Student Leadership at Hills College

Since the last edition of Hills Times, I have had the pleasure of being involved with a number of student leadership initiatives. Alongside the weekly meetings with College captains that involves leadership training, scenarios, public speaking , and self-reflection, I have attended the Year 11 leadership camp, and inducted Year 12 students to the College Captains' team.

Year 11 Camp

Each year, I attend Emu Gully leadership camp with the Year 11 cohort. This is always a challenging camp, with leadership activities, problem-solving scenarios, team-building exercises, and self-reflection opportunities. The Year 11 students certainly rose to the occasion, with many highlights including the Bridge on the River Kwai, The Siege of Tobruk, The Western Front, The Tunnel Rats of Vietnam, The Kokoda Track, and the Night Walk.

Year 12 College Captains

It was my pleasure to officially promote, and badge, two students to captaincy roles for the remainder of 2023, in the presence of their parents, Head of Secondary Mrs Skelton, and Head of Wellbeing Mr Pope.

Caitlin McNee was promoted to one of the College Captain positions, with Caitlin Rideout appointed College Vice-Captain. Both young leaders thoroughly deserve their appointment to the College’s highest student leadership accolade.

Mr Kevin Lynch
Principal and CEO
Hills International College Ltd

kevin.lynch@hills.qld.edu.au

NAPLAN commenced this week for our Year 3 and 5 students, and we wish them their personal best over the three testing days this week, and catch-up testing in Week 9. Families familiar with NAPLAN will notice that a 10-point band scale will not be used from this year moving forward. A much more simplistic measure, called levels of proficiencies, will be used. These four levels range from exceeding, strong, developing, to need additional support, with student achievement represented by a dot placement near these levels.

Many thanks to our families who proactively engage with their children after being contacted by our staff regarding behaviour. Most of our behaviours are in the ‘minor’ range, however, tracking behaviour trends and seeking input from our families can assist us with better guiding and supporting our students in class and within the community. We have high expectations regarding student behaviour and everyone has the right to learn in a safe and respectful environment. We value your input and support of our College L.A.W.S. and instilling these values through conversations at home and in collaboration with Hills College staff.

Congratulations to our students who were recognised at our most recent assembly. Celebrating student success enables our students and community to share in the joy of positivity at play. Well done to Ebony Graham, Captains' Awardee, for exceptional compassion, and Indigo Munoz, who received the HOP award for integrity and community-mindedness.

Many of our students have noticed that the tokens boxes have been emptied. This is because we are running low, handing out close to 1500 tokens for exceptional behaviour. Well done students for this wonderful achievement. Please check outside the Primary office for an update on which house is in the lead!

Matthew Noel
Head of Primary

matt.noel@hills.qld.edu.au

Parent Teacher Interviews

Parent-teacher interviews are scheduled for the afternoon/evening of 28-29 March. This will be a joyous and collaborative opportunity to share in your child’s learning and we encourage all families to book a 10-minute time with their child's teacher. Interviews can be booked via the Parent Lounge with classroom teacher interviews taking place at the top of the Resource Centre and specialist teacher bookings at the lower level. Please note each interview runs for strictly 10 minutes. If you wish to discuss any matter further, our staff will be only too happy to meet with you at an alternate time.

For families of 1L and 3F, your parent-teacher interviews will run in Week 6 of Term 2. This will ensure that our new staff have time to develop that important understanding of our learners.

Parking

I wish to draw your attention to the congestion that leads to the drop-and-go each afternoon. Please note that the grassy space opposite the drop and go is a parking area for our families. By parking here and walking your child to the crossing, it is hoped that we will see an ease in congestion. It also enables our Prep families access to the Prep Zone as currently they are being held up by families arriving early for drop and go. Please note, for safety reasons cars are not permitted to park along the side of the verge on the road leading to Prep. Thank you all for your consideration and support as we navigate this ever-present trickiness!  

