Senior School

Tri-Service Cadets camp

By CDTWO2 Will Reading, Year 12

On Friday 17 May, cadets from Army Cadets, TS Magnus and 203 Squadron, alongside visitors from TS Carpentaria and 217 Squadron, departed for Gallipoli Barracks, Enoggera, for the 2024 Tri-Service Cadets camp. Eighty-eight cadets and thirteen staff set up their hutchies or tents and cooked dinner using hexamine stoves before settling in for the cadets’ first night in the field.

A 6 am reveille on Saturday led into a full day of military-like activities including firing the EF88 Service Rifle of the Australian Defence Force at the Weapon Training Simulator System, tackling the Gallipoli Barracks obstacle course and conducting military skills and teamwork scenario training in the urban operations and night training facilities. Spirits were high that night, but everyone slept well even as the temperature dropped. Sunday challenged all cadets to try and complete the overwater obstacle course before everyone enjoyed lunch with the soldiers on base at the all-ranks mess hall.

This was a great camp opportunity for all Churchie cadets to work together and to be exposed to the training facilities and experiences only on offer inside one of Australia’s largest military bases. A big thank you to all of the staff who supported the weekend and made it possible.

Year 12 IB creative activity service: Eat Up

A distinguishing feature of the IB Diploma Programme is the core – three areas that help to develop the whole student. The core is made up of the extended essay, theory of knowledge (TOK) and creative, activity, service (CAS).

CAS is organised around the three strands of creativity, activity and service. For Churchie students, many of the sporting, cultural and service activities that they already engage in, are able to be used for CAS.

In Term 1, Year 12 IB student Sam Armstrong initiated a project with a group of fellow students to collect containers at lunchtime to raise money so that the IB students could participate in making sandwiches for the Australian charity organisation Eat Up. Sam worked with both Mr Gore and Mr Hyson to raise this money and to liaise with the Eat Up organisers.

Eat Up provides free lunches to students on a national scale. With the increasing cost of living placing strain on families, this organisation helps to ensure that students do not go hungry throughout the school day.

On Monday 27 May, the Year 12 IB students made sandwiches during their CAS lesson,  with a final total of 1,128 sandwiches. Well done to Sam and his group for organising the event, and a very big thank you to Mr Gore and Mr Hyson for all their guidance and support.

Environmental Systems and Societies

Currently, across all Year 12 IB subjects, students are completing their internal assessments that will be moderated by the IB. In the group four (science) subjects, internal assessment involves the collection of data over a significant period.

Dr Lee’s Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS) class has just submitted their investigation which consists of:

• identifying an ESS issue and focusing on one of its specific aspects
• developing methodologies to generate data that are analysed to produce knowledge and understanding of this focused aspect
• applying the outcomes of the focused investigation to provide understanding or solutions in the broader ESS context.

Dr Lee was delighted to see that her students have all chosen unique and personally significant topics.

