red-letter day came during the mid-year holidays.

The school moved into the new buildings on the Ashmore Road campus with assistance from Trinity Lutheran Primary School, and classes there began on 22nd July, the beginning of Term 3. It was a strange and exciting time. Teachers relished the privacy of their own classrooms and additional teaching spaces, and students enjoyed having their own campus, even though they missed the mature playgrounds and established gardens, and access to a swimming pool and specialist sports facilities.

The top oval, a grassed playing space, was created high on the ridge

The first buildings almost ready for occupation

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In the absence of those other facilities, the students had to find alternative ways of entertaining themselves. So began the era of cubby houses.

The bush was full of suitable materials, and many a father’s shed was raided for tools, nails, and screws.

Ranging from very simple to elaborate two-storeyed structures, the cubby houses provided a valuable outlet for youthful ingenuity and creativity. The headmaster added the task of building inspector to his long list of duties.

RANGING FROM VERY SIMPLE TO ELABORATE TWO-STOREYED STRUCTURES, THE CUBBY HOUSES PROVIDED A VALUABLE OUTLET FOR YOUTHFUL INGENUIT Y AND CREATIVIT Y. As the years passed, many of these activities and events became unnecessary or inappropriate, or faded away. The kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, goannas, and white cockatoos which shared the campus with the original students and staff were finally driven away by loss of habitat. More organised and safer activities than cubby house building became available.

A well-equipped canteen and a flourishing Hospitality program make Taco Wednesday obsolete. The expanded oval has a beautiful grass cover tended by

Cubby houses

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professional staff. But these and other similar features of the early years live on as pioneering memories.

The contract for Stage 1B was let in March to Small and Coates, so that for a time two contractors were on site together. Stage 1B, which added three more classrooms ready for 1988, was constructed without a Commonwealth government capital grant.

Early in October two important events took place on consecutive weekends. On Friday 6th October the Stage 1 buildings were dedicated by Pastor Roly Nuske. A number of memorial dedications were associated with this ceremony. The three classrooms were named as memorials to Mr Doug Jennings MLA, an early advocate and keen supporter of the college who had recently died, to Georgina Hall, and to Dr Bronwyn Kleinig. An altar and lectern for the temporary worship area were donated and dedicated as a memorial to Mrs Anne Kleinschmidt.

Sunday 11th November was the day of the official opening and dedication of Trinity Lutheran College, although it had been in operation for eight months. A congregation of 600 people witnessed the opening by Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen MLA, Premier of Queensland (and a close relative of the Chairman of the College Council Dr David Caldwell), and the dedication by Pastor Paul Renner, President of the LCAQD. The preacher was Pastor Tom Reuther, National Director for Lutheran Schools.

Pastor Roly Nuske dedicated Stage 1

The Headmaster and the Premier, Hon. J Bjelke-Petersen MLA

Pastors Tom Reuther and Paul Renner with student acolytes

In 1988 the rapid pace of development was maintained.

With the enrolment more than doubling to 128, new teachers were: Mr Ian Louttit, a future Deputy Head, Mr Russell Gehling, the first specialist PE teacher, Mrs Mary Helbig and Mrs Sue Curran, creating a teaching staff of seven full-time and two part-time teachers. Planning for the Stage 2 buildings for 1989 proceeded and construction commenced at a cost of $950,000, of which $500,000 came from a Schools Commission capital grant. The project comprised three buildings: five general classrooms, permanent specialist buildings for Science and Home Economics and student amenities, including a canteen, which was to be operated by volunteer mothers three days a week. Multi-purpose courts which had been completed

A student reads the scripture

Mr Ian Louttit

and surfaced in late 1987 were lined and ready for use.

A bus shelter in the carpark had been funded by the Parents and Friends Association. After hours security was becoming an issue. A caravan had been placed on the grounds to provide accommodation for a live-in caretaker. Working bees focused on fencing the whole of the campus. Each step, small or large, marked progress toward a distant goal.

But in 1988 there was no canteen in which to make and sell lunches. Undeterred, a group of mothers implemented a plan. Beginning in March, every Wednesday was Taco Day. They made tacos and salad rolls at home and brought them to the college to provide one day of student and staff canteen lunches.

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Almost all the confirmation candidates were Trinity students

Mr Robin Mackenzie, bursar

Mr Louttit teaches a class in an uncompleted building

The tacos especially acquired such a reputation that no teachers ever brought their own lunches to school on Wednesday.

The range of student activities and achievements continued to expand. The first School Captains were appointed, Vanessa Trezise and Stuart Kath. A Student Representative Council was established. The Duke of Edinburgh scheme was introduced. Two netball teams and two basketball teams reached the finals in the HDSA sports competition, and the 14A girls’ basketball team won the first sports premiership for Trinity Lutheran College. Continuing the tradition of the primary school, the college presented the musical Oh Jonah in October, directed by Mrs Mary Helbig.

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Pastor Paul Smith, chaplain

The association with Trinity Lutheran Church, Southport was close and strong, and its Christian ministry and that of the college were powerful. At the confirmation service in June 1988, 21 of the 23 confirmees were students of Trinity Lutheran College, many of them from families new to the Lutheran church.

The demands of chaplaincy were too great for two parish pastors who were already fully engaged with other responsibilities. The LCA had a policy that a secondary school was eligible to call a pastor as chaplain when its enrolment reached 300. Trinity did not anticipate reaching this figure until 1990, but the urgency of the issue persuaded the College Council to apply for a chaplain for 1989. The request was

granted and, in March, a search for a chaplain began.

After three calls were sent and declined, in October the College Council requested the assignment of a graduate to the position. It was December before it was announced that newly graduated Pastor Paul Smith had been assigned to Trinity Lutheran College.

Two significant staffing decisions were made for 1989. As the administrative functions became more demanding, Mr Ian Louttit was appointed as Deputy Headmaster and Mr Robin Mackenzie as Bursar.

He was an accountant with long experience and acknowledged skills in school finances, having served for many years as Treasurer of the College Council and on numerous church committees at the District and national level. The financial expertise he had brought to the College Council was now applied more directly to the day-to-day financial management of the college.

When the 1989 school year commenced, the college faced a familiar problem. Once again, the building program had been delayed by weather, and the increased enrolment of 234 students were crowded into the existing building for the first weeks. Some classes were held in the undercroft and in the shade of the trees, in the staff common room, in the carpark, and eventually in partly finished new rooms. It was Term 2 before the last of the new buildings, the Science laboratories, and classrooms, could be occupied. The new buildings were officially opened at a service on

The Premier, Hon Mike Ahern MLA

23rd April by the Premier, the Hon Mike Ahern MLA. While these buildings were still under construction, the planning for Stage 3 had begun. This project was to provide three classrooms for Year 11 in 1990 and specialist facilities for Art and Graphics. The undercroft of the Science Block was to be enclosed to create four classrooms. Operable walls would allow the space to be used for whole school assemblies as well as drama, choir, and band rehearsals. The space enabled Theatre to be added to the curriculum, and Culturefest could now be held on campus. Preliminary plans were approved by College Council at the end of 1988.

SOME CLASSES WERE HELD IN THE UNDERCROFT AND IN THE SHADE OF THE TREES, IN THE STAFF COMMON ROOM, IN THE CARPARK , AND EVENTUALLY IN PARTLY FINISHED NEW ROOMS. The pace of development was relentless. Already there were growing demands for improved facilities for Physical Education and sport, including improvement and maintenance of the oval. A tractor was purchased to assist the grounds staff. The construction of extensions to the changing rooms at a cost of $56,000 began in March, and they came into use during Term 3.

The Stage 2 plaque

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Pastor Simpfendorfer leads the choir and teacher procession

The choir sings

The academic procession

There were concerns about the adequacy of the internal roads and the carpark. Other major extensions and improvements were completed in September, costing approximately $65,000. Landscaping of the challenging sloping site was ongoing. Air conditioning was installed in the administration offices. Plans for a residence for the new chaplain were submitted to the Gold Coast City Council in December 1988 and

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were subject to lengthy ongoing negotiation because the Council was reluctant to allow access from the northern boundary of the property.

Working drawings for the Stage 3 building program were completed, with a plan to commence construction in May 1990. The estimated cost was $720,000. A contract for $627,230 was signed in March

1990 after the tender price of $729,230 was reduced by renegotiating the specifications and the scope of works. Accordingly, the Commonwealth Schools Commissions offer of a capital grant of $290,000 was reduced by $22,000. The building was opened by the Hon Wayne Goss MLA, Premier of Queensland, on 28th April 1991. The dedication was performed by Pastor P Renner, President of the LCAQD. Hard on the heels of this project was Stage 4. The library had been operating temporarily in a space under the Home Economics block. The brief for Stage 4, which included a new library, the administration

Pastor Glen Schultz and the outdoor congregation

building, and staff offices, was presented to the architect in October 1989. The capital grant application was ready to lodge by April 1990. In spite of all this planning, a transportable building was needed and was set up for use in 1990.

Work had been done on the possibility of forming a Foundation to enhance the financial stability of the growing college. A constitution was prepared and in October 1989 the Trinity Lutheran College Foundation Ltd was incorporated and registered. Careful financial control and planning were certainly essential during this period of frenetic development, not least

Pastor Paul Renner, the Premier Hon. Wayne Goss MLA, Dr David

The congregation

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because of the external economic environment. At the beginning of 1990 the college was paying bank interest of 15.9% on its bills and capital loans, and further rises to 18% were to come. The Foundation was able to lend to the college at a substantially lower rate.

It was in 1989 that the P&C Association organised the first college fete, Trinity A,fair, the precursor of many such successful events. Another long-lasting tradition began with the first Culturefest, which included four plays and performances by the College Chorale and an instrumental ensemble. For many years it was a vehicle for the college students to present to a wider public a range of drama, music, and art, usually including a full-length play. As the drama and music programs developed, Culturefest grew to three nights of performances. The tradition of excellence in live drama which has persisted to the present day was developing, and there were many memorable performances.

The early Battle of the Bands

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The 1990 school year began with an enrolment of 333 students and thirty teachers, with the expanded curriculum offerings required for the 65 Year 11 students. Ian Louttit added careers guidance to his administrative responsibilities as Deputy. Among the new teachers who joined the teaching staff were Mr Derek Bartels, who was to guide the college to innovation and excellence in computing and information technology, and Mr Wayne Butlin, who remains at the college today as a curriculum leader and its longest serving teacher. In 1991 Derek Bartels organised the first Battle of the Bands, establishing a strong and lasting tradition.

There was a concern within the LCA about the extent to which the schools of the church were incurring huge debts and financial risks, while the growth in the number and size of schools and colleges reduced the proportion of Lutheran students and made it difficult to recruit Lutheran staff, especially teachers. In its

Pastor Tim Jaensch and Senator Coulston

Senator Mal Coulston

1990 statistical returns Trinity Lutheran College was able to report that 46% of its students were from Lutheran families, and that 45% of its teachers were Lutheran. The figures reflected the close connection to the local congregations as well as the clear intention of the Headmaster and College Council to create an identifiably Lutheran school.

THE FIGURES REFLECTED THE CLOSE CONNECTION TO THE LOCAL CONGREGATIONS AS WELL AS THE CLEAR INTENTION TO CREATE AN IDENTIFIABLY LUTHERAN SCHOOL. Another study on the potential risks from the power lines had been commissioned in 1989. The report was inconclusive – no convincing evidence either for or against, but it was an ongoing issue. When plans were drawn up in 1990 for a second smaller oval on the eastern extremity of the campus, SEQEB, the electricity authority, required the level of the playing surface to be lowered by one metre because the power lines passed over part of the new oval. The new oval was financed by the P&C Association by means of a bank loan of $175,000 guaranteed by the college.

Headmaster Peter Eckermann

Together with four new multi-purpose courts, it came into use in 1991.

1991 was a special year for Trinity Lutheran College.

With a full complement of classes in Years 8 to 12 catering for 424 students, the college was advancing towards maturity. Of the 67 Year 12 students, some would complete the full twelve years of their schooling at the two Trinity schools. The first Year 12 College Captains, Stuart Kath, and Kristen Rietschel, were supported by seven prefects, with five more added later. All Senior students were accorded a special status.

The constant building program continued with the acceptance in April of the tender of $850,000 for Stage 4, including air conditioning and roadworks. The major portion of the project was the administration building.

The Commonwealth Schools Commission offered a capital grant of $90,000. The building was ready for occupation early in Term 4 and was officially opened by Senator Mal Coulston and dedicated on 12th June 1992

by Pastor T Jaensch, Vice-President of the LCAQD. This was the last of the four stages envisaged in the original planning and no other major construction was in view, although a number of smaller projects would continue. These included a workshop for the grounds and maintenance staff and expanded bus stop seating funded by the Student Representative Council.

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The building

Official guests and the choir

Improvements to the main entrance on Ashmore Road were being discussed. Improvements to the college entry from and exit to Ashmore Road would be a constant subject of planning, debate, and construction for many years.

Increased numbers required more support. Discussion had begun late in 1990 on the need for a second chaplain. There was a concern that both the chaplain Paul Smith and the Living Word Pastor Glen Schultz were under stress from work overload. There was a desire to build stronger relationships between the college and the congregation and discussions were held with the Parish Council about the option of appointing a lay school-relator to the parish ministry team. However, the teaching of Christian Studies by a pastor was regarded as a higher priority, and at the beginning of 1991 the College Council applied for the right to call another pastor. Approval was received in September and the calling process began.

During 1991 Ms Bronwyn Dolling was appointed as the second Deputy Head, with responsibility for curriculum and student welfare. The curriculum offerings were expanded by the addition of Dance, with plans to offer Music and Legal Studies in the Senior years from 1992. Trinity joined several other Gold

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Coast schools in a scheme to enrol full fee-paying overseas students (FFPOS), limited to three in 1992.

Student life, activity and achievement were thriving, both in the classrooms and beyond them. In HDSA winter sports alone, Trinity won five premierships. In many respects the college was consolidating itself as a complete and successful secondary school. But at another level serious issues were arising. Early in the year there was a concern about the loss of some students, with a consequent need for more aggressive marketing. Open conflict with some parents emerged in April over the issue of the end-of-year celebrations for the first graduating class. After discussions between an external mediation group and the college administration team, the conditions for a formal valedictory dinner were agreed upon.

The discontent among some parents did not settle, however, and relationships continued to deteriorate.

After several meetings attempting mediation, the situation came to a climax at a meeting of the College Council on 1st October. Dr David Caldwell resigned as chairman of College Council and was replaced by Mr David Bird. The Council then decided to request the immediate resignation of the Headmaster, Peter Nitschke.

Ms Bronwyn Dolling

The College Council acknowledged that he had given to the college more than five years of hard work, the complete dedication of his time and abilities, educational leadership, and strong Christian commitment, and had brought the college through its pioneering phase to a position of strength and confidence. But the Council believed that the ongoing conflicts and concerns within the parent community about the Headmaster’s “style and management of leadership” were undermining these achievements.

This decision was devastating for the headmaster and his family, but the pain and trauma arising from it also affected the College Council members and every other part of the school community. Sides were taken, some parents offering the headmaster strong support.

Members of the executive of the P&C Association resigned in protest. The students and those who were not party to the conflicts were bewildered. Some staff were divided in their loyalties. The whole community experienced shock, confusion, and uncertainty.

There was some anger and resentment. It was a sad conclusion to five years of strong leadership and positive school growth. The college had lost not only its founding Headmaster in traumatic circumstances, but also the founding chairman of the College Council.

Mr David Bird

The drive and energy of both had been crucial to the college’s foundation and progress. Mrs Wynsomme Biskaps, the Headmaster’s secretary, who had given sterling service for more than five years, also resigned.

Concordia College in Toowoomba offered the services of its Deputy Headmaster, Mr Peter Eckermann, for the remainder of the school year and, by the end of November, the College Council had offered him the role of Acting Headmaster for the whole of 1992. The last two months of the school year continued routinely.

The first graduation dinner proceeded, only two days after the Headmaster’s resignation, the graduating Year 12 class donating a permanent trophy for Dux of the College. Chaplain Pastor Paul Smith accepted a call to a parish in South Australia, another sad farewell. Two calls to the chaplaincy were issued and declined. The year finished with notes of sadness, tension, and incompleteness. It was not the end which the college expected and hoped for after its first five busy, successful, and exciting pioneering years.

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CHAPTER SIX

ANOTHER HARVEST The 1992 school year began with notes of hope. It was a busy time. A stable leadership team comprising Acting Headmaster, Peter Eckermann, and Deputy Heads, Ian Louttit (Administration) and Bronwyn Dolling (Curriculum and Student Welfare) were focused on ensuring rich and challenging experiences for the students. It was also important to address the remaining issues of reconciliation and the reintegration of a divided community after the turmoil of the last months of 1991.

Pastor Andrew Jaensch accepted the call to become college chaplain, taking up his duties in Term 2.

Ongoing calls for the second chaplain continued.

A strong marketing campaign at the end of 1991 resulted in an enrolment of 458, with enquiries still being received. Mr David Bird retired from the College Council after many years of service in governance roles in both the primary school and the college, and Dr Norman Hohl was appointed chairman in his place.

The college was fortunate to have the services of a succession of College Council chairmen who had the skills and commitment for the important governance Pastor Andrew Jaensch

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Dr Norman Hohl

role. Discussions and negotiations with the P&F Association brought into being a new constitution which, in August, clarified the relationship with the college and made the association responsible to the College Council. Ian Louttit proposed the need for a new mission statement to fit the circumstances of a maturing school and headed up a task force to write it.

The conflict arising from the departure of the former Headmaster, Peter Nitschke, was officially resolved when the College Council rescinded the resolution requesting his resignation and its subsequent acceptance of that resignation. It was agreed, however, that the reality of the situation could not be reversed, and he submitted a voluntary resignation which was accepted. At the end of the year the P&F Association instituted the Peter and Margaret Nitschke Award at the Closing Service.

The position of Headmaster was then advertised and, in August, the appointment of Mr Peter Eckermann as Headmaster from the beginning of 1993 was announced.

