As this final week of term unfolds, thoughts turn to the mid-year break and the inevitable reflections on how quickly the first semester of the year has flown. The Year 12 students are wondering just how quickly the ‘shorter of the two halves’, Semester 2, will progress and how they might best prepare.
For all students, the mid-year break presents a great opportunity to reflect on progress made, goals achieved and, most importantly, the areas of life and learning in which improvements can be made. The break is also a chance to pursue passions, stay fit, learn from age-appropriate work, help at home, and spend time with family and friends.
The first semester has been replete with numerous achievements across all domains of student activity. Many of our signature events—including Anzac Day, Open Day, our school musical, the May Concert Series, the inaugural Vision Valley Year 9 outdoor residential adventure, and many charitable and GPS sporting events—have brought a great deal of learning and joy to students and families.
I sincerely thank our dedicated and talented staff who have enabled so many of these activities. I thank, in advance, staff who will be leading tours and trips during the mid-year break, including our first-ever service trip to Timor-Leste. I also thank families who provide the support for these activities to occur.
Congratulations and well done
The School congratulates the First XI Football team, who secured an undefeated 2024 GPS football premiership last Saturday. In a vigorously contested, high-quality competition, these students won our second-ever football premiership since the competition’s introduction in 1991. We congratulate the students, and the many staff and parents, who bring about such success in a great team approach.
Safe travels
I wish all Churchie students, families and staff a refreshing mid-year break and safe travels in the days ahead. I look forward to the return of the students in Term 3, commencing on Tuesday 9 July.
With good wishes
Dr Alan Campbell Headmaster
Withdrawal of enrolment
Withdrawal of your son from Churchie requires one full term’s notice in writing to Churchie Admissions as outlined in the terms and conditions of your son’s enrolment agreement. Notice of your intention to withdraw your son at the end of Term 4, 2024 (i.e. he will not be returning to Churchie in 2025) must be received by the first day of Term 4, 2024 (Monday 30 September) or one term’s fees will be charged.
I would like to take the opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the Churchie community for an enjoyable, busy and successful Term 2. As the holidays are fast approaching, it is timely to reflect on what has been an extremely busy and eventful term.
We returned from the Easter holidays to commemorate Anzac Day, a significant day in the Australian and Churchie calendar. The boys did a fantastic job and acquitted themselves well throughout the community service. We officially commenced our house meetings with our newly appointed housemasters. Our Year 3 to 6 boys had the opportunity to elect our first ever house and vice captains. Year 6 joined St Margaret’s in a leadership day furthering our philosophy of boys learning to lead. Our parents had the opportunity to meet with our teachers to discuss the boys’ progress from Term 1. We held our annual Interhouse Cross Country carnival, and our junior cross country squad took first place in the Junior GPS Cross Country Championships for the third year in a row. We hosted a wonderful Mother’s Day High Tea and enjoyed performances by our talented musicians at our choral, band and strings concerts, along with performances at our Prep Solos event. Our boys have enjoyed chess tournaments, academic competitions, Readers Cup and G.A.T.E.WAYS opportunities. We again joined St Margaret’s at St John’s Cathedral for a service for boys who were baptised and admitted to Holy Communion. We have also had our fair share of incursions and excursions. The boys have loved their Thursday afternoon sports and Saturday morning tennis and football fixtures. We had a large number of entries in the Head of Prep Reading Challenge, encouraging boys to participate in reading. We have witnessed our lovely weekly chapel services and celebrated the boys’ accomplishments at assemblies. It was fantastic to see our dads involved in the end-of-term sausage sizzle—a fantastic community event for the boys. This Saturday, 36 boys will travel to New Zealand to participate in our sports tour, and I am sure they will be wonderful ambassadors for our school.
In our last week, the boys have enjoyed the Scooter and Ripstick Day, and we will come together as a Prep School for our end-of-term Eucharist Service. This week, we will have held several mini showcases for our parents to highlight the academic work the boys have enjoyed this term. Our finale for the term will be our annual Billy Cart Grand Prix, which supports the wonderful work of World Vision.
