"Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God."
Mark 10:27
Dirk van Bruggen
Acting Executive Head of College
Setting boundaries to help our children transition to adulthood and independent decision making
This is my second article along the lines of the need to parent our children versus being their friends during their formative years. Setting boundaries becomes harder as children progress towards and through their teenage years. There are no set ways to do this and it depends on each family. The earlier that children understand there are boundaries the easier it is to migrate through the teenage years.
One tip is to negotiate boundaries with the young person, at a calm and relaxed time. They are more likely to respect a decision they have been involved in making. Give them options for rules and consequences. When deciding on a boundary, consider whether it is really necessary. If they don’t do this, will it really matter? Will an argument be worth it? Can I really enforce it? Sometimes it may be more appropriate to change your expectations.
Your children may say their friends’ parents let them do things you will not. You can check if you like, but in the end you make a decision based on your values. That is reasonable. Take into account how honest and reliable the young person is in your experience. Sometimes it is okay to have different rules for different members of the family. This may be appropriate, taking into account their different ages or stages of development. For boundaries to work, there must be consequences if they are not respected. This means that something will happen if the boundary is crossed. There is not much point in having boundaries that they have to be home by a certain time if they learn they can break the boundary and nothing happens.
The best consequences are natural consequences of the behaviour – for example, you do not wash clothes that are left on the bedroom floor rather than in the laundry. If no natural consequences are likely to occur, you can make a list of all the things you do (or are currently willing to do) for your child and withdraw or refuse one as a consequence. It is best if the consequence has a natural connection to the issue. Aim to make consequences timely and in proportion, not too harsh. For example, if they are not home at an agreed time, next time they ask you to do something, you may say “you weren’t home when we agreed and so this time, I will not change my own arrangements to drive you somewhere you want to go”. It’s best if it doesn’t come across as ‘tit for tat’, but as a logical and reasonable response to their behaviour.
It can be hard to think of reasonable consequences, especially for someone who is very rebellious or not around much. Try talking to other parents about boundaries and consequences they use. You might find it useful to see a counsellor or youth-family service, especially if you feel you have little or no control. It is better not to protect them from consequences in the outside world. If they break school rules, let the school deal with it. Consequences help young people learn and change their behaviour. Try to let go of your own anger and resentment once the consequence has occurred. Consequences are essential to making boundaries work. But positive lessons are more powerful. It is really important to notice and praise their efforts when they do the right thing.
It is a long and slow journey made all the more difficult with technology blurring the real to virtual lives and allowing them to live in a space that you as parents do not occupy. Know that no one has all the answers and it is okay to reach out to those around you who may be on a similar journey. Together we can nurture and grow each child through these sometimes difficult journeys.
Dirk van Bruggen
Acting Executive Head of College
Culture and Wellbeing
As the holidays approach, our children can be filled with conflicting emotions. Downtime, great! I can’t wait to do nothing vs I can’t wait to do everything… read a good book, go to the movies, play at the beach. How am I going to stay entertained for the next few weeks vs How will I have time to fit everything in? I can’t wait to catch up with my friends vs I am not sure my friends will want to catch up with me. The list goes on. Holidays can be a time filled with friendship ‘fun’, or they can be a time filled with friendship ‘anxiety’. Learning how to make friends and keep them involves a number of skills every young person needs to understand and develop. For some these skills will come very naturally, allowing them to move easily between different friendship groups, sharing their experiences and opening up to new people. For others, this can be much harder to navigate. Belonging to a group that is like-minded with similar interests is highly beneficial to a young person’s wellbeing. It gives them a sense of security helping them feel valued which in turn builds their confidence. Positive friendships are an important part of the journey to adulthood. Parents and carers can support their child or teenager by providing guidance in the many social and emotional skills required for a healthy relationship. This will help them to obtain, retain and maintain friendships. However, not all friendship are regarded as positive. Sometimes young people develop negative or toxic friendships. Therefore it is also important for them to learn how to identify, avoid or deal with such a friendship. In this special edition of SchoolTV, parents and carers can learn how to support their child’s friendship so that they experience a sense of belonging. We hope you find the information offered in this month’s edition helpful in supporting your child. If you have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the College, or seek medical or professional help. Here are the links to this month’s edition:
From the Director of the ELC
At Hillcrest Christian College Kindy our aim is to provide our Pre Kindy and Kindy children the foundational skills for lifelong learning and development. Our play-based learning environment is a place where children are able to grow and develop and also provide opportunities for a range of positive development outcomes.
Our program is enhanced by a range of extracurricular activities which are provided by professional specialists who visit our service on a weekly basis.
Within our curriculum our service provides a Future Champs sporting program and Music Lessons.
Future Champs provides a high quality sporting program that fosters and develops children physically, socially and cognitively. The activities that are facilitated each week are age appropriate, non-competitive and align within our play-based philosophy. Providing a sense of fun while also educating children about health and nutrition has encouraged our Pre Kindy and Kindy children to extend on their learning at Future Champs to our everyday routine.
