"Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken."
Psalm 62:5-6
Jeff Davis
Executive Head of College
Executive Head of College, Jeff Davis shares an update from the first two weeks of Term 3.
Blessings
Culture and Wellbeing
For many of us we have heard or used the phrase ‘It takes a village to raise a child’. In an increasingly complex and changing world the need for a community / village mindset has become more and more evident. We can achieve far more together for our children than alone.
As a College we value staff, students and families building a common language and way of working, culture, around how we build young people who are educated, equipped, empowered and energised for today as well as a future beyond the College gates. This is set out in our Shield and educational model which embraces the intellectual, emotional, spiritual and emotional domains of individuals within the global context.
The five-year strategic plan has one of its priorities as Culture and Wellbeing and as a part of this we are excited to launch a new precinct, The Well.
The Well is designed to provide all members of the community with opportunities to learn and grow in the wellbeing, emotional and spiritual domains of our educational model. Inspired through collaboration with the Year 12 student leadership team, The Well is a relaxed space which will host practices for enhancing incremental wellbeing, learnings around emotional regulation and experiences to help us connect with each other and our understandings of our Christian values in a global context.
Each term a timetable will be sent out for parents / guardians in the varying domains. This term’s timetable is included below. Updates will be sent out as offerings expand. We invite you to opt into any or all that you feel are relevant to you.
Please click the image below to access the sign up links.
Pay it Forward Week
This week, the College celebrated “Pay it Forward” Week across the learning communities as part of our 40th Celebrations. Since the establishment of the College in 1984 we have intentionally built expressions of kindness into our culture, from serving one another, to volunteering in the local community to missions trips and fundraising. “Pay it Forward” is a global initiative that exists to make a difference by creating a huge ripple of kindness felt across the world. Of course, our hope is that people pay kindness forward every day and make each day that little bit brighter. We believe small acts, when multiplied by people, brings hope to the world and ultimately reflects the kindness and compassion of Jesus.
Some activities have culminated this week, others have been planned this week and we look forward to these unfolding in the near future. We had Year 9 share at our MLC Gathering about their recent trip to Cooktown and their encouragement to serve and demonstrate kindness and compassion to others – especially the ones right beside you. The MLC collected much needed winter clothes for the Tara State College Primary School and the SLC Taylor House gathered hundreds of basic toiletries supplies for the Year 8s to distribute to the seniors at Tara State College (you’ll be hearing more about a new Tara Missions Trip by the Year 8s next newsletter). SLC Life Groups began their operations Christmas Child project and MLC Life Groups planned their own “Pay it Forward” projects within our community.
As well as these larger projects there were chocolates to be found on desks, surprise cakes and loads of encouragement between staff and students. This week is a great reminder of the greatest commandment from Matthew 22:37-40. “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”
From the ELC
Recently we celebrated NAIDOC Week in the ELC. NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The week is celebrated not just in the Indigenous Australian communities but also in increasing numbers of government agencies, schools, local councils and workplaces. Within our ELC programs, we embed Indigenous culture and perspectives and during NAIDOC Week, this becomes our major focus.
We value working with our community and were thankful to have one of our Kindy mums join with us to share Indigenous culture with our children. Christine ran sessions for each of our classes to engage the children in dance and face painting and share some of her family’s culture. The children were led through sessions involving cultural dance and song, using leaves as ‘natural brooms’. The children drew a picture of their face and decorated it with their favourite animals. They also learned that many years ago the Indigenous people of Australia would grind up rocks to make paint and had their faces painted as a demonstration of one of the ways this paint was used.
It was such a wonderful opportunity to share and learn about our Indigenous culture.
Michelle Cecil
Director of Early Learning Community
Director of Early Learning Community
From JLC Leadership
To all our JLC Families,
It has been a busy few weeks with our Grandparents Day on Tuesday and our Year 4s off to their first school camp on Wednesday. It was so lovely to see so many Grandparents attend on the day; the event was a wonderful point of connection with families. The Year 4 camp is an important milestone for students, before they transition to the Middle Learning Community (MLC), with an opportunity to see them thrive in an different environment; building connection, belongingness and seeing students action our Shield values in a range of activities.