Captains Captions

The compassion box has recently been placed outside the Primary Office and it is great to see so many words of compassion coming in! This weeks shout outs are:
Ella Gould – You were seen picking up rubbish last Thursday during Morning Tea.  
Hayden Thomas - Thanks for helping a student that was hurt. You then took them to the library for first aid, which was awesome. 
Emerson Cunington – Thanks for being so inclusive to other kids when playing a game at lunch last week. 

Phebe Passi- Thanks for always coming up to people and being so kind and friendly.

From the Primary Captains
Erin, Oliver, Andrew and Addison

Year 2 – The Railway Museum

Our Year 2 students attended an excursion to The Railway Museum at Ipswich as a part of our Unit of Inquiry: Where We Are in Place and Time. We explored and discovered how trains, transport and day-to-day life have changed over time and the various ways in which the museum had preserved interesting and significant features from the community. Our students had many engaging and hands-on experiences as they develop and understand the relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals from local perspectives. 

Year 2 had opportunities to ask questions, role play and share their knowledge as they identified and compared changes over time, contextualising the world around them.

A massive thank you to our teacher aids and parent helpers who were able to join us.

In the spotlight with 2B

Place Value Fun in 2B
In our edition of in the spotlight, I thought we would share a wonderful part of our learning in 2B involving mathematical thinking. 2B students worked in pairs and small groups as they explored, identified, and organised numbers up to four digits. Our students cut and arranged place value provocation number cards as they worked collaboratively to arrange ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands in a way that made sense to them. They used mini whiteboards to draw their own place value charts and explain their mathematical thinking. This learning experience fostered our students' mathematical reasoning and problem-solving capabilities while also extending their understanding as they shared and expressed their mathematical thinking.

Miss Byron and 2B
 

Student Agency

At Hills, student agency is a fundamental aspect of the Primary Years Programme (PYP). It refers to the ability of students to take ownership of their learning, make choices and decisions, and act independently with purpose and direction.

Student agency is fostered through a variety of practices and strategies, such as:

• Inquiry-based learning: Students are encouraged to explore their own questions, interests, and curiosities, and to drive their learning through active investigation and research.
• Student-led conferences: Students take responsibility for their own learning and share their progress and goals with their teachers and families. At Hills, this is done at the end of Term 3 each year. 
• Collaborative learning: Students work together to solve problems, share ideas, and make decisions, developing communication, teamwork, and leadership skills.
• Reflection: Students reflect on their learning and identify their strengths and areas for improvement, taking ownership of their own growth and development.

Families can also play a vital role in developing agentic skills in their children at home. Some ways to do this include:

• Encouraging curiosity and questioning: Parents can foster their children's natural curiosity by providing opportunities to explore and investigate, asking open-ended questions, and encouraging them to find their own answers.
• Supporting choice and decision-making: Parents can give their children opportunities to make choices and decisions, such as choosing what to wear or what to have for breakfast and support them in reflecting on the consequences of their choices.
• Encouraging reflection: Parents can encourage their children to reflect on their experiences, asking questions such as "What did you learn from that?" or "What would you do differently next time?"
• Fostering independence: Parents can gradually give their children more responsibility and independence, such as allowing them to choose their own activities or take on household chores.

By supporting the development of student agency both at school and at home, students can become more empowered, engaged, and motivated learners, better equipped to navigate their own learning journeys and to make meaningful contributions to the community.

Global Citizen Award 

This year, we have introduced a new award at Hills International College, the Global Citizen Award. This award is designed to recognise and celebrate our students' commitment to making a positive impact in the world and aligns perfectly with our school's mission statement and the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme Learner Profile attributes. The Global Citizen Award is awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional effort in taking action towards global issues and show an understanding of their role as responsible members of the global community. It will be given to students who embody the qualities of a true global citizen, such as being caring, knowledgeable, reflective, open-minded, and balanced, as outlined in the IB PYP Learner Profile. This award is a celebration, and recognition of our students' continued growth and development as responsible global citizens, and the Global Citizen Award is a testament to their efforts in making a positive impact in the world.

