Term 2 Week 8
Principal's Message
Dear families,
Over the next few newsletters I will share with you results from the recently completed parent, staff and student surveys. Thank you to those families that took the time to provide us with valuable feedback. Over 80% of respondents reported that overall they were satisfied with their child/children’s education at Kimberley College which was very pleasing.
We had a response rate of 38.6% which equates to 371 out of a total of 962 eligible respondents. This is a very high response rate for this type of survey in schools. Many families received a survey email to both parents and only one completed the survey which is entirely to be expected.
There were some demographic questions included in the survey which provides us with a good snapshot of aspects of our school. Some are unique to us for example many families of KC travel a large distance to attend this school. Others are very important to us including the responses provided to the question asking how you first heard about Kimberley College?
How long you have had children enrolled at Kimberley College?
How far does your child travel to school?
How did you hear about Kimberley College?
Further information will be included in the next edition of our newsletter.
Mobile Phones
Kimberley College has long had a clear direction regarding the use of mobile phones at school. This has been well supported by all members of our community and is explained to all new families during the enrolment process. I spoke to the senior students on assembly this week regarding mobile phones and reminded them of our expectations. We have had a small number of students in the senior school who have not been following our expectations with regards to mobile phones. Some are telling their teachers they did not bring their phone to school or they left them in their car when this was not the case. I reminded them today that all students are to hand in their phones to their pastoral care teacher at the start of each day and collect them at the end of the day. I then told them any student found with a mobile phone during the day will have that phone confiscated, the phone delivered to the Hub and their parents contacted. One of the factors that has led to the ‘feel’ of KC is our stance on mobile phones. It is also a key component of our anti-bullying efforts.
Finally, congratulations to those students, staff and parents who took on the challenge of Kokoda last weekend. It is a very worthwhile cause and a great reflection of the character of our KC community.
Glenn Johnson
Senior School News
As the Senior School is in week 8, Year 10 and some Year 11 & 12 subjects, have students preparing to submit long term assessments, or preparing for tests.
Year 11 and 12 students are now midway through Units 2 and 4 respectively, and as such do not have a report issued at the end of this term. Reports will however be issued for Year 10 at the end of this term.
Date Saver: Week 3 Term 3, Tuesday evening July 27. Year 9 to 10 Subject Information session 6.00 -6.45pm AND Year 10 to 11 Subject Information session 7.00 -8.00 pm. The sessions will be held in the auditorium, streamed online and recorded for those who may not be able to attend in person. That evening senior teachers will also be ‘advertising’ their subjects for Year 10 families to view prior to their session and Year 9 families view after their session.
Great News!
We have received some exciting news, which wasn’t news to us. The external decisions of a moderation process called Confirmation have arrived. Confirmation is a QCAA process that checks our school judgements of achievement against the relevant subject syllabus standards for internal assessments in Units 3 & 4. I am pleased to report a number of our students (I use that word ‘number’ deliberately, as it is not a couple or a few), have been confirmed as attaining perfect scores for their first internal summative assessment, IA1. There are even more who missed out by only one mark.
I am pleased in this newsletter to congratulate by name, those students who achieved those perfect 100% scores in their subjects. For these students to have done so in this new highly rigorous system is remarkable and testament to their dedication, and the diligence of their teachers in imparting an understanding of not just the subject content, but also ‘the rules of the game’.
I will also mention those who missed out by only one mark. Their effort is one to be equally proud of and admired. Together with these very high achievers in the General subjects, I am listing those students in Applied subjects with straight A’s. Applied subjects unlike General subjects use graded standards descriptors rather than marks in the summative units of study. They too are congratulated on their excellent results.
