Last week, as I was showing some prospective parents around the School, I was asked about one of the subjects we teach – Religion and Values Education (RaVE) – and whether it was compulsory for all. My answer was that it is, mainly because we are an Anglican school; that is who we are, this is what we do. However, there is another reason, which parents of other faiths (or no faith) should also find persuasive: RaVE is the subject in which we are able to consider some of the big questions of life.
From the time of Aristotle to the present-day, philosophers and theologians have wrestled with questions of ultimate importance:
“What is the point of life?”
“What is the good life and how do I lead it?”
“What does it mean to be a human being?”
Modern psychology reinforces the notion that these questions of purpose and significance are still fundamental to human wellbeing. We talk about “the good life” as being “a morally praiseworthy life … a life devoted to the common good”.
And so, for example, year 10 RaVE students this term have been wrestling with the question of how tolerance and inclusion are best worked out in an increasingly diverse, pluralistic society. In year 11, RaVE students have spent the semester considering a range of ethical frameworks and how these may be used in response to complex ethical dilemmas in the modern world. Throughout the School, RaVE classes are often the context in which we discuss the importance of making the virtues found in the St Paul’s Character Framework (compassion & kindness; generosity; honesty & integrity; patience, perseverance & resilience; diligence; loyalty & faithfulness; humility & servant-heartedness; courage; respect; self-control) integral parts of our lives.
I often tell my classes “RaVE is the most important subject of all”. They think I’m joking, but I’m not.
Kind Regards,
Nigel Grant
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Dr Browning in the Media
Our Headmaster, Dr Paul Browning, may be coming to the end of his sabbatical, but he’s wasted no time in offering his thoughts on the latest frontier confronting education: artificial intelligence.
Dr Browning has written an opinion piece for The Educator magazine discussing the challenges of AI, but also the opportunities it presents. He says that while policymakers and bureaucrats debate how to best handle AI, St Paul’s has been preparing for this moment for almost a decade already. In particular, the development of our own bespoke teaching and learning model, Realms of Thinking, which seeks to help students foster the skills and dispositions that AI can’t replicate.
We loved watching our Secondary School students bring the heat in the fight against MND in support of our very own, Mr Gooch.
Our brave teachers let students cut, style and spray their hair orange to raise funds for MND. Well done to our students for their excellent hairdressing skills and a massive pat on the back to all our brave teachers.
Mr Gooch is riding in the “Pies to Pacific Ride” to support people like himself living with Motor Neurone Disease on Saturday 3 June 2023. If you would like to support his fundraiser please click on the link https://secure.mndandme.com.au/my…/1728/david-gooch
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Year 7
The Year 7 Japanese students are busy preparing their props for their upcoming Restaurant roleplays. They are making their own food “Mr Maker” style, to make it look as authentic and delicious as possible. They will also be creating their own menus in Japanese, ready for their performances in Week 8.
Well done Year 7!
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Year 8
This semester, the Year 8’s have been exploring the underpinning concept of Energy and Matter by learning about chemical reactions and transformations of energy. They were able to apply this learning to their creations of Rube Goldberg machines during the Science Incursion in Week 3.
Students engaged with our Realms of Thinking dispositions by practising imagination, curiosity, and perceptiveness by creating a complex contraption to perform a simple task. Students undertook trial and error to test their prototype and, in doing so, demonstrated flexible, adaptable, and agile thinking to address any complications they came across. At the end of the incursion, students were able to convey their novel ideas in action by uploading a video of their machine to Teams.
Congratulations to Matilda, Sophie, Marlow, Ryan, and Riley for winning a $50 tuckshop voucher with their very impressive machine!
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Year 9
Ten of our Year 9 students travelled to Brisbane City Hall for the Altitude Day Leaders Conference.
The students had the opportunity to have a full day of networking with other schools and listening to inspirational guest speakers who spoke about their leadership journey.
We love watching our students develop confidence, knowledge, and gain skills to turn their passions and goals into reality.
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Year 10
Our Year 10 students were tasked with creating their own food market following a visit to Eat Street last term.
Students have spent the semester working on their hospitality skills by researching, selecting, and trialling a product intended to be suitable for individuals with allergies.
The results were some exceptionally tasty dishes that catered for a diverse range of dietary requirements. It’s been fantastic to see the dishes students have cleverly prepared and the amazing support from the Secondary School students with long queues at Morning Tea.
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Update from Taja House
Wow cross country done and dusted and what a Cross Country it was for Taja!
We are so proud to be leading such an amazing and successful House! To have won the Spirit and Competition awards in the Senior School Cross Country and take out the win in Junior School is a massive achievement and a true representation of what Taja House is made of.
It took a lot of preparation and dedication, but our House culture is what made the win. We want to thank everyone who got involved and helped out on the day, and especially thank those who pushed themselves further than they thought they could. Every point truly counted on the day, and we couldn’t have done it without you Taja!
We move on to preparations for the Athletics Carnival where we are going to be aiming with the same expectations. Taja keeps on achieving great things!
