The Weekly

Audio edition

For this term, we have introduced this audio version of the Churchie Weekly Newsletter as a trial and an additional way for you to hear what’s on at Churchie. For feedback or general inquiries, please contact Churchie News.

From the Deputy Headmaster

It is incredible to think that we are already past the halfway point of Term 1.

With many students juggling significant commitments and working their way through their first main suite of assessments for the year, it is an appropriate time to discuss some practical areas that will help to enrich and improve our learning experiences.

A culture of reading

Despite the hectic nature of our lives, it can be enormously rewarding to build some casual reading into our daily habits, preferably physical books instead of screen-based texts. Looking at their different subject areas, students will no doubt find opportunities for further reading and investigation to expand their understanding and enjoyment of different topics. With the school holidays five weeks away, now is also a good time to start sharing ideas about books to read during the Easter break. ‘Churchie Reads’ on The Centenary Library eLearning page has valuable reading suggestions for students.

The myriad benefits of reading are well-documented. A 2018 paper, ‘Scholarly culture: How books in adolescence enhance adult literacy, numeracy and technology skills in 31 societies’ encapsulates some of these benefits very neatly (Sikora et al, 2018, Social Science Research 77, 1-15). Reading improves mental health and develops resilience, broadens our empathetic capacity and enhances our writing skills. It also lengthens our attention spans and stimulates our imaginations. Role modelling is considered especially important for young people, where shared interactions around our reading interests help to develop intellectual capacity and engagement, both at home and at school.

The Centenary Library

Particularly as we approach significant assessments, The Centenary Library is open from 7 am to 8 pm Monday to Thursday, and until 5:30 pm on Fridays.

Study Hub is now a hive of activity in the Senior School, where Old Boys, senior students and staff offer advice and guidance to students across the whole Year 7 to 12 ability spectrum with regards to homework, classwork, or as students prepare for upcoming exams or assignments. This is a complimentary service. Our Study Hub schedule can be found on myChurchie – Study Hub and Tutoring.

As we near examinations, please note that The Centenary Library is also open from 1 to 4 pm on Sunday 10 March and Sunday 17 March.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is an important area that requires consistent messaging and advice. There are some predictable areas of difficulty in all schools, and we should always be very upfront and explicit about avoiding these dangers. Common academic integrity issues include but are not limited to:

• self-plagiarism (students using their own work from a previous context)
• collusion (more than one student works to produce a response and that response is submitted as individual work by one or multiple students; a student giving or receiving a response to an assessment)
• copying content from AI platforms without proper referencing or students using AI tools to completely reword or rephrase their own ideas
• plagiarism (copying work, including ideas, examples, theories or opinions, from another source without proper attribution, even when students are summarising or paraphrasing this content.

I thank families for having constructive discussions at home on this topic, helping to raise awareness and understanding of proper conduct in different contexts, and always holding expectations high.

Reasons for misjudgements in this area can include students struggling with time management, being overcommitted and feeling stretched, falling behind, or just feeling worried about receiving a poor result. As with any disciplinary matter, it is always important to separate any isolated issue from a student’s general nature or character, the latter of which should always remain sacrosanct.

Nonetheless, all boys are expected to be familiar with our expectations at all times. There is information in the Student Diary, School Handbook, the Academic Policies and Procedures document on myChurchie – Senior Academic, and also our online Library pages available via myChurchie.

Curriculum feedback

I wrote to Years 10 to 12 parents yesterday regarding an external QCE survey that is currently taking place. The QCAA is seeking to review the new QCE system now that it has been in existence for several years. For any parents who may have some insights and experiences to share with the QCAA, please click here for a link to the survey. We are very pleased for our community to contribute to this important process of continual improvement regarding our different curriculum areas.

Richard Wheeldon
Deputy Headmaster

Churchie Parents Advisory Association

The CPAA is pleased to announce its office-bearers for 2024:

• Chair – Angela Rae
• Deputy Chair – Geoff Donkin
• Secretary – Fiona Patterson (from Term 2)
• Treasurer – Lisel Pringle

The members of CPAA are all involved in a wide range of school activities, and between them, they have boys actively engaged in almost every co-curricular activity run by the school.  In particular, the support group representatives have boys involved in music, football, debating, basketball, rowing, cricket, drama, stage crew, rugby and cadets.  Last week the support group presidents and representatives of CPAA met for an informal get-together, and as the year progresses there will be more formal engagement with support group executives and heads of programmes.  The other groups represented by CPAA will also be engaging with their communities throughout the year.

General meetings

Minutes of the AGM held on 29 January 2024 are now available here on myChurchie. 

