Term 4 is an exciting time for our creative arts faculty and students, filled with engaging events like CART (Churchie Art), Playfest and CAM (Churchie Awards in Media).
First and foremost, congratulations to all the talented artists whose work was showcased at CART last week. The exhibition featured an impressive range of pieces in The Centenary Library for Years 7 to 9, and in the Hayward Midson design lounge and gallery for Years 10 to 12. We were grateful to have acclaimed artist Jordan Azcune as our guest judge, whose works are held in national and international collections, including in The Arches at Churchie. A special thank you also goes to our Old Boy judge Oliver Miller (2022). Both judges were impressed by the creativity and quality of the student artwork and offered valuable insights during the awards presentation on Thursday evening.
I extend my gratitude to Head of Visual Art April Fraser for her significant contribution to making CART a success this year.
On Friday 4 and Saturday 5 October, a cast of 18 students from Years 7 to 9 performed 3 O’clock Flagpole by Steve Pirie. In this comic performance, a class deals with the arrival of a new student who is an overgrown octopus in disguise. As the danger of having a threatening creature becomes more apparent, no adult acknowledges them, and the young are left to wade through the danger themselves. This year, the cast was fortunate to work with the playwright of 3 O’clock Flagpole—Steve Pirie—who worked as director. Working alongside a professional artist provided a dynamic and creative experience for the cast as they explored character development and storytelling together, all while enjoying the thrill of bringing a shared vision to life.
I am also grateful to our drama teachers Tiarnee Kim, Issy Mowen and Stephanie Grigoras for their dedication and leadership in producing Playfest 2024.
CAM – Churchie Awards in Media
This week, Dendy Coorparoo was packed on Tuesday evening for CAM – Churchie Awards in Media. The theme for the evening was The Academy Awards (The ACAMEDY Awards), and the audience was treated to a highly creative and engaging series of short films made by our film and television students. Year 12 students Bill McCart and Tom Crooke were very entertaining as our hosts for the evening. A highlight for the audience was the opening production, which depicted Bill and Tom’s journey from Oaklands Parade to the Dendy cinemas. Along the way, they encountered Hollywood superstars such as Anthony Hopkins, Margot Robbie, Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson and Matthew McConaughey.
The work of all students showcased at CAM reflects hours of commitment, and they are well supported by dedicated staff members across the faculty. I especially acknowledge and appreciate the work of Head of The Arts Faculty Stephen Taggart, for his considerable time and support of all film and television students.
Speech Night
Churchie’s 113th annual Speech Night will be held this Friday 11 October in the Main Auditorium, Brisbane City Hall. Students in Years 7, 11 and 12 are required to attend. Please refer to the post on myChurchie for further information.
Students and families across other year levels may choose to attend. Please arrive in time to be seated at 6:45 pm for a 7 pm start. The event will conclude at approximately 8:45 pm.
A list of students receiving an award is posted on the Senior School noticeboard, and the parents of these students were advised via email on Tuesday. Please contact your housemaster or Head of Year 7 Joe Hodges if you have any questions regarding this event.
Upcoming major events
Awards Assembly: Friday 11 October at 8:25 am in Morris Hall (invitation only). Award winners in ‘Whites’.
Tri-Service Cadets Graduation Parade: Saturday 12 October from 4:45 pm to 5:45 pm on Main Oval.
Valedictory: Thursday 14 November at 6 pm in The Canon Jones Chapel and Morris Hall.
Rod Olsen Head of Senior School
Churchie Parents Advisory Association
CPAA Executive membership in 2025
While all Churchie parents are automatically general members of the CPAA, there is also a CPAA Executive body, which meets one to two times per term to provide parent input and advice directly to the School Executive and School Council on matters of strategic and practical importance. In 2024, the CPAA Executive worked with the School in relation to fundraising policy, the master building plan, cocurricular support, volunteer engagement and boarding provision, among other topics.