Our first Global Citizen Award recipients for 2023 are Abby Clapham and Olivia McSevney, for demonstrating many attributes of the IB Learner Profile and College L.A.W.S in their efforts to make our College environment a more inclusive and compassionate environment. Well done girls! 

Mr Stuart Ablitt 

Deputy Head of Primary 

stuart.ablitt@hills.qld.edu.au

Secondary Insights

Welcome to our Secondary Insights for Term 1 Week 8.

As we approach the end of the term, we would like to update you on our upcoming assessments and how you can support your child during this time.

Assessments are an essential part of our educational program and they provide valuable information about your child's progress. Our assessments will take place during the last two weeks of term and they will cover a range of subjects and learning outcomes which will be reflected in our upcoming Term 1 reporting session.

To prepare for the assessments, we encourage you as parents and carers to support your child by ensuring they have a quiet study environment at home, encouraging good sleep and eating habits, and assisting with homework and revision where necessary.

Please also remind your child of the importance of good time management, so they can complete their assessments on time and to the best of their ability. It's essential to stay organised and prioritise tasks during this time, so they don't feel overwhelmed.

We understand that assessments can be stressful for both parents and children, so please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any concerns or questions. Our teachers are available to discuss your child's progress and offer support and guidance where needed.

NAPLAN Testing

We are pleased to inform you that NAPLAN testing has now been completed, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and encourage your child for their efforts during the testing period.

We understand that NAPLAN can be a stressful time for both students and parents and we want to acknowledge your child's hard work and perseverance during this important assessment period.

Our teachers have been providing additional support and resources to help your child prepare for NAPLAN, and we will continue to work with them to analyse the results and use the information to improve their learning and development.

Please remember that NAPLAN is just one measure of your child's progress, and we assess their abilities in many other ways throughout the year. The results of the assessment will be shared with you later in the year and we will provide you with further information on how you can use these results to support your child's learning and progress.

We encourage you to talk to your child about their NAPLAN experience and celebrate their efforts. It's important to acknowledge their hard work and recognize their achievements.

Thank you for your ongoing support, and we look forward to working with you to support your child's learning and development.

Parent Meeting - Literacy and Numeracy

We would like to thank everyone who attended our inaugural Parent Meeting for Literacy and Numeracy. We hope you found the presentation informative and enjoyed the fun activities we provided.

During the meeting, our Literacy and Numeracy coordinators provided an overview of our approach to teaching these important subjects. We discussed the importance of building strong foundational skills, and how we use a range of teaching strategies to engage and support students at all levels.

We also showcased some of the fun and engaging activities we use to help students develop their literacy and numeracy skills. From interactive games to creative writing prompts, we are committed to making learning enjoyable for your child.

For those who were unable to attend, if you would like a summary of the presentation and the key points discussed, please contact us for the details. We encourage you to review this information and reach out to us if you have any questions.

We believe that strong literacy and numeracy skills are essential for your child's academic and personal development, and we are committed to providing them with the best possible education in these areas. We encourage you to continue to support your child's learning at home and to stay engaged with us as we work together to support their growth and development. A very special thank you to Mrs Sharon Rummins, Head of Faculty Maths, and Ms Jacinta Goyne, Head of Faculty English.

As this edition of the Hills Times also focuses on Science, enjoy the articles based around Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Thank you again for your ongoing support.

Mrs Julie-Anne Skelton

Head of Secondary

julie-anne.skelton@hills.qld.edu.au

College LAWS Awardees

The following students at the have reflected our College’s LAWS of;

Living with Compassion
Acting with Integrity
Working with Diligence
Striving for Success

These students will be presented during an upcoming Wednesday assembly in late March.