Our Music Lessons with Mrs Tammy incorporate song, rhyme, dance, dramatic play and listening. As well as providing a solid musical foundation, music classes contribute to school readiness, in particular the development of self-regulation and pre-literacy skills.
Tennis with Mr Trevor and Dancing with Currumbin Dance Academy are extra activities that parents can enrol their child into within our Kindy program. Hot Shots tennis is run on a weekly basis where our Kindy children can learn the basics in tennis such balls skills, hand eye co-ordination and gross motor coordination.
Dancing with Currumbin is also run on a weekly basis and offers ballet and jazz for our Pre Kindy and Kindy children.
Alicia Shields
Pre Kindy, Kindy and Prep Enrolments
If you have younger Pre School aged children due to start Pre Kindy (3-4 yr olds), Kindy (4-5 yr olds) or Prep in 2022 or 2023, please submit applications ASAP as places are filling fast. If you have friends or family with children in these age groups please also encourage them to apply or book a College Tour.
To complete an application for enrolment use these links:
Pre Kindy and Kindy Enrolment Application Form
Prep – Year 12 Enrolment Application Form
For further information please contact:
Director of Hillcrest Kindy, Alicia Shields kindy@hillcrest.qld.edu.au – 07 5655 0910
Prep – Year 12 Enrolments Registrar, Emily Savery registrar@hillcrest.qld.edu.au – 07 5655 0931
National Buddy Day
On Wednesday, 16 June the ELC celebrated National Buddy day! National Buddy Day raises awareness against bullying by celebrating the importance of friendships.
Our Kindy students went for a walk to the Year 1 classrooms and spent time reading their favourite book with the Year 1 students. The Year 1 students took pride in reading to our Kindy children. Some great bonds were formed and now the Kindy children will have some familiar and friendly faces to greet them when they join the Castle Community next year. It is such a wonderful opportunity for our Kindy children to connect with our wider College community in preparation for their transition to Prep next year.
Ocean Life Show
Our children were very excited about the Ocean Life incursion last Thursday morning. Ocean Life Education is an interactive touch and learn program that introduces children to creatures from the ocean. Our Pre Kindy and Kindy children had the opportunity to explore artefacts such as shark jaws and learn about how to care for our marine life. The children sat and listened beautifully as marine educator Richard introduced us to Sea Stars, Sea Cucumbers, Sea Urchins, Epaulette Shark named Eric and a Freshwater Turtle. The children were eager to get up close and even stroke the animals. We learned how they all look and feel the way they do for a special reason – mainly protection and camouflage from predators. We also learned a valuable lesson about how important it is to take care of our oceans and not litter on our beaches or in the water.
From the Head of the JLC
It has been a busy term, and as we draw to a close for the holidays, I want to take the time to thank all our JLC families for entrusting us with your children. In the JLC, we continually strive for excellence in all that we do by enriching the lives of students in their formative years.
We continually encourage students to embrace the Shield Values of Respect, Diligence, Discernment, Humility, Service, Courage, and Integrity. It has been lovely to see parents at our Community Celebrations as we recognise individual students for exhibiting the values consistently in their schooling endeavours.
There have been many highlights in both learning and JLC events over the past fortnight that have been captured below. We hope you enjoy our last newsletter for the term, and I pray you all have a safe holiday with quality time as a family over the break.
Christy Gittins
Head of JLC
National Buddy Day
On Wednesday, 16 June the ELC celebrated National Buddy day! National Buddy Day raises awareness against bullying by celebrating the importance of friendships.
Kindy students went for a walk to the Year 1 classrooms and spent time reading their favourite book with the Year 1 students. The Year 1 students took pride in reading to the Kindy children. Some great bonds were formed and now the Kindy children will have some familiar and friendly faces to greet them when they join the Castle Community next year. It is such a wonderful opportunity for our Kindy children to connect with our wider College community in preparation for their transition to Prep next year.
Pre Kindy, Kindy and Prep Enrolments
If you have younger Pre School aged children due to start Pre Kindy (3-4 yr olds), Kindy (4-5 yr olds) or Prep in 2022 or 2023, please submit applications ASAP as places are filling fast. If you have friends or family with children in these age groups please also encourage them to apply or book a College Tour.
To complete an application for enrolment use these links:
Pre Kindy and Kindy Enrolment Application Form
Prep – Year 12 Enrolment Application Form
For further information please contact:
Director of Hillcrest Kindy, Alicia Shields kindy@hillcrest.qld.edu.au – 07 5655 0910
Prep – Year 12 Enrolments Registrar, Emily Savery registrar@hillcrest.qld.edu.au – 07 5655 0931
Year 1 Art – Clay Turtles
Year 1 have been busy in Specialist Visual Art sculpting turtles from clay. Students shaped each element and then worked all the pieces together to form a complete turtle. Then they added the finishing touch of an etched pattern on the shell. The turtles are currently drying before they are sent to the SLC kiln. Well done Year 1!
Year 2 Flare English
Year 2 Flare English students learned about the author E.B. White and thoroughly studied the book Charlotte’s Web. They explored the setting, context and analysed characters. Students were also encouraged to identify words they didn’t know the meaning of, in order to enhance comprehension and increase their overall vocabulary. When they finished reading the novel, the children watched and analysed the film where they made comparisons in the form of a Venn diagram.
