Illalong Newsletter - 5 August 2022 | A.B. Paterson College

Junior School News

As we welcomed the Year 6 cohort from the unforgettable Winton Camp, preparations have begun for the Year 5 Leadership Camp in September. Although the camp is still a few weeks away, the Year 5 cohort have already started reflecting on what leadership means and have had a taste of some leadership responsibilities bestowed upon them.

Last year’s Year 6 cohort started the Frivolous Fridays initiative as a spin off from Mingling Mondays. This initiative was well received by students and staff. This year, the Year 5 cohort have taken on the initiative to ensure that Frivolous Fridays lives on. The aspiring future leaders have had the opportunity to volunteer and be nominated to spend time in the Prep precinct on Fridays and enjoy having their lunch alongside the Preps and then enjoy mingling and playing games together. The Prep students look forward to Fridays and the Year 5 students have indicated that the experience has been rewarding and heart-warming.

There is much excitement amongst the Year 5 cohort as the chatter regarding the upcoming camp is building up. The camp offers a progressive and innovative way for the College to support individual character growth for all students. They will have many opportunities to further improve their leadership skills and make positive contributions in their teams. Thank you to all the Year 5 volunteers this year for their contribution to Junior School.

Sara Bakanay | Acting Head of Junior School

From Year 6 Classrooms

The much-anticipated Winton Tour was an adventurous and dynamic way to start Term 3! We spent many hours during Term 2 preparing ourselves for an amazing nine days in the outback. We were not disappointed! Despite the chilly mornings and nights, the warm days were filled with exciting activities such as The Bilby Experience, visiting the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum, Stockman’s Hall of Fame Gallery, Qantas Museum, visiting the Combo Waterhole (where Banjo was inspired to write Waltzing Matilda) and fossicking for gems in Rubyvale – just to name a few.

Our Year 6 cohort left for Winton with two specific goals in mind, developing their leadership and independence skills, and forming new friendships. As teachers, we feel that our students were very successful in achieving their goals. As each day passed packed with exciting activities, the less students worried about being so far away from home and made the most of the opportunities and experiences being presented to them on this tour. We also saw many smiles on faces (even with the flies) as students became more familiar with the lifestyle and wonders of living in the outback.

The cohort excelled in their poetry performances both for the Grand Opening of Barty’s Place and also in the Barry Wilson Memorial Park. It was a pleasure to perform for the passing Aussie travellers who stopped in to see the wonderful tribute to Banjo Paterson and his poetry.

Over the nine days, we observed many of our students move from being dependent to independent. As each day passed, they became more accustomed to preparing themselves for the day ahead, having to remember everything they would need to pack and take with them. Showering was an added delight for each student in the luxurious Barty’s Place facilities. Memories were shaped and formed as were friendships. We were so proud of the way our students conducted themselves and thank them for a memorable camp. The teamwork they displayed was exemplary and the way they encouraged and supported their peers was a pleasure to see. We hope the experiences of the Winton Tour live long in the memories of our Year 6 champions!

Year 6 Teachers | Kerrie Moore, Judy Russell, Hannah Caspen and Kelly Harker

2022 Junior Interhouse Track & Field Carnival

Mackellar House Captains,
Calvin Liu & Olive Davis

It has been an extremely busy start to Term 3 with the Junior Track & Field Carnival taking place in the third week back from the mid-year break. It was fantastic to see the students engage so readily and involve themselves wherever they could to muster points for their respective house and/or age champion points.

Congratulations must go to Mackellar for taking out 1st place at our 2022 Junior Interhouse Track & Field Carnival. The overall results are shown below:

OVERALL SCORES

1st Place Mackellar House 2362.0
2nd Place Wright House 2295.5
3rd Place Lawson House 1952.0
4th Place Dennis House 1774.5

Congratulations to the following students who were awarded age champion placings for their accumulation of points throughout the carnival:

AGE CHAMPIONS

Furthermore, it was exceptional to see so many College records fall at this Carnival. One of these records, the 9 Year Boys Discus, was held by the current Assistant Head of Faculty in our HPE Department, until Mitchell Cutajar broke it at this year’s Carnival. Congratulations to all students listed below for breaking College records, some of which have stood for many years.

