The echoes of history are best heard when one is standing still.
Churchie’s Anzac Day Ceremony, always a deeply earnest experience, is the embodiment of this statement.
Bearing witness to the gathering of a diverse, intergenerational community including current students, Old Boys, families and friends, as they unite to honour those who have served, is extremely humbling. Moreover, as the two minutes of silence are observed, the connection and memory of the 119 Old Boys and staff who gave their lives are forever apparent—they will not be forgotten.
The Churchie tenet of service is personified by the conduct of the Tri-Service Cadets at the ceremony. Presenting themselves immaculately in front of the entire community, the School is proud of our three cadet corps and the manner in which they uphold the legacy they represent. In addition, I acknowledge the exceptional music provided by the Morris Wind Symphony and Senior Voices.
Within this spirit, Year 12 will honour those 119 lost servicemembers by placing a flag in memory of a named Old Boy, many of whom were not much older than our Seniors are now when they died. Also, representatives from the Churchie community will lay wreaths at the base of the war memorial on behalf of their organisations.
The School has been exploring the history of the Anzac Day tradition and the values it represents. Ensuring that all students can attach meaning to Anzac Day is a key responsibility of Churchie. This year, cohorts were played ‘Benedictus’ from The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace by Karl Jenkins before exploring the greater meaning. In addition, house tutor groups engaged in activities exploring the Anzac history and legacy.
Reviewing Officer Lieutenant-Commander Andrew Petrie will address the service this year. After five years as a Churchie Navy Cadet, Lieutenant-Commander Andrew Petrie joined the Royal Australian Navy from Brisbane through the Royal Australian Naval College in 2000. Graduating from the Australian Defence Force Academy in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Management and Japanese Language, he spent his early navy years in Western Australia in support of the Collins Class Submarines and the Anzac Class Frigates.
I express my thanks to all students, musicians and to Tri-Service Cadets Coordinator Craig Howe OAM and all staff involved in the production of the Anzac Day Ceremony.
Dr Alex Krzensk Acting Head of Senior School
Prep School
Prep value of the week: honesty
Honesty is being truthful and sincere. It is important because it builds trust. When people are honest, they can be relied on not to lie, cheat or steal. Being honest means that you accept yourself as you are. When you are open and trustworthy, others can believe in you.
Truthfulness is being honest in your words and actions. You don’t tell lies even to defend yourself. You don’t listen to gossip or prejudice, and you see the truth for yourself. Don’t try to be more than you are to impress others. Be yourself, your true self.
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 the individual, groups and communities. You take responsibility for your own actions and the consequences that accompany them.
Trauma recovery
Trauma in children significantly disturbs their sense of safety and normalcy, leading to substantial emotional and behavioural changes. Such disturbances often result from exposure to traumatic events, which may be exacerbated by continuous media coverage. This exposure can trigger stress, anxiety and trauma, with varying recovery timelines due to the unpredictable nature of trauma’s impact. Observing young people grappling with these effects can be highly distressing for parents and caregivers.
It’s important to establish a nurturing environment to help restore a child’s sense of security and help promote resilience. Active involvement in their recovery is essential, as is recognising the unique, personalised needs of each child in responding to trauma. Depending on their age, children may present with different symptoms, such as regressive behaviours in younger ones or withdrawal and agitation in older children and teens. It is important to monitor and manage the type of information children may access to reduce their emotional distress.
The brain stores traumatic events as powerful emotional memories, influencing behaviour through mechanisms beyond a child’s conscious awareness. By providing young people with support and equipping them with coping mechanisms to handle uncertainty, parents and carers can greatly enhance a child’s capacity to recover and build long-term emotional resilience.
This special report will help you identify a child experiencing trauma and how you can support them to overcome it.
We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback.
If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.