Year 3 Art – Cars
Year 3 have been learning a variety of clay techniques to sculpt convertible cars in Specialist Visual Art. After forming the basic shape, students personalised their car by adding creative details such as number plates, spoilers, custom wheels, and seating. Next term the cars will be kiln-fired ready for the students to design their own paint scheme.
Year 3 Visit Year 1
3KM made a special visit to 1AM this week to model their procedural writing. The Year 3s were excited to show our Year 1s how to make delicious fairy bread. Their procedural writing included step by step directions from gathering ingredients to sprinkling hundreds and thousands. What a treat it was to have our Year 3 class modelling exceptional procedural writing as Year 1s will begin procedural writing in the upcoming terms.
3/4 Lumos DCL – Connections
This term, students have taken on the role of an educator whose task was to create a board game for school students to play that exposes them to information and learning about the real cultural heritage of Australia’s traditional Indigenous People. They prepared a colour-coded Information Booklet that contained the information they researched. This was needed to both learn about the culture and move around the game board.
3/4 Flare English Stories
After being inspired by a visit from author Dr Cameron Stelzer, Year 3/4 Flare English students wrote their own stories. They then shared these with the Year 1 Flare English students, who also proudly read their stories that were developed based on Jeannie Baker’s collage style of illustrating. This peer scaffolding experience was a wonderful way to collaborate and celebrate learning.
Year 4 Bike Education Week
Bike Education Week has been a hit with Year 4! Last week, as part of our Health curriculum, our Year 4 students attended the Bike Education Centre at Ashmore. Students learned all about road and bicycle safety and had the opportunity to put their theory into practise. The Bike Education Centre has a specially designed bicycle safety track, complete with all road signs, line marking and operating traffic control devices to teach children bicycle skills, road rules and safety. The students really enjoyed the opportunity to test their road and bicycle skills in a safe environment.
Year 4 STEM
Year 4 STEM Punks
A group Year 4 Minecraft enthusiasts participated in the first STEMPunks
Minecraft Education build challenge. This fast-paced 60minute build enabled students to focus on a problem and collaborate with their team members to design and build a Minecraft classroom. Specific criteria included it had to be: Underground, provide fresh air and have plenty of natural light. The task was broken down with a planning build review and presentation as the small teams created their classrooms. There were some amazing results within the short 35minute build time. See the short highlight video below.
SLC Life Groups Meet with JLC Classes
A new initiative has taken off this term where SLC Life Groups visit a JLC class to bridge the gap between the senior and junior students and provide an opportunity to get to know each other. This has been a great time where the younger students come face to face with the senior students and ask any questions they might have. The SLC Life Groups have been creative and have all been doing something a little different such as devotional time, outdoor games, reading to the kids, craft time, and cookie decorating just to name a few. This has been a great learning opportunity for senior students as they interact and learn to work with the younger kids through challenges that arise in games and other activities. It has also been great experience for the JLC kids as they really enjoyed the big kids spending time with them. We look forward to the bonds between the JLC and the SLC strengthening throughout the rest of the year.
Inaugural Chess Comp for JLC
The first ever Chess Comp was carried out last week for JLC students in the Bus Library. This competition is a way for students to have a friendly game against other students in different year levels as well as put their Chess skills to the test. There was an enormous amount of interest as students were lined up out the door eagerly awaiting their turn.
Flare Highlights from Semester 1
English, Maths and i-Time Flare students from Years 1 – 6 have had a really exciting first half of the year, filled with lots of creative learning. Below is a video showing some of the highlights.
From the Head of the MLC
With the introduction of the MLC in 2021, we no longer have a transition point between Primary and Secondary schooling. Many parents have inquired at different times over the semester about whether we will continue to have graduation celebrations in Year 6 to mark the end of primary schooling. There are two parts to this question. Will we continue to have celebrations in the Middle Learning Community, yes. Will we celebrate graduation out of Year 6, no.
I am a firm believer in celebrating milestone events throughout our schooling journey and as such I am happy to announce that for this year we will be celebrating the halfway point of our students’ education with an event for Year 6 students in Week 5 of next term. As most students attend formal schooling from Prep to Year 12 (13 years) we view halfway through Year 6 as the halfway point of their schooling years. With this in mind, the halfway celebration will take the form of a dance with food for the students, that will be held in the MLC Courtyard. There will be more information to come early in Term 3 and Year 6 teachers will work with the students on the finer details of the event so they can assist in the final product.
The concept of graduating out of Year 6 has changed in our new MLC context, as our students no longer move into a new community in Year 7. Our students move downstairs in the same building that they already use and know well. In the past, students graduated and moved to different schools or campuses, this is simply not the case at Hillcrest. Our students graduate from the College in Year 12; however, students will always celebrate many other milestones throughout their educational journey and we look forward to planning these events with our students in the MLC.
