44 minute read
CULTURE & COMMUNITY
2021 has seen the continued outworking of the vision for Culture and Wellbeing. It is recognised that the collective wellbeing of all community members impacts organisational wellbeing, and this is central to not only each person fulfilling their individual potential but the College building a culture on Christ and fulfilling its vision and mission.
There has been a commitment to writing culture and wellbeing into the fabric of the strategic plan and the College priorities as we recognise this is critical to the future of our young people.
Habbakuk 2:2-3 says ‘Then the LORD answered me: “Write down this vision and clearly inscribe it on tablets, so that a herald may run with it. For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.’ A clear strategic direction committed to building culture has led to the expansion of teams across the College with a collaborative group of chaplains, counsellors, leaders and staff dedicated to embedding wellbeing into the day-to-day life of each of the Communities.
We know our young people are engaging in a world which requires a different preparation to past generations. As such, we are working to build capacity in their intellectual, spiritual, emotional and wellbeing domains. This very intentional focus on the whole child is essential to each child fulfilling the gifts and talents they have each been blessed with. This year we have also made targeted partnerships with School TV, RightNow Media, Stymie and several other organisations to enhance the expert information available to our students, staff and families. While statements like ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ can sometimes be considered clichés, there is an ever-increasing need for all members of community to work together to enhance each child’s wellbeing and their long-term success.
PROVERBS 22:6
JOY GEYER
KINGDOM CULTURE
PSALM 25:4-5
Hillcrest is a truly special community that proudly puts Jesus at the centre of all we do. As Chaplains we have a unique opportunity to support, encourage and empower students through all life can throw at us. Through another year that has had plenty of ups and downs, we can continually help students to fix their eyes on the hope of Jesus and the plans He has for us all. We love our Hillcrest students and who God has created them to be!
JLC - What a joy it’s been as we continue to celebrate Jesus and share his love with our youngest students. There’s enthusiasm and excitement each and every week as we join together as a JLC Community in our weekly Gatherings. The atmosphere of anticipation is heightened by lively worship, fun, relevant games and clear, inspiring messages. Each week a different JLC class takes leadership in our Gatherings, to encourage ownership of our weekly time together. This year we have enjoyed exploring how we can Lead Like Jesus, and be part of God’s Big Story revealed in His Word, the Bible. One of the highlights of 2021 has been our new JAM (“Jesus and Me”) lunchtime groups. In both Years 3-4 Jam and Castle JAM, we spend time celebrating God’s love in song and dance, followed by a special time of reflection on each weeks’ Gathering message. As we explore how God’s Word applies directly to us as His children, it’s a true blessing to hear our little ones speak from the heart, often sharing wisdom beyond their years. As a Chaplaincy team we consider it a privilege to present the truths and values of Jesus to our youngest students at Hillcrest. Witnessing their beautiful faith and boundless enthusiasm to grow, we are confident that the future of Kingdom Culture at Hillcrest is in good hands. MLC – In our first year of the MLC it has been incredible to see the culture forming, with opportunities for students to experience the love of Jesus. A highlight from this year was our MLC Easter Gathering where students were reminded of the greatest sacrifice in history made by Jesus, and His victory over death. A tangible presence of God’s love was experienced, and countless students responded to follow Jesus. As the year progressed with lockdowns, Learning at Home and changed plans, the message of hope in Jesus was always spoken about. It’s exciting to dream of how the MLC will look in years to come when students are all guided and encouraged by Jesus. SLC - As we dove into our word of 2021 ‘Impact’ and what that looks and