Issue 16 | 26 October 2015 Emmanuel Newsletter

Patrick Innes-Hill Principal

Last newsletter I promised that I’d begin this term by addressing two topics which bother me. The first, which was sleep, was probably relatively uncontroversial. This week’s however, may be more challenging, because this week I want to address the issue of nutrition – and specifically nutrition and teenage boys.

My concern about this has grown out of a number of conversations I’ve had with parents and with fellow Heads in which it has become clear that a number of boys are undertaking intense diets in order to improve their physique. These diets are not necessarily ‘unhealthy’ – in fact many of them are based on the diets of professional sportsmen and body-builders. However, these diet have been designed for adult athletes under the supervision of a coach, not for adolescent bodies; and experts continually report that when employed by teenagers, as opposed to adults, body-changing diets can be harmful.

Typically, the diets which boys are interested in are high-protein diets, often involving whey-powder supplements and increasing amounts of gym. These are the diets that promise to build muscle, and replace fat – to build ‘six-pack abs, broad shoulders, bulging biceps and a slender waist’, features that (as a recent ABC report put it) boys think are ‘going to burn away the fat and produce muscle overnight’.

These diets are ‘sold’ via some extremely subtle, and convincing messaging – typically via the internet. However, as Sports Medicine Australia, Queensland Branch President, Julie Gilbert says:

"We know high protein diets do run the risk of finding more calcium in our urine, which does affect our bone mass. We also know high-protein diets can have an effect on our kidneys, so I don't think they are things we want to muck around with our teenagers who are still growing and developing."

In other words, our boys’ bodies are not ready for these diets, and these diets will be creating future, serious health problems for a number of our boys. In addition to that, these diets are often exhausting which can have devastating effects for teens.

In simple terms, the teenage years are tiring enough anyway. The body and brain are growing at exponential rates, and the biology of this growth demands high energy input – that is, a lot of food. That’s why so many teenage boys are fridge-hoovers. The diets that attract our boys invariably remove calories, and (typically) they remove carbs – the core energy-giver! They then frequently insist on extra gym work – that is, they insist on the boys expending even more energy.

The exhaustion and fatigue this produces is deep. Its effects mirror many of the symptoms of depressive illnesses; and the effect on school-work, mood and relationships can be lasting. Indeed, for one boy at a neighbouring school, it led to such an inability to engage, that the boy eventually had to drop out of school.

This is tragic, and wholly avoidable. Teenagers face more than enough pressures without us, as adults, allowing them to add another. So what can we do? Well, here at school, we will continue to review the way we address these issues, and our new Foundation Studies course will provide us with the platform to improve our teaching in this area.

However, this has to be tackled in partnership with parents and although I recognise that schools cannot dictate what happens at home, I’m wondering if I can ask parents to do two things: firstly, provide, promote and model eating which balances all the food-types, including what a recent Irish Government site called the ‘white foods’ – the currently unfashionable carbs such as potatoes, rice, pasta and bread (of course, they don’t need to be ‘white’ – brown, as in whole-grain, is even better!)

And secondly, if possible, it would be great if parents could eat with their older children? I’m not guaranteeing the most stimulating conversation, but enjoying food together around a shared table can have a huge number of beneficial effects (for all children, not just teen boys) and one of those – one crucial one of those – is that it enables parents to keep an almost invisible eye on their children’s’ eating. It may not be fashionable to promote a balanced-diet and family meals, but I feel it is essential if we are to give our children the very best chance of growing up into healthy, whole, successful adults.

Sport

Dave Weir Director of Sport

Athletics – Triumph and Heartbreak The weekend before last, our U15 Girls Athletics team tasted the highs and lows of sport in one drama packed day. Competing in the Queensland Schools Knockout competition, for the right to represent Queensland at the National Titles in Melbourne, in December, the six girls turned in a powerhouse display to street the field of the best athletics schools in Queensland and win by a large margin.