Several issues which had emerged in 1991 reappeared. One was the relationship of the college and the Living Word congregation. The congregation,

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Mr Peter Eckermann

which was still worshipping in the hall at the primary school, had grown to the point where it was considering purchasing land on which to build its own church plant. At the same time David Caldwell, knowing from personal experience that worship is at the heart of every Lutheran school, raised with the College Council the urgent priority of providing a dedicated worship space at the college. When a letter to the congregation exploring the possibility of cooperating and sharing a worship facility received a positive response, the College Council decided to conduct a feasibility study to evaluate the construction of a place of worship, either in cooperation with Living Word congregation or alone. The study also canvassed congregational members, and the almost unanimous response favoured proceeding with the project in a joint enterprise. The congregation foresaw a chapel with a coffee shop and drop-in centre for students, and facilities for a church youth program. In October 1991 the College Council formally resolved to build a chapel/family worship centre in partnership with Living Word congregation with a seating capacity of 800 at a maximum cost of $900,000. A planning task force was established and a three-year financial appeal was proposed to provide the funding.

PETER ECKERMANN BED, AUA (PHYS.ED), DIP.T.SEC., GRAD. DIP.TH(ED)

Peter Eckermann was born into a very large family in Renmark in South Australia.

After schooling in the local state school and as a boarding student at Concordia College in Adelaide, he studied at the University of Adelaide, graduating in 1964 with an AUA (Associate of the University of Adelaide) and a Diploma in Secondary Teaching (Physical Education).

His experience as a teacher in South Australian government schools included five years at Loxton High School, where he was appointed Senior Master, several years at a school in Adelaide, where he was appointed Acting Deputy Principal in 1977. In 1978 he became Deputy Principal of Peterborough High School. In 1981 he accepted the position of Deputy Headmaster at Concordia Memorial College in Toowoomba, serving also as Head of Physical Education and Head of Boys Boarding.

During his ten years at Concordia he continued his studies, achieving a Bachelor of Education degree from the Western Australia College of Advanced Education, and the Graduate Diploma of Theology (Education) from Lutheran Teachers College. He also completed four subjects of a Bachelor of Arts degree with the University of Queensland.

In October 1991 he was contacted by the Council of Trinity Lutheran College with the request to become Acting Principal for the remainder of that year. The Concordia College Council granted leave of absence, and four days later he arrived to take up the position at Ashmore. On the first day he received no official reception and had to

ON THE FIRST DAY HE RECEIVED NO OFFICIAL RECEP TION AND HAD TO INTRODUCE HIMSELF. introduce himself to the staff and student communities. Until the completion of the new administration building he did not even have his own office. It was an inauspicious beginning to eleven years of sterling service to Trinity Lutheran College.

He agreed to remain at Trinity in an acting role during 1992. In May of that year he was appointed Headmaster from the beginning of 1993. After completing two five-year contracts he retired from Trinity at the end of 2002, having led the college during a period of major change and development, including the planning for middle schooling and the amalgamation of the two schools. During the last six months of 2002 he was Head of Senior School in the newly amalgamated college.

In 2003, after working for Lutheran Education Queensland for a short time, he joined the staff of Yirara Lutheran College in Alice Springs. In 2005 he took up the position of Principal of Good Shepherd Lutheran School in Darwin.

Encountering some health issues, he retired at the end of the year and moved back to where he began his life, Renmark, where he still lives.

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The task force concluded that it was both feasible and desirable to design a multi-functional facility, to be used as college chapel, congregational worship centre and educational auditorium. By the end of 1993, joint committees were considering issues of ownership, usage and management agreements, financing and fund raising and design. In January 1994 three architectural firms were provided with a brief and invited to submit design proposals. The design was finally entrusted to the college’s long-term architects, Parups Waring Architects.

In February 1994 it was formally decided to proceed with the project at a maximum cost of $1.2 million and to engage a project manager. Everald Compton International Pty Ltd was appointed to run the financial appeal, which was launched on 5th June 1994. By July $700,000 had been pledged by college and congregation families and individuals. The P&F Association made a pledge of $100,000 to become a major sponsor. The College Council decided that the whole multi-purpose building would be called The Trinity Centre, and the auditorium /worship area would become the Living Word Chapel. The seating capacity was set at 850. Parups Waring Architects

produced draft plans, a quantity surveyor was appointed, and strategies were put in place to keep the teaching staff informed and to gather their input on the potential uses and educational requirements of the building. The college required the design to cater, in addition to worship, for: school assemblies, drama and music rehearsal and performance, pastoral care and counselling services, and some teaching spaces.

The congregation would be allocated spaces for staff offices and youth activities. The facility was to be jointly funded on a 50-50 basis, and in an arrangement unusual in Lutheran colleges with associated congregations, jointly owned by the two parties, the college and Living Word congregation. It was hoped to begin construction in January 1995 and to have the building complete by August of that year.

Construction of The Trinity Centre began in January 1995. A turning of the sod ceremony was held on 1st February. The construction of this facility overshadowed all other developments and events of 1995. Financial constraints required that the development of the undercroft was postponed until 1996. In spite of the predictable delays, the new facility was opened and dedicated on 8th October 1995 by Dr

At the dedication service. Pastor Tim Jaensch, Mr John Stapleton, Mr Arthur Behrendorff, Dr Lance Steicke, Mr Lindsay Challenor, Mr Peter Eckermann

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Lance Steicke, General President of the LCA. It was a signature building on the campus and its prominent position was a statement of the ethos, character and priorities of the college.

A joint team to negotiate a management agreement for The Trinity Centre between the college and the Living Word congregation finalised its work in March 1996. In a related development the Southport and Ashmore congregations became two separate parishes, effective from January 1996. Pastor Maurie Richter, pastor of the Ashmore congregation, accepted a call to another parish and was replaced by Pastor Geoff Hartwig. In order to build and maintain the relationships between college and congregation, to coordinate their interests and to implement cooperation in ministry, a Mission and Ministry committee was set up, comprising the two chaplains and Pastor Hartwig. A new stage had been reached in college-congregation relationships. The close connection between the congregation and the school which characterised the primary school was difficult to replicate in the District-owned college situation, but the desire and intention to achieve it were genuine.

THE CLOSE CONNECTION BET WEEN THE CONGREGATION AND THE SCHOOL WHICH CHARACTERISED THE PRIMARY SCHOOL WAS DIFFICULT TO REPLICATE ...

BUT THE DESIRE AND INTENTION TO ACHIEVEIT WERE GENUINE. Another major collaboration between the college and the congregation occurred in May 1997 when they jointly hosted the District Synod in The Trinity Centre. The resources of the college and the primary school were both used for this major event. The music provided by a range of choral and instrumental groups from both schools, supplemented at times by

students from St Andrew’s Lutheran College, enriched both the worship and the entertainment during the Synodical Convention.

A continuing issue for the college was cooperation and coordination with Trinity Lutheran Primary School.

There was ongoing concern about the numbers transitioning into the college after Year 7. Joint promotion of the two schools was undertaken. The primary school enrolment deposit was accepted for the college also, encouraging seamless transition.

Special visits to the college by Year 6 and 7 students were arranged but, when it was realised that by this time the crucial decision had often been made, students in Years 4 and 5 and their families were targeted and discussions began on curriculum coordination and sharing. It was the beginning of a process which led to scrutiny of other aspects of school life and which was to have significant outcomes in the following years.

The mobility of the Gold Coast population and competition from six other highly regarded Christian schools in the northern Gold Coast region always put pressure on enrolments. The prestige and high reputation of Trinity Lutheran Primary School had not yet extended to Trinity Lutheran College, which had to compete fiercely for students entering secondary schooling as it emerged from its earliest pioneering phase. An energetic promotions campaign was undertaken, employing pamphlets and brochures, radio interviews, photographs of student activities, car stickers, newspaper articles and press releases, videos accompanying enrolment forms, a wellpublicised Golf Day, and the publication College Courier. There was an abundance of outstanding student achievements which could be publicised and highlighted. Among these a few years later was that of the 1987 college dux, Yusuki Onuma, who won a rare and coveted scholarship to Yale University in the USA. 1993 was a year in which Trinity showed that its students’ achievements could stand tall among schools state-wide and nationally. Trinity reached the state finals of the Tidy Schools competition and Trinity students won the Gold Coast Schools Science Competition, an achievement which was

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Reitaku High School visits continue after almost 30 years

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repeated annually for five years. A Trinity student was the Queensland winner of the Year 8 division of the Australian Schools English Competition.

Under the leadership of the Head of Computing, Mr Derek Bartels, Trinity was moving in new directions in the use of computing in the classroom and the establishment of a computer network. In 1993 Trinity Lutheran College became the first Queensland school to be appointed by Apple Australia as an Innovative Technology School. A small, sophisticated computer laboratory and associated equipment enabled the use of multimedia for teaching and learning in the classroom. From this foundation and under the direction of a series of outstanding IT specialists, both in curriculum delivery and more broadly, Trinity would achieve and retain a foremost position among schools in the use of technology in the educational process.

In conjunction with the introduction of Japanese to the curriculum, a sister school relationship was established with Reitaku High School in Japan, which has continued in an expanded form to the present day.

The visit of 36 Japanese students initiated many years of mutual exchange visits by groups of students and their teachers, a major contribution to the internationalism which Trinity is still proud to promote as a characteristic of the college. The Reitaku connection remains at the heart of the program of Japanese school visits, even after two other schools have been added to it, and many Trinity students have enjoyed exchange visits to Reitaku High School. The curriculum was broadening rapidly.

In two years, 1993 and 1994, the new subjects which were offered in the Senior years included Japanese, Small Business Studies, Tourism and Hospitality, Music, Information Processing and Technology (IPT), English Communication and Applied Technology.

Year by year Battle of the Bands went from strength to strength

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Battle of the Bands was held for the first time in November 1993 as a small house competition. It was so successful that in 1994 its organisation was taken over by the P&F Association, involving other Gold Coast schools and a local radio station. In that year thirty local schools participated, and in subsequent years it also attracted entries from Lutheran schools in Brisbane. By 1996 consideration was being given to expanding it to run over two days. After some years of growth both in size and in quality, Battle of the Bands became so demanding of time and commitment that after a one-year hiatus in 1999 it was deemed advisable to scale it back. In time it reverted to its beginnings, a highly successful and entertaining house competition with wide variety and fierce competition, and a much-loved college tradition.

The Gold Coast City Council resumed 1700 square meters of college land on Ashmore Road for roadworks. In return the council undertook to do the earthworks and roadworks to improve the college entrance and exit. New lighting was installed when this work was completed. The separate exit onto Ashmore Road was not completed until the end of 1996. Regular changes and improvements to the college entrance during the next ten years became an almost predictable saga, culminating in the impressive entrance signage which marks the entrances to both the Ashmore Road and the Cotlew Street campuses in 2021.

The entrance to the Ashmore Road campus has evolved

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Plans for 1994 included the introduction of Applied Technology in the Senior classes. This would require demountable buildings to provide two classrooms/ workrooms and a staffroom, as well as specialised equipment. It launched a new direction and a major growth in the college’s curriculum, calling for major facilities and finally a strong expansion into vocational education. Mr Ian Louttit resigned as Deputy (Administration) to concentrate on his role as

IT LAUNCHED A NEW DIRECTION AND A MAJOR GROW TH IN THE COLLEGE’S CURRICULUM, CALLING FOR MAJOR FACILITIES AND STRONG EXPANSION INTO VOCATIONAL EDUCATION. Careers Counsellor, overseeing an expanded program of student support through careers education and guidance. Ms Bronwyn Dolling became the sole Deputy Head. The introduction of a six-day timetable provided greater flexibility in accommodating new programs, but was a challenge for some students and teachers (and perhaps some parents also). After some years it was felt that the problems outweighed the benefits and, in 2001, the college reverted to a conventional five-day timetable.

Pastor Steve Mattner

Mrs Jenny Pemberton

Pastor Andrew Jaensch had been installed as chaplain at the end of April 1993 and, a little earlier, Pastor Steve Mattner accepted the call to chaplaincy at Trinity, bringing to reality in 1994 the plan for two chaplains.

They instituted a concerted effort to promote and strengthen growth in faith among the students.

Two new Christian groups were established. Youth Dimensions provided a lunch hour program using games and other activities to promote a Christian message. CUFFS (Christ, us, fun, faith, service) aimed to provide Christian fellowship among students and support for their Christian life and development.

Mr John Stapleton

Following the outstanding student successes of 1993, the excellent work of the Home Economics and Hospitality Department came into focus when two teams of three Year 12 students won both first and second place in the National Finals in Sydney of the Silverstone National Schools Cooking Challenge. Year after year in the future, Trinity Hospitality students were to achieve outstanding results at state, national and international levels.

The college’s fledgling rowing program received a welcome impetus when the Surfers Paradise Rowing Club offered its support for the next four years, supplying boats and other equipment from their base at Evandale. Mrs Jenny Pemberton was a driving force in the introduction of rowing into the Trinity sports program and was its energetic promoter, coach and supporter for many years.

Many felt that rowing at Trinity came of age when, in July 2001, the college hosted the APS rowing regatta on the Olympic standard course on Hinze Dam, with officials from Queensland Rowing and the Gold Coast Rowing Association.

In July 1994 Dr Norman Hohl resigned as Chairman of College Council after guiding the college through a challenging period of reconciliation to a position of stability. Mr John Stapleton was elected to the chair, the beginning of his long and fruitful period of governance leadership.

Mrs Jenny Pemberton established and ran the rowing program

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The College Council’s Promotions Committee was still working intensively, ably supported by material produced by Mrs Sally Mattner, a talented graphic artist. The student recruitment work of this committee was proving so effective that Dr David Caldwell proposed that the college consider increasing the enrolment to five streams, and was asked to lead a task force to investigate the possibility. An application to expand the enrolment to 750 progressively by 2000 was lodged with the LCAQD Schools Council in May 1995 and, despite some concerns about student welfare and the financial implications of the related building program it would require, it was approved. Parups Waring Architects presented a revised master plan to accommodate the increased numbers in March 1995. The Gold Coast City Council granted its approval after imposing conditions for landscaping and fencing. Demountable buildings would be required in 1995 to supplement the minor extensions made for the 1994 school year and plans were already being drawn up for future buildings including: the permanent Art Block, four classrooms and another Science laboratory. In 1995 the College Council added another committee, the Grounds and Buildings Committee, chaired by John Lennerth, which was to make important contributions in the following years, especially in relation to landscaping, grounds development and minor building projects. The pace of development never relaxed.

Trinity had from its beginning offered outdoor education experiences through school camps. In 1994 Ian Louttit headed a task force to consider the introduction of Outdoor Education in 1995. The outcome was a voluntary program in 1995 for Year 10 students at the Immanuel Lutheran College centre at Mt Binga, with the Mt Binga camp booked for a full program beginning in 1996. There was some loss of momentum when Ian Louttit left at the end of 1995 to become Deputy Head (Curriculum and Staff) at St Peters Lutheran College. The outdoor education program had been revised to become a voluntary ten-day program in Term 4 in 1995. This continued for the next two years. It became compulsory in 1998, though at several different venues. Year 12 students enjoyed (or endured) a high ropes course at Meebunbia. Year 10 students were divided into two groups,

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forty undertaking a nine-day high activity program at Mebbin in northern New South Wales, a facility frequently used by the college in later years, and 65 participating in a less intensive program at the Hidden Creek Outdoor Education Centre.

TRINIT Y HAD FROM ITS BEGINNING OFFERED OUTDOOR EDUCATION EXPERIENCES THROUGH SCHOOL CAMPS. Another teacher-led project was the production of the School Development Plan 1994-1997 by a team headed

by Deputy Head Bronwyn Dolling. Upon its adoption she undertook to review it annually. It became a useful tool for both College Council and the administration team far into the future, eventually becoming strategic planning and the formulation of four-year strategic plans.

Undeterred by its large pledge to The Trinity Centre Appeal, the P&F Association planned to erect a building for its uniform shop and the sale of stationery and school books. The College Council provided a letter of comfort to enable the Association to borrow $65,000 for the project.

The building in of the undercroft of The Trinity Centre, which had been excised from the original contract because of financial constraints, was completed during 1996, providing office spaces for the congregation, pastor and staff as well as congregational youth facilities and additional teaching spaces. Car parking and landscaping were completed by the end of the year.

The availability of The Trinity Centre not only enhanced the worship life of the college but also stimulated the introduction of Junior Drama, Senior Drama and Chapel Drama groups in a lively extra-curricular program, supplementing flourishing classroom-based programs in both Drama and Dance. The music and drama groups took leading roles in Culturefest, performed at the Winterfest fete in August and on Open Day, and were seeking still more performance opportunities. By 1998 Autumnfest, Winterfest and Springfest, one in a term, provided some of those

Outdoor education

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opportunities and attracted appreciative audiences.

Theatresports was a popular house competition.

The college’s strengths in the performing arts were becoming increasingly evident and became even more so in the following years. In 1997 the College Foundation undertook to provide $20,000 annually for scholarships and bursaries in the performing arts, including music. The college had three choral groups (Vivace, Chorale, Senior Vocal Group) and four instrumental groups (Strings, Percussion, Jazz Ensemble, Concert Band). Instrumental music was assisted by an effective instrument hire system. New music uniforms were introduced as more performance opportunities emerged. However, the large spaces and the acoustics of The Trinity Centre presented a challenge for some productions and groups and already the need for another, more intimate performance space with permanent theatrical fittings and equipment was becoming clear.

Theatre sports were popular

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In 1996 the college celebrated its tenth year with a number of events. In 1995 the College Council had asked the Headmaster to establish a Past Students

IN 1996 THE COLLEGE CELEBRATED ITS TENTH YEAR WITH A NUMBER OF EVENTS. Association and provided some funding to support it, rising to $3,000 in 1998. Several successful functions were held, sometimes also including past parents with happy memories of their association with the college. A Back to Trinity event in July 1996 formed part of the ten-year celebrations and attracted many past students.

The 1996 the enrolment rose to 605, although there was still concern about the numbers transitioning

into Year 8 from Trinity Lutheran Primary School. The growth in enrolment numbers created development pressures. The demands of the computing program called for major financial investment, which had to be further supplemented by more funding to upgrade and protect the administration computer system.

Before the enhancements could be implemented, the administration computer system crashed in May, requiring the installation of a new system.

Despite having made its large contribution to The Trinity Centre and having provided a new Uniform Shop, an enthusiastic P&F Association once again assisted financially to solve the technology problem, committing to an expenditure of $200,000 for upgrading, hardware and cabling.

It then proposed an even greater challenge, the construction of a swimming pool, launching an appeal aiming for $500,000 in matching deposits

with the Lutheran Laymen’s League (now the Lutheran Laypeople’s League). Tenders for design and construction were called early in 1997 but construction did not begin until August of that year.