Living with Compassion and Acting with Integrity: Hannah Schweizer - who on Year 9 camp not only went first up a giant climbing ladder, but also helped another student overcome their fears and reach the top. It was a display of the true character of an amazing student and an inspiration to all who witnessed it.

Working with Diligence: Riley Bate made a huge effort to engage in every activity on camp, showing determination, rigour, hard work, and perseverance.

Striving for Success: Brandon Eaton consistently showed up to each challenge on camp, besting most activities with agility, quick thinking, and an outstanding attitude. Lantana shakes with fear whenever he is near. 

Striving for Success: Billie Walter in the library every lunch working hard on all her assignments. 

Mr Paul Clarke

Digital Technologies Teacher

Working with Diligence: Daniel Joy has been quite dedicated to his Humanities studies this term and has been asking/answering questions every lesson, as well as completing extra activities. He has been commended for this improvement in his work-ethic.

Ms Alexandria Salmon

Humanities Teacher

Working with Diligence: Chloe Lanoux, Amber Davidson, Joseph Hodges, Maddyson Lanksy, Maddyson Niewand, Saxxon Ford, Penelope Glover, Steven Gurney, Thalia Haanstra, CJ Steyn, Blaze Archibald, Caitlin Rideout, Shyla Ramdeo. All helped immensely at the cross country.

Caitlin Rideout for her Spirit - Spirit Award nomination during our recent Cross Country Carnival.

Mrs Leah Stone

Head of Faculty- Health and Physical Education

Working with Diligence and Striving for Success

YEAR 7 - Alana Cassells, Angee Nguyen, Aaliyah Tran

YEAR 8 - Nathan Graham, Jasleen Sandhar, Ava Jones

YEAR 10 - Ivy Carter, Boston Musgrave, Tanya Waalder

YEAR 11 - Sunny Duncombe, India Carroll, Gaelle Degryse, Hollie Zavattaro,
               Lachlan Alway

YEAR 12 - Amber Davidson, Chloe Lanoux

Ms Caroline Barnard

Visual Arts Teacher

Special Visit from QPS Officers, QAS Officers and QFES Offices:

On Thursday 30 March, Hills International College are hosting a cross agency initiative to highlight the need for a greater emphasis on road safety as we move into the Easter Holidays. Officers from QPS, QAS and QFES and their vehicles will be on the front oval at Hills to highlight how important the Fatal five are in being safe on the roads. There will also be a driving simulator on the oval so we can see how well students drive.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Darnielle Fioriti

Officer in Charge, Prevention and Engagement
Logan District

Teaching and Learning - Visual Arts

Term 1 continues to be busy in the Art learning environment as students from Years 7 to 12 explore Visual Arts. Students are encouraged to use the Art space at lunch, and it is wonderful to see many of them use the facilities in order to complete their assessment on time.

Year 7 are investigating the theme of ‘Food in Art’ by looking at the work of a wide range of different artists. They are creating their own food-inspired artworks through drawing, painting and mixed media.

Year 8 and 9 students were introduced to the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. By taking their own photographs around the campus, they used them as reference for their watercolour paintings. By applying analogous colours and some of Hundertwasser’s painting techniques, they are creating interesting compositions that capture the College environment.

Year 10 students are looking at ‘Symbolism in Art’ and investigating how the human skull is represented in artworks of the past and present. They were introduced to a range of materials and techniques before creating their final artwork.

As part of Unit 1: Art as Lens, Year 11 have almost completed their Extended Response Task (FA1). By exploring the Contemporary and Personal contexts, they examine how artists have used objects to express a personal viewpoint. Their experimental artworks are in response to learning about their chosen artists’ practice.

Year 12 students have completed their Investigation – Inquiry Phase 1. Last year they participated in an authentic experience with visiting artist Bronwyn Davies and were able to use the knowledge gained from her practice to help them finalise their inquiry question. The experimental research carried out by each student is varied and thought provoking and I look forward to seeing their body of work emerge over the coming months.

