The first week in my new post as Head of Senior School has been an extremely positive experience. 

Having been at the College for the past 16 months, working in the Executive Team as the Director of Business Services, I have had a great vantage point in seeing the College from all angles. Working with the administrative and business teams has been a real pleasure, and a considerable learning experience away from my previous roles in education over the past 29 years. 

Head of Senior School is a return to my first passion of teaching and working with young people - a role that has enabled me to work and live in the UK, USA and now, Australia. I have been very fortunate to have worked in schools in the UK and Australia, experiencing a varied number of state and private schools in a variety of different roles, including Head of Department, Principal, Business Manager and Consultant; teaching thousands of students over that time.

Whilst I have been a teacher my entire career, I am also a parent which gives me the opportunity to experience the different perspective of the educational journey with my own three children. I have a son in primary school, another in secondary and a daughter at university. Watching their progress gives me not only great pride in all they achieve, but also a rounded and holistic view of the education journey, for my children and all students in my care.

In my time as an educator, I have come across many great students, none however like those at A.B. Paterson College. The pride our students take in wearing their uniform, the way they act and interact so positively with each other is truly fantastic. They are an amazing and talented group of people, as are our staff, who truly embody our focus of excellence, care, commitment and community.

I feel very lucky to work here at A.B. Paterson College each and every day. I am particularly looking forward to moving back into the education space once again, working with really great staff, students and parents, by supporting all in developing and reaching their potential as lifelong learners.

Our students have set high standards for themselves. I am excited to work with all of our stakeholders to ensure we keep those high standards, so that the hard work is rewarded for each and every student at Valedictory, and continues as College alumni. 

Welcome back to Term 4. I look forward to working with you and your children this year, and in the years to come. There is much for us to do, lots of hard work, but lots of fun ahead too. 

So together, let’s make this a positive and successful educational experience - one we can celebrate well, when each young person finishes each year of their schooling journey, then all of their Senior School achievements at the end of Year 12.

Gary Smith
Head of Senior School

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, 'The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.'  This week in Social Emotional Learning Fundamentals (SELF) students in Years 7 and 9 were asked questions such as:    

What kind of world do I want to live in?

What can I do to influence the world in which I live?

As a young person, can I make an impact?

These stimulus questions introduced our students to their Term 4 Service-learning projects.  At the core of Service-learning, students are asked to use their head, hand and hearts to help others.  That is, how can I think about ways to assist others (head), what can I do to assist others (hand), how can I empathise with others in their time of need (heart)?

Cathryn Berger Kaye, a leading researcher in the field of Service-learning defines service as, contributing to or helping to benefit others for the common good. Berger Kaye extends her definition of service to that of service-learning which is a process of inquiry that involves five key stages to meet genuine need: 

1. Investigation

2. Planning and Preparation

3. Action

4. Reflection

5. Demonstration to meet genuine need

As part of their Service-learning projects, students have been asked to research community organisations such as: The Pyjama Foundation; RizeUp Australia; Animal Welfare League Queensland; Baby Give Back; Share the Dignity; Wildcare and Surfers Sunrise Rotary, to explore tangible actions that they can take to assist these partner organisations. Students in Year 7 also have the opportunity to raise awareness at the College regarding the societal issue of pollution and waste management, along with cooking for those in need, and extending our Community Garden.  

Integral to the success of the projects is the need to act. The beauty of Service-learning projects is that it is an opportunity for our students to hone the skills they learn in the classroom, for example, researching, problem solving and collaboration in a real-world context. Students have been reminded that their Service-learning projects are not hypothetical, they are planned, actioned and student driven. In the coming weeks, our community will hear a lot from our students regarding these projects as we aim to grow compassion in our students whilst looking at the broader picture of the need to influence the world in which they live. I look forward to parents and families assisting where they can.

Toni Kirton
Director of Positive Education and Leadership

One of the great advantages of A.B. Paterson College offering an education for children from Junior Kindergarten right through to Year 12, is the opportunity this provides for smooth and easy transitions throughout the school. Providing this transition on one campus is another positive – as students move from one part of the school into another, they already have a familiarity with the surrounds. 

There are, of course, still significant transition points during a child’s journey with A.B. Paterson College. Moving from Senior Kindy to Pre-Prep offers an exciting transition into the wonderful facilities offered in The Winton Centre. The move from Pre-Prep into the world of ‘big school’ and the Prep year is another significant event in the life of an A.B. Paterson College student. The move from Year 11 into Year 12 and the responsibilities that come with student leadership of the school is an important one. Another of these important transitions that forms the focus of this article is the transition from the Junior School to the Senior School.