They were duly awarded the Gold Medals as Queensland Champions as seen in the picture below. Unfortunately the elation turned to disappointment when a late protest against one of our relay changeovers was upheld, meaning a DQ in that event, and a subsequent drop to 5th place. It was a devastating moment for such a talented team, but they can hold their heads up high knowing they were clearly the best team in the state. A big thank you to Mr Ferris for preparing such an outstanding group.

Congratulations also to the Open Girls team who performed well to place 5th overall.

Late News – The Junior team has been offered a wildcard entry to the Australian Titles. An excellent outcome!

Team members: Annie Muir, Bronti Hodgkinson, Justine Ramsay, Jenna Breetzke, Emma Perry, Emily Casaclang

Queensland Primary Netball Titles Also recently, our Year 6 Girls competed in the Queensland Primary Netball Championships held at Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast. They put in an outstanding effort to finish 4th overall in Queensland. They won 10 matches straight to reach the semi-finals which they then lost by just one point to Coomera Anglican College, who won the Championship. It was a great effort to get through to the top four in Queensland. A big thanks to coach Mrs Jill Rankin for her efforts over the past few months to get the girls to this level and also to their Manager, Miss Sara Eade for looking after the team.

Players in the team were: Hallie Butler, Beth Clayton, Camille Christensen, Matisse Gamlin, Lauren Gwynne, Ava Lewis, Imogen Meehan, Iram Sandhu, Jasmyn Smith and Grace Townley.

Queensland Athletics Last week, seven of our students represented South Coast Region at the Queensland 10-12 year Athletics Titles in Townsville. Our students turned in great performances, with four athletes recording top five finishes. The highlight was Archie Jasinski’s Silver medal in the Multi event (100, 800, LJ, Shot) and subsequent selection in the Queensland team to compete at the National Championships in Canberra in December. Well done Archie.

Congratulations to all seven athletes however, it was a great effort with such close results by Jorja and Max to narrowly miss the medals. Ethan Links gained the honour of being named captain of the South Coast team. Well done Ethan.

Students best results were as follows:

Archie Jasinski 2nd Multi Kyle Pittaway 9th Shotput Jorja Gunther 4th Long Jump Abigail Heni 11th Multi Maxwell Hein 4th Multi Ethan Links Top 20 800m Laura Elliott 5th Multi

This week there are 26 Senior School students competing at the Secondary Schools State Titles in Brisbane.

Volleyball Last weekend Mr Sandford took our U15 Girls Volleyball development squad up to the Queensland Schools Championship in Brisbane. They played in Division Three with a brand new set of player combinations. The girls performed above expectations, to progress through to the medal play-offs, eventually winning the bronze medal, from the 20 teams in that division.

All in all, it was a great hit out and good preparation for the National Titles in Melbourne in December. Well done girls and thanks again to Mr Sandford.

Players were Amy Lumsden, Isabelle Garland, Jordan Selvey, Monique Hay, Abbi Lee, Jessica Chiu and Amber Thompson.

Queensland Touch Titles Over the same weekend as the Athletics, the Queensland Secondary School Touch Titles were held in Brisbane. Over 400 teams were involved, with between 70-80 in each division. Our 15 Girls and Boys teams both had excellent carnivals.

The Girls won five and lost one of their pool matches to qualify through to the final 16. Unfortunately they went down to touch powerhouse All Hallows 4-2 in that match. The 15 Boys won four, drew one and lost one in their pool, but unfortunately missed the final 16 on a for/against count back. As a young team most will still be in this age division next year, so it was an excellent result.

Our Open Boys and Girls teams were competitive but were both in very tough pools and did not quite have the fitness or experience to match the more seasoned teams.

APS Sports Results The Summer APS season is progressing well, with many teams having successful seasons. The most recent available ladders and results can be viewed on ECNet

Our Senior School teams have performed extremely well in recent rounds. Last week we played Round Four against Kings and finished with 48 wins, 3 draws and 19 losses.