Kasey & Jessie – The Taja House Captains
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Junior School
Year 1
It’s safe to say that our Year 1s loved wearing their pyjamas to School for Pyjama Day!
The Year 1s have been busy with Library visits, Japanese lessons, Maths and taking some time out to enjoy a movie in their pyjamas.
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Year 3
After many weeks of hard work the Year 3 students finally finished constructing their ceramic animal planter pots in Visual Culture.
The students then took a (long) walk up to the kiln to put the planter pots in for firing. This is a semester long project with the students planning, designing and constructing the pots. After they come back from the kiln the students will paint the pots with ceramic underglazes. At the completion of the project, the students will plant a small succulent in the pot making it a beautiful and functional artwork.
Well done Year 3!
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Year 4
During IST the Year 4 students explored the concept of Impact and Influence. Students initially investigated how marketing uses a range of strategies to try and influence us.
Students were then challenged to create an idyllic world inside the middle of a ping pong ball to market and sell to an audience. They were then asked to bring their creations to life in the form of Lego.
Guest Judges Mr Malloch, Mr Gooch and St Paul’s own Brickman Anthony Coates, a former Lego Master contestant then judged students’ creations on their appeal and an extra bonus point was rewarded for three groups for NPU (Nice Part Usage). Students then used these models as props to deliver their spoken sales pitch.
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Library
What's Been Happening in the Innovation Precinct
Each and every day is a busy one in the Innovation Precinct. Open from 7:30am – 4:30pm each day (3:30pm Friday), morning tea and lunch, for classes, events and more, there is always something exciting happening. Here are some of the recent events and activities that have happened in the Innovation Precinct recently.
The Innovation Precinct hosted the very first Book Wizards Book Club for Junior Students. It was wonderful seeing these students sharing their recent reads and even trying their hands at a book quiz. We’ll see you all next week, Book Wizards!
The Year 3 classes have been using the Connect Lounge and Explore area for their reading sessions. It’s a great space to spread out and enjoy a comfy spot for their reading.
We hosted the Lego Minions competition at lunchtime in the Possibility Hub. Well done to all our finalists. The final challenge brief was “Something That Flies”. So many wonderful creations. They are on display in the Possibility Hub. Winners will be announced at Assembly.
Board Game Club and Anime Club meet every week in the Collaborate rooms. These rooms are also very popular with study students and for students recording their English assessment pieces. These rooms can be booked by students by emailing or speaking with any Library or Innovation Precinct staff members.
We loved hosting the students visiting from Thailand for cooking sessions and an animal encounters session.
How do you build a complex machine to complete a simple task? That’s the challenge Year 8 students attempted to solve in the Science Rube Goldberg incursion that was hosted in the Possibility Hub. There were some incredible set-ups created.
The Prep students have been making robots for IST in the Possibility Hub. From design to construction, there were some amazing creations. We can’t wait to see the finished robots.
Upcoming Events
Book Bag Bonanza.
Secondary students are invited to join our Book Bag Bonanza each lunchtime in the Possibility Hub in Week 8. Students will be able to design, cut and heat-press a book bag, learning design skills in Canva and Cricut Design Space and how to use the Possibility Hub Cricut Maker and Cricut heat-press.
Readers of the Round Table Book Club
The Readers of the Round Table book club for students in secondary school will meet on Wednesday, Week 8 in the Think Studio 1.
Helpers Needed
We are looking for student helpers in the Innovation Precinct to help
sort Lego
create book promotion social media posts
care for the plants in the Innovation Precinct
advise on Marvel/DC graphic novels acquisitions.
Students who are interested should speak with a Library and Innovation Precinct staff member.
We are also looking for any recycled materials we can put to good use in the Possibility Hub. More details here.
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Sport
JTAS, TAS & Met North Cross Country Update
Congratulations to all our Cross Country runners who have been competing in the JTAS, TAS and Met North Cross Country over the last few weeks
Our School Community is incredibly proud of all our athletes for their hard work, effort and amazing sportsmanship. We were also very proud to host all 3 events right here on campus this year.
Such outstanding results in very tough competitions. Well done runners!
JTAS
The following students came in the top 5 for their age group race:
Sophie Newton (5th in 9 year old girls)
Amelie Guy (2nd in 11 year old girls)
Stella McKean (4th in 12 year old girls)
The notable team placings for the day were:
9 year old boys – 3rd overall
11 year old girls – 2nd overall
5th place overall for the St Paul’s team
Met North
The following students made the Met North Cross Country team:
Amelie Guy (2nd in 11 year old girls)
Stella McKean (6th in 12 year old girls)
Madison Rand (3rd in 14 year old girls)
Daniel Melloy (5th in 16 year old boys)
The Met North team will now compete at the QLD State Championships in Hervey Bay in July.
