"This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s."
2 Chronicles 20:15 NLT
Jeff Davis
Executive Head of College
Executive Head of College, Jeff Davis shares an update on the Year 12 formal, NAPLAN results, COVID restrictions and College plans for next year.
Please see Key Dates regarding changes to the MLC and SLC Celebration Evenings. It will now be a combined Celebration Evening 5-12 and will be held on Monday evening, 18 October.
Blessings
From the Director of the ELC
On Wednesday, 1 September we celebrated National Early Childhood Educators Day. This day recognises and celebrates the work of Australia’s educators in early learning services for their wonderful contribution to the wellbeing and healthy development of children in their care. We would like to say a big thank you to our Early Learning Community team for their dedication and exceptional service to our families and their children.
Our Pre Kindy and Kindy children have been preparing for Father’s Day over the past few weeks by making some very special gifts for our Kindy dads. Wishing all our Kindy father’s a very special father’s day this coming Sunday.
Alicia Shields
Director of Early Learning Community
From the Head of the JLC
In this Newsletter our Deputy Head of JLC – Curriculum Alignment, Mike Collins, shares insight into how Year 2 are handling the Viewing component of the Australian Curriculum.
Christy Gittins
Head of Junior Learning Community
Viewing Year 2
Today, like never before in history, we are bombarded with visual imagery, symbols, and texts on a daily basis. So, how do you negotiate all the messages hidden in movies, pictures, icons, and advertising that flood our senses every day?
Well, you could spend some time in Year 2 at Hillcrest, that’s how. In 2021, the incredible Year 2 teaching team have been very intentional in unpacking the viewing component of our curriculum and empowering the children to unpack a creator’s purpose and intent behind the images they see.
In the Term 2 unit of work Robots, the children unpacked visual texts and looked at how emotions, relationships, key messages, and intentional placement of objects and words, play a big role in influencing our thoughts and what we take away from such input. The students looked at artistic and emotive images of robots portrayed with human emotion, and investigated key elements in the children’s movie, Robots.
Likewise, in Term 3, the children are continuing to build on this knowledge and skill base by applying what they learned in Term 2 to mini-beast pictorials, representations, and visual texts such as A Bug’s Life.
The staff have been incredibly impressed by the children’s ability to find detail in the imagery and make meaningful connections with the messages portrayed and to judge their validity and usefulness.
So, when you see the Reading & Viewing item on the JLC Report Card at the end of the year, rest assured that the children have done far more than just look and talk about pretty pictures; they know how to critique these things and explore them at much deeper levels of thought.
Congratulations Year 2 on a superb job!
Mr Mike Collins
Deputy Head of JLC – Curriculum Alignment
What’s been happening in the JLC
JLC 3D printer explorations
Students in 3/4 Lumos have been exploring the Tinkercad digital program to design a die, and transfer this to a 3D printer. Mr Martyn Harris from the SLC is spending valuable time guiding us. We have discovered that taking a design through to a successful final print in biodegradable plastic, is a complicated process. We are thankful to the P&F for the provision of these printers for the JLC use.
Book Week
From the Head of the MLC
Camp Update
This week has seen the Year 5-6 students attend their camp at Mapleton and the opportunity for me to visit was the highlight of my week. It was a bit overwhelming to arrive and attend dinner with 250 other people; however, the behaviour of our students during the meal was first class and they upheld the values of our College beautifully. I am sure there will be many photos and stories that our students share of the great time they had and this would not be possible without the support of our tremendous staff. I want to thank all of the staff who were on call for over 50 hours straight supporting your children, they did an incredible job.
We trialled leaving for camp from Firth Park on Monday and it seemed to work well. I want to apologise for the return of buses on Wednesday and ask for your feedback on whether you would rather pick up students offsite in future. Could you please take one minute to let us know your feedback on camp departure and arrival so we can improve our processes for the future, please click on this link.
Timetable for 2022
In the next two weeks, students moving into Year 8 will be hearing about their subject selections for 2022. Information will also be emailed home to parents so you are aware of the subjects we offer. Students moving into Years 5, 6 or 7 will hear more about their subjects next term as these students don’t have elective choices but rather progress through a selection of subjects to help them discover their personal interests and strengths.