We are very excited about Term 3 as there are many points of connection and times to celebrate each student’s unique contribution to our community, along with families:
TERM 3 EVENTS (please note changed dates for Crazy Sock Day and PJ Day below):
| TERM 3 | |
| Week 4 – 01/08 – 05/08 | |
| Wednesday 3 August | PK – 12 Pyjama Day |
| Wednesday 3 August | Year 3 Beenleigh Historical Village Excursion 1 |
| Week 5 – 08/08 – 12/08 | |
| Friday 5 August | Year 3 Beenleigh Historical Village Excursion 2 |
| Friday 5 August | Year 2 Minibeast Incursion |
| Monday 8 August | JLC Parent Teacher Interviews – Round 1 |
| Tuesday 9 August | JLC Hillspell |
| Wednesday 10 August | JLC Hillspell |
| Wednesday 10 August | 100 Days of Prep |
| Thursday 11 August | JLC Parent Teacher Interviews – Round 2 |
| Week 6 – 15/08 – 19/08 | |
| Monday 15 – Friday 19 August | National Science Week |
| Friday 19 August | Yrs K-4 Sports Day |
| Week 7 – 22/08 – 25/08 | |
| Monday 22 – Friday 26 August | CBCA Book Week |
| Thursday 25 August | JLC Dress Up Character Day – Book Week |
| Friday 26 August | GOLD COAST SHOW DAY HOLIDAY |
| Week 8 – 29/08 – 02/09 | |
| Wednesday 31 August | PK – 12 Crazy Sock / Hair Day |
| Week 9 – 05/09 – 09/09 | |
| Thursday 1 September | Prep Father’s Night |
| Thursday 8 September | R U OK? Day |
| Friday 9 September | JLC Assembly – Terrace Hall |
| TBC | JLC Father’s Day Stall |
| Week 10 – 12/09 – 16/09 | |
| Wednesday 15 September | Year 1 Pirate Dress Up Day |
| TBC | Year 2 Minibeast Day |
| Thursday 16 September | Last Day of Term 3 |
Further communication will come out prior to each event via email and our Year Level Facebook pages.
STAFFING
This term we welcome two new Deputies to the JLC Leadership Team, while new to the leadership team this term they are familiar faces around the College:
- Mrs Michelle Cecil – Acting Deputy Head (Curriculum)
- Mr James Taylor – Acting Deputy Head (Pastoral)
Mrs Michelle Cecil will continue to oversee our Early Learning Community (ELC) along with fulfilling the role of Acting Deputy Head of JLC Curriculum; Mrs Sarah Rouse will also assist her with curriculum this semester. James Taylor has moved into an Acting Deputy Head of JLC Pastoral role from his former teaching position in Year 2.
Across the Prep to Year 4 Year Levels, we have also appointed Team Leaders in Prep – Year 2:
- Paige Colefax – Prep
- Ashley McMillan – Year 1
- Sarah Rouse – Year 2
- James Taylor – Year 3 & 4
While your classroom teacher is your first point of communication at the College, our leaders are available at any time to ensure your child is thriving within their experience at the College.
We welcome all new families and students to the College and hope you are settling into your new classes and finding your way around the College. Please remember to check in with JLC Reception or your class teachers if you have questions while becoming familiar with our College and settling into our community.
Have a wonderful Term 3.
Christy Gittins
Head Junior Learning Community
What’s been happening in the JLC
Grandparent’s Day 2022
It was such a delight to welcome so many grandparents to the College this week for Grandparent’s Day, to show them how special we think they are. Our JLC students performed for their grandparents through concert and shared in a variety of activities in their classrooms. Our grandparents enjoyed a morning tea hosted by our Parents & Friends Association. Special thanks to our SLC and MLC student helpers who took photos, gave directions and waited on our guests of honour for morning tea. Please see below the video created for the Grandparent’s to enjoy along with an image gallery from the day.
Learning in Prep
We have had a wonderful start to Term 3 in Prep. The children were very excited to arrive to school and see their classrooms transformed into a fairy-tale theme! In English, the children started learning about fairy tales from India and in specific, looked at the Elephant and the Mouse. They practiced how to do a five-finger retell and even started writing the story in their books! In Maths, the children explored the wonderful world of shapes and learned the difference between 2D and 3D. On Friday, we explored the country of India as it was the country our fairy tale came from. We even learned some Hindi language from one of the lovely mums in Prep Lime! They enjoyed coding by playing with Beebots which will help when they learn location in Maths. We love learning and spending time together in Prep!
