Prep School
I extend a warm welcome to the Churchie Prep community, and a special welcome to our new families—I know your Churchie experience will be a positive one. I hope everybody had an enjoyable Christmas vacation period and took the opportunity to recharge their batteries and prepare for an exciting year ahead.
Monday was a day full of excitement and optimism. The many smiling faces of boys (and parents) were lovely to witness as the boys returned to familiar faces and friends and met boys joining the School for the first time. We welcomed our Reception boys, who started their Churchie journey with our traditional chapel service with their parents. I look forward to the excitement, enthusiasm and joy the boys bring each day to our school.
This year promises to be one filled with great possibilities, endless challenges and great endeavour, whether that be in the classroom, on the sporting fields or in music lessons. I look forward to seeing our mission, the making of men, enacted by the boys.
Finally, I encourage all boys to challenge and extend themselves this year in as many fields as possible. When we are challenged, we stretch our thinking and our capabilities and really get to know ourselves and grow as people. I ask all parents to encourage their sons to do this, as the outcome and results often provide pleasant surprises.
Parent information evening
Date: Monday 29 January
Location: The Centenary Library Lecture Theatre
Prep School overview (optional)
Time: 5:15 to 6 pm
- New initiatives: maths pathways, gifted and talented offerings, and Switch4Schools
- House system
- Guidance counsellor
- myChurchie
- Reminder signatures
- Curriculum information night
Reception to Year 6 Classes
Time: 6 to 7 pm
Staffing 2024
This year we welcome several new staff who will be joining the Churchie Prep team.
- Chris Hetherton has joined us from The Springfield Anglican College and comes with a wealth of experience in early years education. He will be teaching in our Reception classroom.
- Neroli Kiem is our new Learning Support Coordinator. Neroli joins us from Brisbane State High School. She also brings a wealth of experience in supporting students and helping them achieve their potential.
- Sue Ashton is our new early years Japanese teacher. Sue has taught internationally and here in Australia. Sue is very talented as a multilinguist and is looking forward to working with our younger boys.
- Kim Nearhos will join the Personalised Learning Team as our EALD teacher. Kim has been involved at Churchie Prep in several roles, and we officially welcome Kim to the Prep Team.
This year we also welcome back staff who return after periods of long service leave during 2023—Scott Whitehead, Phil Hoyt, David Kennedy and John Grigg.
I know you will join me in welcoming our new staff, and I am looking forward to the contribution they will make to our Prep School.
Curriculum Information Night
To provide further information about our teaching practices in the Prep School, we will be running a Curriculum Information Night. The focus of this night will be on our teaching practices in the Prep School. Our staff will be providing interactive workshops and sharing with you the pedagogy and methodology in teaching within these areas. It will be an entertaining and informative night that will help build further understanding for our parents about what is happening in our classrooms.
We are currently working on our topics for the evening and will share them with you once we have these finalised. There will be a lovely balance between core foundational skills and specialist topics for you to enjoy. Last year we had more than 140 parents in attendance, and it was great to receive such positive and affirming feedback.
We look forward to hosting you for an informative and enjoyable evening of learning.
Date: Monday 12 February 2024
Time: 6 to 7:30 pm
Around the grounds
It was lovely to see the boys enjoying their first week back at school.
Social media
We like to keep our parent community and friends of the School informed of what is taking place in the Prep School. One platform we use in the Prep School is our own Instagram page. This provides us with an opportunity to showcase the wonderful events, achievements and daily activities that take place in the Prep School. If you would like to follow us, we can be found at @churchieprep on Instagram. We look forward to sharing the 2024 school year with you through this platform.
Contacting the Prep School
Please don’t hesitate to contact the Prep Office (3896 2219 or prepschool@churchie.com.au) if you need clarification regarding any school-related matter. We are here to help. I look forward to a wonderful year in the Prep School.
Mark Wyer
Head of Preparatory School