This week we celebrated our Boarding community as part of National Boarding Schools Week. The Boarders themselves took ownership of the week and its activities proudly showcasing the multi-faceted aspects of boarding life.
St Peters has always been a Boarding school, in fact the original 56 students who commenced way back in 1945 when St Peters opened were all Boarders. Throughout most of the first 30 years of the College’s life Boarders outnumbered the Day students. Changes in society meant that from the 1970s onwards this changed and Day students gradually became the majority of the College’s enrolments.
In 2023 our Boarders come from places near and far, ranging from metropolitan Brisbane to regional Queensland, rural Australia and overseas including PNG, Singapore, Hong Kong and China.
St Peters is unique in that it is a co-educational Boarding school meaning that brothers and sisters can be educated together. It is in the diverse setting of Boarding that our young people learn to live in community, building friendships that will last them a lifetime, whilst at the same time developing independence, resilience, character and values.
Some things about Boarding at St Peters have undoubtably changed over the decades and yet the essence of it has not. This is clearly apparent as I move amongst the Boarders, a sense of belonging and collective purpose is evident within an atmosphere of care, which helps to make St Peters Boarding ‘a home away from home’, just as it was for our founding Boarders 78 years ago.
Tim Kotzur Head of College
Ministry
Flying Kites – The Life-line
God will cover you with his wings; you will be safe in his care. (Psalm 91:4)
Kites are wonderful to watch in flight. When did you last go out to fly a kite? Have you done it recently?
Isn’t it fun to watch the kite leap and dive as they dip down really low until they almost ram into the ground, before suddenly swooping and climbing up higher than ever before. But have you thought about what restrains them? Rather remarkably, all that keeps them under control is a thin cord. Think of how it feels when you’re the one holding the cord. You can feel the enormous pressure that is exerted on the kite, as the cord jerks around in your hand you realise the kite is being buffeted around by all sorts of strong and maybe even destructive winds.
Sometimes, we’re a little bit like a kite. We too bravely strive to fly high and fast and as beautifully as we can. But large pressures can be exerted on us by all sorts of destructive or difficult situations. We can feel worried or unable to cope with the things that are thrown at us and the situations that buffet us. Are we like a kite in that we too have a control line that we can rely on?
God’s love for us is in Jesus Christ. God’s promise to us is that he has our safety line firmly in his hand and he will keep a strong hold even in the dips and high swoops of our life. No matter what happens, he promises to keep a hold of us and protect us and we know we can go to him if we’re feeling down or unable to cope.
If you feel down and unable to “bounce back” (or swoop back up like a kite), talk to God and let him know how you feel. Because as you talk to him, you realise that he has you safely in his hand helping you to get up again.
Dear Jesus, your promise to be with us is truly amazing. Thank you for always keeping a hold of us and helping us when we’re feeling down. Please help us to talk to you when things aren’t going well and help us to look out for others around us too.
Amen
Kirstin Munchenberg Chaplain
Around the College
Success at Ethics Olympiad Australia
Last Thursday 11 May, the two Senior Ethics teams met in the Centre for Learning and Innovation studios to compete online against teams from all over Queensland. The students enjoyed their new environment and the excitement was palpable.
Their thoughtful, knowledgeable and intelligent discussions were very well articulated and their teamwork was exceptional. Congratulations to St Peters Grey (Noah D, Luke T, Josie B, Abbey C and Holly H), who came fourth and to St Peters Green (Nils SJ, Andy H, Matthew BL, George W and Elim M) who received an honourable mention for exceptionally ethical manners
Anni Gold Gifted and Talented Coordinator
UQ Philosothon
On Saturday, May 13, sixteen students from Years 7, 9 - 12 represented St Peters at the UQ Philosothon. They gathered with students from schools across Brisbane to explore the theme of Artificial Intelligence.
Students used Socratic circles to explore such questions as:
How can we tell if a species is intelligent?
What is it about humans that gives them more rights than other organisms?
Do we want AI to have emotions?
In an age of AI, what is the point of education?
Our students contributed thoughtfully to discussions, listened and added to conversations and collaborated to reach intellectual consensus. Their delight in sharing such rich conversation was joy to behold. I look forward to exploring further ways to nurture this in our community.
Anni Gold Gifted & Academically Talented Enrichment Coordinator (P-12)
National eSmart Week
Primary Years
Pre-Service Teachers In The Primary Years
As part of their professional service, teachers often volunteer to host pre-service teachers in their classrooms. St Peters teaching staff support student teachers from a wide range of local, interstate and overseas universities. At first glance, the benefits of this relationship might appear one sided, as our pre-service teachers gain professional insight and experience from some of St Peters outstanding classroom practitioners, as well as becoming a temporary part of our wonderful St Peters learning community.