feels like, we have once again seen the students attach themselves to the College Shield and our core values, and outwork these with impact to one another and beyond our amazing community. The year started with building further into our culture with our House camps. This saw many own what it looks like to be a student that is energised, equipped, and empowered into life. Following closely along was opening back up (post COVID) our key service and mission trips. We were overwhelmed by the students' responses, and we have seen 100 willing, servant-hearted students being sent out over four different opportunities to show practically, live out and share the love of God to many communities in and around Cooktown, Townsville/Palm Island and Sherwood Cliffs. It is such a privilege and honour to be part of an amazing College community that really values what it stands for. God bless,
Tim Cochran Nat Cochran Heidi Luxton SLC Chaplain MLC Chaplain JLC Chaplain
DIETRICH BONHOEFFER
STUDENT LEADERSHIP
JLC Student Leadership
Student Leadership in the JLC underwent a paradigm shift this year as we began to look at how we could redefine what it means to be a student leader in the PrepYear 4 landscape. We realised with the new structure of the College, the traditional leaders of the JLC were now part of the MLC. To start with, we did away with ‘badged’ positions and continued to have Castle Leaders in Year 2. This year our Castle leaders did an amazing job of being great role-models and champions of the playground. Then we began to ask questions like: Will we continue with Castle Leaders in 2022 and beyond? What is student leadership in JLC? And what are some new ways of thinking about Student Leadership in JLC? Time was spent with Year 3 and 4 investigating how students across the JLC could embed and demonstrate the Shield Values of Integrity, Respect, Courage, Service, Humility, Diligence and Discernment. We also investigated how our SECRET Skills could help us to be more effective leaders. Opportunities for student action and voice began to emerge in this new paradigm as we continued to work with students through a series of workshops. This finally led us to explore the concept of Student Agency seen through the lens of the Shield. 'The Lord is my strength and my shield' Psalm 28:7
What did we discover? That as students are educated, equipped, empowered and energised; each student can have a purposeful outlook on life, develop their voice and lead in many areas across the JLC and beyond. Next year students will have the opportunity to be part of various student action teams across the JLC to enhance student engagement, promote student voice and serve others.
Damien Taylor - Deputy Head of JLC Alignment
MLC Student Leadership
A key feature of the MLC's success is the active involvement of students in the life of the Learning Community. We offer a diverse range of leadership opportunities for all students to participate in, opportunities for new challenges, building selfworth and wellbeing through service-based activities and ultimately skills that affect their lives beyond the immediate College environment. 'Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.' Philippians 2:3 All MLC students are given the choice to actively participate in leadership opportunities and hence there are no badged leaders across the MLC. The student leadership program reflects our mission to empower our students to commit themselves to action, for a better society. This is modelled on our greatest leadership role model, Jesus Christ, and as such forms a core component of the Spiritual Domain that works through the Middle Learning Community. One of our aims is to provide a platform for student advocacy, an opportunity for students to voice concerns, solutions and opportunities. We strive to see our students in a true partnership with staff, so they can influence what happens to them in school, and become meaningfully involved in their own community. This year, students have had opportunities to lead MLC House competitions, talent quests, devotion groups, mentoring, environmental action groups, clubs and fundraising activities. They also planned and contributed to community celebration days, including ANZAC day, ‘Bullying - No Way!’ Day, ‘R U OK?’ Day, as well as annual sporting events including the Swimming Carnival, Athletics Carnival and Cross Country.