The transition from Year 6 to Year 7 is layered with excellence, care and commitment. It is important as a school to recognise the importance of this approach as students are changing a familiar pattern and habits of their school life. In a survey conducted by HPE Faculty member and Head of Dennis House Mr Peter Brookes, and a Senior School health class of Junior School students, the data showed that familiarity with people and spaces were two of the biggest worries experienced by A.B. Paterson College students as they navigated the transition into the Senior School. 

Based on this data, we introduced some activities and experiences to help students feel more confident in the transition from Year 6 to Year 7. During the second semester of Year 6, students now spend one afternoon a week doing their lessons in the Senior School. This gives them the opportunity to navigate the physical space and buildings of the Senior School to build a familiarity under guidance from College staff. There is a gradual release of responsibility during this plan that allows students to find classrooms with increasing independence and always in a safe and supported structure.

Our Year 6 students also told us of the importance of being familiar with the people who will support them in the Senior School. As part of the transition process students now have the opportunity to meet and spend time with the four Heads of House, who form an integral part of the pastoral support structure in the Senior School. They also have the opportunity to participate in a number of tutor group sessions towards the end of Term 4, so they become acquainted with the habit and routine of how they will start each day in the Senior School.

Transition initiatives such as these, that were based on the feedback from our students, are further supported through the well-established structures that assist our students in transitioning from the Junior School to the Senior School. All Year 6 students participate in transition days that help them to know the Senior School Heads of House better. These transition days are fun, engaging and focused on the skills, knowledge and attitudes that will serve students well in the Senior School. Year 6 staff and the Heads of House also go through a comprehensive sharing of information so that the strengths and achievements of our students are well-known by Senior School staff as they enter this part of the school.

Parents and carers with specific questions about the transition from the Junior School to the Senior School are encouraged to contact College staff for assistance.

Steve Clacher
Deputy Head of Junior School: Pastoral

The $20 Boss program for Year 10 Business is officially over for 2020. It was marked this week by our annual pizza party and awards ceremony to congratulate our winning businesses. 

Participating in the $20 Boss program is a fantastic opportunity for the Year 10 Business students as it allows them to tap into their creativity to establish a financially viable, social enterprise that benefits a chosen cause or mission that they personally connect with. The program aims to enhance students’ enterprise skills including their communication and teamwork, critical thinking, project management and financial and digital literacy.

This was the first year that there was a ‘no food’ rule implemented. While food and baked treats are the way to students’ and teachers' hearts and is a huge profit generator, this stipulation meant that students really had to put their entrepreneurial skills to work and develop a business that would satisfy their target market’s needs and wants.

Overall, $1,200 profit was donated to various charities. All teams should be congratulated for the hard work and dedication they put into creating and promoting their businesses. A special mention must go to the Year 4, 5, and 6 teachers who helped drive Junior School sales and allowed the Year 10s to promote their businesses to their classes.

The awards aligned with the $20 Boss goals with the recipients as follows:

The Best Overall Team: Paper Pals

The Most Profitable Team: Scraps2Scrunchies ($460)

Most Valuable Team Player: Emma Manjikian – BlissBombs

Most Valuable Team Player: Hailey Ferguson – Scraps2Scrunchies

Most Valuable Team Player: Danielle Linzer - TDLR

Most Entrepreneurial Mindset: William Harlow – Envirochains

Most Valued Volunteer: Mr Darrell Menezes – Accounting and Economics teacher

We have a large cohort of Year 10 business students coming through in 2021, and I look forward to seeing what fantastic social enterprises they will come up with next year.

Vanessa Baxter

Year 10 Business Teacher

Last term Angelina Inthavong, Riley Collier, Rihanna Jamal, Dean Blumson, Dylan Selby and Simho Lee competed in the QLD RACI Titration Challenge. Over 2 hours, each student performed two sets of acid-base titrations in order to determine the unknown concentration of a weak acid in a solution that was supplied to them. As a result of his excellent technique and patience, Dylan Selby achieved a Distinction award in this competition. 

This term the excitement continues in Banjo’s Science Club lunch hour sessions. Some of the challenges we will be offering include: Bird or Plane, Thanksgiving Turkey Rocket Racers, Saving Humpty Dumpty, Bat-Flyers, Catapult Launcher, High Voltage, DNA Extraction, Christmas Crystals and Christmas Bath Bombs. 

