Prep School
Prep School value of the week: purposefulness
Being purposeful means having a clear focus rather than being confused or unsure about what you are doing or why you are doing it. Acting purposefully involves working towards a goal. You concentrate your mind and efforts so that something good will happen as a result. While some people let things happen, a purposeful person makes things happen.
Attribute of the week: balanced
You understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal wellbeing for yourself and others.
Inter-School State Chess Championships
In a display of exceptional skill and strategic prowess, two of our Churchie Prep teams achieved remarkable success at the recent Inter-School State Chess Championships. Churchie Team 1 emerged victorious, securing first place after a series of intense and challenging matches. Their dedication and hard work have paid off, earning them the prestigious title of state champions.
Churchie Team 2 also performed admirably, clinching third place and showcasing their talent and determination. Their impressive performance reflects the depth of chess competency within our school and highlights the strength of our chess programme.
As a result of their outstanding victory, Churchie Team 1 will now head to Perth in December to compete in the nationals. This is a fantastic opportunity for our students to demonstrate their skills on a larger stage and to gain invaluable experience through higher-level competition. We are incredibly proud of both teams and their brilliant accomplishments.
Join us in congratulating Churchie Team 1 and Team 2 on their remarkable achievements and in wishing Churchie Team 1 the very best as they prepare for the nationals!
Larissa Guy
Head of Prep Chess
Final Prep School Photos for 2024
We ask that all students and parents please be aware of the following Prep School photos, which will be taken this Friday in the Campbell Centre between 8:20 and 10 am:
- 8:20 am: GPS Track and Field team – GPS track and field uniform
- 8:35 am: Whole of Year 6 photo – formal uniform
- 8:45 am: All 2024 Activity Captains – formal uniform
- 9 am: Met East and State reps – Met East/QLD competition uniform
Music Fest
Congratulations to Prep Band on their Silver Award from this year’s Music Fest competition in Week 4.
Dr Steven Nisbet OAM
Across Weeks 4 and 5, Year 5 students were given the opportunity to meet Dr Steven Nisbet OAM, who explained some of the science, technology, engineering, mechanics, mathematics, music and history of the grand pipe organ in the Churchie Canon Jones Chapel.
Our Prep boys are lucky to hear the instrument regularly at chapel and enjoyed learning more about it. There are many complex parts to an organ—the ‘king of instruments’ as described by Mozart—not to mention the technique needed to play it. Dr Nisbet played for the boys, demonstrating the organ’s different sounds or timbres and how the organist reads from many parts at once, playing with both hands and feet.
It is incredibly unique for our boys to attend a school with such an amazing instrument, and we thank Dr Nisbet for giving the students the opportunity to ask questions and learn a little more about it. All teachers and students learned so much!
Melissa Black
Head of Prep Music
Anglicare collection
On behalf of Anglicare Brisbane Children and Families (a foster and kinship care agency), we extend our deepest appreciation for your continued support of our foster and kinship carer families at Christmas time. The gifts provided by our community last year meant Anglicare was able to put smiles on the faces of children during a difficult time when they are away from their biological parents.
Anglicare’s team supports 105 children and young people in out-of-home care, aged between birth and 17 years, as well as the biological children in foster and kinship carer families who generously share their homes. Over Christmas, this number often increases, with carer families unexpectedly opening their homes to more children in need. Your support through gift donations allows Anglicare to provide thoughtful presents, ensuring these vulnerable children have a memorable Christmas.
Anglicare supports a balanced mix of boys and girls aged from birth to 17. For children aged 13 and older, gift cards are well-received, allowing them to shop and choose something special themselves. We ask that any gift card donations exclude liquor services, and we request $30 denominations as the preferred amount.
All donations can be delivered to Chaplain Stephanie’s office in the Prep Admin building.
End-of-year events
Each week at Churchie is as busy as the last, and as we approach the end of the year, the calendar becomes even busier. Our end-of-year events are important occasions where we acknowledge and celebrate the wonderful achievements of the boys. We are proud to provide special occasions to mark significant milestones.
You will shortly receive communication from me outlining upcoming events. Please mark the dates in your calendar that relate to your son/s. I look forward to sharing these special events with you as we head towards the end of the year.
Camps in Term 4
- Year 5: Tyalgum Ridge Retreat, Monday 4 to Wednesday 6 November
Use of school crossing
Please note that before and after school, boys should only cross Oaklands Parade at the supervised crossing near Gate 1. As these are busy traffic periods, a crossing supervisor is provided to ensure the safety of the boys and others. When dropping off boys on the western side of Oaklands Parade in the morning, please insist they use the supervised crossing.
Please note there is no parking in front of the Health Centre and Churchie Shop on Oaklands Parade. Brisbane City Council has recently updated the signs in front of this building and will be regularly monitoring the area.
Class placements 2025
As we move towards the end of the year, planning for 2025 is well underway. Class placements for 2025 will be communicated to our parent community at the end of this year in preparation for the commencement of the academic year. Our staff is in the initial stages of looking at class allocations, and we are undertaking a thorough process to ensure we continue to have the boys at the forefront of our decision making.
When allocating boys to classes, there are several factors we consider. One key priority is ensuring we have an even spread of academic ability levels across each of our classes, and another is ensuring that the social structure of classes is conducive to both learning and the building of friendships. This sometimes means we need to separate boys when a friendship becomes a distraction to their learning and enables boys to further their friendship circles. Other factors that help determine our class allocations are the social/emotional needs of our boys, student interests and, if applicable, personal and family backgrounds. As a school, we also need to consider our entry points and the impact this has on our class placements. The construction of class groupings is, therefore, a process we take very seriously and plan for carefully in collaboration with class teachers, specialist staff and the Preparatory School Executive team.
When creating class lists, the School will consider all information about a boy that may have been communicated to the teacher, Deputy Heads and Head of Prep School throughout the year. The School will then create balanced classes according to the educational and social information we have about each of our boys. We do value these ongoing conversations; however, class placements will remain the professional and operational responsibility of the School, and as such, we will not be accepting requests for specific teachers.
As you can appreciate, the consideration of all these factors makes class placement a time-consuming but important process. We feel positive that the extensive time and care we give to this process, together with the talented and committed team of staff into whose classes we are placing each boy, means we are able to produce the best possible class combinations to benefit each and every boy.
We know you appreciate the careful consideration that goes into these decisions and the competence and dedication of every member of our team involved in the process.
Mark Wyer
Head of Preparatory School