Secondary Insights
Over the past couple of weeks, Secondary at Hills College has been a busy Place to Belong. There have been many events as well as excursions and fundraisers. The following is a summary outlining the purpose for these events.
Hills College Camps
At Hills College, we offer a range of co-curricular opportunities to complement the academic life of our students. A holistic approach to education develops well-rounded, resilient and connected students. Students are strongly encouraged to be involved in these opportunities as they provide this important balance to the academic teaching and learning opportunities at the College.
Camps are an integral part of our College. The main purpose of camps is to establish relationships, build group identity, develop skills through challenging outdoor activities and enhance community living skills. Camps can be progressively challenging as students advance through the years at the College. The recent College camps were fantastic and having them all at the beginning of the year for a range of reasons was great timing. Having teachers and students in an outdoor learning environment helps expedite these relationships. It also provides teachers with an opportunity to get to know children in a different setting outside the learning environments. As a group, we all actually learn a myriad of things about students in that outdoor environment that would perhaps take a lot longer to learn in that learning environment.
To have such successful camps as we have undertaken, preparation was the key to ensuring all involved had a positive experience. Preparation is undertaken to ensure that students in the College feel supported and secure. In the first instance, children might be reluctant to participate, but as time goes by and with encouragement and good values, by the end of the camp children are excited to be there and love sharing their experiences upon their return.
Thank you parents for your support at this time with the camps. We were really appreciative.
Hills College Cross Country
Cross-country is also called cross-country running, or long distance running over open country. Unlike the longer marathon race, cross-country races usually are not run along roads or paths. Cross-country running has been around for two hundred years years. The sport’s origins date back to early 19th century England, when students played a game called hunt and hare, which was also known as a hare and hound run, in which one or two boys, or the 'hares', would get a head start and lay a trail of shredded paper. A few minutes later, a larger group—the 'hounds'—would follow in hot pursuit across miles of boggy English countryside. The object was to catch the hares before they reached a pre-determined location. Eventually, the game migrated across the Atlantic. At Hills College, all students were involved. They were given an earlier opportunity in the term to firstly walk around the track, then to run parts of the track to ascertain both distance and gradient. The distance of the tracks varied according to the age of the students participating. In Secondary, the following distances were covered by the students; 11, 12 and 13 Boys and Girls - 3km; 14 and 15 Boys and Girls - 4km; 16 and 17 Years Boys and Girls - 6km. Maybe next year, we could have a parent team. We would have to consider the distance!
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to either phone the College or email me at the address noted below.
Mrs Julie-Anne Skelton
Head of Secondary
julie-anne.skelton@hills.qld.edu.au
Hills Cross Country Carnival
Friday the 5th of March brought the annual Cross Country event to Hills International College. During the morning, students from Prep to Year 12 ran their way throughout the school to earn points for their houses. Spectators including students, teachers, parents and caregivers cheered on and helped to encourage all participants of the event. Year 12 leaders also held a snow cone and drinks stall to help raise money for their end of year formal. It was a fantastic morning for all involved and this was noted as one of the most successful Cross Country carnivals undertaken at the College. More students than ever participated.
The Secondary Age Champions were;
13 Years Age Group:
Tanya Waalder
Harrison Gomez
14 Years Age Group:
Jackayla Au
Olivier Lanoux
15 Years Age Group:
Denva Best
Aiden Wyatt
16 Years Age Group:
Chloe Lanoux
Hayato Abe
17+ Years Age Group:
Ethan Schmalkuchen
Mackenzie Ryrie
Harrison Sutcliffe
Year 12, Hills College Newsletter (under the direction of Ms Jacinta Goyne)
Teaching and Learning - Focus on the English Faculty
Shakespeare in the New Millennium
“To be or not to be, that is the question”? Although Shakespeare penned this iconic phrase around 500 years ago, and it is one of the most repeated phrases in history, its relevance in today’s world seems justifiably valid when we are at a crossroads in our lives. This seemingly simple phrase becomes a junction switch we use to decide on our responses to elements of our life. A young Prince of Denmark was the first to consider this as he struggled to make sense of his world.
The same can be said of many other examples of prose found within Shakespeare’s works. Who could forget “O Romeo, Romeo where for art thou Romeo?” called from the balcony of a forlorn Juliet as she realizes the difficulty of love and the possibility of losing it. Do we not, often use the same phrase when mockingly we search for our own lost or required love?
“Double bubble toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble” repeated the evil witches of Macbeth when meddling in the affairs of the kingdom. Do we not also utter these rhythmical melodic words when we are about to engage in our own secretly sinister acts, even if only in our minds? Are these examples not etched into our collective memory as part of our bedtime storytelling ritual when foreshadowing sinister events?
A point considered by Lady Macduff describes her feelings towards her husband whom she believes has left her alone to fend for herself. “When our actions do not, our fears do make us traitors”. What traitorous acts are secretly acted on because of fear our actions will expose us?
Whatever way you look at it, the fact remains that an in-depth study of the works of the worlds most celebrated playwright are just as important today as they were back when they were first written, the only point of difference being the date. As human nature remains the one constant in the world, it therefore stands to reason Shakespeare’s works are still just as pertinent and thought provoking as they were when he wrote them.
Phillip Parker
Head of English Faculty
Teaching and Learning - HPE
As a part of the Grade Ten Bronze Medallion lifesaving course, we practiced CPR on an infant. We were instructed to do 30:2 compression to breathing ratio. We used two fingers to do the compressions. For the breaths we would use a half breath as a full breath could injure the infant more. Afterwards we put the baby in the recovery position which is when you hold it on its stomach over your arm tilted slightly upwards and support its head, so that if the baby vomits after CPR, the baby doesn’t choke. This is a valuable life skill as when in an emergency situation you are most likely to be saving a family member's life.
Emily Levi
Year 9 Student
Wednesday Afternoon Activities
It was so lovely for the students to return to volunteering at the Horse Riding for the Disabled Association after almost a year-break due to Covid-19 regulations. We also presented Linda, the coach at the RDA, with the $125 profits we made at the sno-cone fundraiser we ran last week, which she really appreciated. I am very proud of my RDA students this term.
Ms Alexandria Salmon
Humanities Teacher / RDA Coordinator
GOMA Experience and Reflection
The Year 10 in residency program with GOMA that ran from October to December in 2020 was a challenging but thrilling experience.
I got to work with an amazing artist, Abdul Abdullah, and some incredible young artists my age as well. I fit in and felt a part of a community that I could have open discussions with and explain things clearly without them being confused.
I painted a portrait of Mr. Miwa, the longest standing employee at our College. His inspiring and beautiful nature had caught my eye for quite some time, so I decided he was the perfect person to paint. Good people deserve a spotlight and to be recognised by others. I had three days to complete the portrait and I was quite literally awake for two days out of the three. There was a lot of pressure to finish an art piece within a 3-day deadline. Usually, I take as much time as I need to paint an art piece, so that was rather challenging. I think the easiest way to explain my painting and the process was a giant experiment that went on for three days.
Overall, the experience allowed my knowledge to grow greatly within the painting field of art and my problem solving improved too. To be picked out of thousands of applicants my age across Queensland was overwhelming. I am grateful I got the experience and to work with a great artist and I'd be happy to do the whole thing over again.
Loretta MacNeillie
Year 11 student