2022 Term 2, Week 9

If you missed any of the episodes, you can find them and listen anytime on the Accelerating Change website.

Season 2

• Episode 1: Robotics and Artificial Intelligence with Sue Keay
• Episode 2: Metaverse, NFTs and Blockchain with Jason Pallant
• Episode 3: Creativity in education with professor Yong Zhao

Season 1

• Episode 1: Managing Change with Paul Compton
• Episode 2: Entrepreneurship with Leanne Kemp
• Episode 3: Grounding through change with Andrew Browning

Don’t miss an episode by subscribing to the podcast on the Accelerating Change website.

Listen to the podcast

Using a series of informal ‘games’ our Year 11 students were able to investigate indicators of some of Piaget’s stages: preoperational and concrete operational. Students were able to identify centration (if they can focus on more than one aspect of a task at a time), seriation (arranging objects/toys according to one dimension), conservation (objects remaining the same despite changes in appearance) and irreversibility/reversibility.

This was a great opportunity for students to apply their learning in Psychology in a meaningful context while simultaneously building stronger connections with their younger peers.

In IST, we have been working on a dress that resembles the metaphor, ours is ‘a walking dictionary’. We are using pages from an old dictionary of interesting words to help upcycle an Op Shop dress. The task we were given was to create or plan something that uses symbolism, simile, or metaphor, as that is what we have been learning about in IST this semester. We will also be making a ‘light as a feather’ simile dress, which we will be starting very soon.

by Amelia Quilty

Students put their science knowledge from this term into practice, working together with some special guests to formulate a plan to help with the erosion seen down by the river at the back of our campus.

Thank you to Jackson, Mark, Wendy, Jason, and Melissa for lending your expertise and time to our students. This was a great opportunity for students to be collaborative and apply their learning in a meaningful context.

The ranking is based on KindiCare aggregating government service quality audits, community feedback through KindiCare and Google reviews, and an evaluation of individual centres to provide each facility with a rating and a score out of 10.

St Paul’s achieved a ranking of 9.66 and an overall ranking of ‘Excellent’. Just 10% of Qld childcare centres scored an excellent while St Paul’s score of 9.66 placed it in the top 20 centres in the State.

Thank you to our incredible staff who put their absolute best into providing exceptional care and education for all our students!

You can read the report in the Courier Mail article here (note: it’s behind a paywall): https://www.couriermail.com.au/…/1f6b7b85f4d370dc12bbc0…

Our Year 7 and Year 9 Rugby teams were very pleased with their Premiership titles!

The St Paul’s AFL team began our training in late Term 4 last year. With a good turn out in numbers and enthusiasm it was decided that we would continue the journey and enter a team in the Queensland Schools Cup Competition. After training all of Term 2, we finally played our knockout game against Sandgate High on the 7th of June.

As we saw Sandgate turn up to the grounds, all the boys saw how they were much bigger, stronger and more experienced than any of us were. It could have been very easy to drop our heads from the start and play as if the game didn’t matter. However, the boys were pumped to give everything they had on the football field, no one was afraid and that to me shows the St Paul’s School spirit in a different way.
With only four people in our team that currently play footy, we went into the game today as underdogs. We didn’t get the result we were after but all twenty-five of our boys put their heads over the footy and just gave it a good old crack. We came together as one and worked together to give Sandgate High a run for their money.

As we intend to grow our AFL Football program at St Paul’s School, whether it be boys and girl teams, we really want this to continue for future years and showing the rest of Queensland how much St Paul’s works to get their success. As the first lot of players this year, there are elements that will be improved and there are elements that stand out to the rest of the community.
I just like to say a big thanks to three people; Mr Brimblecombe, Mrs Litherland and Matt Beattie, that have taken their own time out of their lives to come help out and support our AFL journey in 2022.
After such a successful campaign we look forward to St Paul’s AFL being bigger and better in 2023.

By Oliver Beattie (Year 12) Captain, and Hudson McCarthy (Year 11) Vice Captain

Coming to study in Australia was a big decision for her and her family.  Nerissa was only in Year 8 but already the stress was mounting at school in HK with the competitive nature of many secondary school structures such as selective schools, the rigour of internal and external exams and the growing pressure to attend after-hours ‘cram schools’ for extra tuition. Nerissa sites such mounting pressures as the main reason for her coming to study in Brisbane.

