As we celebrate two of the most inspiring events on the school calendar, Book Week and National Science Week, we are reminded of the extraordinary power of imagination, curiosity, and discovery in shaping young minds.

Book Week 

Of course, the highlight of each Book Week is the Book Character dress up parade and having seen the Secondary students in Week 5, I am sure that we are in for some hotly contested competition in the Primary. I am not looking forward to judging the winners!

There were some wild, weird and wonderful costumes on display at both parades, and I thank Mrs Hansell for her organisation of the primary event. Congratulations to Ms Goyne and the English Ambassadors for their organisation of the Secondary event.

Science Week 2026: Seeds of Science: Nurturing Knowledge for All

Book Week coincides with another exciting national celebration, National Science Week, Australia's largest annual celebration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Science plays a vital role in every aspect of our daily lives. From the technology we use and the medicines that keep us healthy, to the food we grow and the solutions we develop for environmental challenges, science helps us understand the world and improve the future. It encourages us to ask questions, investigate possibilities, solve problems, and innovate.

At Hills International College, we are committed to developing students who are curious, creative, and confident thinkers. Science education provides students with opportunities to explore, experiment, and discover how the world works while developing the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that will serve them throughout their lives.

During Science Week, students will engage in hands-on learning experiences, investigations, and activities that celebrate discovery and innovation. These experiences encourage students to see themselves not only as learners of science but as future scientists, engineers, designers, innovators, and informed citizens who can contribute positively to society.

I thank our Head of Science Mr Chris Schultz and his faculty for planning an enriching variety of activities for our students to be involved in.

Together, Book Week and Science Week remind us that whether we are turning the pages of a book or exploring the mysteries of the universe, learning begins with curiosity. By fostering a love of reading and a passion for discovery, we are helping our students build the knowledge, skills, and imagination needed to create a bright future.

Seibudai Chiba Visit

We have been privileged to host a visit from Seibudai Chiba in Chiba, Japan this week. It was an excellent experience to be able to meet the principal, Mr Nakamura, and sign a new Sister School Agreement.

Our students who are travelling to Japan during the September break will be spending time at Seibudai Chiba so they will gain an experience of Japanese culture. 

Thanks to Mrs Vanessa Newbery for her outstanding hospitality towards all of our recent guests from China, Malaysia and Japan.

Year 3 and Year 4 Camps at Kindilan

This week saw our Year 3 students commence their camp program with a full day visit to Kindilan Outdoor Education Centre at Redland Bay. The Year 4 students also went to Kindilan and stayed overnight. 

By all accounts both camps were a success, and I thank all the staff who were involved in supporting our students with their personal growth.

Year 5 Camp at Maroochydore

Next week our Year 5 students head to Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast. This camp concludes our camp program for 2026. 

We are already planning our camp program for 2027 and value the opportunities for learning outside the classroom that camps bring for our students and the way that they allow our staff to connect with our students in a different learning environment.

Academic Focus

As we move to the back half of the term it is imperative that our students, especially our Year 12 cohort, work diligently to have a strong finish to the term. Secondary students, in particular Years 11 and 12, need to keep this focus as they work towards their career goals.

Year 6 Exhibition

It is now three weeks to go until the Year 6 Exhibition on Tuesday 8 September. The students are doing an outstanding job and I am in awe of some of the wonderful actions that they have been formulating as part of their exhibition lines of inquiry.

Out Of Bounds Areas

Parents are asked to not let their children play on the old 11th hole fairway adjacent to the primary stop drop and go area and car park. There have been snakes sighted in this area. This area is not part of the school grounds and children must not be out there unsupervised.

Student Free Day Friday 4 September

Parents are reminded up the student free day on Friday 4 September. PCYC will be open and providing care for families who have booked their service.

