Contents Inserts Important Dates - Crandon for Coomera

Friday, 26 August 2011
Volume 18 Issue 26 Term 3
Contents
Prep Ball 2011 1
Qld Youth Art Awards 2
CSIRO Mathematicians in Schools
Programme 2
National Model United Nations
Assembly 3
Honours Programme 4
Bond Uni Mock Trial Competition 4
Senior School Lost Property 4
40 Hour Famine 4
A.B. Paterson College Golf Classic 5
Junior Musical Ticket Sales 5
A.B. Paterson College Public Speaking
Competition information 5
ASX Club 5
Junior School News 6
Parents & Friends 6
Coles Sports for Schools Programme 6
Junior APS Athletics Carnival Report 7
Student Achievements 8
Coming Events 8
On Friday, 19 August, the
May Gibbs Courtyard was
transformed into a
multicultural extravaganza!
78 very excited children
and their families, dressed
in costume from all over
the world, celebrated the
annual Prep Ball.
The children presented
their Eisteddfod singing
item, It’s a Small World and
then continued to ‘get
funky’ and wowed their parents with a rendition of the Cha Cha Slide.
Inserts
After School Learn to Swim Lessons
AHISA National Social Issues Update
Important Dates
Tuesday, 30 August
Year 12 QCS Test WT & MC1
Wednesday, 31 August
Year 12 QCS Test SRI & MC11
Wednesday, 31 August
Year 12 Arts Tour departs for
Melbourne
Wednesday, 31 August
Year 10 Parent Evening in Dawn Lang
Performing Arts Centre at 7pm
Wednesday, 31 August &
Thursday, 1 September
P & F Father’s Day Stall
Friday, 2 September
Gold Coast Show Holiday
PLEASE REFER TO PAGE 8 FOR
FURTHER COMING EVENTS.
The night continued with the children, their parents and the Prep teachers
enthusiastically dancing the night away to the Chicken Dance, Hokey Pokey and
many other favourites.
Thank you to the Prep Coordinators,
Deborah Forbutt, Melissa Jones, Natalie
Pierron, Narelle Taylor‐Schacht, Trudi
Teren, Michelle Young and their
committee, for their outstanding effort in
making the night a huge success! Thank
you also to the Year 12s who came to help
out. It was great to see them joining in
with such enjoyment. Pictured left:
Principal, Mrs Dawn Lang with Prep
Teachers and Learning Assistants.
We were amazed at the number of cultures which were represented at the Prep
Ball, 2011....... It turns out “It’s a Small World” after all!
Helen Drummond, Rebecca Smith, Sara Thornton, Shelly Elliott, Sue Griffiths,
Tina Marsh – Prep Teachers and Learning Assistants
Friday, 26 August 2011 | Page 1

QUEENSLAND YOUTH ART
AWARDS
Each year, for at least the last 20 years, some of the best
artworks from students around the state are chosen for
hanging in the annual Queensland Youth Art Awards (QYAA).
This year it was John Paul College’s turn to host the awards
and more than 500 works, from 50 schools, were entered.
Entry numbers are strictly limited and, hence, just over a
dozen works were selected to represent A.B. Paterson
College (see below).
Congratulations to the selectees!
CSIRO MATHEMATICIANS IN
SCHOOLS PROGRAMME
On Monday, 22 August, Dr Steve Sugden attended the
College as part of the CSIRO Mathematicians in Schools
Programme. He is Associate Professor from the School of
Information Technology at Bond University. He conducted a
session with the Year 6 Advanced Mathematics class, drawing
their attention to the patterns and reasoning behind number
systems, calculations and binary numbers. He challenged
them to see that numbers have many different
representations, looking at the patterns in the exponents and
converting numbers into the binary system.
Year 7
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
Year 12
Jasmin Turpin
Malak Habib
Oksana Johnston (Certificate of Excellence)
Maxine Weaver
Bianca Palmer (Medallion Winner)
Christie‐Lee Wise
Julia May
Jackson Fenwick (Medallion Winner)
Courtney Kruger (Medallion Winner)
Kate Kitto (Certificate of Excellence)
Alexandra Frisby‐Smith (Certificate of
Excellence)
Ryan Voevodin
Scott Voevodin (Medallion winner)
Peter Solberg (Certificate of Excellence )
Top: Dr Steve Sugden from the School of Information Technology at
Bond University Below: Nelson Chua and Dr Sugden
The three independent judges from the Griffith University
College of Art did a blind judging (no school names in
evidence) and they showed remarkable taste.