The next general meeting will be held on Tuesday 7 May 2024 at 6 pm in the Nichols Theatre.

Prep School

The joys of sport

There are many facets of my job that I love. Attending sport on a Saturday morning is one of them. The smell of freshly cut grass in the morning, seeing a brand-new Kookaburra ball leave its plastic sleeve and find its way into the hands of an excited opening bowler, watching volleyballers practise their serving before a game, batters having throw downs in readiness for their innings and our swimmers completing lap after lap of the training session are part of the rich tapestry of Term 1 sport.

We aspire for boys to have a well-rounded education, and sport plays, for some, a large role in their life at school. Beyond the obvious physical benefits, sport is important in schools to increase confidence and mental alertness and build self-esteem. It also teaches valuable skills for our boys like leadership, patience, team efforts and social skills. The one that stands above all else for me is the notion of respect. Respect for the opposition, respect for their fellow team members, respect for their parents and respect for the officials.

At the end of each cricket match (and tennis next term), as a sign of respect to the opposition, we ask our boys to remove their hats and sunglasses before shaking hands with their opponents. A simple gesture to show our respect, whether we win, lose or draw, to reinforce the values that we as a school espouse. It has been gratifying to see that this simple gesture is embraced by the boys and equally led by the boys. I am extremely proud of the level of sportsmanship and spirit displayed by the boys each week but more so by the respect that is shown by all our sporting teams.

I look forward to another weekend on the sidelines watching our boys in another round of friendly competition.

Prep value of the week: tact

Tact is telling the truth kindly and being considerate of how your words affect others’ feelings. Think before you speak, as some things are better left unsaid. When you are tactful, others find it easier to hear what you have to say. Tact builds bridges.

Attribute of the week: reflective

When you are reflective, you give thoughtful consideration to your own learning and experience. You are able to assess and understand your strengths and limitations in order to support your learning and personal development.

A Message from the School Counsellor

SchoolTV: Toxic achievement culture

Toxic achievement culture is characterised by the entanglement of self-worth, achievement and the relentless pursuit of academic or extracurricular success—at any cost. This phenomenon goes beyond the mere quest for success. It embeds a belief in students that their merit is exclusively tied to their achievements, often propelled by intense external pressures from families, schools and society.

Some students are overfilling their schedules with activities aimed at ‘getting ahead’. However, the consequences are proving to be detrimental to students’ mental and physical health resulting in burnout and heightened levels of stress.

There is nothing wrong with having ambition, but it’s crucial to ensure that this desire doesn’t push our young people into a toxic cycle of achievement and make them feel that they must achieve in order to matter. The relentless drive to excel is leading many students to prioritise accolades over genuine learning and personal growth, often at the expense of their own wellbeing and interpersonal relationships. As adult carers, we need to advocate for a more balanced and holistic approach to achievement, emphasising the importance of resilience, wellbeing, and the pursuit of diverse interests.

This special report will help you understand the signs of toxic achievement, and how to address them to teach students how to adopt a better work/life balance.

Here is the link to your special report on School TV:

Susie Hill
Prep School Guidance Counsellor

Year 5 search for gold

Last week, Year 5 visited the goldfields to have a hands-on experience of life during the Gold Rush. Liam and Charlie in 5C wrote the following recount of their day:

After what seemed like hours, we finally arrived at the gold field. As we stepped out of the bus, we were greeted by a trooper on a horse carrying a rifle who led us to a Cob & Co station. Suddenly, a bushranger jumped out and threatened us with a gun. He shouted at Harry in 5A and told him to stand up and hand over his belongings. The bushranger took Harry’s delicious lunch and found he had some hidden gold.

Luckily, the trooper heard our screams and quickly returned. The trooper then questioned us about the bushranger. After we explained our story, the trooper told the bushranger to drop his deadly weapons and give back the items he had stolen from Harry. Instead of giving Harry his lunch back he fed his apple to the trooper’s horse and ate the rest himself! Mr K the bushranger was taken to court and sentenced to a hard day of labour. While Mr K got to work, we were given some time to explore the township, where we found tents and stores ‘owned’ by boys within Year 5.

After, our morning tea we were split into house groups to start the activities. One of the activities was gold panning! We were given cradles and pans to try to find gold. If we didn’t say ‘Eureka’ when we found gold, we were not allowed to keep it. After a few minutes, we started to get tired as it was scorching hot. ‘Eureka’ shouted one of the boys, someone had struck gold. ‘Eureka’ yelled another, and suddenly everyone had found some riches. As our time came to an end, we quickly searched for the last bit of gold before moving on.