Upcoming Calendar Events

Term 2 Week 7

Monday 24 August

Book Fair

ICAS Mathematics

Tuesday 25 August

Group and Catch Up Photos

Wednesday 26 August

Year 5 Camp - Maroochydore

Thursday 27 August

Year 5 Camp

Friday 28 August

Year 5 Camp

Term 2 Week 8

Thursday 3 September

Secondary Lunchtime Concert

Prep Father's Day Afternoon

Music Recital

One of the great privileges of my role is being able to share in the experiences that shape our students beyond the classroom. This week, I had the pleasure of attending the Year 3 and Year 4 Camp at PGL Kindilan and witnessing firsthand the growth, resilience and character development that occurs when students are challenged in new environments.

In this edition of the Hills Times, I want to share the lasting value of school camps. At Hills, camps are not simply an excursion or a break from routine. They are an intentional and important part of our educational program. Our College recognises camps as a valuable educational tool and an integral component of a student's personal development journey. Research consistently shows that outdoor and experiential learning opportunities help students develop resilience, confidence, teamwork, communication skills and independence. These are qualities that cannot always be taught from a desk, but are developed through authentic experiences, challenge and reflection.

Our approach to camps is carefully staged to support students at the right point in their development. Year 3 students begin with a day camp experience, allowing them to build confidence in a supportive and age-appropriate environment. In Year 4, students extend this experience through a two-day, one-night camp, taking an important step towards greater independence and responsibility. Looking ahead, our Year 5 students will participate in a three-day, two-night camp at Maroochydore, where the focus shifts towards team building, leadership development and preparing students for the opportunities and responsibilities that await them in Year 6.

Throughout the Year 3 and 4 camp, our students were challenged to step up, be present and embrace opportunities that took them beyond their comfort zones. Whether it was encouraging a friend, following instructions carefully, demonstrating manners or persevering through a difficult activity, students repeatedly demonstrated our College values of Compassion, Integrity, Diligence and Success.

Camps provide powerful opportunities for students to learn that success is rarely achieved alone. They develop empathy, cooperation and leadership as they encourage their peers, overcome challenges together and celebrate each other's achievements. These experiences strengthen friendships and contribute positively to our school culture long after the buses return home.

I would like to sincerely thank the staff who attended camp and generously gave their time, energy and care to support our students throughout the experience. Their commitment extended well beyond the school day and played a significant role in creating an environment where students could thrive. I encourage families to join me in expressing appreciation to these staff members for their dedication to the growth and development of our children.

This week also saw our Primary School come alive with imagination and creativity as we celebrated Book Week 2026 and this year's theme, A Symphony of Stories.

With our growing school community, we introduced a new format for our annual Book Week Parade, bringing students together in our communal space, the Quads. The sight of hundreds of students proudly showcasing their costumes and favourite characters was a wonderful reminder of the joy that reading brings to young people.

Events such as Book Week are about much more than dressing up. They celebrate the power of stories to inspire curiosity, build empathy, develop language and ignite imagination. Encouraging a love of reading remains one of the most important gifts we can provide our children, opening doors to learning, creativity and lifelong discovery.

Thank you to our students, families and staff for embracing the occasion with such enthusiasm. A special thank you must go to Mrs Hansell, whose planning, organisation and passion brought this celebration to life. Her efforts ensured a memorable experience for our students and reinforced the important place that books and storytelling hold within our community.

As we reflect on both Book Week and our recent camp experiences, we are reminded that learning happens in many forms and in many places. Whether through a story, a challenge course, a camp conversation or a shared experience with friends, each opportunity helps shape the resilient, compassionate and capable young people we are proud to see growing each day at Hills.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Matthew Noel
Head of Primary

matt.noel@hills.qld.edu.au

In the Spotlight with 1C

This term in 1C, we have been on some amazing learning adventures!

In our Unit of Inquiry, we have become time travellers, investigating how life has changed from the past to today. We have been exploring different types of technology and discovering how inventions have made everyday tasks easier. Students have enjoyed comparing life long ago with life now and thinking about how technology has changed the way people live, learn and communicate.

As curious thinkers, we have been sharpening our critical and creative thinking skills by exploring open and closed questions. We have been learning how asking different types of questions can help us become better investigators, gather information and think more deeply about the world around us.