Among all this, we successfully engaged our boys in the classroom and challenged them personally and academically, resulting in personal growth and development. I am so proud our boys are living embodiments of the School’s four tenets and enjoying the holistic offerings of the School.
I thank all boys, staff and parents for their efforts, energy and enthusiasm during Term 2 and for what has been another great chapter in the 2024 school year. I hope all boys enjoy some rest and relaxation during the holidays and return to school well-prepared for a challenging Semester 2. As always, it will be busy! Don’t forget your holiday haircut for the start of Term 3.
Value of the week: kindness
Kindness is showing you care and doing some good to make life better for others. Be thoughtful about people’s needs. Show love and compassion to someone who is sad or needs your help. When you are tempted to be cruel, to criticise or tease, decide to be kind instead.
Attribute of the week: knowledgeable
When you are knowledgeable, you explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global significance. In so doing, you acquire in-depth knowledge and develop understanding across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
Japanese Celebration of Learning
We have been having lots of fun in Japanese classes this term. The Year 3 classes completed their movie review of My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Year 4 classes looked at the key features of Japanese houses, Year 5 classes looked at the key features of the solar system, and Year 6 classes looked at shopping and ordering food. Each of these units of enquiry ended with a culminating presentation where the boys spoke in Japanese about these topics. They were amazing, clever and creative. We recently showcased some of these in Assembly. Well done, boys.
Year 1
As part of our ‘How the world works’ unit, Year 1 has thoroughly enjoyed participating in weekly experiments and hands-on activities. The boys have made tornados in bottles, playdough, melted wax crayons, observed light through different materials, placed gummy bears in different liquids and tasted different food. Throughout this unit, the boys were encouraged to use their senses and employ adjectives to describe their observations. To end the term, the boys will be making popcorn to engage all their senses!
Year 4
At Year 4’s recent Tiny Home Showcase, students unveiled their innovative, sustainable tiny home designs, tackling pressing issues like climate change, housing shortages and the soaring cost of living. The event was not just a display of creativity but a testament to the power of youthful ingenuity in addressing real-world challenges. The boys showcased their creativity to their parents and peers, while also effectively communicating their knowledge of sustainable building practices and how the properties of materials inform their use in building design. This initiative not only fostered environmental consciousness amongst the cohort but also instilled valuable, creative problem-solving skills in these young men.
Year 5 Showcase
Written by Huxley Callianiotis (Year 5).
This term in Year 5, we have based our learning on how scientific discoveries impact our world. Throughout our unit of inquiry, we learned about states of matter, light and Earth’s place in space. The culmination of the unit was to present a showcase of our learning to the wider community. All the boys were given the opportunity to choose a topic and create an inquiry question that would drive their research.
The Year 5 students did many things to prepare for the big day of the showcase. Firstly, we chose a topic of interest based on the unit of inquiry that we have been working on. Shortly after the students had chosen their topic, we went on to research the topic using our key concepts or our own lines of inquiry. For example, form is a key concept, and a question would be ‘What is the solar system?’ Alternatively, we investigated a line of inquiry such as ‘An inquiry into the key features of our solar system.’ Additionally, to the key concept of form, we inquired into the function and change within each of our topics.
After we gathered all our information about the topics, we found images and labelled diagrams to enhance our showcases. The boys could also make a flowchart, timeline, model or PowerPoint presentation to further support our understanding. The key to the showcase was to create an eye-catching presentation that would grab the audience’s attention. Some of the students used their extra time at home, during a homework task, to do something like make a quiz or diorama. Finally, the students presented their astonishing work not only to the parents but also to boys in other grades and the wider school community.