Throughout her time at SPIS/SPS, Nerissa was a very focussed student in her studies and determined to interact with fellow students and participate in as many different activities as she could. To her, being brave and speaking to other students was an important way to improve English.

In 2018, Nerissa was appointed as the Executive Captain International.  She recalls: “This was the first time that an International student representative had been involved with the other captains. I hoped that this would give our international students a greater voice and provide the school with a pathway to hear from our overseas students.”

In her first speech on Assembly in this role on Monday 26

January 2018, she said that International Students “hope that Speaking English will open many doors in the future… But, how can we get better at English?  Well, one easy way is by making friends and speaking English with our friends.  How often do you have a real conversation with an international student? Do you try to include them in your tutor groups or classes?  It would be really good if we could all make a point of trying to interact more personally with each other.”

She realised, of course, that this was not just a one-way street so one of her first tasks was working with another student to produce a simple guidebook about Brisbane and school for our international students.  Here is the cover and the contents page.

Pages 5-7 explained some of the annual events at St Paul’s School to encourage our international students to get involved. Breaking down some barriers, gently!

In Years 11 and 12, Nerissa studied Health Education, Hospitality, Geography, ESL English and Math B.  Her favourite subject was Hospitality and here she is serving mocktails with her classmates.

Nerissa says that the slang, the Aussie accent and the different culture were the difficulties for her when she was first in Brisbane but that her homestay mother, Barbara, was always there to assist her with any difficulties along the way.  She says she has so many memorable memories of St Paul’s School and Brisbane because she has been in Brisbane now for 6 years.

After graduating from St Paul’s School, Nerissa went on to the University of Queensland where she studied International Hotel and Tourism Management.

Best Wishes for the future, Nerissa!

Have you considered becoming a homestay family?

• Families are paid a generous daily rate for hosting
• Long term and short term hosting opportunities 
• A rich cultural experience for both visiting students and host families
• Great opportunity for students studying a language at school
• Ongoing support from the International School Staff
• Homestay Coordinator available 24/7 for emergencies

For more information or to register your interest, please visit our website.

On Tuesday, author Charlotte Barkla visited our school to talk to the Junior School students about her books and being an author. She also gave the students the opportunity to practice their creative writing. It is very special to have the experience of having a real author to share her love of reading and writing with the students. A special thank you to the JSSG for sponsoring her visit.

A special congratulations also to Year 3G!

The wonderful thing about Readers Cup is that it challenges students to read widely, show persistence, teamwork, communication, leadership and we had a lot of fun and lollies along the way. The team had to read five books and write quiz questions from each book to practice before the event, then, as a team, they had to answer questions, some easy and some very hard from the books with only 30 seconds to answer.

Our Year 5 and 6 team came 21^st this time and I was so very proud of their teamwork and how they encouraged each other knowing everyone’s strengths. The team consisted of Sienna McCloy, Finley Postle, Lola McMillian, Sophia Riedy and Charlotte Armstrong.  Well done, to the whole team.

Janelle Hamling
Junior School Teacher Librarian

Competing in the North Brisbane Regional Readers Cup competition against 11 other schools from the Brisbane area, our team consisted of Lily Watson, Chloe Walters, Shayna Stern, Emma Linton and Indi Odgen. The Readers Cup competition requires the team to read the five selected titles over Term 2 and, on the evening of the competition, answer questions about the story and characters of each of the books. It is a fun evening and the team from St Paul’s School proudly represented themselves and the school, showing their strength of character and creative thinking.

The team came away with fifth place, which is excellent and to be highly commended. Well done to all team members.

The Gold Star Reading Club is designed to encourage and develop reading and literacy skills in children.

There are four great reasons for children to get involved in the 2022 Gold Star Reading Club.

1. Membership to the Gold Star Reading Club is FREE!
2. The Gold Star Reading Club can help children improve their reading and literacy skills.
3. Children will be rewarded for their reading efforts with a medallion and certificate of achievement.
4. It’s FUN! Children will have fun sharing their reading experiences with family and friends.

How the program works – it’s easy and free!