In English, we have stepped into the magical world of fairy tales! From brave heroes to tricky villains, students have been identifying characters, problems and solutions in a variety of stories. We have enjoyed discussing how these story elements work together to create exciting and memorable tales.

In Mathematics, we have continued building our confidence with larger numbers and have become pattern detectives! We have discovered patterns everywhere, from the petals of flowers to the designs on everyday objects, and have loved creating, extending and sharing our own patterns.

Last week, we were thrilled to welcome local firefighters to our school. They shared important fire safety tips and taught us what to do in an emergency. Students were engaged and excited as they learned how to help keep themselves and others safe.

This week, we put on our scientist hats and visited the Science Lab to watch some exciting experiments. There were plenty of curious questions, amazed faces and enthusiastic discussions as we explored the wonders of science together!

What a fantastic term of learning, discovering and growing! We are looking forward to many more exciting adventures ahead in 1C!

Mrs Boehm

1C Teacher

Parent Collection Reminder

To support student wellbeing, comfort and privacy at the end of the school day, we again ask that parents and caregivers remain in the designated collection areas until dismissal.  This area is not limited to the front of B Block and along the carpark side of B Block.

Recently, a number of students have raised concerns about large groups of adults congregating near the lower level of E Block. This area includes student bathroom facilities, and some students have reported feeling uncomfortable accessing these spaces when adults are gathered nearby.

We understand that parents may wish to meet children closer to their classrooms or socialise while waiting; however, we ask that all families respect this request and avoid entering or waiting in the area beyond B Block before school finishes.

Maintaining appropriate boundaries between student spaces and parent collection areas helps us ensure that all students feel safe, comfortable and able to access facilities without concern.

We appreciate your cooperation and support in helping us maintain a respectful and student-focused environment.

FREE Wellbeing Parent Seminar

As part of our ongoing partnership with Wellio this year, we're continuing to support our community with proactive, consistent wellbeing programs.

Many of our parents and staff joined the Wellio Webinar series earlier this year, and we're pleased to share the next session, running this Term.

FREE Parent Webinar: Friendship Problems and Social Stress

Thursday 10 September, 6:30–7:30pm AEST

Helping kids manage social issues on and offline

In this session, you'll learn how to:

• Understand why friendship issues feel so big: why fallouts and shifting friendships can hit kids so hard
• Make sense of bullying and exclusion: how social dynamics, online and in person, can escalate quickly 
• Support kids through conflict: practical ways to help them navigate fallouts and social stress

Can't make it live? Complete the registration and Wellio will send the recording and any supporting resources to all registrants after the session.

Register Here

We look forward to sharing this valuable evening with many of you.

Sparq-ed by Science:  Congratulations Nicola

Nicola in Year 10 has been selected for an exclusive Science program: Seeds of Science, at the TRI labs in Brisbane.

SPARQ-ed (Students Performing Advanced Research Queensland – Education) is a unique biomedical educational program for school students and is a partnership between the Translational Research Institute (TRI) and the Queensland Government through the Department of Education.

Students and teachers from across the Queensland schooling sectors (State Schools, Queensland Catholic Education Commission and Independent Schools Queensland) are provided with a practical introduction to biomedical research at our cutting-edge facility featuring a fully equipped Physical Containment (PC2) teaching laboratory and learning centre, located at the TRI in Brisbane.

Student workshops, teacher professional development and research immersion programs use contemporary biomedical research contexts to enhance the delivery of curriculum, including the development of 21st century skills.

Congratulations, Vyaas

Please congratulate Vyaas in Year 8, for his selection in the South Coast Cricket Team.  This continues his recent run of representative successes.

Farewell SMK Takis Papar

Last week, we wrapped up a wonderful visit from our new Malaysian friends from SMK Takis Papar. 

