Prep School

A very warm welcome to Term 3. It promises to be an exciting and busy term, and I am particularly looking forward to seeing the boys enjoy all the opportunities that come before them. I am sure they are enjoying being back on campus with their teachers and friends and are eager to tackle the challenges of the coming term. I trust our Churchie Prep families had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday spent with family and friends. It was certainly beautiful weather we were lucky to enjoy during our three-week holiday. We welcome new boys to the Prep School this term, and I am positive they will enjoy the Churchie experience.

I congratulate the boys who participated in the New Zealand Sports Tour and for the exemplary way they represented Churchie. Interacting with people from different cultures, broadening their experiences and immersing themselves in a different country are memories that I am sure they will take with them from their time in New Zealand. I wish to extend my gratitude to our parents who accompanied the boys on the tour. Your support and encouragement were appreciated and didn’t go unnoticed by the boys. I am grateful for the time and energy they gave in supporting our boys on the tour. Finally, a sincere thank you to our host schools St Andrew’s College, Waihi School and Medbury School for providing the opportunity to engage in some friendly competition with our friends from across the ditch. I know we will have boys looking forward to the 2025 tour.

New Zealand sports tour

In the first week of the school holidays, our Year 6 boys embarked on an exciting sporting tour to New Zealand’s South Island, Christchurch for five nights. They played against three schools: St Andrew’s College, Waihi School and Medbury School. Over the course of the tour, the boys displayed outstanding skill, determination and resilience securing victories in eight out of the nine games played across basketball, football and rugby.

Beyond the impressive match results, the tour was a fantastic opportunity for our boys to demonstrate exceptional sportsmanship. They embraced the chance to make new friends, creating lasting connections with their peers from New Zealand. The tour also provided enriching life experiences, as the boys navigated new environments and immersed themselves in the local culture.

Overall, the Year 6 sporting tour was a resounding success, leaving our boys with cherished memories and valuable lessons both on and off the field. I would like to take the opportunity to thank teachers James Harth, Gavin Darwin, Adam Fry, Shay Thomas, Jade Frewin and Richard Boles for giving up their holidays to make the tour a success for all involved.

Prep value of the week: consideration

Consideration is being thoughtful of other people and their feelings. You consider how your actions affect them. You pay careful attention to what others like, and don’t like, and do things that give them happiness.

Attribute of the week: communicators

Communicators understand and express ideas and information confidently and creatively in more than one language and a variety of modes of communication. They are willing to work in collaboration with others.

Billy Cart Grand Prix

Congratulations to all boys and families on the level of participation in this year’s Billy Cart Grand Prix. It was a superb event conducted in a carnival atmosphere, with our community service goals kept uppermost in our minds throughout the day. I extend special thanks to the many parents, grandparents and friends for supporting the boys in the lead-up to this great event. The carts looked spectacular, and it was a fantastic event and a lovely way to finish the term. It was also great to see the street lined with parents, family and friends, adding to the spectacle of the end-of-term festivities. I also extend my sincere thanks to Deputy Head of Prep School Gavin Darwin for the tireless work that he put into making this great event happen.

Prizes were awarded in the following categories:

Year 4

• Year 4 Most Creative Cart: Shaggy Waggy – Max O’Kelly, Wilbur Kilpatrick and Yusei Sakamoto
• Year 4 Fastest Cart: Meteoric Makos – Fred Stapleton, Rhys Robertson and Mitchell Hoong
• Year 4 Best-Themed Race Team: Banana Car – Arjun Iyer, Wilbur Shonhan and Oscar Ge

Year 5

• Year 5 Most Creative Cart: Ready Steady Spaghetti – Ritvik Bhandari, Luke Meggiorin and Cooper Goodwin
• Year 5 Fastest Cart: Fast Food 23 – Nash Walker, James Valentine and Cash Motley
• Year 5 Best-Themed Race Team: Golden Ticket – Harlan Lee, Jack Krzysica and Rupert Shand

Year 6

• Year 6 Most Creative Cart: What Came First? – Jack Hopkins, Finnegan Kilpatrick, Vincent Lu and Philip Mars
• Year 6 Fastest Cart: Neon Speed Opie Rynne, Matthew McMaugh and Hugo Flack
• Year 6 Best-Themed Race Team: Maccas Madness – Max May, William Jackson and Angus King

Overall

• Ultimate Final Winner: Fast Food 23 (Year 5) – Nash Walker, James Valentine and Cash Motley

Tyrecycle

6A was responsible for laying out the tyres for the Billy Cart Grand Prix.

Thanks to Tyrecycle for donating tyres for the day.

Australian Maths Competition

All boys in Years 3 to 6 will sit the Australian Maths Competition on Tuesday 6 August. First run in 1978, the Australian Mathematics Competition is Australia’s longest-running, largest and most well-known maths competition for school students. The AMC contains unique problems designed each year by leading educators and academics to challenge and extend your sons’ problem-solving skills.

The competition will be run in class during the timetabled maths lesson time.

Mark Wyer
Head of Preparatory School