The School Council appoints the Executive, which consists of two representatives from the Prep School, Years 7 to 9, Years 10 to 12, boarding and cocurricular support groups, and one representative from Parent Connect. Members are appointed for 12 months at a time, with a maximum term of four years. The Constitution is available on myChurchie on the CPAA page.
Are you interested in joining the CPAA Executive in 2025? Nominations are now open and we encourage all interested parents to apply by completing the document at this link and returning it to cpaa@churchie.com.au by Friday 25 October 2024. Our current Chair, Angela Rae, would be happy to talk further if you would like more information—she can be contacted at agrae@burnettlane.com.au.
Notice of Parent Connect AGM
The Annual General Meeting of Parent Connect will be held at Brenan Pavilion, Churchie on Wednesday 30 October from 9 am onwards.
Under the constitution, all positions on the Executive Committee are declared vacant and nominations are called for the following positions:
President
Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary
Service Coordinator
Database Coordinator
Nominations for the positions above should be received by the Parents Committee Secretary prior to the Annual General Meeting scheduled for Wednesday 30 October 2024. Please see further details here.
Prep School
Prep value of the week: caring
Caring is giving love and attention to people and things that matter to you. When you care about people, you help them. You do a careful job, giving your very best effort. You treat people and things gently and respectfully. Caring makes the world a safer place.
Attribute of the week: principled
When you are principled, you act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice and respect for the dignity of individuals, groups and communities. You take responsibility for your own actions and the consequences that accompany them.
With Term 3 now behind us, we are off to a busy and exciting start for what promises to be a packed Term 4. This term will include a variety of activities such as camps, incursions, excursions, exhibitions, carnivals, special chapel services and end-of-year celebrations for our Year 6 boys.
Over the past two weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting classrooms and witnessing the boys begin the term with great enthusiasm and purpose. I was also fortunate to join our Year 3 boys as they embarked on their first outdoor education camp at Coolum. This marked their first taste of outdoor education at Churchie, and they all rose to the challenge. It was wonderful to see the boys engaging in their activities with a strong sense of camaraderie and adventure, pushing themselves out of their comfort zones. We even had the excitement of spotting a few whales!
Looking ahead, I’m excited for Saturday 19 October when we’ll gather for the annual Blessing of the Animals with special guests Archbishop Jeremy, his dog Paddy, Reverend Sharon and Chaplain Stephanie. Pets are such an important part of our families, and it’s heartwarming to hold a special service just for them. I’m looking forward to attending with my own special family member, and I encourage all families to bring their pets and join us for this wonderful occasion.
Year 3 Camp
Last Tuesday, the Year 3 boys headed off to Luther Heights Youth Camp in Coolum for our first-ever school camp. Our campsite was organised, with wonderful sea views, brand new accommodation and excellent food.
Upon arrival, we hit the ground running, getting settled into our cabins and beginning our first activities for the day: beach games, making mini rafts and tackling the junior flying fox, which we rotated through the next day. Camp was so much fun; it was like a giant sleepover with your friends. All in all, it was fantastic!
Shannon Nicolson Year 3 Team Leader
Blessing of the Animals
Archbishop Jeremy Greaves, Reverend Sharon Mitchell and Chaplain Stephanie Cotroneo will conduct a special service in the Prep School’s Early Childhood Playground to bless family animals on Saturday 19 October from 9:30 to 10:30 am.
This special service will acknowledge the wonderful place pets play in our lives. All Churchie families are invited to our annual service, during which we gather to give thanks for our beloved pets and God’s creation. Your furry, finned and four-legged pets, friendly and with leads/carry cases, are welcome to join us. If you are unable to bring your pet, you may like to bring a photo or drawing instead.
Students attending are to wear their blue and grey uniforms.
On behalf of Anglicare Brisbane Children and Families (foster and kinship care agency), we extend our deepest appreciation to you for your continued support of our foster and kinship carer families at Christmas time. The children’s gifts provided by our community last year meant Anglicare was able to put smiles on the faces of children at a time that can be so difficult for them, being away from their biological parents.
