Illalong Newsletter - 11 August 2023

College life in the Junior School this Term

Success comes in many shapes and forms, looking different in various settings. When considering what success looks like for a student at A.B. Paterson College, it encompasses more than just academic achievements. We take pride in celebrating the unique talents and abilities of our students in all aspects of College life – whether in academics, sports, the arts or personal growth. We recognise and appreciate the diverse ways through which our students shine and develop into exceptional individuals.

Academics

This term, many of our students in Years 2 to 10 are participating in the ICAS Competitions. While the Digital Technologies Competition has now concluded, the English, Science and Mathematics Competitions are scheduled in the coming weeks.

The MLTAQ Speech Competition for Languages is taking place on Saturday 20 August and we wish all the participants the best of luck. They have been practicing for many weeks with the assistance of their coaches. Their dedication has prepared them well and we look forward to celebrating these results.

Sports

This term, we're celebrating many achievements on the sporting front, starting with the Prep to Year 3 students showcasing their skills in the Mini Olympics. A special thank you must go to the Year 7 Aussie Sports Leaders for their exceptional leadership in facilitating the event. The success in athletics continued as our APS Track and Field teams achieved outstanding results, with our Junior School team securing fourth place and our Senior School team finishing fifth. This marks our best performance in a decade! Furthermore, the Years 4 to 6 students recently competed in both the Interhouse Touch Football and Interhouse Ball Games competitions, resulting in Mackellar and Lawson emerging as the victorious houses, respectively.

The Arts

We are constantly blown away by the exceptional musical talents of our students. The Gold Coast Eisteddfod is currently in full swing and we eagerly anticipate the awe-inspiring performances of our choirs, bands and dance troupes. Their hard work and dedication truly shine through and we are grateful to our incredible Arts staff for their guidance. We are also looking forward to being treated to the year level concerts for Years 1 to 3 next week.

Personal Growth

It has been a pleasure to observe the personal growth of our Year 6 students since their return from Winton Camp. It is inspiring to see the maturity of these students and to see the cohesion within the cohort, demonstrating teamwork and initiative. Our Year 5 students are now looking forward to their leadership camp later this term, and we are excited to witness the personal development that will unfold during this experience. Once again, we extend our gratitude and recognition to the staff who make these experiences possible for our students.

Whatever your child is preparing for, remember that perseverance is the key to success. This term is already shaping up to be a memorable one – filled with joy, achievements and strong teamwork. As the saying goes, “the best way to celebrate success is to share it with others”.

Rebecca Taylor | Director of e-Learning

Queensland Volleyball School's Cup 2023

Over the past weekend our Open A Boys and Girls volleyball teams participated in the Queensland Volleyball Schools Cup. This tournament is the pinnacle event for school volleyball in Queensland, and we are extremely proud of the way our teams performed.

The Open A Boys were the first male team the College has ever entered into this competition, and they didn’t disappoint. The boys went undefeated through the pool games before booking their place in the gold medal game following a nail-biting win on Saturday afternoon. With the support of parents and fellow A.B. students, our boys overcame an early deficit to take out the Gold medal in Division 2. These boys have committed to training since last November, and their continuous improvement has been amazing to watch.

It was fantastic to see these boys rewarded for their effort, winning the first ever Gold medal in the College’s history at this tournament.

The Open A Girls played amazingly well on Friday and Saturday. After narrowly losing their first game due to points countback, they managed to secure a win in all the rest of our games, finishing up second in their pool. On Sunday they played for the gold qualifier, unfortunately, missing out on the game and losing to Pine Rivers State High School. Nonetheless, they came back up much stronger for their game for third position where they had to verse Kingaroy State High School, defeating them 2 sets to nil in a tight second set, winning the Bronze medal in Division 2. The girls played with absolute gusto and demonstrated team spirit and sportsmanship throughout the competition, representing A.B. Paterson College with excellence in their manners, care for each other as team members and full commitment to this beautiful sport.

To come away with two medals is an outstanding achievement for our Volleyball Program.

We look forward to seeing how our Year 7 and 8 teams perform in October.

A huge congratulations goes to our Open A Boys and Girls volleyball teams!

Nathan Burgess | Director of Activities

APS Athletics 2023

2023 has marked an extraordinary chapter of growth and triumph for AB Brumbies Athletics. For the first year, we had our Inter-House Carnivals at external venues where students could experience competition at an international standard athletics facility. This provided the foundation and excitement from students in which we experienced the best results in over a decade at the 2023 APS Carnivals.

Following the Interhouse carnivals, students were selected based on their placings and were eager to continue training to improve their event for the APS Carnival. Students had the opportunity to attend seven training sessions at the Gold Coast Performance Centre, additional to the jam-packed weekly timetable. All sessions were well attended with the vast majority of students attending training regularly to improve their performance.

Congratulations to the 160 A.B. Paterson College students who represented the College at the APS Athletics Carnivals, held over three days at Somerset College, from July 26 – August 3. Across all three days, we saw students achieving personal bests in both track and field.

The College teams experienced the best results we have had in over 10 years. A massive effort and great reward for the hard work students have put into their training.

	Overall	Percentage
Junior School	4th Place	5th place
Senior School	5th Place	4th Place

Congratulations to the students who placed in the top 3 in their individual events. An outstanding achievement given the increasing competitiveness in the APS competition.

Click here to view a list of students who place in the top 3 in their individual events.