As you can see, we were very successful and in fact were the
‘winningest’ school in the senior ranks, with a record 8
awards. The highest level of award is the medallion.
Special thank you to: Mrs Tanya Jeynes, for transporting and
packaging the works and to Ms Jackie Bennett, for
coordinating the entries.
Mr Barry Voevodin
Visual Art Coordinator
He also met with
Nelson Chua of Year
10 as his academic
mentor for Nelson’s
personal research
project. Nelson is
researching dimension
theory and he has
been provided with
new directions for his
research.
Dr Sugden also met with Mr Redmond and Mrs Sheehy from
the Maths Faculty to share ideas.
A.B. Paterson College is also a partner in the CSIRO Scientists
in Schools Programme. Dr Nirthanan, from the School of
Medical Science at Griffith University, is working with another
Honours programme student, Navin Niranjan in a research
project involving snake venom.
Mrs Lesley Sutherland
Head of Gifted Education
Friday, 26 August 2011 | Page 2

NATIONAL MODEL UNITED
NATIONS ASSEMBLY
France takes Third Place!
Mrs Taylor and I had the privilege of attending the National
MUNA 2011 event organised by the Rotary Club of Canberra
Sunrise in Canberra from Friday, 19 August to Sunday, 21
August, to watch Year 12 students, Brock Lowrey and Calum
Thatcher represent Rotary District 9640 at the event. Brock and
Calum had been selected to attend through the District’s MUNA
held in March.
The objective of a Rotary MUNA is to involve students in a
“hands‐on” experience of a UN‐style conference and so increase
the students’ sense of international understanding and goodwill.
Calum and Brock elected to represent France at MUNA and
spent long hours of preparation and research so that they could
think and be “French”! They were required to represent France’s
position on six resolutions, selected on the Friday evening
through a voting process from the 13 resolutions for which they
had prepared.
The resolutions debated related to the following:
• The Responsibility to Protect
• Disaster Reduction
• The Right of the Palestinian People to Self‐Determination
• Human Rights and Extreme Poverty
• Climate Change
• Nuclear‐Weapon‐Free World
Debate was fierce, with 30 countries being represented
vigorously by delegates. The challenge was to represent your
country and also to be able to respond as your country would, to
the points of view held by other nations. Students were also
required to have a good knowledge and understanding of UN
documents such as the Treaty on the Non‐Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons, Millennium Development Goals Reports,
Charter of Human Rights, Charter of the United Nations, World
Summit 2005 Outcomes, UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change and also of policies of their chosen countries.
Adjudicators provided very helpful feedback at the end of each
session and students clearly applied this feedback across the
weekend.
The MUNA event was a wonderful learning experience for our
students through engagement with international politics, the
work of the UN, the machinations of the UN and diplomatic
operations and the use of strategies on the floor of the
Assembly. In addition, we had the opportunity to hear an
address by Foreign Service Officers from the Embassy of the
United States of America and at the MUNA Dinner, an address
by Professor Michael L’Estrange, Director of the National
Security College at ANU. Professor L’Estrange’s address was
thought‐provoking and challenging as he spoke about the future
of international relations and the challenges that face nations.
NATIONAL MODEL UNITED
NATIONS ASSEMBLY
Brock and Calum
(France) were
awarded third
place and are to be
congratulated on
their achievement,
particularly given
the standard of the
competition. They
represented the
College in an exemplary
manner. Our thanks are
extended to Mr Graham
Howie, MUNA Coordinator,
Rotary
District 9640, who was
the Rotary Counsellor
who accompanied our
students. Graham was
responsible for all their
arrangements and
through him, we extend
our thanks to Rotary District 9640 for providing the
opportunity for young people to engage in MUNA at the
local level and nationally. The Rotary Club of Canberra
Sunrise is also to be complimented on the professional
organisation of the event and thanked for its work in
supporting young people through the provision of
opportunities such as this.
