Kimberley College Newsletter - Term 2 2023

Principal's Welcome

I extend a warm welcome to all families for Term Two, particularly the 13 students and their families who have joined the College this term. 

Term Two has commenced with our Middle School students heading off to camp on Monday morning and while it made for a busy first morning it was wonderful to see so many excited faces in the carpark as they boarded the buses heading to either the Sunshine or Gold Coast destinations.  

Over the term break our Grounds and Maintenance staff have completed significant improvements to our undercover court area. 

The term will culminate in our biannual Kimberley College Fair on Thursday 22 June. This year's theme is 'Awe and Wonder'. This event is an opportunity for our community to come into the College classrooms and see the high quality of work as our students do a presentation of their learning and the outcomes of their studies over the term. The event will also include stalls, rides and other activities and I would encourage all parents and carers to attend and support this event as I know our students are extremely proud to showcase their hard work.

I am also looking forward to watching our KC Kookaburras compete over the coming term in our four core sports of Netball, Touch Football (Oz Tag), Soccer and Basketball. Last term our students benefitted from the busiest sporting program in the history of the College. I was impressed with the positive start made to the interschool competition last term and the behaviour, attitude, and fair play demonstrated by our students both on and off the court and field.

This term provides opportunities for parents and carers in our Senior School to meet with their teachers in our next round of parent-student-teacher conferences with Year 10 bookings already underway. These interviews are a great way to ensure students are being set up for success in their Senior Studies.

Wishing all our students a successful Term Two with a fresh commitment to their studies and connection with their classmates and teachers to continue to make our College a safe and welcoming place that values Respect, Integrity, Collaboration, Creativity and Health and Wellbeing. 

Glenn Johnson
Principal 
principal@kimberley.college

From the Deputy Principal

Human Connection

If I were to capture and distill the essence of Term One, it would be authentic human connection. Optimal environments have been cultivated for human connection to occur, including: the classrooms; assemblies; our Core Four interschool sports program; a wide range of electives and co-curricular activities; school camps, an alumni social event; a peer mentoring program; and, our Student Council initiatives. The latest initiative - the World’s Greatest Shave event – brought the whole school together and raised $11, 748.07 for the Leukaemia Foundation. Such a fantastic effort and reflective of who we are as a deeply connected and caring school community.

‘Connection is why we're here. We are hardwired to connect with others, it's what gives purpose and meaning to our lives...’ Brené Brown

Collective Wellbeing

As I look ahead to Term Two, I am delighted to see a number of initiatives in place to build collective wellbeing. Trained as peer mentors, a group of our Senior School students will facilitate weekly wellbeing sessions with Year 7 students throughout the term. As part of our SEL program, external speakers will run workshops/presentations with students, staff and parents/carers to build collective knowledge and skills to better understand and respond to social and emotional issues pertinent to the developmental age/stage of our students. The analysis of the aggregate data from the Flourishing Survey (carried out in Term 1 across years 7 – 12) will inform wellbeing initiatives/activities across Middle and Senior Schools. Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training will be undertaken by many staff members this term. The Teen Mental Health First Aid (TMHFA) training was completed by our peer mentors at the end of last term.

Let’s embrace opportunities for growth and support each other to be the best that we can be this term.

Ms Janine Parkinson
Deputy Principal 
Janine.parkinson@kimberley.college

Dates for the Term 2 Diary

• Cross Country - 21 April 

• P&F Trivia Night - 22 April

• ANZAC DAY Public Holiday - 25 April 

• LABOUR DAY Public Holiday - 1 May 

• Year 12 Dinner - 3 May
• P&F Mother's Day event - 12 May
• SRE presentations 22nd – 24 May 
• Primary School Athletics Carnival - 26 May

• Athletics Carnival at QSAC - 1 June 

• Awe and Wonder Fair - 22 June  

Keep your eye out for more information on the above events as they get closer from your child's boat teacher. Please note this is not an exhaustive list of all events for this term. 

World's Greatest Shave was a success!

As the Senior Student Council Executives, we wanted to give a huge thank you to all the families and friends who have supported and generously donated funds for those volunteers shaving their heads at the Leukaemia Foundation’s World’s Greatest Shave held at the end of last term.

Your kind donations will have a huge impact for the individuals and their families affected by blood cancer with the KC Kookaburras 2023 team raising over $11,700 for the Leukaemia Foundation.

Most importantly, we also wanted to thank all the students (and Mr. Smith) who shaved their heads for this event. Kimberley could not have done it without you, and we truly appreciate you all. By the way, you are all looking great with your new haircuts!

Other activities included hair colouring for the primary school students, students rocking their best orange and blue themed outfits and the opportunity to go into the raffle to pie Mr. Johnson, Ms. Parkinson, and Mr. McAlpine which is something we will not forget anytime soon (Nor will they).