This week both Junior and Senior teams are playing Round Six against St Stephens. The APS Finals day is being held on 13 November.

Our Year 4 - 6 students also had an excellent round of results against Kings, recording 26 wins, 3 draws and just 7 losses.

Compulsory after-school training for both Junior School and Senior School concludes at the end of October. The final day for Junior School training is Tuesday 27 October, while the final day for compulsory Senior School training is Thursday 29 October.

Individual Achievements Congratulations to Amanda Harcombe, Year 8, on her outstanding effort in claiming the Queensland Secondary Schools Single Sculls 1000m Rowing State Title recently. In a field of 64 competitors, it is a great honour to become Queensland Champion. Well done Amanda!

Emmanuel Newsletter Issue 16 | 26 October 2015

emmanuel.qld.edu.au

Eliot Sanger Head of Senior School

Farewell to Year 12 2015 As you read this article it may surprise you that we are almost halfway through Term 4. It is such a short term but one that is full of events, challenges and celebrations for students and families.

Indeed, it is this week that our Year 12 students reach the conclusion of their secondary classes, prior to entering their final exam period. In the subsequent weeks we will attend Year 12 Final House Assemblies, Emmanuel Sports Awards Night, Presentation Night, Graduation and Year 12 Final Chapel. This is a great time of celebration for our senior students and a time of challenge to finish well, remaining focussed on exams and refraining from some of the risk-taking behaviour that is often prevalent in our young people at this time of year. As well as celebration, for many of our students and parents, it is a time of sadness, as their journey with Emmanuel comes to a close, in this reiteration anyway! For many, it is a time of reflection and thanksgiving for the opportunities and the provision of a Christian school on the Gold Coast that has nurtured and cherished them through their formative years.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Year 12  students for their commitment to the ideals, maintenance of culture and leadership of the student body throughout this year. I wish them every success and God’s blessings as they enter and seek to make a difference in the World out-side ‘our bubble’.

Service Learning This term we have seen the culmination of two of our service learning programs – the Year 8 Compass and Year 10 Journey programs. Both of these programs seek to engage students in activity based learning experiences that promote an understanding of the need to be global citizens with a framework of values and ethics. At Emmanuel we call this our Moral Compass.

It was my pleasure to attend and present the Year 8 Compass program students with their badges at the Compass celebration afternoon. It was wonderful to have so many parents joining us in the College Chapel to hear the students’ accounts of how they had challenged themselves with tasks that focussed on the key points of the Emmanuel Compass and achieved a new understanding of how we can make a difference to our world by placing others first.

The Year 10 Journey program comes to its conclusion this week after a program of self-directed community service, a seven week set of workshops, a number of social events and an expedition in our magnificent hinterland. Year 10’s have had the opportunity to examine and discuss the values on the points of our Emmanuel Compass and to

test the practical application of these values through real life scenarios and experiences. This week these students who have chosen to take up this challenge will be awarded their badges after an evening of celebration where students will share what they have learned with their families and the wider Emmanuel Community.

Congratulations to both our Year 8 and Year 10 students in choosing to participate and complete the respective programs.

As I said, in presenting the Year 8 Compass badges, ‘this is only the start’ in a life of meaning and purpose. A big thank you to all the staff involved in these programs, for their time and enthusiasm, and belief in our young people. Particular thanks to Mrs Leonie Riley, Mrs Glenda Hocking and Mr Jerry Unser for leading and facilitating these programs.

As this is my final newsletter submission for the year, I will take this opportunity to congratulate all our students on a successful year and wish you all a very merry and Christ filled Christmas. I hope that all our students enjoy a great break over summer and I look forward to seeing all our Emmanuel College families at the commencement of the 2016 school year.  