Congratulations, Brock and Calum. Well done!
L‐R: Brock Lowrey, Calum Thatcher and Mr Graham Howie,
MUNA Co‐ordinator, Rotary District 9640
Mrs Annette Boyle
Interact Club Co‐ordinator
Friday, 26 August 2011 | Page 3

HONOURS PROGRAMME
2012 Year 10 Entry
The Honours programme seeks to enrich the educational
experiences of talented academic students.
• GUEST on line university courses
• Broader understandings of global issues
• Challenge to excel
• Advanced learning
• Engagement
• Futurism
• Problem solving
• Personal research project
• Academic mentors
• Career choices
Entry requirements:
• Achievement and cognitive assessment which is
conducted in the College.
• Submission of a student portfolio.
• Interview with the student and parents.
Mrs Lesley Sutherland – Head of Gifted Education
Parent and Student
Information Session:
Tuesday, 30 August, 7pm
at A.B. Paterson College, Maths Centre
Please confirm your attendance at the information
session by email or telephone to Mrs Lesley Sutherland,
Honours Programme Coordinator.
A.B. Paterson College
Tel: 55947947 Email: lsn@abpat.qld.edu.au
BOND UNIVERSITY
MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION
This is an excellent way for students to have a taste of the
law, in preparing for either Defence or Prosecution in a mock
trial. Last year, A.B. Paterson College students were overall
winners. Bond University has advised they have postponed
this year’s event, so budding lawyers will need to wait for
next year to participate. Many thanks to the offers of help
and coaching of the teams; it is wonderful that the College
has such a supportive group of parents.
Mrs Christine Dowd – Mock Trial Coordinator
Well done for achieving the milestone of doing the
40 Hour Famine or the 8 Hour Famine! Wright
House and A.B. Paterson College say thank you for
your donations!!
You have done it! You have reached the end of the
40 Hour Famine, or the 8 Hour Famine if you’re in
Years 5­7!
Please now bring in your donations to be counted!
What to do:
1. Tip your donations into a zip lock bag.
2. Put your booklet in the bag too and make sure your
name is on it!
3. Take the bag with the booklet and donations to
Reception in the Administration building.
In Term 4, students will receive a certificate of
appreciation and hopefully a prize from World Vision!
SENIOR SCHOOL LOST PROPERTY
What should students do if they
have lost something?
Any uniform lost property is sent to the Head of House Office
or the Uniform Shop. Any other lost property such as phones
and calculators are sent to the Student Services Office.
Two really important points:
1. Look for it straight away. Don't leave it for days!
2. Make sure your name is on everything.
Mr Garry Way – Head of Senior School
Friday, 26 August 2011 | Page 4

A.B. PATERSON COLLEGE
GOLF CLASSIC
The Golf Classic is only a matter of a few
weeks away and I urge all you budding
golfers out there to support the
Performing Arts Tour to the United States
of America by entering a team.
Gainsborough Greens Golf Course is a
fabulous course and there are wonderful
competition prizes to be won; so get your
players together and join us on Wednesday, 21 September.
We invite you to the beautiful Gainsborough Greens Golf
Course on Wednesday 21 September, where you will enjoy a
fun day of golf with lunch, entertainment and great prizes
included. All proceeds from this important fundraising event
will be directed to the 2012 USA Performing Arts Tour. For
more information or to register, please contact me on 0412
883 943.
Mr Mark Weber – Head of Performing Arts
A.B. PATERSON COLLEGE
PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITION
The A.B. Paterson College Public Speaking Competition is
open to all students in Years 4 to 12. The Year 4 students are
not in competition, but receive valuable experience in public
speaking. Please note that the closing date for entries is
Friday, 9 September 2011.