Our next activity allowed us to experience what it was like to buy supplies in the 1800s. In pairs, we pretended to be the shopkeepers and buyers. The buyer was given money to buy items within the store. We learnt that because there is only one store on the goldfields, the shopkeeper could up the price of all the items for sale. Generally, the price was very unfair and expensive for the customer so we learnt how to haggle. Haggling is when the customer barters with the shopkeeper by exaggerating their stories of need. The shopkeeper would normally disagree with the customer’s price, before settling on an agreed amount.

Our third activity was damper making, damper is like bread but without any flavour. Four boys were selected to help make the damper and cook it on the coals of the fire. Once the damper was put in the camp oven, we walked down the hill to a green paddock. All of us were wondering what was happening next. Finally, the instructor explained to us that we were going to have a tent making competition. Within groups of five to seven, we were given the supplies to make a tent. We were tested on how fast we built the tent, the quality of the structure and how we worked as a team. Once the tents were built, to everyone’s excitement, the damper was ready! Sprinkled with some golden syrup, it was a treat after a hard day working on the goldfield.

Our final activity for the day was the gold rush hunt! Before you could search for gold, you had to purchase a miner’s licence. Just like earlier in the day, when we found gold, we shouted eureka. There were a lot of lucky boys on these goldfields because everyone was shouting it and running to the Assayer’s office and exchanging it for money. Ultimately, we were allowed to swap our money for chocolate and lollies, we doubt this is what happened on the real goldfields, but we were happy that was the case today!

Overall, this was a great and fun excursion! It allowed us to learn many things about the Australian Gold Rush and experience what it was like to be a miner during this time.

Year 2 school history tour

Last week, Year 2 participated in a building history tour of the Churchie grounds with School Archivist Peter Collin. As part of our inquiry into the history of a significant building, person and site, we visited many important locations around Churchie, whilst learning about their fascinating history. These included School House, Goodwin House and the original office of Canon Morris. We thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the history of our school.

Library News

On Monday this week, Mark Greenwood, author of 24 captivating books, visited Year 5 boys and gave 5C a writing workshop. He will return on Friday to give the other four classes their workshop sessions.

Parent sign in and out

To enhance security in the Prep School precinct, the Prep School Office uses a visitor sign-in and out system. If you visit the Prep School at a time other than pick up and drop off times within the school day, it is necessary for you to sign in and out at the Prep School Office. Thank you for your compliance with this matter.

Smartwatches

Smartwatches are not permitted at school. These items have proven to be problematic and distracting for boys during class. Please ensure these watches remain at home or in your son’s bag during the school day.

Easter service

The Prep School’s Easter Service at St John’s Cathedral will be on Monday 25 March from 6 to 7 pm. The service is compulsory for all Years 4 to 6 boys. A roll will be taken in the evening. The formal uniform of a white shirt and tie is to be worn by all students attending. Boys with special tasks at this service will travel to the cathedral during the day of the service to rehearse. All families are welcome to attend.

Traffic and parking

The safety and wellbeing of our boys are paramount. Please ensure when accessing the drop-off and pick-up zones around the school, you observe the local road rules and conditions. We are happy to provide staff in these areas to facilitate an efficient, orderly and safe environment for our boys.

To reduce blockages and queues in surrounding streets, parents are asked to follow the rules below for the drop-off and pick-up zone in Mowbray Terrace:

• Do not park or leave your car in the zone.
• If your son is not ready for pick up, please drive around the Gresham Street block and re-enter the zone to maintain the flow of traffic.
• Consider using Barker Street or Heath Street as an alternative.

Your courtesy and consideration of others will help the zone work more smoothly.

Mark Wyer
Head of Preparatory School

Senior School

Academic achievements

Congratulations to the following students on their academic achievement last year, achieving all As or all As and one B for Semester 2 2023. These young men have also demonstrated excellent learning behaviours, reflecting the hard work and diligence that often underpins real success.

Casey House service news

This week, as part of our Casey Intergenerational Programme, Harry Rankin, Jasper Grierson, Zadok Forrest and I visited St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Kangaroo Point. In two groups, we spent time talking with residents about their lives and experiences. I found this experience fascinating as we discussed a range of topics that were so different from anything I had experienced. I spoke with Claire, who is 89 years old. She was originally from Maryborough but came to Brisbane four years ago because she had no family left in that area. Claire was energetic, warm and interesting to talk with. I think this is a worthy service experience as it provided an opportunity to meet people who have gained huge life experiences over many years and could provide a perspective I hadn’t thought of before. I look forward to returning to this service activity next term.