Flare for Prep
Prep students started FLARE English this term and have already been using research skills to study the amazing author: Pamela Allen. They will be exploring how Pamela Allen uses Literary devices such as rhyming, repetition, onomatopoeia and punctuation. Through examining various stories, students will explore unexpected events, unusual occurrences and the use of imagery to create meaning. Students will also be exposed to how vocabulary is used to shape and express meaning through words, such as rich adjectives, verbs and adverbs.
Year 2 Flare Maths
After all of the rain last term, Year 2 Flare Maths students enjoyed the nice weather by taking their learning outside. They engaged in an interactive Problem Solving scavenger hunt where they had to solve various Maths equations using George Polya’s method for problem solving. What a great way to start the semester.
From the Head of the MLC
Welcome back after the three-week holiday break. I hope you had some time to spend with your children while they rested and restored before another exciting term in our Learning Community. From the start of Term 3, we have welcomed some new teachers to our MLC team. Please help to make them feel welcome within our community;
- Amanda Seccombe (Year 5)
- Jessica Barham (Year 5)
- Sophie Yeh (Teacher Aide)
- Mandy Jennings (Teacher Aide)
- Heidi Parkes (Year 6 Vis Art)
- Philip Rowlands (Year 7-8 French)
- Anita Rossow and Katie O’Gorman (job sharing in Year 7/8 English and HaSS)
Even though we have only been back for two weeks, there is already a long list of events that MLC students have supported, lead and starred in. We had several MLC students participate in the Write a Book in a Day project that saw students work for over 13 hours straight to, as the name suggests, write a book in a day. The SECRET Skills displayed throughout the process were fantastic and we can’t wait to see how much money can be raised by our student’s work in support of children’s cancer research.
Leadership opportunities continue to be created and driven by the student body with a large number of clubs again on offer during breaks each and every day of the week. Our students are also preparing for more Fuse Cup success as the eSports momentum continues to build.
Perhaps the biggest highlight for myself in the first two weeks was the MLC Music Concert which showcased the musical gifts and talents from a large cross-section of our Learning Community. Our Year 5 students came together to showcase their talents in one large ensemble while other students performed solo pieces and we even heard two songs from our MLC Rock band. It was a great showcase of our students and congratulations must go to the talented teachers and tutors who have supported the students to learn how to play their various instruments over the year.
Next week is another big week in the MLC with students in Years 7-8 attending their House Camp on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before some of our Year 8 students backing up to travel to Tara on Mission. Please pray for our students as we embark on our first service-based Mission trip where we hope to bring light and hope to a severely impoverished part of country Queensland.
Have a blessed week.
Darren Rackemann
Head of Middle Learning Community
What’s been happening in the MLC
Containers for Change – Battle of the Schools
Our MLC Sustainability Club made up of Year 5 and 6 students, are driving Hillcrest’s participation in Battle of the Schools – Containers for Change. We have several bright GREEN wheelie bins around the College for students to deposit their bottles, cans and poppers. We are competing against other schools from around the Gold Coast for $500. In addition, every bottle, can or popper donated through our school scheme ID, will earn us 10c towards more sustainability projects around the College.
Families can participate and support this cause by bringing in eligible items to school, or deposit them directly at the Nerang Depot. Most aluminium, glass, plastic, steel and liquid paperboard beverage containers between 150ml and 3L are eligible for this program. If taking items to Nerang, be sure to use our scheme ID C10652972 for Containers for Change.
Click here for more information.
MLC Values
Hillcrest Christian College has seven core values; Integrity, Respect, Courage, Service, Humility, Diligence and Discernment.
In the MLC as part of our Assemblies each week, we reflect on a value and unpack exactly what this looks like within our community. As part of our regular classroom encouragement, students are also recognised for their demonstration of the values.