Anglicare’s team supports 85 children and young people in out-of-home care aged between zero and 17 years, as well as the biological children in foster and kinship carer families, who so generously share their homes with children in need. Over the Christmas period, this number increases, and carer families are often unexpectedly opening their homes to more children in need. As a result of your support with donations of gifts and suitable gift cards, Anglicare can provide beautiful and thoughtful presents to some of our community’s most vulnerable people, ensuring they can have a memorable Christmas.
Anglicare supports a balanced mix of boys and girls aged from zero to 17. For children aged 13 and above, gift cards are well received, as they enjoy shopping and choosing something themselves. We just ask that any gift card donations do not include liquor services.
All donations can be delivered to Chaplain Stephanie’s office in the Prep Admin building.
Camps in Term 4
Year 4: Emu Gully, Wednesday 16 October to Friday 18 October
Year 5: Tyalgum Ridge Retreat, Monday 4 to Wednesday 6 November
Use of school crossing
Please note that before and after school, boys should only cross Oaklands Parade at the supervised crossing near Gate 1. As these are very busy traffic periods, a crossing supervisor is provided to ensure the safety of the boys and others using the crossing. When dropping off boys on the western side of Oaklands Parade in the morning, please insist that the boys use the supervised crossing.
Please note that there is no parking in front of the Health Centre and Churchie Shop on Oaklands Parade. Brisbane City Council has just replaced the signs in front of this building and will be regularly monitoring this area.
Class placements 2025
As we move towards the end of the year, planning for 2025 is well underway. Class placements for 2025 will be communicated to our parent community at the end of this year in preparation for the commencement of the academic year. Our staff is in the initial stages of looking at class allocations, and we are undertaking a thorough process to ensure we continue to have the boys at the forefront of our decision making.
When allocating boys to classes, several factors are considered. One key priority is ensuring an even spread of academic ability levels across each class. Another is ensuring that the social structure of classes is conducive to both learning and the building of friendships. This sometimes means we need to separate boys when a friendship becomes a distraction to their learning and enables them to further their friendship circles. Other factors include the social and emotional needs of our boys, student interests, and, if applicable, personal and family backgrounds. We also need to consider our entry points and the impact this has on class placements. As a result, constructing class groupings is a process we take very seriously, and we plan for it carefully in collaboration with class teachers, specialist staff and the Preparatory School Executive team.
When creating class lists, the School will consider all information about a boy that may have been communicated to the teacher, Deputy Heads and Head of Prep School throughout the year. The School will then create balanced classes according to the educational and social information we have about each boy. We value these ongoing conversations; however, class placements will remain the professional and operational responsibility of the School and, as such, we will not be accepting requests for specific teachers.
As you can appreciate, considering all these factors makes class placement a time-consuming but important process. We feel confident that the extensive time and care we dedicate to this process, together with the talented and committed staff into whose classes we are placing each boy, mean we can produce the best possible class combinations to benefit each and every boy.
We appreciate your understanding of the careful consideration that goes into these decisions and the competence and dedication of every team member involved in the process.
Library news
From Monday 14 to Friday 18 October, the Prep Library is hosting a Book Fair, featuring a selection of quality literature from the Where the Wild Things Are bookshop. This is a magnificent opportunity to get some early Christmas shopping done for the whole family. Bookstore staff will hold a book chat for parents about selected titles at 5:30 pm in the Prep Library on Monday 14 October. We would love to see YOU there! Please see the image below for times, information and a QR code link.
Prep Support Group meeting
The final Prep Support Group meeting of 2024 will be the AGM on Thursday 21 November in the Year 2 Plaza commencing at 8:30 am. All are welcome. Nominations for all executive positions (President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary) will be called for and can be made to Trudy Naylor or via the Prep Office.