A quick look back over Term 2
Even though it has only been a 9 week term, there have been many different activities that we have participated in or hosted during Term 2, including:
- Year 3-12 ANZAC Day service
- Cross Country
- Visit from Queensland Youth Skills Academy
- Participation in the Fuse Cup
- Announced as a finalist in Australian Educator Awards
- Hosted numerous other schools interested in our innovative thinking
- Established Leadership Club
- Year 5 and 7 NAPLAN
- Won several medals at Futsal tournaments across the Coast
- Official opening of the MLC by Mrs Melissa McMahon MP
- MLC Mashup with approx. 250 students building relationships together
- Regular Gatherings where staff have showed up the students dancing to Armour of God
- Study Skills sessions led by Elevate Education
- Cyber safety with leading expert, Mr Brett Lee
- MLC Domain Awards Celebration
- Hosting regional professional learning opportunities for staff
My challenge to our students is to always take advantage of the many co-curricular and extended learning activities that the College provides and I need to thank our staff who are incredibly giving of their time in leading these events.
Finally, I want to thank parents for their support of the MLC through our first semester. There has been significant growth as we have established culture and symbolic norms across the Learning Community and we appreciate the work that parents do at home in supporting the vital partnership between student, parent and staff. I wish you a very happy and safe holiday break with your family and we look forward to another exciting journey together through Term 3 when we return on Monday 12 July.
Darren Rackemann
Head of Middle Learning Community
Elevate Education
On Wednesday 2 June, the team from Elevate Education came back to the MLC
to continue teaching our Years 7-8 students about essential study skills that will assist them in their Middle and Senior years of schooling, and beyond. A big focus of the day was on time-management, and how to prioritise not only school-work and homework, but also time for fun and relaxation. Comments from our students about the most important thing they learned throughout the sessions included, “Do the worst stuff first and break assignments down”, “Plan when to study and if you don’t have homework, you should still [use the time] to revise”, “Do work early”, “Do the work in sections” and “Steps to write an organised essay”. If they don’t already have one, talk to your child about how they could use a planner (either electronic or paper-based) at home to make time for all the important things they have to achieve each week, and throughout the term. For those students working on the ‘Self-Manager’ SECRET Skill, this also forms evidence for their ‘Be Organised’ sub-skill. Students now have access to the Student Portal where they can access a range of practise questions, presenter tips and study guides.
St John’s First Aid
On Thursday, 3 June, Years 5-6 students participated in the St John’s First Aid for Schools program. This free program equips students with life-saving skills, at an age-appropriate level. Students enjoyed practising their CPR skills, learning about DRSABCD (ask your child to tell you what this stands for!) and talking through different emergency scenarios. Thank you to St John’s for providing this important initiative.
Reports
One aspect of reports that doesn’t often get discussed in detail is the ‘Effort’ grade. The table below, which you can find in the report cover sheet, lists the terminology that is used:
| TERMS USED | EFFORT |
| EXEMPLARY | The student attempted all classwork to the best of his/her ability. Work was carried out beyond normal expectations. He/She was actively engaged in lessons. |
| COMMENDABLE | The student generally attempted all classwork to the best of his/her ability. He/She was usually engaged in lessons and work was sometimes carried out beyond normal expectations. |
| SATISFACTORY | The student generally attempted most classwork to normal expectations. He/She was satisfactorily engaged in lessons throughout the semester. |
| NEEDS ATTENTION | The student’s effort in completing classwork did not meet normal expectations. His/Her engagement in lessons was inconsistent throughout the semester. |
| UNACCEPTABLE | The student generally attempted minimal classwork and usually demonstrated a lack of engagement in lessons throughout the semester. |
You can see that a child achieving normal expectations would achieve a ‘Satisfactory’ grade. They may not be putting in any extra effort, but are demonstrating an average level of output. For a child to be achieving a Commendable or Exemplary grade, they really need to be going above and beyond what is expected. If your child receives a ‘Needs Attention’ or ‘Unacceptable’ grade, use this as a conversation starter, both with your child and his/her teacher, to see what steps need to be put in place to ensure an optimal learning environment for your child. We truly value the partnership between home and school, and find report feedback is most valuable when teachers and parents work together so students know we are all on the same page. We hope you enjoy reading your child’s upcoming end-of-semester report.
Celebration Assembly – Domain Awards
This week we are marking the end of Semester 1 with our first ever MLC Domain Awards Celebration. As we focus on developing future-focused learners who understand the power of embracing and sharing God’s love, we want to make sure we celebrate the achievements of the students in our Learning Community. These awards recognise the work of our students through the four core domains of IQ (Intellectual), EQ (Emotional), SQ (Spiritual) and GQ (Global). God created us to learn and work hard, hence it is fitting to celebrate the accomplishments of so many students who have persisted through the failures and set backs to strive for Excellence in Christ in all that they do.
lQ (Academic Excellence)
Awarded to students with the highest number of As in each year level.
lQ (Exemplary Effort)
Awarded to students who achieve at least 80% Exemplary Effort across all subjects in the semester.
EQ
Awarded to students who build positive relationships within Life Groups, support the wellbeing of others and exceed community expectations.
SQ
Awarded to students who exemplify Christ-like characteristics, are servant-hearted, put others first and who are leaders within the group.