Together with seating and landscaping, it was ready for use in Term 2 of 1998. The Trinity Lutheran College Swimming Club was organised immediately after the opening, soon becoming the Aquatic Club. The heating of the pool was undertaken by the P&F Association in 1999, taking the total cost of that project to $494,000 and, in 2002, a newly constituted P&F Association of the amalgamated school committed to further improvements, terracing and the construction of new changerooms.

A pall was cast over the first term of 1996 by the death in a motor accident of Miss Barbara Heidenreich, a popular teacher who had taught at Trinity for eight years. Her family endowed a scholarship in her

Foundations were laid for excellence in music and art

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Back to Trinity Weekend. The college’s 10th anniversary and the primary school’s 15th were celebrated together in July 1996. Activities included a worship service in The Trinity Centre and a combined cocktail party/art show.

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Light-hearted competition

Interhouse swimming

The college pool

memory and the college community declared as her memorial the permanent seating at the proposed swimming pool. When the college acquired two new boats for its rowing program in 2001, the quad was named the Barbara Heidenreich.

The Wiltshire Report on curriculum in Queensland schools in 1994 had resulted in a stronger emphasis on vocational education with the result that some students could study in school and TAFE college simultaneously, and gain work experience through industry placements. Even for Year 9 and 10 students there were opportunities to gain nationally recognised qualifications. QaNTm was a cooperative multi-media centre which provided multi-media courses delivered electronically. From 1996 negotiations enabled Year 9 and 10 students at Trinity to access these courses, leading to a Certificate II in Multi-Media. Relationships

between schools and TAFE colleges had developed as traineeships supplemented apprenticeships.

Pathways to both TAFE and university entry had become more diverse. Trinity had moved with the times, albeit cautiously, and was well placed by its earlier introduction of vocational and trade training and education. However, the changes produced some strains. Timetabling was difficult for students attending both school and TAFE college. At times the difference in the assessment measures created confusion. Few teachers had the necessary industry experience for accreditation to teach the school-based components of TAFE courses. Finding appropriate industry placements for students was at times difficult. In 1997 Trinity joined nine other Gold Coast schools to form SCISCO, a coalition of schools working cooperatively to identify industry placements for students undertaking TAFE courses.

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The rapid growth in the number and size of Lutheran secondary schools in Queensland in the previous eighteen years had placed a strain on the availability of Lutheran teachers. Christian teachers were essential to the distinctive ethos of a Christian school and a Lutheran understanding was necessary to the role of Lutheran colleges as an arm of the ministry of the Lutheran Church. As society became more secularised, it became more difficult to recruit teachers with a Christian commitment and an understanding of the implications of their faith for the education process. The large contingent of Lutheran Teachers College trained teachers who had exercised so positive an influence in the primary school in the previous decade were not available among secondary teachers. For many years lecturers from Lutheran Teachers College in Adelaide had provided week-long courses in Queensland during the mid-year vacation, exploring issues of Christian theology, teaching and education, but the numbers of teachers requiring this training in the large Lutheran system had become overwhelming; far beyond the capacity of the small faculty based in Adelaide. A course was therefore developed with the title Teacher Orientation Program for Schools (TOPS) which could be taught locally in separate modules, usually by the college chaplains, with accreditation for those who completed the whole program. It was designed to provide a background in personal faith, Lutheran theology and its implications for education. The chaplain, Pastor Andrew Jaensch, was active in the development of the program,

Rowing The Barbara Heidenreich

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its delivery to the teaching staff at Trinity, and its evaluation and modification. Pastor Steve Mattner also played an active role in teaching and evaluating the program. Pastor Jaensch later became a Queensland based member of the faculty of Lutheran Teachers College and of Australian Lutheran College when it replaced Lutheran Teachers College.

IT WAS ALSO DECIDED THAT THE MAIN FOCUS OF THE WORK OF THE CHAPLAINS SHOULD SHIFT AWAY FROM A TEACHING ROLE TO A PASTORAL ONE. The role of the chaplains was also being reviewed in the light of changing conditions. The size of the primary school made it impossible for a busy parish pastor to provide adequate chaplaincy service. As the church had no provision for the placement of a fulltime ordained chaplain in a primary school, the college agreed that as an interim measure its chaplains would also provide some services in the primary school, creating another of the growing links between the two schools. It was also decided that the main focus of the work of the chaplains should shift away from a teaching role to a pastoral one. This was implemented when in 1998 Pastor Andrew Jaensch transferred to

Steve Mattner and Andrew Koehler

Jeff Minge

Peace Lutheran College in Cairns and was replaced by Pastor Andrew Koehler. The work of the chaplains was becoming more difficult but also more important as Australian society became more secularised. A larger proportion of students from non-Christian families made relevant school worship more challenging, and it became more difficult to recruit Christian teachers who could authentically live out the Christian gospel, ethics and values which were at the heart of the college’s aspirations. It was a challenge facing all Christian schools.

In 1997 the developments in the relationship with Trinity Lutheran Primary School reached an important stage. Robert Hoff had accepted a call to Immanuel Lutheran Primary School at Novar Gardens in Adelaide after thirteen years of dynamic and visionary leadership. Mr Jeff Minge was appointed Acting Principal for 1997 and Mrs Ann Mitchell, who had been the Learning Support Coordinator for some years, became Deputy Principal. They took up their roles at a critical and exciting time. The next five years would intensify the contacts between the primary school and the college, leading to lengthy negotiations and culminating in the amalgamation of the two schools at the beginning of 2002.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

TALKING OVER THE BOUNDARY FENCE Under its new leadership team, Trinity Lutheran Primary School maintained its position of strength among Gold Coast primary schools. The team was strengthened by the appointment of Mrs Carrie Allwood to the position of Coordinator of Junior Primary. Its reputation in literacy remained strong and there was ongoing development in curriculum and staffing. The interest and commitment of Principal, Jeff Minge, ensured the continuation of the successful program in the literary and performing arts and maintained its reputation for Christian teaching and values.

With a strong community reputation and high profile, the primary school did not rest on its laurels.

Innovation, change, growth, and development were constant. 1998 brought enrolment expansion, with a third class added in Year 3 and a composite Year 6/7 class introduced. Curriculum development continued Mrs Carrie Allwood

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as experienced teachers sought ways to enhance and broaden the educational experience of their students and to cater for special needs. The introduction of Speech and Drama to the curriculum was greeted with enthusiasm by the students.

In 1998 Miss Nadia Ansell was appointed as the school’s first full-time music specialist, strengthening the already well-established music program, and initiating a long and successful contribution to the school. A Rock Group joined the other more traditional instrumental ensembles. The long tradition of a school musical continued, usually with a religious theme such as Arkeology and Space Jump to Jerusalem. In 2001, in recognition of the future merging, the musical, The Wizard of Oz, was a cooperative venture of the two schools. The 2002 production, God’s Got Plans for Me, was shorter, and was presented with a concert program. When the Middle School opened in 2003, it was felt that the loss of the two older classes made a full school musical too difficult, and a treasured tradition would be lost. This pessimistic view proved to be unwarranted and, in 2004, the primary students presented their version of Alice in Wonderland and in 2006, Fantasea of the Deep.

By 2000 the school boasted three choirs and five instrumental ensembles, supported by eight visiting instrumental teachers. The construction of a new music teaching building with five sound-proofed studios was begun in 2000 and they came into use

STUDENTS UNDERTOOK THEIR MOST AMBITIOUS MUSIC ENTERPRISE WITH A MUSIC TOUR TO IMMANUEL LUTHERAN PRIMARY SCHOOL. early in 2001. In 2002, when the primary school had amalgamated with the college to form a new entity, Trinity primary students undertook their most ambitious music enterprise with a music tour to Immanuel Lutheran Primary School and other venues in Adelaide. Forty-five students toured with nine supervising adults.

Primary School musical also included teachers

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The Reading Recovery program for at-risk readers introduced by Mrs Meryl Siggs in 1997 was a successful curriculum innovation which became firmly embedded in the educational program. The association with Dr John Haynes at Bond University led to the introduction of a course in Philosophy for a selected group of students. Highly successful, it was able to continue for some years after his departure to an academic position in New Zealand when five teachers and a parent achieved Level One training status for the course and a new mentor was identified.

A literary competition within the school for Years 3 to 7 supplemented and prepared for participation in state and national competitions, with some excellent results. Chess, long recognised as a valuable tool for promoting children’s cognitive development, was introduced to the school in October 1997.

The music teaching studios

APS 1999

The school maintained its position at the forefront in technology education under the direction of Mr Peter Robinson. In 2000 Robolab was installed, enabling an early version of robotics. The successful introduction of a new Technology syllabus in 1999 and 2000 led to an invitation to two teachers to lecture on the program to education students at Griffith University.

The excellence of the teaching staff was shared when in 2000 they hosted and mentored a group of Lutheran teachers-in-training from the USA as well as supervising practice teaching for local teacher trainees from Griffith University.

The flourishing sports program grew even larger.

In 1998 SEAT was replaced by APS (Association of Private Schools), incorporating both secondary and

Mrs Meryl Siggs

Swimming award

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Primary and Middle School sport

primary schools. Trinity Primary boasted thirty-two teams including sports introduced or expanded in 1997: Walla rugby, midi rugby, hockey, softball, tennis, and touch football. The goal of broad sporting participation was being maintained. The swimming team achieved second place in the Lutheran carnival but had its eighth successive win in SEAT/APS in 1998, a dominance it was to extend to ten years in 2000. In 2002, the last year before the Middle School brought an end to the traditional P-7 school structure, Trinity Lutheran Primary School won all three Lutheran schools carnivals (swimming, cross country and athletics), the APS cross country and the APS percentage trophy in swimming.

The P&C Association maintained its traditional round of social and fundraising activities. For some years the extent and intensity of the organisation’s work had required a part-time Coordinator of Activities.

Mrs Gail Allison carried the role initially and was replaced in 1999 by Mrs Carole Morris, who served the two schools for many years in both volunteer and paid roles. Mr David Webber led the Association as its capable chairman for seven years from 1996 to 2002, when a single association was formed for the newly merged college. In 2001 the Association provided $40,000 to the school for library and literary resources, IT networking and software upgrades, as well as installing solar heating for the swimming pool and a pool blanket.

In 2001 Trinity Lutheran Primary School celebrated the completion of twenty years of Christian education.

At an anniversary service in The Trinity Centre at the college on Sunday 6th May, more than 1,000 people gathered to thank God for his blessings to and through Trinity Lutheran Primary School, and to honour the many students and teachers who had passed through it in the previous twenty years.

During the year the Trinity Quilt was created to recognise the vision and achievements of the previous twenty years. Each year level of students, founding parents and supporters, current parents, teachers, and members of the two congregations were all given the opportunity to design and create a square with a message to celebrate the school’s journey.

Mrs Carole Morris

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The Anniversary Dinner guests were entertained with music provided by teaching staff and past students and shared the Anniversary Cake. Significant persons from the past were honoured during the year. At the Year 7 Presentation Night and Farewell, the last of its kind at the Primary School, Peter Stiller, Wilf Cambridge, and Robert Hoff presented the awards that carried their names, and the speakers included students as well as senior staff members.

Others who were remembered by the presentation of awards included: Cheryl Mathies, Lila Mackenzie, Pastor Martin Prenzler, Jack Strohmeyer and Anne Kleinschmidt. The evening was both a celebration of a journey and the end of an era.

A faint cloud overshadowing these joyful celebrations was the knowledge that at the end of that year

the school, though its physical presence and its educational program would continue, would cease to exist as a separate and independent institution and that there would be an end to the close direct association with the congregation which had founded it and the one which it had spawned.

At the college the Promotions Committee of the College Council had always been a dynamic and important group, energised by its chairman Dr David Caldwell. His impending retirement from the College Council for health reasons compelled a reassessment of how its work could be done. A new Promotions Task Force was set up early in 1997 with Dr Caldwell as consultant. Consideration was given to appointing a Development Officer to continue the work, but the ongoing discussions between the college and the

The Bi-centennial and 20th Anniversary Quilt. From left: Mr Jeff Minge, representative of the Bi-Centennial Committee, Mrs Janet Wittig (quilt project coordinator), Dr Gretchen Hitchins

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Mr John Braithwaite

Golf Days had long been popular events

Primary School created so fluid and unpredictable a situation that the appointment was deferred. By 1999 the college was concerned at the poor coverage of its activities in the local newspaper, so that promotion and publicity again came into focus. It was 2001 before a Development Department was established, funded jointly by the college and the primary school through their Foundations. In May of that year Mr John Braithwaite accepted the position of Development Officer with Mrs Philippa Martin as his assistant.

Both were highly qualified and experienced and took up the work energetically and with great success.

The new department had responsibility for marketing and public relations, fundraising, alumni relation, and the organisation of social events and activities.

Its role was especially important as the two schools merged to form one entity in 2002. It also played an important support role in the planning for the Middle School and publicising it. It was funded and supported

by Friends of Trinity, an organisation which was set up by the Foundations of the two schools in 1999 to provide coordinated support for the two schools and later to facilitate the merging of the two Foundations.

It continued after the Foundations became one and provides important leadership in the development functions of the college to the present day through its outreach into the wider community and its fundraising activities. As time passed and the core emphasis of the department’s role was modified, that change was

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reflected in a change of title. The college has been well served by a succession of capable Directors of Community Relations.

The development of the college’s physical facilities continued. For ten years the library, constantly growing in size and complexity, had resided in a range of temporary sites. In 1998 it found a permanent home when a new library building was erected. It included an IT area equipped with 15 IBM computers.

A Mathematics centre was also located in the new building which was officially opened on 23 May by Dr David Caldwell and dedicated by Pastor J V Vitale, President of the LCAQD.

FOR TEN YEARS THE LIBRARY, CONSTANTLY GROWING IN SIZE AND COMPLEXIT Y, HAD RESIDED IN A RANGE OF TEMPORARY SITES. Educators in the western world had long been concerned at the increasing disengagement from learning which was evident in students in the later primary and early secondary years. Middle schools had been developed in an effort to provide a physical and social environment and educational approaches

The library

and methods which would address the special social and educational needs of pre-teen and early teenage students. Teachers at both the college and the primary school, as they met to coordinate their curriculum approaches and offerings, recognised the potential of middle schooling, and a movement to investigate it quickly emerged. In February 1997, the College Council, following the teacher-led initiative, decided that in undertaking its routine strategic planning, it would liaise with Trinity Lutheran Primary School and that one of the key issues would be middle schooling.

This coordination was implemented when, on 21st April 1997, a meeting of the Chairs of the two Councils, the Deputy Heads of the two schools and Trinity Lutheran College Bursar, Robin Mackenzie, was held. The outcome of this meeting was the establishment of a task force “to explore the future development of both schools, including curriculum issues and a Middle School”. The membership of twelve comprised the two Headmasters, two members from each Council, two teachers from each school and the two bursars. The central issue was whether there was agreement that middle schooling would better meet the educational and social needs of pre-teen and early teenage students. It was also clear that any consideration of middle schooling had major implications for the structure of the schools, as a Middle School would straddle the interface between primary and secondary, between the primary school and the

Mr Lindsay Schmalkuche

college. A number of key issues had to be resolved.

They included which year levels would comprise a potential Middle School, on which campus it might be situated, and which school would bear the governance responsibilities. The chairmen of the two Councils, John Stapleton, and Lindsay Schmalkuche tapped into the preliminary work done by teachers at both schools and became strong advocates for the establishment of a Middle School.

Mike Middleton was an educational consultant with a strong interest and acknowledged expertise in middle schooling. In July 1997 he gave a presentation on middle schooling to the combined Councils and selected teaching staff. His ongoing input became a critical element in the development of plans, strategies, and implementation. It was important that the teachers in both schools should be well informed and supportive and, In April 1999, he made another presentation to the combined teaching staffs of both schools. In the following month the two Councils agreed to cooperate in the preparation of background data to enable future joint consideration of options for cooperation. In August 1999 the Council of Trinity Lutheran College formally resolved to support the establishment of a Middle School but it was still early days, and detailed work was required to enable a final decision by both bodies.

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A Curriculum Task Force was set up to do detailed planning with Mike Middleton engaged to provide periodic assistance and guidance. A Joint Planning Committee was also established, chaired by John Stapleton. Its report in October 2000 recommending that the schools work together to implement middle schooling at the two schools was endorsed by both Councils.

The decision to introduce a Middle School hastened the movement toward the amalgamation of the two schools, since the Middle School, however it was configured, would draw on both the upper primary and lower secondary year levels. On this issue also the two Chairmen of the Councils, John Stapleton, and Lindsay Schmalkuche, were in positive agreement. By August 2000 the College Council had firmed up its views.

It formalised its preference for one amalgamated P-12 school operating on two campuses. The closer cooperation between the two schools had been given expression in May 2000 when two members of the primary school staff, Mrs Ann Mitchell (Deputy Principal) and Mr John Lennerth (Head Groundsman) were appointed to the College Council. The formalities prior to implementation were almost complete.

While all this activity was taking place at the governance level, curriculum issues and student needs were receiving close attention. In 1999 Ms Bronwyn Dolling and Mr Michael Togher had negotiated with QaNTm for the offering of Certificate IV at Year 11 in 2000. It was a multimedia program, an interactive learning project which enabled the course in Years 11 and 12 to be delivered electronically, and again it placed Trinity Lutheran College at the forefront of curriculum delivery. Certificate IV was an extension of the Certificate II program already negotiated 1996. It was envisaged that delivery of the program might later extend to other Lutheran colleges but, as no government funding could be obtained for the initiative, this did not eventuate. At the end of Term 2 of 2000, Bronwyn Dolling, who had been co-Deputy Principal from 1991 and sole Deputy since 1994, resigned to become Principal of the new Pacific Lutheran College at Caloundra, opening in 2001. A foundation teacher of Trinity Lutheran College, she had made major contributions to the college in a wide variety of areas, including curriculum development

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Mr Rob Fysh

and some governance tools. In 1999 she had undertaken a major review of the School Development Model which she and teacher colleagues had prepared for the Council some years earlier. She was replaced as Deputy Head by Robert Fysh.

2001 was a critical year in the new developments. In Trinity Lutheran Primary School, Principal Jeff Minge took long service leave in Term 1 and his Deputy, Ann Mitchell, became Acting Principal. On his return she was seconded by the Councils of the two schools to develop an implementation plan for the establishment of a Middle School, with a steering committee to support her work.

By this time the two issues of middle schooling and amalgamation had become inextricably linked. It was clear that middle schooling could not be implemented unless the two schools became one. Ann Mitchell’s preliminary report in June 2001 provided two options – one school integrated on two campuses or two separate schools working in cooperation. For the Middle School the proposal was for either Years 6 to 9 or Years 7 to 9.

