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The Oracle 

Incorporating the Collegian Communicator Semester Two Edition 2012 

ormistoncollege.com.au

The Oracle 

Ormiston College 

Ormiston College reflects the 

individual spirit, integrity and values 

of a coeducational, independent, 

non-denominational Christian school, 

catering for students from Prep 

through to Year 12. 

The Early Learning Centre, Puggle’s 

Burrow, offers a quality Kindergarten 

program that is aligned with the 

Early Years Learning Framework for 

children from 15 months to five years, 

in a safe, caring environment. 

Enrolment applications for all 

year levels are accepted from 

birth. Parents are advised to make 

application for enrolment well in 

advance of the required year of entry. 

Scholarship information and 

enrolment application forms may be 

obtained from the Registrar. 

P +61 7 3821 8999 

E registrar@ormistoncollege.com.au 


Dundas Street West 

Ormiston Queensland 4160 

Australia 

PO Box 1835 

Cleveland DC Queensland 4163 

Australia 

ABN 96 010 613 135 

Administration 

P +61 7 3821 8999 

F +61 7 3821 1311 

E admin@ormistoncollege.com.au 

Visit our website at 

www.ormistoncollege.com.au 

Oracle Editor: 

Valerie Warwick 

Prepress/Layout/Production: 

Kersive Creative (www.kersive.com) 

Nadia Gay 

Photography: 

Staff, Students, Parents 

Old Collegians 

AFL Media 

Printing: 

Fergies Print and Mail 

Contributions welcome. 

Please contact the editor: 

v.warwick@ormistoncollege.com.au 

2 THE ORACLE Semester Two Edition 2012

From The 

Editor 

It seems appropriate that our 

second semester Oracle should 

feature The Arts. The hosting of 

this year’s student Visual Art Show 

was truly amazing with over 1,000 

pieces of quality student art work on 

display and a magnificent wearable 

art fashion parade. 

The international Music tour to 

Los Angeles was a great success for 

our music students, followed by a 

record number of students selected 

into the prestigious State Ensemble 

program, plus repeated success at 

the Eisteddfods. 

Our Drama students, in both 

Junior and Senior School, have 

again exceeded all expectation 

with results from their numerous 

examinations and presentations. 

The College is certainly 

overbrimming with artistic talent. 

From The 

Headmaster 

It would be no secret that I enjoy sitting down to relax and read through 

the Oracle. As Headmaster I am obviously proud of all students within our 

College and, through various conversations with staff and parents, aware of 

the numerous student achievements that occur both inside and outside of 

the school. Nevertheless it provides me with a great source of pleasure as 

I read and learn more about OC's students who are extending their skills at 

Queensland, interstate and international levels. 

There is a belief that each ‘top academic student’ will create a ripple effect 

upon five other students by influencing them to follow in their example. No 

doubt the effect of establishing positive norms on campus also applies in 

the sporting and artistic fields. If you look at the level of ability of so many 

of our students, then start recounting the vast number of extraordinary 

things that are being accomplished and recorded on a weekly basis, it 

definitely gives credence to this theory. 

Whatever the reason or statistical fact, Ormiston College students are 

performing at the top of their league in so many areas. As I am sure you will 

agree, the following pages are an endorsement of this. 

Brett Webster 

Headmaster 

Our strong academic profile, 

coupled with this indisputable 

creativity, is quite gratifying, and I 

haven’t even started to talk about 

Sport, which has also experienced 

another great year and is featured in 

this edition. 

The Oracle really does give me the 

opportunity to boast the quality 

of the diversity that an Ormiston 

College education has to offer. 

Valerie Warwick 

Editor 

Semester Two Edition 2012 THE ORACLE 3

VISUAL ARTS MUSIC DRAMA 

The Arts 

A plethora of creativity is evident at Ormiston College 

Visual Arts 

Students at Ormiston College 

who attend art classes are 

learning far more than how 

to paint and draw, they are 

acquiring a vast array of 

mental habits. They learn to 

observe, envision, innovate 

and reflect. They develop 

a sense of engagement 

through stimulation plus 

many more valuable life 

skills. 

Those lucky enough to have visited 

our Biennial Student Art Show this 

year would have been extremely 

impressed by over 1,000 pieces 

of student art work from the Early 

Learning Centre, Prep through to Year 

11 plus a special Year 12 showing. 

The theme for the Show was 

‘Ocean Creations’ which opened 

up a floodgate of imagination in 

our students. Their diversity and 

individual interpretation of the topic 

was nothing less than spectacular. 

Colour, passion, fun, emotion, were 

all present in the amazing display 

of art works. The introduction 

of the Wearable Art Fashion 

Parade provided wonderful visual 

entertainment, yet further evidence of 

the talent of our art students. Again 

this year, the College was delighted 

to hold the event in aid of the 

organisation ‘ACT for Kids’. 

All members of our Art Staff are to be 

congratulated on the inspiration and 

encouragement that they offer our 


the outstanding quality of work that 

we were fortunate enough to view at 

this year’s Art Show. We congratulate 

our Art Department Staff, Julianne de 

Lange, Subject Coordinator, Jenny 

Furlong, Samantha Wong, Robin 

McInnes, Liz Anstey, Emma Kark, 

Kate Stimson, Sue Foster and Tanya 

Scott. 

students. The creativity that is within 

every child needs to be nurtured 

in order for it to grow and it is the 

Art Staff and their passion for the 

arts that motivates and stimulates 

the imagination in these young 

people, enabling them to produce 

Over the past few years many 

Ormiston Old Collegians have 

continued on with Visual Arts to 

study Fashion Design, Fine Arts, 

Game Design, Animation, Curatorial 

Studies, Art History, Art Teaching and 

Graphic Arts. 



A plethora of creativity is evident at Ormiston College 

Music 

At Ormiston College, 

music is considered a very 

important and relevant part 

of education. Not only does 

it assist in the development 

of the more creative and 

subjective thinking processes 

which are so vital to a wellbalanced 

education, but it 

is very much a part of a 

student’s life, both now and 

in the future. 