 

Chemistry Students win First Place in Gold Coast RACI Titration Competition An update from an event that commenced earlier in the year: On Saturday 16 May, twelve students from the Year 12 Chemistry class competed in the annual titration competition held at Griffith University Gold Coast campus. Schools from the Gold Coast and surrounding areas were invited to participate and the event was held in the university laboratory and involved analysis of an unknown series of samples.

Emmanuel entered four teams. The team made up of Megan Hall, Caitlin Zipf and Jordan Harding was placed first and by the narrowest of margins, this team also placed second for SE Queensland.

A second team consisting of Emma-Grace Shire, Phoebe Schnetker and Laura Brown achieved an award of ‘Excellent Team’.

Both teams then went on to compete in the National level of this competition at the end of Term 3. Results just to hand are that Caitlin and Phoebe have been awarded Gold medals and Silver medals have been awarded to the other participants in this competition. Congratulations and thank you to all of the students who competed in these events.

Australian National Chemistry Quiz Results 2015

Several of our students studying chemistry in Years 10, 11 and 12, were invited to compete in the Australian National Chemistry Quiz held earlier in the year.

We are proud to have 21 students receive a Distinction Award and 11 students achieve a High Distinction Award. Well done to all students who entered and congratulations to those who achieved awards.

Glenda Hocking - Chemistry Teacher

Senior School Current News & Events Term 4 - Weeks 4 and 5

Junior School Tues 27 Oct Sports Training concludes Wed 28 Oct JS Representative Chess Gold Coast Age Championships Fri 30 Oct Prep Excursion Mon 2 Nov Year 6 Tudor House Cricket Tour 10.00am Wed 4 Nov Years 3 - 6 Presentation Evening 6.00pm Fri 6 Nov EC Business Link Breakfast - CANCELLED Sat 7 Nov - Sun 8 Nov Qld Primary All Schools Touch Tournament

Senior School Mon 26 Oct Hockey Titles – Toowoomba Tues 27 Oct Celebration of Leadership 9.00am Hockey Titles – Toowoomba conclude Wed 28 Oct QUT Experience Day 8.30am Thurs 29 Oct Final House Assembly 8.30am Sports Training concludes Year 10 Journey Celebration in the Theatre 7.00pm Fri 30 Oct Year 11 QUT Get Ready for Uni Day 8.30am Year 9 Computing – Australian Robotics Competition commences Year 12 Film Night 6.00pm Sat 31 Oct - Sun 1 Nov Year 9 Computing – Australian Robotics Competition concludes Chaplains Crew Planning Camp in L Block 3.30pm Mon 2 Nov Year 12 Assessment Week

Final Assembly – House Shield presentation Tues 3 Nov Year 12 Exams commence

Year 11 Marine Science Local Waterways Study 9.00am

Wed 4 Nov Years 11 and 12 GriffBus Ambassador Workshop 9.00am

Year 11 Marine Science Local Waterways Study 1.30pm

Fri 6 Nov EC Business Link Breakfast - CANCELLED Graduate Art Exhibition 4.00pm

Sports Award Evening 7.15pm

Music Tutors Concerts

Mon 26 Oct Voice Tutor Concert in the Chapel 4.00pm (Ann Spark’s students) Piano Concert in the Theatre 4.15pm (Jenny Land’s students) Tues 27 Oct Cello Tutor Concert in the Theatre 3.30pm (Karol Kowalik’s students) Flute Concert in the Chapel 4.30pm (Alison Lynde’s students) Voice Concert in the Theatre 4.45pm (Sally Locketts’ students) Wed 28 Oct Brass Concert in the Chapel 6.00pm (Ashley Gittins, Lisa Petersen, Trevor Kraak John Coulton’s students) Bass Tutor Concert in the Theatre 5.30pm (Phillip Jack’s students) Thurs 5 Nov Yr 6-12 Strings Concert in the Theatre 3.45pm (Asher Yaniw’s students)

Have you connected with Emmanuel on Facebook?