Mark Wyer Head of Preparatory School
Senior School
China study and cultural tour
During the September holidays, 14 students from Years 9 to 11, along with three teachers, spent 12 days in China. The students spent the first seven days in Shanghai at our sister school, Shanghai Yan’an High School. They had the opportunity to attend classes and experience a homestay.
Students also visited the beautiful Shanghai Yu Garden and the Oriental Pearl Tower and enjoyed a cruise on The Bund. From Shanghai, students boarded a high-speed train to Beijing and visited China’s famous tourist sites—The Great Wall, The Forbidden City and The Summer Palace. Students and teachers enjoyed Chinese cultural activities such as character blocking, martial arts and Chinese paper cutting, as well as sampling a Beijing duck dinner and attending a Chinese acrobatic show. Students were able to use language skills learned in the classroom in the real world, forming memories that will last a lifetime.
Winnie Edwards-Davis Head of Modern Language Faculty (Years 7 to 9)
Interhouse Singing 2024
The Interhouse Singing competition took place on the final Thursday of Term 3. To the theme of Motown, all 11 houses delivered renditions of classic hits ranging from ‘I Heard it Through the Grapevine’ to ‘ABC’.
On the day of the competition, Gerald House was adjudged the winning house, ahead of Casey and Hillary, respectively. However, these preliminary finishing positions do not include attendance scores.
Hearty congratulations, therefore, to Goodwin, Grenfell, Kingsley, Mansfield, Mawson and Nansen, where over 90 per cent of the house was in attendance and especially to Casey and Hillary, where more than 95 per cent of students took part in the competition.
The final placings for the Interhouse Singing were as follows:
Berian Williams-Jones Deputy Head of Senior School (Years 7 to 9)
Interhouse Singing 2024 winners Casey House
Year 11 IB Mathematics
Currently, Year 11 students in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme are beginning their internal assessment, which will be moderated by the IB. The first subject to start this process is group five (mathematics). In the IB, there are two separate mathematics courses offered at both higher level and standard level, Mathematics: applications and interpretation and Mathematics: analysis and approaches.
The internal assessment contributes 20 per cent of a student’s final score, and students are given between 10 and 15 hours of teaching time to work on this task.
Ultimately, the internal assessment is a mathematical exploration. Students choose their own topic focused on a particular area of mathematics. Some of the current topics include:
exploring the likelihood of playing a major chord on the grand piano by chance
optimising the surface area of a rocket
calculating the best angle to shoot a three-pointer in basketball.
While working on their exploration, students are encouraged to work collaboratively during various phases, such as generating ideas, sharing resources and seeking peer feedback.
Thank you to our teachers—Owen Foster, John Krasniewicz and Jessica Ross—for their support and guidance throughout this process. Best wishes to the students as they work on their explorations in the coming months.
Year 11 IB CAS ‘Tea and Trumpets’
One of the distinguishing features of the IB Diploma Programme is the core—three areas that help develop the whole student. The core is made up of the extended essay, theory of knowledge (TOK) and CAS. CAS is organised around three strands: creativity, activity and service.
For Churchie students, many of the sporting, cultural and service activities they already engage in can be used for CAS. During the IB programme, students participate in a CAS Project, a task that involves working collaboratively on one or more of the CAS strands to achieve an outcome.
In Term 4, Year 11 IB students—Jack Booth, Alex Ma, Alex Mou, Noah Oxenford, Luka Roberts and Clancy Wardle—are organising their CAS project and focusing on an area they love: music! The group has started a jazz ensemble, ‘Tea and Trumpets,’ and will be performing jazz music during the TOK exhibition at the end of the term to raise money for the Australian Children’s Music Foundation (ACMF).
Best wishes to the group as they prepare and rehearse.
Catherine Prosser Dean of International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Year 11 Agricultural Science excursion
Written by Year 11 student Ned Schmidt.