On Tuesday 17 April, Year 3 visited Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary as part of our provocation into our new ‘Sharing the planet’ unit of inquiry. The boys took part in the Discovery Workshop ‘All bout biomes’ to unpack our central idea that ‘Earth’s patterns dictate the behaviour of living things’.
With wildlife ranger Anna as our game show host, the boys took part in a quiz to build on their knowledge of biomes. In groups, they were given a set of photographs of different biomes to provoke their thinking. They worked collaboratively in groups to decipher the flora, fauna and animal features that could be found in their habitat to help answer questions and gain points for their team. Anna posed interesting questions that got the boys thinking about how and why animals are adapted to various biomes through the lens of form, function and causation.
One of the highlights of our workshops was meeting some beautiful creatures. Hamlet the koala, a shingle back lizard and a black headed python. The Year 3 boys had an awesome day!
Year 4 provocation
This term, under the transdisciplinary theme ‘How We Express Ourselves’, Year 4 will explore the central idea, ‘Creative designs solve problems’.
On the first day of term, students were challenged to put their creative problem-solving skills to the test by constructing a sturdy shelter to house an army man figurine in the Reception and Year 1 play area. In groups of three, they were provided with a limited number of resources and given 45 minutes to design and build their structure. The integrity of each design was tested as teachers simulated rain and wind to see if the boys’ creations could withstand the elements!
Not only did this task get the boys thinking about how creative designs solve problems, but it also got them to start thinking about the purpose of structures and the properties of different materials and how these properties impact their use in designs. This provocation leads perfectly into what is affectionately known as the Year 4 ‘Tiny homes’ unit.
Nicole Baker Year 4 Teacher
Year 6
Year 6 had a wonderful start to Term 2. On Friday the boys welcomed the Year 6 girls from St Margaret’s to participate in a half-day incursion with ‘Aspire higher,’ an interactive and transformative student leadership workshop. The aim of the workshop was to support positive peer relationships, build resilience and understanding and develop leadership skills in the students. The students participated in a range of activities to support their social interactions, team building and collaborative skills. It was a hugely successful day and we are very proud of the way the boys welcomed their guests from St Margaret’s.
Year 5 Football
The Churchie roar was heard all over Brisbane as the mighty 5C team was victorious over Brisbane Grammar School on Saturday morning. The boys worked as a team to create space and kick goals. They used communication skills to direct play and found great rhythm. We eagerly anticipate the remainder of the season.
Shay Thomas Year 2 Teacher and 5C Football coach
Year 5 Science Incursion
Written by Year 5C student Tom Duke.
Last week, all Year 5 students attended a science incursion hosted in the Nichols Theatre. On the way, there was a lot of buzz as we didn’t know what to expect. We were greeted by a table with beakers filled with three types of matter (solid, liquid and gas), a tray of chocolate covered marshmallows (yum!), a bowl of chocolate over a metal melting plate, and a computer with who knows what type of science information. As Year 5 filled the seats of the theatre, there were three teachers who introduced themselves, Head of Physics Mr Wise, Head of Chemistry Dr Mikhail and Head of Science Mr Martin.
Mr Wise spoke to us about light and how it reflects and refracts according to the different surfaces it shines on. He explained how different angles can create different focus points among three light beams. To show us these things he used several transparent objects and a few different shaped mirrors. All of Year 5 was amazed!
Dr Mikhail was up next, and she talked to us about matter and how physical and chemical changes occur. She showed us several experiments, but I will tell you about the coolest! One of the experiments was how sugar changes the colour with permanganate. She showed us this several times with a MASSIVE lolly stick. This experiment was cool because the colour kept changing, like a chameleon!
The final experiment was obviously the coolest: making blue fire! To do this, the head of chemistry put vinegar into a beaker, then she put a piece of square tin foil into the vinegar and, finally, she started blowtorching the top of the beaker to heat up the gas inside. We all looked on in anticipation and the lights dimmed … then suddenly, a blue flame was born! It only lasted a few seconds but all of Year Five loved it! She then explained how the chemical and physical changes to matter are different and that these experiments show that perfectly.