Ms Caroline Barnard
Visual Arts Teacher

Teaching and Learning - Pi Day

Happy Pi day everyone!

Tuesday 14 March was Pi Day. On this day we celebrate the mathematical constant Pi. This day is celebrated on March 14 because the first three digits of Pi are 3.14. 

Fun fact, did you know that Albert Einstein was born on Pi day? 

To commemorate the day the STEM team organised circular biscuits into the pi symbol and handed them out to classes at Hills Internationals College. A large apple pie was also baked and shared among the Year 12 students. Thank you so much to everyone who helped out with this event!

Caitlin Rideout

STEM Ambassador

On Pi day we participated in the Maths Team Challenge.  We worked as a team to complete questions to win a prize.  It was a really good experience for everyone that participated.

Balian Hill, Ava Jones, Jasleen Sandhar and Jyla Mollard

Year 8 Students

Teaching and Learning - Clean Up Australia Day

On Wednesday 8 March, a group of senior students made their way down to the Primary school to help the primary students participate in Clean Up Australia Day. Clean Up Australia Day is an annual event that aims to inspire and mobilise communities to clean up and protect their local environment. The purpose of Clean Up Australia Day is to raise awareness about the environmental impact of litter and waste, and to encourage individuals and groups to take action to improve the health of their local environment. 

From the Preppies to Year 6, all students participated cleaning up their school and learning how to take care of the environment. Not only was this event beneficial to our community, but it helped get the Preps excited for their upcoming unit on the environment. In addition to the environmental benefits of reducing litter and waste, Clean Up Australia Day also promotes community engagement and social cohesion, as students work together to improve their local environment and create a cleaner, healthier community for everyone. We also had a Prep student, Xander Simpson who helped clean up the Flagstone Park after learning about our environment, making us all proud!

The following Students were involved;

Shyla Ramdeo

Caitlin Rideout 

Amber Davidson

Caitlin McNee 

Maeve Feeney 

Ethan Baker 

Joseph Hodges 

Stanley Lin

Yoyo Huang

Phatcharapon (Ton) Jiadnongyung 

 
Shyla Ramdeo

Year 12 Student- Vice Captain Hills College

Teaching and Learning - Earth Hour

The STEM team would like to remind everyone that Saturday 25 March is Earth hour. Earth hour is a global event organised by WWF to give everyone a chance take action against environmental issues. On Friday 24 March Hills International College will support this day by spending one hour of class without using electricity. It would be amazing if parents of Hills College could switch off their light for one hour on the 25th to show they care about the future of their planet and help spread awareness of climate change and unsustainable resource consumption.
 Join One Of The World's Largest Movements for Nature | Earth Hour 2023

Caitlin Rideout

STEM Ambassador

Teaching and Learning - Science

‘Why is Science an important subject for our students, your children?’

The study of science provides opportunities for students to develop an understanding of important science concepts and processes, the practices used to develop scientific knowledge, of science’s contribution to our culture and society, and its applications in our lives. It provides an understanding of scientific inquiry methods, a foundation of knowledge across the disciplines of science, and develops an ability to communicate scientific understanding and use evidence to solve problems and make evidence-based decisions in our ever-changing world. The curriculum supports students to develop the scientific knowledge, understandings and skills to make informed decisions about local, national and global issues and to participate, if they so wish, in science-related careers.

Enjoy the photos below reflecting Learning Experiences in Science.

11 Biology Osmosis Lab – Potato cubes are put into salt solution of increasing concentration and left to stand for a period of time. The potatoes either gain or lose mass by gaining or losing water by osmosis. The movement of water from low concentration (of salt) to high concentration.

12 Physics ‘The Van Degraff Generator’ – The Van DeGraff Generator products static electricity. When students place their hands on the metal ball at the top of the generator the static electricity is passed to the student with dramatic effect.