Her secondment was extended into Term 3 with additional terms of reference. Though formal decisions had not yet been made, deadlines were emerging.

Mrs Ann Mitchell

At the end of June, the Commonwealth Department of Education Training and Youth Affairs was informed, with only days to spare, of the intention of the schools to merge into one. The Queensland Office of Non-State Schooling had to be informed and an application for approval lodged. A meeting with Living Word congregation Ashmore was held on 24th June to explain the intention to form a new entity, which would eliminate the congregation’s governance role in the Primary School, as the policy of the church required that the new school would fall under the ownership and governance of the Queensland District of the LCA. For some whose efforts and sacrifices throughout and beyond the pioneering years had brought the Primary School to a flourishing condition and to pre-eminence both as an educational institution and as a ministry of the church, the cutting of the ties of responsibility would be a cause for regret and even a source of some unhappiness.

THE CUTTING OF THE TIES OF RESPONSIBILIT Y WOULD BE A CAUSE FOR REGRET AND EVEN A SOURCE OF SOME UNHAPPINESS.

The formal culmination of all this effort came at a momentous joint meeting of the two Councils on 24th July 2001, when it was resolved that all the functions and operations of the two schools would merge on 1st January 2002, including the combining of the two Councils. In fact, the Councils began meeting as a single large unit from August 2001, of necessity a very large and somewhat awkward group. A new College Council for the amalgamated school would be elected at the Synodical Convention in May 2002.

A combined budget was to be prepared for 2002, overseen by a joint Finance Committee. Work was to begin immediately to achieve full networking and coordination of the computer systems. It was agreed that all administrative appointments would be reviewed, and that those positions would be subject to redefinition and redesign, and even relocation. The new school would require a collective vision and clear lines of communication and responsibility.

As a consequence, the final report on middle schooling from Ann Mitchell in August was received in a context in which amalgamation was already in the process of implementation. Providing the essential details, the report recommended a single school on two campuses with three sub-schools: the Junior School at Cotlew Street for Years P to 5, Middle and Senior Schools at Ashmore Road, with the Middle School comprising Years 6 to 9 and the Senior School Years 10 to 12. It was recommended that the name of the new school should be Trinity Lutheran College and that the Middle School should open in 2003. It was understood that the provision of the physical facilities was only one factor in the decision when to begin the Middle School. Appropriate teacher recruitment, professional development of teachers and relevant curriculum development were essential if middle schooling was to be properly implemented. In October 2001 the last of the formal approvals was received when the Queensland Education Department granted approval for the amalgamation. In October also, the final decision was made to open the Middle School in 2003, in spite of some uncertainty about whether the increased enrolment numbers could be met and whether the new buildings could be constructed in time. Ann Mitchell’s secondment was extended once more into Term 4 to enable her to advance the

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The Year 11 vocational education program which had been developing for some years stabilised with offerings in Trade and Business Mathematics, Business Communication and Technology, Business (Office Administration) and Information Technology Systems. Board-registered subjects included: Hospitality Practices, Tourism, Early Childhood Studies and English Communication. With a broad range of Board subjects, the interests and needs of all students were well catered for.

Dr Gretchen Hitchins

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School-based traineeships were already in place.

Growing student interest in Technical Studies had already highlighted the need to provide improved facilities for students in the senior years. As the temporary buildings erected when the program was introduced were no longer adequate, a building program in the early years of the restructured school would be needed to rectify the shortcomings.

In 2000 the college had lodged its application for Commonwealth funding for the enhancement of the Home Economics and Hospitality kitchen and catering

planning for the Middle School. The services of Mike Middleton were still being called upon as research continued into the various options for the Middle School and the model to be adopted.

IN 2001 TRINIT Y WAS AGAIN RECOGNISED

The new combined school began the 2002 school year with an enrolment slightly in excess of 1150. New administrative structures were required for the new educational structure and interim appointments were made. Peter Eckermann retained responsibility for the secondary school as Headmaster of the college and Jeff Minge became Head of Primary with continuing responsibility for what was previously Trinity Lutheran Primary School. Ann Mitchell was appointed Director of Planning, charged with the task of dealing with the multitude of practical issues in the new situation as well as continuing the preparation for the Middle School. The leadership of the new governing body was also reconstituted, with John Stapleton as Chairman, Dr Gretchen Hitchins as Vice Chair, Lindsay Schmalkuche as Chair of Finance and Mrs Judy Vickerman as Secretary. The new Council planned to have the two business systems fully integrated by June 2002.

SCHOOLS SCIENCE COMPETITION.

AS BEST SCHOOL IN THE GOLD COAST

facilities through the installation of a commercial kitchen and a training restaurant (La Buena Onda), cold room and bar. When the extension and refurbishment were complete in June 2001, the facility was among the best in schools on the Gold Coast. Students continued to achieve excellence. In 2001 Trinity was again recognised as Best School in the Gold Coast Schools Science Competition and two students competed in the Chemistry and Biochemistry divisions of the National Finals of the BHP Science Awards.

The new College Council looked to the future infrastructure needs of the merged school and devised an ambitious plan of building construction extending to 2009. Future plans for the Ashmore Road site included: immediate extensions to covered

The bar

The commercial kitchen

The dining room

Practical catering

The restaurant

Practical catering

Students at work

The Home Economics/Hospitality building

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The new 2002 uniforms

walkways, a separate dedicated Middle School building, a Gymnasium/Indoor Sports Centre, a Technology Centre, and a theatre/performing arts venue. Although the timeframe extended somewhat longer than originally planned, the next years were to see the completion of all these facilities. On the primary campus work began immediately to expand the facilities for the prep classes. A start was made on major redesign and refurbishment of the primary classrooms. During 2002 the two campuses were fully networked by the installation of a microwave link.

While these major infrastructure issues were being considered, a host of smaller decisions had to be made in the first months of 2002. They were smaller in scale and cost, but heavily laden with emotion and potential conflict as treasured traditions had to be re-evaluated, some discarded, some retained, some replaced or modified. Disappointments were unavoidable, but a positive and cooperative spirit prevailed. The decisions were made by the combined College Councils after seeking feedback and advice from stakeholders, especially staff and parents. The name of the new school, Trinity Lutheran College, perpetuated the name of one of the partners and obliterated the other. Effective house systems in both schools had created strong loyalties and it was recognised that some changes would cause pain. It was decided to

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retain three houses in each sub-school, and that the new houses would perpetuate the names of the founders and patrons of Trinity Lutheran Primary School, but also incorporate the house colours and native animal mascots from Trinity Lutheran College: Mackenzie (Karowmin, red), Stephan (Booribi, blue) and Strohmeyer (Yowgara, yellow). This was one of the few College Council decisions which roused some adverse reaction from parents and students.

The previous house trophies were retained: The Hoff Trophy (academic), The Mackenzie Trophy (cultural), The Kleinschmidt Trophy (sport) and The Caldwell Trophy (aggregate).

New school colours were agreed upon, bottle green, black and yellow, to be used in different combinations in the uniforms of each sub-school. The services of the graphic artist, Sally Mattner, were called upon once again for the creation of the new and very contemporary college corporate crest and logo.

The college’s motto was a continuation of the Trinity Lutheran Primary School motto which so succinctly encapsulated the guiding principle in the life and work of both schools, No other foundation-Jesus Christ.

Each sub-school was given its own motto: Every child a star (Primary), You, me, Trinity (Middle), Focussed on Excellence (Senior).

The new college crest

A CHRIST-CENTRED COMMUNIT Y THAT VALUES THE UNIQUE NATURE OF EVERY LEARNER AND SEEKS TO NURTURE AND EMPOWER EACH INDIVIDUAL TO SHAPE AND ENRICH OUR WORLD A new mission statement was adopted early in 2002.

It read: Trinity Lutheran College is a Christ-centred community that values the unique nature of every learner and seeks to nurture and empower each individual to shape and enrich our world. It was both an aspiration worthy of any Lutheran school and a yardstick by which to measure the new school’s operations and achievements.

The discussions around these issues raised an awareness of the importance of heritage and history.

The College Council therefore resolved that a College Archives should be established to record and preserve the history of the two former schools, and that the name of the archives should be a tribute to the contribution of the Stumer family to this work.

Mr Geoff Stumer

Despite the high hopes and confident expectation, and all the care and detailed planning which had led to this outcome, the new Trinity Lutheran College, emotional attachments cannot be regulated by decision making or administrative action. The amalgamation was accomplished in an atmosphere of goodwill and confidence in the future. Yet old loyalties die hard.

For some there was a lingering regret for the loss of intangible things. Some feared that the new structure might not be a merging of equals, but that one had swallowed up the other. Some were concerned at the difficulty of maintaining close church/school relationships. Not all traditions and practices, however valued, could remain unaltered. It would require time, and new generations of students, parents, school governors and supporters before the heart and the body of Trinity Lutheran College would find a true unity. A firm basis for that unity was evident in what the two schools shared – a strong foundation for a Christ-centred education, Christian values and aspirations, commitment to excellence, concern for individual needs, broad curriculum, wide ranging and exciting co-curricular programs, with particular strength in sport, music and drama. These would be maintained and enhanced in the years ahead.

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ANN MITCHELL MED ST, GRAD DIP TH (ED), DIPT, MACE, MACEL, FAIM, MAICD

It was as the parent seeking a school with a suitable school culture for her three children that Ann Mitchell first made contact with Trinity Lutheran Primary School in 1985.

When she joined the teaching staff in 1987, she brought a diverse range of experience to the position: almost three years of teaching in Queensland and Darwin, travel to London and Canada, where she married and worked as a teacher and in business administration.

On the family’s return to Australia, where her husband was engaged initially in reconstruction work in Darwin after Cyclone Tracy, they finally moved back to Queensland.

At Trinity she recognised an intangible and positive environment in the school.

She appreciated a well-founded value system which provided a basis for making a commitment to the school and its community, an intentional cultivation of spiritual values, and overt Christian teaching and living.

Having an early interest and experience in special needs education, she was working on a master’s degree in educational psychology, focusing on learning development, especially for special needs students. She joined the part-time teaching staff in 1987, initially half a day a

week, and began full-time work as special education teacher in 1991 when Mrs Alicia Simpfendorfer resigned.

When Jeff Minge became Principal in 1997, she was offered the position of Deputy Principal, still with some teaching responsibilities. The role very soon became full-time.

Having been an active participant in the discussions and negotiations with Trinity Lutheran College about middle

until her appointment as Head of College, a role she assumed on 1st July 2002.

She served as Head of College for twelve years until her retirement in the middle of 2013. During this time, she also served for some years as the Chair of the national Board for Lutheran Schools. The early focus of her leadership was the effort to integrate fully the two former schools and to create a united community.

AT TRINIT Y SHE RECOGNISED AN INTANGIBLE AND POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT IN THE SCHOOL. schooling, she was seconded for Term 2 of 2001 to research and report on the options, processes and systems for the introduction of middle schooling and amalgamation of the two schools. The secondment was extended to Terms 3 and 4 with an extensive additional brief.

In 2002 she became Director of Planning to oversee the process of amalgamation

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C H A P T E R E IGH T

THE FENCE IS DOWN. ONE FIELD 2002. The goal of combining the two Lutheran schools in Ashmore had been achieved. The appropriate decisions had been made. The organisational and legal requirements had been met.

The two schools which for so long had worked in happy and fruitful cooperation had become one and were operating as one school on two campuses with an enrolment of over 1150 students. But the work was far from complete.

Leadership decisions had to be made. In April the College Council advertised the position of Head of College of Trinity Lutheran College. In late May it announced the appointment of Mrs Ann Mitchell from 1st July 2002. Mr Peter Eckermann was appointed Head of Senior School and Mr Jeff Minge Head of Primary School, with Mrs Meryl Siggs as his Deputy.

Both Heads had contracts expiring at the end of 2002.

Mrs Ann Mitchell

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Mr Alan Jakstas

Mrs Shirley Washington

Mr David Lyon

Jeff Minge accepted a renewed contract from 2003.

Peter Eckermann chose to resign and to move on to other opportunities. He had led the college through a time of crisis and division and had brought healing and progress out of disunity and trauma. Mr Rob Fysh was named as Head of Senior School. The new appointees were installed in office at a church service of Living Word congregation in The Trinity Centre on 9th February 2003. Mrs Shirley Washington became Dean of Students and Mr Alan Jakstas continued in his role as Dean of Studies. As plans for the Middle School progressed, Mrs Carrie Allwood, who had a long history with the Primary School, returned to Trinity in August after a two-year absence to become Head of the future Middle School. Mr David Lyon, another longstanding member of the teaching staff, became Deputy Head of the Middle School.

After the departure of Pastors Jaensch and Koehler from chaplaincy, the college had experienced difficulty in attracting ordained chaplains whose role was now being redefined as school pastors. After Pastors Mike Neldner and Michael Alfson accepted calls to become chaplains, they joined Pastor Steve Mattner in 2003 and the college had at last its full complement of ordained pastors once again. Each was to concentrate his work in one of the three sub-schools, and it was envisaged that they would also have some involvement with the two local Lutheran congregations in order to maintain a college

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Mr John and Mrs Carrie Attwood

presence and connection, a particular need since the governance role of the congregation in the Primary School had been lost.

HE LED THE COLLEGE THROUGH A TIME OF CRISIS AND DIVISION, AND BROUGHT HEALING AND PROGRESS OUT OF DISUNIT Y AND TRAUMA. Mr Robin Mackenzie retained the position of Bursar of the new school with the title Director of Finance. Sadly, he fell ill in January 2003 and, despite hopes for his recovery upon his return from sick leave, he resigned in August and passed away in December 2004. His financial management skills were to be sorely missed during the financial difficulties which lay ahead. He had been a strong and stabilising influence for many years, not only in his skilled management of Trinity’s finances and strong leadership of its non-educational activities.

He had also been a leading figure in the finances of the LCAQD, the Lutheran Church at the national level, and in the financial work of the LCAQD Schools Department and of some of its individual schools. His departure coincided with the emergence of difficult financial circumstances and challenging supervisory roles. Mr John Dohler, Bursar of the former primary school since 2001, had become Assistant Bursar of the college,

image, student uniforms, curriculum, buildings and infrastructure, parent and community communication including student reports, staff development and integration, integrated financial systems, pastoral care structures and processes, merging of calendars, special needs programs, staffing issues, the merging of the two P&F Associations and the two Foundations, Physical Education and sport, fee structures. The devising of an integrated fee structure proved to be a more difficult issue than had been expected. Once again open communication and careful explanations to parents were required when fees for the upper primary years underwent a sharp increase.

Pastor Michael Alfson

Mrs Carole Morris’s position as P&F Coordinator continued, with increased hours of work and expanded responsibilities in the expanded school with its larger parent numbers and a wider range of activities to coordinate and supervise. A new fortnightly college newsletter was introduced under the title of Spirit.

It has been replaced in recent times by Spirit Blog.

Trinity Times is issued monthly.

Decisions on most of these matters were made late in 2001 and in the first months of 2002. Some, such as buildings and infrastructure, would require constant attention and effort for many years. But the making of decisions, and even the full implementation of those decisions, could not fully resolve the issues.

While excitement and hope were generated by the new developments and the opportunities they opened up, the loss of the old, the loved and the familiar also created some regret, uncertainty, and apprehension.

Work would be needed in order to create new, shared, and realistic expectations. The College Councils and planning groups had been at pains to communicate their plans and decisions and the reasoning behind them to staff, parents and the wider community, but it became clear that an ongoing program of communication and explanation would still be needed.

This was put in place early in the year, and also included important information about the nature and purpose of middle schooling and the progress towards the opening of the Middle School. Understanding and acceptance in the broader community were important to achieve the increased enrolment numbers required in Years 6 and 7 for 2003.

Ann Mitchell’s final report in November 2001 had identified a wide range of issues requiring consideration and decision during the amalgamation process. Their number and range exemplify the complexity of the merging of the two entities. They comprised: a mission statement, enrolment systems and procedures and the status of the registrars, the roles and responsibilities of the chaplains, information technology and computer systems, a corporate/visual

Structural and administrative integration were achieved effectively on one level because of careful and detailed planning. In daily practice they still presented challenges, especially when the Middle School came into being. Social, educational, and emotional integration also presented a more complex and difficult task. All were to require a major emphasis for some years of the tenure of Ann Mitchell as Head of College.

Pastor Mike Neldner

and was now faced with the challenge of supervising the finances of the new school while they were still in transition, as well as the oversight of a large, complex building program. When he moved to another Lutheran school in 2004, his temporary replacement was Mr John Collins, the newly retired Bursar from Redeemer Lutheran College. It was unfortunate that this volatility occurred at the very time when stability was most urgently needed. Progress was made toward achieving this stability in 2005 when the new Bursar, Ms Donna Foxwell, brought experience and longer tenure to the college’s financial management.

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M O Z A M BIQ UE P A R T N E R S HIP

Following an initiative from the Primary School, the college established a relationship with Chamanculo District and its school in Mozambique, in partnership with Mozambique Lutheran World Service. A significant amount of money was raised to provide a computer and a toilet block for the school, as well as other materials. Later Australian Lutheran World Service provided assistance.

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115 LUTHERAN COLLEGE

Dr Graeme and Mrs Robbie Doherty

Mrs Cynthia Williams, the original Art Show convenor

The P&F Associations continued to operate separately during 2002, though with cooperation and coordination. They merged at the beginning of 2003 with Mrs Judi Vickerman as President, who moved in 2004 to the position of P&F Coordinator and was replaced as President by Dr Graham Doherty. The new constitution provided for a committee with three representatives from each sub-school, as well as members of the college’s administration team. The new organisation maintained the traditional activities of the two previous associations. The 2004 Arts and Crafts Exhibition raised a record $35,000. The merged Foundation conducted a major gifts appeal with a goal of $700,000 and pledged $1,750,000 toward the cost of the Middle School buildings.

The history of delay in the construction of the first major buildings in the two former schools was to be repeated in the construction of the Middle School buildings. The original concern that new buildings might not be ready for the start of 2003 proved to be well-founded. The site at the western end of the campus was steep and required extensive and expensive civil works, including car parking and landscaping and, yet again, changes to the Ashmore Road entrance, with additional access direct to the Middle School carpark. The Office of Non-State Schooling of the Queensland Government contributed

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$470,000 to the expensive civil engineering costs.

