The Lions' Roar 28/11/2025

Last week we celebrated our Year 3 – 12 Awards Night, a wonderful evening that brought our community together to recognise student success, growth, and character. 

Awards were presented for academics, sport, the arts, leadership, service, and dedication to our TMC values. Thank you to our staff for the preparation behind the event, and to our families for your ongoing support.

A special mention must go to our Year 12 students, who graduated last week. They are the Featured Image of the Week, and we are incredibly proud of all they have achieved as they finish their TMC journey and step confidently into their next chapter.

As we approach the end of the year, Tamborine Mountain College is proud to support a meaningful community initiative to ensure every child starts the new school year ready to learn.

We have partnered with Beaucare, a local community organisation supporting families in need across the Scenic Rim. Each January, Beaucare provides book packs and essential school supplies to families who may not have the means to purchase them.

This is where our TMC community can make a difference. We are holding a Stationery Drive this Term to collect new school items, including:

• Exercise books (all year levels)
• Grid books
• Pencils, pens and erasers
• Rulers
• Calculators
• Glue Sticks
• Coloured pencils and pens
• And any other essential stationery families might need

All items must be new, so students receiving them can begin their school year with dignity and confidence.

Donations can be delivered to the students' classrooms/form rooms.  Each room will have a box for collections during school hours. Every contribution, big or small, will help support a local student in their learning journey.

Let's show the strength of our TMC community and help set more children up for success.

December

Wednesday, 3 December - Students Last Day Term 4

Thursday 4 & Friday 5 December - Student Free Days

January 

Monday, 26 January - Australia Day

Tuesday, 27 January - Term begins for Primary, Years 7, 11 & 12

Wednesday, 28 January - Term begins for Years 8, 9 & 10

Please note - dates for events may be subject to change

A message from Mr Stevens

In 2026, we will be introducing a new literacy program in the Primary years, designed to give every child the strongest possible foundation in reading, spelling and writing.

Over the past year, we have been reviewing our English programs and looking closely at the latest research and resources available to schools. As a result of this work, the College has invested in the MultiLit suite of programs – InitiaLit for Prep–Year 2 and SpellEx for spelling in the upper primary years.

What is InitiaLit?

InitiaLit is an evidence-based, whole-class literacy program for the first three years of school (Foundation to Year 2). It uses a systematic synthetic phonics approach – this means children are explicitly taught how the sounds of English link to letters and spelling patterns, in a carefully sequenced order.

Alongside phonics, InitiaLit also develops:

• phonemic awareness (hearing and working with sounds in words)
• fluency
• vocabulary
• comprehension through quality storybooks and rich classroom discussion.

The aim is that, by the end of Year 2, almost all children are reading independently and with understanding, with strong skills in both decoding and comprehension.

Click here for more information.

What is SpellEx?

From Year 3 onwards, students move from “learning to read” towards “reading to learn”, and accurate spelling becomes increasingly important for writing in every subject. To support this, we will be introducing SpellEx, MultiLit’s whole-class spelling program for Years 3 and 4 (with resources that extend into Year 5 and beyond).

SpellEx provides explicit instruction in three key areas of spelling:

• phonology – the sounds in words
• orthography – how sounds are represented in written form (graphemes and spelling patterns)
• morphology – how word parts (bases, prefixes and suffixes) carry meaning.

Students also explore why words are spelled the way they are, including the influence of languages such as French, Greek and Latin on English spelling, helping them become confident and thoughtful spellers rather than relying on memorisation alone.

Click here for more information.

What will this look like in classrooms?

From 2026 you can expect to see:

• Daily, explicitly taught literacy lessons in Prep–Year 2 following the InitiaLit sequence.
• Continued use of quality literature and discussion to build vocabulary and comprehension.
• Decodable texts in the early years that closely match what students have been taught, so they can experience success as readers.
• Structured spelling lessons in Years 3–6 using consistent routines and language across classes.

The program aligns with the Australian Curriculum (Version 9) and provides a clear scope and sequence, ensuring that skills are systematically built from year to year without gaps.

Supporting all learners

InitiaLit and SpellEx include regular assessment points so teachers can identify children who need extra support or extension.

These classroom programs will sit alongside our existing support structures – including learning enhancement, small-group interventions and individual adjustments – so that we can continue to respond to the needs of each child.

Investing in our teachers

As part of this change, the College is funding comprehensive professional development for our teachers to ensure the program is implemented with fidelity and confidence. This is a significant investment in both our staff and our students, and reflects our commitment to high-quality, research-informed teaching.

What does this mean for families?

For families, day-to-day things will feel familiar, but you may notice:

• more focus on sounds and spelling patterns in the early years
• decodable readers that match classroom instruction
• clear, consistent spelling routines and terminology in the upper years.

The most important things you can continue to do at home remain the same: read to and with your child regularly, talk about books, encourage them to write for real purposes, and stay in touch with your child’s teacher if you have any questions.

We are excited about the difference this new literacy approach will make for our students from Prep through to Year 6. As we move closer to 2026, we will share more information, including parent information sessions and opportunities to see the program in action.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to contact me at the College.

We are delighted to announce a new Community Partnership between Tamborine Mountain College and Medland Orthodontics. You may have noticed they were also our Major Prize Sponsor for our $10,000 Invisalign Package so kindly given away at our 30 Year Anniversary Gala. This ongoing partnership offers exclusive benefits to our families, staff, and alumni, while also supporting our College community.

Here’s how it works:

All TMC students, families, staff, and alumni will receive a $250 discount off orthodontic treatment at Medland Orthodontics.

In addition, Medland Orthodontics will generously donate $250 back to Tamborine Mountain College for every new patient who commences treatment.

To access this exclusive offer, simply mention the code VIPTMC25 at your new patient consultation.

This is a wonderful way to invest in your smile while also giving back to the College. We thank Medland Orthodontics for their partnership and commitment to supporting our community.