It was a wonderful A.B. Paterson College Senior School Celebration Assembly on Tuesday, with students enjoying being officially introduced to our Assistant Principal, Mr Harvey, our superstar Lead Coach of our Track and Field Program, Leana Joyce as well enjoying amazing performances from our Chamber Choir, Big Band, Dance group and Director of Activities, Mr Burgess's hilarious 'Minute to Win It' sneaky house point challenge!
A big congratulations to all of our Award Winners in the areas of Academic, Co-Curricular and Sports and a heartfelt thank you to all of the parents who attended to show their support also!
Gold at the Queensland Youth Music Awards
Huge congratulations to our College Chamber Choir and Year 7/8 Choir who performed at the Queensland Youth Music Awards last week.
With NAPLAN tests scheduled during the same time, there were lots of logistics to work around to ensure that all students were able to participate. As a result, our Chamber Choir needed to be scheduled in the Secondary Choir – Advanced section, whilst our Year 7/8 Choir took part in the Secondary Choir – Intermediate section.
We are delighted to announce that both choirs were rewarded with Gold awards!
A massive thank you must go to Ms Newcombe, not only for her fabulous organisation of the event, but also her amazing choral teaching and her willingness to participate in bus karaoke late into the night.
We must also thank our very talented accompanist, Mrs Marquenie, who travelled with both choirs and once again provided wonderful support to the Arts staff and students throughout the evenings.
Sharyn Walker-Joyce Head of The Arts
Junior Choirs at Queensland Youth Music Awards
The Performing Arts Centre at St Laurence’s College in Brisbane became a sea of green on Tuesday night, as nearly 200 A.B. Paterson College students arrived to compete in the Queensland Youth Music Awards.
Our young choristers from Years 1-4 were wonderful ambassadors for the College and overcame nerves and excitement to perform beautifully for their directors, Miss Newcombe, Mrs MacKenzie and Miss Eastwood.
All of the students competed in the Junior Choirs to Year 4 Section, so it was an amazing feat for our Year 1 singers to be awarded a Silver award! With the help of our fantastic Junior School, Senior School and Arts staff who came along to assist and support, the students performed confidently whilst having lots of fun.
We are delighted to announce that the Year 2, Year 3 and Year 3/4 Choirs were all awarded Gold awards and to top it all off, the Year 3 Choir received 3rd place overall and Mrs MacKenzie’s Year 3/4 Choir were awarded 2nd place!
The Arts staff are so very proud of all of our young singers and we thank all of our parent body for entrusting your children with us on this great musical adventure. A sincere thanks to the seventeen staff who attended to support and encourage the students. Without your care and consideration, opportunities like this just cannot be offered to our students.
Sharyn Walker-Joyce Head of The Arts
Silver Duke of Edinburgh Camp (Gold Coast) 20-22 May
Last weekend, eight Year 11 students took part in a Silver Duke of Edinburgh Camp. Seven were completing their Qualifying Camp and one was undertaking their first Practice Camp. Unlike the more traditional expedition orientated camps which have been based in the tropical rainforests surrounding the Gold Coast, this year’s Silver camp took place on the Gold Coast as part of an Urban Exploration.
Students explored the city environment for three days, working upon personal projects on urban related topics. These included comparative studies of the predominantly manicured Brisbane Parks with the Gold Coast’s more natural untouched parkland regions (contrasting bushland, coastline and urban landscapes). The impact of humans on the environment (e.g. litter, erosion, pollution, visitor pressure in national parks etc.). Identifying opportunities based on the redesign or creation of a new feature within the natural parks environment that would make it more desirable for a younger clientele and public access issues: How do cycle paths, designated pathways and footpaths etc. impact on the natural features on the park?
Despite the very wet and inclement weather all eight students had a great time and the group dynamics, team spirit and enthusiastic approach to the weekends activities was excellent. Students camped at the College where they cooked their evening meals and prepared their healthy and nutritional breakfasts and pack lunches.