Tom Zachariah
Year 10 Casey House

Interhouse touch football competitions

Year 7 touch football

In Week 5, the Year 7 cohort had their interhouse touch competition, marking the commencement of the Year 7 interhouse events for the year. Throughout the week, each house played four group stage games before both the semifinals and final were held during Thursday lunchtime on The Flat. Ultimately, the final ended in a draw with Kingsley and Hillary sharing the spoils in a 1-1 result.

The touch competition was well received, with many boys of various year levels spending their lunchtimes supporting the Year 7s. Congratulations to Kingsley and Hillary Houses for making the final, and congratulations to all Year 7 for a great competition.

Rohan Seeto
Prefect

Year 8 touch football

Over the lunchtimes of Week 4, Year 8 headed to Smith Field, donned their house colours and competed in games of touch. Pool games throughout the week contributed points to an overall tally that led to the quarter-finals held on Thursday. The Goodwin and Casey game was particularly competitive! Due to the rain on Friday, the semi and grand finals were held on Monday, with Goodwin playing Magnus and Kingsley playing Gerald. This led to a highly competitive grand final between Kingsley and Goodwin, where tensions ran high throughout the entirety of each house, with the game going into overtime and eventually playing three on three. Ben Williams eventually scored a corner try for Goodwin House to seal the victory. Congratulations to all Year 8 boys!

George Ward
School Vice-Captain

Max Blanch
Prefect

Online safety ySafe presentation

Last Wednesday, we welcomed Abi Dargan from ySafe to present to students in Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9, regarding online safety.

The presentation covered a variety of topical and pertinent issues, ranging from the protection of social media accounts to the legal consequences for unlawful online behaviour, including cyberbullying and the possession of illicit material. Our students greatly benefited from Abi’s insightful input and are now better equipped to manage their online experience moving forward. 

Duke of Edinburgh Award

Congratulations to the students who were presented to the School for their bronze or silver Duke of Edinburgh award at Headmaster’s Assembly last week.

Creating habits – the 1% principle

Philosophy of searching for a tiny margin of improvement in everything you do.

The most effective way to change your habits is to focus not on what you want to achieve but on who you wish to become.

One of the most iconic tenets of James Clear’s ‘Atomic Habits’ is the 1% principle. Clear argues that improving just 1% daily can yield significant results over time. This principle underscores the importance of consistency and persistence. The incremental improvements, though small, compound over time, making the process more important than the end goal.

James Clear (2018) ‘Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones’

Kelly Jackson
Senior Learning Support Coordinator

Lost property

Please encourage your son to visit the lost property if he is missing any items. Lost property is open at morning tea time in MS43 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Rod Olsen
Head of Senior School

Chaplain’s corner

Admission to Holy Communion Service

Date: Friday 1 May 2024
Time: 6 pm
Location: St John’s Cathedral

Churchie students in Year 4 and above are invited to celebrate being admitted to Holy Communion in a joint service with students from St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School.

All students in Year 4 learn about and explore the sacraments as part of their RE unit, while  Years 5 and 6 students will meet together and prepare in small groups, facilitated by Chaplain Stephanie in the Prep School.
 
Senior School students will be contacted by Senior Chaplain The Reverend Sharon Mitchell, for preparation as needed.
 
Sisters, from any school, are welcome to be admitted to Holy Communion with their brothers.

Please invite family and friends. They are welcome to support and attend this service, which will be followed by light refreshments.

Please complete the Admission to Holy Communion JotForm. 

If your child has not yet been baptised, this can occur during or before the Admission to Holy Communion Service.

Please contact Chaplain Stephanie for further information at stephanie.cotroneo@churchie.com.au.

Stephanie Cotroneo
Lay Minister – Chaplain Preparatory School

Music

Introducing Captain of Music James Aralar

As we approach our first concert season in Term 2, we would like to introduce the 2024 Captain of Music James Aralar. Here is James’s musical journey so far at Churchie:

I made my first venture into Churchie music in Year 1, learning the cello with Mr Jamieson, making 2024 my 12th consecutive year having lessons with him. As part of the Grade 5 immersion programme, I began learning the oboe and played in the Prep Band, Concert Band, Jensen Winds and Symphony Orchestra until Year 9. I then began learning jazz piano. I played in Big Band 2 in Year 10 and have been in Big Band 1 since Year 11. The cello has remained my main instrument throughout my school life, and I have enjoyed playing in Chamber Strings, the Symphony Orchestra and in the pit band for two school musicals.

It would be hard to choose a favourite memory from my time in Churchie music, but one that stands out is the Japan tour last November. The tour immersed us in the local culture and provided an incredible number of enjoyable experiences, such as visiting the Golden Temple, discovering J-pop and performing at Tokyo Disneyland.