Thank you to everyone who made the day so special, and we look forward to future fundraising events. 

Senior Student Council Executives
Ashton
Leah
Charlize
Rylan.

World's Greatest Shave - 31 March

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Parents & Friends Update

TRIVIA THROUGH THE AGES – 22 APRIL  

Thank you to everyone who will be attending the TRIVIA Through the Ages event on the 22 April, it is going to be a great night!  A HUGE thank you to our local businesses and community who donated prizes for the night and I personally can't wait to see who will be crowned the winning team for 2023 or who will be lucky enough to walk away with one of our amazing cent auction prizes. Thank you all, for supporting the KC Parents & Friends. 

Mothers Day Stall – 12 May

Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and we have your kidlets covered. The P&F will be holding a Mother’s Day stall on Friday the 12^th of May, from 8:00 am until sold out. Each primary to middle school class will have a scheduled time to visit the stall and do their shopping. We have some very cute and very cool items this year… it’s time to get excited!

Both CASH and EFTPOS will be available on the day.  Keep an eye out on our Facebook page as we will be posting about Mother’s Day shortly. 

Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/KCParentsandFriends

Christine Roberts
P&F President 
pandf@kimberley.college

Looking for Stall Holders

The Kimberley College biennial fair is scheduled for Thursday 22 June and we are looking for stall holders. With the event kicking off at 10.30am, this year's theme is Awe & Wonder. If you have an appropriate stall - whether it be craft, art, cupcakes, olive oil, fairy floss, candles etc then we would love to hear from you.

Email admin@kimberley.college to express your interest.

New College website launched

After months of planning and preparation, the College has now launched its new website featuring many of our current students. 

While much of the website is focussed on prospective families, the COMMUNITY tab located on the menu bar along the top of the page includes a drop down menu featuring Parent Information for current families. 

The Parent Information section includes useful information like term dates, uniforms, transport, P&F etc. You can also access the Parent Lounge from this area or from the button located at the top of the home page. I would encourage everyone to visit the new site and explore. 

If you have any feedback on the website, we would love to hear from you so that we can make our site as user friendly as possible to navigate with relevant information. Any feedback can be emailed directly to renee.winton@kimberley.college 

Primary School Update

This term, across the Primary School, the students have lots of fun and exciting learning experiences to keep them busy.

In Kokomini, the students will be exploring the theme ‘World Travellers’. The Preps have a very special friend called, Huggle Buggle Bear, who is venturing around the world. Each week they will receive a package and activities from him about the country he is visiting. In return, the students will send letters to Huggle to show him what we have learned. Kokominis are also very excited to start Bush School this term, where they will learn about the needs of living things and enjoy our beautiful natural environment at KC.

Kokowara is looking at the theme ‘Around the World in 80 Days’. The students will be jetting around the world, exploring the culture of many countries from each of the seven continents. This will include experiencing new food, taking part in art experiences, listening to stories, and observing posters, photographs and books, to inspire awe and wonder. Each week, students will get the chance to share their prior knowledge, as well as show their curiosity through asking questions. Some of their Rich Task lessons will be guided by the students' questions, as they focus on areas of interest, to make their learning meaningful!

The theme in Waka Waka this term is ‘Who’s your Neighbour?’ The students will have the opportunity to awe and wonder about Australia’s neighbouring countries, looking closely at their history, cultures and customs. The children will also be designing and building a home to live in on one of our neighbouring islands. This will give them a chance to look closely at different materials and their physical properties. At the end of the term, Waka will be hosting their own ‘Waka Waka HUB Celebration’, where they will be given the opportunity to display their work and share all their newfound knowledge.

In Gubbi Gubbi, the theme is ‘Awe and Wonder - Gubbi Guides!’ Through inquiry and investigation, students will explore nations from around the world and book a dream holiday. They will choose a country that fascinates and excites them as they learn all about the culture and traditions as well as travel destinations they wish to explore. Using this knowledge, they will become experts and travel agents, sharing their newly found awe and wonder with their classmates in a multi-modal presentation of their choice.

Ms Kristy Shepherdson
Primary School Coorindator  

Middle School Update

We hope you had an enjoyable break with your families and loved ones and are feeling refreshed and ready for a return to school. Our students will delve into the theme “Awe and Wonder” this term, where they will capture their imaginations on the page during English and explore the natural beauty in the world around them throughout Mathematics.

Science explores man-made structures by looking at awesome structures and the impact that these can have on our environment. All of our students' exploration will culminate in our end-of-term "Awe and Wonder" fair. You are invited to see the work the students have been focusing on throughout the term, participate in sideshow alley and maybe grab some delicious KC honey. 