A number of suburbs were explored as part of historical and cultural visits, whereby students took notes and recorded what they saw with video and still photographic images to create a comprehensive journal documenting their chosen topic. These included Broadwater Parklands, Macintosh Island Parklands, Evandale Parklands, The Gold Coast Botanical Gardens, Florida and Cascade Gardens. Notable highpoints for the students were a visit to the Home of the Arts (HOTA) and exploring China Town.
Andrew Sole Head of Outdoor Education
EcoMarines Ambassadors
Our Year 6 girls had a very special activity and were inducted as EcoMarines Ambassadors at a training day on Tangalooma Island.
Sophia, Ivy, Arwen and Miriam partnered with students from other schools to workshop on how to lead sustainability initiatives at A.B. Paterson College.
They are now experts in ocean health, recycling rules and how to feed wild dolphins!
We look forward to seeing the ideas of these wonderful eco warriors in action.
Year 4 Projects in Scratch
During Technology lessons this term, students have been studying and researching their chosen plant in Science lessons in class, and then putting some of this information into an interactive Scratch project. Students have enhanced their coding skills and have enjoyed learning how to include text, speech and their own imaginative games in their projects.
Please see the reflections from some of our students below:
In Technology, we are using Scratch with Mrs Claydon’s assistance. In Scratch, we are creating a project that is about a plant. We have to code sprites (characters) to say facts and ask questions. We have to do a different thing on each sprite. Overall, Scratch is an amazing database to learn with. Emily Wong
Scratch! Scratch is a software application that lets you code anything you want to make the computer do something. You can create anything from games to working buttons to a whole new world. I think Scratch is a 5-star application because anyone anywhere can use it and it will soon become something fun for them. They can also learn the basics of coding so you can level up your knowledge if you actually want to become a coder. That’s why I love Scratch and I hope you will like it too. Rehan Mohammed
Scratch to me is a fun learning-based website that can help plan presentations. It has fun little details such as backdrops. Scratch is an amazing website to give presentations using advanced and beginner coding. To access Scratch, search up scratch.mit.edu.au. Ewan Ramsay
In Year 4, we have been doing an online coding program called Scratch. Scratch is really fun and interactive. I absolutely love trying out my classmates' projects to see what they’re making! Scratch may be hard to code, but it is definitely worth it! Alyssa Silva
This term we are learning how to use Scratch in Technology. We are supposed to insert a backdrop on to our Scratch project with a picture of our plant. We added buttons with facts about our plant. I enjoy using Scratch because I get to work on my coding skills and get to be creative. I also get to share information about my plant (Pitcher Plants). Scratch is a fun place to work on your coding skills. I love scratch! Anushka Khosla
It was so cool to make different codes and show others. The quiz I am going to make is so funny to make people like my Scratch project. It is so cool! Working with Mrs Claydon was so exciting, and I liked working with my friends too. Alana Liew
A big thank you to our Head of Digital Literacy & STEAM, Mrs Beth Claydon.
Year 4 Teachers - Timothy Collins, Zoe Truss-Michaelis, Tiffany Henry & Samantha Aplin
Family Tree Planting Activity for National Simultaneous Storytime
National Simultaneous Storytime was celebrated on Wednesday with a special 'Family Tree' planting activity with students, our ground staff and Head of Library Services, Mrs Stephanne Siberry.
National Simultaneous Storytime at A.B.
What a wonderful day we all had for National Simultaneous Storytime at A.B. sharing in the story "Family Tree" with reading and fun activities.
The students were given special A.B. bookmarks to encourage the growing of family, community and a love of literacy. The bookmarks were extra special because inside were Bottlebrush seeds so our students could plant them with their family and watch them grow, so someday they could share a story together beneath their own family tree.
Thank you to our fabulous A.B. Paterson College Head of Library Services, Ms Siberry for yet again hosting a spectacular day!
Vicki Wilson Netball Carnival Success!
GO BRUMBIES!
Congratulations to our Vicki Wilson Netball teams on a fine performance at last Friday's Vicki Wilson Netball Carnival.
A fantastic day of matches played in true Brumbies spirit and awesome to see both teams supporting each other all the way.