The dates of the competition for 2011 are:
Heats Dates Times
Year 4 Thurs, 13 October 4.30pm
Years 5‐7 Heats Tues, 18 October 4.30pm, 6pm &
7.15pm
Years 8‐12 Heats Thurs, 20 October 4.30pm, 6pm &
7.15pm
Years 5‐7 Finals Tues, 25 October 4.30pm & 6.15pm
Years 8‐12 Finals Thurs, 27 October 4.30pm & 6.30pm
For adjudication criteria, speaking times, topics for each year
level and nomination forms, please visit the College website:
http://www.abpat.qld.edu.au/index.php?page_id=99
Public Speaking Competition Prizes:
In Years 5 – 12, the winners
of the Grand‐Final will
receive a Dymock's book
voucher. The winner of the
Year 12 Grand‐Final is eligible for a bursary from Bond
University. The bursary covers 50% of tuition fees of any
single or combined B ond University Undergraduate
programme (excluding Bond University’s Medical
Programme). The current value of the bursary is over
$30,000. The winner of each grand‐final will also receive a
plaque, as a commemoration of his/her outstanding
achievement. There is also an aggregate shield provided in
both the Primary and Secondary areas, for best‐performing
school in the finals.
JUNIOR MUSICAL
Performance dates are:
Friday, 9 September 7:30pm
Saturday, 10 September 1:00pm
Saturday, 10 September 7:30pm
We look forward to seeing you at the show!
Tickets for Beauty and the Beast Jr. can be purchased via
the school website or at the box office. The box office
will be open next week on Monday and Tuesday before
school from 8am. Tickets are $15 each.
Mrs Candace Kruger – Musical Director
Mr Ian Taylor – Director of Activities
ASX CLUB
The ASX Club has commenced Game 2 of 2011. We wish all
students involved (over 200 registered participants) all the
best in these uncertain economic times. This is one of the
more challenging times, when it is even more important to
choose investments wisely. A wonderful spin‐off from the
ASX Club is the stories of students spending time with
grandparents, parents and friends, discussing stocks and
making decisions together. More details will follow, including
updates.
Mrs Christine Dowd – ASX Club Coordinator
Friday, 26 August 2011 | Page 5

JUNIOR SCHOOL NEWS
Poetry Speaking Competition
The annual A.B. Paterson Poetry Speaking Competition was
held in the Dawn Lang Performing Arts Centre on Tuesday
evening before a supportive audience of parents, students
and teachers. As always, it was a very entertaining event
with presenting students amazing the audience with their
confidence and polish. The judges, Ms Perry, Miss Cadden
and Mr Taylor had the difficult task of making the final
decisions. The results from the evening were:
Australian Traditional Verse:
Chloe Britton, Andre Przybylski, Lucy Dysart, Amelia Dye,
Jayden Lazar, Daiana Yoon.
Own Composition:
Jasper Fitzgerald, Mason Teasdale, Antony Regtien, Michaela
Wilson, Parsha Mia, Jordan Case.
Australian Humorous Verse:
Kaden Forbutt, Luke Hornabrook, Parker Britton, Ben
Douglas, Isabel Kitto, Caitlin Cotterill.
Tourism Queensland Promotion
Last Wednesday, a film crew from Channel 10 visited
A.B. Paterson College to interview Mrs Ford and Year 6
students about their experiences in the Outback during the
Winton camp. They were working in conjunction with
Tourism Queensland who is launching an initiative to
encourage school trips to visit the Outback. The College is
known throughout this area, having been regular visitors for
many years and it was suggested that our insights would be a
valuable means of promoting such a project. We are waiting
with interest to hear when the interviews will be featured.
Prep Ball
Congratulations and thank you to the Prep parents who
organised this year’s Prep Ball. May Gibbs Courtyard was
ablaze with colour with flags of many countries providing the
backdrop to festivities. It was a very successful evening.
Mrs Alison Robinson
Head of Junior School
SCHOOL BANKING NEWS
This week’s “Lucky Banker” is: Agnes Sun of Year 6R
This week’s “Best Banking Classes” are: Prep S
Mrs Helene Young – Banking Coordinator and her team
PARENTS & FRIENDS
Thank you to everyone for their kind donations for our
Father’s Day Stall. Don’t forget to get Dad a great gift at the
stall which will be held on Wednesday 31st August and
Thursday 1st September.
Our next morning tea will be held at The Arundel Hills
Country Club on Thursday, 1 September. Please come along
after school drop off. Everyone is welcome.