Benefits of this association are, however, considerably more collaborative. Host teachers, our students and pre-service teachers all reap the advantages of this relationship. When teachers host a preservice teacher, they reflect regularly on their daily practice as they are observed and questioned by the trainee teacher. This serves as a source of continuous professional development which highlights and encourages best quality practice for classrooms. Pre-service teachers also bring to the table, fresh perspectives and a familiarity with latest research.
Pre-service teachers begin their professional experience with many days of observation, note taking and questioning. This is followed by supported planning and teaching where the host teacher is ensuring the classroom program and operation continue at a high level. Towards the end of the experience, pre-service teachers often take the class for a whole session or a whole day under the direction and supervision of their host teacher. While the host teacher is heavily involved in observing and guiding their mentee, this situation also gives the opportunity for the class teacher to observe their own students in a unique way, providing more depth to their understanding of students.
At St Peters, we are fortunate to have staff and systems in place that support our host teachers and pre-service teachers and we look forward to many more years of productive relationships with universities and pre-service teachers, that benefit our children and staff in unique and immeasurable ways.
Lisa Challenor Head of Primary Years
How’s your relationship with challenge?
Challenges are the pathway to growth. When our children habitually avoid challenges, their learning stalls. When they learn to understand, value and embrace challenge, their learning accelerates. So, helping our children develop a healthy relationship with challenge becomes one of the most important ways we can help them become better learners.
How does your child respond to a challenge?
Does your child avoid a challenge, seeking their 'path of least resistance' in learning?
Or do they select the challenges they know they can do? Looking like they are working hard, but secretly avoiding mistakes by not taking on anything too challenging?
Maybe your child takes on challenges because the teacher tells them to. They follow the teacher’s instructions and are lead through challenging tasks.
Perhaps your child takes on challenges because they need to. They have something they want to achieve, a goal in mind. Their relationship with challenge is born out necessity so they can reach their goal.
But imagine if your child embraced challenges. In the spirit of JFK when he said “We do these things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard!” Imagine when they were given the choice of doing something hard, or something easy, they’d choose the more challenging task, because they understood that challenge is the pathway to growth.
Becoming a Skilful Learner
How our children respond to challenges is a key element of what I call Learnership™ – the skill of learning. Learnership is a skill developed over time. It helps our children (and us!) to get more out of every learning opportunity. Most importantly, Learnership is something we can teach our children that helps them to thrive both in school and life.
Dr Justin Coulson
The Arts
St Peters Strings - Music Tale 2023 | Friday 9 June, 6:30pm
Prepare for a spooktacular musical adventure as St Peters Strings presents 'The Stroke of Midnight,' an Addams Family-inspired performance that will leave you on the edge of your seat.
Be immersed in the enchanting tale of Wednesday and Prince Dashwell as they unite to save the world once again from a sinister plot. With a perfect blend of music performances by St Peters String Ensembles and creative storytelling and acting by Year 10 student Delilah B and Old Scholar Nicholas Hargreaves (2021), experience the magic of live music as it weaves its way through the captivating narrative.
Bring your family and friends along and be swept away by the incredible talent of our St Peters Strings ensembles, as they bring the 'The Stroke of Midnight' to life. It's an evening that promises to be both entertaining and bewitching!
CLICK HERE to book your tickets now via Eventbrite.
Arts Notices
Spectrum
The exhibition features work from Years 7 - 12 and will run during the Kaleidoscope season in the Performing Arts centre foyer.
The Spectrum Event for Year 12 is on Sunday May 21.
All are welcome.
Brookfield Show
This weekend 16 St Peters students will exhibit artworks at the Brookfield show.
Make sure you look out for this wonderful talent!
Ms Julie Seidel Curriculum Leader The Arts
An Afternoon at the Movies
Join us for the St Peters All Bands Concert on Sunday 4 June, from 3:00pm to 6:00pm!
Get ready to be swept away by iconic music from some of your favourite movies, as our concert bands, stage bands, jazz combos and percussion ensembles take to the stage to perform unforgettable repertoire from Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Frozen, Mulan, Spider-Man and more!
The afternoon begins with an outdoor concert in the PAC Amphitheatre, where you can listen to captivating music while enjoying food and drinks available for purchase from the PAC Servery.
During a short interval, we'll move into the Dron Auditorium, where the celebration of movie music will be elevated with eye-catching visuals.