Planning and approvals took so long that construction did not commence until April 2003, with the target of completion by the beginning of Term 4. Neumann Contractors won the contract for the civil works and A W Edwards for the building project. The long association with Parups Waring Architects continued.

As a temporary arrangement Year 6 students remained in their Cotlew Street classrooms in 2003, while Year 7 students were accommodated at Ashmore Road in refurbished rooms under the Science Building which had served in the past as the college’s assembly area. Year 8 and 9 students remained in their previous classrooms in Senior School. Mrs Carrie Allwood and Mr David Lyon were provided with a small temporary building at Ashmore Road as the administration base. Although some of the methodology and curriculum approaches for middle schooling could be implemented, the physical separation of students and dispersal in temporary spaces meant that full integration into a separate Middle School had to be deferred. For Year 6 students there appeared to be little change, although their teachers had to adjust to new administrative procedures. Intensive professional development of teachers was vitally necessary. For most students, despite the structural change and changes in teaching and learning styles,

Construction of the Middle School

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the familiar activities and programs continued – clubs, camps, excursions, music groups, dance, and drama, although most were conducted within the sub-school.

Interschool sport was still conducted on the traditional binary primary/secondary model.

The Cultural Precinct

The Middle School project comprised four separate elements. The complex civil engineering aspects had to be undertaken first. Stages 2 and 3 comprised two linked buildings, one for Years 6 and 7 and the second for Years 8 and 9, and a separate administration building. The Middle School Cultural Precinct provided a well-equipped performance space, separate teaching and rehearsal studios, and useful outdoor spaces.

With its retractable seating, it was a useful year-level assembly space, and would also serve some Senior School co-curricular activities as well as those of the Middle School. It filled a need which had become more urgent as the drama and music programs grew in size, quality, and complexity. The College Foundation undertook to furnish and equip it.

Occupation of the new Middle School buildings was progressive. Although the Year 6-7 building was not complete, Year 6 students moved in at the beginning of 2004, working for some time, with appropriate safeguards, adjacent to an active building site. It was Term 4 of 2004 before the Middle School students and teachers were able to come together in their new buildings as a separate unit within its own dedicated space.

The official opening of the Middle School. Mr Peter Lawlor MLA, Mrs Ann Mitchell, Mrs Carrie Allwood, Mr John Stapleton

The Middle School buildings were officially opened and dedicated at a service in The Trinity Centre on 27th May 2005. The dedication was performed by Pastor Wayne Zweck, Secretary and Director of Ministry and Mission of the LCAQD (and former pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Southport). Mr Peter Lawlor MLA, State Member for Southport, officially opened the buildings and unveiled the plaque.

Lindsay Schmalkuche, now chairman of the Finance Committee of the College Council, undertook a major role during the construction period. In the absence through illness of the Bursar, Rob Mackenzie, he undertook responsibility for overseeing the contract, negotiating with the contractors, and providing security for the building site, and maintained a

The dedication plaque

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comprehensive record of the progress of the project.

It was generous use of his time and abilities far beyond his governance responsibility as a member of the College Council.

AN EARLY COMMITMENT HAD BEEN MADE TO REFURBISH AND MODERNISE THE PRIMARY SCHOOL CLASSROOMS AND FACILITIES. In its first two years the new college had taken on a major financial challenge. An early commitment had been made to refurbish and modernise the primary school classrooms and facilities and to expand the Prep facilities to accommodate three classes and a new playground. The vacating of Year 6 and 7 classrooms allowed the upgrading of eight upper primary classrooms in 2003, but even so there were about seven weeks when classes had to be conducted in cramped temporary spaces. The project included extensions for withdrawal areas, upgraded technology and reconfiguration to facilitate new teaching approaches and flexible teaching and learning methods. Another eleven rooms received similar treatment in 2004. The new facilities, modern and expansive, increased the teaching spaces by about a third, brought the primary years teaching spaces into the 21st century and facilitated even greater use of information technology. Interactive whiteboards were first installed in 2006. The remodelled facilities were opened and dedicated in May 2005.

In response to enrolment demand, triple streaming in the primary years was begun in 2003 and implemented progressively until the school was fully triple streamed in 2007. The reallocation of rooms enabled After School Hours Care to move from the Prep Building to a space under the primary school library in 2003, with double the size of its former location. In 2014 it found a permanent home when the former Principal’s residence next door was remodelled for this specific purpose. But not everything on the campus was positive. In June 2005 a major flooding incident caused much damage. The original groundwater control installed in the early

years of the primary school proved to be inadequate for the exceptional deluge and the hall, canteen and administration offices suffered severe flooding.

Beginning in November 2002 a range of projects at Ashmore Road, including the extension and refurbishment of the Administration Building required expenditure of approximately $1.1 million. The new Middle School buildings and infrastructure comprised the largest project yet undertaken, the contract for civil works alone exceeding $1,000,000. As costs escalated, the contract required close supervision at a time when the new administration team was still establishing itself, and the Bursar was ill and absent.

In two years, capital works to the value of $8 million had been completed. By April 2004 the college’s borrowings exceeded $10,000,000. The completion of the Middle School, its furnishings and equipment and associated works would require another $3,000,000.

Then late in 2003 came an opportunity which could not be lost, but which called for yet more expenditure.

When the Planning Committee for the college in 1985 negotiated leasehold of the land with a small annual rental, it was a remarkable achievement. The annual rent had risen from $281 in 1985 to $573 in 2003. Then in January 2004 the Department of Natural Resources and Mines advised that the annual rent would rise to $10,000. It was a serious incentive to reconsider the leasing arrangement. The option of purchase to achieve freehold was still available, although the original purchase price of $175,000 had risen by indexation to $270,747. Given the development of this area of the Gold Coast during the previous twenty years, this was still a remarkably cheap price, and the College Council decided to take it up in spite of the serious financial pressure it was experiencing from its other capital commitments. The formal approvals were achieved by painfully slow progress through the church’s bureaucratic processes – Schools Council to District Finance Council to District Church Council. The conversion to freehold of Special Lease No. 46932 on 641 Ashmore Road came into effect on 30th June 2004.

The college finally owned its own land.

But another $270,000 had been added to the escalating burden of debt. An application was made to the LCAQD to extend the college’s borrowing limit to $13,750,000.

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When the request was denied, it appeared that the Middle School buildings might stand unfurnished and unoccupied. A partial solution was provided by the College Foundation, a new body formed from the amalgamation of two previous ones. The houses which had been erected to provide accommodation for primary school teachers coming from southern states were an asset of the College Foundation. Their value had increased substantially, and they had not been required for some time for their original purpose.

Their sale made possible the completion of the Middle School and its occupation in Term 4 of 2004. It was hoped that a major capital appeal to the college community would contribute as much as $700,000.

School fees also rose fairly sharply for several years. While this generated much needed income for the capital borrowings, it also removed a lower fee structure as one of the factors which influenced parents’ enrolments decisions. John Braithwaite and the Development Department were very active and energetic in their efforts to minimise the financial strains as well as in promoting enrolments.

These financial pressures coincided with the illness of Robin Mackenzie, the Business Manager, his resignation, and the emergency engagement of several temporary replacements. It would require a number of years of careful financial management and stringent control of costs before the fragile financial situation was restored to a balanced condition.

Mrs Moira Kleinschmidt

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Robin Mackenzie had been a member of the original 1987 College Council. The only remaining member of that first Council still serving, Mrs Moira Kleinschmidt, did not seek re-election at the 2003 Synod. She had for many years been the Vice Chair of the Council and Chair of the Publicity Committee. There was a gradual changing of the guard. Mr John Stapleton, the energetic and far-sighted Chairman of the College Council, also fell ill with cancer soon after the construction of the Middle School complex. He had joined the College Council in 1993 and had become its chairman after only six months. In July 2005 he stepped down from the chairmanship because of health issues but continued as Vice Chairman until June 2006. He passed away in January 2008.

IT WAS BEING ADOP TED INCREASINGLY BY OTHER SCHOOLS BECAUSE OF THE SKILLS AND CAPACITIES IT DEVELOPED IN STUDENTS 2003 also marked another significant initiative for the college’s educational program. The International Baccalaureate was a highly regarded program which had grown out of the needs of international schools across the world, whose students were striving for admission to a wide range of universities in different countries. Grounded in individual research and enquiry-based approaches, it was less reliant than national curricula on a local curriculum and encouraged the development of generic skills. It was being adopted increasingly by other schools because of the skills and capacities it developed in students and because, at the Diploma level, it offered a substantial challenge for academically gifted students and it conferred a globally recognised qualification. It was understandable that the program would have a strong emphasis on internationality and global awareness.

This aspect, too, accorded well with the directions adopted at Trinity. IBO offered its program at three levels: the Primary Years Program, the Middle Years Program, and the IB Diploma, which was targeted at university matriculation. In 2002 Mrs Meryl Siggs, who was Acting Deputy of the Primary School, undertook

to investigate its relevance to Trinity Lutheran College and, as a consequence of her recommendations, it was implemented in the Primary School in 2003, with the status of a candidate school. In 2006 the Primary School was granted full certification for the IB Primary Years Program. Trinity was only the second school in Queensland to be granted this certification. At the same time investigations were being undertaken into introducing the Middle Years Program and the IB Diploma. Although the program involved registration costs, the application of significant resources in teacher development and regular inspection to ensure ongoing authorisation, the process of implementation and progress towards certification was begun.

By 2008 it had been introduced into every year level in the Primary School. In that year also it was implemented in the Middle School in Years 6 and 7, progressing to Year 8 in 2009. The integration of the program into the structure of the Middle School curriculum proved to be rather more challenging.

Teachers who had undertaken extensive professional development on middle schooling principles and practices and were still fine tuning the implementation of the different approaches required in middle schooling, were now required to become familiar with yet another new approach and to integrate it into their teaching programs. It was a measure of their commitment and professionalism that the task was undertaken in a positive spirit and provided important educational benefits to students. In addition, significant changes to the Queensland curriculum had been produced, and their implementation added another layer of complexity to teachers’ work.

Mr John Stapleton

Dr Gretchen Hitchens

2005 and 2006 heralded many changes in the leadership roles in the college. The departure from the College Council of John Stapleton deprived the college of a committed and effective governor. With a clear vision of what a Lutheran school could and should be, he had led the Council and guided the college through a period of major change, especially the amalgamation and the establishment of the Middle School, for both of which he was a strong advocate, and the construction of significant building infrastructure.

Lindsay Schmalkuche and Marilyn Blundell retired from the Council at the same time, each with more than ten years of experience in the governance role.

Dr Gretchen Hitchins, with experience of the role on the Trinity Lutheran Primary School Council, became Chairman, and was in turn replaced in 2007 by Dr Gerhard Wittig. At the end of 2005 two long-serving senior administrators left the college. Rob Fysh (Head of Senior School) resigned to become Principal of Peace Lutheran College in Cairns, while Alan Jakstas, the college’s first Director of Studies, was appointed Principal of Peace Lutheran Primary School in Gatton.

As the college developed, its administrative needs evolved. Arrangements and structures appropriate in 2002 had been trialled. Some called for adjustment as circumstances changed or as experience revealed new possibilities. In 2006 Mr Tim Kotzur was appointed to the newly created position of Deputy Head of College and Mr Terry Schuster took up the position of Head of Senior School. Ms Michelle Nisbet accepted the position of Director of Studies. In 2007 David Lyon moved from his role as Deputy Head of the Middle School to become Director of Teaching

Dr Gerhard Wittig

Mr Terry Schuster

Mr Tim Kotzur

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Mrs Meryl Siggs

Ms Donna Foxwell

and Learning P-12. Mrs Meryl Siggs, Deputy Principal of the Primary School, left Trinity at the end of 2007 after a remarkable career. She had begun in 1990 as a teacher’s assistant. She then completed her teacher qualifications at university, and later a Masters degree. She was responsible for the Reading Recovery program, and later undertook the research which led to the introduction of the International Baccalaureate PYP. She has continued her career in international schools outside Australia. With the departure of John Braithwaite from the Development Department, Ms Zoe Bragh served as Development Coordinator in 2006 until Ms Lyn Rankin’s appointment as Director of Community Relations in 2007. Ms Donna Foxwell joined the administration team as Business Manager (Director of Finance,) bringing much needed stability to that aspect of the college’s operations Established student activities in sport, music, drama, art, chess, debating, and other clubs continued to flourish, and new ones were added. Another opportunity for Senior Music students to showcase their skills was provided with Music at Twilight, a well-received program for individual student performances. In 2006 the rowing program acquired two new sculls, the Dr David Caldwell, and the Rob Mackenzie and, in the same year, long-term rowing coach, Mrs Jenny Pemberton, ran the college’s first rowing camp. The Cheer Squad established in 2004 under the guidance of Mrs Nerida Humm achieved early success. In 2006 they won the Queensland

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Music at Twilight

State Cheerleading Championships and came third in the National Championship in Sydney. The Rugby teams had their best season ever, with the 2nd XV, the U15 and Year 8 teams winning premierships.

The Trinity Lutheran College Aquatic Club, promoting both swimming and water polo, had been set up as soon as the Ashmore Road swimming pool was ready for use. In 2005 in the Gold Coast Water Polo Association competition the boys’ team was undefeated, while the girls’ team won their third successive premiership. Four players were selected for Queensland teams. The Duke of Edinburgh program was made available to students within the college setting for the first time in 2006.

THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH PROGRAM WAS MADE AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS WITHIN THE COLLEGE SETTING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2006.

The amalgamation created a minor difficulty in deciding how anniversaries were to be calculated.

The two original schools had always celebrated significant anniversaries and this tradition continued.

In 2007 the secondary school had completed twenty years and the primary school had completed twentysix. Again, it was marked in a stylish manner with a number of events which included both former schools

Interhouse swimming

The 2011 APS Shield

Water polo

Rowing

Future Olympians

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Mr Geoff Stumer

A new time capsule is laid at the Junior School

equally. Special opening and closing services were held. A whole-of-college photo was taken. A Back to Trinity Trivia Night recalled past similar events, and a Back to Trinity Weekend in June attracted large numbers and evoked both happy memories and some nostalgia, as well as generating pride in how far the original primary school had journeyed in twenty-six years. At a VIP Welcome Reception, the Geoff Stumer Photographic Collection was launched, and certificates were presented to Mrs Lila Mackenzie and to college foundation staff members Mrs Lorraine Eldridge, Miss Pauline Alcock and Mrs Wynsomme Biskaps. At the Anniversary Dinner in the Primary School Hall former Headmasters Robert Hoff and Peter Eckermann were guest speakers. It also included a special celebration worship service, the official opening of the Primary School Stage 2 refurbishments, and the opening of time capsules on both campuses. Later in the year, the Gala Ball was a highlight occasion and the Arts and Crafts Exhibition continued a tradition of excellence both in the arts and in social enjoyment. It was fitting that the musical produced in the jubilee year was One, A New Musical by past student Sharon Whitlock.

Sadly, it could be expected that there would also be a further passing of the guard of the founding generation.

A little before the death of John Stapleton in January 2008, Mrs Lila Mackenzie passed away in July 2007 at the age of ninety-seven, loyal and loving to the end. The two surviving Primary School patrons, Jack and Irene

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Strohmeyer also achieved very advanced old age.

Jack passed away in October 2008 aged ninety-four, and Irene in June 2010 aged ninety-four. The work of each of them had been a blessing to Trinity Lutheran Primary School and Trinity Lutheran College, and each of them felt blessed to have been able to contribute and to see how God had blessed their efforts.

The implementation of the International Baccalaureate continued. When authorisation was received to implement the Diploma Program in Year 11 in 2009, the first group of students numbered ten. Nine received their IB Diplomas at the end of 2010. In Years 11 and 12 it was offered as an option to selected students. Some teachers had now to operate in three distinctly different curriculum environments. Most students were pursuing the conventional Board of Secondary School Studies program directed to achieving an OP for Queensland tertiary entrance.

Another group were following the IB pathway with its international focus. A third and still growing group were involved in vocational education, VET, with its technical and trade training, links to TAFE, schoolbased traineeships, and potential apprenticeships.

There were large areas of overlap between the last two of these streams, while the IB Diploma operated as an independent curriculum stream. It presented capable and hardworking teachers in the Senior years with considerable challenges. There were stringent requirements for teacher qualifications and extensive

Mrs Lila MacKenzie

Mr Jack and Mrs Irene Strohmeyer

and time-consuming professional development, which even included overseas training programs for the Diploma program. Consequently, it was very expensive to implement, both financially and in teacher time.

IB Diploma in 2012, there was discussion of cancelling the program. It was maintained for one year, however, subject to review. Both the IB Diploma and the Middle Years Program were discontinued at the end of 2014.

At the same time there were the ongoing discussions and debates about a national curriculum which, when introduced in 2010, added another layer of complexity and additional work for teachers in an already challenging educational environment. Trinity was fortunate to have a body of teachers who not only undertook regular specific professional development, but in many cases continued formal studies, a number completing Masters degrees.

The Primary Years Program was both simpler and less expensive to implement, though still requiring ongoing teacher professional development. With strong support from the primary years teachers, certification for the Primary Years Program was extended for five years to 2015, and then again to 2020. The next certification review, deferred because of COVID, is being carried out in 2021. The program is still very effective for student learning and valued within the school community.

The timing of the introduction of the IB Diploma program proved to be unfortunate. It had been hoped that it would not only offer a valuable alternative educational pathway with proven benefits, but that it would also provide a positive point of difference from other schools to attract new enrolments. Its introduction in 2009 coincided with the opening at Southport in 2008 of the Queensland Government’s Health Sciences Campus- Queensland Academies, which specialised in the IB program. Trinity could not match its very generously resourced program with a wider range of choices. Although the enrolment of ten in the first year was satisfactory, the hoped-for enrolments did not eventuate in the following years.

When only three students enrolled for Year 11 of the

As the applications of digital technology continued to grow at a rapid pace in the general community, so too at Trinity means were sought to harness its capacities for the improvement of student learning and school communication. In 2008 an email system was implemented enabling teachers and students to communicate remotely. Plans were in place to produce Spirit, the fortnightly newsletter, in an electronic format. The college website was upgraded.

The repair of the college’s financial standing was proceeding at a steady pace when an unpredicted catastrophe struck the global economy. In 2007 the global financial crisis attacked a bewildered world.

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Beginning with the collapse of the American housing mortgage market, which led to the failure of Lehmann Brothers, one of the United States’ leading financial institutions, the repercussions soon had world-wide implications. The economic and social consequences were dire, and no country was unaffected. In Australia the Commonwealth Government responded with a series of economic stimulation measures, some of which proved to be of immense benefit to Trinity.

