Last Friday evening, almost 2000 College community members enjoyed A.B. Paterson College’s spectacular Christmas Carols & Concert event.
Gathered on the Village Green, surrounded by stunning Christmas décor and delicious food trucks, families enjoyed a night of wonderful Christmas performances from students in Prep through to Year 12.
Students were also lucky enough to get a very special visit from Santa, Rudolf, and some cheeky Elves. Some families even received a special gift from Santa’s Sack of prizes.
A huge note of thanks is extended to all the staff, students and event and prize sponsors who made this special Christmas event a success.
Term 4 Celebration Assembly
Jaime Lawton, Academy Captain 2023
On Wednesday 30 November, the College held a Term 4 Celebration Assembly for students in Years 4 to 11, College staff and parents. We were entertained by a Year 4/5 Choir performance and an exceptional Hip Hop dance sole routine performed by Year 8 Student, Alexia Palumbo.
Congratulations to our bright and promising A.B. Paterson College students who received awards in the following categories:
Years 4-6 Academic Commendations
Years 7-9 Academic Commendations
Year 10 and 11 Academic Colours
Honours Academic Colours
The Arts
ICAS High Distinction and Medal Winners
Australian Mathematics Trust Competition
Long Tan Awards
Congratulations also to Jaime Lawton, who was awarded the prestigious title of Academy Captain.
Waking the Sleeping Giant
2022 has seemingly flown by us, and this time of the year offers the perfect opportunity for reflection. The A.B. Paterson College Co-Curricular Program is so extensive and does a fantastic job at allowing our students to chase their own personal goals. Over the course of this year, and the results/improvement we have achieved, it feels like the waking of a ‘Sleeping Giant’.
From a sport perspective, we were able to celebrate the year in style at the Inaugural Celebration of Sport Evening at Sea World. This was a fantastic event that celebrated a group of talented, committed and passionate students within the Brumbies community. The Sports Program achieved so many amazing things in 2022, and we are proud of all the students, staff and coaches involved.
The Arts Program, led magnificently by Ms Sharyn Walker-Joyce, has continued to showcase the amazing talents of our students. Watching what this team has achieved in just the past few weeks is unbelievable, from 2023 Musical Rehearsals, Christmas Carols, Showcases, Concerts, Speech Night and Valedictory, the Arts team goes above and beyond for the students of A.B. Paterson College.
And finally, we have grown the number of activities that offer every student a chance to find their passion. In 2022 our students have had the opportunity to try numerous new programs, along with our old faithfuls. Thank you to all our staff for being innovative with these programs – it is certainly a point of difference for our amazing school.
I am looking forward to an even bigger 2023. I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday break!
Nathan Burgess | Director of Activities
DOE Gold Practice Camp Sunshine Coast 2022
Last weekend eight students took part in a Duke of Edinburgh Practice Camp on the Sunshine Coast. They were taking part in their Gold Expedition Adventurous Journey as part of the Duke of Edinburgh International Award Scheme. The venue for the camp was the Conondale Range Great Walk. Students planned to stay at various destinations along the route for three nights and four days.
An important component of the camp experience was that students were required to arrange and cook their own nutritional meals, organise tent groups and plan and navigate their way through several National Park locations. The highlights for the group whilst exploring the Conondale National Park were the numerous spectacular features of this walk. For example, the rich and diverse ancient rainforests, cascading waterfalls, crystal clear creeks, tall open forests, and expansive views from high points such as Mount Allen.
The weather for the 4 days of the camp was very challenging with heavy rain on the first day and continued showers for the remainder of the camp. Arriving at camp late in the night and drenched on the first day was certainly a challenge for all involved. Despite the wet conditions, most of the walking was under the protection of the canopy of the rainforest. Students completed several the walking trails through the Conondale National Park. The terrain included crossing narrow bridges stretching over wide boulder filled riverbeds, to thick dense rainforest to open rocky paths skirting high rocky outcrops. They saw many of the native forest creatures, sometimes too close with leeches being a constant threat to ankles and feet!