Over the past two decades our 

school music program has built itself 

a reputation for the presentation 

of quality music. A reputation that 

is widespread, not only from our 

repeated success in Eisteddfods 

and music competitions but also 

the various appearances and tours 

interstate and overseas. 

Queensland’s finest young 

musicians recognised 

The Queensland Conservatorium, 

Griffith University, presents an 

annual program that brings together 

the finest young musicians from 

across the State. The prestigious 

State Honours Ensemble selects 

students from Orchestras, Concert 

Bands and Choirs for a week long 

workshop under the tutelage of a 

team of eminent international and 

national conductors in a world class 

environment. 

Twenty of the thirty one members of the State Honours Ensemble 

number of elite Ormiston College 

musicians has continued to rise; this 

year 31 musicians, the largest number 

in the school’s history, were selected 

to be part of this esteemed group. 

Congratulations to the following 

students: 

Year 9: Chenaya Aston, Lauren 

Foster, Michael Poole. Year 10: 

Alice Colquhoun, Hannah Fox, Alys 

Holmes, Beau Rush, Helen Walker, 

Carly Woodbine. Year 11: Elysha 

Caulkett, Indianna Colledge, Yasmin 

Dyer, Liam Ibbott, Melissa Laker, 

Isabel Lopez-Roldan, Elliott Major, 

Isabelle Richards. Year 12: Mitchell 

Barfoot, Lucas Blyth, Ashlee Carter, 

Shaun Dewar, Fransisco Duarte, 

Matthew Foster, Hannah Grondin, 

Casey Macfarlane, Emma Smithies, 

Kate Stuart, Jack Vandenberg, 

Matthew Weston-Green, Jamie 

Wildner, Katelyn Woodbine. 

An escalation of choristers 

and instrumentalists 

The co-curricular music program 

has always been extremely popular 

but this year has seen a massive 

escalation in the number of new 

choristers that have enrolled in the 

various choirs; over a third of the 

entire school population is involved 

in the ensemble program. The 

introduction of the Intermediate 

Jazz Ensemble has proven to be 

highly successful. Our Choirs again 

had a very impressive year in the 

local Eisteddfod competitions and 

our instrumentalists are continuing 

to attain top marks in their music 

examinations. 

The pursuit of this well respected 

program is to provide the highest 

quality performance avenue to young 

ensemble-based instrumentalists and 

singers. The State Honours Ensemble 

offers Voice, Strings, Wind, Brass 

and Percussion students an intensive 

week of rehearsal that culminates in 

a gala concert at the Conservatorium 

Theatre in South Bank. 

Placement in the program is by 

selection from nominated students 

who have demonstrated outstanding 

musical ability. Over the years, the 


The Music Tour to Los 

Angeles, USA 

The tour group took off at the end of 

Term Two with a very full itinerary. 

The experience of performing 

alongside other touring groups 

added to the excitement of the trip. 

Performing at Disneyland, Universal 

Studios, the Hollywood Walk of 

Fame, Olvera Street and at the Santa 

Monica Pier was something that will 

remain with the staff and students 

for a lifetime. On all occasions the 

students represented the College with 

distinction and pride. The trip was 

further enhanced by the countless 

number of comments from the public 

on the quality of their work. Our 

students are to be congratulated as 

they certainly stood out in the crowd. 

The staff who accompanied the group 

were, Mr Shane Tooley, Director of 

Music, Mrs Rowena James, Miss 

Grace Whiting, Mr Braxton Neate, 

Mr Ian Thomas and Mr Owen Tibury, 

much of the success of the tour was 

due to their support and dedication. 

A perfect finale to a 

wonderful year of music 

On the 1st of December, OC Strings 

were delighted to have been invited 

to accompany Mirusia at the annual 

‘Christmas by Starlight’ performance 

held at the Redlands Showground. 

This year the event drew its biggest 

and most enthusiastic audience. Our 

students are to be congratulated on 

their magnificent performance. Later 

an email was received from Mirusia 

saying “To the fantastic OC Strings, 

thank you for all the time you put in 

to the rehearsals and for making the 

performance as great as it was.” 

Another email, from Cr Alan Beard, 

Deputy Mayor and Division 8 

Councillor “Strings from OC were 

terrific, your performances were 

wonderful.” 



A Drama plethora of creativity is evident at Ormiston College 

Drama 

Confidence and self-esteem 

are just two of the countless 

life skills that can be acquired 

from studying this subject. 

The benefits can be seen in 

oral presentation, debating 

and public speaking as well as 

all other forms of verbal and 

non-verbal communication. 

Drama students from 

Ormiston College are known 

throughout the Eisteddfod 

circuits as exceptional 

presenters and are known by 

the parent body as excellent 

performers for their work in 

various school productions. 

Ormiston College has an 

abundance of talent in this 

field. 

Trinity College, London, 

Examinations – The Best 

Marks in Queensland 

A rigorous two days of drama 

examinations took place at Ormiston 

with the visiting London examiner 

and yet again our students excelled. 

All Junior School students received 

‘A‘ range marks with almost all 

candidates receiving A+ to A++ 

results, reaching marks well into 

the 90s. It has been confirmed that 

Ormiston College is the only school 

to have received collectively high 

marks consistently over the years 

and the only school to have received 

marks well into the 90s. 

Redfest Drama Presentation 

In September our students were 

invited to present several hours of 

drama at Redfest, which was held in 

one of the buildings in the Redland 

Showgrounds. This was a wonderful 

opportunity for our students to 

showcase their dramatic ability. 

Drama students from Year 5, 6 and 7 

took part in the event and presented a 

spectacular morning of entertainment 

and enjoyment. 

Year 7 production watched by children from the ELC 

Their program consisted of many 

award winning Eisteddfod pieces, 

individual poetry as well as duo and 

group performances. The audience 

particularly enjoyed the improvisation 

games that were presented by our 

talented Year 7 students. Parents and 

guests were also impressed by the 

public speaking items. The Redfest 

committee were extremely impressed 

by the standard of work presented on 

the day and have invited Ormiston 

College back to entertain again next 

year. 