Get the latest news, updates and alerts via Facebook.

www.facebook.com/EmmanuelCollegeGC

Senior School

Eliot Sanger Head of Senior School

Farewell to Year 12 2015 As you read this article it may surprise you that we are almost halfway through Term 4. It is such a short term but one that is full of events, challenges and celebrations for students and families.

Indeed, it is this week that our Year 12 students reach the conclusion of their secondary classes, prior to entering their final exam period. In the subsequent weeks we will attend Year 12 Final House Assemblies, Emmanuel Sports Awards Night, Presentation Night, Graduation and Year 12 Final Chapel. This is a great time of celebration for our senior students and a time of challenge to finish well, remaining focussed on exams and refraining from some of the risk-taking behaviour that is often prevalent in our young people at this time of year. As well as celebration, for many of our students and parents, it is a time of sadness, as their journey with Emmanuel comes to a close, in this reiteration anyway! For many, it is a time of reflection and thanksgiving for the opportunities and the provision of a Christian school on the Gold Coast that has nurtured and cherished them through their formative years.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Year 12  students for their commitment to the ideals, maintenance of culture and leadership of the student body throughout this year. I wish them every success and God’s blessings as they enter and seek to make a difference in the World out-side ‘our bubble’.

Service Learning This term we have seen the culmination of two of our service learning programs – the Year 8 Compass and Year 10 Journey programs. Both of these programs seek to engage students in activity based learning experiences that promote an understanding of the need to be global citizens with a framework of values and ethics. At Emmanuel we call this our Moral Compass.

It was my pleasure to attend and present the Year 8 Compass program students with their badges at the Compass celebration afternoon. It was wonderful to have so many parents joining us in the College Chapel to hear the students’ accounts of how they had challenged themselves with tasks that focussed on the key points of the Emmanuel Compass and achieved a new understanding of how we can make a difference to our world by placing others first.

The Year 10 Journey program comes to its conclusion this week after a program of self-directed community service, a seven week set of workshops, a number of social events and an expedition in our magnificent hinterland. Year 10’s have had the opportunity to examine and discuss the values on the points of our Emmanuel Compass and to

test the practical application of these values through real life scenarios and experiences. This week these students who have chosen to take up this challenge will be awarded their badges after an evening of celebration where students will share what they have learned with their families and the wider Emmanuel Community.

Congratulations to both our Year 8 and Year 10 students in choosing to participate and complete the respective programs.

As I said, in presenting the Year 8 Compass badges, ‘this is only the start’ in a life of meaning and purpose. A big thank you to all the staff involved in these programs, for their time and enthusiasm, and belief in our young people. Particular thanks to Mrs Leonie Riley, Mrs Glenda Hocking and Mr Jerry Unser for leading and facilitating these programs.

As this is my final newsletter submission for the year, I will take this opportunity to congratulate all our students on a successful year and wish you all a very merry and Christ filled Christmas. I hope that all our students enjoy a great break over summer and I look forward to seeing all our Emmanuel College families at the commencement of the 2016 school year.  

 

Chemistry Students win First Place in Gold Coast RACI Titration Competition An update from an event that commenced earlier in the year: On Saturday 16 May, twelve students from the Year 12 Chemistry class competed in the annual titration competition held at Griffith University Gold Coast campus. Schools from the Gold Coast and surrounding areas were invited to participate and the event was held in the university laboratory and involved analysis of an unknown series of samples.

Emmanuel entered four teams. The team made up of Megan Hall, Caitlin Zipf and Jordan Harding was placed first and by the narrowest of margins, this team also placed second for SE Queensland.

A second team consisting of Emma-Grace Shire, Phoebe Schnetker and Laura Brown achieved an award of ‘Excellent Team’.

Both teams then went on to compete in the National level of this competition at the end of Term 3. Results just to hand are that Caitlin and Phoebe have been awarded Gold medals and Silver medals have been awarded to the other participants in this competition. Congratulations and thank you to all of the students who competed in these events.

