St Peters Lutheran College

St Peters Lutheran College
Location
Indooroopilly, Queensland
Australia Australia
Coordinates 27°30′18″S 152°59′4″E / 27.50500°S 152.98444°E / -27.50500; 152.98444Coordinates: 27°30′18″S 152°59′4″E / 27.50500°S 152.98444°E / -27.50500; 152.98444
Information
Type Independent, Day and Boarding
Motto Latin: Plus Ultra
(Ever Higher)
Denomination Lutheran
Established 1945
Principal Mr Tim Kotzur[1]
Staff ~138[2]
Grades P–12
Gender Co-educational
Enrolment ~5,000[3]
Colour(s) Maroon and White         
Slogan "Excellence in Christian Co-education"[4]
Website www.stpeters.qld.edu.au

St Peters Lutheran College is an independent, co-educational, Lutheran, day and boarding school, situated on a 21 hectares (52 acres) campus in Indooroopilly, an inner suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Established in 1945, St Peters currently caters for approximately 2,100 students from Prep to Year 12,[3] including 150 boarders from Years 6 to 12.[2] In January 2008, St Peters Lutheran College Springfield opened with almost 100 students from Prep to Year 8 in multi-age classes. St Peters Springfield has since grown to a Kindergarten to Year 12 school and moved to a new state of the art location in Health City.

The school's chapel is heritage-listed, having been added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 2012.[5]

Symbolism

There are certain symbolic icons present in the college emblem, including Martin Luther's iconic white rose from his seal, and an inverted cross for St Peter, leader of the Apostles in the early Christian Church, who was crucified upside-down.

The School's motto, Plus Ultra, which is Latin for "Ever Higher", is said to emphasise the College's desire for the students to reach their goals in their learning.

Campus

Science lab

From the 1897 Villa "Ross Roy", bought and used as the first building of St Peters in 1945, the College campus has seen significant growth and change over the years.

Theile house, a four storey building comprising computer labs, classrooms, Year 11/12 lockers, and the Theile study centre, was recently renovated and extended. The facilities in the new building include a study centre for students in years 11 and 12, with three private study/meeting rooms and numerous computers and laptops available to students. The girls' boarding houses have also been renovated, now featuring air conditioning, and a multi-purpose court.

There are three libraries on campus. The Senior School library is a three-storey facility where students and staff can access a collection of fiction and non-fiction. There are approximately 80 computers and students have access to a number of databases to which the school subscribes.

In 2013, a Performing Arts Centre was also opened. This is a three-storey facility including an auditorium, theatrette, orchestra and band rooms, music and drama classrooms, and rooms for instrumental tuition and practice.

Ironbark

Workshop at Ironbark

Ironbark is the outdoor campus of St Peters Lutheran College. Located near the town of Crows Nest, some 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Toowoomba and 150 kilometres (93 mi) north-west of Brisbane, the property consists of 600 hectares (1,483 acres) of heavily timbered, undulating granite country. The donation of land in 1971, provided the College with an opportunity to develop and implement an outdoor education program. After several years of discussion and planning, a pilot program was run in 1974. Following the success of the pilot program, Ironbark has been part of the College curriculum since 1976. Ironbark was named for the Eucalyptus Crebra, the narrow leaf Ironbark, which grows across the property.

Students from the College spend five weeks at Ironbark in Year 9. During their stay, students experience community living, help to run the farm and maintain the property, and undertake a range of outdoor adventure activities. The students have no formal academic lessons during their stay. Facilities on site include two dormitories, staff accommodation, a well-equipped workshop, a garden, and a mixed farm. Much of the food consumed by the students is produced on the property.

Whilst attending Ironbark, students must complete a 4-day hike covering a total geographic distance of 51.4km, partake in a 48-hour team survival program and a 24-hour solo event.

In prior years, it was year 10 students who spent 8 weeks at Ironbark, with some classes attending Mt Binga camp instead.

