After days of intense competition, our World Scholar's Cup team have been exploring the beautiful city of Seoul and immersing themselves in Korean culture.
They have visited a traditional village, learned to make their own rice cakes and hiked to the peak of the city. Last Friday, they wore traditional Korean Hanbok Dress for a Korean ceremony and enjoyed feasts of traditional dishes.
These diverse experiences have not only strengthened our students abilities in the classrooms, but broadened their horizons, appreciating the unique history, heritage and natural wonders that Seoul has to offer.
Belinda Pilgrim | Head of Academic Academy
A.B. Paterson College Foundation High Tea Event
Wow, what a tea-riffic time we had at our Foundation High Tea Event! Sipping tea, sharing laughs, and supporting our Foundation and College community – you all made the event a success!
Guests were treated to performances by our talented Year 3/4 Choir and Senior musicians. We were also privileged to have Dr Cher McGillivray as our guest speaker, providing an insightful presentation on the 5 Languages of Love.
We are immensely grateful to our generous prize donors. Thanks to their contributions, many of our guests left with smiles as they claimed the highly-anticipated raffle prizes.
Thank you again to all of our guests for attending and supporting our Foundation, which in turn supports our wider College community.
Stay tuned for more exciting events!
Tegan Parker | Head of Foundation & Alumni
Years 8-10 Fearless Futures Summit
On Wednesday, twenty students from Years 8-10 attended the Fearless Futures Summit for Female Changemakers, hosted by The Institute for Deeper Learning at St Andrew’s Lutheran College. There were at least ten schools from across the Gold Coast that also attended this event.
It was a one-day student leadership summit aimed at providing Years 8 to 10 secondary school girls with the opportunity to develop their leadership skills, practise wellbeing and engage with experienced mentors in a supportive and interactive environment.
The girls represented the College with pride and have walked away with many skills to support their leadership growth!
Cyberwellness
We had the privilege on Monday and Tuesday of this week of having Rachel Downie, the Founder and Director of Stymie visiting the College and holding student focussed sessions for Years 3 to 12 students, and also a parent information session on Monday evening.
She has asked us to think about this question each time we like, share or post anything on social media, no matter what the platform: ‘Will it hurt, or will it help?’ It is imperative for all students and us as adults to recognise that our online presence has consequences, and we are responsible for what we post online. Our digital footprint is permanent.
A.B. Paterson College introduced the Stymie reporting tool to empower students to anonymously report situations where they believe a student is possibly experiencing harm or requires support. Stymie empowers young people to #saysomething.
This week, Rachel spoke to the Year 9 and 10 students on Monday about how social media and gaming can harm us, as well as those we interact with. She told us some sad stories about students who had been horribly impacted online. This included laws and regulations about nude photos or videos.
On Monday evening, Rachel spoke to parents about Cyberwellness and what that means. Practical tips and strategies were shared which I am going to refine in my own home environment. Importantly, it was recognised that we, as parents, are in this together and it is ‘difficult’, although imperative to monitor our own children’s screen usage.
On Tuesday, Rachel spoke firstly to the Year 5 and 6 students about social media and the law including age restrictions and why they are in place. The session then moved to what is a digital footprint and the dangers of online chat forums. Earlier in the morning, Rachel spoke with the Year 3 and 4 students about safe online practices and how quickly it can spiral out of control. This included what is cyberbullying and why we have rules around device usage and, in particular, the behaviours expected at A. B. Paterson College. Online behaviour is no different to expected behaviours when you are interacting with others in the classroom, playground or on the sporting field.
Rachel is making a big difference in young people’s lives by educating teachers, parents and students about their responsibilities and rights and giving them the tools to reach out for support. Our students learnt a lot from this exceptional and accomplished person, who has her finger on the pulse of the most up to date data, real stories of harm and importantly, how we can safeguard our children and ourselves in the ever-increasing digital space we live in.
Simon Edgar | Head of Junior School
Prep’s 100 Days of School Celebrations
The 100 Days of School celebration is a special and cherished tradition at A.B Paterson College.
It is not just a fun event for our students, but also a meaningful way to look back on how far each and every child has gone in their first formal year of schooling.
During this celebration, our students reach a significant milestone, and we take the time to acknowledge their achievements and hard work. By doing so, we encourage them to feel proud of their progress and inspire them to keep learning and exploring new things.
On Wednesday 26 July, all Prep students celebrated their 100th day of school. All students enjoyed participating in learning opportunities centred around the number 100. There were many laughs and excitement as the students participated in each activity and they enjoyed a well-deserved and delicious treat at lunchtime – a cupcake!
Our 100 Days of School celebration brings together our teachers, students, and parents, strengthening our College community. This supportive network creates an encouraging environment where children feel safe to ask questions, share their ideas, and seek help when needed.