The students were accompanied by Head of Outdoor Education Mr. Andrew Sole and Miss Meghan Beckett. On returning to the College students were tired but filled with a sense of achievement considering that they completed their first Gold DOE camping trip.
Andrew Sole | Head of Outdoor Education
Yumeji Excursion
Sliding shoji screen doors welcomed us as we walked through ‘Yumeji’, the Japanese style retreat on Mount Tamborine on Tuesday. The students in Year 10 Japanese are studying a unit called 'My World' where they learn to understand the daily life of a Japanese teen and learn to speak about their daily life in Australia. The Yonezawa family welcomed us to their Japanese accommodation and explained to us the tatami mat flooring, the futon bedding on the floor, the chabudai tea table, the tokonoma alcove for artwork, the Japanese talisman and ornaments on show as well the outdoor bath. The students were treated to Japanese snacks for morning tea while sitting on zabuton cushions.
The College is exceptionally grateful to the Yonezawa family for welcoming us to their business and for sharing their knowledge of Japan and fostering an interest in aspects of daily life in Japan for our students. The inn was immaculately presented and brought memories of staying in Japan flooding back for Mrs Cheyne Sandercoe and me.
We really look forward staying in Japan in the future, but this was a very similar experience until then.
Sue Walduck | Director of Teacher Development & Effectiveness
Term 4 Prep to Year 3 Makerspace – What a lot of FUN!
It is hard to believe we are at the end of another year of Prep to Year 3 Makerspace. This year we saw 170 students participate in our P-3 Makerspace program, across the year. Thank you to those families who have supported their children’s creative processes. Also thank you to those who have responded to the termly online feedback forms – your kind words are meaningful, and your ideas and suggestions help shape our Prep to Year 3 Makerspace program going forward.
Also, a huge thank you to our Makerspace students for getting involved by experimenting, collaborating and having fun, each Wednesday and Thursday afternoon across the school year. A few students have joined our Makerspace program since it first began several years ago and are now set to enter Year 4. We will miss them in our Prep to Year 3 Makerspace sessions – but know they will continue their exploration and creative design process in Year 4 and beyond!
Our Makerspace ‘Green Jackets’ – senior school students (and a couple upper Junior School students) - have been incredible in their volunteer efforts. These students have formed incredible relationships with our youngest Makerspace students and without them, the Prep to Year 3 Makerspace program would not be the success that it is.
This term we highlighted the festivals and events that the term brings. Being project based, we developed our fine motor skills while exploring the concepts of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths. We worked to create 7 different projects, each week of the Term 4 program.
The term started off by forming teams to determine who would make the strongest bridge, using paddle pop sticks and clothes pins. Our test weighs were library books, and we were all amazed at the weight our bridges could handle. Some groups got upwards of 100 beginner reader books stacked on their bridge!
Slime was on the agenda our second week – a staple on the term time Makerspace calendar. This was ewwy-gooy fun as we measured ingredients and talked to the scientific elements of making slime. Families were filled with a mix of fear and gratitude at pick up time – fear of what was coming home with them, but gratitude that the slime was made at school and not in their own homes!
Our third week got us ready for the spooky season by making lollipop spiders and ghosts, using sweet treats, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, elastics and tissue paper. Students had the opportunity to help carve and clean pumpkins to make our very own jack-o’lanterns and we spoke to some of the various traditions people celebrate in other parts of the world. Week 4 took us to other worlds. We used the Lego kits to create kingdoms and creatures. It was interesting to see the various Lego rules students used. Some were determined to follow the pattern-like cue cards to create precision replicas and others used their own creative juices to build the creations they could imagine in their own heads. We also brought out the VR googles, and students (and their families) enjoyed entering into the virtual world and competing against themselves on ‘Beat Saber’.
Week 5 helped get us ready for the festive season by making personalised baubles to decorate our homes. This was a learning experience for all of us – quickly reminding us that small vitals of glitter and excited children makes for large explosions. Our baubles shimmered in glittery greatness – as did the Lilly Pilly Learning Centre and all areas around it. A big thank you goes to our A.B. Paterson cleaning team for your efforts with the Glitter Bombs of ‘22, but a few specks might still catch your eye. However – it isn’t the festive season without glitter – right?!?!