Mr Chris Schultz

Head of Faculty Science

Teaching and Learning - SPAR-Q Newsletter – Chelsea Tyler

My experience in the SPARQ-ed Junior Research Engagement Program was really eye opening, doing senior biology at a Year 12 level, it really gave insight for potential career options.  The first thing they did was introduce me to the other students at the program and sat me in a table with four students from different schools. They gave us all a protocol booklet of information about the experiments and science behind what we were going to do over the three days. We did two experiments using bacterial transformation to study genes and gene expression: “Bacterial Transformation: Green Fluorescent in E. coli” and “pGLO Plasmid: minipcr”.

This was the first topic that we studied at the university. As we did research on the experiment we were going to perform, we came to learn that we were going to be adding genes into a stomach virus, Escherichia coli (E. coli). The genes we were adding (pGLO) into the E. coli were: Green Fluorescent Prosien (GFP), Beta Lactamase (Bla), and Arabinose C (AraC). The phenotype that we changed was the agar gel, in two out of four, ampicillin was added. In theory the agar plate with ampicillin with no pGLO, was supposed to kill all bacteria (E. coli), however, the antibiotics were old and didn’t kill the E. coli. The reason the ampicillin doesn’t kill the pGLO E. coli is because the Beta Lactamase (Bla) is antibiotic resistant making the pGLO un-killable with antibiotics.

The equipment we used was a DNA Portion (that we want to copy), a buffer, primers (helps DNA polymerase), DNA polymerase (heat resistance or TAQ polymerase), and a nucleotide (building blocks of the experiment). The sequence that we used to copy out DNA was de-naturing, which breaks down the DNA, annealing which uses primer to replace the broken DNA, and DNA Synthesis.

On the third day of the program we had to pair up to put together a poster of the experiments that we had performed and the reasoning behind those experiments. We used visual aids in our poster such as pictures and diagrams from the booklet we were given.

Overall, this experience really made me question what I want to do in the future and if I had the opportunity, I would definitely do the program again.

Chelsea Tyler

Year 9 Student

Teaching and Learning - Upcoming Competitions

Why are competitions important?

Competitions motivate students and drive them to put forth their best effort. They spark interest, passion and ignite a fire within. Healthy competition requires teamwork and positive participation. Participants are encouraged to improve themselves and learn new techniques.

Watch this space for more details from the English Ambassadors about the following upcoming competitions at Hills College.

Additional current details are noted below.

Home - Dorothea Mackellar

ETAQ | Literary Competition

Beach Volleyball Schools Cup

From March 12 to 13, Hills International College attended the Beach Schools Cup at Coolangatta. Hills College was happy to see so many volleyball players participating over the full two days, and beating the heat. The students that attended said it was a very enjoyable event with everyone competing together and having a good time. 

Pairs and groups of four players played in divisions that covered Years 7 up to 12, and The Gap School took out the pairs senior win. The event was a very enjoyable way to build players’ skills and it proved to be a rewarding event for all competitors. Overall, 'thank you' to the organizers, for it was a great way to give our students the energy and encourage their love for the sport.

Caitlyn Underdown  

Hills Reporting Team

Blurred Minds - Anti-Vaping information

This Wednesday, we were very fortunate to be invited to undertake the first test run of a new Griffith University anti-vaping awareness and information campaign.  The Blurred Minds program has visited us before and were keen to have our students trial their new Virtual Reality 'house party' simulation, designed to encourage safe choices in risky situations.

Media correspondents from both Channel 9 and Channel 7 also attended, and two of our Year 8 students, Jasleen Sandhar and Ava Jones, provided their perspective on the issue.

The Qld Government has instituted a parliamentary enquiry into vaping, and we hope that the attention from reports such as this will help produce real and effective action regarding the availability and public perception of vapes and vaping.  Vaping is an issue for society and large, and schools are currently bearing the brunt of managing the issue.  We look forward to continuing to work with Blurred Minds and other organisations to help provide information and advice to our students and community.