• Henry Capp: Can certain detergents mitigate the effects of the surfactants within, to increase healthy plant growth?
• Thomas Crooke: How might the artificial channelisation of rivers, as seen in the Kissimmee River, impact the amount of erosion present through differing lengths of channels?
• Alex Davies: To what extent do variable sunlight hours because of differing latitudes impact the productivity of Vigna radiata specimens?
• Harry Deefholts: What is the impact of acid rain, at a specific pH level, on the growth and survival rate of an Australian native plant, such as Perennial Ryegrass (a type of Wheatgrass)?
• Thomas Dwyer: How does the use of painted roof tiles (white, grey, terracotta and black) along with corrugated iron affect the temperature absorption from the sun and which of these materials absorbs the least amount of heat?
• Henry Grosser: How does the proximity of a major road affect PM2.5 levels in Brisbane Australia?
• Harry James: Out of two organic fertilisers and two non-organic fertilisers, which causes the most amount of phosphorus runoff through the water?
• Henry Jones: What is the pollution of solid domestic waste in the local Wynnum area of Australia?
• Tom O’Neill – What factor in a marine ecosystem affects Rhabdosargus sarba populations at Green Island and St Helena, Australia?
• Tom Patterson: How does the changing salinity level from 0.24, 0.47, 0.7, 0.9 mg/500 ml affect the germination of wheat seed (Triticum) measured in centimetres?
• Ted Perkins: How does the proximity of Brisbane City affect the quality of water in the Brisbane River and Moreton Bay region?
• Finlay Peterson: To what extent does nearby city urbanisation pollution negatively affect Brisbane River’s aquatic primary producer’s growth through its polluted soil’s nutrition?
• Will Reading – To what extent does simulated acid rain affect limestone at 5 pH levels of acidity?
• Caelan Smith: What is the relationship between the acidity of solutions between pH of 8.2, 7,6, 5,4, and 3 and polypropylene in regard to weight loss of the microplastics (polypropylene) and the acid change of the solution?
• Nicholaus Suchting: How is the level of solid domestic waste at different beaches around the Morton Bay region directly related to the turbidity of the water, measured by the Secchi depth?
• Simon Velge: What is the allelopathic effect of concentrations of Eucalyptus Tereticornis leaf washings on the growth of wheat seeds over a period of 3 weeks?
• Ryan Walker: To what extent does BOD concentration indicate and affect local water pollution levels?
• Fraser Young: To what extent is there a relationship between the density of (Microlaena stipoides) seeds per pot and the total mean height of the seedlings?

With the ESS IA now submitted, the class now embarks on revision for the November examinations. Best wishes!

Catherine Prosser
Dean of International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

Year 7 interhouse challenge

Over the past two weeks, friendly interhouse rivalries have been renewed amongst our Year 7 students. In week five, the highly competitive futsal competition, run by our prefects and seniors, saw boys descending on the sports complex at lunch throughout the week. After a very exciting few days, Magnus and Mansfield faced off in a thrilling final, with Magnus victorious after a penalty shootout.

In Week 6, we hosted our inaugural Interhouse Spelling Bee, with the best spellers from each house competing in the final during lunch on Friday. A packed Centenary Library lecture theatre witnessed the boys wrap their heads around some very tricky words, with Tony Cao from Nansen House emerging as the victor.

Above all else, the support amongst the Year 7s and from Year 11 and 12 boys from across the school has made these events incredibly rewarding. We’re looking forward to continuing this in Term 3.

Joe Hodges
Head of Year 7

Parent Wellbeing Lecture Series: High performance parenting

Presenter: Rachel Jones – Sport and Exercise Psychologist

Date: Tuesday 4 June 2024
Time: 6 to 7:30 pm (1 hour presentation with 30 minutes for questions)
Venue: The Centenary Library lecture theatre
Livestream: link to be provided
RSVP: Not required

High performance environments are inherently filled with pressure and stress but can also provide great opportunities for success. This talk will explore how the brain works under pressure as well as practical tools and strategies for both parents and students to navigate high performance environments whilst maximising wellbeing and performance. We will also discuss strategies to create healthy high performance environments at home, navigate anxiety and stress, and manage emotions.

Rachel is the Director of LIFT High Performance Consultants, an organisation that aims to help people to thrive in all areas of life. Rachel has over a decade of experience working in elite sports and other elite environments including business, military, performing arts and medical contexts. She also has a background in sports science and strength and conditioning with a rehab focus. Her focus is on training the brain to achieve maximum performance, health and wellbeing and she places an emphasis on a holistic approach to human performance, including mental health and welfare, as well as performance skills training. 

Rachel is currently working with the Queensland Firebirds, QAS Rugby 7s, QAS Football (including support for Football Queensland, Future Matildas QLD and Brisbane Roar Women’s Programmes). She is also a network provider for the AFL Players’ Association and currently provides her expertise at the Royal Australian Air Force. Rachel has experience working with elite athletes from Australian teams and organisations including Super Rugby, NRL, AFL, Queensland Jockeys’ Association, Racing Queensland, Sporting Wheelies and Professional Golfers’ Association of Australia.

Josh Di Bella
Deputy Head of Senior School (Years 10 to 12)