As part of this celebration, we also encourage critical thinking and problem-solving skills. All children were asked to bring in 100 items – yes 100 items to school! Students enjoyed counting their items to see what 100 really looks like.
Overall, the 100 Days of School celebration is a significant milestone that represents the progress our children make in their education.
Jade Lucy, Rebecca Tonkin, Jacinta Lauder & Trent Davis | Prep Teaching Team
Busy Bees Gardening Club
From little things, big things grow!
The Busy Bees Gardening Club 2023 kicked off in Term 2 with a new location and all new teeny tiny plants. Wow, how quickly things have developed!
The club celebrated their very first harvest last week, drawing around 25 enthusiastic students who looked on.
Mrs Taryn Hanley carefully sliced up the first capsicum and everyone got to try it!
We can’t wait to see how the garden thrives in the coming weeks!
Student Achievement in Fencing
Siegfried Perez
Another round of news for Year 3 student Siegfried Perez, who recently competed in the July 2023 Koala Mini Challenge - an international fencing competition hosted by the NSW Fencing Association.
Among competitors from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines and Australia, Siegfried was awarded a Bronze medal in the 8 years and under Boy's Foil Fencing round.
Congratulations Siegfried!
Nathan Burgess | Director of Activities
Student Achievement at Gold Coast Eisteddfod
Arya Bilgin
Congratulations to Arya Bilgin in Year 2 on her success at the Gold Coast Eisteddfod.
On Monday 17 July, Arya performed her Song and Dance Solo and was placed 2nd.
On Saturday 22 July, she performed her Jazz Solo and came in 3rd place amongst 11 dancers.
Well done Arya!
Book Week Writing Competition - Read Grow Inspire
Book Week at A.B. Paterson College will be celebrated in Week 10 of Term 3 (11-14 September), and in honour of this event – our yearly writing competition is back!
Our Junior School students have the opportunity to write a picture book based on the theme of Book Week - ‘Read, Grow, Inspire’.
Our Senior School students can write either a short story or poem based on the same theme – ‘Read, Grow, Inspire’.
Even our College staff can get in on the creative fun, and submit a picture book, short story or poem.
Entries must be submitted no later than Friday 28 September (Term 3, Week 3).
Why not use the term holidays to get your creative juices pumping and see what you are create!?
For more details about each contest, please view the flyers on the links below, visit our College libraries or email the library team at librarystaff@abpat.qld.edu.au
The 2023 Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) is underway at A.B. Paterson College.
The PRC is not a competition but a way to encourage students to develop a love of reading for life. Students are encouraged to select a range of fiction and non-fiction books suited to their reading ability and record books read during the reading period, between 8 May to 25 August. The reader record form for students to record the number of books they have read can be found in our libraries or online at:
Prep to Year 2 must read or experience at least 20 books
Years 3 and 4 must read at least 20 books
Years 5 to 9 must read at least 15 books.
Experiencing books can include shared reading, listening to stories, or reading picture books. The aim for the 2023 challenge is to encourage students to make time to read.
Key Dates
Activity
8 May to 25 August
Reading period for Prep to Year 9 students
28 August
Student reader record forms submitted to teacher
30 October to 10 November
Premier's Reading Challenge celebration weeks
For suggested books or for more information about the PRC, please visit: readingchallenge.education.qld.gov.au or contact our Library Team in our space or at librarystaff@abpat.qld.edu.au.
Every student who completes the challenge and returns the completed record reader form and consent form, will receive a Certificate of Achievement signed by the Premier. We look forward to seeing as many of our students as possible take part in the 2023 Premier’s Reading Challenge.
Consent form and third-party providers for the Certificate of Achievement
This section is to inform you about how the department will use, record and disclose you and your child’s personal information. The department, as the PRC organiser, often works with third-party providers which may involve disclosing personal information to those parties.
Due to the high volume of reader entrants in the PRC, the department utilises a third-party organisation (Median Technologies Pty Ltd) for collecting the reader entries, printing the individualised certificates and mailing them to schools.
The department needs to receive consent in writing before it uses or discloses an individual’s personal information or materials to a third-party organisation.
By completing and returning the reader record form and the signed consent form to us, you agree to your child/children participating in the PRC and their personal information (their first and last names, year level, class name and school name) to be collected, used and disclosed by the department for the purposes of registration of their entry in the PRC, and printing and issuing a Certificate of Achievement to your child. This information is collected and disclosed to Median Technologies and held for a period of one (1) year in their online database (https://prc.median.com.au) which is based in Australia (using local Microsoft Azure Cloud Services). Any data held by Median Technologies is deleted within one (1) year after the PRC is completed.
We look forward to seeing a large number of A.B. Paterson College students from Prep to Year 9 receiving this prestigious certificate, signed by the Premier of Queensland!
