Throughout this week A.B. Paterson College staff and students have stood united as an officially registered school, along with some 3000 plus schools across Australia. This celebrates 12 years of action today which is the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence.

This National Day of Action is Australia’s key anti-bullying event for schools, and in 2022 schools are being called to build a kindness culture together. The theme for 2022 is Kindness Culture and we can promote inclusion, respect and community belonging for all students.

As a College we have dedicated time throughout this week to engage the students in activities around awareness of what bullying is, different types of bullying, practical strategies for students, social and emotional learning and how to develop respectful relationships.

Bullying is a word that is used with a lot of meanings. Making sure everyone in our College shares the same definition of bullying is essential. Sometimes things that are called bullying are not really bullying at all. The national definition of bullying for Australian schools is the first place to look. Including the definition of bullying in the relevant school policy helps to ensure shared understanding within the whole College community. Bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence are all interpersonal behaviours that can create or contribute to negative social situations and school environments. Ensuring a shared definition of bullying is important. A shared understanding of bullying is the starting point for effectively preventing and responding to bullying in schools. Preventing bullying involves everyone talking together openly, respectfully and regularly.

The big question is ‘What works to prevent bullying?’ This seems a simple question, although the answer is quite complicated. It depends on what you want to achieve… for which students… and in what context. There is no single anti-bullying approach. There is not one single approach which will meet the needs of every school and every situation. It is a matter of matching strategies and approaches to the students, context and needs. Bullying prevention is the ongoing responsibility of every member of the whole school community.

The students are central in the College’s efforts to continue to create a positive learning environment for everyone. Therefore, students participating and all staff leading structured activities throughout this week have highlighted the national importance of standing together.

Simon Edgar
Acting Head of Senior School

Nothing demands attention like red... Lawson House did just that and ran away with the Championship at our Senior School Cross Country! 

Huge congratulations to everyone who ran, with special mention to our Senior School Cross Country Age Champions!

A very big thank you to Director of Activities, Nathan Burgess, his trusted sidekick Assistant Director of Activities, Sara Eade and all who assisted on the day! 

Well done to the Mighty Lawson House!

It can be incredibly easy to be consumed with the needs of day to day life that we rarely take a moment to pause and reflect on what we have achieved. Thinking back now, If I was to forecast in January this year what Term 1 was going to look like, I would have missed the mark by a fair bit. While there was a level of hope and optimism that 2022 would return to what we might consider normal, Term 1 proved anything but, as we navigated a return to Online Learning, Queensland State COVID Protocols, severe weather events on top of what needs to be completed as part of our regular day to day operations.

I feel incredibly blessed to be able to interact with all students across the Junior School on a pastoral and wellbeing level. Having this opportunity has allowed me to see first-hand how responsive, resilient and flexible our students have become. While the circumstances of the last two and a bit years have been far from ideal, the growth of the students has been remarkable and clearly evident. We are incredibly lucky at A.B. Paterson College to have the support of the whole College community, be that staff, students, families and friends. It has taken a collective effort to ensure we continue to provide for our students and that they continue to thrive. I felt it was worth recognising those achievements and thanking everyone for their support!

We have seen some increased engagement with families and friends over the last couple of weeks, including the Prep Parents Morning Tea, supporters cheering Cross-Country events and the times we have been able to enjoy a coffee at Matilda’s Café, among other events. I look forward to these things becoming more ‘normal’ again as the year progresses!

Come and say hello if you see me around the school!

Liam Burke
Acting Deputy Head of Junior School – Pastoral 

Last weekend, 12-13 March, seven Silver and two Bronze students took part in a Silver/Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Practice Camp. Unlike the more traditional expedition orientated camps which have been based in the tropical rainforests surrounding the Gold Coast, this camp took place in Brisbane as part of an 'Urban Exploration'.

Students explored the city environment working upon personal projects on urban related topics.  These are a comparative study of the predominantly manicured Brisbane Parks with the Gold Coast’s more natural untouched parklands, impact of humans on the environment, how do cycle paths, designated pathways and footpaths etc., impact on the natural features on the park and what is the impact of artificially designed parks on the natural environment (fauna and flora).

All students had a great time and the group dynamics, team spirit and enthusiastic approach to leadership tasks during the weekend's activities was excellent. The weather was perfect for walking and visiting previously unexplored districts. It was sunny for the whole trip as students visited the beautiful parks in Brisbane’s CBD. These included Roma Street Parklands, New Farm Park, Mount Coot-tha Botanical Gardens and Brisbane’s South Bank Gardens. Unfortunately, due to recent floods the Queensland Art Gallery and Queensland Museum were closed, but students did get the opportunity to visit the Brisbane Powerhouse complex.

Andrew Sole
Head of Outdoor Education  

Outstanding results for three A.B. high achievers, Maxim, Aiden and Mitchell, who each achieved the highest result in Queensland for ICAS in their year levels for their chosen subject.

We are all so very proud of the 'Excellence, Care and Commitment' each of these students have given to their academic studies. 

Keep up the great work!