The final part of the lecture was all about our Solar System. Mr Wise presented about the orbits of planets, asteroids, comets, moons, and even celestial bodies that are outside of the Milky Way! This showed us how gravity works even out in space. He also showed us a website called ‘The Scale of the Universe 2’, which demonstrated the comparative size of things, ranging from an atom all the way to some of the biggest galaxies in the known universe. Believe it or not, we learned that a Minecraft world is just as big as Neptune!
Year 5 loved the entirety of the science incursion. At the conclusion of the lecture, we applauded so loudly, that people might have been able to hear us from the other side of a Minecraft word!
As we enter Week 2 of Term 2, it’s important to ensure that all carts/teams/drivers/pushers are entered into this year’s Billy Cart Grand Prix team register.
All teams are entered into their year levels and require a team name along with an alternate team name is required, along with payment, please.
The end of term and race day will be upon us before we know it!
All teams must be entered no later than Friday 31 May. After this, we will not be able to accept registrations. Many thanks and enjoy the preparations.
Gavin Darwin Deputy Head of Preparatory School
Prep Support Group executive and class parents meeting
The next Prep Support Group meeting will be held on Thursday 2 May commencing at 8:30 am in the Brenan Pavilion, and all parents are welcome.
Mark Wyer Head of Preparatory School
Senior School
Senior School Academic Achievement Awards
Churchie takes great delight in celebrating student success in all areas of school life.
Boys in Years 7 to 12 have been updated regarding new parameters for Academic Achievement Awards. These awards are always presented in Term 1 and Term 3 during Headmaster’s Assembly for work completed in the previous semester.
The changes outlined below will come into effect in Term 3 this year, with awards that reflect Semester 1 efforts and results. The changes are subtle, but ensure greater levels of fairness for all students. For example, there were occasional situations with our previous parameters (which were largely based on subject grades) where students with strong overall percentages were excluded (e.g. outstanding A+ results in five subjects and two high B+ results), while students with weaker overall percentages were included (e.g. with 6 low As and one B). Our new metrics prevent this issue and still allow for a reasonable number of students to be recognised for their hard work and success.
Therefore, Academic Achievement Awards will now be presented for each semester as follows:
Top 10% of the cohort based on the mean percentage or all As (or the equivalent for Year 11 and 12 IB students)
A minimum of a B in RE
Full subject load for Year Level
Typically at least 85% of Learning Behaviours at or above ‘Consistently’ (4) across all subjects for the most recent full semester
* QCE Applied subjects in Years 11 and 12 given normalised percentage results based on A-E grades.
This information is also available in myChurchie through the Academics tile.
Richard Wheeldon Deputy Headmaster
Interhouse competition
Interhouse Swimming
Interhouse Swimming was held on the final day of Term 1.
Despite a rather damp and inclement day, there was plentiful evidence of committed and spirited competition from across all houses. I want to express my sincere thanks to all involved, both in preparation for the event and those who contributed in numerous ways on the day.
I am especially appreciative of house leaders who played a key role in managing their teams and ensuring boys were present for their respective races.
The placings on the day of the event were as follows:
1st Kingsley
2nd Biggs
3rd Nansen
4th Hillary
5th Mawson
6th Casey
7th Gerald
8th Grenfell
9th Goodwin
10th Mansfield
11th Magnus
Gerald, Goodwin, Grenfell and Kingsley recorded attendances of over 90%, while Casey and Hillary exceeded 95%.