The Science Ambassadors - Rihanna Jamal, Angelina Inthavong, Simho Lee, Dean Blumson, Riley Collier and Natalie Mohajer-Irvani - and myself, hope to see some more faces this term at our lunch hour sessions this term.

Banjo's Science Club is open to all students in Years 7 - 12 and meets every week in Term 4 during lunch break in Room O6.

Robyn Dewar
Science Teacher

On Thursday, our Years 4 to 6 Junior APS teams took to the courts, fields and diamonds for Round 1 of the Summer APS sport competition. This term, girls and boys have chosen to participate in cricket, touch football, softball (girls only), basketball and AFL. Many Year 4 students were playing their chosen Summer sport for the very first time, and gave it everything they had!

The energy and enthusiasm of players was a credit to our College. Thank you to our coaches and Senior student mentors for your hard work!

From the Careers Desk

To find out all of the latest news on career information, please click here. 

In this edition: 

• Apprenticeships and Traineeships
• Australian Defences Force (ADF) Information Sessions 
• Financial Assistance and Scholarships
• Scholarships
• International
• QTAC and Tertiary Entry
• TAFE

Jeanette Maxwell
Head of Pathways

During the September school holidays, five Year 11 students and two teachers took part in a combined Gold and Silver Duke of Edinburgh (DOE) Camp in the Mount Barney National Park. The students were Angelia Inthavong, Matthew Hickey, Jodie Down, Maria Nadezhdina and Bessie Xu.

The three night and four day camp was a practice camp as part of their Adventurous Journey requirements to achieve the DOE award. The teachers were Mr Andrew Sole (Head of Outdoor Education) and Miss Hope Foster.

Students camped within the National Park and prepared their food each day, cooking their supper on Trianga’s each night. Every day they hiked along new trails through the wilderness, exploring the amazing landscapes that surround Mount Barney. They walked for around 10 – 15 km each day.

As part of the cultural context and building a better understanding of the environment they were visiting, students did explore Rathdowney museum. Whilst there, they helped the museum curator with some of her duties.

Later this term, the same group of students will embark on their qualifying camp in the Sunshine Coast.

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Finals Fever!

Netball finals are upon us and we are thrilled that 5 of our senior teams are representing the College and Club in the NGCNA finals competition. Good luck to our senior girls who are competing this Saturday. 

It is also a busy weekend of netball for our junior teams with the final Saturday round of the U/7 - U/10 NetSetGO program and the NGCNA NetSetGO Carnival being held this weekend. Our youngest netballers will be demonstrating their teamwork, skills and netball flair at this exciting all day carnival which recognises the culmination of the NGCNA junior netball season. What a great season they have had! We wish them all the best ahead of their games this weekend.

With Thanks....

A.B. Paterson College Netball Club was established in 2015 with the assistance of Barry and Judy Grimsey who generously donated funds to enable the development and implementation of A.B. Paterson College Netball Club. Judy is a founding member the Netball Club who presided over the Club from establishment in 2015 to 2018 and in 2020 was nominated for an Honorary Life Membership to the Club in acknowledgment of her outstanding contribution, commitment and service. Sam Beh, Jessica Chapman and Danielle Tuesley were also recipients for their tireless efforts, inspiration and dedication to the Club forging the foundations of the Club's growth and ongoing success. Congratulations to all.

Judy's commitment to excellence, achievement and ensuring all that you do is done to the highest standard was the inspiration for the creation of the Club’s Grimsey Perpetual Award in 2015. Tradition has now seen five worthy recipients of this Award and continues the legacy of Judy’s commitment to excellence. This year, Judy presented the Grimsey Perpetual Award to Rachael Magee, Coach Convenor and co-coach of the U11 Proteas who has shown outstanding commitment and dedication to the Club throughout the year. Congratulations to Rachael, a most worthy recipient of this award.

Melinda Gordon

A.B. Paterson College Netball Club

Last week, Year 3 student, Grace Wolff, was in Townsville to compete in the Under 12 State Basketball Championship. Grace and her Gold Coast Breakers representative team won Gold in Division 2. We hear it was a fantastic effort, a great experience and Grace had an amazing time with her team mates.

Congratulations Grace!

Congratulations to Year 2 student, Summer Weiner, who recently competed in the Queensland State Championships in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Summer was awarded the silver medal. 

Congratulations Summer! Mrs Middleton and your 2M classmates are very proud of you.