TAS
The following students came in the top 5 for their age group race:
Olivia Dunlop (2nd in Year 7 girls)
Madison Rand (1st in Year 8 girls)
Poppy Andrews (3rd in Year 8 girls)
Lincoln West (4th in Year 9 boys)
Nicholas Donaldson (5th in Year 9 boys)
Daniel Melloy (3rd in Year 11 boys)
The notable team placings for the day were:
Year 8 girls – 2nd overall
Year 9 boys – 2nd overall
Year 10 boys – 2nd overall
Year 11 boys – 2nd overall
Boys team – 3rd overall
Boys team – 3rd overall in percentage trophy
4th overall for the St Paul’s team
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Jayden Cutmore
Congratulations to our very own Tennis star Jayden Cutmore who represented Met North at the Queensland School’s Sport 13-19 Years Tennis, QLD State Championships in Townsville earlier this year.
Jayden had a great tournament playing singles and doubles and was labelled “El Capitano” by the team on Day 2 of the tournament after showing such impressive leadership. He also received acclaim from the coaching staff thanks to his doubles input and support of his team which proved to be a huge influence on the group’s overall performance.
Congratulations on winning the Bronze medal, Jayden. The St Paul’s community is so proud of your dedication to your game and the amazing sportsmanship you show.
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Past Students
Stefanie Jones
It was great to see St Paul’s alumna, Stefanie Jones, singing the national anthem at Wednesday night’s State of Origin game.
Congratulations Stefanie the St Paul’s Community loved watching you!
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General News & Notices
UPCOMING: Hackathon. For students in years 7 - 10 with entrepreneurial aspirations.
Mr Osborne and Dr Stanley will be taking 20 students from grades 7 - 10 to the Kelvin Grove campus of QUT on the 17 July to participate in a Big Ideas Challenge. Mr Osborne and Dr Stanley will be taking 20 students from grades 7 - 10 to the Kelvin Grove campus of QUT on the 17 July to participate in a Big Ideas Challenge.
This will be an intensive, fun and rich learning event, giving participants the opportunity to develop, market-test and then pitch innovative product or service ideas. 17 July is a student free day so it won’t interfere with any existing classes. It’s an all-day event, in which St Paul’s students will collaborate with students from other schools. So lots of value and the opportunity to win prizes. Buses leave at 7:30am and return at 3:15.
Students can register their interest to attend by emailing Dr Stanley at [email protected] or for more information please click here
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Date for your diary – August 3, 2023
Entrepreneurial event focusing on food and beverages to be held in the Innovation Precinct with activities including
5.30 – 6:00 – Entrepreneurial Stories
6.00 – 7:00 – Market Stalls
6:30 – 7:30 – Cooking Class
Speakers include:
Daneyl Green, Mix, Taste and Eat
Maya Krikke, F.F.F Drinks
Sam, Quinlan and Alastair Kimber, Sauc’d Lownslow
If you’d like to host a market stall to display your food and/or beverage offering, then please email Tracy Stanley at [email protected]
Bookings for the cooking class to open shortly.
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Host Families Needed!
The biggest study tour of all time at SPS is coming and we need you!
Please get in touch if this is something you’re willing to consider by clicking here
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Are your contact details up to date?
If your details have changed, please log into Parent Lounge to make necessary amendments.
It is vital that all contact details remain up to date so that we can contact you as necessary and continue providing your family with relevant information via email, phone and post.
Did you know you can report your child’s absence from School via Parent Lounge?
Parents/guardians can report their child’s absence from school via parent lounge. An email detailing the process will be sent to you in the coming days.
If you have forgotten your Parent Lounge password, you can reset this yourself via theParent Lounge login screen. If you have forgotten your Parent Lounge username, please contact the School’s reception.
This change is another improvement in the School’s approach towards child protection as it adds a level of security and authentication to child absences from school. If you have any questions please contact the Risk and Compliance Officer, Mark Barratt ([email protected]).
Please note, if your child will be absent for three days or longer email your child’s House Leader.
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Wellbeing Centre
Careers
ST PAUL’S SCHOOL CAREERS WEBSITE
Did you know that we have a SPS Careers Website? You can find it on the School Portal or at https://www.stpaulscareers.com.au/. Check out the Important Info section that has a Calendar of Events from Universities, Defence, TAFE, Expo’s etc!
To see the latest Career Tools Newsletter click here. You can also click here to view SPS Career Tools Weekly on the SPS Careers Website.
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Supporter Groups
Tennis Supporters’ Group
TAS End of Season Party – Register Now!
All girls and boys TAS tennis players, parents/carers and siblings are invited to join us for some bowling fun and an awards presentation:
When: Saturday 10 June, 6.30pm – 9.00pm
Where: Aspley 10 Pin Bowling, 149 Albany Creek Rd, Aspley
Cost: $15.40 per person for 2 games (includes shoe hire), paid upon arrival on the night.
Catering: Finger food provided by the Tennis Supporter’s Group. Other food and drinks available for purchase from the cafe. RSVP: via this registration form – please rsvp for catering purposes and to ensure we have enough lanes for everyone who wants to bowl.
Note to parents: We usually have a few lanes of parents bowling so please join us – it’s not just for the kids!
TSG Facebook Page
Don’t forget to follow our TSG Facebook page for photos and videos from match days, training sessions and events.