This year, I’m looking forward to playing at Stringsfest at BGS next week and with Big Band 1 at Jazz Under the Stars. A new event I am also looking forward to playing in Churchie’s Best Solos, an event I haven’t yet taken part in.

In 2024 I want to be more involved with the younger boys through mentoring and spending time after school in their ensemble rehearsals. I’d also love to see more boys outside of the music programme coming along to performances and appreciating the effort put in by the students across all the ensembles.

James Aralar

James Duffy – Headmaster’s Assembly performance

Congratulations to James Duffy who played a beautiful and playful excerpt of the Poulenc Sonata for flute.

Please follow this link to the audio recording of James’ performance at Headmaster’s Assembly:

Stringsfest – Wednesday 6 March 2024

Next Wednesday the musicians of Chamber Strings 1 will share the stage with Brisbane’s best string schools and their top chamber string ensembles. It is an honour in itself to be invited to perform at this event and many of the members will also be participating in the Festival String Orchestra, which is a collaboration of the best string players from each school, performing high-level works such as ‘ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis’ by R Vaughan Williams. We wish the members of Chamber Strings 1 all the best for this amazing performance. The concert will begin at 6:30 pm in the Great Hall at Brisbane Grammar School, and we encourage you to buy tickets if you wish to support Chamber Strings 1. Please click here to purchase tickets:

Bohdan Davison
Director of Music

Sport

Churchie hosted a considerably successful home round of GPS sports and activities this week, against the strength of BBC. Rowing continued their season build-up towards Head of the River on Saturday 9 March. Swimming hosted the meet at Chandler last Friday ahead of this week’s GPS Swimming Championships.

After another exciting GPS Round 5 last weekend, we invite everyone to see the weekend’s results summary via myChurchie – GPS Sports and Activities.

Cricket

Saturday saw the majority of cricket teams take on BBC across the two schools’ venues.

It was the most successful round of the season so far, with Churchie winning 15 (with one draw) of the 20 fixtures played on Saturday against BBC, while supplementary match wins resulted in 19 wins from all matches on the day,  an exceptional day results.

All previously undefeated teams kept their unbeaten runs intact led by the First XI’s impressive bonus point seven-wicket win at Main Oval. Also, 7A, 9A, 10A and the Third XI secured comfortable wins to maintain their winning streaks.

It was also an incredibly impressive round of individual performances, with two centuries and three five-wicket hauls. With the bat, Henry Peters (100*, 11A) and Bobby Winson (102*, 9C) both raised the bat in outstanding innings. With the ball, Sam Wilkins (5/9, Second XI), Henry Brown (6/13, 11B) and Daniel Clark (5/8, 9B) all had standout days in collecting five-wicket hauls. Well done to those players, along with our other standout contributors for the round, who are listed below:

• Connor Rudman First XI 62*
• Sam Wilkins Second XI 5/9
• Henry Peters 11A 100*
• Henry Brown 11B 6/13
• Liam Stieper 10A 54
• Thomas Kennedy 10B 76
• Daniel Clark 9B 5/8
• Bobby Winson 9C 102*
• Shoubhit Jain 8A 79*
• Archie Jackson 7A 87

The First XI produced its best performance of the season against BBC, excelling with both bat and ball to come away with the bonus point win. BBC won the toss and batted. However, disciplined bowling from Churchie, led again by left-arm orthodox duo Henry Hillier (3/25) and Rupert Bignall (2/29), forced BBC to settle on a moderate total, with their final five wickets falling for just four runs and being dismissed for 153. In reply, a 50-run opening stand between Connor Rudman (62*) and Angus Storen (31), set the tone in the run chase, before Captain Jayden Draper scored a classy 32* to bring his side home.

The win sees Churchie open up a bigger gap on the rest of the competition, along with fellow unbeaten teams Ipswich Grammar School and The Southport School. With the three schools all set to face each other over the next three weeks, it sets up an enthralling end to the First XI season.

This weekend sees fixtures take place against Brisbane State High School.

James Patmore
Director of Cricket

Debating

A lot has happened in the debating world in the last two weeks. With another two rounds of GPS debating completed, our Year 10 and Senior A debating teams having successful first-round showings at the QDU Secondary Schools Debating Competition, and an outstanding representation at the Queensland State Debating Team trials, there’s much to celebrate in this edition.