Advertising is still open for our College Calendar. All
advertising copy and payments need to be finalised by Friday,
16 September. If you would like to advertise with us, please
contact Tracey Rosen on our College email
pandf@abpat.qld.edu.au. The calendar is a great way to
support our local College community businesses.
Mrs Lisa Lang
President – Parents & Friends of A.B. Paterson College
ASHMORE LITTLE ATHLETICS
Sign on days for boys and girls 5 to 16 years
Saturday, 27 August and Saturday, 3 September
12 noon – 3pm
At Ashmore Oval Currumburra Road, Ashmore
Proof of age required.
Competition begins on Saturday, 10 September
For more information visit www.ashmorelittleas.com.
COLES SPORTS FOR SCHOOLS
PROGRAMME
The College is registered for the Coles Sports for Schools
programme. For more information, please go on the Coles
Sports for Schools website www.sportsforschools.com.au.
Every $10 spent at Coles,
Coles Online, Pick ‘n Pay or
Bi‐Lo store and from 11
August to 18 October
2011 will earn a Coles
Sports for Schools
voucher. Therefore, when
you go shopping, please
collect the vouchers and
drop them off at the
College in the collection
box in the Student
Services Office.
Thank you!
Friday, 26 August 2011 | Page 6

JUNIOR APS ATHLETICS
CARNIVAL
On Thursday, 11 August, the A.B. Paterson College
Athletics Team travelled to Griffith University for the
APS Championships. After disappointingly placing 7 th
in 2010, the squad was keen to improve on last year’s
result.
In the months leading up to the carnival, the athletes
had trained well and showed much promise by
building on their good results at the House Carnival.
The track programme commenced with the 800
metre races, with many A.B. Paterson College
students placing inside the top five. Perhaps the race
of the day was claimed by Jackson Ramage (Under
11’s), who placed first in a time which was only two
seconds outside of his brother’s APS record.
As the sprint events began, it was evident that the
College’s 7 th place in 2010 was a distant memory. The
improvement over the past year was clear for all to
see as A.B. Paterson College athletes consistently
finished in the top half of the races. Special attention
was given to Lleyton Brooks to see if he could
replicate his performances at the Queensland State
Championships, and he did so, taking out the 100m
and 200m double.
Out on the field, many fine results were achieved by
our jumpers and throwers. Brock Hudson took out
the first event of the day, winning the 9 Year Boys’
High Jump and Benjamin Devine broke the APS
record in the Under 13 Boys’ Discus.
The culmination of the carnival was the 4x100m
relays. The A.B. Paterson College athletes had trained
hard over the four weeks leading up to the carnival,
in an attempt to ensure that the baton changes were
smooth and comprehensive. All teams performed
superbly with the Under 10 Boys, Under 13 Girls and
Under 10 Girls all placing in the top three.
Overall, A.B. Paterson College finished third on
aggregate, marking an impressive improvement over
the past 12 months. All students and coaches should
be applauded for the effort and commitment they
have shown throughout 2011, and fully deserve the
success achieved by the squad.
On behalf of the students, I would like to thank Ms
Bec Movley, Mr Ric Cashman, Mr Ian Taylor, Ms
Stacey Griffiths, Mr Steve Mikael and Mr John
Robinson for their dedication towards A.B. Paterson
College Athletics.
Mr Tom Batty
Junior School Athletics Coordinator
Congratulations to the students listed below who placed in the top
three in their events!!
