Over the Easter break, I read Angela Duckworth's book Grit and shared some insights from the book with our students at the Welcome Back Assembly on Wednesday. Grit is passion and perseverance over time, something that is often difficult for us to imagine these days, especially as everything is geared towards instant rewards, instant gratification, instant information. But to build mastery and to really succeed at something you need grit; that combination of passion and perseverance and stamina over many years to accomplish something amazing.

This was recently demonstrated by several Senior students who have achieved amazing results because of their grit, determination and perseverance to be the very best in their fields. Each of these students were recognised this week at our whole of College assembly and it is my pleasure to now share and celebrate their achievements with our broader College community. 

Emelia Surch

Over the Easter holidays, Emelia Surch (Year 12 Athletics Captain) travelled to Sydney to compete in the Australian Athletics Championships. Emelia competed in the individual 100m Hurdles as well as the Heptathlon in the U20 age group.

Day Two of the championships saw Emelia compete in the individual 100m Hurdles heats and final. Emelia won her heat comfortably with a time of 14.05seconds and was in good shape for the final that afternoon. During the final, she made a strong start and finished 3rd in a time of 14.12seconds; an outstanding achievement considering she was competing in an older age group.

Day Four of the championships was the first day of the U20 Heptathlon. Emelia had strong performances in all four events: 100m Hurdles (1st), High Jump (2nd), Shot Put (3rd) and 200m (1st). At the end of the first day and after the first four events she was in the lead.

Day Five of the meet included the second day of the Heptathlon where Emelia continued to build her commanding lead. She competed in the three remaining events; Long Jump (1st), Javelin (PB, 2nd) and 800m (1st) which led to her securing her first national gold medal.

We would like to congratulate Emelia on her Gold Medal in the Heptathlon at a National Championships. Emelia is coached by Olympic Gold Medallist in the Heptathlon, Glynis Nunn, and has devoted herself to the intense demands of the heptathlon.  Her dedication to developing in all seven events has paid of with an outstanding result in the national arena.

We wish Emelia all the best for her future athletic endeavours and look forward to seeing her compete during the school season later this term and into next term. 

Maria Nadezhdina

During the holidays, Year 12 Student and Duke of Edinburgh Captain Maria Nadezhdina attended selection for the Junior National Artistic Swimming Team in Canberra. As I am sure you can imagine, this was an intense and highly competitive selection process.

Maria was successful at the trials and has been selected as a member of the 2021 Australian Artistic Swimming Junior National Team, an incredible achievement! As a high-performance athlete, Maria has committed to attend all national team training camps and competitions that take place throughout the year in addition to her academic and College commitments. 

Congratulations Maria on this outstanding accomplishment!

Kaleb Baines

During the holidays, College Leader for Sport, Kaleb Baines, participated in four-day camp that took place at Metricon Stadium for selection into the Under 17s Sun Academy Team. These were gruelling days, starting at 6.30am and finishing at 7.30pm with culmination in a match on the final day. 

As a result of this camp Kaleb has been selected to be a member of the Under 17s Sun Academy Team, an outstanding achievement. As a member of the Under 17s Sun Academy Team, Kaleb will be playing against the Brisbane Lions and this is a direct pathway for the possibility of selection into the Queensland State AFL Team. 

These are incredible achievements by these young men and women and we are incredibly proud of their results, their character and the grit they have demonstrated in the pursuit of their goals. We continue to wish them every success.

Joanne Sheehy
Principal/Head of College

On Friday 23 April the College’s annual ANZAC Day service was held in the DMPC. Although a sombre event, the service offered each and every one of our students and members of staff the opportunity to pay their respects. We were fortunate to have Mr Ken Golden OAM, from the Northern Gold Coast RSL in attendance, speaking of the 106-year anniversary of ANZAC and the importance of passing on the tradition of honouring those who fought for our countries to the youth of today and the youth of tomorrow.

Students from Prep – Year 12 were in attendance and each year group in the Junior School made a wreath that was laid at the Peace Grove after the Service. During the Service, 29 of our Year 6 students laid the badges of local servicemen at the lectern whilst Year 12 student, Matthew Hickey, read out the servicemen’s names to recognise their service and pay their respects. Year 6 student Amelia Watson presented a moving rendition of the poem, In Flanders Fields by John McCrea and our Chamber Choir, conducted by Ms Rachel Newcombe and accompanied by Mrs Lexene Marquenie, beautifully performed the hymn, The Recessional, In Flanders Fields by John McCrea, John Jacobson and Roger Emmerson and Always Remember by Ian Jefferson.
 