On Friday 16 February, I was delighted to take nine of our teams to Toowoomba Grammar School, where our Years 5 and 6 debaters participated in their maiden debate. I was thrilled to watch the strong rebuttal and responsiveness of the 5.1 team on the topic ‘that all children should play for at least two hours a day’, and to see them win their first debate left me with the impression that we have a truly bright future in the activity. Likewise, our Senior A team was responsive to the style of adjudicators and gracious to our hosts in an outstanding 3–0 unanimous win. Congratulations to the 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2, 8.1, 9.1 and Senior A teams for helping us leave with a 7 from 9 win ratio!

On Wednesday 21 February, the QDU debaters kicked off with a surprise short-prep round also. The QDU is a challenging, surprising competition that requires our boys to adapt to the differences in styles and argumentation approaches across all educational sectors in South-East Queensland. I’m very proud of the 10.1 and Senior A boys for their comfortable wins. This week, our 11.1, 9.1 and 9.4 debaters also commence their competition, and I wish them the best of luck here also.

Round five of GPS Debating was always going to be a challenge, with BBC building a reputation as a strong and unpredictable school at the ‘thought sport.’ Indeed, the evening was a challenge for us also. While we came out as clear victors, with 13 of 20 wins, including Senior A’s split-panel win, the ratio likely also reflects the challenge posed by our topics. I want to especially commend the 11.1, 11.2 and Senior B teams, who contended with the topic ‘that we oppose the gamification of military training (e.g. the integration of military controls, achievements, leaderboards, graphics into game design and mechanics)’. If you’re confused, don’t worry. We saw so many definitional challenges on the night indicated that boys could have rightly debated about either the gamification of the military or the militarisation of gaming, based on the syntax of the topic! Regardless, well done to them for rising to the challenge, and especially well done to the 11.2s with their first win of the season (and with only three men in the room to prep that topic).

Finally, it was an honour on Sunday 22 February to watch Dario Lim, Caelan Smith and Felix Mutinelli deliver their final trial speeches in the selection of the Queensland State Debating Team. Congratulations to Caelan and Felix on their inclusion in the 2024 team, and we will be eagerly awaiting updates when they head off to the National Schools Debating Competition in May. Additionally, I want to congratulate all three boys for the collegiality, friendliness and fun that they have played a role in creating in the broader debating community. It was so rewarding to see the Top 12 speakers, regardless of school, gender or background, engage with each other in camaraderie and supportiveness, and it validates my hypothesis that goodness and kindness are necessary criteria to be top-level speakers.

I cannot wait to see what will be a high-quality round of debating this Thursday in the Round 6 blockbuster event at Brisbane State High School – ensure you check the myChurchie page for times, transport details and important information.

Rebecca Hewitt
Director of Debating

Volleyball

Round five against the BBC proved to be an eagerly anticipated and highly competitive event. BBC demonstrated exceptional tenacity and determination, creating a finals-like atmosphere throughout all matches. The weather added to the intensity, with the action on the court heating up alongside the temperature. Once again, Churchie Volleyball showcased its prowess, emerging as the overall winner of the day.

We extend our gratitude to Charlie Autcher, Jett Mills and Jack Cartmell from the Second VI who exhibited great dedication by participating in one of the most challenging Firsts games I have witnessed. Additionally, I acknowledge the immense contribution of Kevin Tan and James Moody, two Year 9 boys who stepped up and fulfilled their duties on the lines for the First VI in what can only be described as a heated battle.

While there were many exceptional performances throughout the day, it is difficult to overlook the outstanding coaching of Manny Samios and his 9B team. Their epic second set, with a score of 32–30, secured the victory for Churchie.

In terms of our standing in the GPS, Churchie currently holds eight guaranteed premierships and seven additional premierships that will be decided in Round 6. We have achieved an impressive record of 109 wins and 21 losses, with 30 ‘A team’ wins and 9 ‘A team’ losses. Our overall points have secured us the first-place position, while we are closely competing with Nudgee for the first-place position in A-team points. Furthermore, our unbeaten Year 9 age group has showcased exceptional performance.

We invite everyone to join us in celebrating our remarkable season at the End of Season Presentation. Early Bird ticket prices are available until Friday 8 March in Week 7.

Our coaches have been tirelessly dedicated both on and off the court this week. We encourage you to stay tuned to the Volleyball page to catch up on the mid season reports from each team’s coach. Will we see another video from our innovative and musically talented head coach Ben Wasley? Cham, our outstanding Second VI coach and aspiring ‘Swiftie’, had this to say:

Swifties may all be flocking to the southern states to catch a glimpse of their idol perform live, and one can hardly blame them for doing so. But up here in the sunshine state, the Churchie Second VI have been delivering scintillating performances week in, week out, which would arguably give Taylor a run for her money. There may be a slight disparity in the size of the crowds, but the way audiences have been left feeling after witnessing both artists perform is nothing short of mesmerising. The similarities don’t end there, however, as throughout the first half of the season, each member of the Second VI has embodied and exemplified a Taylor Swift era, as I shall now describe.