RECORD BREAKERS

Mitchell Cutajar 9 Years Boys 100m 16.47
Mitchell Cutajar 9 Year Boys Discus 20.65m
Allan Zhang 9 Year Boys 100m 16.47
Liam Glover 11 Year Boys High Jump 1.35m

A big thank you must go to all of the College’s coaches for their dedication they have shown to the program and guidance and support they have provided our students over the course of Term 2: Mrs Leana Joyce, Mr Steve Jackson, Mr Matt Stopel, Mrs Tennille Mitchell, Ms Sona Preiszlerova, Ms Emelia Surch, Mr Noah Fielding, Ms Jasmine Hayes, Ms Jess Hughes, Mr Darrell Menezes and Mr Warwick Ford.

Additionally, thank you to the Netball Club Canteen for working tirelessly over the course of the day and providing A.B. Paterson College staff and students with an array of food and drink options. A huge thank you is also owed to the Maintenance team and Grounds staff who assisted with the set up and kept the ovals in great shape despite the mischievous cockatoos and unfavourable weather in the lead up to the big day.

Hopefully, all students can show us much passion, determination, and teamwork at the Junior APS Track & Field Carnival on Thursday 4 August as they demonstrated at our Interhouse Carnival.

Lachlan John Webb | APS Squads Coordinator

Year 9-12 College Careers Expo

This week the A.B. Paterson College Careers Expo was held in the MPC, where the Year 9-12 students were able to meet educators, employers and training providers from a wide range of industries.

The Expo gave the students the opportunity to seek professional career development and employment opportunities. Representatives from Australia-wide organisations including universities, private training providers, TAFE Queensland, government agencies, Defence Forces, employers, professional associations, and other tertiary and career related organisations were on hand to answer any questions students had for them.

The students were given information on possible study options with a focus on helping and guiding students towards a career path.

Thank you to Mrs Jeanette Maxwell, Head of Pathways, for giving our students an insight into the career options available to them. There was lots of valuable information provided by the exhibitors and excited discussions amongst the students as they envisioned their futures.

Student Achievements at Gold Coast Eisteddfod

Congratulations to Year 8 student, Mitchell Chen, who was awarded 1st place at the Gold Coast Eisteddfod in the Guitar Solo 13 years and over section.

The adjudicator commented on Mitchell’s lovely choice of repertoire as well as his beautiful, warm and technically secure playing.

Well done to Mitchell and College guitar tutor, Bryce Leader!

Huge congratulations to Year 9 saxophone student, Sunny Liu, who has been extremely busy competing in three Woodwind/Brass sections at the Gold Coast Eisteddfod!

Sunny won a Highly Commended in the 13 to 15 years solo, a Very Highly Commended in the 13 to 15 Years Championship, and 2nd place in the Pop and Jazz Section 13 to 15 years.

Sunny also accompanied his younger brother on piano, in the 12 years and under Woodwind/Brass section, in which the boys won a silver medal.

Sunny, you should be very proud of these results as should your teacher, Mr Alex Fletcher. Well done to you both!

Congratulations to Emily Zhang in Year 4 has been very busy indeed, with multiple performances and successes at the Gold Coast Eisteddfod.

She was awarded a Highly Commended in the Junior String Championship for 12 Years and Under, 3rd place in the Strings Grade 5-6 and 1st place in the Violin/Viola section for 10 years and under!

Congratulations Emily, we are so proud of you and the dedication that you show to your musical development.

What a wonderful start for our students at the Gold Coast eisteddfod.

In the Under 10 Violin solo, not only did Emily receive first place, she was also joined by Year 3 students Quentin, who received 3rd place, and Thomas who received a Highly Commended ribbon!

Well done to our budding strings stars.

Congratulations to Lexi Duggan of Year 5, who received a Highly Commended at the Gold Coast Eisteddfod in Classical Ballet.

Well done to our wonderful dancer, we are very proud of you.

Well done to Calvin Liu in Year 6 and Lucas Liu in Year 5, who have both achieved wonderful individual results at the Gold Coast eisteddfod.

Calvin was awarded 1st place in the Woodwind/Brass 12 years and under solo section, while Lucas was awarded 3rd place in that same section.

Calvin then also went on to be awarded first place in the Junior Woodwind/Brass Championship.

Congratulations on achieving such well-deserved results boys!

Some superb results have been achieved by Meg Payling in Year 5 who recently received a High Distinction (A+) for her Grade 6 AMEB piano examination. This is an amazing achievement for such a young musician and Meg should be very proud of herself!