This week in the MLC, we introduced “Values Champion” awards at Assembly. This award recognises students in the community who are outstanding at demonstrating a particular value. We recognised K’gari Houlahan-Lawford for her dedication to serve at the Year 6 Half-Point dinner, above and beyond the level of her peers. K’gari served students, encouraged the younger students, assisted them to find their food and cleaned up late into the evening, all the while smiling with such grace and humility! Quinn Blakey was recognised for his service contribution to the Year 3-4 Disco. Quinn set up the BBQs, cooked up over 250 sausages (with the help of a few mates) and then stayed late until each BBQ was spotless and packed up. Well done K’gari and Quinn!
Social and Emotional Learning update from the MLC
We have so many exciting things happening in the SEL space in the MLC this term. Our main focus is growing the emotional intelligence (EI) of our students.
The term EI was popularized in the mid-90s by psychologist and scientific journalist Daniel Goleman in his book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. For Goleman, IQ contributes to 20% of our success, while the remaining 80% is attributed to EQ, including factors such as self-motivation, resilience, impulse control, and empathy. This means that while cognitive skills like verbal comprehension, memory, reasoning, problem-solving, and processing speed are important, they can only help a person go so far. Study after study has proven that high EI is correlated with academic achievement and is a predictor of future success in relationships, health, wealth, and the quality of life. Reference
How does Emotional intelligence benefit our students?
- Enables students to confront everyday problems with patience, insight, and imagination.
- Helps students navigate their interpersonal relationships judiciously and practice empathy.
- Enables students to handle the challenges they might encounter.
- In times of crisis, having this type of intelligence allows students to think rationally and temper their emotions with patience and understanding.
- Students think before they act, practice good decision-making, and foster positive interpersonal relationships.
- Students have better academic outcomes and are more focused.
- Students have better relationships with their parents and siblings.
- Students have more self-confidence and better mental health.
W.E. do H.E.A.R.T weekly sessions
With this in mind, we have created the W.E do H.E.A.R.T model to explicitly teach our students these important SEL skills. Every Wednesday in Life Group, MLC students form Years 5 – 8, have the opportunity to think about, discuss and role play these life skills to equip them for real life situations. The lessons are designed weekly around the social needs we identify in our MLC environment, and this enables us to address any issues immediately. The areas of focus are: honesty, personal growth, recognising our emotions and emotional regulation, active listening, respectful relationships and togetherness.
Break time CLUBS program
The introduction of break time clubs was very successful last term, so we have broadened the choices to offer even more exciting activities for the students to do at break times. We have other ideas too so watch this space for more information. Not only do these clubs been our students entertained and having fun, they also create opportunities for students to practice their Social and emotional skills such as working in a team, conflict resolution and developing new friendships. See attached the timetable for Term 3 so you can see what amazing opportunities are on offer for your child.
5/6 Lumos Art Excursion to HOTA
Last term Year 5 and 6 Lumos were challenged to make a sculpture that symbolised their favourite Bible verse. We travelled to HOTA for inspiration to view how other artists had approached this task. This term, we will show off some of the sculptures we made at this year’s Choral Extravaganza.
Year 5 and 6 Greene F
This term Greene F is challenged to find ways they can serve their school community. Greene F is a supportive group that doesn’t hesitate to help others. We have amazing artists, technology experts and incredibly talented athletes that are going to share their skills during our morning life group.
From the Head of the SLC
Welcome to Term 3. I hope you made some wonderful memories with your child over the recent holidays. I wish to welcome the new students and families to our community. Changing schools can be a daunting process but as the community welcomes you with open arms, I am confident that you will develop new friendships and quickly adapt to the Hillcrest routines. I also wish to welcome back Mr David Stoneman from his Long Service Leave and welcome Mrs Simone Zarb to the Hillcrest teaching team. Mrs Zarb will be teaching Food Technology on Monday and Wednesday.
Thank you to the parents and students who attended the Student / Parent / Teacher interviews. I thank you for partnering with us in the wholistic education of your child. I am sure you obtained some additional valuable insights into the academic progress of your child that was not outlined in the progressive online reporting. Student / Parent / Teacher interviews are not the only opportunity parents have to communicate with staff. We welcome communication every day of the week. As teachers spend the majority of their day teaching, email is the best form of initial contact.