Age Event Name Place
Under 9s High Jump Brock Hudson 1 st
200m Div 1 Tahliya Fullin 3 rd
200m Div 2 Brock Hudson 2 nd
100m Div 1 Tahliya Fullin 3 rd
100m Div 4 Sarah Borten 3 rd
100m Div 3 Ned Overell 3 rd
Under 10s Long Jump Lleyton Brooks 1 st
800m Keely Whittaker 2 nd
800m Harley Nielsen 1 st
High Jump Sybren Terpstra 3 rd
200m Div 1 Lleyton Brooks 1 st
200m Div 2 Sybren Terpstra 2 nd
Discus Keely Whittaker 3 rd
Discus Nicole Hernandez 1 st
Discus Lleyton Brooks 2 nd
Shot Put Lleyton Brooks 3 rd
100m Div 1 Lleyton Brooks 1 st
100m Div 2 Sybren Terpstra 3 rd
100m Div 3 Harley Nielsen 2 nd
4x100m Girls’ Relay 3 rd
4x100m Boys’ Relay 2 nd
Under 11s 800m Tiegan Squires 2 nd
800m Jackson Ramage 1 st
200 Div 3 Jackson Ramage 2 nd
Shot Put Bailey Tapsall 2 nd
Under 12s Discus Sophie Hannah 1 st
Discus Mikayla Hernandez 3 rd
Discus Callan Kelly 1 st
Long Jump Sophie Hannah 1 st
200m Div 2 Gemma Killian 3 rd
High Jump Dylan Carpenter 1 st
100m Div 3 Gemma Killian 3 rd
100m Div 1 Callan Kelly 2 nd
100m Div 2 Aydee Brooks 2 nd
Under 13s Discus Olivia Baran 3 rd
Discus Benjamin Devine 1 st
Discus Liam Jones 2 nd
Shot Put Benjamin Devine 1 st
200m Div 1 Marine Madsen 2 nd
200m Div 2 Shiraz Mulholland 2 nd
200m Div 1 Liam Jones 2 nd
200m Div 2 Blake Fullin 2 nd
Long Jump Liam Jones 1 st
High Jump Kento Kishida 3 rd
100m Div 1 Marine Madsen 2 nd
100m Div 2 Nadia Spring 3 rd
100m Div 4 Kiara D’Odorico 1 st
100m Div 1 Liam Jones 2 nd
100m Div 4 Kento Kishida 1 st
4x100m Girls’ Relay 2 nd
Friday, 26 August 2011 | Page 7

STUDENT
ACHIEVEMENT
Rugby Union
Congratulations to
Harrison Wood of Year 7
Harrison’s rugby union team, the Under
12 Helensvale Hogs, won the Gold Coast
under 12 Rugby Union Grand Final last
weekend. Well done Harrison!
Mr Ian Taylor – Director of Activities
UNIFORM SHOP
Term Time Trading Hours
Monday to Friday 7.45am to 10am
Tuesday and Thursday 2pm to 4pm
Sue Kelly – Uniform Shop Convenor
CANTEEN MENU &
ORDERS
Access the Canteen Menu
on the College website
http://www.abpat.qld.edu.au/index.php?pag
e_id=73 or order you lunch online using the
Flexischools website
www.flexischools.com.au.
For help, call 1300 361 769.
A.B. Paterson College
10 A.B. Paterson Drive
Arundel, Qld 4214
Phone: (07) 5594 7947
Fax: (07) 5594 7650
Email: abpat@abpat.qld.edu.au
Web: www.abpat.qld.edu.au
Direct Numbers
Student Services 55 614 137
College Clinic 55 614 139
Uniform Shop 55 614 131
After School Care 55 614 155
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
National Cross Country Championships
Congratulations to Rebekah Matulis (Year 9), Daniel Coleman (Year 11) and
Katelyn Simpson (Year 12) who have been competing at the National Cross
Country Championships in Canberra over the last few days.
Rebekah Matulis and Daniel Coleman have both been named as first reserve for
their respective Australian Schools’ Cross Country team to compete in Malta at
the end of March next year. There were a range of relay events with Daniel
winning a Gold, Silver and Bronze from the carnival.
Katelyn Simpson placed 8th in her individual event.
Well done to Rebekah, Daniel and Katelyn!