Don't miss out on this extraordinary musical experience! To book your tickets now via Eventbrite CLICK HERE.
Sport
Boys Sport
As we now approach the midway mark of our Term 2 AIC sports, it has been pleasing to see our boys showing such resilience given all the poor weather we've experienced and so many cancelled training sessions and games. St Peters has achieved some great success across all our sports to date and it's vitally important that all teams remain focused on completing the next four rounds of AIC sport strongly and with commitment and enthusiasm.
For most of our teams, this Saturday we will play Marist College at Home at St Peters Lutheran College. Traditionally, competing against Marist College has always been very competitive, displaying a high level of energy from both Colleges. This weekend will be no different.
We encourage all our St Peters community to come along and support our sporting teams this weekend as we are confident that there will be some exciting games of AIC Chess (Friday evening 19 May), AIC Rugby and AIC Football.
Saturday will also be Focus Round for Rugby led by our Sport Leaders.
We wish all our teams and students every success this coming weekend as they don the St Peters maroon, white and gold to uphold our Plus Ultra!
AIC Chess Round 4 Games Friday 19 May
This coming Friday, St Peters Chess will compete Away to Marist College in their fourth fixture of the 2023 AIC Chess season. All Chess games verse Marist College will commence from 4:00pm at St Peters Lutheran College. Please refer to the St Peters App for details about training times and games for Term 2 AIC Chess.
This Saturday St Peters Football teams will compete against Marist College in Round 4 of AIC Football. Years 9 - 12 (Open) teams will be ‘Home’ at St Peters whilst our Years 7 and 8 teams will play ‘Away’ at Marist College. We request everyone to please check the St Peters App for game times and details. Please also check the app for any cancellations.
This coming Saturday our St Peters Rugby teams will also compete in rugby games against Marist College with Seniors Home at St Peters Lutheran College and Juniors Away at Marist College. We request everyone to please check the St Peters App for game times and details. Please also check the App for any cancellations.
The 2023 AIC Championships will be held on Wednesday 31 May at Curlew Park, Sandgate. St Peters will be attending one AIC Lead Up Cross Country meet in the final weeks preceding the AIC Championships. This final preparation Lead Up Meet will be conducted on Wednesday 24 May at St Patrick’s College Playing Fields, Curlew Park, Sandgate.
We request that all boys ensure they are fully committed to attending both training and the one lead up race prior to the AIC Cross Country Championships on 31 May 2023.
We still welcome all boys from Years 7 - 12 to get involved in our Cross Country program or the social Runners Club.
Training times and our Cross Country calendar can be found on the St Peters App.
Term 3 AIC Sports – Basketball, Tennis and Track & Field
All boys from Years 7 - 12 have now received emails about signing on for the AIC Term 3 sports of AIC Basketball, AIC Tennis and AIC Track & Field. We strongly encourage any boy in Years 7 - 12 who has not signed up for a Term 3 sport and wishes to participate to do so ASAP. Term 2 preseason training for boys’ Basketball and Tennis is set to commence in the coming weeks. Boys involved will be notified and the training schedules placed on the app.
Term 2 Track & Field pre-season skill development has already commenced, please check the St Peters App for times and venues.
Wet Weather and Cancellations
With regard to wet weather and any unforeseen or potential cancellations of AIC sports, please ensure that you keep an eye out for notifications and alerts via the St Peters App.
Term 2 AIC Sporting Coordinators – St Peters Boys Sport
If the sport specific information you are looking for, in relation to Term 2 AIC sports for St Peters, cannot be found on the St Peters App, please contact the below sport specific sports representatives directly:
The AIC Sporting Calendar for 2023 can be found on the St Peters App.
Girls Sport
Congratulations to the following girls on their outstanding achievements.
Australian National Rowing Championships – Champion Lakes, Perth WA
Congratulations to Eva H (Year 11) and Poppy Y (Year 10) who competed in the Australian Rowing Nationals in Perth late in Term 1.
Eva competed in the U17 double scull winning a silver medal, in the U17 quad scull placing fifth in the A Final and in the U17 single scull placing 9th.
Poppy competed in the U17 quad scull finishing 10th and the U17 double scull finishing 11th.
The girls competed in some of the worst weather conditions at a Rowing Nationals in living memory, with enormous head wind conditions which halted racing on numerous days. We are so proud of their achievements and are delighted to have them both back in the SPLC shed preparing to race the BSRA season in Term 3.
AUTUMN FIXTURE SPORTS – BASKETBALL, FOOTBALL & TOUCH
As we approach the end of the season, it is important to finish strong and complete all commitments to our in-season sports.