Please visit the Volleyball page on myChurchie to read the full season breakdown.

Carrie Mill
Director of Volleyball

Swimming

On Friday 23 February at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre, the crowd witnessed a tsunami of blue and grey, with over 110 boys competing in the Churchie-hosted final GPS pre-meet of the 2024 Season.

Coaching staff congratulated the boys as faster times were recorded again in admirable efforts towards Championship team considerations. Special mention to Henry Majer and Sebastian Fitton for receiving last week’s Captain of Swimming awards for their commitment to the programme. Post pre-meet, the boys finished the season as a unified group on Monday and enjoyed breakfast while our Head Coach and Junior Coach announced the highly appreciated final GPS championship team.

Congratulations to the announced 2024 GPS Senior and Junior teams that will represent Churchie on Friday. The teams and allocated events are available on myChurchie. For the remainder of the week, only the GPS Team will continue to train in preparation for Friday.

The Swimming Support Group is busy arranging the Awards Presentation function and we would love to see all families attend to celebrate a truly amazing season.

Lastly, we thank the Years 7 and 12 cohort of students who will be travelling to Chandler and supporting our boys from the stands. For those who cannot make it to the event, you can watch all the action on the GPS Livestream online; the link will be available on myChurchie – Swimming.

Thank you to all boys for your commitment and investment for the 2024 Season; it has been another epic journey for the past twenty weeks and we appreciate your commitment.

Jaye Finocchiaro
Director of Swimming

Rowing

Regatta Four of the GPS calendar was hosted by State High and featured the opportunity for Year 8 to race prior to the GPS competition. As Churchie doesn’t boat in Year 8, the delayed start allowed us time to recognise the boys selected in the 2024 First VIII with the presentation of their travel polos. Head of Cocurricular Mr Trent Goodrick and Head Coach Stuart Paton presented the nine boys to the rowing community.

Year 9 had their best regatta yet, with several podium finishes, including victories for the Division 6, 7 and 10 crews.

Our Year 10 Division 3 crew continued their undefeated run and backed this up with first place in the 500 metre sprint for the second round of racing. The Year 10 fourths also had their second win of the season with a new crew combination and followed that strong performance with second place in the sprint round.

This weekend we boated a full Year 11 Second VIII for the first time, this was following persistent recruiting by the boys in the boat to make sure they could race in their actual boat class. It also marked the first race for our Year 11 Third VIII, which consists of Year 10 boys. They had a great first regatta, finishing fifth in their race in a respectable time for their first race in an eight.

The Open crews faced a tough regatta while juggling school commitments this week. We have our minicamp at the Dam post regatta this week where we can put the final touches on our boats before we begin the taper into Head of the River.

This week, Regatta Five will provide a dress rehearsal for Head of the River with only one round of racing. This is our final opportunity to fine-tune pre-race routines and race plans before Head of the River in a week.

Mothers lunch

On Friday 23 February, the Annual Rowing Mothers Lunch was held at the Regatta Hotel. The event was a huge success with more than 80 of our rowing mums in attendance for the lunch. Master of Ceremonies Josh Humphrey (coach of Year 9 Third Quad) and guest speaker Hamish Cooney (coach of the Open Second VIII) gave a fantastic insight into our programme for new mums joining us and some great stories for returning mothers. We look forward to continuing the tradition with next year’s lunch.

Tyson Sholl
Director of Rowing

Strength and Conditioning

Benefits of resistance training for youth

Resistance training for young people is often met with mixed messages around its efficacy, risks, and necessity. One myth that is widely (and incorrectly) repeated, stems from research in the 1970s and 1980s that suggested resistance training may cause damage to growth plates in bones during maturation. The methods used in these studies, however, pose risks to any untrained population with poor exercise selection, supervision and little concern for training load. The reality is that, with correct loading, exercise selection and coaching in how to perform exercises correctly, the risks of injury during resistance training are very low (between 0.053 and 0.176 per 100 hours), especially compared to the risk of injury in contact sports (up to 1.06 per 100 hours).

Recently the research has been overwhelmingly favourable to resistance training for the youth population with some benefits lasting a lifetime. Aside from vastly increased strength, cardiovascular health and coordination, there are cognitive, psychological and other physiological benefits such as increased bone mineral density in key areas such as the hips that offset their decline later in life. The habits built from regular exercise may also carry forward for life contributing to a lower chance of some diseases and decreased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and it has been correlated with success in career and academics through more energy, better concentration, and higher creativity.