We are also the only school to date to 

have several students receive marks 

in the high 90s, 97, 98 and 99. We 

also received a perfect score of 100! 

Redfest Drama Presentation 


Senior Drama 

The Ormiston Players Theatre Group, 

which is a new addition to the 

co-curricular program, has been a 

great success. In August the students 

presented their inaugural production, 

Headspace. This was an excellent 

piece of live theatre that challenged 

our students and brought out many 

fine individual performances. The 

evening was very well attended and 

the audience was rewarded with an 

extremely entertaining theatrical 

event. 

Eisteddfod success 

Each year we enter three Eisteddfods, 

the Wynnum Manly, Beenleigh and 

the Redlands Eisteddfod and this 

year our students received almost 

all of the major prizes. In all three 

Eisteddfods our students received 

Best Actor, Best Performer and 

Champion Awards, many received 

monetary prizes. Even more 

rewarding was the fact that of every 

single section of the three Eisteddfods 

entered by our students, all resulted 

in a place, the majority being a 1st 

place. Most section resulted in 

Ormiston College students gaining 

1st, 2nd and 3rd places, which is an 

exceptional accomplishment. 

Not only do we congratulate our 

students on their continual success 

but also that of Miss Marianna Psaltis, 

Junior Drama Co-ordinator, who, 

for the third year in succession, has 

been awarded the Best Director in 

both the Beenleigh and the Redland 

Eisteddfod. 


Sport 

Sport plays an integral part in the well-rounded education offered by Ormiston College. We provide outstanding 

sporting opportunities for students, with excellent coaching programs and state of the art facilities. Most importantly, 

our sporting program boasts an exciting tradition of excellence with remarkable records of premierships every season. 

Another great year of sport 

for Ormiston College 

Guest of Honour at this year’s Annual 

Ormiston College Sports Awards 

Evening was our own James Connor. 

The Year 11 student competed in 

the 10 metre platform diving event 

at the 2012 London Olympics. His 

amazing résumé includes gold 

medals at the British Elite Junior 

Championships and the 2011 

Australian Championships. James 

also represented Australia at the 2010 

Commonwealth Games. His next long 

term goal is the Rio Olympics. 

Four students who represented 

Australia in 2012 were also 

recognised: 

• Jordan Bartley represented 

Australia in the FAZZA International 

Wheelchair Basketball Competition. 

Australia remained undefeated in the 

competition bringing home the Gold 

Medal. 

• Shayna Jack was 

selected as one 

of 11 Queensland 

swimmers who 

competed at the US 

Open Swimming 

Championships. As 

the youngest team 

member, Shayna 

swam in the Women’s 

4 x 100m Medley Relay team who 

were placed first in their event. 

Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year, 

Sophie Hancock and Aaron Barker Smith 

• Harvey Meale was nominated as the 

Asian Youth Champion in Volleyball. 

• Samantha Simmonds was selected 

for the Australian Optimist Sailing 

Team. 

Winners of the prestigious 2012 College awards were: 

• Sportsman of the Year: Aaron Barker Smith (Swimming, Cross Country, Athletics and Rugby) 

• Sportswoman of the Year: Sophie Hancock (Athletics, Cross Country, Netball, Basketball and Touch Football) 

• Most Improved Team of the Year: Year 9 Cricket 

• Champion Team Award: Firsts Girls Volleyball 

• Most Improved Sport of the Year: Netball 

• Most Successful Sport of the Year: Boys Volleyball 

• Coach of the Year: Malcolm McBride/Ashley Noble 

• Redback Spirit Award: Aaron Barker Smith/ Alex Lindon 


2012, the year that was... 

The Ormiston College Redbacks enjoyed another 

very successful year in sport, boasting 31 

champion teams with over 250 students qualifying 

for awards at the annual Sports Awards Evening. 

• Ormiston College comfortably won their 4th 

consecutive The Associated Schools (TAS) 

Swimming Championship collecting another 

record eleven trophies: Co-Ed, Boys and Girls 

Aggregate Shield; Girls and Boys Percentage 

Trophies and Age Champions in Under 13,14,15 

and 16 Girls and Under 15 and Open Boys. OC 

won 43 gold medals and Shayna Jack, Tatjana 

Veeser and Emily Bennett were individual Age 

Champions 

• Ormiston College also won the Bayside District 

Swimming Championships for the third year in a 

row. 

• The Redbacks won five Term 1 season TAS 

Premierships: Years 8, 9, Seconds and First Grade 

Volleyball and Year 9 Cricket which ranked OC 

as the runner up TAS Champion school. Redback 

teams enjoyed a record 67% winning strike rate 

over the whole season. 

• The Redbacks were placed third in TAS Cross 

Country with the Open Boys Age Champions. 

James Copperthwaite and Sophie Hancock won 

gold medals in their events. The Redbacks also 

were third in the Bayside District Schools Cross 

Country. 

• The Redbacks won six Term 2 season TAS 

Premierships: First Grade Tennis, Year 10A and 

10B Netball and Year 8, 9 and 2nds Hockey which 

ranked OC as the runner up TAS Champion 

school. OC Hockey was TAS Champions and OC 

Netball enjoyed their best TAS season ever. 

• The Redbacks won for the third consecutive year 

the Bayside District Athletics Championships. 

• The Redbacks won five Term 3 season 

premierships: Firsts, Year 10, Year 9 & Year 8 

Volleyball and 2nds Girls Touch which ranked OC 

as the runner up TAS Champion School. 

• After three seasons of TAS sport the Redbacks 

won 16 flags 

• Year 8s qualified for a QIS AFL grand final berth 

with the Year 10s only knocked out in the semifinals. 


ACH 

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS 

Benjamin Olds - 

Outstanding talent 

Term three was a very hectic 

but extremely rewarding time 

for Benjamin Olds (Year 8) who 

entered four separate Speech and 

drama Eisteddfods; the Brisbane, 

Wynnum Manly, Beenleigh and 

Redlands. Benjamin’s various 

performances secured three 

Eisteddfod Championships, a 

Bursary and awards for the Most 

Outstanding Entertainer, Best 

Comic Performer, Best Character 

Performance, Comedy Championship, 

Creative Championship, Outstanding 

Drama Performer (Senior), Junior 

Shakespeare and several other 

trophies. Among the performance 

pieces were items of poetry that had 

been written by Benjamin. 