Week 6 we got ready for the giving season – making our own holidays jars, layered with all the dry ingredients to make cookies – and placing directions on the back with how to cook. It has been lovely to hear, read and see the stories, emails and photos of the yummy success these cookies have had at home.
The tradition continues – and we ended our Makerspace program by making ice cream and discussing the Science behind this. The delicious final project is created with basic ingredients, plastic bags and kid-power. While we don’t yet have the perfect ice cream eating weather yet – this didn’t stop our students from making beautiful ice cream. We ended our 2022 Makerspace program with sticky smiles (fingers and uniforms).
Once again thank you to everyone who has supported our Prep to Year 3 Makerspace program this year – and in previous years. We are hopeful this program will continue in 2023 and we hope to work with your child again – or for the first time – next year. Please enjoy the Summer break and may the holiday give your family some extra time to build, create, craft and explore together.
Happy Holidays!
Stephanne Siberry | Head of Library Services
Year 2 Artist Interview
Year 2 students have recently explored the artmaking of Carmen Hui. Carmen is a contemporary Australian artist who creates beautiful Australiana illustrations. Carmen's artworks celebrate our Australian culture, iconic foods and unique wildlife. Carmen uses traditional media including graphite and coloured pencils to create whimsical and delicate works on paper.
Carmen recently shared some of our beautiful student artworks on her Instagram stories. She saw our artworks and reached out to share her admiration. Carmen offered to answer our questions regarding her work, so we arranged an artist interview via Teams with her.
We asked her questions about her artmaking practice. Carmen shared her artist tips with the next generation of budding artists. Her main advice when making art is to "practice every day and don't aim for perfect drawings. Practice on improving every time you draw".
Students walked away from the interview feeling inspired to continue their artmaking over the school holidays.
Ashlee Lord, Donna Symms, Kylie Schumacher & Daisy Ross | Year 2 Teachers
Prep - Year 2 Aquatics Carnival
Our youngest students have enjoyed a splash-tacular day at the annual Prep to Year 2 Aquatics Carnival!
Our HPE and Pool teams pulled off a wonderful end-of-year event, with noodle, mat, kickboard and freestyle swims.
This event would not be possible without the extraordinary efforts of our Senior students, who swam lap after lap after lap, while supporting our young swimmers in the water.
Preps at Seachange Retirement Village
Prep students went on their very first excursion to the Seachange Retirement Village in Arundel, where they interacted with residents, presented a choir performance and enjoyed some afternoon tea.
The residents were delighted to meet and listen to the Prep children. They welcomed them with a hearty round of applause and ample of conversations.
The excursion proved to be a great experience for residents, students and staff alike.
Uniform Shop Closure
As per our previous correspondence, due to the commencement of renovations, the Uniform Shop is now closed. It will be reopening again on Monday, 16 January 2023.
If you require any urgent uniform items between now and the end of Term, please email us on skelly@abpat.qld.edu.au and we will arrange an online order for you. Once the order is complete and payment is made, the items will be delivered to Student Services for either parents or students to collect. If the incorrect size is ordered, we will be unable to do an exchange or refund of those items until the shop reopens on Monday, 16 January 2023.
If you wish to visit us in January before school starts back, you will need to make an appointment. Please call us on 55614 131 or email us to secure a time.
Thanking you all for your co-operation.
Susan Kelly | Uniform Shop Convenor
Vacation Care Program 2022/2023
The December & January school holidays are fast approaching!
The 2022 Inspire Business Directory is available to read online! Please take the time to have a look through some of our community’s businesses, you might be pleasantly surprised with some special discount offers or the opportunity to find a new service provider from within our College community.
A big thank you to all of our family businesses who have supported our College Foundation and advertised in this year’s edition, we look forward in turn, to supporting you and your families.