Student wellbeing will continue to be a focus this semester in the Senior Learning Community. From research, we know there is a strong correlation between student wellbeing and academic success. If student wellbeing is low, academic success is limited. We will continue our pastoral check-ins with all students and triangulate teacher feedback and concerns in developing a wellbeing picture and providing appropriate support to each student. We value parent input in this area and strongly encourage parents to contact their child’s Life Group teacher in the first instance.
It is important that you are noting the activities and events in the College calendar that are relevant to you and your student. I strongly encourage you to make note of these dates in your diary and prioritise your attendance at these events. We will endeavour to send reminders closer to the date, but we are conscious of overcommunicating and sending repeat emails. We do appreciate when parents immediately action acknowledgment / acceptance / payment / etc as soon as possible as it does allow thorough implementation and reduce the last minute workload in making telephone calls seeking permission.
Unfortunately, Australia is in another COVID wave. I pray that it avoids you and your family. We will be monitoring the situation at the College and maintaining our high cleaning standards. I do ask for your support in keeping our community safe by not sending your child to school if they are feeling ill. If your child does start to feel ill while at school, they will be sent to First Aid and parents will be asked to collect them.
I wish everyone well for the term ahead.
Jason Day
Head of Senior Learning Community
What’s been happening in the SLC
Whip It! – Year 11 Physics Wave Demonstration
In Physics this term, students are exploring the properties of waves, light and sound. In order to demonstrate this, Mr Gill did his best ‘Man From Snowy River’ impression and showed the students his Stock Whip Skills. Students were able to observe how a Longitudinal Wave travels through a Whip. They also experienced the echo of the Whip Crack and described how the the Mechanical Sound Wave travels through air at a slower speed than light.
Fireworks Year 10 Science
In Science this term, students are investigating the properties of different elements and how elements are arranged on the Periodic Table. As a part of this, we conducted an experiment that tested the different colours that were produced when certain elements were exposed to the Bunsen Burner flame. Students learned that the excitement of electrons in the outer shell of elements and the subsequent return of those electrons to a stable state, produces different amounts of energy which results in different colours being seen! The same way that fireworks produce all that colour!
Pathways News
Pathways News and Opportunities
To read the latest news from the Pathways team and to hear about opportunities available to school students, click here.
What’s coming up at Southern Cross University:
Year 12 Parents Information night – Thursday, 28 July
Is your child in Year 12 and planning on attending university in the future?
Do you have questions about the process?
We are here to help with your child’s transition from high school to university. No matter what university your child is interested in attending we encourage you to attend our upcoming Parents Information Evening at your local Southern Cross University Campus.
Southern Cross University Open Day 2022
This year our Open Day will be both on campus and online. From July 8 you can access on-demand videos, interviews with students about our courses, our campuses and the student experience at Southern Cross University. Then from August 5-7, come see for yourself! Campus tours and subject encounters will be running on August 5 at Coffs Harbour, August 6 at Lismore and August 7 at the Gold Coast.
Book in for our on-campus events and explore a range of study areas including on-demand videos featuring current students.
Find out more by clicking here.
Southern Cross University – Early offer
The Early Offer program allows you to secure your place in a Southern Cross University degree before your Year 12 results are even released. It’s designed to remove some of the pressure from Year 12 and give you a pathway directly into university study that is not based solely on your Year 12 results.
Apply here
Expressions of Interest now Open for Term 4 2022 and Term 1, 2023
Term 4 2022:
Electrotechnology – Wednesday & Thursday classes
Construction – Wednesday and Thursday Classes
Automotive – Friday class
Plumbing – Wednesday & Friday classes
Term 1 2023
Electrotechnology Thursday Class
Construction – Friday Class
Automotive – Wednesday Class
Plumbing – Wednesday & Friday Class
Surfboard Shaping – Friday Class
Horticulture – Friday Class
Open Days
Bond | 2022 Open Day
Saturday 30 July 2022, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
If you’re located on or near the Gold Coast, this is your chance to explore Bond University’s campus and award-winning student experience up close!
Visit us on campus for an Open Day experience that checks all of your boxes. Throughout the day, you’ll have the opportunity to take a personalised campus tour, explore your study area of choice, watch inspiring keynote presentations, and meet Bond students, staff and alumni.