Benjamin also had a successful year 

with his creative writing; his short 

story ‘The Best Hero of Rodoran’ was 

shortlisted in the teen section of the 

Redlands Redlitzer Competition, and 

went on to be selected for publication 

in the Redlitzer Anthology. 

He was awarded 1st place in the 

Statewide Independent Education 

Union of Australia literary awards, 

for his poem 'Wheels, Wings and 

Lance and Teneka Ash – 

Gold, Silver and Bronze 

Medals 

Lance and Teneka Ash have had 

another very successful year of 

swimming. In February, at the Met 

East trials Teneka won all of her six 

events, setting four new records. Not 

to be outdone, Teneka’s twin brother 

Lance won five Gold, one Silver and 

a Bronze medal, setting three new 

records. 

At the State Championships in March, 

Teneka was selected as Team Captain 

of the Met East Region. As a result 

of Lance and Teneka’s performance, 

they were selected to represent 

Queensland at the Australian School 

Marvelous Things’ and received 

a Highly Commended for another 

short story. At Speech Night, 

Benjamin was the recipient of the 

Senior School Literary Award. We 

congratulate Benjamin on these 

major achievements. 

Youngest performer to dance 

at Disneyland, Los Angeles 

Paris Stubberfield (Year 4) is with the 

group Theatre and Dance under the 

instruction of Kim Bowkett. The group 

consists of a performance team who 

train for 13 hours a week in Jazz, Tap, 

Ballet, Singing, Acting and Musical 

Theatre. 

Each year, Disney Performing Arts 

use video footage to select talented 

students from various Australian 

dance schools and invite them to 

Disneyland to perform on their stage. 

Paris was the youngest dancer to 

represent the Theatre and Dance 

group and was also given the 

opportunity to act as compare. This 

is not the first time Paris has danced 

overseas, she also performed at 

Disney World, Orlando, Florida in 

2010. As part of the experience, Paris 

participated in a workshop with the 

Principal Dancer at Disney. 

Sport Swimming Championships held 

in Sydney in August this year. This 

was Teneka’s third successive year 

on the Queensland team and Lance’s 

first time at Nationals. 

The success continued in Sydney 

for both Lance and Teneka. Lance 

won three medals from his five 

events, landing a Silver in the 

100m fly and two Bronze medals 

from the medley and freestyle 

relays. Teneka swum in seven 

events, bringing home six medals 

in total. Her medal tally included 

a Gold in the freestyle relay, two 

Silver medals from the 50m fly 

and the medley relay, and three 

Bronze medals from the 50m 

freestyle, 100m fly and the all 

age freestyle relay. We are extremely 

proud of their continued success in 

the pool and wish them good luck in 

their 2013 swimming pursuits. 


IEVEMENTS 

Nicola Jones receives 

Japanese scholarship 

Nicola Jones 

(Year 11) has 

been awarded 

a scholarship 

to Japan for 

two weeks 

in December 

as part of the 

Kizuna Project, 

which is 

sponsored by 

the Japanese 

Government. 

The Kizuna 

Project aims to promote global 

understanding of Japan’s recovery 

efforts following the 2011 earthquake 

and tsunami. Nicola, having being 

selected after a very stringent 

application and interviewing process, 

will visit affected areas to see and 

learn about Japan’s recovery, along 

with other selected High School 

students from Australia. 

Award of Excellence for 

Henry Scholtz 

The National Chemistry Quiz, 

organized by the Royal Australian 

Chemical Institute, involves 12,200 

participants from over 1,500 schools 

in Australia, New Zealand, South East 

Asia, India and the Pacific region. 

Henry Scholtz (Year 11) not only 

received a High Distinction, but also 

qualified for an Award of Excellence 

by being placed in the top 0.1% of 

the nation. 

Henry is 

congratulated 

on becoming 

one of the 

country’s Top 

100 chemistry 

students in 

this very 

prestigious 

competition. 

Elliott Breadmore earns 

his Gold Duke of Edinburgh 

Award 

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is an 

International program that recognises 

young people around the world for 

their leadership skills, personal drive, 

and their commitment to community 

programs or ventures. In order 

to progress through the program 

all previous levels need to be 

successfully completed. To achieve 

a Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award 

an individual must have completed 

a total of 21 months of service and 

completed a number of expeditions 

to display leadership skills. 

It is rare for a person still at school 

to achieve a Gold Duke of Edinburgh 

Award due to the large time 

commitment. Elliott began his Duke 

of Edinburgh program at the age of 

14. In order to qualify for the Gold 

Award Elliott has been involved 

at various stages in basketball, 

hockey and karate for his sporting 

commitment. He has been involved 

in piano (up to AMEB grade7) and 

participated in piano performances 

for his recreational skills, and he has 

performed community service with 

organisations like the Cancer Council, 

the Koala Action Group, a Gibbon 

Rehabilitation Project in Thailand, and 

Antipodeans Abroad. 

The expeditions that Elliott has 

undertaken for his final Gold Award 

have included paleontology work 

for the Queensland Museum in 

Central Queensland, a three day hike 

in the Main Range National Park, a 

whitewater rafting trip in Tasmania, 

the OC Antipodean journey to the 

Tibet/Nepal region, and a voyage 

on the Young Endeavour tall ship. 

Elliott will be formally presented with 

his Gold Award by the Governor of 

Queensland. A magnificent effort. 


ACH 

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS 

A very successful year of 

Ballet for Brooke Smith 

Brooke Smith (Year 7) a student at 

Strictly Dance has enjoyed many 

performance highlights with her 

ballet this year. Brooke performed 

in the Brisbane City Youth Ballet’s 

production of The Wizard of Oz 

at the Conservatorium Theatre at 

Southbank. She competed and 

placed in many group and solo 

Eisteddfods throughout the year 

but her most notable award for 

2012 was winning the ATOD Junior 

Classical Scholarship in May. She 

then travelled to Melbourne in July 

and competed at an Australasian 

competition where she was placed 

4th. Most recently Brooke was 

selected from over 180 boys and 

girls who auditioned to join the 2013 

Queensland Ballet Junior Extension 

Program. 

