Prep School

This week, our Year 6 boys will commence their outdoor education programme. They will travel to North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah), renowned for its incredible natural landscapes including cliffs, beaches, forests and, of course, its Aussie wildlife. The three-day experience will foster friendship building, problem-solving, independence and building the boys’ self-confidence.

Building self-confidence is an important facet of our outdoor education programme, providing boys with the opportunity to try and experience many new and different activities that are not part of our day-to-day curriculum. Each activity is a new challenge, a new opportunity to succeed, learn, overcome fear and even fail a few times along the way. Our boys walk away with a sense of achievement when successfully completing these new activities.

While on the programme, boys are building their sense of independence. Completing tasks they may not do at home, following rules and managing themselves are all important skills developed on camp. Managing their belongings and their sleeping quarters is always interesting.

The programme can bring individuals together who may not have previously interacted in other areas of school life. It is an opportunity to share a meal, build teamwork and engage in activities where they are responsible for each other. Promoting care, welfare for others and mateship are important elements. Outdoor education amplifies the community and relationships that happen at school and provides a level playing field for all our boys.

There will be valuable opportunities for boys to connect with what they have been learning in the classroom: science, mathematics and problem-solving. Connecting classroom learning to outdoor activities shows boys there is value in what they are learning. Additionally, there will be physical activities they may not have encountered before, such as high ropes courses, bushwalking and canoeing. For some boys, they thrive in an outdoor education environment and discover a newfound love of learning!

I know our boys will find the outdoor education programme challenging in some ways, but ultimately it is an opportunity for personal growth and development. I look forward to visiting our campsites this year and sharing images with you.

Value of the week: forgiveness

Forgiveness is giving people another chance after they have done something wrong. Everyone makes mistakes. Instead of revenge, make amends. Forgive yourself too. Instead of feeling hopeless after a mistake, decide to act differently, and have faith that you can change.

Attribute of the week: inquirers

Inquirers have a natural curiosity, learn to acquire the skills necessary to conduct inquiry and research, and show independence in learning. You actively enjoy learning, and this love of learning will be sustained throughout your life.

Japanese

It has been a fabulous start to the year. The boys have settled into our Japanese class routines and have been making great progress in their language ability. We have been lucky to have Daichi Kuwabara in our classroom. Kuwabara Sensei is a student teacher visiting from the Nagoya University of Foreign Studies. Not only has he been in the Japanese classroom, he has also been very active exploring everything Churchie has to offer!

The boys have been enjoying Japanese Club on Wednesday afternoons, tutoring on Friday mornings and Hiragana Bootcamp at lunch on Tuesdays. We welcomed the new boys in Year 5 with a full blooming cherry blossom tree, just like it would be in Japan. The school year starts in April in Japan and the cherry blossoms are usually in full bloom.

Prep Solos

Congratulations to the boys across Years 1 to 6 who prepared musical items to share with our Churchie community this week at our Term 1 Prep Solos Evening. It was lovely to not only hear their performances (particularly those performing for the first time)  but also see their amazing progress.  I thoroughly enjoyed listening to each carefully prepared piece for piano, acoustic guitar, flute, trombone, violin, viola, cello and double bass. What an amazing gift to share with an audience, that of beautiful music!

Prep Solos offers a wonderful and authentic performance opportunity for our Prep boys to grow their musicianship and technical skills through the challenge of formal performance preparation. It takes a lot of polishing and practising to have an item ready to perform, and it takes courage to get up in front of an audience. However, there are incredible benefits not just to their musical and communication skills but to memory, self-regulation and discipline, coordination and confidence! All boys involved should be very proud of their hard work.

Thank you to all of our wonderful VPAT tutors for encouraging our students behind the scenes, and particularly to Ingrid Rochet for accompanying many of the boys on the night on piano.

If your son is interested in performing at next term’s Prep Solos, please see the expression of interest in the notices of My Churchie or speak to your son’s VPAT tutor. All year levels, all instruments, and all technical levels are welcome!

Library

Reader of the Week recipients: William Leahy, Marco Culpo and Harrison Gibb

Prep Support Group

The next meeting of the Prep Support Group will be in JB Adams Library at 6 pm on Thursday 21 March. All Prep School parents are welcome to attend.

Fathers Sausage Sizzle

The once-a-term Fathers Sausage Sizzle will take place at lunchtime on Friday 22 March. Please pre-order your sausage here. Please note that no other food options are available on sausage sizzle days for lunch. No late orders can be taken on this day. Please see the Prep Tuckshop menu on myChurchie for details.

Around the grounds

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.

Parents on campus

A reminder that all visitors to campus (including parents) during the school day must sign in upon arrival.

If you are attending the 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 Prep School Office. Parents who are volunteering at the tuckshop can sign in at the tuckshop. Your cooperation with this process is appreciated.

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 in order to facilitate an efficient, orderly and safe environment for our boys.

Term dates

The final school day for this term is Wednesday 27 March. Term 2 commences on Tuesday 16 April.

Mark Wyer
Head of Preparatory School