In summary, it is perfectly fine and highly recommended for young people to participate in resistance training in an age-appropriate and well-supervised training session with benefits lasting a lifetime. If you’d like more information, feel free to join the Strength and Conditioning myChurchie page, or alternatively forward enquiries to Jarrad.Boswell@churchie.com.au.

Jarrad Boswell
Director of Strength and Conditioning

Trent Goodrick
Head of Cocurricular

Churchie Old Boys’ Association

Book launch – A Running Life

Tony Booth OAM, a renowned athlete and athletics coach, was born in Toowoomba in 1929. Tony was a champion schoolboy athlete and Open Queensland champion for 100 yards (1949 and 1950) and 440 yards (1955 and 1957). For over thirty years (1956 – 1989) he coached athletics, cross country, swimming and rugby at Churchie. He later coached athletics at Brisbane Girls’ Grammar School and Brisbane Grammar School.

Tony has written his autobiography, entitled A Running Life which covers the many years of his athletics career and his involvement in GPS sports, QGSSSA carnivals, UQ track and field, ‘Tony Booth Sports’ and retirement. It runs to approximately 650 pages and will be printed in two, hard-covered volumes.

In celebration, a book launch will be held in the Brenan Pavilion at Churchie on Thursday 21 March 2024.

Date: Thursday 21 March 2024
Time: 4 to 6 pm
Location: Brenan Pavilion

RSVP: Friday 15 March 2024

$220 per two-volume set

To confirm your attendance at the Book Launch and pick up your order, please click here.

You may attend the book launch without purchasing a book, however, please register your attendance for catering purposes.

To purchase the book only, please click here. Please note that postal charges will apply and that orders will be dispatched after the book launch.

Pixevety

Pixevety – a photo platform for Churchie images

Pixevety is Churchie’s photo platform, where photos from across the School will be uploaded on a weekly basis. Students are recognised by the system so parents can simply click ‘myVIPs’ and see their son’s photos in one easy location.

Families new to the School may not see ‘myVIPs’ yet, as new student ID photos are still to be processed in the system. However, you can still browse the galleries.

Watch the video below to learn how to use Pixevety.

For more information visit the Pixevety page on myChurchie or email news@churchie.com.au.

Churchie Shop

Term 1 opening hours

Parent Connect

Parent Connect is the school-wide parent community support group focused on nurturing the fun and family-centric side of school life. We provide valuable support services through formal and informal networks across the School. We intentionally communicate, connect, coordinate services and facilitate wellbeing support for our families and the greater community. Click here to access on myChurchie.

Join Parent Connect

It is a long-standing initiative of the Churchie parent community to enable the sharing of contact details for those who opt in and provide consent. Joining the Parent Connect database is easy. Join here. Once you have joined, you will receive communication from your parent coordinators and access to your cohort’s parent contact list.

Year and house parent coordinators

Each year and house has a parent volunteer who is the friendly peer contact for parents to help navigate school life, host social connections, and assist with the administration of the private Facebook groups.

Parent Connect services and volunteer engagement

Any member of the Churchie community (parents, old boys, friends, and staff) can participate in these services or make a confidential request for wellbeing support. Click here to volunteer or request support.

Meals on Wheels Parent volunteers needed

This is a service that requires the involvement of parents to be the volunteer drivers for boys from Biggs House and Gerald House on a Friday to provide meal delivery services for Bulimba and Carina Meals on Wheels. The commitment is approximately two hours once a term. Stacey Lacy is the Parent Connect Coordinator she is a current Year 10 and Grenfell House parent. Click here to volunteer.

Upcoming events

Coffee & Connect
Friday 8 March
The Arches
After drop-off

Parent Chapel Service
Friday 8 March
Canon Jones Memorial Chapel
9:30 am

Parents and Churchie Staff Morning Tea
Friday 8 March
Morris Hall
10:30 am

Boarding and Day Mothers Afternoon Tea
Friday 8 March
Brenan Pavilion
1:30 – 3 pm

Tuckshop news

Viking Café volunteers

We welcome mums and dads to volunteer at our tuckshops. Please contact the Tuckshop Volunteers Coordinator for more details if you can spare some time during the term to help in our busy tuckshops.

• Viking Café volunteers please contact via email.
• Prep Tuckshop volunteers please contact via email.

Upcoming events

View the school calendar on myChurchie for all scheduled events.

Follow Churchie

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• Churchie on LinkedIn

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