The Year 11 agricultural science class went on an excursion last week to various agricultural businesses around the Scenic Rim and Brisbane.
On the first day, we visited Kalfresh, a company that packages carrots, corn, beans and onions and we toured their carrot and corn packaging sheds. The carrots arrive in truckloads and are sprayed to wash them before being loaded onto conveyor belts. They go through multiple washing stations until they are ready to be sorted into sizes for sale at Aldi, Coles and Woolworths. In the corn shed, we watched as fully automated robots x-rayed, sorted and packaged the corn. Kalfresh also organised for us to visit a carrot farm, where we spoke with Churchie Old Boy Ed Windley (1995), an agronomist and farmer. He grows a mix of conventional and certified organic crops and has started adopting robotics on his farm, particularly for organic cropping. We even pulled a few carrots and ate them straight from the ground!
We then toured Summer Land Camels’ production area and milking station, learning about the weaning, breeding and milking processes of camels, which differ significantly from those of cattle and sheep. We also saw where they make camel cheese, cream and gelato. We got to taste camel milk, cheese and salami. The milk had a slightly salty and sour taste due to its zero lactose content. We stayed for lunch, which was camel chilli sausage on bread, followed by camel gelato for dessert.
Our final stop was BEC Feed Solutions, a leader in nutritional advice, premixes, feed ingredients and stock feed commodities for both the Australian and international stock feed industries. We listened to presentations from three employees, including Churchie Old Boy William Hume (2020), who explained how precise they need to be with the ingredients for each feed bag and pallet. Any mistakes in the formulation could hinder the performance of an entire herd.
On the second day, we visited the Austrex offices on the 10th floor of a building on Eagle Street. We had presentations by CEO Justin Slaughter (1988), who is a Churchie Old Boy, and Oliver Thorne and Jessica Philips. They spoke about live export and the complexities of export regulations and food standards in different countries. It was fascinating to hear about their experiences in various countries inspecting facilities and meeting clients.
Afterwards, we visited the Port of Brisbane, where a number of agricultural commodities are exported. During a bus tour around the port, we saw the wood chip, bitumen and oil storage areas, the coal depot for trains and many ships unloading cars and coal.
Our final destination was Modular Farms Co, which operates vertical farming systems above Eat Street. These systems can produce fresh, healthy plants anywhere in the world, regardless of the climate. While we were there, they were growing lettuce and basil.
Wellbeing support: Partners in Parenting (PiP) with Headspace
Parents are the most common source of emotional support for young people, but it can sometimes be difficult to know what to do, what to say or where to get information. Headspace and Monash University have launched an online parenting programme to equip families with the confidence to care for their young people’s mental health.
Headmaster Dr Alan Campbell and Director of Boarding Mike Symons recently featured as guests on the Destination Boarding podcast, ahead of Churchie’s visit to the Mount Isa Boarding Schools Expo on 2 December.
Dr Campbell and Mike discussed Churchie’s thriving boarding programme and the School’s strong ties to rural and remote Australia.
The final term presents wonderful opportunities for our Year 12s to perform on stage in front of the 2024 cohort. Alastair McDonald has been a great servant to the Music department for many years. He set the tone perfectly for the final term with a beautiful rendition of Stephen Schwartz’s ‘Beautiful City’, with an emotional mix of modal interchange and suspended harmonies that challenge the idea of coming together as one community.
Please follow this link to a recording of the performance at Headmaster’s Assembly:
Music Camp
Congratulations to all members selected for the premier ensembles for Churchie Music Camp. By now, you will have received your letter. A reminder to all parents driving to the concert on Sunday: there will be limited parking and you may require additional time to arrive from street parking. As we look forward to hosting our guest conductor, for bands and vocals, please take some time to read their biographies below.
