Prep School

I am sure there have been some early morning starts with families getting up to cheer on our Australian athletes who proudly represent our country. Watching our Aussie athletes chase their dreams this week has been inspiring, exciting, emotional and nerve-wracking—all in one race. As spectators, we ride the emotional rollercoaster as the Aussie athletes’ dreams come true through gold medal achievements, personal bests, record-breaking achievements and team wins. On the other hand, after four years of commitment, dedication and hard work, we feel the heartache when our athletes come so close to their goals and fall just short.

There are many wonderful aspects of the Olympic movement that I love—the celebration of human potential, the tradition and history, and the inspirational stories that come from each edition of the games. One key aspect that I have a connection with is the three Olympic values: excellence, friendship and respect. These values are something our boys can aspire to and use in their day-to-day lives.

Excellence is an Olympic ideal that refers to giving one’s best in the field of play or in life without measuring oneself against others. It is about achieving your personal best by setting and achieving personal goals through hard work, determination and effort. It is not only about winning but mainly about participating and making progress against personal goals.

Friendship is an Olympic ideal that places athletes at the centre of the Olympic Movement, focusing on encouraging connection and understanding between people and cultures. The Olympic Movement encourages building a peaceful and better world through team spirit, joy and optimism in sport. The athletes demonstrate this value by forming lifelong bonds with teammates as well as their fellow competitors.

Respect is an Olympic ideal that is shown when athletes have respect for themselves, respect for one another and respect for the rules of fair play and competition.

I am looking forward to watching the 2024 version of the Olympic Games and witnessing the inspiring stories that unfold in the next week and a half. I am sure our boys will see for themselves the Olympic Values in action, hopefully inspiring them to potentially become Olympians themselves.

Prep value of the week: reliability

Reliability means that others can depend on you. You keep your commitments and give your best to every job. You are responsible. You don’t forget and you don’t need to be reminded. Other people can relax knowing things are in your reliable hands.

Attribute of the week: caring

When you are caring, you show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings of others. You have a personal commitment to service and act to make a positive difference in the lives of others and the environment.

The Scots College

Churchie Prep recently welcomed touring school The Scots College for a spirited series of sports matches. The rivalry was fierce and friendly, starting with an intense rugby game. Scots narrowly edged out Churchie with a 17 to 15 victory, thanks to the exceptional performance of Blair Tremlett. The excitement continued on the football field, where Churchie showcased their dominance with a commanding 5 to 0 victory. Tom Burke stood out as the star player, leading his team to a resounding win. The event celebrated athletic talent, camaraderie and sportsmanship between the two schools. Thank you to the many Churchie families for coming out and supporting the boys in both matches.

Adam Fry
Prep Sportsmaster

Year 2

2A has been using Australian coins and notes to calculate change. This week, we looked into deciding calculation strategies to add up coins in the ‘money money’ board game. The boys enjoyed using their addition strategies to group the coins and count the amount.

Shay Thomas
Year 2 Teacher

Spirit Awards – Music

In 2024, we are delighted to offer a new award to recognise outstanding contributions and participation in our Prep School cocurricular music ensembles. Spirit awards are awarded to one boy in each ensemble per term (Years 3 to 6) and presented at the end of Semesters 1 and 2. The award recognises and acknowledges outstanding effort, enthusiasm, commitment, responsibility and teamwork. The boys who receive the award exhibit and exemplify the ideals of positive spirit and leadership attributes in their participation as a team member in the music ensemble programme.

We congratulate the following boys who received spirit awards for Terms 1 and 2:

Ensemble	Term 1	Term 2
Squeak	Finnegan Kilpatrick	Michael Jin
Prep Band	Wallace McPhedran	William King
Prep Junior Strings	Ternence Lu	Sean Pan
Prep Strings	Quinton Cheung	Theo Drakakis
Prep Junior Choir	Oliver Flack	Louis Lucido
Prep Choir	Ari Matthews	Hiro Miyajima

Melissa Black
Head of Prep Music

Preparatory School mentoring Monday afternoons

Through a partnership between Prep and Senior Schools, a group of Year 9 Personal Development and Leadership students are offering homework and mentoring on Monday afternoons for Years 3 and 4 students in Terms 3 and 4. The dates offered are every Monday from 5 August to 19 August and in Term 4, from Monday 14 October to 11 November. This group will meet at the steps of School House at 3:15 pm most Mondays, then join Year 9 students for homework help, check-in time, organisational support and some fun activities together before being returned to parents and caregivers on Oaklands Parade at 4:15 pm. This group is supervised by a Senior School housemaster and there is space for 20 Years 3 and 4 students to join.

If you would like your Year 3 or 4 son involved in this opportunity, please complete an application by following this link. Positions will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis with a waiting list applied to maximise the number of students able to participate. Queries about the programme should be directed to the Director of Service Clayton Kelly, at Clayton.Kelly@churchie.com.au.

Clayton Kelly
Director of Service

Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 author visit

On Friday 16 August, the boys in Years 3 to 6 will have an author visit from the fabulous Sarah Armstrong, author of Big Magic and its gripping sequel Magic Awry, in keeping with Book Week’s theme this year—‘Reading is Magic!’

If your son would like a copy of one or both of her books you can order them at Sarah Armstrong Author Event – Larrikin House

Please place your orders by Monday 12 August if you would like your book to be autographed by Sarah on the day. Otherwise, unsigned book orders will be available for up to three days after Sarah’s visit. Follow the steps on the online order site and please select our school from the list.

Belinda Booth
Prep School Librarian

Book Week Parade Reception  to Year 6

This year’s Book Week parade is being held on Monday 19 August in the Campbell Centre, commencing at 8:40 am.

Our Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 boys dress up as their favourite book characters for our Book Week parade. The boys in Years 3 to 6 are also invited to join the parade if they would like to. There will be a class prize given out for the best participation of a class in Reception to Year 3 and also for Years 4 to 6.

Boys are to come to school in their costumes with their blue and grey uniforms in their bags so that they can change following the parade.

We will again be presenting prizes for the best homemade costumes. In the interest of reducing, reusing and recycling, we are encouraging boys to work with their parents to create a costume from things that they already have at home. Homemade costumes can, of course, include a shop-bought element – for example, a red t-shirt if a character needs one.

An alternative costume option for our Book Week parade is to make and wear a sandwich board costume. Sandwich boards are made using two large pieces of cardboard which are joined using shoulder straps. The boys wear the sandwich board – with one piece of cardboard at the front and the other at the back of their body. The sandwich board could be decorated by the boys to show the cover of their favourite book or characters from a book. For instructions about making a sandwich board sign, follow this link.

More detailed information about our Book Week Parade will be posted on myChurchie year-level pages.

Mark Wyer
Head of Preparatory School