The showcase was a wonderful experience for Year 5 and helped us become ready for tasks in the future, especially the Year 6 PYP Exhibition. The chattering of all the Year 5 boys across the classrooms could be heard far and wide across the school. Let me tell you, there definitely would have been some very sore throats on Monday afternoon. Year 5 just had to get all their fascinating knowledge out! I had a great time presenting my information and sharing as much as I could. I tested the parents to see if they were listening by adding in a fun quiz! I heard all the interesting speakers talking away to the parents, and I felt proud of my classmates. Nobody was shy, instead, the students all gave speaking a go and tried their best. I assure you that everybody had a wonderful time on Monday afternoon presenting their expertise on scientific discovery to an engaging audience.
Our Year 6 Readers’ Cup team participated in the regional competition last Wednesday. The team consisting of Arthur Bickle, Harry Burke, Finnegan Kilpatrick, Oscar Mountford and Owen Shen achieved top scores in two of the five rounds of questions and made us very proud with their outstanding effort. Of 30 teams from all over the city, they came seventh and were the highest-ranking boys school. Most importantly, they thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Holiday borrowing
This week we are doing holiday borrowing with all classes. All boys are encouraged to borrow longer books to enjoy over the holidays. Year 3 to 6 boys have the option of borrowing an additional book.
A visit to your local Brisbane City Council Library is free, and it’s a great way to help your children continue reading over the holidays.
Book Week 2024
Book Week reading celebrations at Churchie will be held in August this year. Author visits have been booked for all year levels, and we’re getting very excited about the 2024 theme, ‘Reading is Magic.’ This year’s Book Week and Book of the Year information can be found on the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) website.
Our Book Week costume parade for the Reception to Year 2 students will be held on Monday 19 August. Boys are asked to come to school, dressed as their favourite book character. More information about the book parade will be sent home early in Term 3.
On the last day of school, Thursday 13 June, all boys are to wear their blue and grey uniforms to school. Students in Years 4 to 6 may change into their costumes for the Billy Cart Grand Prix after morning tea.
Semester 1 reporting
Prep School Semester 1 reports will be issued via myChurchie. The reports will be available in the afternoon on Tuesday 18 June. There will be a myChurchie notification when they are available. Please note that hard-copy reports are not issued.
Oaklands car parking
As part of the legislative requirements, Oaklands Childcare requires car parking facilities for the operation of the centre. These carpark spaces are reserved for Oaklands parents and are not available to Prep School parents. We thank you in advance for your cooperation in adhering to these guidelines as we move into Semester 2.
Mark Wyer Head of Preparatory School
Senior School
Year 9 Vision Valley reflections
During part of Term 2, 50 Year 9 students attended the inaugural Vision Valley programme, spending four weeks at Pymble Ladies’ College’s campus in the Hawkesbury, living alongside 70 of their students.
Written by Harrison Chandler (Year 9).
Over the course of our time at Vision Valley, there were two main aspects to our experience. A good deal of our time was spent on campus, or ‘valley days’ as they became known, contrasted by our days off campus completing two expeditions and a solo adventure.
Our first expedition was a challenging three-day hike along the coastline near Sydney in Bouddi National Park. One of the highlights for me was when we reached the beach and played beach cricket and other games after a long day of hiking. Enjoying the sense of achievement with our newfound friends is a memory I will treasure.
This first expedition was tough, but little did we know, it was just a warm-up. On our second expedition, we embarked on a four-day hike along the Great Northern Walk, stretching between Sydney and Newcastle. We camped at various sites, each offering a different level of comfort, but invariably blessed with incredible locations and vistas. We learned a great deal about ourselves, and what it takes to be a great member of a team over those days.
The 24-hour solo experience was the culmination of the programme and was compared to a coming-of-age ceremony. It certainly wasn’t easy and was particularly challenging for me when I discovered my tent didn’t have poles, I am glad to share that I was able to solve that challenge. I spent my time lying on a makeshift bed, reflecting on the amazing time I had at the camp and the lessons I had learned on my valley journey.