GQ
Awarded to students who best demonstrate the SECRET Skills, excel in DCL tasks and demonstrate innovative thinking.
Please see below for awardees list.
To view gallery of images click here.
Year 5
lQ (Academic Excellence)
Madelyn Berkowitz
lQ (Exemplary Effort)
Emily Barker
Mia Blake
Violet Beveridge
Henry Cockburn
Eden Cullen
Samuel Dalton
Emma Day
Priscilla Fan
Juliet Heath
Poppv James
Stevie Lappin
Emma Lester
Aria Nestdale
Azahli Parsons
Ruby Pohlmann
lndia Rossow
Jed Seccombe
lsabella Stepanik
Caitlin Stone
lvy Thomson
Olivia Thorn
Ivy Ullmann
Year 5 continued
EQ
Maddie Berkowitz
lmogen Fletcher
Stevie Lappin
Jed Seccombe
Olivia Thorn
SQ
Henry Cockburn
lsla Jacques
Evie Mackenzie
lsabella Stepanik
Solomon Tamou
GQ
Eden Cullen
Poppy James
Bodhi Montague
Azahli Parson
Year 6
lQ (Academic Excellence)
Cameron Sophia Hawley
Trisong Tashi Nenchay Yangzom
lQ (Exemplary Effort)
Cameron Hawley
Bridget Henderson
Timothy Gregory
Marley Pacific
Zara Waters
Trisong Yangzom
EQ
Lisa Arnold
Caden Francis
Bridget Henderson
Aiden Santhosh
Lucas Soegaard
SQ
Tim Gregory
Emily Hook
Jonah Kilpatrick
Mateo Morris
Aiden Santhosh
GQ
Holli Hines
Emily Hook
Maddie McNeish
Eli Ward
Year 7
lQ (Academic Excellence)
Fleur Hammersley
Joel Luxton
Esther Rush
lQ (Exemplary Effort)
Claudia Branson
Fleur Hammersley
Hayley Oakley
Kalani Peters
Mikayla Pohlmann
Mia Rienecker
Karan Solanki
EQ
Claudia Branson
Cayden Coburn
Harry Davison
Vincent Mastagalia
Tess Walker
SQ
Matilda Duhig
K’gari Lawford
Joel Luxton
Mikayla Pohlmann
Phoebe Townsend
GQ
Matilda Duhig
Fleur Hammersley
Charlotte Job
Kalani Peters
Year 8
lQ (Academic Excellence)
Annabelle Burrett
Maja Fowler
lQ (Exemplary Effort)
Jessica Arden
Eloise Blackwell
Arielle Flowers
Maja Fowler
Taylor Francis
Amelie Hemmings
Mackenzie Reedy
Kosei Suzuki
EQ
Jake Beck
Callum Bowles
Vincent Churches
Maya Fowler
Ella Kerry
SQ
Callum Bowles
Tahlia Dewsbury
Ella Henderson
Sunny Lappin
Sophie Mitchell
GQ
Jessica Arden
Oliver Miller
Mason Perks
David Radloff
Kosei Suzuki
Official Opening of the Year 7-8 Learning Spaces
On Wednesday, 2 June the Years 7-8 Learning Centre was officially opened by Melissa McMahon – MP for Macalister, on behalf of the Queensland Government and Minister Grace Grace MP. The special ceremony was held in the MLC Courtyard where all MLC students attended. Mrs McMahon spoke about the open plan and versatile learning spaces the students could enjoy and commented on the strong community feel of the College. Students were represented by Sunny Lappin and Calum Bowles accompanied by Bella Voce Choir performing the musical item, Step into the Unknown by Paul Jarman.
MLC Mash Up
On Thursday, 3 June, the MLC held its second Mash Up for the year! The Mash Up is a great way for students to engage in some fun, light-hearted activities across our four year levels. There were lots of activities to choose from but most started with the sausage sizzle. Inflatable mini gold and inflatable soccer proved to be popular. Students could also go inside and work on some crafts or sit down and play some video games. Thank you to the many staff members who made this event possible! The kids had a blast!
To see the full gallery of images click here.
Year 5 in Narnia
This term Year 5 has been studying the novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. To finish off our novel study, on the very last day of term, we watched the 2005 film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
As it is pretty cold in Narnia, students brought in onesies, oodies and blankets to keep themselves warm. We also had some Turkish Delight for the students to try as this was the treat of choice in the novel!
To add to the fun, students got busy creating new flavours of popcorn. They designed advertisements for it and wrote persuasive text to entice customers to buy their popcorn. An impressive array of flavoured popcorn was created and each student snacked on their own packet of unique popcorn while they watched the movie. This was a great way to close out the end of Term 2!