I wish to extend a very big thank you in advance to the many staff and students who will attend the various ANZAC Day marches on Sunday. A long standing tradition of the College is to have a presence at ceremonies in Helensvale, Arundel and Upper Coomera. Our Chamber Choir will be performing at the Dawn Service in Helensvale, and we have a number of students and staff attending the March and Service at Upper Coomera where College Leader for Years 4 - 6, James Harder, will present a reading of the poem We Shall Keep the Faith by Moina Michael. College Leader for Interact and Public Speaking Captain, Angelina Inthavong, will also be presenting a speech that she has written about ANZAC Day at the Arundel Seachange Service on Sunday.

Each and every student who will attend the various services across the Gold Coast should feel very proud of themselves for taking the time to pay their respects to the men and women - who for over 106 years now have served this country to give us the freedom that we now enjoy.
 
Charlotte Brook
Head of Senior School

Welcome back to all of our A.B. Paterson College families after the Easter break and a heartfelt welcome to some new family members as they join our College community. Our journey together will continue to be unique, caring, and without doubt, full of surprises. One can’t help, as we look forward throughout this year, to wonder what 2021 will bring, what does it still have in store for us? Encapsulating a growth mindset I am looking with anticipation at what our achievements, lessons and learnings will be. Like each and every term, I’m sure we will have our successes and challenges, build on our relationships and learn just as much outside the classroom as we do within our classes. 

As I put metaphorical pen to paper, I wonder about the specifics of our yet to be discovered achievements, how we will maximise our experiences, and make the most of the many opportunities that are part of being at A.B. Paterson College. Central to this will be the choices we make, and understanding how our choices and our reactions frame our character, our children’s character and makes us who we are.

Some choices that quickly come to mind are:

Asking for help is hard / not knowing is hard - Choose your hard

Studying, homework and revision is hard / not getting the results you want is hard - Choose your hard

Getting organised is hard / being disorganised is hard - Choose your hard

Over-protecting those we care about is hard / developing tenacity is hard - Choose your hard

Accepting and working with others is hard / being isolated and working alone is hard - Choose your hard

Communicating is hard / not communicating is hard - Choose your hard

Doing the right thing is hard / doing the wrong this is hard - Choose your hard

In the words of my father, life wasn’t and isn’t meant to be easy all the time. However, it’s often the hard that teaches us, moulds us and allows us to enjoy success and happiness in both the short and long term. Often the hard is the learning that makes the easy. So we should never shy away from the challenges of a new experience, a new learning, or something we don’t know. The results will be happiness, success, belonging and a strong community. This is what A.B. Paterson College is all about! The hard you choose is connected to the College mission: 

“To challenge the individual to achieve, and to act with purpose and character”.

Once again, welcome back everyone to yet another action packed term and I hope you all enjoy the journey ahead in 2021.

Simon Edgar
Head of Junior School

Transition is not easy but it is essential for the growth and development of healthy children. In the Junior School, there are a number of transitional periods that present significant challenges to students, notably the transition from Prep to Year 1 and Year 3 to 4. Whilst Year 1 and 4 students have settled exceptionally well into the 2021 academic year, they have had to make quite a few adjustments in order to adapt to a new classroom dynamic, environment and higher academic expectations and social demands.

For Year 1 students, the classroom dynamic has changed since Prep. In their class, they have a different composition of students and not all their friends are present from the year before. They are exposed to a variety of teachers throughout the day as they are placed in different groups to cater for individual needs. They may be required to move across the campus to attend some specialist lessons and transport the correct equipment required for the lesson. They no longer have individual lockers therefore, they are sharing the same space with their peers to store their belongings. In addition, they may have extra equipment to manage such as musical instruments and sporting gear. The playground area is no longer separated by a gate therefore, they come into contact with older students. In the absence of toys, there is an increasing demand on social interaction, cooperative play and creativity.

Year 4 students on the other hand have to learn to effectively manage having access to a laptop and all the associated challenges that come with using an electronic device. As students experience varying levels of physical and emotional maturity and as their interests and hobbies become more streamlined, their social groups begin to change. They become more independent and they may wish to cast a wider friendship net. Students become exposed to multiple disciplines  and teaching pedagogies all the while with an increased expectation that they become more responsible for their individual learning and managing of academic tasks. This is all part of the growth and development in a 21st century educational setting. It is part of the journey of becoming world ready!

We can support our students during such significant transitional periods by adapting a positive mindset and a can do attitude. When we celebrate small and big milestones, we are triggering young minds to record and recall positive experiences. Positive reinforcement is integral in helping young people develop their self-esteem and the confidence to face challenges. This in turn, encourages resilience and self-sufficiency and as parents we hope for our children to become healthy and well-adjusted individuals. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our students and families for such a successful start to Semester 1. 