I had a lot of fun over the course of the four weeks and, importantly, built lifelong connections with new friends.
The boys at Vision Valley were split into two lodges: Koala and Wallaby. Each lodge was then partnered with one of the lodges where the girls lived, and we took part in smaller groups, or ‘kin groups,’ alongside the Pymble students.
Written by Jack McGuire (Year 9).
Our cozy and well-heated cabins, something that is important when you are in the Hawkesbury, became our home away from home. Living together and taking care of ourselves was a great experience. We bonded over card games, Milo and shared responsibilities, creating a mini community, even if there were the occasional mundane chores we were all tasked with.
On valley days, we were based at the campus and did a range of activities including high ropes, canoeing, abseiling, rock climbing, mountain biking, team challenges and archery tag. Amongst that, there were days for expedition prep, learning to prepare and dehydrate meals, as well as key navigation and orienteering skills.
A real highlight was the Dulumi, or service project in which each of the kin groups took part. These ranged from making nesting boxes for sugar gliders, hives for native bees, or composting bays, all of which were focused on improving the campus. These rewarding projects made us bond as a team, and feel that we were positively impacting our new community and its environment.
Overall, the experience was very rewarding. If you get the chance to participate in something like Vision Valley, I highly recommend it. It is an incredible opportunity and one that you will never forget.
Thank you to everyone who made this possible and who looked after us in the Hawkesbury, especially to all the parents who enabled us to attend Vision Valley and have such a transformational experience.
During Term 2, the Churchie judging team attended the Rocklea, Esk and Caboolture agricultural shows.
The boys participated in competitions judging meat sheep, prime beef and stud beef cattle. They were presented with a selection of four animals, which they analysed and ranked from first to fourth. If their ranking closely matched that of the overjudge, they were then selected to speak about the class for two to three minutes, explaining their choices.
James Heathwood (Year 11) and Archer James (Year 9) placed first in sheep parading and stud beef judging, respectively. Zak Williams (Year 10) and Clancy Wardle (Year 11) were also awarded place ribbons for stud beef judging.
These competitions have been in preparation for the Ekka schools competitions in August.
If any student is interested in joining the judging team for 2025, please contact Dr Lee at stephanie.lee@churchie.com.au
Stephanie Lee Head of Agricultural Science
Year 8 Grandparents and Special Guests Lunch
Date: Monday 12 August 2024 Time: 11:45 am to 2 pm Venue: Morris Hall
Year 8 students are welcome to invite up to two guests for this special event. We ask that only grandparents or special guests attend this sit-down lunch. It is important for parents to RSVP by Monday 5 August on behalf of their son’s guests.
Year 8 students’ guests will receive a programme before the event.
Dr Alex Krzensk Acting Head of Senior School
Music
Thanks to all of the Churchie Music community for a wonderful term! There have been some outstanding performances and results, from third places in Generations in Jazz and QYMA to Queensland Young Instrumentalist Award winners and National Jazz Super Band selections. Keep up the practice over the holidays as we prepare for our Soirees and our Signature Concert Series. The concerts are always enhanced by the wonderful support of the community, and we look forward to seeing even more people for events such as James Morrison at Jazz Under the Stars, Churchie’s Best Solos and our space and time themed Gala Concert. Best wishes to everyone for a happy and safe holiday period.
Jazz Under the Stars – James Morrison
Please continue to spread the word and encourage friends, family and members of the public to attend this wonderful occasion where Churchie hosts one of the great Australians of music. Tickets are $65 per person for table seating and $50 for general admission. This is great value to see James Morrison and Darren Percival live on Main Oval. Don’t miss out on this amazing event!
Tickets go on sale this Friday 14 June 2024 via TryBooking.
Queensland Youth Symphony and Queensland Youth Orchestras Big Band
Extending yourself into the representative field of big bands and orchestras is a great way to explore new music and play in amazing venues while gaining new friendships along the way. Please see a few photos from Luka Roberts (Big Band and Queensland Youth Symphony), Alex Smith (Big Band) and Hunter Luostarinen, who performed recently at Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) for the Modern Masterpiece Series and also in the Queen Street Mall on the following day.