Year 5/6 Flare English
This semester students learned about the author C. S Lewis and thoroughly studied the book The Magician’s Nephew. They looked at the author’s intent and the way Lewis drew his narrative from the Bible. After reading the novel, students watched a play based on the book and then drew comparisons between the two. Students wrote their own ending to the story and acted this out in front of an audience. “I liked the part when Digory had to get the apple for Aslan because it was like Adam and Eve in the Bible when they ate the forbidden fruit from the tree.” Eden “I thought that Aslan was like Jesus and the children were like Adam and Eve.” Olivia “My favourite part of the story was when Uncle Andrew sent them into another world because I got to use my imagination.” Jed
Year 8 – Engineering Co2 Dragsters
Year 8 Engineering students have spent much of Term 2 designing and constructing a vehicle (CO2 Dragster) that could travel a distance of 20m in the fastest time possible using a single standard CO2 cartridge.
The students were required to research engineering principles in the design for the LSRV and then sketched and applied their creative and detailed design ideas to produce the final product.
They completed Onguard Safety training which provided them with an understanding of safety concerns in construction as well as to equip them on how to use the tools in the workshop in a safe manner. Using their newly acquired skills, they each had to create a highly aesthetically pleasing and functional CO2 Dragster to compete in thrilling races in the workshop. Students were given the opportunity to evaluate their design project after the race and had an opportunity to make adjustments to their cars.
Inaugural Junior Ethics Olympiad – Year 6
For the very first time, a Junior Ethics Olympiad has been launched around the nation. Over 20 schools from Australia and New Zealand came together virtually to compete for the title. Hillcrest entered a team of five students – Tim Gregory, Zara Waters, Aidan Colgate, Emily Tsymay and Cameron Hawley – into the competition. Teams were given ethical scenarios prior to the event and worked with some of our Senior Ethics students to construct an argument for or against. Teams discussed their points with judges from all over the world watching on and moderating the debate. Our Hillcrest placed 11th and also earned an honourable mention from the judges. Well done to all participants who are already looking forward to competing again next year!
Year 6 Inter-school Sports
Inter-school Sport (ISS) during semester one gave all students in Years 5 and 6 the opportunity to train, compete and be part of a competition against other schools in the surrounding area. The focus was more about individual skill development, teamwork and being part of a competition. Winning, although encouraged and celebrated, was not the main focus or motivation for student performance.
Students were provided quality coaching in a fair and safe environment. Sport is something that constantly challenges our students to display and develop all of our school’s values of integrity, respect, courage, service, humility, diligence and discernment. Although this year we had a number of teams that had great success each week, coaches will say that every player had ‘their time’. This could be kicking a goal or scoring a try. It could be chasing down an opponent to stop them scoring. Even just showing good sportsmanship by encouraging team-mates or even the opposition was a chance for each student to have ‘their time’.
A big thank you must go to Nat Stojcevski for organising and administrating, as well as the teachers who coached, encouraged and umpired our students each and every week. We look forward to next term where students will select another sport in which to train, develop skills and compete.
Year 7 – Design
The Year 7s have been working on some marble maze designs during Term 2. After researching their design, they constructed their maze and put it to the test. We saw lots of different and creative designs and some great results from these. Well done Year 7.
From the Head of the SLC
Another great term
At the end of each term, I make time to stop and reflect on our achievements and accomplishments. It has been another fantastic term full of opportunities for students. This year we introduced a special Celebration Assembly at the end of each term during which we acknowledge the involvement of students, watch student performances and hear the term reflection from our student leaders. This year we introduced the coordination of Year Level social activities after school hours. These have been well received and supported by the students. We will continue with these activities next semester. In providing a wholistic outstanding experience for students, we aspire to provide a wide variety of opportunities for students to engage in learning programs and activities that support their personal interests and strengths.
Hillcrest Christian College is a future-focussed educational institution delivering young people to society who are educated, equipped, empowered and energised. We have a clear set of values that guide our interactions, communication and decision making. Service is one of these values which happens on a multitude of levels from students giving of their time to assisting at events, Life Groups serving other Life Groups, fundraising for charities and serving and sharing the word of the Lord with other communities. This term we have been able to recommence mission trips and it is great to have Year 9 students go on a mission trip to Cooktown and Year 11 and Year 12 boys do a mission trip to Sherwood Cliffs. I pray that this experience has been as life-changing for our students as it is for those who they interact with.
Teachers have been busy over the past few weeks marking assessments and writing reports. This year we introduced progressive online reporting via Student Café and Parent Lounge where results and feedback on assessment tasks are released to students and parents within two weeks of being submitted. Reports will be issued via Parent Lounge over the holidays and I ask that you spend some time discussing the report with your child and setting goals for the next semester.
Our second round of Parent Teacher Student interviews are early next term. To enhance the home/school relationship, I encourage all parents to make appointments to see as many teachers as they can. From my observations over the years, students that see their parents actively engaged in the collaboration of Student Parent Teacher interviews are more focussed and achieve better outcomes.
Over the term, we have highlighted some of the wonderful opportunities being provided to the students. I wish to publicly thank my team of leaders and teachers who have assisted in initiating and implementing these ideas. I also wish to thank the teaching staff for their efforts in providing an outstanding learning experience for all students again this term. One group of staff who are often overlooked are the school officers, cleaners, bus drivers, Hub staff, and maintenance crew. They play a crucial rule in the operations of our school and I thank them for their contribution again this term.
