Prep School

Prep value of the week: integrity

Integrity is living by your highest values. It is being honest and sincere. Integrity helps you to listen to your conscience, do the right thing and tell the truth. You act with integrity when your words and actions match. Integrity gives you self-respect and a peaceful heart.

Attribute of the week: risk takers

Risk takers approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and forethought and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and strategies. You are brave and articulate in defending your beliefs.

The Olympic spirit

The Olympic Games have sadly come to an end. The 16 days of competition provided us with some exciting, breathtaking, surprising and even emotional experiences as we cheered on and supported our mighty Australian athletes. The Olympics is a wonderful opportunity for our boys to watch some of the best athletes in the world compete. The years of dedication, hard work perseverance and commitment shown by the competitors are something for our boys to aspire to and learn from. Another aspect of the Olympic Games that I truly love is the individual stories of the athletes who compete. Some of these stories are remarkable and truly inspirational. I shared one of these stories with the boys at assembly on Friday.

The story I shared with the boys dates back to the 1968 Mexico City games. It was about a Tanzanian marathon runner named John-Stephen Ahkwari. John-Stephen was a farmer selected to run the marathon for his country. The marathon is a tough race at the best of times, but in 1968, the runners had to contend with debilitating heat and high altitude. It was so tough that of the 75 starters, 18 didn’t make it to the finish line.

As the race approached the 30-kilometre stage, the athletes were jostling for position. John-Stephen was caught up in the tussle and fell heavily to the ground, gashing his knee and causing a dislocation. He also smashed his shoulder against the pavement. Most observers, seeing his injuries, assumed that he would withdraw from the race and seek medical attention. Instead, he received medical attention and returned to the course to race. His pace was now much slower but his resolve was to complete the race. And so, more than an hour after the winner had crossed the finish line, John-Stephen Ahkwari crossed the finish line in last place. Word had got back to the stadium about John-Stephen’s feat. Some of the crowd remained behind, after the sun went down and after the marathon medal presentation was over, the crowd cheered John-Stephen Ahkwari home. By the time he reached the stadium, he was limping and the bandages on his leg were barely secure. He was asked why he had carried on, and his response has gone down in sporting history. ‘My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race,’ he said. ‘They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.’

At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, John-Stephen Ahkwari was invited to present the medals to the marathon runners. His extraordinary story has inspired others and hopefully will inspire our boys as well.

You can watch a short video of his story on the link below.

Story Arts Festival Ipswich by Ritvik Bhandari, Year 5 Reading Ambassador

Twenty-five Years 5 and 6 boys from Churchie had the privilege of attending the Story Arts literature festival in Ipswich. We met authors from around Australia, including Katrina Nannestad, author of such historical fiction as We Are Wolves, George Ivanoff, whose newest book is Monster Island, and poet and graphic novelist, Joel McKerrow, who wrote Urban Legend Hunters. We also had the opportunity to buy their books and have them autographed. It was a really amazing day at the Story Arts Festival.

Book Week events

Details of all Book Week events, author visits and book ordering information, can be found on myChurchie class pages.

16 August: Sarah Armstrong author visit (Years 3 to 6)
All students – info and order forms on class myChurchie pages.
19 August: Book Week Parade (Reception to Year 6)
All Reception, Year 1 and 2 students participate in costumes. Years 3 to 6 are encouraged to dress in costume if they would like to participate. All classes will attend the parade.
20 to 21 August: Magic competition (Years 4 to 6)
Lunchtime competition – parents register students via Jotform on myChurchie
20 August: Andy Geppert author visit (Reception to Year 2)
All students – info and order forms on class myChurchie pages.

Term 3 Music in the Prep School

Our musicians have had a busy few weeks performing at events, including Prep School assemblies, the Year 5 Immersion concert on Prep Field and Jazz Under the Stars. We love performing for our friends and family at school, showcasing our musical talents!

We have a few more performances coming up for our Churchie community throughout Terms 3 and 4—please note the following diary dates:

3 September: Prep Solos for Term 3 – selected soloists
9 October: Prep Ensembles Concert and Year 5 Immersion Showcase – all Year 5 and all prep co-curricular ensembles
14 October: Music Fest – Prep Strings
23 October: Music Fest – Prep Bands
7 November: Year 3 and 4 Immersion Showcase – All Year 3 and 4
12 November: Prep Solos for Term 4 – selected soloists (see my Churchie for more information)
13 November: PYP Exhibition featuring Year 6 performance items – all Year 6
18 November: Christmas Service at St. John’s Cathedral – Brass Ensemble, Prep Strings, Prep Junior Choir, Prep Choir
27 November: Prep Final Assembly – Prep Band, Prep Junior Choir, Prep Choir

Many of our Prep students also participate throughout the year in external music performances, including eisteddfods and theory/practical exams. Performing to the wider community allows students to present their music to new audiences, gaining valuable feedback from supportive and knowledgeable music educators. Congratulations to all the boys who have been risk-takers and communicators, sharing their musical talents with others! We have had some amazing results this year. Please feel free to email me and share their achievements so that we can acknowledge them at our Prep School assemblies.

I wanted to make special mention of the boys who have recently performed as soloists or in chamber ensembles at the Ipswich, Beenleigh and Redlands Eisteddfods – Congratulations to Marcus Lee (Year 4), Joe Ge (Year 4) and Toby Cao (Year 3).

Marcus Lee is a member of Prep Strings and Prep Junior Choir. He is to be congratulated for outstanding achievement in music this term, particularly in violin performance. Some recent performances of his include:

The Redlands Eisteddfod

String Solo Baroque Composer Under 10 years (1st place)
String Solo Grade 6 (1st place)
String Solo 8 to 9 years (2nd place)

The Ipswich Eisteddfod

String Solo Age 9 to 10 (2nd place)
Instrument Grade 5 to 6 (2nd place)
Selected to compete in the Gladys Payne Memorial Award (Open-age championship for each section of String, Piano Vocal, only for selected participants)

The Beenleigh Eisteddfod

Instrument Solo: Baroque 1600-1760 Any Instrument (1st place)
Instrument Solo: Grade 6 Excluding Piano (2nd place)
Instrument Solo: Strings Age 8 and 9 (2nd place)
Instrument Solo: Romantic 1815-1910 Any Instrument (Highly Commended)

AUSTA Concerto Championship

Intermediate Section AMEB Grade 5-7 (1st place)
Vienna International Classic String Competition – Age Category D (2nd place)
Queensland Youth Orchestra Junior String Ensemble 1 Twilight Concert (Selected soloist)
Osaka International Music Competition (Invited to perform at the final round)

Around the grounds

Student diaries

As the boys start to participate in more after-school activities this year, please ensure that all after-school arrangements are written in the diary each day. Please include after-school care and any activities your son may be attending so their teachers can ensure they safely get to where they need to be. Also, please ensure the boys bring their diaries to school every day.

Lost property

We have many unnamed lost property items in the Prep Office. Please check and ensure all school and sports bags, hats and clothing items are clearly named.

Prep School leather shoes

Many of our boys are not taking care of their black leather school shoes by treating or polishing them over the weekend or when they get home.

I ask all boys and parents to please pay some attention to these leather school shoes in the coming days so boys can display pride in their appearance as Churchie students.

Mark Wyer
Head of Preparatory School