Queensland Youth Orchestra 3 concerto
Year 10 student James Duffy was selected to perform a concerto with Queensland Youth Orchestra 3 (QYO3), giving the soloist and the orchestra an amazing educational experience as leader and accompanist. The Flute Concertino entitled Chaminade by French composer Cécile Chaminade is a beautiful exploration of the colours and timbres of the flute juxtaposed against the orchestral sounds. A huge congratulations to James Duffy on an amazing performance by memory in front of a full house on Sunday 9 June 2024. Well done, James!
Gala Concert
Think of your favourite space movie or a theme that relates to time. Chances are you will hear it and see it at the Gala Concert on 15 August 2024. Save the date for this spectacular night of themed music with an audio-visual extravaganza.
Soiree
As part of the upcoming Signature Concert Series in Term 3, all students will be performing a solo piece as part of the Soiree studio recitals. This is a fantastic opportunity for parents to see their sons perform in a warm and friendly environment as we encourage students to improve their performing skills. Please note the date, time and location of your Soiree below. You should also receive further, more detailed, communication from your tutor by the end of the term:
At the end of this week, Churchie’s Best Solos Audition results will be released. It would be great if you could support your house representative. With a very high level of musicianship on display, this will be an amazing night to remember. Entry is free and Churchie students are expected to wear whites.
Auditions released
Next term, the audition music for 2025 ensembles will be released. Start practising and preparing your own choice repertoire in anticipation of the release.
Drumline
Thanks to the members of Jensen Winds and Morris Wind Symphony who came down to support the First XI football on their journey. Your contribution to the school community was greatly appreciated and added a unique atmosphere to the day. The next performance for the basketball will be in round one of Term 3.
Churchie gained another glorious addition to our silverware cabinet on Saturday, clinching the GPS 2024 football premiership. Congratulations to our First XI team, coaches, director and all staff involved. It was a fantastic turnout of supporters who witnessed history in the making.
After another exciting GPS round eight last weekend, we invite everyone to see the weekend’s results summary via myChurchie – GPS Sports and Activities.
Football
The last game of the GPS football season saw us host TSS.
We finished the season on a high with 20 wins, 4 draws and 8 losses. We also recorded 3 losses in the 3 supplementary games. The result cemented the third spot in the overall GPS football programme.
In front of a crowd of more than 1,000 people, Churchie and TSS locked horns in an epic battle.
The game was very evenly matched in the first half, with neither side creating many clear-cut chances.
With about 20 minutes to go, Levi Collins broke the deadlock to send the home crowd into a frenzy. He broke down the left-hand side before beating a defender and then cooly converting from a tight angle. TSS came back strong and scored with 10 minutes to go through a nice turn and finish. The last 10 minutes were a real arm wrestle with neither side being able to score the winner.
The game finished in a stalemate, which secured Churchie’s second-ever premiership in the competition’s 34-year history. It was a workman-like performance from the Churchie team. A fitting way to farewell the captain Luke O’Sullivan and the rest of the Year 12 boys.
A number of the Year 12 boys have been involved in the first team setup for three years now. They have seen the lows (ninth place finish with one point in 2022) and now the highs of winning the premiership. We could not be any prouder of them. Their growth on and off the field has been phenomenal.
Alex Rados, Director of Football
A nine-month journey has now come to an end. The boys’ hard work and dedication have paid off. The success came about from the wonderful culture and high standards of all 22 players who were involved in the 2024 First XI set-up.
Scott MacNicol, First XI Coach
Below are a few of the many examples of boys living by the Churchie Football values of integrity, discipline and determination in round eight.
Integrity: Henry Brown (11D)has looked to improve both his technical skills and leadership all season. Very well done!