I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday, relaxing, recharging and reconnecting. I thank you for your ongoing support and look forward to working with your children next semester.
Jason Day
Head of Senior Learning Community
Cyber Safety
A special thanks to Brett Lee and Internet Safe Education for presenting to our College on Tuesday, 1 June. Brett spoke to our SLC students, College staff and a number of parents at our free Cybersafe Parent event, held in our College Theatre. We trust the information was valuable and will make further information available soon, along with some of the Brett’s publications such as ‘5 Principles to Stay Safe Online’. For more information about Internet Safety and Cyberbullying Resources, please visit his site at: https://internetsafeeducation.com.
Science and Engineering Challenge
The annual national Science and Engineering Gold Coast rounds took place last week in Southport. The event involves a team of 32 Year 9-10 students competing over eight different challenges throughout the day against other schools. Once again our students performed exceptionally well, with victories in a number of events, as well as the showcase bridge event. Overall the team finished a close second behind the winning team. They are congratulated for their efforts and representing the College with pride.
Effective Aid Car Wash
The Year 11 Carmichael students washed 30 cars on Friday, 18 June and raised over $300 for Effective Aid. We would like to thank all Hillcrest staff who supported this great cause and all 14 students who did a fantastic job washing cars.
Year 9 Cake Decorating
In Week 7, our Year 9 Food technology students paired up and put all their skills to the test and baked, iced and decorated their own tiered cakes. Each cake included a combination of elements drawn from a cake decoration library they’ve been working on since Week 1 of this term. Meringues, chocolate shards, ganache, honeycomb, chocolate balls, leaves and even fondant. With outstanding results, our students should be incredibly proud of their efforts. Well done to our Year 9 students!
To view the full gallery, click here.
Year 9 Cooktown Mission Trip
On The students Saturday 12 June travelled to Cooktown to participated in support local schools and churches with a focus on servant leadership. Students participated in a number of service orientated activities for the community including;
- Yard work, cleaning and painting, supporting Church and leaderships
- Supporting Rossville State School all day and delivering their youth program to the children.
- Visiting Endeavour Christian College (Cooktown) all day running a whole school chapel.
- Supporting Lakeland State School, with their veggie garden, sorting the shed, and various cleaning. Classroom and lunchtime activities.
- Youth Outreach Night
We look forward to seeing more pictures and the student videos early in Term 3.
(images below are in random order)
SLC Life Groups Meet with JLC Kids
A new initiative has taken off this term where SLC Life Groups visit a JLC class to bridge the gap between the senior and junior students and provide an opportunity to get to know each other. This has been a great time where the younger students come face to face with the senior students and ask any questions they might have. The SLC Life Groups have been creative and have all been doing something a little different such as devotional time, outdoor games, reading to the kids, craft time, and cookie decorating just to name a few. This has been a great learning opportunity for senior students as they interact and learn to work with the younger kids through challenges that arise in games and other activities. It has also been a great experience for the JLC kids as they really enjoyed the big kids spending time with them. We look forward to the bonds between the JLC and the SLC strengthening throughout the rest of the year.
Lost Property
There is a large volume of unnamed lost property items in the SLC which have not been claimed yet. These are situated outside Room 20 in front of the Resource Centre. If you need a close up taken of any items to help identify please let us know by contacting SLC Admin Reception and we will take a photo and email to you. Please make sure students or parents check the items for any personal belongings. Please be aware that if not claimed by 4pm on Friday 18 June the items will be disposed of.
Duke of Edinburgh
Bronze D of E Practice Expedition
On the weekend of 29-30 May, Duke of Edinburgh Award students had the opportunity to do a practise expedition in the Lamington National Park, to prepare for their Bronze Qualifying Expedition. This adventure involved two lengthy hikes – Hike 1 was the 10km Box Forest Circuit and Hike 2 was 12.6kms Mt Bithongabel – while carrying their own pack of supplies for the two days and overnight campout. Mr Athol Henderson, our Duke of Edinburgh Leader, asked some of the students to complete a questionnaire about their experience. Read more.
Performing Arts, Co-curricular and Sports
Beneath Southern Skies – MLC Band and Choir Performance
Last Wednesday night was our first concert for MLC students since 2019 and what an amazing evening it was. Five different choirs and three instrumental ensembles filled the Terrace Hall with music and joy where they presented to a huge audience of MLC parents, “Beneath Southern Skies”, featuring music that either evoked this imagery, was inspired by such a setting, or was written by an Australian composer. Congratulations must go to all performers involved. It was wonderful to see such commitment, teamwork and love for making music that was celebrated and displayed by students in Years 5–8.
To see the image gallery please click here.
State Honours Ensemble Program – SHEP and AHEP
In partnership with schools across Queensland, the State Honours Ensemble Program (SHEP) connects the finest young musicians with a team of eminent international and national conductors in pursuit of musical excellence. Held at Griffith University’s Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Brisbane, successful applicants have the opportunity to represent their school throughout three days of workshops and concerts, working alongside the finest young musicians in the state.