Rescheduled Games
Round 7: Football, rescheduled Open Team game v BSHS - Wednesday 24 May, 4:00pm at BSHS Playing Fields, Fursden Road, Carina.
Round 9: Junior Football, 8A, 8B Touch & 8A, 8B Basketballv v St Hilda’s - Monday 22 May at St Hilda’s, families have been emailed details.
Date Claimers: Round 9 v St Hilda's (Gold Coast) - Friday 26 May.
Two sleeps to go! Let's go girls we know you'll do us proud!
The big day of competition for the 2023 QGSSSA Cross Country season is this Saturday. Mrs Schreiber has emailed all the girls in the team, buses will leave the St Peters Bus Stop at 6:30am to take the girls to John Paul College, Daisy Hill. It is important the girls travel together to the event as a team. Parents can take girls home after their race or buses will return to school at the completion of the competition at approximately 1:00pm. The QGSSSA Cross Country Championships are always a fun filled morning where every member of the team supports each other in running 3km. Please support our 2023 QGSSSA Cross Country runners, we look forward to cheering you on.
QGSSSA Cross Country breakfast break up – This Friday morning, 19 May, 7:00am at the P & F Centre.
Run Club is on every week! Join our running community on Friday mornings, meet at 6:30am at the St Peters Bus Stop.
Winter Fixtures - Netball, Volleyball, Hockey & Tennis
Pre-season training sessions for all our Winter fixture sports have commenced this week. Numbers are amazing in Netball, Volleyball and Tennis, Hockey is looking for a few extra sign ons so they can make 3 teams, please contact Mr Glass for further details.
All pre-season training schedules can be found on the St Peters App.
It continues to be fantastic to see all the girls on the water both in the mornings and afternoons, as well as in the gym. As we approach the middle of the term, can I please remind families that consistency of attendance both on the water and in the gym is crucial in preparation for the upcoming rowing camp and the regattas next term. More information is coming later this week by email so stay tuned. The more time the girls can spend on the water as crews and individuals in single sculls, the better and more prepared they are going to become for the regattas and the more fun they have in the long run!
BSRA Indoor Rowing Championships
Next Tuesday evening, 23 of May, we see the first Rowing competition for the 2023 year, the BSRA Indoor Rowing Championships at Somerville House.
All girls are required to attend this competition as supporters for the College, though not all will be participating.
The College will be providing a bus to and from Somerville house for all girls. Girls are required to be on this bus together, details below.
Departing the St Peters Bus Stop - 3:45pm
Returning to the St Peters Bus Stop - 8:30pm
Ergometer and Sculling Trials
Trials, within the context of the Rowing program, are undertaken based on three factors: ergometer times, sculling times and attendance/attitude to training. These trials are completed at the BSRA regattas, which are held on a Saturday in Term 3, each age group are divided into divisions (i.e. Year 8, Division 1, 2,3 etc). The goal of these trials is to place each girl into appropriate crews that will be competitive within these divisions at regattas.
Selection trials:
Round 1 – completed in Week 3
Round 2 – completed in Week 6
Round 3 – completed in Week 9 and the first day at Rowing Camp
If girls are absent and do not complete these trials, it makes it impossible to correctly place girls into appropriate crews. As always, if there are unforeseen circumstances, these will be taken into account and alternate opportunities provided to the maximum extent possible.
Girls Rowing Camp
The Rowing Camp is an integral event for the girls in a number of ways. Firstly, as a shed and community building event, the time spent away at these camps is a highlight as it is a fantastic team bonding time where girls are able to spend time and develop lifelong friendships, not only within their year level but from all year levels. Secondly, as an important fitness and technical foundation for the crews which leads into the BSRA regattas which start a few weeks after.
Camp this year is 17 - 23 June in Bundaberg. More information and sign on forms will be out next week.
All transport, accommodation and food will be organised for the girls with forms and costs are currently being finalised. Could I please ask families to put these dates in the diary for the girls to attend.
Thank you girls, it’s been another successful week of RG training. A fun filled, jam-packed afternoon!
This week we continued to work on choreography for all group divisions including body work and collaborations. The girls are progressing along beautifully.
Remember strong attendance for all students means stronger team performances on QGSSSA Competition Day.
Date Claimer: QGSSSA Rhythmic Gymnastics Competition Day - Friday 4 August
As always, keep up the great work, keep practising and of course keep smiling.
I look forward to seeing you all next Wednesday at training.