However, the general economic downturn also constrained family and household finances, and had an impact on enrolments at Trinity, as at most nongovernment schools. As late as 2015, a large proportion of student withdrawals could still be attributed to family financial difficulties. The struggle to maintain enrolments became even more strenuous. College finances were once again under severe pressure.

While the immediate impact on Trinity reflected the financial difficulties being experienced by its families, there was also a silver lining. In February 2009 the government announced a second economic stimulation program. It was directed at infrastructure, with a heavy emphasis on education spending. The Building the Education Revolution program had two elements. The first, National School Pride, targeted new and restructured outdoor learning areas, shade structures and sports facilities; the second, Primary Schools for the 21st Century, was intended to provide for new and refurbished school halls, libraries, and classrooms. Initially Trinity Lutheran College was ready to access both these programs, but the College Council, having made a major investment in primary school infrastructure in 2003 and 2004, decided not to undertake more projects on that campus, but planned for major enhancements at Ashmore Road.

Another education initiative from the Commonwealth Government was the Digital Education Revolution.

Trinity, with its history of innovation in digital technology, was ready to take advantage of this also.

The result was a major enhancement of electronic learning, teaching and communication at the college within the space of a few years. The primary school already had forty laptops in regular use. Under the new funded program, the Senior and Middle Schools would acquire more than 350 new computers over two years beginning in 2010, most of which would be

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laptops, as the use of that technology in teaching and learning was expanded. Twenty of the laptops and several desktops were placed in the library, enabling the majority of the library’s resources to be available electronically. The remainder were deployed initially in computer laboratories, three at Ashmore Road and one at Cotlew Street, until it was recognised that they could be used more effectively if distributed more widely. The existing wireless network installation was also upgraded to accommodate the greatly increased usage. These improvements fitted comfortably into the college’s ambitious plans for the use of technology.

The Strategic Plan 2010-2014 included the goal of continuing improvement of ICT infrastructure and enabling media-rich learning opportunities. The installation of a portable electronic whiteboard in the library was followed by the provision in 26 classrooms of either electronic whiteboards or data projectors, followed by their installation in all remaining classrooms in the following year. An automated student attendance system was implemented in 2012, and in the primary years parents could order their children’s lunches from the tuckshop online.

Under the impetus of the government initiative, an aspirational target was set of achieving a ratio of one computer per student in Years 9 to 12 by the end of 2011. For Year 12 students these would be laptops.

At the same time teachers were given the opportunity to experiment with tablet technology as a teaching/ learning tool. A wide range of tablets were investigated until the second-generation Apple iPad with a camera became available. In 2010 ten of the newly released Apple iPads were purchased for trial use in classes across the three sub-schools. The response from both students and teachers was positive at all levels. A new iPad policy was developed for introduction in 2012, requiring the provision of an iPad for every student in Years 5 to 11. All Year 12 students would have access to a laptop. In addition, every teacher would be provided with a laptop. New and innovative teaching methodologies became possible with the availability of these devices. The program was so innovative that a number of Queensland and New South Wales schools sent teachers to view it at first hand. Two Trinity teachers were invited to present a paper on the pedagogy associated with the iPad program at the Digital Education Revolution Conference.

Daniel Pearson, the ICT manager, and Danny Mackenzie, Head of Learning- ICT Integration (Academic), were working jointly in the development of myTrinity, a collaborative e-learning portal which provided access for both students and teachers to curriculum and learning resources, and promoted connectivity between teachers and their students. It was launched in 2011, and new resources were added to it year by year.

Parents also had access through their children. In 2013 a new Parent Portal extended to them also more ready access to college news and notices as well as curriculum information. At the same time the fortnightly newsletter Spirit was made available in an electronic format. An electronic kiosk allowed student absences to be notified and tracked digitally.

All these rapid changes called for teachers to make adjustments to their teaching methods and strategies, a process which had been under way in most schools as the new technologies became more widely available. Most Trinity teachers, in a school environment which had always strongly promoted the use of the most recent technology, adapted readily to the new opportunities, though for some at the expense of much time and effort.

In 2002 the College Council’s master plan had outlined an ambitious program of new building infrastructure for the newly amalgamated college. By 2004 the Middle School complex had been completed.

The complete refurbishment and extension of the classrooms on the primary school campus was begun in 2003 and completed early in 2005. The Commonwealth Government economic stimulus program in 2009 coincided with Trinity’s readiness for its next project in its master plan. In fact, it made it possible to proceed in rapid succession with two major building projects and one smaller project.

The provision of covered walkways linking buildings, essential in Queensland’s rain-prone climate, had been the target of numerous efforts for many years, many of them organised and coordinated by John Lennerth who had moved from the primary school to take responsibility for buildings and grounds at Ashmore Road. Now the National Pride program made possible the construction of a beautifully designed covered walkway across the ridge from south to north, linking several buildings and ending near the Middle School.

Named The Colonnade, it was completed in December 2009 at a cost of $320.000. It remains a useful, attractive, and readily identifiable feature of the campus.

The colonnade

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The construction of the Sports Centre

The larger project under the National Pride scheme was the construction of a new indoor sports facility which began in January 2010. The $3.2 million of government funding provided for this and the walkway enabled the realisation of a long-held dream. The primary contract for the sports centre, awarded to Grindley Constructions, was $3,773,000, contributing to a total cost of $4,500,000. Its site on the southern edge of the main oval placed it under the power lines which had raised such concern in the early years of the college. Despite the frequent and lengthy negotiations in the past, the laying of a section of the transmission lines underground was not achieved.

Prior to the commencement of building, Energex relocated a section of the lines to the south - at the expense of the college. Although the building was designed primarily as an indoor sports facility, the design was intentionally flexible to enable its use for a range of other school activities. In its funding application it was described as a multi-purpose school hall. The large, high-ceilinged central space provided marked courts for a number of team sports, including

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basketball, volleyball, and netball. However, it could also be adapted to become an examination centre, the venue for Senior School year-level assemblies, parent-teacher nights, large inter-school meetings, and potentially other uses. The weights and fitness room, spacious and well equipped through a donation of $150,000 from the P&F Association, became a popular facility well used by both students and staff, and created an impetus for several school team sports, including a Rugby Development Squad.

Two new staffrooms catered for teachers based in the centre and some others, relieving pressure on crowded staffrooms in the Senior School. A kiosk and servery, an attractive foyer, and toilet/changeroom amenities completed a highly functional and visually attractive building in a high-profile position. Already in August, even before the official opening, it was the venue for the annual Arts and Crafts Exhibition.

Additions to the contract provided new car parking facilities and earthworks for later construction of new external courts. The whole project was completed at the beginning of February 2011.

After the opening ceremony

The unveiling of the plaque. Dr Gerhard Wittig. Mrs Sue Kloeden, Mrs Ann Mitchell

The new facility was dedicated on 12 th May 2011 by College Pastor, Pastor Michael Alfson, and officially opened by Mrs Sue Kloeden, the Executive Director of Lutheran Education Queensland, in conjunction with a weekend of celebrations of the 30th anniversary. In accord with the college’s new policy on the naming of buildings and in recognition of the service and leadership of the late John Stapleton as Chairman of College Council during times of major change, it was named the John Stapleton Sports Centre.

It was almost immediately recognised as an excellent facility and became the venue for state and national events, including some associated with the Australian University Games. In 2012 it became the official venue for the Gold Coast Academy of Sport’s elite programs in basketball and volleyball. The Trinity Lutheran College Fitness Club was inaugurated in July 2011, its membership soon numbering more than 250 students from Year 4 to Year 12. The gym equipment and weights room were open morning and afternoon every school day under the supervision of Mr Trent Arthur, the Strength and Conditioning Coordinator.

Mrs Sue Kloeden

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A third major building program received its government funding through the conventional BGA (Block Grant Authority) process. The Commonwealth Government had created another special fund within the BGA structure to provide infrastructure, especially buildings, to support and promote vocational education and trade training. This aligned precisely with the needs and plans of Trinity Lutheran College. The options available to students in VET (Vocational Education and Training) had long been extensive and had been gradually expanded year by year. Traineeships were being undertaken in Business Administration, Hospitality, Animal Studies,

Construction of the Trade Training Centre

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Hairdressing, Retailing and Community Recreation.

Most of these already had adequate physical environments. The flourishing and highly successful Hospitality program enjoyed some of the best facilities in Gold Coast schools. When Applied Technology was added to the Senior curriculum in 1994, it was noted that the facilities in temporary buildings set up for it were barely adequate and would require upgrading in the future. This upgrading had been included in the college masterplan beginning in 2002. Teachers had been doing excellent work in a popular subject with inadequate teaching and workspaces and facilities.

Since that time more VET subjects and school-based

The official opening and dedication of the Trade Training Centre

traineeships had been introduced, some of them adding still more pressure on the limited facilities and temporary spaces. The development of the Applied Technology program with its model of design/make/ evaluate called for very flexible workspaces with a wide range of equipment and materials. With the stabilisation of the college’s finances, and particularly as other urgent needs were receiving generous assistance from special Commonwealth Government programs, the time was right to provide the required resources. The College Council approved the project, the architects Burling Brown were briefed, and planning began for a new building for Applied

Technology and related courses and for VET and trade training. Applications for funding garnered $550,000 from the standard State and Commonwealth Government sources and a further $1.5 million from a special Australian Government Trade Centre fund.

With three spacious workshops (digital, furnishing, engineering) and excellent equipment, and with its own staff areas, it would fill an urgent need.

Construction began in July 2010, soon after the new sports centre contract began, so that the two projects were partly concurrent. The building contract awarded to P T Turner was for $2,471,000, with a total projected cost of $$2,988,000. The site of the building adjacent to

Mrs Anna Mitchell, Dr David Caldwell, Mrs Ida Caldwell, Sen Mark Furner, Dr Gerhard Wittig

Students using the Centre

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other classrooms and facilities made the construction process difficult for both the contractor and the college community. By contrast, the construction of the new sports centre caused much less disruption and difficulty because of its situation well away from the main campus buildings. Mrs Carole Morris was appointed as Apprenticeship and Traineeship Officer to facilitate the negotiation of those arrangements and to solve the complexities of their implementation. The new facility was named the David Caldwell Technology and Trade Training Centre to honour the vision and work of Dr David Caldwell whose efforts led to the establishment of the college and guided it through the pioneering years. It was officially opened on 10th October 2011 by Senator Mark Furner and dedicated by the College Pastor, Pastor Michael Alfson.

At this time also, as a consequence of the new College Council policy on naming buildings, the hall at the Cotlew Street campus was named the Robert Hoff Community Hall to recognise and honour the work and achievements of the second Headmaster of Trinity Lutheran Primary School.

Students’ academic progress was, of course, a central and primary concern. In 2009 Mrs Angela Vance was appointed as Learning Support and Enhancement

In 2011 Trinity won the coveted Griffith University Senior Science Award

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Facilitator, with responsibility for early intervention in the Senior School. The Strategic Plan 2010-2014 placed academic standards and student learning in the forefront of its goals. In 2010 the college

THE STRATEGIC PLAN 2010-2014 PLACED ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND STUDENT LEARNING IN THE FOREFRONT OF ITS GOALS. undertook another intentional intervention in the academic progress of under-performing students.

Dr Judith Smeed from QUT was contracted to work with Heads of Departments to assist them in monitoring student achievement and guiding them into subject choices and educational pathways most appropriate to their capacities. The program proved to be helpful and was maintained for a number of years.

At the same time, Velocitas@Trinity was launched.

The college’s first official move into gifted and talented education, it provided online extension programs for academically gifted students. Reading Recovery in the Primary School had been an early effort to cater

Mr Lindsay Bovill

Ms Anne Doecke

for students with special needs. Making provision for these students was also built into the Strategic Plan 2010-2014. Two years later in 2013, Velocitas was expanded to include support for elite athletes and sportspeople through Velocitas-Sport. Whether the outcome of these programs, or for other reasons, the academic results of the graduating class of 2012 were outstanding. Trinity Lutheran College stood in equal fifth place in Queensland in the percentage of OP eligible students in the OP 1-15 band, and fourth among Gold Coast schools in the percentage of students in the 1-5 OP band. No eligible student achieved an OP lower than 16.

Student discipline in schools has always been a leading concern of parents and is sometimes a criterion for judging the suitability of a school for their children. It is a fraught issue for school administrators, as some parents see the need for other families’ children to be subject to disciplinary action, but not always their own. Discipline in a Lutheran school is to be exercised not only with a view to high standards of behaviour but, more particularly, in the light of the Christian gospel of love, repentance, forgiveness, mercy, and community.

Trinity, like most other schools, had sometimes not got the balance right. In the constant striving for improvement, Trinity had adopted the move from student discipline to behaviour management, and then to the implementation of Restorative Justice or Restorative Practice, an approach increasingly in use in Lutheran schools. Behaviour Management

Mrs Janice Pukallus

became Relational Management, with a greater emphasis on community and personal responsibility, reconciliation, and restoration of positive relationships.

It was implemented by senior teachers, but also in collaboration with the counselling and chaplaincy staff.

Once again, against the background of the loyalty and long tenure of many teachers, there were changes in the senior positions in 2010. Mr Tim Kotzur, the first Deputy Head of College, left at the end of 2009 to become Principal of St Andrew’s Lutheran College, Tallebudgera. His position was filled by Mrs Tsae Wong. Mr Terry Schuster, Head of the Senior School, was appointed Principal at St Stephen’s Lutheran College in Gladstone, and Mrs Shirley Washington’s position as Head of the Senior School was confirmed after a short period in an Acting role. Mrs Carolyn Thistlethwaite was appointed Deputy Head of Primary, replacing Mrs Lisa Kraft, who had served the school for thirteen years. Mrs Lydia Kolominskas moved to a Lutheran school in Darwin after twenty-one years as teacher of German and Head of LOTE. Mrs Donna Foxwell resigned as Business Manager after five intensive years. The position was filled by Mr Lindsay Bovill who brought to the role his long experience in two other Lutheran colleges.

When Pastor Mike Neldner accepted a call to the Bethania parish and left in June 2009, a new model of chaplaincy was implemented. The earlier pattern of three ordained chaplains, one for each sub-school, had been evolving as the number of pastors reduced

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Pastor Dirk Willner

from three to two, and now to one. Growing financial pressures contributed to a decision not to call another pastor as chaplain. Pastor Michael Alfson became college pastor, responsible for the whole college, though relieved of teaching responsibilities.

Described by some as “bare bones chaplaincy”, it was a demanding task and called for a range of new strategies in order for him to know students and to be known by them. The chaplaincy team had for some years included part-time lay chaplains Mrs Janice Pukallus and Ms Anna Doecke, who continued to provide support in the sub-schools. Anna Doecke, who had combined part-time chaplaincy at the college with part-time work as a youth worker in the Living Word congregation, left at the end of 2009. The LCA was discouraging the employment of multiple pastors as chaplains in schools and colleges and promoting more extensive use of lay chaplains. Several additional qualified teachers combined the teaching Christian Studies with other subjects and were effective and creative worship leaders. The introduction of service learning in Christian Studies in 2010 added to the complexity of the organisational aspects of the subject. Pastor Dirk Willner of the Living Word congregation provided additional pastoral support to the college chaplaincy team staff as facilitator of one of the Growth groups. He also conducted Confirmation classes and developed an online Confirmation course.

The College Council, the college leadership team, and the teaching and support staff were committed

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to providing an education soundly based on Christian teaching and living, an experience of the gospel in action. At the same time, it had to be accepted that the changing attitudes to the Christian faith in the broader community meant that many students came to this fundamental, underpinning aspect of college life with less knowledge and understanding, and sometimes less willingness to learn. It was a challenge to the whole of college life, though most obvious to those involved in chaplaincy and the teaching of Christian Studies. It was perhaps ironic that as enrolments began to fall, creating financial difficulties, the proportion of students from unchurched families also fell, enabling more positive attitudes to the Christian teaching and practice of the college.

For those who were seeking a deeper understanding and skills, the VET program in 2012 introduced Vetamorphus, a Certificate III course in Christian Ministry and Theology. The two part-time lay chaplains initiated new programs, The Ripple Effect, run by Anna Doecke, was a weekly study of a Bible topic aimed at examining how to put its message into practice in daily life. Chaplain Janice Pukallus organised Foundations, which helped students to understand the foundational teachings of the Christian faith and to build a personal relationship with God. College worship, drama, instrumental and choral programs all had a need for the use of sound and lighting equipment. In an innovation in 2009, technical services training was offered by a past student for Middle and Senior School students. Students learnt how to operate safely and correctly the technical and theatrical, sound and lighting equipment on the Ashmore Road campus, including in the Trinity Centre.

In the following years this group served the multiple needs of the college in worship, assemblies, drama performances and concerts, and other events. Those who undertook the training were also exposed to other career options, just as some talented performers in the dance, drama, instrumental and choral programs found their life ambitions in the college programs.

Classroom based programs in the performing arts were complemented by further growth in the co-curricular program, with more performance opportunities provided. Music Excellence Nights

Expanding performance opportunities

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complemented the Twilight Concert Series. In 2009 the first Trinity Lutheran College Music Showcase Concert featured students from all year levels from Pre-School to Year 12. In the Gold Coast Eisteddfod, Trinity student groups achieved three first and two second places.

The musical Annie was an outstanding success.

Dance, long a part of the Trinity curriculum offerings, was growing in strength, with the two co-curricular ensembles, Dazantes and Locomotives, participating in the interschool Danc’Ed in the Spotlight. At the end of the year student groups and staff combined to produce a CD, A Very Trinity Christmas. The fortunes of teams in traditional team sports ebbed and flowed, as is normal in school competitions, but Trinity students always acquitted themselves commendably, and premierships were frequently achieved.

Rowing went from strength to strength and, in 2009, Trinity won the Trophy Regatta for the second successive year. At the State Championships students won four gold and three silver medals. The water polo teams won all three premierships, the girls for the second successive year. They would repeat this success in 2010, as well as winning the Trophy Regatta in rowing again. A past student was selected to row in the Australian women’s team and in 2012 former School Captain, Kelsey Wakefield, was a members of the Australian Open Women’s team at the London Olympic Games.

Trinity had always attracted a number of students who travelled a considerable distance from the Gold Coast hinterland. In 2009 the College Council took up a proposal that Trinity Lutheran College should sponsor the establishment of another Lutheran school in the hinterland and a Planning Committee was established.