Australian National Chemistry Quiz Results 2015

Several of our students studying chemistry in Years 10, 11 and 12, were invited to compete in the Australian National Chemistry Quiz held earlier in the year.

We are proud to have 21 students receive a Distinction Award and 11 students achieve a High Distinction Award. Well done to all students who entered and congratulations to those who achieved awards.

Glenda Hocking - Chemistry Teacher

Senior School Current News & Events Term 4 - Weeks 4 and 5

Junior School Tues 27 Oct Sports Training concludes Wed 28 Oct JS Representative Chess Gold Coast Age Championships Fri 30 Oct Prep Excursion Mon 2 Nov Year 6 Tudor House Cricket Tour 10.00am Wed 4 Nov Years 3 - 6 Presentation Evening 6.00pm Fri 6 Nov EC Business Link Breakfast - CANCELLED Sat 7 Nov - Sun 8 Nov Qld Primary All Schools Touch Tournament

Senior School Mon 26 Oct Hockey Titles – Toowoomba Tues 27 Oct Celebration of Leadership 9.00am Hockey Titles – Toowoomba conclude Wed 28 Oct QUT Experience Day 8.30am Thurs 29 Oct Final House Assembly 8.30am Sports Training concludes Year 10 Journey Celebration in the Theatre 7.00pm Fri 30 Oct Year 11 QUT Get Ready for Uni Day 8.30am Year 9 Computing – Australian Robotics Competition commences Year 12 Film Night 6.00pm Sat 31 Oct - Sun 1 Nov Year 9 Computing – Australian Robotics Competition concludes Chaplains Crew Planning Camp in L Block 3.30pm Mon 2 Nov Year 12 Assessment Week

Final Assembly – House Shield presentation Tues 3 Nov Year 12 Exams commence

Year 11 Marine Science Local Waterways Study 9.00am

Wed 4 Nov Years 11 and 12 GriffBus Ambassador Workshop 9.00am

Year 11 Marine Science Local Waterways Study 1.30pm

Fri 6 Nov EC Business Link Breakfast - CANCELLED Graduate Art Exhibition 4.00pm

Sports Award Evening 7.15pm

Music Tutors Concerts

Mon 26 Oct Voice Tutor Concert in the Chapel 4.00pm (Ann Spark’s students) Piano Concert in the Theatre 4.15pm (Jenny Land’s students) Tues 27 Oct Cello Tutor Concert in the Theatre 3.30pm (Karol Kowalik’s students) Flute Concert in the Chapel 4.30pm (Alison Lynde’s students) Voice Concert in the Theatre 4.45pm (Sally Locketts’ students) Wed 28 Oct Brass Concert in the Chapel 6.00pm (Ashley Gittins, Lisa Petersen, Trevor Kraak John Coulton’s students) Bass Tutor Concert in the Theatre 5.30pm (Phillip Jack’s students) Thurs 5 Nov Yr 6-12 Strings Concert in the Theatre 3.45pm (Asher Yaniw’s students)

Have you connected with Emmanuel on Facebook?

Get the latest news, updates and alerts via Facebook.

www.facebook.com/EmmanuelCollegeGC

Current Events & News

Issue 16 | 26 October 2015 Emmanuel Newsletter

Patrick Innes-Hill Principal

Last newsletter I promised that I’d begin this term by addressing two topics which bother me. The first, which was sleep, was probably relatively uncontroversial. This week’s however, may be more challenging, because this week I want to address the issue of nutrition – and specifically nutrition and teenage boys.

My concern about this has grown out of a number of conversations I’ve had with parents and with fellow Heads in which it has become clear that a number of boys are undertaking intense diets in order to improve their physique. These diets are not necessarily ‘unhealthy’ – in fact many of them are based on the diets of professional sportsmen and body-builders. However, these diet have been designed for adult athletes under the supervision of a coach, not for adolescent bodies; and experts continually report that when employed by teenagers, as opposed to adults, body-changing diets can be harmful.