General Subjects – Students with 100% result from the first Confirmation event
Biology –Tia Thomas, Isabella Wadas, Alexia Wicking Alyssa Yamada
Chemistry – Tia Thomas, Alyssa Yamada
Dance – Ava Mallon
English – Sophia Beam, Eli Collins, Tia Thomas
Film, Television & New Media – Savannah Neale
General Mathematics – Jake Bryant, Benjamin Jones, Millie Parker, Isabella Wadas, Alexia Wicking
Health – Isabella Wadas
Mathematical Methods – Anjali Ashara, Tia Thomas
Modern History – Claire Grant
Visual Art – Sam Carlyle
General Subjects – Students with only one mark short of 100% from the first Confirmation event
Biology – Lousia Cafer, Piper Dovey, Daniel Taumalolo
Chemistry – Tiana Stalley
General Mathematics – Kai Bartz-Jennings, Tayah Battaglene-Sharpe, Evy Boots, Finn Brett, Liam Cullen, Carter Ewer, Savannah Neale, Harrison Still
Health – Millie Parker
Legal Studies – Anjali Ashara
Mathematical Methods – Erin Hawkins
Modern History – Benjamin Jones
Physics – Manasi Raniga, Alyssa Yamada
Specialist Mathematics - Tia Thomas
Applied Subjects – Students with straight A’s
Agricultural Practices – Finn Brett, Jade Brown, Marjone Maartens, Harrison Still
Essential English – Maisy Eckersley, Nicholas Gilchrist
Essential Mathematics – Claire Dean
Hospitality Practices – Ella Baker, Piper Dovey, Ashlee Joy, Marjone Maartens, Madison Newcombe, Kieri Timmins
Industrial Technology Skills – Emma Townsend, Kirra Young
Sport and Recreation – Ella Baker, Finn Brett (Football), Nicholas Gilchrist, Harry Wadas (Football), Isabella Wadas
Visual Arts in Practice – Evy Boots, India-Lilly Campbell
Well done to you all! Keep up the great work.
Hutchies Training Ready for Construction – applications for the 2022 schools’ program will open in August. Interested Year 11 and 12 students may apply. The course is delivered via VETiS funding. For more information contact Peter Forsingdal on 0438 886 766 or peter.forsingdal@hutchies.com.au.
Chris McAlpine
Middle School News
Term Two is moving along quickly, almost as quickly as some of our Middle School athletes. This week we saw our students run, jump, throw and chant at our annual Athletics Carnival.
The Athletics Carnival is one of the most anticipated events of the year. I personally love athletics because it's a really fun day in an amazing atmosphere. The boats competed fiercely but every one seemed to hold up a great amount of sportsmanship. I competed in many events but my favorite would have to be the 800m, in which I came second. The Athletics Carnival was overall a great experience and everyone I talked to was happy to be there. Saxon J. Walters
The Athletics Carnival was honestly a great experience with lots of activities and sportsmanship. I participated in most of the events and found all of them fun (the 800m race was my favourite) - Everyone else in the grandstand and on the field looked like they were having a great time as well. I'm sure almost everyone had been looking forward to the event, and it didn't disappoint. K.Diers-Hahn
In addition to our incredible sportsmanship and athleticism, Middle School students have had the amazing opportunity to challenge their thinking and realise the potential and power of their opinions and voice. In English this term students have written and began to perform monologues that address the theme of War and Peace. Some excerpts of these monologues are included below:
“Dear Death,
Why do you take the lives of the innocent? The ones who wanted nothing more than an adventure. Why do you force hands to pull the trigger? It is not us who are fighting this war, it is the voices in our heads telling us to stay alive. The voice that sounds of anger, but is truly dejected. We were promised an adventure and one we received, but it was not alike to what we imagined. If anything, quite the opposite...I wanted a journey, a journey with my mates. To proudly help my country and live to tell the tale...It was the war to end all wars, but instead created an internal battle. The choice between revenge and kindness. As my heart beats one last time, I am free from the battle of bullets and blood, as well as the battle of right verse revenge. I am at rest.” Nikki Lin
“When I die, box me up and take me home where I belong with all of my family and friends. Turn me to ashes and keep me in the living room so I have some sense of life. Come and talk with me so I feel less lonely all those years by myself fighting for my life and the lives of others. Don't remember me as a person who went to war but remember me as a young soldier who had a full life and loved every second of it.” Jonty Hamilton
BOOM
Silence fills the room
No one dares make a noise
No one dares make a move
Its getting hot
These suits we wear
Bear the weight of our life
If it doesn't go right
We’ll never say bye to our wife
Crouched down beside this device of pain
This device of sheer destruction
Breathing heavy
No wrong moves
No turning back
A swift snip here
And a quick snip there
This gadget of terror is no more
The timer
Its stopped
This feeling of relief will never be topped
Daniel Roberts
Primary School News
Bonjour!
This semester, all primary classes have been immersed in the French language and culture. Students have played lots of games to practise the different greetings in formal and informal situations, introducing themselves to others and talking about how they are feeling.