It was decided very early in the discussions that any new school would be a separate institution of the LCAQD, not an additional campus of Trinity Lutheran College. Suitable land was identified at Mausdland in 2010, but it was found that it lay beyond the urban footprint of the Gold Coast City Council and that the provision of basic infrastructure would be expensive.

Nevertheless, discussion and some research continued. In the next years declining enrolments and the attendant financial issues reduced the capacity of the college to consider any non-essential expenditure, and the proposal lapsed.

In the midst of this flurry of activity, the college also celebrated in 2011 its thirtieth anniversary, again with both a recognition of its past and a keen eye to the future. A new college crest was adopted to be used on newly designed student uniforms from 2012.

It included the school motto in Latin: Fundamentum quod positum est. Jesus Christus est. The policy on the naming of buildings was adopted and implemented.

The traditional events were celebrated with special emphasis: the Arts and Crafts Exhibition, the P&F

LUTHERAN COLLEGE

For several years Trinity students competed in equestrian competition

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The new college crest was adopted in 2011

Trinity students contributed to a combined college-congregation worship service

Trivia Night, the Gala Ball in October, the Musical Showcase at the Gold Coast Convention Centre. The finale was the inaugural Celebration of Excellence in November at the Gold Coast Convention Centre.

JEFF HAD MAINTAINED AND EX TENDED THE EXCELLENCE OF THE SCHOOL’S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND COMMUNIT Y RECOGNITION. This year also brought the departure of significant members of the staff. Mr Jeff Minge had become Headmaster of Trinity Lutheran Primary School in 1997 and Head of Primary School in 2002 (later retitled Head of Early and Primary Years Campus). He retired in June 2012 after 22 ½ years at the two schools, leaving a fine legacy. He had maintained and extended the excellence of the school’s educational programs as well as community recognition of that excellence.

Special guests at the 30th anniversary celebrations.

Mr Peter Nitschke, Mr Ian Louttit, Ms Bronwyn Dolling, Mr Peter Eckermann

In 2017 the trophy for house spirit was renamed the Minge House Shield in his honour. His replacement as Head of Early and Primary Years Campus was Mrs Trudy Moala. His wife, Janne, retired at the same time.

Mrs Lorraine Eldridge, the last remaining foundation teacher at the college from 1987, also retired. She had established a tradition of excellence in the flourishing programs in Home Economics and Hospitality. Mrs Shirley Washington left after sixteen years of service to the college, the last ten as the inaugural Head of Senior School. Mr Danny Mackenzie, a fourteenyear veteran, resigned from his position as Head of Learning- ICT Integration (Academic), a position then filled by Mr Andrew McCaskill. (Danny has subsequently returned to Australia and to a teaching position at Trinity.) Mrs Nadia Mackenzie also left her position as Director of Arts. Both had begun their time at Trinity at Trinity Lutheran Primary School, she as the first full-time music teacher in 1997. Mrs Cherie Smith became Director of Arts.

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Mrs Tracy Moala

Mrs Lorraine Eldridge

Mr Danny and Mrs Nadia MacKenzie

Mr Anthony Vassallo

Mrs Janette Salmi

Mrs Ann Mitchell, Ms Bree Noonan and Mrs Lea Fitzpatrick, President of the P&F Association

Mr Lindsay Bovill resigned from the position of Business Manager to join St Peter’s Lutheran College and was replaced by Mr Anthony Vassallo. In a general restructuring of senior positions at Ashmore Road, Mrs Carrie Allwood moved from Head of Middle School to Head of Campus 6-12. Mrs Janette Salmi, with many past years of service beginning in the Primary School, became Dean of Students 6-12. David Lyon’s role as Dean of Curriculum was restructured from P-12 to 6-12, with Jason Day as Associate Dean.

These roles were becoming specific to the Ashmore Road campus in acknowledgement of the difficulty of operating across two sites. The administrative team on the Cotlew Street campus could take more direct responsibility for curriculum issues. Ten years after the amalgamation, fine tuning of the organisational structures was still being carried out.

Enrolment and student retention issues continued to be critical. The Director of Community Relations,

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Mrs Bree Noonan, and the Registrar, Mrs Maria Lennerth, played important roles in marketing and communication. Every year there was a struggle to match the enrolment numbers to the budget projections. Retention of students in the Senior School was a particular difficulty. There were multiple and complex reasons for the problem. They included strong competition from other like schools, some with superior facilities, and the continuing financial fallout from the global financial crisis. Enrolment numbers had peaked after the amalgamation and then stabilised, though numbers tended to fluctuate during the school year. In August 2009 the enrolment was 1361. In 2010 numbers began to drop, falling to 1024 in February 2013, followed by a sharp decline to 982 in 2014. The decline had serious implications for staffing, the budget and special programs. The necessity for a deficit budget was confronted for the first time in 2013 and was narrowly averted but, once again, redundancies became necessary.

The tentative move to enrol overseas students of some years before had resulted in significant growth.

From four full fee-paying overseas students (FFPOS) in 2005, the numbers had grown to 28 in 2010. The decline in local enrolments opened up opportunities for more overseas students, and considerable effort was put into recruiting, especially from South East Asia. The emphasis fitted well with and contributed to the college’s longstanding striving for internationality, global awareness, and global connection. In 2017, even though local enrolments were slowly increasing, $20,000 was set aside for overseas promotion.

CONTRIBUTED TO THE COLLEGE’S LONGSTANDING STRIVING FOR INTERNATIONALIT Y, GLOBAL AWARENESS AND GLOBAL CONNECTION. Other than student retention, one of the enrolment issues identified by the College Council was admission to the primary years through Prep. For the first time in 2010 the Prep classes were not fully enrolled. Growing

numbers of competing schools had established Early Learning Centres, including kindergartens, bringing children into their community a year earlier. It was decided to use the same strategy by the opening of an Early Learning Centre incorporating a kindergarten in 2013. Children would be accepted from the age of two years. The ELC, Little Stars, was to be located in the former Prep rooms. The construction of another classroom and new toilets and the refurbishing of the existing Year 1 classrooms allowed the Prep classes to be relocated into the adjoining classrooms, with a new specially designed playground. The Prep centre was remodelled for a kindergarten program, beginning in 2013. It flourished under the expert leadership of Mrs Susan Shaw. An impressive and stimulating playground was developed to come into use in 2016. Initially the governance of the Early Learning Centre was entrusted to a Council answerable to the College Council. In late 2016 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed transferring management of the centre to QLECS (Queensland Lutheran Early Childhood Services).

The capital expenditure on buildings and technology in the previous few years had been very large and, in spite of the generous influx of government funds, it

Mrs Susan Shaw (top left); Little Stars in the Early Learning Centre

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placed serious strains on the college’s finances. The continuing decline in enrolment numbers severely exacerbated this situation. With deep regret some redundancies had to be effected. Once again it would require years of careful planning and stringent financial control to rectify the difficulties and restore financial stability. In 2012 additional borrowing of $370,000 was undertaken to enable the college to pay to Living Word congregation the value of its portion of The Trinity Centre, and to assume full ownership of the facility. An anomalous situation of joint ownership was resolved, and a new agreement with the congregation was negotiated in order to clarify the rights of the congregation in the use of the building and to promote harmonious future relationships.

After returning from leave in Term 3 of 2013, Mrs Ann Mitchell announced her intention to retire at the end of the year. Her service to the college, a total of twenty- seven years, began in the Primary School in 1987. For 11½ years she had led the college through challenging times. With the support of Council Chairman, John Stapleton, and his Primary School counterpart, Lindsay Schmalkuche, she had carried out the research and done the work which culminated in the amalgamation of two schools to form the new Trinity Lutheran College and the establishment

Dr Gerhard Wittig thanks and farewells Mrs Ann Mitchell

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of the Middle School. She had led the new school through the challenges of integrating into a united community, through the implementation of major building programs, and major expansion of both the infrastructure and the pedagogical implications of digital technology, and the maintenance and expansion of a rich and diverse range of cultural and sporting opportunities for students.

The end of 2013 was also accompanied by the retirement of a number of staff members with long years of service. Mr John and Mrs Maria Lennerth retired, both having begun their service at Trinity Lutheran Primary School and moved to the Ashmore Road campus.

Maria spent twenty-four years as PA to the Principal, enrolment officer, and finally College Registrar. For John, his eighteen years at Trinity had been spent as groundsman at the Primary School and very briefly at Ashmore Road. John Allwood, Head of Learning-Science, 6-12, completed twenty-three years at the college. Mrs Tina Rutherford, ESL teacher (15 years) and Mrs Joy Smith, teacher assistant (17 years) completed a group remarkable for their longevity of service and loyalty.

They were not alone in their commitment. The college had proved its ability to inspire commitment and loyalty in both staff and parents.

Mrs Ann Mitchell and Mrs Tsae Wong

C H A P T E R NIN E

PLENTIFUL HARVEST The 2014 school year began with Mrs Tsae Wong as Principal, the first with that title. On the advice of Lutheran Education Queensland, most colleges, including Trinity, standardised on the generic title Principal in the place of others such as the former Trinity title of Head of College.

As the Deputy Head of College since 2010, she filled the Principal’s role until, after due process, she was appointed as Principal in July 2014. Her formal appointment began in January 2015. She was installed in office at a service of Living Word congregation in The Trinity Centre on 12 th October 2014.

The incorporation of the installation of the new Principal into the worship life of Living Word congregation marked a renewed effort to build a stronger relationship between college and congregation. The contribution of student music groups to the congregational worship services was promoted more strongly and, in 2016, the college Commencement Service was incorporated into the Sunday worship of Living Word congregation in The installation of Mrs Tsae Wong as Principal

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TSAE WONG PHD, MED, GRAD DIP ED, BSC, FAIM, AAICD, MACEL

Tsae Wong was born in Singapore into a family which valued all skills and talents, and believed that no goal was too hard to strive for.

In 1985 she graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Science, and in 1986 with a Diploma of Education. After teaching Physics and Mathematics and a program for the gifted and talented at a leading girls’ school in Singapore, she married. Her husband was a Canadian Singaporean. They moved to Canada where their son was born.

As they wished to be closer to Singapore, her husband won a position with Coopers Lybrand in Canberra. There, to better understand the Australian and ACT accreditation process, she undertook a six-month teaching contract. On a visit to Brisbane, they were attracted by the warmer climate and the lifestyle and decided to move to Queensland.

After some years as a homemaker Tsae returned to full-time teaching with an appointment at Ipswich Girls Grammar School, and then at John Paul College.

After several years as Assistant Head of Department, she was appointed as Head of Department and then Director of Teaching and Learning with responsibility for teaching and learning in Years 10 to 12.

Always seeking a new challenge and the personal growth it stimulates, she applied successfully for the position of Director of Teaching and Learning, Prep to Year 12, at St Hilda’s School in Southport. After six months of daily commuting, the family relocated to the Gold Coast.

In 2010, ready for another challenge, she applied and was appointed to the position of Deputy Head of College at Trinity Lutheran College. She found there a community of faith which led to a renewal of her own faith and a sense of “coming home”.

SHE HAS LED THE COLLEGE THROUGH A PERIOD OF ANALYSIS, EVALUATION AND CHANGE. After four years at Trinity, she felt ready for another challenge, and applied for Principal positions in several Lutheran schools. She had two offers when Ann

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Mitchell announced her intention to retire.

She agreed to remain as Acting Principal, and her appointment as Principal was confirmed after due process in June 2014.

She has led the college through a period of analysis and evaluation and change, facilitating contemporary teaching and learning approaches while holding fast to Christian foundations, its heritage, and its values.

During her professional career she has also added to her academic qualifications, achieving a Master of Education degree from Queensland University of Technology in 2008 and a PhD from Curtin University in 2018.

At the installation service. Bishop Rev. Noel Noack, Mrs Tsae Wong, Mr Tat Wong, Pastor Mike Alfson, Pastor Dirk Willner

The installation of new teachers and student leaders at a worship service is an annual event

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The Trinity Centre in a joint college/congregation service. In November 2016 Living Word congregation changed its name to Trinity Lutheran Church, aligning itself more publicly with the college on whose grounds it worshipped. The change, however, also created the anomaly of two Trinity Lutheran Churches within five kilometres of each other, one at Ashmore and one in Southport.

The new Principal confronted the ongoing challenge of enrolment numbers, a difficulty which was unlikely to be overcome rapidly, and the accompanying financial pressures. However, by the end of 2014 there had already been a slight increase in numbers, enabling another surplus budget. In the following years careful and honest analysis of underlying issues was undertaken, supported by surveys of parent and student opinion and levels of satisfaction. The gradual increase in numbers was maintained, with corresponding improvement in financial security and stability. A goal was set of restoring the primary years to three streams again, and a positive start was made with the enrolment of three classes in Prep and Year 1.

The continuing steady improvement in the financial situation generated an optimistic outlook and enabled the College Council to begin positive forward planning.

During 2014 the possibility was raised for the first time of moving the Cotlew Street administration to the library and relocating the library to the administration area, a plan which is to be implemented finally on a grander scale in 2022. Draft plans were created for

After School Hours Care

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the upgrading of The Trinity Centre to provide an auditorium, and for the refurbishing of the Robert Hoff Community Hall to create a better stage and performance space, as well as marked courts and accompanying equipment to enable its use for indoor sports such as basketball, volleyball and netball.

For the 2016 Commencement Service in The Trinity Centre and the Celebration of Excellence in the Robert Hoff Community Hall later in the year, those venues were furnished with drapes and other fittings to demonstrate that venues on the college’s campuses could be as attractive and functional as the external venues used in previous years. Increased funding from both the State and the Commonwealth Governments, combined with careful budgetary management, improved the financial situation so markedly that the financial status of the college, previously nominated

by Lutheran Education Queensland as requiring close and regular monitoring, was upgraded, with a correspondingly lower level of scrutiny. Financial prudence, however, dictated that the two capital projects were deferred.

Important works could be undertaken on both campuses, however, as well as upgrading of technology. Outside School Hours Care occupied its new quarters in the former Headmaster’s residence at Cotlew Street, suitably remodelled for its new function. The desktop computers provided for students in Prep to Year 3 were replaced with miniiPads. A new computer laboratory was set up in the

Battle of the Bands continues with the benefit of technology

Middle School equipped with Macintosh computers, popularly known as the Mac Lab. It boasted write-on desks and a “think wall’ with a special finish which allowed students to write, expand, discuss and debate or defend their ideas before being erased. Work was under way aimed at replacing or transforming both myTrinity and the Parent Portal. Smart cards were

A “THINK WALL’ WHICH ALLOWED STUDENTS TO WRITE, EXPAND, DISCUSS AND DEBATE OR DEFEND THEIR IDEAS BEFORE BEING ERASED. issued to students which they were able to use for a growing list of purposes; paying for printing in the library, at the canteen, at student reception and trial use on school buses.

There were small adjustments to the administrative team at Ashmore Road. The position of Deputy Principal was discontinued, the work being assigned to others in the administration team. Mr Brett Mason filled the new position of Deputy Head of Campus at Ashmore Road, with a realignment of responsibilities and subsuming the former Dean of Curriculum and Learning role. Pastoral care in the Middle School had always been horizontal, that is, organised at year levels. In the Senior School it had been vertical, that is, in houses across the three year levels. In 2014 a revised pastoral care team included leaders for Year 10 and Years 11-12. This was a precursor to the transition to year level pastoral care in the Senior School in 2016, with a strong emphasis on building positive relationships. The house system retained its strength and vitality in other student activity and competition, still including Battle of the Bands with participation by staff and past student bands.

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Teacher groups still participate in Battle of the Bands

Success also in interschool competition

Sport is an important part of inter-house competition

Future Olympians

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Junior and Middle School

Restorative Practice had become central to the college’s behavioural and relationship management strategies. Global connection and awareness were also a major goal. In August 2014 both were given a strong impetus by the visit of fifteen students and five teachers from Johson Grammar School in Hyderabad, India, as the inaugural Australia/India Cultural Expedition. Trinity was invited to participate in the program because of its work with restorative practice and relationship building. Sessions included workshops on bullying and anti-bullying strategies, and on Restorative Practice, as well as a Grand Assembly with eminent guest speakers. The visiting students also experienced whale watching and a visit to Brisbane, culminating in afternoon tea with the Lord Mayor.

The ties with Japanese schools remained strong. In 2014 the visits from three schools continued. In a program which began in 2009, eleven students and two city representatives from Takasu, a Gold Coast sister city, came to Trinity on a ten-day visit. A twoweek homestay visit accommodated 37 girls from Mukogawa Women’s High School. In September and October, a group of 36 students from Reitaku High School spent five weeks at Trinity. The Trinity visit, now in its twenty-second year, had become an integral part of their English language studies. In a reciprocal visit, a group of Year 10 Trinity students visited Reitaku early in the year, living in the school dormitories and experiencing the differences in culture and education in Japan.

Regular exchange visits with Mukogawa and Reitaku High Schools continue

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The Christmas story in song

Vocal and instrumental groups join forces for ceremonial occasions

Excellence in dance enhanced the musicals

Changing social and economic times finally put an end to the iconic Art and Crafts Show.

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Cirque de Exravaganza. A thrilling display of talent

Cultural activity and learning at Trinity were thriving.

A flourishing co-curricular music program supported four choirs at Cotlew Street (Sparkles, Piccolo, Bel Canto and the Glee Club) and three at Ashmore Road, and numerous instrumental ensembles – concert bands, a Big Band, jazz ensemble, rock bands, string ensembles, a woodwind ensemble, combining on occasions to form an orchestra. The dance program produced ten dance groups and the college’s long tradition of excellence in drama was maintained.

Students in the graphic and visual arts produced works which were selected for display in major events. The Arts Centre of Excellence (ACE) was introduced in 2014 to provide to students enriched

experiences and opportunities in the visual and performing arts – drama, dance, music and the visual arts. Direct connection to practising artists in all fields was available and gave insight into potential career directions and strategies. The Performing Arts Enrichment Camp at Mt Tamborine in June provided more opportunities to expand and refine skills. A highlight of the 2015 school year was Cirque de Extravaganza. More than 300 students from Prep to Year 12 participated in a spectacular display of the diverse range and outstanding quality of the college’s performing arts activities under the Big Top erected on the Ashmore Road campus oval.

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The Kokoda Challenge

An equally popular inter-school sporting program in APS also offered multiple opportunities to students from Year 4 to Year 12. Girls’ and boys’ teams competed in soccer, tennis, volleyball, AFL, touch football, rowing and water polo. For boys there were also teams in rugby, and for girls’ teams in netball and softball. Several annual carnivals catered for swimming, athletics and cross country.