Current standings
The final placings and current point standings are:
Place
House
Points
1st
Kingsley
24 points
=2nd
Biggs
20 points
=2nd
Hillary
20 points
4th
Nansen
18 points
5th
Casey
16 points
6th
Mawson
14 points
7th
Gerald
12 points
8th
Grenfell
10 points
9th
Goodwin
8 points
10th
Mansfield
4 points
11th
Magnus
2 points
Berian Williams-Jones Deputy Head of Senior School (Years 7 to 9)
Year 12 IB Theory of Knowledge workshop
Theory of knowledge (TOK) is one of the flagship subjects of the IB Diploma Programme. TOK asks students to reflect on the nature of knowledge and on how we know what we claim to know, by encouraging them to question the knowledge frameworks and ways of knowing that are often considered simple background assumptions in regular secondary school (and even university level) subjects.
For the past two years, Year 12 IB students have collaborated with other IB schools in Brisbane to share resources and ideas. One of the benefits of IB is that there is no scaling of subjects, and no bell curve that ranks students and schools; therefore, interschool partnerships are actively sought and encouraged.
On Thursday 18 April, Churchie hosted IB students and teachers from St Peters Lutheran College and Indooroopilly State High School for a workshop that focused on the six prescribed TOK titles for the upcoming essay.
TOK coordinator Thom Robertson prepared a thought-provoking workshop that allowed students to engage in large and small group discussions. Mr Robertson delivered a plenary session at the start of the day, focusing particularly on prescribed title three, ‘How might it benefit an area of knowledge to sever ties with its past?’ This session explored work being done in Indigenous communities in Arnhem Land and was fascinating.
Year 12 IB students will have completed most of their Internal assessment by the end of this term, which allows them to prepare for exams from July onwards. The TOK essay is the final piece of assessment, and we wish the students well as they complete this.
Catherine Prosser Dean of International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Study Hub
By Year 12 student and Prefect Garry Chen
As we reflect on the conclusion of Term 1, it is clear that time is of the essence when it comes to achieving our yearly goals. Study Hub is an excellent opportunity for all students from Year 7 to 12 to get ahead of the pack, to maximise the amount of time spent studying and to utilise the guidance from peer tutors and staff.
The largest benefit of attending Study Hub is that it accommodates all students on the academic spectrum. There is always going to be someone who is able to assist you in your pursuits, regardless of whether it is Year 7 History or Year 12 Specialist Mathematics. Most critically, all student tutors have gone through the same education in the past, so they will all have crucial tips and suggestions to maximise learning in a short period of time.
Success at Study Hub hinges on your preparedness. Arrive knowing precisely where you need assistance and what goals you aim to achieve.
Study Hub runs on the top floor of the library from Monday to Thursday from 3:15 to 4:15 pm and also runs on Monday to Thursday mornings (by appointment only) from 7:40 to 8:10 am on The Centenary Library ground floor. It is highly encouraged for students to make the most of the provided resources and attend Study Hub as often as possible.
For those interested in becoming a student tutor, please email Ms Kelly Jackson or me. Furthermore, there are also benefits of being a student tutor, where the service opportunity not only encourages connections between students of different year levels but also reinforces one’s expertise on a topic. Ultimately this develops strong leadership skills where individuals must communicate effectively with not only students but also other tutors, to enhance their understanding of the subject matter.
Best wishes to all students for the upcoming term, and I hope to see all of you at Study Hub!
Year 5 visits Senior School Science
Light, matter and the solar system were the Year 5 science topics introduced to the students by Head of Physics Joel Wise and Head of Chemistry Dr Meriet Mikhail in the Senior School’s Nichols Theatre last week.
Mr Wise demonstrated some of the properties of light and how it responds in various mirrors and lenses. Dr Mikhail presented various demonstrations of chemical change versus (tasty) physical changes including some amazing chemical reactions. Mr Wise then wowed the students with an incredible journey through the solar system using an online simulator.
The students were a respectful and interested audience and asked some very thoughtful questions about the science concepts that had just been demonstrated. Thank you to Mr Wise and Dr Mikhail for their efforts in preparing and presenting to the Year 5 students.
John Martin Head of Science Faculty
Chaplain’s corner
Head Cathedral Chorister
Congratulations to Year 8 student Joschka Holdt, who has been made the Head Chorister for 2024, of the St John’s Cathedral Choristers.