• The Gold Star Reading Club is a two month program for children aged 6-12 years.
• Register for the Gold Star Reading Club online at brisbane.qld.gov.au/libraries or at your local library from 1 June 2022. Your child must be a library member to join Gold Star – signing up for library membership only takes a couple of minutes and is free. Each child’s parent or guardian must bring photo identification (i.e. driver’s licence or passport) or proof of signature (i.e. Health Care Card) and proof of their address to any Council library, and you and your child can become members in a matter of minutes. It’s that easy.
• Gold Star members will receive a Gold Star Reading Club reading map that includes a progress chart.
• By reading for just 10 minutes each day and completing 10 reading challenges and recording the details on their reading map, children can collect 10 gold stars.
• Children who collect all 10 gold stars are eligible to:
  • attend their local Gold Star Reading Club awards ceremony with their families
  • receive a medallion and a certificate of achievement.

For more information about the Gold Star Reading Club, visit your local library or call Council on 3403 8888.

NAIDOC week is being celebrated across Australia from 3 July to 10 July 2022 but as this will be during school holidays, St Paul’s School is celebrating early: from 13 June to 17 June 2022.

Our Global Citizenship Committee have been working hard in preparation and invite the St Paul’s community to embrace Indigenous cultural knowledge and understandings of Country as part of Australia’s national heritage.

We asked our 2022 Global Citizenship Captains, Grace Glowrey and Michaela Ruthven, what NAIDOC week is to them and how we can get involved in the St Paul’s community NAIDOC week celebrations.

What is NAIDOC week?

Grace:

NAIDOC week stands for National Aboriginal and Islanders Day of Commemoration, it’s about recognising the cultures, languages and the history of the Indigenous and Islander peoples that were here before us. In Australia, I feel like we are very distanced from the world as an Island country. I have European heritage and I can’t really tap into that culture here, so I feel that tapping into the Australian culture while here is especially important and knowing more about Australia and what it is and what it was, as it’s evolved. As an Australian with European heritage, I think it’s important to recognise Australian culture and be a part of it.

Michaela:

For me, NAIDOC week is about representing and giving priority to the Indigenous and Islander Peoples in Australia and giving them the acknowledgement that this is their rightful land and they deserve a place in our country and that shouldn’t be ignored. Essentially, putting them at the forefront of our minds for a week to raise awareness.

Why do you think NAIDOC Week is important?

Grace:

My teacher said something today that I think I want to share;  “If you can’t see it, you are less likely to become it.”

She said that we always see European people in positions of power and active in the community including more women in recent times. I think if Indigenous people don’t see more Indigenous people in these kinds of positions, they may not think it’s a possibility for themselves. I think it’s very important to recognise the growth here and that there are more opportunities for what you can do in life now. So NAIDOC week, is a whole week where you can see opportunities beyond what you normally see and it’s an opportunity to broaden your perspective.

Michaela:

I think it’s also important because it not only gives Indigenous Peoples the opportunity to see people they can relate to but also letting other people know about that and normalising and acknowledging how Indigenous Peoples can contribute to the community.

What have you got planned for NAIDOC week at St Paul’s?

We have lots of different things planned for this week. We have put the ‘Get Up Stand Up Show Up’ poster around the School promoting the theme for NAIDOC week this year. We also made our own signs highlighting different aspects of Indigenous culture or language including a few Indigenous words, dreamtime stories and significant locations. We are also watching The Rabbit Proof Fence. Our Year 12s will be participating in traditional Indigenous games during their classes this week and Tutor Groups are also completing a variety of activities including a quiz, crafts and more.

Thank you Grace and Michaela and to the Global Citizenship Committee for creating opportunities for the St Paul’s community to get involved in NAIDOC Week 2022.

NAIDOC Week inspired trivia around the campus

Our viewing of The Rabbit Proof Fence

Junior Schools students Ava, Catherine and Libby’s NAIDOC week artwork

Young women of Irish descent representing 32 Centres worldwide attend the Festival which runs for ten days every August in Tralee Co. Kerry in Ireland. At the culmination of the Festival the International Rose of Tralee is chosen and crowned live on Irish television. She is selected based on her personality and ability to be a true ambassador for the Festival and for Ireland during her travels around the world. The Rose of Tralee is a celebration of the aspirations, ambitions, intellect, social responsibility and Irish heritage of modern young women.

As part of the Brisbane competition, Ms Naughton recited a poem she wrote (below) reflecting her connection to her homeland. We wish Ms Naughton the best of luck in August and congratulations on this wonderful result!