Sara Bakanay
Deputy Head of the Junior School: Pastoral

Over the Easter break the Australian National Age Swimming Championships were held at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre. 

This competition represents the pinnacle in competitions for age group swimmers across Australia. Several A.B. Paterson College swimmers achieved the very high qualifying standards required for this competition. Two of our swimmers managed to make it through to the finals in their respective events, placing them in the Top 10 in Australia! Huge congratulations to:

Ava Woodfield
Girls 16 Years
50m Freestyle - 10th in Australia
100m Freestyle - 10th in Australia
200m Freestyle - 10th in Australia

Georgia Coward
Girls 14 Years
200m Breaststroke - 9th in Australia

Awesome effort girls and congratulations on these fantastic results!

Over the Term 1 break, the A.B. Paterson College 1st XV squad competed in the annual Ballymore Cup tournament. The event took place on Friday 16 April to Sunday 18 April at Albany Creek Rugby Club on Brisbane's northside. The Ballymore Cup is Queensland's largest schoolboy rugby competition and is crucial to Queensland Rugby's development pathway, as it presents all Queensland schools with the opportunity to come together and compete at a high level. The 2021 Ballymore Cup saw a record number of teams compete with schools committing to the tournament from Central Highlands, Central Queensland, Wide Bay, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane Metro, Gold Coast and Darling Downs.

This tournament was a battle of attrition, as the boys played four games in two days against quality opposition. In the first game of the tournament, A.B. Paterson College 1st XV played Canterbury College and started very well, scoring the first try and converting. This was a very even match but errors, particularly deep in the A.B. Paterson College half, put the boys under a lot of pressure which ultimately led to Canterbury College winning the match 19 – 10. 

The second match of the competition saw A.B. Paterson College come up against North Lakes State College. The team was desperate to replicate their start from the earlier game, as this has been an area the boys have been seeking to improve on from the early rounds of the APS competition. This objective was achieved, scoring two very well worked tries and kicking one conversion and a penalty to come out victorious 15 – 7. 

The third game was against the well-regarded Marist College Emerald, who were undefeated at that stage of the tournament. This match saw the best defensive effort the boys had produced all year to date and was the primary reason why A.B. Paterson College went into half-time with a 5 – 0 lead. However, fatigue and lapses in concentration meant the boys ended up going down 15 – 5. 

The final match was against Emmanuel College, who had been very impressive in the first two rounds of the APS competition. This match saw injuries and fatigue take their toll on A.B. Paterson College, partially because Emmanuel College had not yet played a game on day two and thus were a lot fresher. The team was scheduled to play a further game on the final day of the tournament, but due to the opposition forfeiting the match, it never eventuated. 

Overall, the tournament was a huge success for A.B. Paterson College. Exposure to a competition such as this was eminently beneficial for the boys, as they were tested both mentally and physically. It is vital that the boys build on what they learnt and achieved at this tournament and continue to work hard at training to ensure strong performances in the local APS competition. 

Throughout the 2021 Ballymore Cup, the boys represented themselves and the College in an exemplary manner and should be extremely proud of their efforts. A huge thank you must be given to Mr Stopel for his tireless efforts and organisation in making our participation at this tournament possible.

Lachlan Webb

In Term 1, Year 1 Japanese studies students enjoyed learning about the weather and the seasons. In the last week of school and over the Easter holidays, the entire Year 1 Japanese student cohort undertook a Teru Teru Bouzu Challenge to make their very own Japanese traditional weather doll. Teru Teru Bouzu are simple, handmade dolls that hang in one's home, often at a window, in the hope of fine weather or rain. When they are hung upright, it is hoped that the next day will be sunny. When they are hung upside down it is hoped that rain will come the following day (a grey coloured weather doll could be made for this purpose).

Well done Year 1 on your excellent creations! 

Michelle Barriga
Assistant Head of Faculty - Languages

Congratulations to our Week 1, Term 2 Bumper Sticker Winners!

Donna Vanes 
Nicole Standbridge

Our lucky winners receive $100 off their school fee invoice for the following term! At the end of Term 3, all of our weekly winners will be invited to an afternoon tea where one family will be drawn to receive FREE* tuition for their eldest child for Term 4 2021 (*tuition fee only).

Our bumper sticker spotters will be on the lookout for more lucky winners right throughout Term 2 and Term 3, so be sure to grab your bumper sticker from College Reception and register your details today! Check out the flyer attached for more information.