Year 8 camp

The Year 8s this year went to a new camp for Hills College called Luther Heights. This camp was based around leadership and the students attending the camp participated in many activities such as high rope activities, making a catapult, and other activities that required team skills and agility. As an attending student, I myself enjoyed the camp. The food was amazing, and the staff were all pleasant and accommodating. 

The view there was amazing, and it was only a 15-minute walk to the beach. The entire camp was a major success. On behalf of the year 8s, I would like to thank the school for organising such an amazing event and thank the school staff and the camp representatives for hosting such an amazing camp.

Lukyn Hytongue
Hills Reporting Team

Cross Country Carnival

The cross-country carnival was a big day for everyone at Hills College and it gave students a chance to participate in a friendly race to challenge themselves. Everybody had a really good time cheering each other on and showing good sportsmanship. The students got the opportunity to dress up in their house colours to support their house. There were varying lengths of track up to 6km for the seniors. To raise money for the Year 12 formal this year, students sold sno-cones, which proved to be very popular on such a warm day. 

The winner for primary this year was Uluru, with Halla second, and Fuji third. For Secondary, the winner was Fuji and second was Jade, followed by Uluru. Well done to every participant!

Harnoor Anand & Breeya Peterson

Hills Reporting Team

HIA Secondary Round

On Wednesday March 8 secondary students at the College headed to Kooralbyn International School to participate in the first HIA carnival of the year. The sports on offer were touch football, volleyball, and 3v3 basketball. The two other schools at the event were Kooralbyn and Mt. Tamborine. 

Each of the three schools got to participate in two matches for their collective sports. The day was very enjoyable, as always, and it was great to participate and compete in the HIA events. The teachers supervising for the day were Mrs. Stone, Mr. Robinson, and Mr. Kanaya and we would like to thank them for keeping the students safe throughout the day. We would also like to thank Kooralbyn for hosting an awesome day and we look forward to the next HIA day in Term 2.

Joshua Feeney,
Hills reporting team captain 

Harmony Week

Harmony Week begins on Monday, and is a week to recognise and celebrate the incredible cultural diversity of not only our amazing community, but Australia as a whole. 

At Hills, we know that we are 'a place to belong', but how can we live this belief?

• Smile when you meet someone new at school, and say hello. This small act can make someone's day!

• Try your best to pronounce someone's name correctly - they are possibly finding your name tricky too. 

• Remember what it means to be Australian - mateship, multiculturalism and kindness have built our country into a prosperous nation. We can live these beliefs as we live the LAWS at our school.

Next week, we will be celebrating with some small in-class activities. On Friday 24 March we will be having a Free Dress Day - Wear Orange to celebrate the end of Harmony Week. Please bring a gold coin if you wear free dress. More details are on the App. 

If you ordered a bento lunch on this day, boxes will be delivered for Prep - Year 4. All other students can collect their lunches from C5 at lunch time.

ABSA Conference

The Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA) is the leading authority on all things boarding in Australia. They are an advocate and voice for boarding at state and federal levels, and also a key source of professional advice and development for boarding staff. 

Last week, I attended a two day conference on the Gold Coast hosted by ABSA. It was an extremely worthwhile event, where I could connect with other boarding schools, big and small. 

If you are in boarding, interested in boarding, or want to know what life is like as a boarder, hop on to ABSA's free online Boarder Induction Program. 

Ella Gould, our youngest Academy member, played her way onto the Girls' Intercollegiate team over the last few weeks by reducing her handicap to be eligible to compete. She vindicated that selection by winning the girls' net tournament in round 1 of the Queensland Intercollegiate event at Burleigh Golf Club last week. Ella shot a wonderful net 72 to help lead our team to first place in the Girls' team net tournament. Fiona Feng shot a gross of 76 to come in 2nd behind State Champion, Haruhi Nakatani, in the gross event. Our boys came in 3rd behind Kelvin Grove and Robina. Next round will be played at Virginia Golf Club in Term 2.