Each lesson, the students try their best to be awarded authentic French stickers and enjoy learning more and more about the French language and culture.
We have sung French songs, played board games to practise vocabulary and everybody is very keen to be chosen as a recipient of a special French prize or certificate at the end of this term.
For the rest of this term, students will be learning numbers. We will play lots of fun, interactive games and complete a variety of differentiated classroom activities.
It is so lovely to see all the primary students greeting me in French around the campus and to hear their stories of how they are speaking French at home with their families!
Miss Hopewell
Waka Waka News
We have been having a term full of fun and learning in Waka Waka as we discover more about different celebrations around the world as well as chemical reactions in food science, for our theme “Tastes of Life”. Each week, we made different recipes that investigated different states of matter and had a great time freezing ice blocks, making jelly and melting chocolate. A highlight was when we attempted the mentos and coca cola chemical reaction experiment! We have been using these experiments and recipes to learn more about procedural texts and how we can write these to teach others how to do different things.
It was an exciting time for us to finally attend our excursion to ‘Ripley’s Believe it or Not’, after it was postponed at the end of last term. This day out was so fantastic and we had the best time looking at all the weird and wacky things on display. We also got to participate in a laser obstacle course and walk through a black hole!
Waka Waka Teachers
Primary Dance Eisteddfod
Good luck to all our primary dancers who head off for their first dance eisteddfods next week. They will compete on Tuesday June 15th and Thursday June 17th. They have been practising for many weeks for this event, so we hope their hard work pays off!
Beenleigh Zone Athletics Carnival
One Monday, 7th June a group of primary school students travelled to Windaroo State School to participate in the Beenleigh Zone Athletics Carnival. All students participated with pride and represented the school well. A very big congratulations to the following students who qualified for the Beenleigh Zone Athletics Carnival Championships that will be held this Friday, 11th June. Congratulations, Sahara Jonata, Willow Ramsey, Chaise Lucas, Elliot Rainbow, Maya McGee, Jonace Suaesi, Jeremy Marjanovic, Paige Williams, Brooklyn Giarratano and Max Hutchinson. Good luck in the competition team!
Primary Athletics Carnival
We are very excited to once again be holding our Primary School Athletics Carnival. The carnival is a way to promote friendly competition and comradery through sports. It will centre around competitive events for upper primary students, with novelty events for the early years. The carnival is a great way to foster the strong sense of community we have as a primary school as students of different year levels will be interacting with one another.
The event is Thursday, 24th June, 2021, and will start at 9.15am sharp. All children are required to be at school no later than 8.45am for roll marking. The classes will head down the back oval at 8.55am. Parents and friends are welcome to stay for the whole event. More information went home last week about the format of the day. If you have not received this information, please contact Miss Shepherdson at kristy.shepherdson@kimberley.college.
Primary Assembly
We wish to congratulate the following students who received a KC Attitude Award at our assembly. Well done, Aston Prior, Odin Verstegen-Holmberg,Rian Pearson, Adelaide Lindsay, Rory Kirby, Layne Meikle, Xavian Vlieg, Mustafa Uyarel, Alexander Antonie, Aliyana Salih, Piper Musgrave, Shavar Uyarel (Curiosity), Georgia Saunders (Respect), Millie Bishop (Empathy), Abigail Roberts (Commitment).
We also wish to thank Kokowara for sharing a very special song which they have been learning as part of Reconciliation Week 2021.
Kristy Shepherdson
Art News
For their Internal Assessment 2 (IA2), Year 12 Visual Art students evolved their focus based on the stimulus and concept of 'Is identity given or created?'. They individually produced folios and resolved artwork(s) which reflected their connection, response and research of the concept of identity. Experimenting with different media and techniques, researching, evaluating, drafting and engaging audiences are important aspects of their art making processes. We invite you to look at some of the artworks that our Year 12 Visual Art students have created.
Roya Khorsandi
KC Equestrian Team
This year, Kimberley College formally established our Equestrian Team where wonderful successes are being showcased.
Lucy and Rosie Prevost recently competed at the Interschool Queensland Show Jumping event at Warwick and both placed first in their respective categories.
Sienna Alexzander also competed in the Equestrian Queensland ODE at Burpengary. This event comprised of three disciplines (dressage, show jumping and cross country). Sienna was successful in placing sixth overall in her class.