R U OK?
We will be recognising R U OK? Day next Tuesday, 7 September as part of our commitment to raising the profile of Wellbeing across our community. The day inspires and encourages us to make meaningful connections with others who are struggling in the world around them. For more information about the national day please visit R U OK?. We look forward to sharing some photos and stories from our Student Leadership Club in our next newsletter.
Darren Rackemann
Head of Middle Learning Community
What’s been happening in the MLC
Year 6 and the Truth about Terrorism
Back in Term 2, we found ourselves unravelling the truth about terrorism in Pakistan, as we explored the plight of Malala Yousafzai; a girl willing to risk her life for equality and women’s education, through our class novel “I am Malala”. From writing reverse poems in English to creating passion projects in HASS that included making time-lines about the Pakistani history, our own informational websites, cartoons to help others visually and emotionally learn about the stories that many have experienced under the Taliban rule, newspaper articles, brochures, and visual displays. We gained a deeper insight into the effects of terrorism and how courageous one girl could be.
Unfortunately, due to COVID many weren’t able to see our wonderful creations that we had worked so hard on, however, if you were to see our work, you would be in awe by the depth and effort that we put into them, and mesmerised by all that happens in world around us.
Trisong Yangzom, 6E (Lumos)
Science Week – 7 Lumos
In “The Story of a River”, students took clean precipitated water on a journey through a catchment passing through farmland, parks and cities and collecting all sorts of interesting chemicals and objects along the way. Students were then challenged to consider how this water could be made drinkable again. They tried their hand at creating a water filtration system using gravel, sand, charcoal, filter paper and either plastic bottles or a filtration tower. Needless to say, their filtration systems were not as effective as they first predicted due to some systems experiencing leaks. By the time the water passed through the filter, while the water was certainly cleaner than the initial water from “The Story of a River” activity, it was not clean enough to drink, despite some students volunteering to try it. Students considered ways to improve their filtration system but ultimately learned that the water was not only a suspension but also a solution, and therefore additional techniques are needed to clean the water effectively enough to make it drinkable. Over the next few weeks, students are learning what these other techniques are and how they work in order to have a second attempt at truly making the water drinkable.
Year 5/6 Camp
The Year 5 and 6 students had an absolute ball at Mapleton QCCC for our community building “step up” camp. They were treated to delicious food and slept in comfortable cabins with their friends. We even had a birthday afternoon tea to celebrate the five birthdays that happened while on camp. The students “stepped up” and showed courage as they participated in activities where they learned new skills. Some of these included archery, canoeing, low ropes, glider possum swing, giant swing and the main event was a four-hour mud challenge. There wasn’t a clean body after that afternoon until they had a go on the giant water slide to clean off. Evening activities included devotions, a warrior dance off and a trivia night. The smiles and giggles were contagious and sleep came quickly to the tired students on night two. Many new friendships were made and the teachers loved spending time with the students outside of the classroom.
From the Head of the SLC
Student Leadership
At Hillcrest, we acknowledge that not all leaders wear a badge. Leadership is about influence and our programs develop leadership skills in all students and provide them with real opportunities to display these skills. As a result, all students can lead in the classroom, co-curricular programs, during our camp program, and on mission trips, just to name a few.
We do have several badged leaders that hold a specific position of responsibility. These are College Captain and College Vice Captain, House Captain for each of the four houses and International Captain. The tenure for these positions starts when they are inducted at the Celebration of Excellence Evening in Term 4 of Year 11 and concludes when they complete their handover the following year.
This year I am pleased to announce that we are re-introducing the role of College Prefect. These students will undertake a particular student interest and community need portfolio. I am excited to see this leadership position return to the College.
The tenure for the current badged leaders is coming to an end. While they will be formally thanked for their service at the Celebration of Excellence Evening, I wish to acknowledge their contribution and improvement to the Senior Learning Community this year. They have introduced some new initiatives that has benefitted the whole community.
We are now in the process of selecting new students from the Year 11 cohort to undertake these roles. Students have been asked to submit a written and video submission as part of their application, and as we value student voice, feedback will be sought from the student body. In the next few weeks, each student will undertake an interview, which is lead by the incumbent leader and makes a recommendation on their successor.