Year 5 have recently engaged in a Digital Literacy Masterclass. The Year 5 cohort attended the Masterclass in The Elderslie Theatre. Students were exposed to a lecture-type environment where they were immersed in various resources that outlined the Digital Literacy skills required of their upcoming HaSS research project. Students were informed in the ways of responsibly and effectively searching the internet, how to cite their references, how to store their digital artefacts, how to create QR codes, as well as various design tips that make use of applications such as Canva and their Microsoft Office suite.

The Masterclass format allowed for students to become immersed in the learning, with focus and explicit tuition. Students were provided with a digital resource pack that supports their research needs, now and into the future. Education has become increasingly digitised and requires us to ensure students are able to access and engage with their learning at school and beyond. At A.B Paterson College, we hope to upskill our students in the ways of digital learning and support their understanding and delivery of digital artefacts that enhance their learning and make rigorous their tasks. These are the 21^st Century Skills required of our future workforce.

Year 5 will now meet weekly as a cohort to complete their HaSS presentations and will be supported by both their classroom teachers and the Head of Digital Literacy and STEAM. Developing excellence in the digital space and supporting the commitment to the learning of our students here at the College. We look forward to showcasing the students’ projects in the coming weeks.

Beth Claydon
Director of Digital Literacy & STEAM

Who thought learning could equate to jewellery! Our Prep to Year 3 Makerspace students are learning about coding through binary bracelets! 

Binary is a code used in digital computers and students made bracelets with their initials using the binary alphabet.

In Prep, we began learning to read and write using the synthetic phonics programme, Jolly Phonics. Now in Year 1, we have moved onwards to the Jolly Grammar program.

The program builds upon our earlier phonics teaching by developing spelling, grammar and punctuation concepts. Our lessons are age-appropriate, multisensory, active and progress at a challenging pace.

The systematic approach of Jolly Grammar, presents us with the tools that we need to independently write what we want clearly and with expression.

By the end of Year 1, we will know the parts of speech:

• Nouns;
• Pronouns;
• Verbs;
• Adjectives;
• Adverbs.

We will be familiar with:

• Vowel digraphs;
• Alternative spellings of vowels;
• Plural endings;
• Short vowels;
• Consonant doubling;
• Consonant blends.

We will develop:

• Basic sentence structure;
• Our knowedge of alphabetical order.

In Term 1, we have started to master the spelling of many tricky words in our weekly spelling tests and we are confidently using these words correctly in our own writing. We are writing independently by listening for the sounds in words and choosing letters to represent the sounds. This is called encoding.

We are becoming more aware that our writing has a purpose and our words are intended to be read and understood. Our writing is easier to understand if it is grammatically correct, accurately spelt, well punctuated and neatly written. Experimenting with WOW words in our writing, is making our written pieces more interesting. We want to delight the readers of our work whilst taking pride in our achievements.  

Our reading is progressing rapidly as we continue to build upon blending sounds to read a variety of words. We are focusing on retelling texts read using the five finger retell method. This ensures that we are able to fully comprehend and enjoy the books we read.

The year ahead promises to be both exciting and challenging with Jolly Grammar and we are eager to keep building upon our reading and writing.

Steve Farmer, Angie Hall, Jade Lucy and Natalie Pierron
Year 1 Teachers

Year 3 have been working on their computational thinking skills and preparing a Makey Makey Interactive Poster. Students use their Scratch coding skills to program the instructions for the Makey Makey.

Once the Makey Makey is attached to a poster it brings the poster to life! Initially, students program instructions and record their own voice to display their understanding of hardware and software. The upcoming assessment task asks them to link their understanding from their Science unit on States of Matter. Students will create an interactive poster to illustrate their understanding of Science concepts such as solids, liquids and gasses. Integrating and making real their learning.

Makey Makey is an invention kit designed to connect everyday objects to computer keys. Using a circuit board, alligator clips and a USB cable, the Makey Makey board uses closed loop electrical signals to send the computer either a keyboard stroke or mouse click signal. This function allows the Makey Makey to work with any computer program or webpage that accepts keyboard or mouse click.

Year 3 have been so excited to use the Makey Makey and have been delighted when they can bring their learning to life!

Please find attached the latest careers news from Head of Pathways, Jeanette Maxwell:

From the Careers Desk - 16 March 2022

State Synchro Diving Champions!

Congratulations to Lucinda and Abigail Harrison who competed in the 2022 Queensland State Diving Championships on 5 & 6 March.

The Harrison sisters received gold medals and are now the Queensland State Champions for synchro in the 14-18 year age category.

Abigail also received a gold medal for her platform diving and is now the Queensland State Champion for 14-15 girls platform.

Both Lucinda and Abigail have qualified for the Queensland State team and will be heading to South Australia in April to compete in the Australian National Age Diving Championships in Adelaide.

Well done Lucinda and Abigail!

Are you looking for a new Dentist? Or a Travel Agent? Florist? Plumber? Accountant?

You’ll find all of these helpful professionals and so many more in our Inspire Business Directory. The best part about this Directory is that all of these businesses are a part of our A.B. Paterson College community. I encourage you to take a look at the different talents our community are able to share with each other through this incredible collection.

https://issuu.com/advpublishing/docs/abpaterson_inspire_issue_2_9thpass?fr=sMWY4YTM4ODU5NDE.