Triathlon was introduced as a school sport with a small squad in Term 2 of 2015. In 2014 outstanding individual performances by Trinity sportsmen and women produced national representatives in water polo and U16 hockey, and State representatives in cross country, swimming, women’s U19 hockey and tennis. Velocitas-Sports continued to provide valuable

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pastoral care for elite athletes in the Middle and Senior Schools, with fortnightly meetings and four major seminars dealing with topics such as nutrition and sports psychology. In 2016 the Queensland Schools Swimming Team selected to compete in the pacific Games included four Trinity students. Despite these individual successes and the employment of professional sports coaches, a survey of students and parents revealed concern that the sports program did not always attain excellence, which lead to a review in 2016. A different style of physical activity also proved popular. In 2015 four teams, sixteen students, participated in the Kokoda Challenge, a physically challenge endurance trek. In the following year fifteen teams, sixty students, undertook the challenge.

The Hospitality students and teachers continued to win praise for themselves and the college. In 2015 two Year 11 students represented Australia in the International Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge in New Zealand after winning the Queensland Finals.

Hospitality teacher, Mrs Belinda Ingram, and the two college chefs also came home with a Silver award. In the following year two Year 11 Trinity students won the Gold medal in the Queensland finals and the Silver medal in international competition in Tahiti. In 2017 the same students repeated their Queensland win and were third in the Finals in Taiwan.

IN 2015 T WO YEAR 11 STUDENTS REPRESENTED AUSTRALIA IN THE INTERNATIONAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS CULINARY CHALLENGE.

Enrolment numbers were improving slowly, but were still a cause for concern. In 2015 much attention was given to the financial issues still arising from the enrolment numbers, with special concentration on the issue of the fees structure.

Continued financial strain resulted in further restructuring and redundancies in support departments such as IT and community relations.

At the end of 2014 Dr Gerhard Wittig resigned as Chairman of College Council after eleven years of faithful service, eight as Chairman, during which the college had completed its largest building projects.

Mr Paul Kleinschmidt was elected Chairman, and continues in the position to the present day. Mr Anthony Vassallo also left the position of Business manager to take up an equivalent role in another Lutheran college. Mr Philip Hinds was appointed as Business Manager in 2015.

Meeting the Culinary Challenge - at the state finals

Ellise and Emma, international champions

More medal winners

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Dr Gerhard Wittig with an award recipient

Mr Paul Kleinschmidt

A vision statement is aspirational, an expression of what the college aims to be and to achieve for its students. It provides a yardstick against which to measure its activities and achievements and a guide for moving into the future. At the beginning of 2015 Trinity Lutheran College adopted a new vision statement: To be a globally connected and innovative learning community developing head, heart and hand for personal excellence. The statement brought into sharp focus the elements of college life and activity which had emerged in previous years and pointed the way for the future. Global connection and the formation of global citizens had long been a strong element in college life. In 2016 they continued through reciprocal visits with schools in Japan, visiting groups from schools in China, South Korea and Germany, student visits to schools in Germany, tours and student exchanges. These were extended by exploration of the possibilities of virtual learning with schools in China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Switzerland and France. Visits from sister schools were maintained and treasured. The tag Head, heart and hand was not only routinely reiterated but also put into practice in daily school life as a goal to be striven for. The head references intellectual development and activity through life-long learning, the promotion of rigorous critical enquiry and the formation of resilient critical thinkers. The heart addresses spiritual life, values and attitudes, Christian life and practice grounded in the gospel. The hand comprises the call to action, to practical aspects of students’ contributions

to a better world, service to and connection with community, whether at school, locally, nationally or internationally, using the talents they possess and the skills they have developed. All this encompassed in a context of striving for excellence in all areas of school and personal life.

ALL THIS ENCOMPASSED IN A CONTEX T OF STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE IN ALL AREAS OF SCHOOL AND PERSONAL LIFE. A mark of the achievement of excellence became evident when in 2016 Trinity Lutheran College received the T T Reuther Award for School Excellence from Lutheran Education Australia. The award recognised the work done in implementing an intervention strategy for the enhancement of student learning.

The original motto of Trinity Lutheran Primary School had been Body, soul, mind, reflecting the holistic approach to education it was espousing. This was changed in 1984 to express more overtly the school’s Christian basis: No other foundation- Jesus Christ. In 1987 Trinity Lutheran College adopted its motto in Latin, Maturitas in Christo, but most frequently used in its English version To maturity in Christ. In 2002 the new college retained the motto of the former Primary

School, No other foundation - Jesus Christ. When the new logo and crest were adopted in 2012, the motto on the badge was in Latin, Fundamentum, quod positum est. Jesus Christus est. The change to the traditional language of school mottos went largely unnoticed, and was used only on the crest. In 2015 the College Council agreed to revert officially to the regularly used English version.

Some experimentation with terminology in 2016 resulted in the Junior School being named the Early and Junior Years Campus, matching the Middle and Senior Years Campus. Subsequently these titles were simplified to the Cotlew Street Campus and the Ashmore Road Campus.

During 2016 the Principal and College Council reviewed the provision of chaplaincy at the college. Although the report in May 2017 recognised the importance of increasing chaplaincy resources, no immediate change resulted from the review, and Pastor Michael Alfson and Mrs Janice Pukallus continued as the sole designated chaplains. Janice Pukallus resigned at the end of 2018 and was replaced by Mr Nat Cochran. In 2021 he was replaced by Ms Kaitlyn Stock (now Mrs Lie). Faced with the immensity of their task and the small number of designated chaplains, the chaplaincy team had implemented creative strategies with the strong support of the Principal. One focus was strengthening and empowering the teaching staff in their role as Christian teachers. Beginning in the 1990s the TOPS program had introduced teachers to a Lutheran understanding of the Christian faith and its application to education. This was later replaced by

Pathways, which was taught at Trinity in recent years in half hour weekly units over two years. It became one of the six Growth groups which were conducted each week, usually before school. All teachers were required to attend as part of their scheduled work.

Pastor Dirk Willner of Trinity (previously Living Word) congregation assisted with bible studies. The sessions were well received by most and contributed to growing understanding and stronger spiritual life. Weekly college chapels were shortened from 45 to 25 minutes, but were made more interactive and engaging, with notable improvement in student participation and positive attitudes. Three local churches with strong youth ministries were invited to provide part-time volunteer youth workers at the college. The Southport Church of Christ has continued to provide this service to the present day. The result of all these initiatives has been strong support for the faith life of many students and enhancement of the spiritual life of the college, supported by committed Christian teachers.

The spiritual work of the chaplains is now supported by many other positive inputs. The Christian environment of the college is strong and well supported and pervasive.

In 2016 the college celebrated the completion of thirty-five years of Lutheran education at Trinity with a number of events. The P&F Association under the leadership of President Mrs Lea Fitzpatrick organised an 80s Rewind Party in the Robert Hoff Community Hall, where the warm and welcoming relationships and the inclusiveness of the pioneer years were recalled and revisited with nostalgia. A major event in 2016 was the production of the musical, The Wizard of Oz.

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The Wizard of Oz was an example of many such productions, involving hundreds of students

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Almost two years in preparation, it was a dramatic, musical, dance and visual spectacular with memorable special effects, involving more than 350 students from Prep to Year 12.

ALMOST T WO YEARS IN PREPARATION, IT WAS A DRAMATIC, MUSICAL, DANCE AND VISUAL SPECTACULAR. At the end of 2016 there were again several retirements of longstanding staff members. Mr Michael Groves had joined the staff of Trinity Lutheran Primary School as a young man in its second year and had shared the pioneering years and the years of developing maturity. He retired after 35 years of

Mr Michael Groves

faithful service. After twenty years at Trinity, Mrs Carrie Allwood retired, having held positions as Coordinator of Junior Primary, the first Head of the Middle School and, finally, Head of Campus Middle and Senior School. She was replaced as Head of Campus

by Mr Andrew Bell in 2017 and Mr Doug Braiden from 2018. Mrs Janette Salmi had likewise worked initially in the Primary School, beginning as a teachers’ assistant in 1991 before training as a teacher. Her final position was Dean of Students Year 6-12. Mrs Trudy Moala resigned to become Principal of Grace Lutheran Primary School at Clontarf. The Deputy, Mrs Carolyn Thistlethwaite, was appointed as Head of the Early and Primary Years. Mrs Jenny Pemberton, the rowing coach, stepped down. Her passion for rowing and commitment to it had initiated the Trinity rowing program in the early 1990s and she had directed its many successes as coach for more than twenty years.

Mrs Carrie Allwood and Mrs Janette Salmi

With the Rowing Captain and the Jenny Pemberton Challenge Cup

A rowers’ accolade - The retirement of Mrs Jenny Pemberton

Mrs Carolyn Thistlethwaite

A memorial tree was planted after her death

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The retirement of senior staff members provided opportunities for rationalisation of the administrative structure. Veteran college teacher Mr David Lyon had resigned at the end of 2014 from the position of Dean of Curriculum and Learning 6-12, and Mrs Janette Salmi’s retirement vacated the role of Dean of Students 6-12 at the end of 2016. These positions were restructured in 2017 into Head of Studies, filled by longstanding teacher Mr Wayne Butlin, and Head of Pastoral Care, filled by Mrs Natalie Houston. The executive team was slimmed down to six members.

At the same time the teachers on the Early and Primary Years Campus were given additional support by two new positions. Mrs Mandi Traecey became Head of Pastoral Care and Mrs Melissa O’Shea Head of Teaching and Learning.

Refurbishment of the Cotlew Street classrooms

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Under the leadership of the Principal, Mrs Tsae Wong, a review was undertaken of the teaching and learning practices of the whole of the college. This led to consideration of the physical environment and the suitability of the existing teaching and learning spaces for contemporary practice. As a consequence, major refurbishment was undertaken once again to provide classrooms and other learning spaces which facilitated innovation and new teaching style and practices.

In 2016 the Prep, Year 5 and two Year 7 classrooms underwent modifications and, in 2017, Year 4 and the remainder of the Middle School. In total fourteen classrooms and six computer and Art rooms were refurbished at a cost of $2,600,000. The project was completed with refurbishing the Prep and Year 1 rooms and playgrounds in 2018. More time was allotted for

teachers to consult, plan, learn from each other and evaluate their work. The new teaching environments were designed to facilitate more flexible and agile learning and encouraged innovative pedagogy.

By 2017 community response to the changes being implemented was positive and enrolments continued to increase slowly. As early as 2016, encouraging enrolment trends had motivated the expansion of Prep from two classes to three, requiring the construction of an additional classroom. Enrolments reached 1030 in the middle of 2017, 1074 in 2018 and rose to 1254 in 2021. A fifth stream in Year 7 was introduced in 2019.

In 2021 this has been extended to Year 7, 8 and 9. A fourth stream was added in Year 6, and in 2021 to Year 4. It was initially expected that the outbreak of

Refurbishment of the Cotlew Street classrooms

the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 would have a serious negative impact on enrolments, but the consequences were far less challenging than anticipated. Because of its strength in digital technology, the college was well placed to provide support for online home learning during the major lockdowns. Despite a significant loss of students in many independent schools because of the financial, social and educational strains arising from Covid-19, the number of enrolment withdrawals of Trinity students was limited, and the impact was also diminished by the College Council’s willingness to negotiate fee relief in situations of hardship.

Since normality has returned to school attendance, there are now healthy waiting lists at several year levels. In the volatile Gold Coast school enrolment

Refurbishment of the Middle School classrooms

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environment, this speaks eloquently to the high regard within the community for the college’s broad education program and the innovations of recent years. Even so it was felt that the future needed to be safeguarded by new strategies, including investigation of the option of acquiring a fleet of buses. A fleet of five buses came into operation in 2018, providing services for students as far south as Robina and as far north as Coomera.

Buoyed by three successive surplus budgets and with growing confidence in the future, the College Council adopted the new master plan in May 2018, which projected major and expensive capital works: the completion of the refurbishment of classrooms, the construction of the Senior Learning Precinct, a major building project on the Cotlew Street campus, and a new Performing Arts Centre. In addition to the provision of new infrastructure, the master plan established new targets in many areas: standards of academic achievement, student and staff retention, chaplaincy issues and resources, enhancement of the sports program, parental engagement and participation and the maintenance of global connections. It was an ambitious program reflecting a clear vision for the future as well as an honest assessment of the current situation.

To enable the Foundation to align its operation with the master plan, two new part-time positions were created, a Development Officer and an administrative

A Lego master created a model of the proposed Junior Aquatic Centre

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assistant. This was a partial return to the staffing level of the original Development Department in 2001. It was planned to run a fundraising campaign to fund the new buildings. The new Foundation officers initiated a range of activities designed to publicise the college and its areas of excellence, to build support and to raise funds. Among these, a series of successful Business Breakfasts with inspiring guest speakers introduced the college to potential corporate supporters in the company of existing ones. The first major project of the re-invigorated Foundation is the construction of the Aquatic Centre at the Cotlew Street campus. The existing swimming pool and surrounds will be roofed, the grandstand improved by the addition of individual seating, and the toilets/changing rooms upgraded, together with other minor enhancements. A current fundraising campaign will fund the whole of the estimated $700,000 cost. Completion of the works is expected at the end of September 2021.

By the beginning of 2019 confidence in the financial security of the college was buoyed by rising enrolments, successive years of surplus budgets and increased levels of Commonwealth Government funding. The master plan’s ten-year program of capital spending could now be achieved in seven years.

Planning for new projects commenced.

The facilities in the Junior and Middle Schools had received major remodelling. To continue this into

Dr Wong has her own Lego mini-figure

the Senior years, the Senior Learning Precinct was planned to be erected on a site on the crest of the hill behind all the other buildings. Like the refurbished Junior and Middle School facilities, it was to enable and encourage contemporary teaching and learning approaches appropriate to the age and maturity of the students. The design and furnishings were to enable a flexible approach, with growing levels of independent learning in the upper years. Architects, Burling Brown, produced a design which allowed for maximum use of contemporary technology, non-traditional as well as traditional layout and furnishings, and provided a central tiered assembly space. In a convergence of architecture and pedagogical principles, the building provides generous break-out areas, non-traditional seating arrangements, a wellness centre, an innovation hub for technology and creativity, and a kitchen for Senior students. The library has been incorporated into the new building, as well as the previous Mathematics rooms above it, reconfigured for different uses.

PROVIDING GENEROUS BREAK-OUT AREAS, NON-TRADITIONAL SEATING ARRANGEMENTS, A WELLNESS CENTRE, AN INNOVATION HUB FOR TECHNOLOGY AND CREATIVIT Y...

The extensive provision of cameras not only enables and encourages teachers to video their lessons for review and for later student access. It also supports the program under which Trinity Lutheran College provides remote online learning for students at Redeemer Lutheran College at Biloela and Peace Lutheran College in Cairns in subjects such as Physics and Psychology for which those schools have been unable to find teachers to deliver the courses locally.

A contract with Stokes Wheeler was signed in June 2019. The total cost of the whole project was approximately $8 million. The project suffered the fate of almost every major building project since 1981 delay. In this case the problems included wet weather, the pace of approvals for building loans, delayed delivery of furniture from overseas, and the onset

of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was originally intended that the building would be ready for occupation at the beginning of the 2020 school year. After this was amended to May, the building was finally completed in June and handed over for use at the beginning of Term 3. A ceremony of official opening and dedication took place on 1 August 2021 by newly appointed LCAQD second Bishop, Reverend Nathan Glover.

The expansion of the Middle School by the proposed addition of four classes from 2019 placed a strain on the available open space for Middle School students.

The large spaces of the ovals were at the opposite end of the Ashmore Road campus. In 2019 the College Council began discussions with the Gold Coast City Council for the use by the college of some of the open parkland adjacent to the Middle School to the west. In 2021 these negotiations have progressed to the point of an application for the lease of an area 30 metres by 70 metres as Middle School playground. For a very small rental the college will have use of the space in school time only, and will be responsible for its maintenance – fencing, topdressing, mowing and irrigation.

With the refurbishment of the Middle School and the completion of the Senior Learning Precinct, the Ashmore Road campus offered outstanding physical facilities. On the Cotlew Street campus, in spite of major refurbishment in recent years, further enhancement of the facilities became the next priority. Planning for a major building project began in 2019. The existing library is to be converted to a new administration centre, retaining the use of the undercroft for music and art activities. It is intended that this will create a more public face for the school, and will provide greater visual impact and easier access from the major thoroughfare of Nerang Street. The existing administration building adjacent to the Robert Hoff Community Hall is to be demolished and replaced by a two-storey Junior Learning Precinct, which will include a new library, specialist classrooms, a canteen, and toilet facilities which will replace the building which formed part of the first Primary School buildings in 1981. Although it was intended that the ten-month project would begin in 2020, the uncertainties of Covid-19 impacts led to its deferment, and it is now planned for implementation in 2021. Commencement is planned for September, with a total estimated cost of approximately $6 million.

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The Senior Learning Precinct

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Late in 2019 Mr Doug Braiden resigned as Head of Campus Middle and Senior Years. In May 2019 Mr Matthew Qualischefski was appointed to the position.

With experience in several Lutheran schools, he is the first Trinity alumnus to be appointed to a senior administrative position at the college. Mrs Susan Shaw, the first Director of Little Stars, the Early Learning Centre, retired at the end of 2020. She was replaced by Mrs Anna Atherton. Mrs Carolyn Thistlethwaite resigned as Head of the Cotlew Street Campus at the end of Term 2 in 2021 to take up a position at Coomera Anglican College. The new Head of Campus is Mr Ian Price.

Mr Doug Braiden

Mr Ian Price

They stand in a long line of competent, committed and loyal educational leaders, and of those who have filled their places with equal commitment and loyalty. Their work not only supports a body of teachers committed to the educational, spiritual and social values of Trinity Lutheran College. Even more importantly it supports the learning and development of its students.

Inevitably the student population and the staff will change with time. It is the role of the educational leaders and the teachers, under the leadership of the Principal and the College Council, to ensure that those core values are preserved and put into authentic practice, as they have been for the past forty years.

Mr Matthew Qualischefski

Even administrators have birthdays

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MATURITAS IN CHRISTO MATURITY IN CHRIST

FUNDAMENTUM, QUOD POSITUM EST. JESUS CHRISTUS EST. NO OTHER FOUNDATION ...

JESUS CHRIST

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