I have read a few of the early applications and I am delighted with the enthusiasm these students have for leading our College and community. I wish all applicants every success with their leadership applications. However, whether you are a badged leader or not, remember:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3: 23-24
Jason Day
Head of Senior Learning Community
What’s been happening in the SLC
SheMaps
Earlier this year, our College was successful in securing a STEM grant to support with the integration of drone technologies across our curriculum. Angela Lapham from SheMaps recently ran an incursion with our Year 10 Geography students. The students learned how to code and fly drones to create maps. They then applied what they had learned into a simulation where they coded drones to fly over a natural disaster scene to assess the damage created by flooding. SheMaps will continue to work with Hillcrest throughout this year developing students and teachers’ skills. Many thanks to Arno Coetzee, Natasha Muller and Michael Ha who assisted the with the students. We are all very excited to work on incorporating more drones into our curriculum.
Write a Book in a Day
On Thursday, 26 August, 54 students from the SLC and MLC participated in the Kid’s Cancer Projects ‘Write a Book in a Day’ to create an illustrated book in 12 hours. Each team of 5 – 10 students, was given a number of parameters and random words to include in their story. The day started at 7:40am and finished after 8:30pm that evening; where they spent hours developing their story, writing, editing and illustrating. These books are aimed at 10 to 14yr olds, and will be shared with children in hospitals around the country. This charity raises funds for cancer research and supports families across Australia.
The students were fantastic, showing resilience and perseverance, which resulted in some incredible stories. They are all to be congratulated for their efforts. A big thank you to Jacques Du Toit, Renee Boots and Shawn Skinner for their involvement in this project.
Book Week
Last week we celebrated Book Week which was celebrated all over the nation. This year’s theme was Old Worlds, New Worlds and Other Worlds. In the Senior Resources Centre we focused on the Old World with an activity station including a typewriter, calligraphy lessons and ye olde, feathered pens for students to experience. A great week was had by all with a focus on a love for reading and books.
Sports, Performing Arts and Co-curricular
Silver Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journey Moreton Island, August 2021
On Friday, 27 August, 10 students and a bunch of teachers were dragged out of their beds to load kayaks onto trailers at 9am and on a holiday morning at that! After fighting very little city traffic they finally jostled their way into a car line-up at the Micat Ferry terminal (Port of Brisbane). It was a gruelling ferry ride over to the island (ingesting hot pies/sausage rolls and other possibly unhealthy food and beverages from the on-board canteen) – the horror! After unloading the kayaks, they endured hours on the water with the unrelenting warm sun beating down on them and having to glide past the beckoning accommodation of Tangalooma Resort only to arrive at their simple, sand-strewn lodgings of a quiet beach-side camp. To add insult to injury, they had to construct their own tents and cook their own dinner before hanging out and finally being allowed to lie down on the ground to rest their heads for the night. Saturday, they tolerated frigid water submersion while inspecting the decaying hulks of sunken ships wrapped in schools of fish, calf-destroying sand dune climbing and more (or less) taxing paddling to get to the next northern camping venue near Cowan Cowan. Re-setting up camp and having to entertain themselves for the afternoon was obviously a chore – but they could handle it.
Gritty sand-walking beside clear waters lead to old, crumbling historical bunkers originally used to protect Moreton Bay waters from invaders. Cooking over open fires definitely put us all at risk each meal, however, they all came away unscathed and nourished. The weather was unrelentingly sunny, though in the evenings the temperature did plummet (somewhat), and additional clothing was required to encourage sound sleep – the worship music and singing that night was helpful at keeping away unwanted oppressive forces. Sunday we danced with certain death as we crossed the nearby shipping channel for an ocean-going experience (had a ship come along… but fortunately there were no ships anywhere nearby) and though the winds were light and sea gently rolling – it could have turned nasty at any time! The gentle winds and tides drove us back to our starting point by lunch time, so a little more sand dune carnage was required in order to release any remaining energy. As the sun began to shrink behind the mainland, we once again reloaded the kayaks aboard the ferry and said “Good riddance!” to that wonderful, and thoroughly enjoyable Silver Duke of Ed Adventurous Journey. It’s a pity that everyone was so completely awesome, otherwise there might have actually been something to complain about!