Mr Ian Taylor – Director of Activities
COMING EVENTS
Tues 30 August • Year 12 QCS Test WT & MC 1
Wed 31 August • Year 12 QCS Test SRI & MC 11
• Year 11 Arts Tour departs for Melbourne
• Year 10 Parent Evening in the Dawn Lang Performing
Arts Centre: 7pm
• P & F Father’s Day Stall
Thurs 1 September • Years 4‐7 Interhouse Ball games: 1.45pm – 3.10pm
• P & F Morning Tea at Arundel Hills Country Club:
8.30am
• P & F Father’s Day Stall
Fri 2 September • Gold Coast Show Holiday
Sun 4 September • Year 11 Arts Tour returns
Tues 6 September • Junior School Musical Bump in
• Years 8‐12 Regional Athletics – Day 1
Wed 7 September • Junior School Musical Full Dress Rehearsal
• Years 8‐12 Regional Athletics – Day 2
Thurs 8 September • Junior School Musical Full Dress Rehearsal
Fri 9 September • Years 8‐12 Summer Sport Photographs
• Years 8‐12 APS Sport Round 2 vs. All Saints Anglican
School
• Junior School Musical in Dawn Lang Performing Arts
Centre: 7.30pm
Sat 10 September • Junior School Musical in Dawn Lang Performing Arts
Centre: 1pm Matinee and 7.30pm
Tues 13 September • Prep – Year 3 Mini Olympics
• P & F Executive Meeting: 7pm
• Extension Music Performance Evening in LPAC: 7pm
Friday, 26 August 2011 | Page 8

After School Learn to Swim Lessons
Thank you for your support this term. Learn to Swim lessons will finish on Friday 9 th
September 2011. This term’s enrolments will carry over to term 4, so your child/ren
will remain in the same class as this term. If you no longer wish for your child to
participate in the Learn to Swim programme, please inform us on ph 5561 4167 or
email pge@abpat.qld.edu.au as soon as possible.
Term 4 is an 8 week programme and will commence on Monday 10 th October and
will finish on Friday 2 nd December (first day of school holidays). All swimmers are
expected to wear goggles, and girls to wear a swim cap.
The cost for term 4 is $120 including GST. (Students will be directly billed to their
school account – term swimming only).
Please note that children are grouped according to their ability. There is a low
swimmer to teacher ratio in our classes. The pool temperature is 29 degrees all year
round.
Thank you, we look forward to teaching your child in term 4.
For new enrolments: There are limited places available in our Learn to Swim
programme for next term. If interested, please contact us on ph 5561 4167 or
pge@abpat.qld.edu.au by Friday 30 th September. Places are limited!
Learn to Swim Holiday Intensive Programme
Monday 26 th to Friday 30 th September
For those interested, during the upcoming school holidays we will run a one week
intensive programme where your child receives a half hour lesson each day for five
days. This five day programme will run each morning from Monday 26 th September
to Friday 30 th September.
The cost for the week’s programme is $65 including GST per child. (Participants in the
holiday intensive programme are invoiced separately to school accounts and should
be paid at the commencement of the programme. Thank you.)
Places are limited. Please contact us by Friday 16 th September on
ph 5561 4167 or pge@abpat.qld.edu.au to ensure your spot. Thank you.
Mr Peter Gee – Swim Coach/Pool Manager

August 2011
AHISA National Social Issues UPDATE
From IVANHOE GIRLS’ GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Bratz, Britney & Bralettes: The sexualisation of
childhood
Presented by the Australian Council on Children and the Media
and Kids Free 2B Kids. Hosted by Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar
School, the evening commenced with a welcome by Prof
Elizabeth Handsley, Chair of the Australian Council on
Children and the Media, followed by four keynote speakers.
Steve Biddulph
The challenges of early sexualisation facing young people
were highlighted by the story of Casey and Genevieve (not
their real names, both 17 years old now) told by Steve
Biddulph (via DVD). When both girls were 14, they were at a
party involving alcohol and Casey had sex with a 17 year old
male, whilst Genevieve did not, which resulted in the end of
their friendship.
Now as a 17 year old, Casey has had six sexual partners and
has problems with alcohol. Steve told the audience that group
sex with ≥three partners is now much more common (up to
25% compared with 2 – 3 % previously).
Steve explained that as a psychologist, these girls with early
sexual experiences are, in general, very unhappy,
experiencing depression, alcohol and drug issues. In addition,
their sexual experiences are also themselves not happy
experiences for them.
He explained that in his professional opinion the high numbers
of lonely and depressed young people with high levels of
mental health issues, was caused by their early sexualisation.
He attributed much of this to the media who are specifically
targeting young people with sexual images and described this
as predatory corporate behaviour.
Forty-fifty years ago young women had lots of contact with
older women, which was very personal time and helped to
ground the young women, whereas this had now decreased
massively and hence the traditional supports for young women
had also been removed.
