Dean of Identity | Mr Charles Brauer
“Inclusive Community”
Enrolment interview season always provides a time for a small internal audit of our College. Whilst discussing with parents and aspiring Terracians the benefits and suitability of a Terrace education, I often find myself exploring the heart of our community – that which makes our Terrace Family tick. From a student experience perspective, my exploration is often directed towards our House system, our vehicle for pastoral care. I strongly believe our House communities are a wonderful avenue for each individual student’s dignity to be nurtured and for each individual to feel a true sense of belonging, encouraging him to feel free to be the best he can be.
Below are our House banners, which are a representation of our Terrace Family and a representation of how we are expected to contribute to building a community whereby each individual is made to feel welcomed, included, respected and cared for.
If you look closely at the House banners you will see in the background ten concentric circles, connected to one another by pathways. These circles and pathways represent the coming together of our nine House and Waterford Place communities – the coming together of people to celebrate, to share stories and to share a meal.
On closer inspection of the banners, you will notice within the circles pairs of “U-shaped” objects facing towards the centre of the circles. These represent young men gathering together to share their struggles and their triumphs, their highs and their lows.
The background artwork of the House banners, which we mounted in the Campbell Centre this week, is by Jack Bugmy, a proud Aboriginal man of the Kamilaroi country of northern New South Wales, and our Year 10s of the Beyond Borders immersion. Whilst on this immersion, our Terracians explored Aboriginal culture and spirituality, both of which are extremely rich and powerful in their understanding of how people and communities should live together in peace and harmony. The original artwork, which many of you will recognise, remains hanging proudly in the alcove area of Waterford Place. This week’s College Assembly saw Harry O’Brien (Year 12) provide us with a reflection on his experience of an inclusive community here at Terrace. As Harry spoke, he strongly affirmed the message of our House banners – how we are our dependent on one another. Harry’s experience acknowledges “I am because we are”; in essence, we are at our best when we are together as a common community.