Niamh Conway’s recognition 

is twofold 

Ormiston College ‘Paperback Writers’ 

has become a very positive club 

for our budding young authors. 

It provides a great opportunity 

for students, not only to write 

but also to enter various literary 

competitions. This year Niamh 

Conway (Year 8) entered her short 

story in the Statewide Independent 

Education Union of Australia literary 

competition and was awarded a 

Highly Commended. Niamh was 

presented with her prize at a special 

award ceremony. 

Niamh also entered a Japanese 

Speech Contest with the Modern 

Language Teachers Association of 

Queensland. The competition was 

extremely demanding, with entrants 

having to present lengthy speeches 

about their family and free time 

activities and in addition, respond 

spontaneously to questions in 

Japanese from the Judges. Niamh 

did extremely well and was awarded 

third in the competition. 

National ‘All-Schools’ 

Swimming Championships 

The National All-School Swimming 

Championships were held from 28 

July to 3 August and four Ormiston 

College students competed. The 

students recorded the following 

results: 

Lance Ash (Year 7), 2nd – 100m 

butterfly, 7th – 50m butterfly, 7th 

– 200m IM, 3rd – medley relay, 3rd – 

freestyle relay. 

Teneka Ash (Year 7), 2nd – 50m 

butterfly, 3rd – 100m butterfly, 3rd – 

50m freestyle, 6th – 50m backstroke, 

1st – freestyle relay, 2nd – medley 

relay, 3rd – all age “B” freestyle relay. 

Casi McDonnell (Year 7), 4th – 100m 

freestyle, 5th – 200m freestyle, 5th – 

“B” freestyle relay. 

Michaela Ryan (Year 5), 1st - 50m 

backstroke, 3rd - 50m freestyle, 4th – 

200m IM, 4th - 100m backstroke, 7th - 

50m butterfly, 7th - 50m breaststroke, 

all age “A” freestyle relay – 2nd, 

Medley relay – 3rd, freestyle relay - 

3rd. 

All students have been very 

persistent in training and competing 

over a period of time to achieve the 

success they enjoyed at the national 

championships. We are all very 

proud of their efforts and how they 

represent themselves and Ormiston 

College. 

14 THE ORACLE Semester One Two Edition 2012

IEVEMENTS 

Presentation at ACT for Kids 

Art Show 

Holly Bolton (Year 12) one of our 

keen and talented artists, had her 

artwork displayed at the annual ACT 

for Kids Art Show and was delighted 

to be announced as the winner 

of the Student Section. Holly was 

awarded an iPad and a book which 

were presented to her by television 

personalities, Kay McGrath and Pat 

Walsh. Holly attended the ACT for 

Kids Art Show with Mrs Julianne 

de Lange, Ormiston’s Art Subject 

Co-ordinator. 

Representing Queensland in 

the Melbourne Nationals 

George Storey (Year 7) competed 

in the Queensland State Karate 

Championships in May of this year 

and went on to represent Queensland 

as a squad member in the Nationals 

held in Melbourne in August. In 

November, George took part in a 

junior event at Bracken Ridge where 

he received two awards, a Bronze in 

Kata (forms) and a Silver in Kumite 

(Combat). 

Special 

Achievements 

Other snippets 

we have heard 

about: 

Bridgette Logan (Year 12) 

received the RSL Youth Development 

Grant for skipping. Bridgette attended 

the major competition in America in 

July. 

Scott Stephan (Year 12) Selected 

as Tennis Team reserve for Australian 

Schoolboy in major competition. 

Ingrid Grahame (Year 6) 

competed in the Federation of 

International Sport and Fitness 

(FISAF) State Championships in April 

and received a Silver Medal for her 

aerobics trio performance. 

Hannah Grondin (Year 12) 

received 1st Place in South East 

Queensland Musical Theatre 

Competition. 

Samantha Sherrin (Year 12) has 

been accepted in to the Harvest Rain 

Internship Program. 

National Hockey Finals 

Matthew Smallwood (Year 8) is 

continuing to train consistently in his 

favourite sport Hockey. As a member 

of the U13 team he played in the 

State Hockey Championships that 

took place in July. Matthew played 

for the top Brisbane side making 

the finals. He was then named in 

the U13 Queensland Team to attend 

the National Hockey Finals in New 

South Wales in October where the 

team played brilliantly. As a result, 

Matthew has now been invited to 

represent Queensland again, this time 

in the Indoor U13 National Finals in 

Canberra in January. 

Jack Vandenberg, Ashley 

Carter, Daniel Long (Year 12) 

all have been accepted into the JMC 

Academy of Music in 2013. 

Alexander Muirhead (Year 9) 

was presented with his prize at the 

University of Queensland in October, 

for his accomplishment in the 

prestigeous Australian Mathematics 

Competition. 

Mitchell Barfoot (Year 12) has 

been accepted to attend the National 

Mathematics Summer School at the 

Australian University in January 2013. 


Special 

Achievements 

Other snippets 

we have heard 

about: 

Chelsea Robb, Maddison 

McCamley, Sophie Hancock, 

Danica Smith (Year 12) had their 

art work accepted for exhibition at 

the Creative Generations Awards 

held at Griffith University, Gold Coast 

campus. All were commended for 

their innovation and creativity. 

Recognized for Commitment 

and Fair Play; As part of the 

Brisbane Roar’s pre-season warm 

up tour, they visited the Redland 

United Football Club, (RUFC) to play 

their Veto League Team. The RUFC 

selected members from their junior 

teams who had shown “Exceptional 

understanding of fair play and a 

strong commitment to training” to 

represent their home team as Ball 

Boys. The boys selected were all from 

Ormiston College, Callum Warden 

(Year 4), Jake Lambourne (Year 5) 

Flynn Warden (Year 1), Josh Steele 

(Year 4), Merrick Hoffman (Year 4) 

Luke Lambourne (Year 4) and Woody 

Holmes (Year 4). The boys were 

lucky enough to meet and chat with 

the Brisbane Roar players after their 

game. 