Chat with our ‘Bondies’ in the Connect Lounge, plus enjoy live music and grab a bite to eat from one of our food trucks
ADFA Open Day 2022
Saturday 20 August 2022, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
The 2022 ADFA Open Day is on Saturday 20th August. There will also be an online / virtual version of the Open Day for people who are unable to visit Canberra on this date.
Can’t make Open Day? Check out the virtual tour. Be the first to hear by registering.
Co-curricular
Gold Coast Debating Quarter-final Success
Our senior Intermediate B Division Debating team have won their fifth debate in a row, and are through to the Gold Coast semi-finals for the division. This week they debated as the negative side of the motion, “We should all be vegan,” against Saint Stephen’s. Congratulations to the team who have developed and improved their debating skills this past year. The team of Lizzie Maynard, Grace Purnell, Savanna Brosnan and Jasmine Mather-Glauser are one step away from the grand-final. Thank you to Mr du Toit, their debating coordinator, and Mr Day for supporting them tonight at the quarter-finals at Trinity Lutheran College.
Model UN Conference 2022 – Overall Outstanding Delegation Award
The 2022 Model United Nations Conference at The Southport School took place over Sunday 17th and Monday 18th of July. Hillcrest had 12 students representing various individual countries discussing two UN resolutions focused on ‘Safety and security in the Asia Pacific region’ and ‘Nuclear Energy’. They were grouped into regional blocks where they discuss, collaborate, debate, compromise and propose viewpoints on these areas. Students from a range of schools participated including The Southport School, Somerville House, St Hilda’s School, St Joseph’s Nudgee College, Saint Stephen’s College, Brisbane Girls Grammar School and Coomera Anglican College.
The two-day conference concluded on Monday where the General Assembly developed their resolutions and voted on these. A tremendous opportunity for students to showcase their leadership skills and develop their understanding of complex world affairs. Our students were brilliant and they were awarded the Top School Delegation Award recognising their skills, collaboration, ideas and how well they represented their nations. Congratulations to the team, Mr Hudson and Mr du Toit.
2022 Scholars Cup
The annual Gold Coast World Scholars Cup Regional Round took place at Hillcrest during the final two days of Term 2. The 2022 edition saw the largest ever group of students, with around 360 students participating from multiple schools. This international team academic program involves students competing in teams of three taking on four different events – debating, creative writing, a quiz and a multiple-choice test based on the broad curriculum theme of ‘A World Re-Renewed’.
Hillcrest entered teams from Year 6 to Year 11 and took away multiple medals, trophies and alpacas! With 60 teams and 180 students in each division participating we enjoyed special success in the Junior division taking out the top four individual placings and the overall Champion Junior Team.
Special mention to the Claudia Branson, Matthew Sabot and Sam Kennedy for winning the Junior Team title, Tim Gregory awarded the top Junior Individual, Hillcrest crowned champions in both the debating divisions. Well done to all involved!
AFLQ Schools Cup
The regional finals for the Year 7 – 9 Girls AFLQ Schools Cup, were held on Monday, 18 July at Springfield Central Sports Complex south of Brisbane. On a beautiful winter’s day, our girls put on a dominant display to win all four games comfortably and progress to the Quarter Finals in a fortnight’s time. The girls only conceded two points for the day which came in the final against Varsity College, winning 37-2. The dominance enabled the coaches to move all players into different positions on the ground to share the workload, develop their individual games and enjoy what we call a lick of the ice cream (a chance to kick a goal). Our girls continue to shine and are a fantastic representation of Hillcrest Christian College as well as the AFL program.
MLC Music Concert
Congratulations to all of the teachers, coaches, tutors and support staff that were behind the MLC Music Concert this week. It was great to see the soloists take over the stage and demonstrate their passion for their craft. Similarly, the bands and ensembles were amazing and pulled together as a team to perform at the highest level. Thank you to everyone for your support of our students, it was a great night.
Student Achievements
Kai Pyyvaara joins Ride FOX Australia Factory Mountain Bike Team
Kai Pyyvaara is excited to have been asked to join the Ride FOX Australia factory mountain bike team this year, along with support from DEVLIN cycles, POC helmets and safety gear, and Shredding Trails Apparel. Kai has continued his success in racing over the school holidays, competing in regional QLD events.