Ms Naughton’s poem:
Here in Australia, we Irish are many,
First generation, ancestors, there’s no one without any,
Perhaps there is Irish in your family tree,
Or maybe it’s only on March seventeenth.
Yet there’s things that are Irish we cannot describe,
It’s not just being from there, it’s everyday things in our lives,
Little reminders and habits we see, things that we miss after the journey.
It might be the smell of a wood fire burning,
Reminding of turf back at home we are yearning,
Or even the rain that brings comfort to see,
We always complain, but we love it really,
A nod from a stranger on a small country road,
You won’t know them well but you’re never alone,
The smell of cut grass on a long summer’s day,
A grand stretch in the evenings, great drying they’ll say,
Stopping into a neighbour for a short cuppa tea,
Growing up with your cousins, yes, we’re big families,
It’s the quick Tayto sandwich on a fresh loaf of batch,
It’s the catch up in a local right after a match,
It’s the shorter, cold evenings and the warmth of a stove,
It’s the saying ‘I will yeah’ when you actually mean ‘no’,
It’s the coming together when our team wins a game,
It’s for scoring the best tries in rugby we claim!
It’s the shooing a magpie for fear of a bad luck,
It’s for having the craic and not giving a ‘feck’,
It’s the pausing at midday to stare at the sky,
When the Angelus comes on, not one bats an eye,
It’s the growing up running across bales of hay,
It’s the Late Late Toy Show no matter your age,
It’s finding the ring in the brack cake at Halloween,
It’s enchanting the world with the Rose of Tralee,
It’s the hurling, the fry up, the music, the green,
It’s the Fairytale of New York once a year that we sing,
It’s the flat 7UP curing every disease,
It’s the gift of the gab that is useful to please,
The castles, the cliffsides, the beautiful sea,
These are the things that are Ireland to me,
Thousands of years to be proud of you see,
Our very own language ‘Dia dhuit, beannachtai’,
So, the Irish, we travel, we’re all over the globe,
Home seems to be where we settle and grow,
It’s a part of us all that no one can deny,
A celebration of life in true Irish style.

Aviation Australia is opening its doors to those looking to pursue a career in Aviation.

Join us for a free guided tour of our Brisbane campus, Saturday 18 June to see what Aviation Australia can offer.

Our expert team will guide you through our engineering hangars, cabin crew, and flight crew facilities. Come and experience a drone racing demonstration, see our planes and so much more! Learn about all our course offerings for 2022 – 2023 and the career opportunities that each will open for you.

The aviation industry is experiencing a severe shortage of skills. As we continue to open back up and increase our domestic and international flights the industry desperately needs a passionate and well trained aviation workforce to support aircraft maintenance and flight safety.

Speak to our instructors about what it’s like to study and work in an exciting, challenging and cutting edge industry.

We have three session times available, each session will be 1 hour long.

•    Session 1: 8:30am – 9:30am
•    Session 2: 9:30am – 10:30am
•    Session 3: 10:30am – 11:30am

To Register click here

Email Sarah Gover [email protected] for details,

PCSG – helping you to maximise your family’s time at Paul’s School.
All St Paul’s families are welcome.

School Championships – Sunday 31 July, 9.00am

All senior school girls and boys players are invited to register for singles and/or doubles in the school championships to be held on Sunday 31 July, 9.00am at the school courts. Register now via this form.

TAS End of Season Awards

Congratulations to our award winners for 2022:

Spirit Award (Girls) – Jacinta Alpaslan

Spirit Award (Boys) – Percy Tran

Most Improved (Girls) – Madeleine Kugelman

Most Improved (Boys) – Nick Donaldson

Team of the Year (Girls) – Open Firsts

Team of the Year (Boys) – Open Firsts

Next TSG Meeting – Tuesday 26 July, 7.30pm (online)

Join us for this online meeting to plan for our “Family & Friends Day”, the Junior TAS season and sponsorship opportunities for 2023.  New faces always welcome!  Email [email protected] to receive the meeting link.

Family & Friends Day – Sunday 21 August, 9.00 – 11.00am

Mark your diaries for our annual “Family and Friends Day” on Sunday 21 August, 9 to 11am.  This is a fun morning of social tennis for students, parents, siblings, cousins, friends etc. More details to come closer to the time.

TSG Facebook Page

Don’t forget to follow our TSG Facebook page for photos and videos from match days and training sessions and information on upcoming events.