Typically, the diets which boys are interested in are high-protein diets, often involving whey-powder supplements and increasing amounts of gym. These are the diets that promise to build muscle, and replace fat – to build ‘six-pack abs, broad shoulders, bulging biceps and a slender waist’, features that (as a recent ABC report put it) boys think are ‘going to burn away the fat and produce muscle overnight’.

These diets are ‘sold’ via some extremely subtle, and convincing messaging – typically via the internet. However, as Sports Medicine Australia, Queensland Branch President, Julie Gilbert says:

"We know high protein diets do run the risk of finding more calcium in our urine, which does affect our bone mass. We also know high-protein diets can have an effect on our kidneys, so I don't think they are things we want to muck around with our teenagers who are still growing and developing."

In other words, our boys’ bodies are not ready for these diets, and these diets will be creating future, serious health problems for a number of our boys. In addition to that, these diets are often exhausting which can have devastating effects for teens.

In simple terms, the teenage years are tiring enough anyway. The body and brain are growing at exponential rates, and the biology of this growth demands high energy input – that is, a lot of food. That’s why so many teenage boys are fridge-hoovers. The diets that attract our boys invariably remove calories, and (typically) they remove carbs – the core energy-giver! They then frequently insist on extra gym work – that is, they insist on the boys expending even more energy.

The exhaustion and fatigue this produces is deep. Its effects mirror many of the symptoms of depressive illnesses; and the effect on school-work, mood and relationships can be lasting. Indeed, for one boy at a neighbouring school, it led to such an inability to engage, that the boy eventually had to drop out of school.

This is tragic, and wholly avoidable. Teenagers face more than enough pressures without us, as adults, allowing them to add another. So what can we do? Well, here at school, we will continue to review the way we address these issues, and our new Foundation Studies course will provide us with the platform to improve our teaching in this area.

However, this has to be tackled in partnership with parents and although I recognise that schools cannot dictate what happens at home, I’m wondering if I can ask parents to do two things: firstly, provide, promote and model eating which balances all the food-types, including what a recent Irish Government site called the ‘white foods’ – the currently unfashionable carbs such as potatoes, rice, pasta and bread (of course, they don’t need to be ‘white’ – brown, as in whole-grain, is even better!)

And secondly, if possible, it would be great if parents could eat with their older children? I’m not guaranteeing the most stimulating conversation, but enjoying food together around a shared table can have a huge number of beneficial effects (for all children, not just teen boys) and one of those – one crucial one of those – is that it enables parents to keep an almost invisible eye on their children’s’ eating. It may not be fashionable to promote a balanced-diet and family meals, but I feel it is essential if we are to give our children the very best chance of growing up into healthy, whole, successful adults.

Sport

Dave Weir Director of Sport

Athletics – Triumph and Heartbreak The weekend before last, our U15 Girls Athletics team tasted the highs and lows of sport in one drama packed day. Competing in the Queensland Schools Knockout competition, for the right to represent Queensland at the National Titles in Melbourne, in December, the six girls turned in a powerhouse display to street the field of the best athletics schools in Queensland and win by a large margin.

They were duly awarded the Gold Medals as Queensland Champions as seen in the picture below. Unfortunately the elation turned to disappointment when a late protest against one of our relay changeovers was upheld, meaning a DQ in that event, and a subsequent drop to 5th place. It was a devastating moment for such a talented team, but they can hold their heads up high knowing they were clearly the best team in the state. A big thank you to Mr Ferris for preparing such an outstanding group.

Congratulations also to the Open Girls team who performed well to place 5th overall.

Late News – The Junior team has been offered a wildcard entry to the Australian Titles. An excellent outcome!