The last weekend of June he raced in Mackay in the Rocky Trail Academy school event finishing third against strong local competitors. He backed this up over the same weekend with a 2nd in the FOX Superflow event in U17s. Over the last weekend of the holidays he raced in the Rockhampton FOX Superflow EWS (Enduro World Series) qualifier round with the FOX team, and came 2nd in U17, missing the win by 1.1 seconds. Kai is currently leading the QLD Rocky Trail FOX Superflow series with podiums at each round to date this year.
The latter half of this year will see more racing in SE QLD in various series, as well as some interstate events where he will come up against the best riders in the country.
Zach Baseball Victory
During the last week of the school holidays, Zach Smith (Year 11) played in the Under 17 Nationals for Baseball. His team won, with Zach earning the highest batting average for the tournament.
Zach started playing baseball 11 years ago. “It runs in my family with my grandparents and parents all having played the game,” he explains. “Mum was even pregnant with me while she was playing.”
He plays in the open men’s division for Mudgeeraba Red Sox as short stop and is the lead-off batter. He has already represented both Australia and New Zealand in the 2018 Little League World Series in Pennsylvania and the 2020 Under 15 World Cup respectively.
Zach was one of 14 Australians invited to Florida in September to compete in a showcase tournament, ‘The Perfect Game’ as well as playing against Varsity teams. He will have the opportunity to play in front of college and MLB talent scouts. When asked why he loves to play baseball, he said, “I love the atmosphere. It also can take you anywhere in the world.”
Zach’s ultimate goal is to be a professional baseball player in the United States, hopefully playing for the LA Dodgers. We wish Zach all the best for the exciting months ahead.
Mackenzie Dancing her way to the Top
On Sunday, 12 June, Mackenzie Simpson from 2SR competed in the Dance Star Eisteddfod at Alexandra Hills. She competed in her very first Ballet solo and in two Under 8s group dances in Jazz and Lyrical. She also did her very first audition for Lyrical which gives the dancers an opportunity to see what it is like to audition for roles in musicals or movie roles or any type of dance audition.
Results
Under 8s Ballet Solo – 2nd 🥈
Under 8s Jazz Group – 1st 🥇
Under 8s Lyrical Group – 2nd 🥈
Primary Age Lyrical Audition – Qualified for next round in early July
Mackenzie has now qualified for State Titles for her ballet solo and her two group dances which takes place mid July on the Sunshine Coast. Very exciting times are ahead for Mackenzie and her dance school Signature Dance.
Caden Francis Surfing Achievement
Caden competed at Lennox Head during the July school holidays. He surfed his way to 2nd place in the Skullcandy Oz Grom Open competition, which is one of the highest rated National Junior Contests.
Caden also has qualified the 2022 Queensland Junior State Team so will compete at the Australian Junior titles in November 2022. Congratulations!
Student Achievements
We love celebrating the achievements and success of our Hillcrest students. If you have a child that has reached a state or national level in their area of interest – anywhere from sport, the arts and more – we would love to hear from you and celebrate this success in our College News. Please email a short write up (approximately 150 words) on this achievement and some images to accompany it, to news@hillcrest.qld.edu.au.
Other News
The Hub Cafe New Menu
We hope you’ve been enjoying The Hub’s new menu for Term 3. The renovated kitchen has been in full swing selling Fish and Chips, BBQ Chicken Wings, Pizzas, Nachos, and plenty more to come! Keep an eye out for our daily specials on Flexischools.
Please see the link here to view the Menu and also instructions on how to order using Flexischools.
Hillcrest Alumni Success
Hillcrest would like to congratulate alumni Milena Waldmann on her recent success in swimming. She was recently selected for the National Team that is representing Australia at the World Championships in Budapest in three events (Technical team, Technical Duet, Highlight).
Milena put so much effort into this sport for the 10 years she has attended Hillcrest, training many hours, six days a week as well as attending her classes. Despite this she was still able to achieve a very high ATAR score thanks to the efforts and support of her teachers and senior staff.
Hillcrest Staff Spotlight
This week our very own Dr Stewart was conferred the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts. We are super proud of you Dr Bob, and know that our students and staff will gain amazing benefit from your doctoral studies.