Eneh Gilbert (Year 8) entered the 

CYA (Children’s and Young Adult 

Writers) Conference Competition 

for unpublished writers, which is 

sponsored by Penguin Books. This 

was Eneh’s first experience in a 

writing competition and she must be 

congratulated on the complimentary 

comments from the Judges and for 

her high percentage score of 80.45. 


Future directions for the 

Library Resource Centre 

Many school libraries are facing 

new challenges as we become 

increasingly dependent on 

technology and digital solutions. 

Most teacher-librarians and library 

staff are currently implementing 

changes to demonstrate best practice 

designs in their school libraries. In 

the development of its 21st century 

vision, Ormiston College Library 

sought the input of Kevin Hennah 

who hosted a workshop at our 

college. 

The name Kevin Hennah is 

synonymous with innovation in 

library design, layout, furnishings, 

navigation and signage at national 

and international levels. Kevin has 

visited over 800 libraries throughout 

Australia, New Zealand, America, 

Asia and Europe to offer practical 

advice that is sensitive to budget 

restrictions. Before he made the 

switch to libraries back in 2002, Kevin 

was the name behind excellence in 

store design, merchandising and 

branding with many top retail clients. 

When word was out that Ormiston 

College was to host Kevin’s first 

Queensland workshop for 2012, we 

were inundated by registrations from 

teacher-librarians all over Queensland 

and interstate, so much so that we 

had to offer a second workshop. 

Kevin’s challenges to traditional 

thinking really created a lot 

of audience participation. The 

suggestion that The Dewey Decimal 

System will become obsolete in 

favour of grouping library items by 

theme or category was certainly 

a controversial offering. Dewey, 

a proprietary library classification 

system created in 1876, is known and 

used by library staff in approximately 

200,000 libraries in at least 135 

countries. 

Kevin’s practical advice about the 

effectiveness of library shelving 

arranged in L-shapes, rather than 

aisles, was well received. L-shaped 

spaces facilitate group work and 

interactive learning. Kevin showed 

hundreds of slides to illustrate his 

points and to highlight cutting-edge 

trends in school libraries around 

Australia. 

The feedback from the two days, held 

in late October, was overwhelmingly 

positive with comments such as 

“probably the most informative, 

practical and inspiring workshop 

that I have attended”. We were also 

heartened to receive some wonderful 

feedback on Ormiston College itself, 

Attendees referred to our “fabulous, 

beautiful, fantastic [and] exceptional” 

facilities and our students were 

variously described as “confident, 

well-spoken” and “wonderful 

ambassadors”. One attendee said, 

“Your school is lovely and I was most 

impressed with the way that students 

conducted themselves. It made me 

want to send my own children to 

Ormiston College”. 

All of us came away from Kevin’s 

workshops inspired and re-energised 

with the challenge of viewing our 

libraries with fresh eyes. The injection 

of new ideas was timely for the 

library staff at Ormiston College 

and it affirmed our direction as we 

make a definite commitment to 

positive change for our library in an 

increasingly digital age. 

Julie Cass, Head of Library 


Speech Night 

A wonderful ending to a 

memorable year 

Speech Night always provides us 

with an opportunity to reflect upon a 

year in the life of Ormiston College. 

This year we experienced some 

superb student performances and 

world class entertainment in the form 

of Old Collegian, Mirusia Louwerse 

and we proudly celebrated a number 

of key developments that have 

defined 2012 for Ormiston College. 

These include: 

• Our best ever OP scores for the 

graduates of 2011, (93% of students 

achieved an OP1 to OP15) 

• A record number of students 

awarded prestigious university 

scholarships 

• Our highest ever College NAPLAN 

results, (best in Bayside, top 2% in 

QLD) 

• Overall Champion School in the 

Mathematics Team Challenge 

• A co-curricular program brimming 

with student participation 

• One of our strongest sporting years 

on record 

• Our highest number of student 

musicians (31) selected in the State 

Honours Ensemble Program 

• Strong student support for an 

increasing breadth of charitable and 

worthwhile causes, including our first 

community service abroad project in 

Nepal 

• Excellent Trinity College, London 

Drama results - the top performers in 

Queensland 

• Our biennial visual arts spectacle - 

the College Art Exhibition 

• Significant advances in the use of 

technology for learning 

• A magic and spirit-driven carnival 

• Extensive staff professional learning 

and development 

• OC's highest ever student enrolment 

• A new Ormiston College Health 

Centre 

• The construction of new Year 7 

classrooms 

• Our purchase of an additional 4.8Ha 

of land, bringing the campus to 

approximately 26Ha 

The outstanding success of our 2012 

College year is, as always, a factor of 

the spirit that lives within and drives 

OC's community. Next year sees the 

25th Anniversary of the founding of 

Ormiston College and, with many 

plans already in hand, it will be yet 

another spectacular year for our great 

school. 


Collegian Communicator 

Chantal joins the Board of 

Directors 

Chantal Le Feuvre (Class of 2002) 

completed the whole of her College 

education at Ormiston, having 

commenced in Year 1 and continuing 

through to Year 12. Apart from being 

a good academic student, Chantal 

was known as a very strong drama 

student. Her portrayal of the Witch of 

the West in the College production 

of the Wizard of Oz made a lasting 

impression on many. 

Following her graduation from 

Ormiston, Chantal commenced a 

Bachelor of Law and a Bachelor of 

Journalism, a dual degree, at the 

University of Queensland. Chantal 

also continued with her drama 

studies, receiving her Trinity College 

teacher diploma. 

Chantal graduated from University 

with First Class Honours in Law 

and was the recipient of the 2008 

Queensland Environmental Law 

Association Prize. Chantal is currently 

working as a commercial lawyer in 

the Legal Office of the University of 

Queensland. 