Heads of College

The heads of college have been:[6]

Period Details
1945–1954 Mr Wilfred Carl Schneider
1955–1970 Mr Hermann Wilhelm Albrecht Lohe
1971–1994 Dr Carson Dron
1995–2002, 2011 Mrs Sally Chandler
2003–2011 Mr Stephen Rudolph
2012–2016 Mr Adrian Wiles
2017– Mr Tim Kotzur

Co-curriculum

Music

Tuition is available through the school on most instruments, as well as vocal lessons and musical theory (AMEB or Trinity). Music is an elective course in Years 8 to 12, while music is compulsory for students in Year 7 or below. Touring forms a significant part of the College's music program. Student ensembles have toured throughout the Asia-Pacific region, Russia, United States, Europe, China, Japan and Tasmania.

Chorale

St Peters Chorale, a youth choir directed by Ms Kathryn Morton, is one of Australia's leading youth vocal groups.[7] Composed of students from Years 9 to 12, it frequently performs pieces of music from various composers, especially supporting Australian artists. The chorale, regularly tours internationally - the last tour being a tour of Europe in December/January 2013/14.

Orchestra

The St Peters Soloists is St Peters premiere strings ensemble. This group regularly tours domestically and internationally and is led by Mr David Deacon. The St Peters Soloists will tour Japan at the end of 2015.

Symphonic winds

The St Peters' Symphonic Winds is the College's highest level concert band. It has an integral part of the bands program since its inception, integrating many brass, woodwind and percussion students from Years 9 to 12. The Symphonic Winds last toured the southern regions of the United States of America in December 2014.

Other ensembles

In addition, St Peters offers other ensembles, including:[8]

Singing groups
Bands and instrumental ensembles

Sport

The cocurricular sporting program provides opportunities for students to participate in a variety of sports and physical pursuits. The school's sporting facilities include an indoor sports hall and weights room, a 50-metre and a 25-metre heated pool, six tennis-specific courts, eight additional multi-purpose outdoor courts and three ovals, two of which have turf cricket wickets.

The college offers a variety of sports from primary to senior, including:[9]

Boys in Years 7 to 12 compete in the Associated Independent Colleges (AIC) competition and girls in Years 7 to 12 compete in the Queensland Girls' Secondary Schools Sports Association (QGSSSA). Years 4 to 6 students compete in the AIC and QGSSSA junior competitions.

Other activities

St Peters students participate in a range of other cocurricular activities, including Opti-MINDS, Debating, Mooting, Public Speaking, Theatre Sports, Drama Access, Future Problem Solving, Bee Keeping, Combobularity Club, the Year 8 Production Kaleidoscope and various outside competitions.

St Peters students have the chance to also participate in the wonderful St Peters Robotics programme which includes programmes such as First Tech Challenge, First Robotics Challenge, First Global, Robocup and many more. Four of our students partnered with Grace Lutheran College represented Australia at the First Global Challenge in June 2017. They came 49th overall (out of 160 countries participating) and won a silver award for International Unity.

Curriculum

The St Peters curriculum is designed to provide a continuum of experience and knowledge acquisition from Prep to Year 12. To this end, St Peters offers programs within four separate sub-schools: Lower Primary (P–4), Upper Primary (5–6), Junior High (7–9) and Senior School (10–12). Each sub-school operates semi-autonomously with its own Head of Sub-School and administration. The Senior School offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.[10]

Since 2004, the school has run an exchange program in conjunction with sister school, Immanuel college, in Adelaide, South Australia. The focus of the exchange program, or "Mind Change" as it is known, is to allow gifted students from both schools a chance to meet students their age who they can relate their interests to.

Publications

The school has a number of publications that are made available to the school community, including:[11]

Chapel

St Peters College Chapel

The St Peters Lutheran College Chapel was built in 1968 to a design of the Austrian-born architect Karl Langer. Langer's work was in a distinctive sub-tropical modernist style and this was his last built project. The building has a large well-lit nave with a choir loft, vestry and meditation chapel and features a large bell tower. It is constructed of load-bearing face brick with a roof of flat metal sheeting.[5]