From our Counsellor
Focused and Meaningful Conversations
Having a conversation with each other is an art that requires practicing. However, with so many demands fighting for our attention, meaningful conversations can be forgotten. Research, carried out through La Trobe University, suggests the teaching of reflection and, self-reflection in particular, contributes to successful development as adolescents and strengthens family ties when offered in conversations with family members.
Reflective conversations can assist people in learning from their experiences, improving relationships and skills and, assist people in developing strategies to overcome life’s obstacles and lead to goal attainment. Families can encourage conversations based on daily reflections where each member discusses reflections of their day possibly around what they have learnt, experienced or felt. These conversations can then be expanded to personal and global reflections based on what is going on individually or globally. One of the best skills developed from self-reflections is the learning of responsibility – where a person becomes aware of their part in their experiences. Below is a list of 5 questions that could be used as reflective family conversation prompts.
- What is one piece of advice (given to you by a teacher) that you really appreciate?
- Who looks up to you and why do you think they look up to you?
- How do you enrich your friends’ lives?
- What is your best personality trait and why?
- How is your behaviour reflective of a good role model to those looking up to you?
Klynton Kelly-Bolt
Athletics Carnival
The annual middle and senior school Athletics Carnival was held last Wednesday June 2 at the Gold Coast Performance Centre. Thank you to everyone who attended the carnival, and the students and staff who make these big carnivals such a success.
Congratulations to our age champions for this carnival!
12Y Boys - Daniel De Ruysscher
12Y Girls - Lily Fortsman
13Y Boys - Chase Griffin
13Y Girls - Lily Harris
14Y Boys - Kai Barwick
14Y Girls - Anika Barrett
15Y Boys - Brody Lovelock
15Y Girls - Olivia Hamilton
16Y Girls - Leah White
17Y Boys - Bailey Paschko
17Y Girls - Charli Holmes
18Y Boys - Nathaniel Boylan
18Y Girls - Kasey Anderson
The students who have qualified for Pacific Districts will be notified within the coming weeks. We wish them the best at their next carnival.
Kokoda
The day arrived and our dedicated hikers set off to challenge their fitness, mental strength, stamina and endurance. The Kokoda challenge is about finishing the race together rather than how long it takes. Kokoda is about mateship, teamwork, compassion, encouragement, resilience and commitment. We are so proud of all our hikers. Most of them and their families, grandmas, friends, brothers, mothers, fathers and occasionally dogs committed to weekend training over the last month, all while maintaining their school workload and participating in school events as well! LEGENDS!!!! It has been a fantastic experience with a side benefit of character-building. Students built resilience, worked as part of a team, expressed mateship, gained cardio fitness, and bonded over achieving a common goal with their group.
We want to thank all of our Kokoda kids for representing their boats and Kimberley College with courage and compassion. We encourage all students to consider signing up next year. You, like me, maybe pleasantly surprised at how much you enjoy hiking!!!
Congratulations to
Miauklan Team
15Km
Riley Diers-Hahn, KadeDiers-Hahn, Saxon Walters, Flynn Sprott
Jagera Team
15Km
MiaWilkinson, Elizabeth Stinga, Sasha Mills, Lilly Harris
Jordan Tam, Jayden Givney, Bailey Mills, Harry Krelle
30km
Hunter Tibbs, Riley Rodrigues, Corey Dawson-Simmons, Mason Laing
Special mention to Kimberley College Team Four, who trained with us every weekend but, due to Illness, were unable to participate on the day.
Lama Lama
30km
Toby Bowels-Sky, Takai Hola, Liam Tanner, Ronak Ashara
A huge shout out to the Team Leaders for supporting our kids throughout the Kokoda Challenge.
Student Absences & Early Collections
It would be appreciated if all student absences could be sent through before 10.00am each day. Please remember to include the students full name.
If you are aware of upcoming appointments these can be sent through prior to the date of the appointment. We are experiencing a large number of unexplained absences every day and it is important that all absences are accounted for.
To enable us to facilitate the early collection of students please contact the school prior to arriving. This is especially important on Friday afternoons when we are usually inundated with children going home. We will always endeavour to find students, even when no prior notice has been provided, however this can sometimes take time, your patience and understanding is appreciated.