Senior Ichthus Camp
Registrations for Senior Ichthus Camp 2024 are now open! Junior Ichthus is a residential camp taking place during the September school holidays, designed for young people in Years 7 to 9. This exciting holiday camping experience encourages participants to venture beyond their comfort zones by engaging in a variety of group and individual activities.
When: 24 to 28 June 2024 Where: QCCC Tamborine, Tamborine Mountain Who: Years 7 to 12
Tickets are now on sale for the Churchie and Somerville House 2024 musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Follow the story of lucky Charlie Bucket and Grandpa Joe as they visit the mysterious candy factory owned by the brilliant and eccentric chocolatier, Willy Wonka, and staffed by his team of dancing Oompa Loompas. Charlie, Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde and Mike Teavee each have a golden ticket, but which child will win Wonka’s ultimate grand prize? Based on the beloved novel by Roald Dahl, this comedy production is suitable for all ages and will delight the whole family.
Evening performances commence at 7 pm and matinée production commences at 2 pm
Music
Gabin Won Headmaster’s Assembly Performance
Congratulations to Gabin Won (Year 11) who performed his chosen piece for the finals of the Queensland Symphony Young Instrumentalists Award at Headmaster’s Assembly in week one. We wish Gabin well for his performance of Concerto for Flute (3rd movement) by Reincke on 4 May 2024 at ABC Studios and encourage you to attend.
Please follow this link to a recording of Gabin’s Performance this morning:
May Concert Series
Starting next week, with the Bands Concert on Thursday 2 May 2024 at 6 pm, the May Concert Series will provide a grand opportunity to perform music that has been rehearsed for over two terms. We encourage parents, extended family and friends to come along and support the students on their unique and amazing musical journey as we see the full gamut of ensembles from youngest to oldest. Our Music Captains have created a promotional video for the May Concert Series.
St Margaret’s Combined Band and String Afternoon
On Friday 19 April, Chamber Strings 2, Churchie Strings and Jensen Winds travelled to St Margaret’s for a rehearsal and informal concert with members of the St Margaret’s Jackson Band and Combined Strings. Both ensembles exchanged conductors and repertoire, with music a vehicle for collaboration and connection. At the concert, parents witnessed some very sophisticated and sonorous music performed with such a short amount of rehearsal time. Repertoire included a programmatic piece about The Great Locomotive Chase in 1862, which including some vocalised train sounds and imitations in the percussion and flutes. Following this, Ms Katahanas from St Margaret’s eloquently conducted The Lord of the Rings Medley featuring the heroic and triumphant sounds of the brass. The strings performed Medieval Wars and Night Rider in the ACF, which boasted beautiful views of the city. The students worked on balance and tone in their string playing, especially in the less familiar larger group scenario. Thank you to St Margaret’s for being wonderful hosts and to all the conductors (Ms Rochet, Ms Katahanas, Mr Hooper and Mr Williamson) for their work in preparing the students for a valuable experience.
Bohdan Davison Director of Music
Sport
Beginning Term 2 competition against the strength of Brisbane Grammar School for round one of the GPS competition certainly tested our teams’ pre-season preparation. A tight outcome for our football programme and reflecting on an improvement in our tennis programme from last year is the takeaway this week. We celebrate some outstanding sporting achievements of our students outside of the GPS competition, which shows the breadth of talent Churchie students possess. Well done!
The first round saw us taking on Brisbane Grammar School, whose tennis programme is one of the strongest in the competition. Thirty-one matches were played from Year 12 to Year 5.
Congratulations to all boys who debuted for the blue and grey on Saturday; as expected, they all performed and represented the school very well.
Churchie was successful in four of the matches and lost most of our singles. The Second IV lost by just one set after a long battle. Congratulations to the Fourth IV, 7A, 6A and 6C, who tasted victory. It was encouraging to see this being an improvement on last year’s results.