Team members: Annie Muir, Bronti Hodgkinson, Justine Ramsay, Jenna Breetzke, Emma Perry, Emily Casaclang

Queensland Primary Netball Titles Also recently, our Year 6 Girls competed in the Queensland Primary Netball Championships held at Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast. They put in an outstanding effort to finish 4th overall in Queensland. They won 10 matches straight to reach the semi-finals which they then lost by just one point to Coomera Anglican College, who won the Championship. It was a great effort to get through to the top four in Queensland. A big thanks to coach Mrs Jill Rankin for her efforts over the past few months to get the girls to this level and also to their Manager, Miss Sara Eade for looking after the team.

Players in the team were: Hallie Butler, Beth Clayton, Camille Christensen, Matisse Gamlin, Lauren Gwynne, Ava Lewis, Imogen Meehan, Iram Sandhu, Jasmyn Smith and Grace Townley.

Queensland Athletics Last week, seven of our students represented South Coast Region at the Queensland 10-12 year Athletics Titles in Townsville. Our students turned in great performances, with four athletes recording top five finishes. The highlight was Archie Jasinski’s Silver medal in the Multi event (100, 800, LJ, Shot) and subsequent selection in the Queensland team to compete at the National Championships in Canberra in December. Well done Archie.

Congratulations to all seven athletes however, it was a great effort with such close results by Jorja and Max to narrowly miss the medals. Ethan Links gained the honour of being named captain of the South Coast team. Well done Ethan.

Students best results were as follows:

Archie Jasinski 2nd Multi Kyle Pittaway 9th Shotput Jorja Gunther 4th Long Jump Abigail Heni 11th Multi Maxwell Hein 4th Multi Ethan Links Top 20 800m Laura Elliott 5th Multi

This week there are 26 Senior School students competing at the Secondary Schools State Titles in Brisbane.

Volleyball Last weekend Mr Sandford took our U15 Girls Volleyball development squad up to the Queensland Schools Championship in Brisbane. They played in Division Three with a brand new set of player combinations. The girls performed above expectations, to progress through to the medal play-offs, eventually winning the bronze medal, from the 20 teams in that division.

All in all, it was a great hit out and good preparation for the National Titles in Melbourne in December. Well done girls and thanks again to Mr Sandford.

Players were Amy Lumsden, Isabelle Garland, Jordan Selvey, Monique Hay, Abbi Lee, Jessica Chiu and Amber Thompson.

Queensland Touch Titles Over the same weekend as the Athletics, the Queensland Secondary School Touch Titles were held in Brisbane. Over 400 teams were involved, with between 70-80 in each division. Our 15 Girls and Boys teams both had excellent carnivals.

The Girls won five and lost one of their pool matches to qualify through to the final 16. Unfortunately they went down to touch powerhouse All Hallows 4-2 in that match. The 15 Boys won four, drew one and lost one in their pool, but unfortunately missed the final 16 on a for/against count back. As a young team most will still be in this age division next year, so it was an excellent result.

Our Open Boys and Girls teams were competitive but were both in very tough pools and did not quite have the fitness or experience to match the more seasoned teams.

APS Sports Results The Summer APS season is progressing well, with many teams having successful seasons. The most recent available ladders and results can be viewed on ECNet

Our Senior School teams have performed extremely well in recent rounds. Last week we played Round Four against Kings and finished with 48 wins, 3 draws and 19 losses.

This week both Junior and Senior teams are playing Round Six against St Stephens. The APS Finals day is being held on 13 November.

Our Year 4 - 6 students also had an excellent round of results against Kings, recording 26 wins, 3 draws and just 7 losses.

Compulsory after-school training for both Junior School and Senior School concludes at the end of October. The final day for Junior School training is Tuesday 27 October, while the final day for compulsory Senior School training is Thursday 29 October.

Individual Achievements Congratulations to Amanda Harcombe, Year 8, on her outstanding effort in claiming the Queensland Secondary Schools Single Sculls 1000m Rowing State Title recently. In a field of 64 competitors, it is a great honour to become Queensland Champion. Well done Amanda!

Sport