Michelle Pohlmann - MLC Head of Learning & Alignment
ALYSE NELSON
SLC Student Leadership
2021! What a whirlwind of a year! From Swimming Carnival to Pyjama Day, we have had an absolute blast experiencing the best of what student life at Hillcrest entails. The introduction of year level-based activities alongside the pastoral House system has unified the SLC, allowing for both year level and House groups to build relationships as we journey through Hillcrest together. As SLC Captains, it has been an honour and a privilege to lead the College and see it thrive throughout 2021. The theme for the College throughout the year of 2021 was ‘Know Thy Impact’. When beginning the journey through leadership late last year, we were questioned about the impact we as a leadership team desired to leave on the Hillcrest community. The idea that ‘every person has an impact’ has been a key discussion point, alongside the ways in which we impact others and ourselves. The theme of ‘Know Thy Impact’ has truly made us contemplate the ways in which our influence as leaders of the Hillcrest community impacts ourselves and others. This year as leaders, we wanted to highlight two of the College values: humility and service. In Romans 12:10, it says – ‘Be devoted to one another in love. Honour one another above yourself’. Our goal this year was to exemplify the importance of servant-heartedness, Christ-like humility and our love for the Hillcrest community through maintaining a heart on fire for the Lord and for helping others with no expectation of recognition but doing all things out of love. The year begun with the House Captains being ‘thrown into the deep end’, coordinating the annual Swimming Carnival and House Camps alongside the Heads of House within the first two weeks of the term. It was incredible to see the further formation of fellowship between year levels through the continuation of the vertical Life Group system and the camaraderie between House groups at various House competitions held by leaders throughout the year. A new addition to House activities this year was House fundraisers, in which money was raised to go towards Effective Aid and the various Mission teams who have served across the country. On a smaller scale, Life Groups have begun to serve each other: from pancake breakfasts to hand-ball tournaments and lovely handwritten cards, little acts of service toward members of the community have shown the appreciation students have for those in their House. Celebration Assemblies were introduced to highlight students’ gifts and talents including the SLC rock band, dance teams, choirs and sporting achievements. Alongside academic and co-curricular assemblies in the past, it was awesome to see the community getting together to celebrate individuals and groups who have worked diligently throughout each term. It was great to see students get involved with our first ever Pyjama Day, wearing their best flannels, Oodies or in the case of the Senior Leadership Team, their best onesies. The cohort of 2021 worked together to decorate the courtyard and encourage the student body to be involved for occasions such as this, including 'R U OK?' Day and 'Bullying - No Way!' Day. The Gathering Team organised Gathering events every Friday that are student driven, inclusive of a chapel band and an array of passionate students throughout all years of the SLC sharing the Good News of Jesus with their peers. This year, students have been diligent and adaptable with a mix of physical and online learning through the month of August, in which we gained a new respect for those who went into lockdown while so many of us were able to continue on campus. We are incredibly grateful to have hardworking teachers who constantly support us as much as possible. We feel truly blessed to have led the College throughout this year and we cannot wait to see the Leaders of 2022 continue building and shaping God’s Kingdom here at Hillcrest.
Amity Pink, Connor Johns and Lucy Winter
SENIOR LEARNING COMMUNITY STUDENT LEADERSHIP TEAM 2020 Jeff Davis (Executive Head of College), Jason Day (Head of SLC), James Colefax (Deputy Head of SLC), Peter Fernance (Deputy Head of SLC) Arno Coetzee, Keily Hudson, Dale Adams, Tracey Adams (Heads of House)
FRONT ROW Kyle Winter, Connor Johns, Amity Pink, Lucy Winter MIDDLE ROW Nathaniel Stojic, George Dendy, Alexander Nunnink BACK ROW Emily Carroll, Olivia Karger, Abbey Gibbs, Hugo Vitiello, Jing-Zhi (Alex) Zhou, Annalise Daniel, Mia Atkin
CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Duke of Edinburgh 2021
This year 32 students chose to start, work on and/or complete their Duke of Edinburgh Awards. Bronze Award Level Tyler Adams, Emily Arnold, Savanna Brosnan, Eva Dekell, Abby Edwards, Charlize Firgaira, Laura Gregory, Asher Hammersley, Olive Kennedy, Elizabeth Kerr, Isabella Marcos, Lizzie Maynard, Mateo Pena, Jessica Powell, Grace Purnell, Tristan Schwartz and Emily Snowdon. Silver Award Level Emma Adams, Riley Bayldon, Lewis Carger, Alexis Chau, Jet Grimes, Lachlan Hammersley, Sophie Kent, Joseph Muller, Jack Seton, Jessie Duduc, Jed Gregory. Gold Award Level (completed in 2021) Abbey Gibbs, Zachary Gibbs, Jack Johnson, Sam Schooley Congratulations on an awesome job completing these awards! To finish the Bronze and Silver levels each student completed four Award sections. • Voluntary Service—get involved in the community and service to others. • Skills—build skills in something practical or creative. • Physical Recreation—football, basketball, dancing, surfing etc. • Adventurous Journey (x2)—discover a sense of adventure and do something challenging. For the Gold level, a fifth section, Residential Project is completed. We've had some amazing adventures this year. Bronze - bush walking at O’Reilly’s and Binna Burra. Silver - kayaking down the Tweed River and along the western shores of Moreton Island. Thank you to our AJ Supervisors and volunteer Supervisors Athol Henderson, Steve Baddeley, Paul Wotton, Sharon Tobler, Fiona Brunckhorst, Cassie Prior and Craig McSween. As we come to the end of 2021 Mr Athol Henderson (who has lead Duke of Ed for nine years) will be stepping back. The College recognises the sacrifice of his personal time and the amount of effort that is required to coordinate and keep students motivated (not to mention keeping up with their logging). Thank you Athol!