Our First IV of Captain of Tennis Ben Donger, Jimmy Harris, Connor Ross and Aiden Chan, contended against the 2023 GPS Premiers’ strong lineup for their first hit. Our boys certainly had chances and performed well, particularly in their doubles, but unfortunately couldn’t close out any of the matches. Churchie went down eight rubbers to nil.
Having made it through this difficult first round, the boys will be keen to prove their strength next week Gregory Terrace. Years 9 to 12 will have their first home games and our junior year levels will play away at the GT venues.
Ian Malpass Director of Tennis
Football
We kicked off the GPS Football Season with an away round against Brisbane Grammar School. Overall, it was a pretty successful round.
Unfortunately, we just lost the overall round with 14 wins, six draws and 16 losses. Our First XI team secured a 1-0 win in a very physical game in which both teams gave their all, played in front of a big and boisterous crowd. Xavier Veivers-Brown’s goal proved to be the difference on the day. We controlled most of the game and could have scored a few more with more clinical finishing.
The most pleasing part of the day was seeing our football community living by our values of integrity, discipline and determination. Below are just a few of the many examples that occurred during the day.
Integrity:
Blaze Berlese (7A) – Never stopped working hard and strong tackling.
Discipline:
Oscar Butler (8A) – Always listening and staying focused in the game, even when we changed tactics Oscar understood and executed on the field.
Determination:
Ryan Xing (7B) – Even when we were down by a few goals, Ryan was continuously putting in 100 per cent and never gave up until the final whistle.
Prep School Man of the Matches:
5C – George P Chandler
6D – Harry Wild
Next week, we have a huge first home round against Gregory Terrace (GT). Our dedicated Football Support Group will turn the canteen into a Greek taverna for the day and sell mouthwatering souvlakis. We will also have an Old Boys’ game at 10:30 am on Main Oval. GT was the only school that beat us overall last year, and this is our chance to turn it around.
Five Churchie teams travelled to Somerville House on Friday to play the first round of competition against Brisbane State High School (BSHS). The afternoon began with both the Year 7 and 8 teams winning by 9–2 and 8–6 respectively. As BSHS did not have a Year 9 team, Churchie played a combined Year 9 and 10 team against BSHS Year 10s, going down 7 goals to 10. The Open Seconds started well but were worn down by their opponents and lost 4 goals to 9. The Open Firsts, fielding a number of younger players, took some time to adjust to the pace of the game and lost 7 to 13.
Training will be as normal on Wednesday for the Open, Year 9 and Year 10 teams but there will be no training for the Year 7 and 8 teams due to the Anzac Day public holiday.
Friday’s games are again at Somerville House against BBC. Information concerning game times, team lists and transport are available on myChurchie Water Polo- https://my.churchie.com.au/homepage/13804/
Congratulations to the following students who have achieved representative success in their sporting pursuits.
Rowing
Churchie Rowing congratulates 2024 First VIII members, Sam Williams and Eddie Parr on their recent selection into the Queensland Pathway Rowing Team. The pathway programme operates in all states and territories with the goal of identifying and nurturing talented school age rowers. This creates a link between school programmes and the state institutes, such as QAS and the Australian Junior Rowing Team.
Two weeks ago, Sam and Eddie competed in the Rowing Australia Pathway VIII’s regatta held at the Sydney International Regatta Centre. It was a great weekend and all Queensland crews performed well against all the other states. Crews are selected by combining individuals’ 2 km scull time and their 2 km ergo time. The simple selection process offers regional athletes an equal opportunity to participate and a glimpse of what is available outside of school rowing.
The reintroduction of sculling into the Churchie Rowing program means that these and other opportunities are now more available to Churchie boys.
Photo: Nick Parr
We would also like to congratulate Churchie Old Boy Gus John (2019), on his selection and win for Cambridge in the 169th edition of the boat race held over Easter between Cambridge and Oxford Universities. This further highlights the opportunities for higher education through rowing at Churchie.