Meanwhile, Meg also won 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medal at the Quota Beenleigh Eisteddfod – congratulations Meg, these are wonderful results and a true reflection of the dedication you show to your piano practice and performance.

Sharyn Walker-Joyce | Head of The Arts

Friends of A.B. Trivia Night

On Friday 29 July, lower Maths was transformed into a magical Christmas wonderland for our annual Friends of A.B. Paterson College (FAB) Trivia Night, and what a wonderful night we had.

Surrounded by a sleigh full of presents and the twinkling of fairy lights, parents and friends of the College went head to head testing their trivia knowledge and battling it out in games. It was wonderful to hear the room filled with laughter and feel the overwhelming sense of Christmas spirit. There were no 'Grinches' to be seen!

Congratulations to all who won prizes on the night and commiserations to the bad Santa recipients! A huge congratulations to The Nutcrackers for taking out the win - you are the team to beat next year!

Thanks again to those who donated prizes on the night:

Lana Noir Photography;
Reading Cinemas; and
R & R Machinery (Kristen Randal).

Your contributions and support are so greatly appreciated.

Last but certainly not least, our heartfelt thanks to our very own 'Santa's Little Helpers', who turned a maths classroom into a Christmas Wonderland. So much organisation and effort goes into creating these events and we are very fortunate to have FAB Secretary, Jo Duggan, who led her team of Elves: Kristen Randal and Kristy Bracehan in creating another wonderful FAB event. I think everyone would agree that the room and prizes looked magnificent! Thank you also to Richard Nixon, Tamara Brereton and Nallini McCleery for your help setting up on the day.

We now turn to our next events:

Father's Day Stalls and BBQ which are to be held on Wednesday, 31 August and Thursday, 1 September.

Take care and thank you once again.

Kristin Higgins | FAB Deputy Chair

A Night with our Old Collegians in Medicine

Thursday, 11 August 2022 at 6:00pm
LPAC - A.B. Paterson College

Join us for this very special event to hear from four of our celebrated Old Collegians who have worked hard on their careers in Medicine. Come along to hear about the pathways they took, things that they have learnt, what they would tell their teenage selves and what their bright futures have in store.

We expect interest in this event to be high - please register your attendance using the link provided - https://forms.office.com/r/VEryDuzGRc.

Asma’a Gundru - Class of 2006

Asma’a studied a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at Bond University before being accepted into a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) at Bond University. Asma’a has developed her medical skills over many years and in many states of Australia. She is now a General Practitioner on the Gold Coast and enjoys the continuity of care that comes with developing lasting relationships with her patients.

Samuel Tredinnick - Class of 2014

After graduating from A.B. Paterson College, Samuel studied a Bachelor of Biomedical Science before being accepted into a Bachelor of Medical Studies (BMedSt) and Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) at Bond University. Samuel graduated in 2020 and has been thriving in his Residency at Townsville University Hospital. His professional ambition has been cemented in Obstetrics and Gynaecology where he hopes to continue working for years to come.

Marilla Dickfos - Class of 2005

Marilla graduated from A.B. Paterson College in 2005 and went on to study a Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc), Chemistry at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2006. Marilla was then accepted into a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) at the University of Queensland (UQ), graduating in 2012. She then went on to study a Master of Surgical Sciences at The University of Edinburgh, completing these studies in 2016. Marilla has held a number of positions at different hospitals including (but not limited to) Toowoomba Hospital, Prince Charles Hospital, Royal Brisbane Womens Hospital and Bundaberg Hospital. Marilla has enjoyed a career in General Surgery and is currently a registrar at our very own Gold Coast University Hospital.

Sivarubini Mugunthan - Class of 2015

Rubini started her university career through completing a subject at Griffith University whilst completing her Year 12 studies (Guest Program). After graduating Year 12, she went on to study a Bachelor of Oral Health in Dental Science. Whilst studying this program, Rubini was then accepted into a Bachelor of Medical Studies, Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), graduating in December 2021. Rubini is now a Medical Intern for Queensland Health, working at the Gold Coast University Hospital and is currently busy doing her rotations through each medical faculty. She has just finished her rotation through Psychiatry and is now working in the very busy Emergency Department.

Stephanie Bryan | Head of Foundation & Alumni