Steve Biddulph concluded his presentation by stressing that
girls’ biology needs to fit their brains! (which are not ready for
this early sexualisation).
Julie Gale, Kids Free 2B Kids
The second speaker was Julie Gale, founder of Kids Free 2B
Kids and also a comedy writer. To fully appreciate her
entertaining yet powerful presentation, you needed to see the
costume she donned for the occasion (a very sassy, sexy,
provocative outfit)!
Julie focused on the advertisements to which the community is
constantly being subjected. She showed many examples of
advertisements which would not be allowed in a workplace as
they would constitute sexual harassment, yet are allowed in
public spaces as harassment laws do not apply there! Our
young people are constantly being bombarded to very powerful
and provocative sexual images.
She stressed that what we allow, is in reality, what we approve
and encouraged people to be bold enough to bother and
complain (by phone, email etc) when they think something is
inappropriate. She presented a number of examples of the
success of her complaints in getting things changed / removed.
In addition to the sexual pressures on young girls and boys,
she also stressed the impact on young men, especially with the
prevalence of violent video games. She believes that this
constant media bombardment is knocking out the tenderness
and empathy out of our young men.
Archbishop Freier
The Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, the Most Reverend Dr
Philip Freier, then spoke about trying to create a space where
children can thrive. In his address Archbishop Freier reiterated
his call for a national inquiry into childhood to find the reasons
for a lack of wellbeing amongst the young, including childhood
depression, eating disorders and self-harm behaviour. With
depression amongst young people increasing four fold over the
past 30 years, the Archbishop highlighted that whilst our care
and concern for individual children had increased, our focus on
childhood itself had decreased.
The ‘pornification of public space’ – where parental influence
was small and other influences large – had created a culture
that was toxic to children, sexualising them before they were
physically or psychologically ready.
To highlight our lack of support for childhood he used the
United Kingdom experience where communities are frightened
by and hostile to young people to the extent that they are
installing high pitched emitters (which can only be heard by
young people) as ‘kid repellent devices’!
Dr Glenn Culpitt
The final speaker for the evening was Dr Glenn Culpitt, Senior
Lecturer in Child Development at the University of South Australia.
His current interest in the early sexualisation of children
was stimulated by his students. Just how prevalent this
sexualisation of children in the media is was highlighted by the
terms being used: ‘prostitots’; ‘tartlets’; ‘bimboisation’;
‘scantsification’; and ‘eroticisation’. He stressed that our young
people lack the intellectual capacity to look at the
consequences of the images they see and also lack the social
skills to resist them.

He believes our society almost has an obsession with body attractiveness. Consequently girls have developed
distorted attitudes to sexuality seeing:
• Sex as a tool or recreation activity
• A loss of relationships
• A culture of compliance with male expectations, with oral sex being the new good night kiss!
Early sexualisation is also linked with decreased educational attainment. Currently by 12 years of age, 70% of
boys and 54% of girls have viewed pornography; whilst by 16 100% of boys and 97% of girls have viewed it!
Glenn recommended that parents respond by:
• Addressing the issues explicitly, including becoming informed by co-viewing with their children, establishing
a regular talking relationship with their kids, not being afraid to say what you think – don’t be intimidated –
you do know more than your children!
• Addressing the issues implicitly, as children imitate what they see. Parents need to ensure that their own
behaviour is consistent with their values – sometimes what is right for you is not right for you in front of your
children!
• Addressing issues of complicity – to allow is to approve and hence parents need to be able to say no;
parents cannot complain about their children’s behaviour if they allow them to attend Lady Gaga’s recent
concert!; there is a need to establish exactly who is the parent and who is the child!
• Let your voice be heard – by your family; by sales people and shopkeepers; by concert promoters; by TV
stations and by politicians and bureaucrats. Your voice should include praise as well as complaints!
He concluded by suggesting that we are too nice – we don’t like offending anyone! Jesus was not always nice
where injustice regarding children was concerned.
Dr Heather Schnagl
Principal, Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School
Further information:
www.childrenandthemedia.org.au
www.youngmedia.org.au
www.kf2bk.com
www.collectiveshout.org
The Archbishop’s address is reported more fully in the June 2011 edition of The Melbourne Anglican,
www.melbourne.anglican.com.au/media