History

St Peters Lutheran College was established at Indooroopilly by the Lutheran Church in 1945 with 56 boarding students. Ross Roy was the main building and focus for early College life with Luther House built by voluntary labour soon after the College’s commencement. St Peters has had five Heads in its history and is the largest Lutheran school in Australia, today, with an enrolment maintained at approximately 2000 day and boarding students and 350 teaching and non-teaching staff. Our boarding enrolments are maintained at 150 students.St Peters Lutheran College – Ironbark Outdoor Education Centre, via Crows Nest, was established in 1974 as a trial program and in 1976 as an ongoing Outdoor Education Program. This life changing experience is a five-week program for Year 9 students and indicates St Peters positive and strong commitment to ‘growing’ our Junior High students in significant ways. The ‘Ironbark Experience’ is seen by staff, parents and students as a vital part of the St Peters journey, fostering independence, resilience, teamwork, problem solving, ethical decision making, sustainability and environmental awareness in our young people.Commencing in 2008, St Peters Lutheran College Springfield began as a Prep to Year 8 school. It now caters for Prep to Year 12 and provides the Springfield and adjacent communities with the many benefits of the St Peters journey. All St Peters schools operate under the control of the St Peters Lutheran College Council and Head of College, governed by the Lutheran Church of Australia Queensland District.

Alumni

Alumni of St. Peters Lutheran College are known as Old Scholars. All students graduate as Life Members of the St Peters Old Scholars Association (SPOSA).[12] Notable St. Peter's Old Scholars include North Queensland indigenous leader, Noel Pearson, Olympic athletes Dane Bird-Smith,[13] Maxine Seear, Georgia Bohl, Chris Noffke, Shane Gould, and Pita Taufatofua, and musicians and actors Sigrid Thornton, Lisa Gasteen, Craig Horner, James Cuddeford, Hamish Prasad, Anna Starr and Sam Atwell.

Other well-known past students include Brisbane author Rebecca Sparrow; ex-Brisbane Lions (now Essendon) Australian football player Mal Michael; 1986 Commonwealth Games 1500m Freestyle Gold Medalist Jason Plummer; 2002 Commonwealth Games Women's Marathon Bronze Medalist Jacqui Gallagher; Director of the Queensland Conservatorium of Music Professor Peter Roennfeldt; Mondo Rock bass player Paul Christie, Federal MHRs Steven Ciobo and Michael Johnson; one-term Queensland State MLA Ted Radke; TV sports reporter Stephanie Brantz; Australian Financial Review journalist (and Walkley Award winner) Tom Iggulden; criminologist Tim Prenzler; historian Dr Dirk Moses; Larvatus Prodeo blogger Brian Bahnisch; romance novelist and former Brisbane Broncos cheerleader Ally Blake; co-founder of clothing label Sass & Bide, Heidi Middleton; Channel 9 weather reporter Joseph May; 2007 Rhodes Scholar, Anna Jane Kloeden (University of Queensland);[14] and current Brisbane Lions rookie listed Australian football player Adam Spackman. 2010 Commonwealth Games champion swimmer Yolane Kukla graduated 2012. Recently traded to Collingwood Football Club is ex-student Peter Yagmoor who finished in 2010 on the Michael Voss AFL scholarship. 2009 -2010-2011 Jessica Hall Australian Rowing Representative.(Alumni 2009)Jessica Hall under 23 rowing world champion gold medal and new worlds best time 6.22.11 15/7/12(alumni 2009)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Welcome from the Head of College". St Peters Lutheran College. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Staff" (PDF). School Report 2007. St. Peters Lutheran College. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2007.
  3. 1 2 "Introduction & School Details" (PDF). School Report 2007. St. Peters Lutheran College. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2007.
  4. ↑ "Welcome Message". About Us. St. Peters Lutheran College. 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2007.
  5. 1 2 "Chapel of St Peter's Lutheran College, Indooroopilly (entry 602816)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  6. ↑ "St Peters Lutheran College". St Peters Lutheran College. p. 4 (photo captions). Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Humann, Joel (18 December 2004). "Announcing St Peters Lutheran College Chorale Brisbane Tour of England". Retrieved 19 August 2006.
  8. ↑ "Music".
  9. ↑ "The Curricular Sport Program". St Peters Lutheran College.
  10. ↑ St. Peters Lutheran College, from ibo.org. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
  11. ↑ "Publications". 2007.
  12. ↑ "About SPOSA". Old Scholars (SPOSA). St. Peters Lutheran College. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2008.
  13. ↑ "Dane Bird-Smith". Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  14. ↑ "Queensland Rhodes Scholars" (doc). Rhodes Scholarships - Information for Queensland applicants. University of Queensland. Retrieved 17 December 2007.

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