A special congratulations to the following students who received Age Champion Awards for outstanding performances across multiple events.

Student	Age	Place
Grace Wolff	12 Year Girls	2nd
Liam Glover	12 Year Boys	1st
Hayden Ozoux	13 Year Boys	3rd
Max Anderson	14 Year Boys	2nd
Hayden Trevethan	15 Year Boys	3rd
Emilie Hutt	Open Year Girls	3rd

Special thanks go to our coaches, without their support we would not be able to offer the great training opportunities for our students. Collectively they offered 15 training sessions per week and facilitated our best athletics training attendance on record. Special thanks to Mrs Tennille Mitchell, Ms Sona Preiszlerova, Mrs Genevieve Whittington, Mr Brad Lawton, Mr Steve Jackson, Mr Ryan Sydenham, Ms Emelia Surch, Ms Sally Gordon.

The impact of these coaches was evident at the APS Carnivals, where those who committed to regular training exhibited not only great technique but also a confidence that facilitated their success. As we reflect on this remarkable year, we are reminded that the seeds of success were sown by these exceptional coaches as well as the determination of our young athletes.

Students who will be selected in the regional team will be notified shortly and we wish them luck in preparation for the Regional Carnival later this term.

As we move forward in the Athletics Program, we look to supporting the students progressing in the school sport system and developing our athletes long term. Our athletics training program operates year-round, ensuring consistent development for all event groups. Our current schedule guarantees a minimum of one weekly session for every participant. While our program is ideal for those aiming to excel in athletics, its advantages extend well beyond the track and field.

The foundational skills honed through athletics offer lifelong benefits that are directly applicable to team sports. Imagine sprinting past opponents on the field with explosive speed, leaping higher on the court for that crucial rebound, or delivering precision passes to your teammates. These are just a few examples of how our athletics training equips you to excel in team-based activities.

At the core of our program lie fundamental attributes such as agility, endurance, strength, and mental discipline. These qualities form the core of success in any sport, fostering the physical ability required to succeed in all sports.

Please click on the attached current training program and do not hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Matt Stopel | Head of Athletics & Assistant Head of HPE Faculty

Taking Off in Year 2 Science

In Science and Design and Technology this term, Year 2 students have been studying how a push or a pull can affect how an object moves or changes shape. We have been participating in guided investigations, exploring and answering questions about forces.

Last week, we welcomed Danni and Jono from Street Science to the College. Danni started the session by treating us to a science show full of fire, smoke rings, flashes and bangs. We journeyed through the science of the Earth while witnessing the effects of applying forces to everyday objects around us.

As the smoke cleared, we were launched into a rocket-powered workshop. We designed and built our own CO2 rockets before excitedly taking them outside onto the oval for testing and the grand launch. Our rockets soared skywards and then tumbled back down to earth as gravity took control.

Throughout the morning the enthusiasm and endless questions kept on coming. Our naturally inquisitive minds are now ready to learn more about forces in everyday life.

Get ready mums and dads, to answer some pretty tough physics questions from your little scientists.

Angie Hall, Ashlee Lord, Samantha Middleton and Donna Symms and | Year 2 Teachers
Trish Dart | Year 2 Learning Assistant

Student Quotes

I liked it when Danni showed her cool experiments using different chemicals. I really liked the dry ice cloud. - Lucy Morris - 2L

My favourite experiment was when the fire changed colours when chemicals were added. It was so cool! - Henry Pullin - 2L

I liked it when the rockets went shooting up into the sky because they flew to all different heights. It was cool to watch. - Harriet Sim-Bikundo – 2H

The science show was really interesting because they mixed chemicals and I didn’t know you could make fire like that. - Yi-Joon Jung – 2H

I liked it when we made the rockets because they went so high! I also liked the airzooka! - William Wang – 2M

I liked it when we could touch the white cloud and it was interesting to see how the scientist created it! - Kavya Gunawardena – 2M

I really liked it when Danni made colourful fireworks. - Serah Bibin – 2S

I liked it when Danni shot air at us through the airzooka and knocked the cups off people’s heads. - Hunter Baumgart – 2S

Prep-Year 3 Pre-Eisteddfod Concerts

Prep delighted the audience at their first ever Concert this week.

They performed a range of songs showing things they have been learning in the classroom, such as beat, rhythm and singing voice, and entertained the audience with a selection of Choir songs. Highlights were the brave young singers who sang solo into the microphone in the song, Bee Bee Bumblebee and the colourful fun of Five Little Ducks and the Flower Garden. Well done Prep, we are so proud of you

Congratulations Year 1 on a wonderful concert! We loved it!

The LPAC was abuzz again with our Year 1 students putting on a fabulous afternoon concert for parents, staff and students!

The audience was entertained with a variety of sea creatures, and listened to songs and poems about cats, possums and the weather. The highlight of the concert was the world premiere of the brand new song The Secret Life of Toys which tells the story of a magical toybox through which toys come to life.

Well to Year 2 student on their Pre-Eisteddfod Concert!

Congratulations to Year 3 on a fantastic pre-Eisteddfod Concert!

On Monday, 7 August, students delighted parents at the Dawn Lang Performing Arts Centre with a variety of songs from both the Choir and their class. The audience saw a vibrant array of characters and enjoyed performances on the glockenspiel and recorder. Kudos to Year 3 and the Junior Performing Arts teachers!