Kokoda
Six Hillcrest teams, including 22 Hillcrest students and six Hillcrest staff/parents, took part in the Kokoda Challenge 2021. This was the second time our College has participated in this challenge, and the group spent many hours on Saturdays training for their long-distance hike. The students were Tyler Adams, Bradley Adams, Emma Adams, George Dendy, Carmen Fenton, Liam Fothergill, Mitchell Gant, Abbey Gibbs, Lachlan Hammersley, Mikayla Hawi, Sophie Kent, Hunter Landels, Hayley Luxton, Cambell McGregor, Tracen Nel, Tyler Overman, Amity Pink, Jaz Scott, Dylan Simpson, Brandon Tong, Karl WalkerGriffiths and Keeley Whitwell. Staff and Parents: Adam Marks, Josh Yarrow, Stephen Fothergill, Michael Hammersley, Jen Lavigne and Paul Adams. Our tenacious teams completed either the 96km or 48km track through the gruelling Gold Coast Hinterland, and every participant demonstrated the Kokoda values of 'endurance, courage, mateship and sacrifice.' We congratulate our students and staff/parents for demonstrating real grit and determination, as they pushed through the difficult moments to cross the line having victoriously conquered this physically, mentally and emotionally demanding mission. The Hillcrest teams trekked in support of the Kokoda Youth Foundation which raises funds for disadvantaged youth in Australia, and they collectively raised over $11,500 for the cause.
Fuse Cup
The year 2021 has seen an explosion in the growth of esport across the College. Apart from continuing with our involvement in the international FUSE Cup esport competition, an esport program was introduced in our after school co-curricular program. The aim of the program is to provide students with an opportunity to participate in a safe, supportive and structured national esports competition while developing positive gaming behaviours and digital wellbeing. Within the FUSE Cup competition, we had over 300 students across the MLC and SLC trial out for a spot to represent our College, and we want to congratulate Amelia Ballaban (Year 5) who came second in the QLD State Final of the Just Dance competition, whilst Josh Rouse (Year 5) and Leon Tarabrin (Year 6) teamed up and placed second in the QLD State Final of the Rocket League competition. At the time of writing this article, we have two teams (Zachary Thomas and Ryan Baker - Year 8; Finn Mackenzie and Nicholas Salanitri - Year 8) who have progressed to the semi-finals of the international Mario Kart competition, involving 72 Teams having competed from five countries across 14 cities. We actively promote the values of integrity, strength, inclusion, and teamwork throughout all aspects of esport, whilst providing students with a fun, challenging, supportive and rewarding experience.
Sparks, Flames and Explosions
Sparks, Flames and Explosions has seen some growth in 2021 with students taking part in a range of sports and activities at the College including AFL, Soccer, Tennis, Netball, Basketball, Chess, Art, The LAB 2.0, Esports. The Prep–Year 6 program has created a consistent foundation for sports and activities for the younger members at the College.
Thursday Activities
The students in Years 7-11 operate in an internal sport and activities program each week on a Thursday. The students have the opportunity to not only participate in a sport they love but many other activities outside the normal College sport offerings like Surfing, Mountain Biking, Skateboarding activities as well like Dance, Drama, Cheerleading, Chess and Photography. The students that do select a sport like Netball, Touch, Rugby and Futsal have the opportunity to play friendly games against various schools throughout the year and various school organised carnivals.