Sharelle Guest: band guest conductor
Flautist Sharelle Guest lives in Coolum. She began her flute-playing career in Cairns and continued her studies with Edgar Kariks in Toowoomba while completing her Diploma in Teaching. Sharelle began working for the Education Department in Cairns in 1992 and has since taught in over 50 schools. She has played with Suncoast Sinfonia, Pacific Chamber Orchestra and occasionally with orchestras accompanying Noosa Chorale productions. Sharelle currently teaches both instrumental and classroom music at Coolum Schools, is an Instrumental Music Project Officer for Education Queensland and also performs in the local Irish band ‘Buckley’s Chance’.
John Rotar is the Conductor and Artistic Director of The Australian Voices. Described by Limelight as a ‘talented and innovative composer’, John is a prolific composer and has had over 130 works performed by leading arts organisations across Australia, Europe and North America. Aside from his conducting and composing work, John is also an active performer as a trombonist, bass, organist and piano accompanist and holds the organist chair at the historic All Saints Church in the Brisbane CBD.
Just a reminder about the Term 4 Churchie gym timetable and availability.
The gym is available for students from Year 7 through to Year 12 with all sessions having age-appropriate programmes written, ensuring the safe introduction and coaching across all age groups.
Below is the link to the Term 4 schedule. If you have any further questions about programmes, attending the gym or anything related, please email Director of Athletic Development Jarrad Boswell Jarrad.Boswell@churchie.com.au.
Congratulations to the following students who recently achieved representative success in their sporting pursuits.
Cricket
The following boys were selected last week in the U13 to 15 years Metropolitan East team to play in the Queensland championships in Bundaberg in November: Angus Peters, Zac Moore, Banjo Jenkins, Shoubhit Jain, Daniel Desmet and Kian Chapman.
Football
Year 8 students Bailey Watson and Tobias De Kievit played in the Football Queensland U14 team in the State Of Origin against NSW.
Trent Goodrick Head of Cocurricular
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 view on myChurchie.
Join Parent Connect
Join here. The Churchie parent community has a long-standing initiative to enable the sharing of contact details for those who opt-in and provide consent. Joining the Parent Connect database is easy. Once you have joined, you will receive communication from your parent coordinators, access to your cohort’s parent contact list and membership to the private Facebook groups.
Parent Connect Contacts
Click here to meet the Executive Team and Coordinator Community of volunteer parents. Each year, house and service activity has dedicated, friendly peer contacts for parents, helping them navigate school life, host social connections and administer private Facebook groups.
Upcoming events
Upcoming events and dates for your diary are below:
9 October | Parent Connect Meeting | 6 to 7 pm, Brenan Pavilion
12 October | Biggs House Parents Catchup, venue TBC
25 October | Grenfell Mothers Lunch
26 October | Year 4 Parents Christmas Party
27 October | Mansfield House Christmas Party
30 October | Coffee and Connect | Arches | 8:15 am
The Ultimate $500k Sports Car and Experience Raffle
The Churchie Foundation is giving you the opportunity to win extraordinary prizes from a prize pool valued at $500,000. Prizes include a Porsche vehicle package valued at $320,000, Porsche Alpine Travel Experiences valued at $80,000 each and a Sports Travel Experience valued at $20,000.
Ticket sales close on Friday 22 November 2024 at 9 am.
The Churchie Cricket Luncheon will take place on Friday 15 November at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Bank. This will be the 19th annual Churchie Cricket Luncheon which over the years has generated significant financial support for the Churchie Grand Master Plan, the Churchie Cricket programme and many nominated charities. The 2024 Cricket Luncheon will support Parkinson’s Queensland.
As always, the luncheon will be full of fun including the traditional bowling competitions for both men and women, networking, quality raffles and auctions, a quality three-course meal, top-shelf beverages and wonderful entertainment from cricketing legends Doug Walters, Michael Vaughan and Simon Katich.
Tables of 10 and individual tickets are still available.
Pixevety is Churchie’s photo platform, where photos from across the School will be uploaded weekly. The system recognises students 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.
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.