At the 2012 Speech Night, held at 

Chandler, the Chairman of the Board, 

John Miller, made the announcement 

that Chantal would be continuing her 

involvement with Ormiston College 

as a member of the College Education 

Board. 

Genevieve chooses 

international business and 

politics 

After graduating from Ormiston 

College, Genevieve Alexander 

(Medallion Student, Class of 2005) 

enjoyed a year working in England 

and has spent extensive time 

backpacking through Europe and 

South East Asia. 

While completing a degree in 

International Business at Queensland 

University of Technology, she worked 

for various small businesses and 

has been involved extensively in 

politics. Her passion lies in election 

campaigns, with involvement in both 

State and Federal elections. She 

currently works as a Policy Advisor 

for the Premier of Queensland. 

Genevieve was recently selected 

to represent Australia in a ‘Future 

Leaders’ study tour of Taiwan and 

spent ten days in late November as 

a guest of their government. While 

her school days are well behind her, 

Genevieve says she still remains 

in contact with many of her school 

friends and remembers the good 

times at Ormiston College. 



Blake receives the Rising 

Star Award 

Not surprising that past Captain of 

the Ormiston College 1st XVIII AFL, 

Blake Grewar (Class of 2010) has 

gone on to enjoy his sport. Blake was 

chosen for the Queensland under 

18's and under 21's sides in the North 

East Australia Football Competition 

(NEAFL). He was the chosen player 

of the match by the opposition team 

at the under 21's Carnival. At the end 

of the Competition he went back to 

playing for his local club, the Redland 

Bombers. He was then invited to the 

AFL State Combine Draft Camp in 

Melbourne, a privilege only afforded 

to a handful of Queensland players. 

Blake was recently the recipient of the 

Rising Star Award. 

Chelsea awarded Queensland 

Sports Officiator of the Year 

Chelsea Roffey (Class of 1998) 

was given the opportunity to act 

as umpire for school matches at 

Ormiston College which obviously 

gave her a taste for being a sports 

officiator. Chelsea was also a very 

strong music student and after 

graduation was accepted at the 

Queensland Conservatorium but 

at weekends she acted as umpire 

whenever the opportunity arose and 

soon moved into the big league. 

Chelsea umpired throughout the 

QAFL competitions for three years 

and in 2004 umpired her first game 

at the Gabba. After moving to 

Melbourne in 2007 she climbed up 

through the ranks to become the first 

ever female to officiate at an AFL 

Grand Final, which was held at the 

famous MCG this year. 

Chelsea happened to be alone in a 

Manhattan apartment in New York 

when Hurricane Sandy struck, leaving 

her without power until she was able 

to move. Chelsea was scheduled 

to fly to London to officiate an AFL 

exhibition match but her flight was 

cancelled; being the determined 

young woman she is, Chelsea 

managed to catch a bus to Toronto 

after lining up in the early hours of 

the morning and flying to London 

arriving there just in time for the 

game. 

The very latest news is that Chelsea 

has been awarded the Konica Minolta 

Queensland Sports Officiator of the 

Year (AFL goal umpire) at the 2012 

Queensland Sports Awards. 

Congratulations to Sheree on 

her engagement 

Earlier in the year, Sheree Smith 

(Class of 2006), celebrated her 

engagement to fiancé Matt, 

a qualified electrician. After 

graduating from Ormiston College, 

Sheree completed a degree in 

Business Management and Events 

Management whilst working part time 

organising events as secretary at the 

Motorola Solutions Group. Currently 

Sheree is working at the Courier Mail 

as an account manager for one of 

their magazines and loving her job. 

Our very best wishes for the future go 

the Sheree and Matt. 


Mirusia welcomed back to 


Ormiston College had the pleasure 

of welcoming back one of its most 

revered past students, international 

soprano, Mirusia Louwerse (Class of 

2002) as the College celebrated its 

2012 Speech Night in November. 

After graduating from Ormiston 

College Mirusia went on to study 

at the Queensland Conservatorium 

of Music. The quality of her singing 

was recognised early and locally 

with Mirusia being the first winner 

of the Redlands Eisteddfod’s Aria 

Competition in 2005. She was also 

chosen as the Young Talent on the 

2005 Golden Casket Lord Mayor’s 

Christmas Carols. However the 

biggest prize of all came in June 

2006 when Mirusia was announced 

the winner of the prestigious ‘Dame 

Joan Sutherland Opera Award’, the 

youngest winner ever. 

Mirusia toured the world as Andre 

Rieu’s leading soprano for five years 

and has had two number one albums 

and a platinum DVD. 

Students, staff and guest who 

gathered for the annual award 

presentation, were treated to a 

spectacular performance. Mirusia 

first sang the title track of her new 

album, ‘Home’ and later closed the 

evening with ‘Time to Say Goodbye’, 

which she had sung ten years earlier 

in her graduating year, on the very 

same stage at the College Speech 

Night. 

A Silver medal for Clare at 

the London Paralympics 

Among the many outstanding 

achievements celebrated at this year’s 

OC Sports Awards Night was that of 

Clare Nott nee Burzynski (Class of 

2004). After winning a Silver Medal at 

the London Paralympics in wheelchair 

basketball, Clare won a Bronze at the 

Beijing Paralympics and we are now 

hoping she will collect the full set at 

Rio. 

Melissa and Victoria 

representing their country in 

both sport and service 

Having graduating from Ormiston, 

Melissa Brooks (Class of 1998) joined 

the Army in 1999 and was discharged 

in 2004 to concentrate on raising her 

two daughters, Jaida Aliyah now (10) 

and Elysia Adelais (6). She then went 

on to serve as a reservist and recently 

re-enlisted back into the full-time 

Army. Melissa served a number of 

postings in Sydney and after 12 years 

she finally received a posting back to 

Brisbane, where she is working as a 

communications specialist. 

Recently Melissa toured the UK as 

a representative for the Australian 

services Rugby Union team with a 

fellow Old Collegian Victoria Dewar 

(Class of 2008). Melissa says “I recall 

her being at my year 12 graduation 

when she was Year 2. She is currently 

in the Navy. We won four games 

from four beating their tri services 

and their combined rugby teams. I 

have included a photo of both Tori 

and myself in our Australian Jersey in 

the UK. This is an extreme honour for 

both of us to represent our country as 

well as our service.” 