Photo: Getty Images
Track and Field
The Australian Track and Field Championships were held in Adelaide from 11 to 19 April.
Churchie had seven Athletes compete at these championships with some excellent results.
Name
Position and event
Jack Love
2nd Under 20 400 m Hurdles
Noah Tyne
4th Under 18 1,500 m
Zac Moore
4th Under 16 2,000 m Steeplechase and 5th 3,000 m
Andrew McConnel
6th Under 15 2,000 m Steeplechase
Lachlan Moore
7th Under 17 3,000 m
Cruz Collins
7th Under 15 Long Jump and 8th Triple Jump
Adam Beiers
3rd* Under 20 400m Finals
*Unfortunately disqualified for stepping out of his lane.
Mention should also be made of recent Old Boy and current Churchie assistant cross country coach Charlie Moore (2023)who won the Under 20 5000 m and finished second in the Under 20 3000 m steeplechase at the National Championships having just returned from finishing 37th at the World Junior Cross Country Championships in Serbia.
Congratulations to all these young men on their outstanding performances.
Andrew McConnel – Photo: Rob McConnelZac Moore – Photo: Australian Athletics
Water Polo
The following students were selected in the Queensland Water Polo development squads:
13 years and under – Xavier Ringholt, Thomas Holdt, Jack Barrett and Henry Juniper
14 years and under – Eli Nearhos.
Swimming
Congratulations to William Shepherd-Smith on his very recent selection into his first Australian Swim Team. The team will compete at the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships hosted by the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra from 21 to 24 August 2024. Joining William will be Old Boy Thomas Pattison (2023) and Churchie’s Head Coach Mr Richard Sleight, also selected into the National Team. Charter nations Australia, USA, Canada and Japan, the Junior Pan Pacific Championships are open to other non-European nations with Singapore and New Zealand among other regular participants. Since its inception in 2005, the event has only been hosted by Hawaii, Guam and Fiji with this year’s Championships being held in Australia for the first time.
We wish William and Thomas all the best on the world stage in August.
William Shepherd-SmithThomas Pattison (2023)Photos: Mark Shepherd-Smith
Trent Goodrick Head of Cocurricular
Pixevety
Pixevety – a photo platform for Churchie images
Pixevety is Churchie’s photo platform, where photos from across the School will be uploaded on a weekly basis. Students are recognised by the system 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.
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 access on myChurchie.
Join Parent Connect
It is a long-standing initiative of the Churchie parent community 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 join the private Facebook groups. Join here.
Parent Connect contacts
We are happy to share with you all that the Parent Connect executive team, Year, House and Volunteer coordinators can be viewed on the Parent Connect page on myChurchie. Click here to view on myChurchie
Services and volunteer engagement
Any member of the Churchie community (parents, old boys, friends and staff) can participate in these services or make a confidential request for wellbeing support. Click here to volunteer or request support.
Meals on Wheels parent volunteers needed
We also invite you to participate in our Chapel Centenary Special Project. The Chapel is celebrating its 100th year, and we are coordinating a creative task force of volunteers to add to the beautiful collection of kneelers and create some new pieces inspired by Reverand Sharon and Chaplain Stephanie. Click here to volunteer
Midweek meditation
All are invited; the chapel will be open from 7:45 to 8:10 am on Wednesdays for meditation, an opportunity to take a quiet moment in our busy lives. We will endeavour to post the meditations in the Churchie Parents Facebook Group.
Parent Connect upcoming events
Coffee and Connect (1 May)
Churchie Open Day (1 May)
Parent Connect Meeting Brenan Pavilion (29 May)
Wellbeing Speaker Series (TBC)
Best wishes, Parent Connect Executive Team and Coordinator Community.
Tuckshop news
Viking Café volunteers
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.