It was oh so close for our Senior team, narrowly going down to Coomera Anglican College in the Semi Final. The girls did us incredibly proud with their Top 4 finish!
Our Junior team had a good round of pool matches, just one point shy of making the Semi Finals. A great learning experience for all players and looking forward to seeing what the next few years bring for A.B. Netball.
A very special shout out to all the coaches, staff, umpires and parents for your support throughout the day!
Open A Girls Football Team - Winners Again!
GO BRUMBIES!
The College's Open A Girls Football team celebrated their third win in a row and are on their way to the top of the APS ladder in some very trying conditions! Well done to all the players.
Let's hear it for our Open A Girls Football team!
LONG LIVE APS!
Student Achievements
Diving Australia - 2022 Australian Age Championships
Congratulations to Lucinda Harrison (Year 12) and Abigail Harrison (Year 9) who recently competed at the Australian Diving Age Championships in Adelaide where they came fourth in Australia for the 14 to 18 years girls synchronised springboard. An amazing achievement for both of our A.B. students!
Earlier in the year, they achieved Gold medals for synchronised springboard at the Queensland State Championships.
Well done Lucinda and Abigail!
Nathan Burgess
Director of Activities
School State Golf Championships
Congratulations to Lucas Wilkinson of Year 4, who competed in Townsville from 23-25 May at the School State Golf Championships for 10–12-year-olds.
Lucas was chosen as one of four golfers to represent the South Coast School District. Out of 40 golfers successfully chosen in the QLD regional trials, he finished in 13th place at the State Championship, which given the vast majority were 11–12-year-olds was an amazing achievement. He was the youngest in the top 15.
The highlight for Lucas was his second round scoring 86 (14 over par) on a full-length course and 5th place on the day. Lucas narrowly missed the cut for the School National Championships, however, has two further years in the division.
He recently finished in 3rd place at the US Kids Australia Masters in the Hunter Valley for the 9-year-old division and scored even par in the last US Kids state tour events (shortened courses), which qualifies him for the US Kids World Championship in Pinehurst, USA.
Well done Lucas!
Junior School Chess Competition
Congratulations to Lucas Zhang, in Year 3H, for coming in first place in our Junior School Chess Competition. Lucas demonstrated great pride of representation and reason when playing chess. He is to be commended for keeping his cool within the nerves and excitement of our weekly chess tournaments. Lucas expended every shred of his problem-solving energy and expeditious in his manner. The speed of his moves is a testament to his chess skills. Well done, Lucas and keep up the fantastic work!
Chess Club is run every Monday afternoon from 3:30pm – 4:30pm and is a great way for players to develop friendships with other children in various year levels, while practising their chess playing skills in a supportive and friendly environment.
Chess Club Coordinators – Trent Davis and Lena White
Queensland Cancer Council Biggest Morning Tea
A BIG THANK YOU to the A.B. staff community for raising $1,542.60 for the Queensland Cancer Council Biggest Morning Tea on Monday.
Thank you to all the bakers: Angie Hall, Sue Walduck, Mel Presland, Karen Milburn, Shannon Still-Wright, Tina Readshaw, Tennille Mitchell, Cheryl Wheeler, Gail Williams, Ruth Bradley, Fiona Jamieson, Stephanie Bryan, Vanessa Vanderveen, Kayla McNaught and Deb Selby
Thank you also to our Staff Wellbeing Committee: Sue Walduck, Elisa Valade, Robyn Dewar, Carlie Dawson, Sharon Flack and Rebecca Taylor for all your work behind the scenes to ensure a successful event.
Toni Kirton Direct of Positive Education & Leadership
Bumper Sticker Competition Winners - Week 6, Term 2
Congratulations to our Week 6, Term 2 Bumper Sticker Winners!
Jenny Lau and Biwen Gillespie
Get your 2022 bumper sticker from College Reception and enter here:
Your vehicle MUST be registered in the competition to be eligible for our weekly bumper sticker draw.
Our lucky winners each 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 2022 (*tuition fee only).
Click here for more information regarding the 2022 Bumper Sticker competition.