CO-CURRICULAR SPORT
Hillcrest Netball Club
2021 has seen another great season of club netball. Hillcrest Netball continues to achieve their mission of building confidence, leadership, acceptance and a sense of belonging. Our senior students have done an amazing job again volunteering their time to inspire, encourage and support the younger players through coaching and umpiring. In 2021, the Hillcrest Netball Club had five teams, three of them in Netsetgo. These teams train every week at Hillcrest and then compete on Saturdays at the Hinterland Netball Association. A major highlight is seeing our SLC students give up their time each week to pass on their skills and passion to the younger players. Paige Diven, Chelsea Geddes, Sarah Geddes, Kyla Whitwell, Juliet Wilson and Lucy Carstairs. We also have two amazing parent coaches Megan Gregory and Siobhan Thomson who have volunteered their time. The Club could not operate without our amazing volunteers. Both our Junior teams are looking to finish in the top four and will make it through to the Finals. Well done to all the teams.
Hillcrest Netball
This year Hillcrest sent two teams to compete in the Indoor Secondary Competition and the Vicky Wilson Netball Competition. The Vicky Wilson competition is the biggest school netball event in Queensland and schools from all over Gold Coast compete. There were some strong teams and we were extremely impressed not only with the talent of our girls, but the attitude and sportsmanship they displayed. The Junior team made it to their semi finals undefeated and were unfortunately knocked out by Somerset before the finals. Both teams played extremely well on the day and it was incredible watching them represent the College. The Junior team finished fourth at both the Indoor and Vicky Wilson Competition.
Primary Schools Cup
Years 5-6 Netball teams represented Hillcrest at Primary Schools Cup. The students played outstanding netball but more than that, they showed such incredible character. The kindness, inclusion, empathy and encouragement they shared with each other was truly inspirational. Our one team finished the weekend only losing one game and finishing on the top of their pool in their division.
Basketball
The Basketball program continued its vision into 2021 and saw amazing growth and development in the students. In Term 1 we continued to focus on individual player development and only moving into squad / team training sessions in Term 2. Even though COVID affected us playing in a number of games we did manage to organise some games against GPS schools in their byes which we are hoping to continue into 2022. The Senior students once again competed at the State Championships in September which were held on the Gold Coast. Our Senior girls dominated the tournament and made their way to the Grand Final where they won Gold therefore becoming the Queensland Basketball State Champions in the Molten CBSQ Open Tournament at Carrara. The Senior boys finished strong and placed 5th on Queensland. The Junior State Champs was a very competitive tournament and was the largest basketball tournament to be held on the Gold Coast. Over 160 teams competed over four days. The Junior Girls placed 5th overall, Junior Boys 13th, Sophomore Boys 9th overall and our Sophomore girls won Silver therefore placing second in the State for their age group.
Futsal
In 2021, Futsal continued to be a growth sport seeing many students enjoy the skills and competition that Futsal produced. The growth of the program in the JLC has seen the formation of a very strong U9 Boys team, U10 Boys and U10 Girls team, with more girls joining the program. A special mention goes to the U9 Boys, U10 Boys, U11 Boys, U12 Boys and U10 Girls' teams who have all qualified for the Australasian Champion of Champions tournament. Our U9 Boys and U10 Girls teams finished runner up, along with our U10 Boys, U11 Boys and U12 Boys teams finishing in 5th place. Many Hillcrest players were selected in the South Queensland representative team. Through the Futsal program, players skills were transferred across to the football team which saw students participate in the Bill Turner Cup. It is exciting to see Hillcrest's continued support of the futsal program.