Art and Choral Extravaganza
Our Annual Art and Choral Extravaganza will be held this year on Thursday, 7 October in Week 1 of Term 4.
This art exhibition is a fantastic celebration of all the hard work and dedication our students have put into their creative studies from Prep – Year 12, including our art excellence program. Awards will be displayed on the night and artworks will be for sale with 25% of the proceeds going to Effective Aid. Eftpos and cash will be available. Prices range from $50-$300.
This year we will also be running a BBQ with drinks available. All proceeds will go to Effective Aid. We look forward to seeing you there to support our students.
Parents & Friends
Parent’s and Friends Father’s Day Stall
A big thank you to our Parents & Friends committee who put on a fantastic Father’s Day stall this week. Students from Prep through to Year 12 had the opportunity to pick from a vast selection of gifts for dad. Mugs, massagers, lights, fidget gadgets, travel cups, cooler bags, darts, aftershave and so much more were on display for kids to pick out what they thought dad would enjoy. Wishing all our dads and father figures a Happy Father’s Day this Sunday!
Homestyle Pie & Sweets Drive
Hillcrest is a long-time supporter of Effective Aid and have been instrumental in providing quality education in refugee camps, orphanages and in poverty-stricken villages along the border of Thailand and Myanmar. The Hillcrest P&F Association are organising a Homestyle Bake Pie & Sweet drive to raise much needed funds for Effective Aid. Parents and carers can order pies, sausage rolls, quiches and a range of sweets online. Orders and payments can be placed directly with Homestyle Bake via their online ordering system as per the instructions below – no cash, all contactless!
Online orders must be placed before 2.30pm on Wednesday, 8 September 2021 with pick up on Thursday, 16 September 2021.
HOW TO ORDER
- Click here
- Click on ORDER ONLINE
- Click on “Register”
- Fill out registration form (using your name and address). Check your email for registration confirmation
- Click link in email
- Check for a second welcome email that contains your unique USER ID (you are welcome to use the USER ID provided or login using your email address instead)
- Go back to the website and login
- Use Fundraising code: FHILLCRESTCC160921 and click on GO (MUST USE THIS CODE TO ENSURE THE FUNDS GO TO HILLCREST AND THE CORRECT MENU IS DISPLAYED)
- Do not enter a delivery date, it will automatically be set (16/09/21)
- Place order by typing a number in the quantity box for how many you want for each item *(you do not have to place “0” for items you do not want)
- When finished ordering, click UPDATE CART for a final price
- When you are ready to pay, click CHECKOUT to go to payment screen
- Enter child’s name and/or room/class (number) in the CUSTOMER ORDER NUMBER FIELD, choose payment method and follow prompts through to click on CONFIRM ORDER. (If purchasing for friends or family you can do separate orders under your name and put their name in the CUSTOMER ORDER NUMBER FIELD (this means their orders will be packed separately from yours)
- Check email for order confirmation and if payment is successful you will receive a second email.
Other News
Student Departure Notification for 2022
Our College has gained a strong reputation for innovation and excellence, locally, nationally and internationally. We continue to receive numerous applications from families who have selected Hillcrest as the preferred schooling option for their children. Many of our year levels have now reached capacity, or are nearly full and our waiting lists are growing. The College now only has formal enrolment intakes for Pre Kindy, Kindy and Prep.
Your family is a very important part of our College Community and because of this we will be preparing for your child/ren moving into their new year level in 2022.
Please be reminded that our Enrolment Agreement states that you must provide one full term’s notice in writing, before any departure. If the full term’s notice has not been received and the student is outside of the initial six month cooling off period, a full term’s fee will be charged. Whilst we acknowledge and respect the right of parents to withdraw their child from Hillcrest at any time, this policy was introduced to encourage families to think carefully about early withdrawal and to ensure that the College has continuity of enrolment to meet its financial commitments.
If your child will not be returning to Hillcrest Christian College in 2022, please provide your departure notification in writing to registrar@hillcrest.qld.edu.au no later than Friday 17 September to avoid any financial penalty.
On behalf of the College Executive, thank you for your support with this matter.