What better way to start the term than with a camp to reunite with friends and teachers after a break. The students canoed, played beach games, and tested their balance on stand-up paddle boards. Jagera enjoyed the picturesque Apex camp on the Sunshine Coast while the rest of the Middle School enjoyed the beach at the Gold Coast Recreational Centre. 

Ms Margherite Rigden
Middle School Coorindator 

From the Sports Field

Core Four Sports
Round 4 of our AGCC tournament will kick off in Week 2 of this term, which will see our Core Four sports teams heading off site to compete against four other schools in a round robin competition. The grand finals for this tournament are scheduled for Week 6, and we wish our teams the best of luck and hope to see them compete there.

Cross Country
Our annual competitive cross-country trials will be held on Friday 21 April. Students who are successful at this event will head to the Pacific District trials in Week 3 to compete.

Athletics Carnival
Our annual athletics carnival will be held on Thursday 1 June at QSAC. We are looking forward to the spirit our students bring to the day and hope to see some spectacular results. 

Ms Caitlin Seary 
Head of Sport

Arts Update

This term provides our students with many opportunities to be involved in our arts programs.  

Our instrumental music students have already begun lessons working towards some key events in the college this term. Our Rock Band program will continue for primary and secondary students. If your child is interested in undertaking instrumental music lessons or being part of our rock band program please don’t hesitate to contact music@kimberley.college   

Visual Art students will be visiting GOMA and QAG to look at contemporary and historical artworks. Visiting Art Galleries will allow our Art students to understand the concept of audience engagement in more depth. Some of our Art students are in the process of creating meaningful artworks for the Brisbane Portrait Prize; our students have always been an active participate in the 'Next Gen/under 18 years old' category. Moreover, a selection of artworks of Senior students will be on display during the Kimberley College Fair. 

This term we are excited to see our primary, junior, and senior performance teams head into their major eisteddfod season. Our junior and senior performance teams will be attending three eisteddfods this term, and our primary performance team will be attending two. We wish them the very best of luck.

Sunshine Coast Eisteddfod
Thursday 11 May  - Junior Performance
Friday 12 May – Senior Performance

Ipswich Eisteddfod
Tuesday 13 June – Primary and Junior Performance
Wednesday 14 June – Senior Performance

BPAC Eisteddfod
Thursday 15 June – Primary and Junior Performance
Friday 16 June – Senior Performance

Ms Elizabeth Wagenknecht
Head of the Arts

Connecting with our children through play provides many benefits

As parents, our jobs and working roles change throughout the day from parent to worker to parent, so it is no wonder playing with our children may seem like another chore to do at the end of each day. All children benefit from play whether it be unstructured free play with other children or independently or, with you. In fact, play with parents is one of the most important ways family members learn to develop all kinds of skills, build strong relationships and, remain healthy.

Playing with our children can help them develop many social skills and self-control. As our children interact with us in play, they learn how to behave in social settings, learn appropriate behaviours from taking cues from us and, they can learn how to become excited or angry and then bring their large feelings back down to a calm in order to solve problems and connect with each other. Through the many parts of play such as role play, taking turns, sharing ideas and momentarily living in their imagination, children can strengthen their creativity, working memory, motor skills, thinking strategies, relational skills and work on developing their roles in different contexts. Our children crave interaction with us and without realizing it, playing with our children helps them navigate life and develop their personality and sense of self, which is crucial for developmental success and learning.

Playing together helps our children build strong relationships. Play with responsible and caring adults adds joy, vitality, and resilience to relationships. Play can heal resentments, disagreements and hurt. Through play our children learn to win, lose, trust others, and feel safe. Play with adults can help our children understand and develop healthy conflict, skills for relationship resolution, feel and control their emotional and behavioural reactions and, they can learn and practice assertive and effective communication skills to suitably serve their needs and wants in varying social contexts. Additionally, by incorporating humor into play with our children we can improve the quality of our relationships and connect on a deeper level. Play and laughter combine to form positive and resilient bonds for forgiveness, conflict resolution, shared connections and play a role in maintaining good health.

 Play is also well known for its health benefits. Playing with our children is a natural way of releasing oxytocin (the natural drug released in our brains that assists parent-infant bonding). Oxytocin is released in our brains when we engage in affectionate play with children of any age. Oxytocin can also be released through touch, music, and exercise. Interestingly, the release of oxytocin has been associated with the acceptance and inclusion of others we see as different to us. Play can release all kinds of endorphins in our brains which can promote a an overall sense of pleasure and wellbeing, relieve pain and improve brain function.

While parenting can be exhausting and play may sometimes be the last thing we feel like doing with our children, we need to remember the long term benefits of playing with our children. Adult interaction with children is pertinent to development and can positively impact our relationships, social skills and even our health.  

Klynton Kelly-Bolt
School Counsellor

Tuckshop Volunteers Needed