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Principal’s Message | Dr Michael Carroll

Dear Members of the Terrace Family,

This week, 15–22 May is National Road Safety Week. In light of the tragic loss of Andrew Symonds in a car accident over the weekend, my Touchstone article this week has a road safety theme – specifically, road safety around Terrace.

I need to be honest with the Terrace Family and say that I have witnessed a marked deterioration in driver behaviour in recent months, particularly in Rogers Street. Schools have varying procedures in place to manage their busy pick-up and drop-off times, and I feel it is important that I take some time in this article to clearly outline the practices we have in place at Terrace to ensure the safety of our students as they arrive and depart the College each day.

Terrace road safety plan

Rogers Street
  • Official crossing supervisor on Rogers Street (7.30 – 8.30am each morning and 3.05 – 3.35pm each afternoon).
  • College staff supervising pick-up each afternoon (access Supervision Map here).
  • Rogers Street:
    • Parents/caregivers are required to pull into parking bays for a two-minute pick-up.
    • Cars should not be left unattended.
    • Cars should not queue waiting for pick-up. If no parking bays are available, parents/caregivers are encouraged to go around the block and try again.
  • No U-turns or double-parked pick-ups are allowed as these practices are dangerous for both students and other drivers. In the last two weeks alone, I have witnessed several near misses, and I cannot stress enough that U-turns and double parking at pick-up time need to stop.
Victoria Street
  • This is a very narrow street, made even more so because cars park on both sides of the street.
  • Students cross at three different points on Victoria Street – please be aware of student movement if you are driving along this street, particularly at pick-up time.

The College is limited in the procedures we can utilise to alleviate the traffic congestion seen at pick-up time. As part of our MID application (building application), traffic engineers have further investigated our options and proposed crossings at the bottom of Water Street and another at Waterford Place. These options, however, are not likely to be added to our current road safety plan in the short term.

The Queensland Government has produced a document titled Road Safety Around Schools Guidelines. A key aspect of this document is ‘Scan – Plan – Do and Review’. In addressing these guidelines, the College has scanned, planned and introduced an extensive road safety plan. The issue remains that there are limitations to our response due to the volume of traffic (particularly due to our proximity to the Grammar Schools) and the narrow, inner-city streets that surround our Spring Hill campuses. We are committed to the continued review and improvement of our current plan. In the interim, an essential aspect of the plan is for parents to continue to exercise the highest level of care when driving on Rogers and Victoria Streets. Please consider the following:

  • Please do not do U-turns.
  • Please do not double park to collect your child.
  • If waiting in a traffic queue is problematic for you, please do not arrive in Rogers Street between 3.10 pm and 3.30 pm. Delay your arrival.
  • Consider an alternative pick-up location in the streets around the College.

As a teacher, I have always tried to avoid disciplining the entire class because of the poor behaviour of a few. I am a firm believer that whole class detentions are both unfair and ineffective. I thank and apologise to a large number of parents/caregivers who do display great care, patience and awareness while driving around the College. However, the reality remains that we have a small number of parents whose actions continue to put the safety of our students and other drivers at risk. Please be responsible and considerate of other drivers and our students. I thank you in advance for your support of this critical issue.

Congratulations to Thomas Nunn-Rutledge and Thomas Musgrave, who recently represented Queensland in the National Schools Debating Championships held in Canberra. Queensland claimed the title as the 2022 National Schools Debating Champions following a close win over New South Wales in the Grand Final. Further congratulations to Thomas Nunn-Rutledge on his selection to the 2022 Australian Debating team – an outstanding achievement.

Finally, I welcome Mr Chris Holliday to Terrace following his appointment as Director of Rowing. Chris brings a wealth of experience to the role, most recently as Director of Rowing at the Sydney University Boat Club. Chris will commence at the College on 12 July.

God Bless.

We pray for the families of the following members of the Terrace Family who have gone to their eternal rest.

Mr George FITZ-WALTER (GT 1940)

Mr Damien SWEENEY (GT 1952)

Mr John TENISON-WOODS (GT 1941)