What a wonderful coincidence for two 

past students to meet under those 

circumstances and being able to play 

together and come away as winners. 

All part of the Old Collegian spirit! 



Kieran is living a very full and 

busy life 

After graduating 

from Ormiston 

College, Kieran 

Broome (Class of 

1999) completed 

an Occupational 

Therapy degree 

at the University 

of Queensland 

and went on to complete his PhD in 

the field of age-friendly community 

design. He now has the best of both 

worlds, working part-time as an 

Occupational Therapist in chronic 

disease and physical rehabilitation 

and part-time as a Lecturer at the 

University of the Sunshine Coast 

educating future generations and 

conducting research. 

"It was a tough career decision," he 

says. "On the one hand, I've always 

loved the sciences, but at the same 

to I couldn't imagine not being able 

to work closely with people, using 

creativity and compassion to help 

others." When not working, he runs 

half marathons, performs on aerial 

silks and trapeze, travels the world 

and relaxes with his love of playing 

music that he developed as a student 

at Ormiston College. 

A pretty heavy schedule for 

Mark 

On graduation from Ormiston 

College, Mark Broadmeadow 

(Class of 2005) received a Dean’s 

Scholarship to Queensland University 

of Technology (QUT) to study 

Informechatronics. Mark completed 

his undergraduate project in Industry 

with Surtek Pty Ltd in 2009 and 

graduated from QUT with an Honours 

degree. He then commenced a PhD 

in Power Electronics sponsored 

by Surtek and went on to receive 

the Australian Postgraduate Award 

and the Vice Chancellor’s Initiative 

Scholarship. In late 2011 he 

completed a Graduate Certificate in 

Research Commercialisation at QUT. 

Mark is currently undertaking PhD 

research and is working for RESA 

Electrical Manufacturing Pty Ltd part 

time. He is also engaged in sessional 

lecturing in Electronic Engineering at 

QUT. Mark is 

a member of 

the committee 

for the 

Queensland 

Chapter of 

the Electrical 

Energy Society 

of Australia 

(EESA). 

Old Collegians gather to be 

part of Gareth’s special day 

On 28 April, a very wet Saturday, 

Gareth McNab (Class of 1999) married 

Clare Taylor at Sirromet Winery. They 

were assisted by Jacklyn Taylor, 

Kaithlyn McNab (Class of 2003), 

Rachel Westgarth (nee Lloyd) Tim 

Bates (Class of 1999), Sam Thompson 

(Class of 1999) and Nathan Westgarth 

(Class of 1999). 

Gareth is currently working as Digital 

Marketing Specialist at Onetest, 

a Brisbane psychometric testing 

company. His new wife, Clare, is an 

HR Advisor and runs her own Market 

Stall – Tea and Whimsy. Gareth’s 

sister Kaithlyn, since graduating 

from Ormiston, has spent a lot of 

time travelling to numerous overseas 

locations and is currently working for 

Escape Travel. 

Tim Bates is an Executive (Loan 

Syndicates & Agency) at ASB 

International (Auckland NZ) – ASB 

is the New Zealand branch of the 

Left to Right: Nathan Westgarth, Sam Thompson, Tim Bates, Gareth and Clare, 

Jacklyn Taylor, Kaithlyn McNab, Rachel Westgarth 

Commonwealth Bank. 

Nathan Westgarth is Project Manager, 

Research Tools at Digital Science 

(London) – Digital Science is a 

learning arm of Macmillan Publishing. 

Sam Thompson is Project Manager at 

Logica (Large IT Projects). 

Gareth and Clare were thrilled 

that his close Ormiston College 

classmates were able to arrange their 

lives in order to be in Australia for 

the wedding. A Pacific Cruise was 

chosen for the honeymoon trip. 

We all wish Gareth and Clare a 

wonderful future. 


We have just been informed that 

Jacqui Jones (Class of 2006) 

Medallion Student and Captain of 

her year, has just been accepted 

into the Bachelor of Medicine 

and Bachelor of Surgery at the 

Australian National University, 

commencing in 2013. Wonderful 

news, congratulations. 

The 10 Year Reunion of the 

Class of 2002 

Aaron White, Cameron Ho and 

Chantal Le Feuvre were the 

Committee behind the success of the 

10 Year Reunion of the Class of 2012. 

I asked Aaron to give a brief outline 

of the event. 

“Ten years on and with the assistance 

of Social Media, the reunion for the 

Class of 2002 was planned, prepped 

and publicised for Saturday 6th 

October and what better location 

than the Somerset Sports Centre at 

Ormiston College. Despite several 

past students living around Australia 

and even the World, it didn’t stop 

them attending the momentous 

occasion. 

“To kick off the proceedings Mrs 

Merilyn Walsh proudly showed-off 

the school’s newest buildings and 

features to some of the students 

in a Twilight Tour of the grounds. 

We were also grateful for Mr 

Brett Webster’s attendance on the 

night, and to hear about future 

developments planned for the 

College. 

“Much had changed yet other things 

remained the same. Many laughs and 

memories were shared throughout 

the night and before we knew it, it 

was time to leave. I’m sure all those 

who attended will agree that it was 

great to catch up and thoughts 

have already been cast to the next 

reunion. A special thanks must go to 

those who contributed towards the 

success of the evening and Ormiston 

College for hosting such a wonderful 

evening.” Aaron White 

Share with us in ‘Celebrating 

25 Years of Education’ in 2013. 

Ormiston College will be celebrating its 25th year and we would love to have 

the company of our Old Collegians and their families. There will be many 

events to mark the occasion; the first is to be a mammoth family picnic in the 

Junior Courtyard on Saturday, 16th March, 3.30pm to 7.30pm. We invite the 

whole College community, current families and staff, Old Collegians, Parents of 

Past Students and friend of the College. Please watch the website for dates of 

the various celebratory events. 


Our 

community

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