Congratulations to the following students who have been successful in gaining a place in the program for 2021:
Samara Ballinger (voice), Julia Brand (voice), Alexis Chau (violin), Laila Chequer de Souza (cello), Lachlan Hammersley (percussion), Madeleine Kaye (cello), Marnie Rienecker (voice), Tahlia Spence (trumpet), Anthony Vitetzakis (voice).
The Australian Honours Ensemble Program (AHEP) is an extension of SHEP and provides an opportunity for students all over the country to work in an intensive environment of musical excellence. Students must have high level performance experience, meet the stringent criteria and have a successful audition in order to participate. This year we are thrilled to congratulate Year 12 student, Sienna Jak (voice) and Year 11 student, Rio Matsuoka (violin) on being offered a place in the AHEP program. Congratulations Sienna and Rio!
Sports
Hillcrest Knights Futsal
Congratulations to all teams for competing so well. A special mention to the U9 Boys and U11 Girls who are Champions of Gold Coast, and the U10 Boys team who were Runners Up. Also, the U19 Boys, U13 Boys, and U12 Boys all finished second in their groups. Congratulations to the following students who have been selected to represent South Coast QLD at the 2021 National School Futsal Championships 27th-29th September: Jake Davison, Zeke Woods, Levi Peters, Maverick Holmes, Henry Window, Nate Helling, Cooper Day, Lawson Smith, Kotaro Toshikawa, Elijah Welsh, Jeremy Neale, Skyla Browne, Araceli Pena, Ivy Ullmann, Anika Chalasani, Emily Barker, Taya Reeves, Amity Pink, Mia Lynett, Sophie Jordan, and Tanisha Chavez.
Our Year 5 Girls then went on to win the Year 5 Futsal Cup against a group of APS schools, and the Year 6 Boys were Runners Up.
Well done to all!
Vicki Wilson Shield
On Thursday 27th May, Hillcrest sent two netball teams to compete in the Vicky Wilson Netball Competition. This competition is the biggest school netball event in QLD and schools from all over Gold Coast competed. There was some strong competition this year, and we were extremely impressed not only with the talent of our Hillcrest girls, but the attitude and sportsmanship they displayed.
Our Junior team competed very strongly and went through to their semi-finals undefeated and were unfortunately knocked out by Somerset just before the finals to finish in 4th position. Our Seniors came up early with some intense competition and played very valiently. Both teams played extremely well on the day and it was incredible watching them represent their school well. A big thank you to Mrs Geddes for organising the teams and a big congratulations to each girl who competed.
AFL Sports Wrap
Year 5/6 boys AFLQ Schools Cup – Grand Final Champions of Metro South: Gold Coast 2 competition held on Tuesday 15 June at Ormeau AFC.
Nine schools took part in the competition from the northern GC and southern Brisbane.
Round 1: vs Boronia Heights 40-0
Round 2: vs Ormeau SS 24 – 0
Semi Final: vs Gaven SS 28 – 8
Final: vs Livingston 24-0
This follows on from the Year 6 team being unbeaten in all eight rounds of Inter School Sports.
From here our boys will compete in the Metro South/Darling Downs Final on Friday, 6 August at Springfield Sporting Complex. The top two teams will progress through to the State Championships on the Sunshine Coast in October.
Rugby
Hillcrest Christian College versed Pacific Coast Christian School in a Year 7/8 rugby league game on Thursday, 17 June. Both teams played a very physical game and entertained every single spectator on the day. Pacific Coast defeated Hillcrest 24-20. Both teams showed great sportsmanship during and after the game and we look forward to Game 2 next term.
Ava O’Connor – Barbara Sisley Award
On Saturday, 5 June, at the Parliamentary Annexe in Brisbane, Ava O’Connor, Year 6 was presented with her award for receiving the highest mark in Qld for her AMEB Preliminary Speech and Performance exam in 2020. Guest of Honour, Emeritus Professor Roly Sussex OAM, spoke of the importance of oral traditions and how our indigenous people have the Congratulations to Ava O’Connor!
Will Pocock – Running for a Cause
Year 3 student Will Pocock is set to enter the 2km dash at the upcoming Gold Coast Marathon in a few weeks. He is doing this to raise money for a close friend who has recently been diagnosed with Leukaemia. So far he has raised over $2500 for the Leukaemia Foundation and is still going. Well done to Will for this tremendous effort to raise funds for a good cause.
Sunny Lappin and Evy Reeves
Congratulations to Sunny Lappin and Evy Reeves who competed for South Coast last week in Mackay for the QLD Schools State Championships for AFL. Their team won the tournament and both girls were selected into the QLD State team. This is a huge achievement for both girls – WELL DONE!!
Students Represent South Coast in Queensland Basketball State Championships
Congratulations to the Gold Coast Representative players that represented South Coast at the Queensland School Sport State Championships. The 19’s teams taking out Gold Medals, the 12 boys taking the silver while the 12 girls finished in a commendable 5th place. Congratulations to all our Hillcrest Basketball students who competed.
- Jade Sherrington – U12 Girls
- Tess Walker – U12 Girls
- Jade Peacock – U19 Girls
- Nevarda Higgins – U19 Boys
- Mathayus Mata’afa – U19 Boys