Highlights:

• The students and staff loved sharing food with us all, and visiting our golf program.
• Our visiting students were excellent ambassadors for their country! Polite, respectful, energetic
• Our visiting teachers Adel and Haidah were so knowledgeable, curious, collaborative
• Our Hills community - LOVED having our visitors here! One example - on Saturday night three of the girls wanted to attend the Jimboomba Carnival. Some Year 11 students heard this, and volunteered to chaperone them, so the girls in hijab would not be alone. Hills is a wonderfully kind and respectful community
• The visit has left an incredible impact on our students and staff - we all want to visit Malaysia next year!
• We have new friends, new connections, new understandings and a new outlook for the future ❤️

Welcome and Farewell - Seibudai Chiba

This week, our sister school in Chiba Japan, Seibudai Chiba, visited Hills. The lovely students joined our classes across secondary. Our friends from Chiba were very kind and polite, and happy to share their language and culture in class and in homestay.

The students were led by their Principal Mr Nakamura Junichi, English teacher and Head of International Ms Funamizu Etsuko, and Science teacher Mr Toyoshima Yugo. During their stay, a new sister school agreement was signed between Mr Parks and Mr Nakamura.

Most of their Hills buddies will be attending the Hills Japan trip in September. During our visit to Japan, we will visit Seibudai Chiba for a few days. Our students will have a similar program - being in a mainstream class, and staying in homestay.

We look forward to many more years of connection, culture and kindness between Seibudai Chiba and Hills International College.

Visit from the Taiwanese Ministry of Sports

Today, a delegation from the National Changhua University of Education, Taiwan (R.O.C.) visited Hills and the Beaudesert Golf Club, as part of a government initiative, the Sports Exchange with New Southbound Countries. This Program is commissioned by the Ministry of Sports and implemented
by National Changhua University of Education, Taiwan. 

We welcomed Professor Chia-Chang Chang, Associate Professor Chin-Lin Tai, and Project Assistant and Delegation Secretary Hsin-Yu Tung to our school. They were impressed by our facilities, particularly the HPE Centre and beach volleyball courts. The visitors were also impressed by the golf program, which has had strong links to Taiwan for many years.

We hope this connection will strengthen our ties with Taiwan, and allow us to welcome new golfers and beach volleyballers to Hills.

Secondary Teaching and Learning Update

Over the past several months, our Secondary leadership team has been working on an exciting new pedagogical framework that will help shape the future of teaching and learning at Hills. This work is a collaborative process, with our Heads of Faculty actively contributing their expertise, reflections and ideas as we build a shared vision for learning across Years 7-10.

The framework is designed to ensure our students are equipped with the skills, capabilities and dispositions needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world. It will provide greater consistency in teaching and learning experiences while maintaining the unique strengths of each subject area.

Importantly, this work is also focused on helping navigate the journey from Primary to Secondary School. By creating clearer signposting and pathways for how students experience learning across the College, we aim to provide a more seamless and connected educational journey from Prep through to Year 12.

While the framework is still a work in progress, we are excited by the rich collaboration taking place and look forward to sharing more with our community as the project continues to evolve. The strong engagement of our Heads of Faculty throughout this process reflects our collective commitment to providing the very best learning experiences for Hills students.

This work builds upon the College's ongoing commitment to educational excellence, future-focused learning and a cohesive Prep-12 experience for all students.

ICAS 2026: Celebrating Academic Challenge and Excellence

Over the past several weeks, Hills students have been participating in the 2026 ICAS assessments, choosing to challenge themselves in a range of areas including Digital Technologies, Writing, English, Science, and Spelling Bee. This year, 39 students have registered across the various competitions, resulting in an impressive 109 individual testing sessions being undertaken. 

ICAS provides students with the opportunity to extend their learning, apply higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills, and benchmark their performance against students from across Australia and beyond. It is wonderful to see so many Hills students embracing the opportunity to challenge themselves and pursue academic excellence. 

Next week marks the final stage of our ICAS testing schedule, with students sitting the Mathematics assessment. With our largest group of participants involved in this final competition, we look forward to celebrating the efforts and achievements of all students who have taken part throughout the program. 

We thank our students, families and staff for their support throughout the ICAS assessment period and wish all participating students the very best for the final week of testing.

Mr Stuart Ablitt

Head of Teaching and Learning & Head of IB Programmes