Senior School

Interhouse Carnival

On Friday 3 May, the Senior School held the annual Interhouse Cross Country, Chess, Fly ‘n’ Die and Tug of War competitions.

On what was a rather inclement autumnal day, it was delightful to see the spirit of the boys remain high throughout the carnival and their obvious pride in representing their respective houses.

Cross Country

The provisional winner of the cross country competition, adeptly managed by Michael Simes, was Kingsley House with additional points awarded based on participation.

The final positions for Cross Country, including participation, were:

1. Kingsley
2. = Casey and Gerald

Tug of War

In a tightly contested Tug of War competition, led once again by Heath Chandler, each house entered one team drawn from across each year level. Before an enthusiastic audience, Goodwin House prevailed with a clean sweep of wins against all opponents.

The final positions for Tug of War were:

1. Goodwin
2. Hillary
3. = Biggs and Magnus

Chess

The Sir John Pidgeon Sports Complex hosted the chess competition with 60 simultaneous games taking place throughout the afternoon, marshalled by Max Condon. Grenfell House was once again victorious with a dominant performance.

The final positions for the chess were:

1. Grenfell
2. Magnus
3. Casey

Fly ‘n’ Die

Against the backdrop of The Centenary Library, three extremely competitive Fly ‘n‘ Die events were well supported by each house. Overall, Nansen was the winning house, with Mitch Rosenlund leading the competition in the absence of John Callie.

The final positions for Fly’n’Die were:

1. Nansen
2. Kingsley
3. Gerald

As ever, it was a privilege to be associated with such a wonderful event, with incredible student participation, so well facilitated, both in preparation and on the day, by a talented and committed team of services and teaching staff.

My sincere thanks to all involved, particularly to Michael Simes, Mitch Rosenlund, Heath Chandler, Max Condon and their respective teams, and to David Grogan for his exceptional efforts with the public address system. I also highlight the work of Con Swart, Martyn Hedley, Craig Howe, Andrea Genest, Josh Di Bella and Dr Alex Krzensk in managing events on the day.             

Berian Williams-Jones
Deputy Head of Senior School

Year 11 White Ribbon Breakfast

Written by Year 11 Grenfell student Gordon Barrie.

The annual White Ribbon Breakfast was held on Wednesday 15 May with Year 11 Churchie students hosting their counterparts from Somerville House and St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School. This occasion marks a time when leaders and scholars from future generations can come together as a community to discuss and create awareness around the atrocities of domestic violence and the impact it has on girls and women. More importantly, it is an opportunity for young men and women to work together to spark change and stamp out domestic violence for good. Representing Grenfell House and the wider Churchie community was Harry Johnson, who spoke genuinely about the impact students can have when addressing this cultural issue. The keynote speaker at the breakfast, Mr Matthew Crossley, left the group with specific guidelines to consider and adopt. First, speak up against misogynistic attitudes and behaviours—don’t be a bystander. Second, uphold and role-model positive masculinity. Third, speak out directly against domestic violence. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, be a part of the change. Overall, the breakfast was a massive success with all students gaining valuable insights into how they can be positive forces for change. Ultimately, it was a valuable reminder that we all need to work together to be a part of the solution.

Year 11 IB Theatre collaborative performance

Last week, the Year 11 IB Theatre students presented their collaborative performance.

The collaborative performance requires students to create, stage and perform an original piece of theatre lasting seven to ten minutes. The piece is presented as a fully realised production, and the audience is selected by the students. All members of the group are required to create a scene and to act within the performance.

The students—Sam Clifford, Henry Crawley, Ben Green, William Marsh and Ethan Thomas—explored the responsibility we all face when using technology and social media. They investigated the power structures involved, looking at both the victim and the perpetrator. At the end of the performance, the audience of Year 7 drama students was interviewed by the group to gather feedback as to the extent to which their theatre-maker intentions were met.

Congratulations to these students for creating such an engaging piece of theatre. A very big thank you to Oliver Stjepanovic and Lachlan Perrin for their assistance with the technical side of the production, and to Issy Mowen for her work with the students in helping them prepare for the task.

Catherine Prosser
Dean of International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

Visit of students from Lycée Sacré-Cœur, France   

During Weeks 2 and 3, we warmly welcomed a group of 30 French boys and girls, who arrived in Brisbane from Lycée Sacré-Cœur, and their accompanying teachers, Mme Bastien, Mr Mas and Mme Malisencu. Sacré-Cœur is a coeducational senior private school in Aix-en-Provence, southern France, with whom we have a longstanding valued partnership and a history of reciprocal study tours over many years. Their visit provided a wonderful opportunity for intercultural understanding, personal development and genuine language practice for our school communities. During their two-week stay, the French visitors were hosted by 30 families from Churchie and St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School. They attended classes and some cocurricular activities, improved their English conversational skills and experienced a taste of life in Brisbane as a busy Churchie or St Margaret’s student. Thank you to each host family and host student for welcoming a French visitor into your home, and thank you to Churchie and St Margaret’s staff for supporting the visit.  We look forward to our own visit to Lycée Sacré-Cœur this December when the France Study Tour will take place.

Madame Sarah Washington
Head of French

Year 10 emotional intelligence and resilience parent information evening

The Senior School is hosting an emotional intelligence and resilience Year 10 parent information evening on Thursday 23 May from 6 to 7 pm. This is an online event which can be viewed via the following Teams link: Year 10 Teams presentation – please click here

Professor Con Stough, Head of Emotional Intelligence at the Swinburne University of Technology, Emotional Intelligence Research Unit, will facilitate the presentation, which is a parents-only event.

Please be reminded that Year 10 students have completed a self-assessment and peer assessment of their emotional intelligence as part of their pastoral learning curriculum. This information aims to increase student awareness of their own emotions and that of their peers as well as improve their ability to reason, be empathetic and resilient under stress.

Individual student emotional intelligence reports will be made available via myChurchie by the end of Term 2. This presentation is designed to help parents decode their son’s report.

Please contact your son’s housemaster if you require further information about this event.

Dr Alex Krzensk
Acting Head of Senior School