Discipline: Olan Cruikshank (9B) played a fantastic match and was a key member of the team.
Determination: Chace Buick (9D) is a real team player who never gives up.
Prep School players of the week:
Beau Gough (5A) for his continual effort, attitude and sportsmanship, not only on the weekend but all season. Beau is the first to pick his mates up and encourage others on and off the field.
Tom Burke (6A) for always working extremely hard on gameday and throughout training. Tom continually supports his mates and keeps a positive attitude no matter the result, capped off with another strong performance on the weekend.
Thank you for a fantastic football season. Next year, we will come back bigger and stronger.
Round eight saw Churchie Tennis conclude the 2024 season with much success. The blue and grey took on the boys from The Southport School in 26 matches plus two supplementary games against Brisbane Grammar. Seventeen wins against TSS gave us the overall win on the day and put the tennis community in a great mood to celebrate our end of season event.
Our overall programme only lost to BGS and BBC this season, as we defeated every other school we played—a fantastic effort from all our boys across our 30 teams.
Our First IV finished the season with a very narrow loss to TSS, only going down by five games in total after the final match tiebreaker decided the whole day. It was another tough day for the four First IV boys, but they remained staunch and battled hard as they had all season.
The season was celebrated in great spirits at our End of Season Presentation, with over 170 players from Years 7 to 12 and their families joining us for a well-catered night of awards and recognition. The night was another fantastic success; congratulations to the Tennis Support Group.
Thank you to our fantastic tennis families for transporting our athletes this season, and thank you to the staff and coaches for their efforts to make the season run as smoothly as it could. Most importantly, I thank all our Churchie boys for representing the School in the manner they have; we had many compliments about your sportsmanship and behaviour and that is as important as a win.
Ian Malpass Director of Tennis
Sporting achievements
Congratulations to the following students for their success in the following sporting pursuits:
Swimming
Max Cunningham was selected in the team to represent Queensland for the New Zealand National Swimming Championships in August.
Cross Country
Hamish Barwick, George Chandler, Archie Ellis, Daniel Lane, Andrew McConnel, Freddie McDonnell, Lachlan Moore, Zac Moore, Finn Platz and Winston Rogers were selected in the Metropolitan East team to compete in the QRSS 10 to 19 years Cross Country State Championships in Brisbane this weekend.
Trent Goodrick Head of Cocurricular
Churchie Rugby Luncheon
The annual Churchie Rugby Luncheon will be held on Friday 9 August 2024 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in Brisbane’s South Bank. This event precedes the Wallabies’ match against the current World Champions, the South African Springboks at Suncorp Stadium. As always, there will be top-level entertainment, with Justin Harrison as the main speaker, along with a panel discussion conducted by MC Greg Clark featuring new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and other former Wallabies. Additionally, there will be the usual raffles, auctions and the ball-passing competition for both men and women.
With the much talked about British and Irish Lions Tour in 2025, tables purchased for the 2024 luncheon will receive priority for 2025, which will undoubtedly be a sell-out at the new venue, The Star Casino, Brisbane. Save the date for the Churchie British and Irish Lions Test on Friday 18 July 2025.
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.
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, hosting social connections, and administering private Facebook groups.
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.
Chapel Centenary special project
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 Reverend Mitchell and Chaplain Stephanie. Click here to volunteer.
Midweek meditation
Reverend Sharon welcomes all. 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.
Mothers of Old Boys High Tea
Date: Wednesday 17 July 2024 Time: 10 am Venue: Brenan Pavilion
Parent Connect and Churchie invite all Mothers of Churchie Old Boys to share an enjoyable morning of high tea and friendship.
An optional tour will commence at 9:15 am from The Canon Jones Memorial Chapel. Vanessa Saxby (Director of Admissions) and Emma Gasperini (Parent Connect President) will be your tour hosts.
If you require assistance with access to the venue or any way to make the day more comfortable, please get in touch with events@churchie.com.au.
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.
