Senior School

Vision Valley 2025

We are delighted to announce that Churchie and Pymble Ladies’ College (Pymble) will continue their fledgling partnership, with the purpose of providing our respective students with an opportunity to attend a groundbreaking coeducational learning experience.

The four-week programme for students in Year 9 will take place at Pymble’s Vision Valley campus in Arcadia, NSW, home to Pymble’s Outdoor Education and Experiential Learning programme. Students participating in the initiative will live on campus for four continuous weeks to immerse themselves in learning and personal growth. During this time, they will disconnect from technology, particularly mobile phones, to strengthen their connection to themselves, others and the natural environment.

Throughout the programme, students are always supervised by Pymble’s experienced outdoor education and teaching staff, in partnership with teachers from Churchie. Male and female students reside in separate lodges on the 97-acre campus but come together for meals, learning, recreation, downtime and offsite camping expeditions. This well-researched programme is intentionally delivered at a formative point in young people’s lives to build their social and emotional intelligence, and to promote healthy and mutually respectful relationships.

We hope you are as excited as we are by this opportunity for your sons. An information evening will be held at Churchie on Wednesday 4 September commencing at 6 pm in The Centenary Library lecture theatre. As places on the programme are limited, we encourage you to access the linked documentation in advance of the presentation. Both students who attended this year, and their parents, will be in attendance to answer questions both formally and informally.

A dedicated page for Vision Valley exists on myChurchie, where you can access videos, images, and the 2025 Vision Valley Programme Handbook. Registrations for the 2025 programme will open on Thursday 5 September.

Year 8 Grandparents and Special Guests lunch

On Monday 12 August, the annual Grandparents and Special Guests lunch was held in Morris Hall.

We are reminded of the proverb that it takes a village to raise a child. It was, therefore, a delight as ever to welcome so many individuals who play such a large part in the lives of our Year 8 students. Equally, it was wonderful to see the exceptional hosting by the young men. Long may this important event continue, for it is these moments and events that are at the heart of the community.

My sincere thanks to Harry Smith, Sebastian Behrens, Bailey Watson, Fred Evenden and James Boon for their contributions on stage. A special thank you to Ocean Tiao for his wonderful performance of Ferdinand David’s Concertino for Trombone. Thank you to our Year 11 students who assisted with the logistics, the Morris Hall team for the audiovisual wizardry, the members of Property and Works who prepared the room, Events and our Chartwells catering department. Finally, I once again recognise the contribution of Andrea Genest, who assisted with the organisation of the day.

Berian Williams-Jones
Deputy Head of Senior School (Years 7 to 9)

Science Week

Two science shows were conducted over Science Week.

The first featured UQ Science Ambassadors Junee Kim and Isaac Shooter. A large crowd saw them run through many experiments involving colour change. Some of the experiments conducted included demonstrating the characteristics of heat-releasing experiments such as ‘genie in the bottle’ as well as making ‘elephant’s toothpaste’ with the help of some student volunteers.

After the first science demonstration at the Headmaster’s Assembly, Head of Chemistry Dr Meriet Mikhail conducted the second science show. The demonstrations mostly displayed a number of the special properties of liquid nitrogen (boiling point -196 degrees), including using it to very quickly make ice-cream from raw ingredients. The ice cream was very popular!

Junee and Isaac also conducted an engineering challenge to determine the tallest and strongest spaghetti and marshmallow tower. The groups were supported by several Aquila programme students. Each tower was tested for strength on an ‘earthquake simulator’.

The winning team was Jonathan, Archie, George, Arin, Will and Bruce. The students were rewarded with chocolate prizes and a Slurpee voucher from the East Brisbane 7-Eleven store.

SchoolTV – Healthy Study Habits

The highlighted topic in SchoolTV this month is Healthy Study Habits, which can be accessed via myChurchie.

As schools approach exam time, educators understand that academic success is deeply intertwined with the study habits students develop from an early age. Whilst educators strive to instil these habits within the classroom, the role of parents in reinforcing them at home is equally critical. Healthy study habits not only improve a child’s ability to absorb and retain information but also help them manage stress, maintain focus and foster a lifelong love for learning. It’s imperative to work in partnership with parents to ensure these habits are nurtured consistently both at school and at home.

Here is the link to your special report: Healthy Study Habits

Visitors on campus

A reminder that all visitors to campus (including parents) during the school day must sign in upon arrival. This includes The Centenary Library, except for The Arches.

If you are attending campus for an appointment with a staff member, the sign-in process generates a notification to let our staff member know that you have arrived. It will also print a name tag for you to wear while on campus.

Sign-in kiosks are available at the main reception (Jackson Building) or in the Senior School office (MS25).

Your cooperation with this process is appreciated.

Lost Property

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

Viking Café volunteers

We are fortunate to have parents like Brendan Pollock, whose son Hayden is in Year 10, contributing their time to our Viking Cafe. Brendan volunteers once or twice a term when his schedule allows, and he finds it to be a rewarding way to give back to the School.

Volunteering offers him a chance to see Hayden, his mates and the other boys throughout the day while gaining a unique glimpse into the School’s daily life. Brendan also enjoys seeing the care that goes into preparing healthy, high-quality food with great alternatives—plus, it is always a win when Hayden’s favourite nachos are on the menu.

We invite you to join Brendan in experiencing the sense of community that comes with volunteering at the Viking Café. Even a small contribution of time can make a big difference, and we would love to see more parents get involved.

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 email VikingCafe.Coordinator@churchie.com.au