Please CLICK HERE for the Term 2 Athletic Performance & Development Training Schedule.
The schedule can also be found on the St Peters App.
If you would like further information on this wonderful opportunity to improve your fitness, please email Mr Leigh Smith.
DRESS CODE FOR WEEKEND SPORTING FIXTURES
When attending/watching other sporting fixtures (eg Basketball, Football or Touch), girls are asked to ensure they are wearing their St Peters Formal uniform or if they are playing, their St Peters playing uniform is allowed (PE Uniform or casual clothing is not allowed).
WET WEATHER SPORT CANCELLATIONS
Please keep an eye on the St Peters App for cancellations. We will endeavour to do this by 1:30pm for afternoon training sessions and 5:30am for morning training sessions. Updates for game days will also be provided, students will also receive an email.
Drinks and nibbles provided. Please note this is an 18+ event.
All proceeds from this event will be donated to Cancer Council Australia.
Ticket sales close 2 June at 10:00am so get in quick!
Nicola Britton Community Liaison Officer
Second hand uniform shop | Closed Thursday 18 May
The P&F Community Hub and Second Hand Uniform Shop is closed Thursday 18 May.
All of our volunteers will be attending Homeless Connect at the Brisbane Exhibition Grounds.
Homeless Connect is a one-day event run by Brisbane City Council which provides free services to people experiencing homelessness, or those at risk of homelessness.
We thank the P&F, Mr Kotzur, Mrs Delaney, Mrs Britton, Mr Thomson, Mrs Pienaar (Finance), our incredibly wonderful students, families and staff for their generous donations and support of this day. We’d also like to thank Mrs Osborne (SPOSA) and the Cricket PSG for allowing us to store all of the items in their space. We have filled the Cricket shipping container! From the sale of donated uniforms we have purchased over $8000.00 worth of warm blankets, nappies, baby formula and prepared 200 backpacks containing essential items for the homeless. We have volunteers knitting beanies and scarves. We have 1000s of toiletry donations from our SPLC community organised by our IB students. Special sensitive teeth dental hygiene products from SPLC parents in the profession and many, many more items.
Our St Peters Community is like nothing the organisers or our suppliers (like Big W) have ever seen and when we talk about our St Peter’s community they are amazed at who we are and we can all do as a community.
Your impact on our homeless is immeasurable.
On behalf of myself and Yvette Myler, and all the amazing HubStar volunteers every Thursday, we thank you.
The second hand uniform shop is open every Thursday from 7:45am - 11:30am at the P&F Centre near the swimming pool. Uniforms are in the green shipping container at the end of the car park.
We will be back Thursday 25 May.
Jane Burton Smith & Yvette Myler P&F Community Hub Coordinators
Business Directory
List your business with the St Peters Business Directory
If you're a business owner you now have the opportunity to showcase your business to the community through the St Peters Business Directory. This directory serves as a valuable resource for individuals looking for businesses in the area, and listing your business in the directory can help increase visibility and attract potential customers.
Take a look at some of the fantastic businesses we already feature:
Aston Air-conditioning is proud to be one of south-east Queensland's leading mechanical services contractors. Expert industry leaders in design and installation including maintenance of commercial and residential air-conditioning systems. To see their website CLICK HERE.
The Endodontic Group combines specialist expertise, advanced technology and a compassionate approach to treatment to give every patient the best possible experience and outcome. To see their website CLICK HERE.
Little Locals Auchenflower has just opened a brand new early learning centre in a converted church on Milton Road. As well as stained glass windows, a slide entrance and water play, the centre provides exceptional service to the families and their little ones in the local community. To see their website CLICK HERE.
The McHardy Group provide electrical services to residential, commercial and industrial clients - from simple repairs and fault finding to new build electrical design and installation. To view their website CLICK HERE
NAB Health understand the opportunities and challenges you face everyday, and by working exclusively with healthcare businesses and professionals across Australia, we're able to find you the best, most comprehensive financial solutions for your business. To view their website CLICK HERE
To list your business in the St Peters Business Directory please contact the Director of Community Engagement: r.thomson@stpeters.qld.edu.au
So, if you're a business owner be sure to take advantage of this valuable resource and list your business in the St Peters Business Directory. Click HERE to see other businesses already listed.
Future Vet Kids Camp
Future Vet Kids Camp is returning to Indooroopilly these upcoming June/July school holidays! We are all very excited!
We had many St Peters Students attend last year which was amazing! It's great to see so many future vets and animal lovers in the St Peters Community!
Full information for the Future Vet Kids Camp is contained below and their website can be found HERE.