Our students continue to perform well each Wednesday when they play out at Beaudesert Golf Club. Ashton Gurung shot his personal best round of 71 to win the gross of the day. Daniel Gould also shot his PB and won the net tournament with a 67. Ashton was selected in the Intercollegiate team a few days prior and this gave him some confidence and belief that he can shoot some low numbers. He beat both Saxxon Ford and Tiger Xie (72s) to have bragging rights on who might be the best player in the Academy.  

The Golf Academy had a visit by the world's # 1 Golf Biomechanics expert, Dr Robert Neal, on Tuesday. Dr Neal has been a friend of Tom's and Ken's for over 50 years. Dr Neal was a professor of Human Movement at the University of Queensland many years ago and was an "A" grade golfer for Indooroopilly. He used his knowledge to apply it to golf and has been working in Florida, USA for the past 20 years. Almost every pro on the PGA Tour has sought information and advice from him. His 3D equipment can measure body movements in real time during the swing and more importantly helps detect swing sequencing and timing.

Dr Neal assessed our leading three boys and top girl with his equipment. He then collaborated with both the students and their coaches to provide some detailed information about their individual golf swings and a plan of attack to help them make important adjustments with their patterns.

Although our Academy is the smallest it has ever been in its history, days like these are the ones that separate us from the other golf programs in Australia. It is one of the reasons why we gain the most US College scholarships than any other school in the country.

Until next time, Good golfing.

Tom Berndt

Director of Golf

tom.berndt@hills.qld.edu.au

It has been a big few weeks with Cross Country, excursions, NAPLAN etc, and the next two weeks leading up to Easter are busy as well with NAPLAN continuing, Parent Teacher Interviews, Grandparents Day and Crazy Sock Day and Easter Hat Parade for Early Primary. 

Please make sure you are keeping an eye on the app for notices about all upcoming events. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

FRIDAY ARVO BBQ

The next BBQ will be next Friday 24 March after Primary assembly and is held near the Primary playground. This BBQ is sponsored by Ace Driving School. We would love to see you come down and grab a sausage (we also offer vegan options for anyone who requires as well), let the kids have a play and you're always welcome to help out if you want as well. Please be reminded that this is a free event, it is to promote connection with our parents in our lovely school community so parents can get to know each other and their friends parents as well. What a great way to get a bit of down time, and who doesn't need that on a Friday afternoon?

P & F NAPLAN TREAT

Naplan is due to finish on Monday 27th March and the P & F will be supplying a treat for the students that have attended. We are still reviewing ideas but we cannot wait to gift something fun for them as a reward. If there are any parents that are able to help on the day to be able to distribute what we get so the kids get them quicker and are able to enjoy them during their lunch break, that would be a great help, we don't need many but 4 or 5 would be great.

MOTHERS DAY STALL

Due to Athletics Carnivals being held the days before Mothers Day weekend, the Mothers Day stall will be held on Thursday 1 and Friday 2 May in the Resource Centre. A notice will go out closer to the day but if you are interested in helping at the stall, we usually do the shifts in 2 hour blocks, so keep an eye out on the P&F Facebook Group when we call for volunteers.

RODEO

There has been some communication with the Rodeo organisers and we are now looking at dates in July and September for the 2023 Rodeo. As always we will give as much notice as possible but these are big events and we need as much parent support as we can get. 

WINTER WEAR

Please keep an eye out over the coming weeks for updates on our fleecy vests and the new beanies on offer. These are not compulsory uniform items but are great for keeping the kids warm in winter, there are even staff wearing them too, they are a great accessory to keep warm. 

HAVE YOU JOINED THE FACEBOOK GROUP?

To keep up to date with all the P & F news and information, please join The Hills P&F Community Facebook group or email any queries or feedback to president@hillspf.com.

Have a great weekend and hope you can all manage to stay cool in this heat. 

Lacey Easter

President

0414 702 495