Mountain Biking
This year the mountain biking students competed in the 2021 Gold Coast Schools MTB Comp held in Nerang State Forest. Students competed across three different trails against 200 other students from around the Gold Coast. It was fantastic to see the high level of participation from all our riders who attended, some for their first ever competition. The 2021 Sunshine Coast Schools MTB Competition took place at the Sugar Bag Mountain Bike Trails in Caloundra, Sunshine Coast. Eight of our Hillcrest mountain bikers put their heart and soul into trying to better their times on each of three exciting trails. Thanks to our parents and supporters for helping out throughout both competition days - Paul Pyyvaara for bringing his gazebo and helping secure a good team tent area as well as volunteering to Marshal at both comps; Mandy Borrelli and Judy Schooley for delicious food; Tony Bogatie for helping the boys out with some bike repairs and supporting students on the trails; Mike Robinson, Blair Schooley, Scott Adams and Mark Ley for shadowing the boys on the trails and Talisha Simmons for being our resident photographer and videographer in Nerang. Big thanks also goes to fellow coach Dale Adams for supporting the team.
Inter School Sport
It has been a terrific year for Hillcrest in the Inter School Sport competition. This is an opportunity for students to enhance their character, social skills, and community awareness through the vehicle of sport. Students engaged in all sports including AFL, netball, soccer, Oztag, T-Ball, cricket, basketball, touch football. In Term 2 and Term 4 students represented Hillcrest on the sporting field with pride. Our AFL Boys team was undefeated in Semester 1.
AFL
The Hillcrest Australian Rules Football program strengthened with continued success throughout the year. Under the supervision of Matt Lappin, numbers in Flames and Explosions grew, as did AFLX training for Years 4-6 boys. Our Years 5-6 boys had their best ever result in an ISS competition, remaining undefeated throughout the season and taking home the premiership. This success continued into the AFLQ Schools Cup making it past the second round. Our Years 7-9 students took part in the annual Livingstone Invitational AFL Competition. Our boys won two games and lost two. Our girls, keeping their twoyear undefeated run going, taking home another title and trophy. For the first time, we entered an all Hillcrest U13s girls’ team into the QAFL Gold Coast local competition playing for the Carrara Saints. Although only five of the girls had previous club experience, the team had immediate success in the trial matches and was placed into division 1. The girls were undefeated for the majority of the season and made the finals, losing by just a point in the semis. A big thank you must go to Keryn Hammersley for managing the girls. Once again Hillcrest students were included in representative teams. Joseph McKibben (Year 6), Sunny Lappin (Year 8) and Evy Reeves (Year 10) represented South Coast at the Queensland Schools AFL State Championships in Mackay with both girls making the Queensland state team.
PERFORMING ARTS
Choral
Come sing, Come be, Come belong “Singing is a very important part of the mental and emotional maturity of children. It is the best medicine that has an invaluable effect on human soul and heart. There is nothing more beautiful than a singing child.” The Choral program at Hillcrest has continued to provide a place of belonging for all students. JLC students have sung about minibeasts, bedtime stories, ducks, emus and performed beautifully at Easter and Christmas. Our Hillcrest Blokes shared the myriad of uses for duct tape and MLC students sang in 5/6MYC, 5/6 Chorale and 7/8MYC. These all-comers choirs are open to everyone and provide students with an opportunity to use their brain in different ways, promoting cognitive and executive functioning and supporting positive relationships. The inaugural ‘Bench Choir’ competition was launched in the SLC this year as our Senior Choir, where singers in Years 9-12 represented their house in our very first inter-house choral competition. Each team was led by Year 12 Choral Excellence students. The judges were incredibly impressed and big congratulations must go to the winning team, Greene! Their performance of ‘Better be Home Soon’ originally recorded by Crowded House was an absolute winner. Our Choral Excellence program grew this year with MANCHOIR joining the ranks. They joined Bel Canto and Bella Voce at the Mt Tambourine choral camp in February, where guest clinician, Paul Holley worked with each choir. Students had an amazing time of bonding both as musicians and friends. Poco Voce also continued to impress, performing at special events such as Anzac Day and Celebration evening. At the end of Week 7, Term 3, we farewelled our amazing leader, Ms Jenny Moon. What an incredible legacy of love, laughter, singing and music she has left us. Thank you for what you have taught us, the singing, but also that if you’re on time, you’re late! Thank you for teaching us the meaning of trust and for helping us to unpack the College values in the way we work together. You will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Drama
Theatre tells stories that help enact social change. Students talk about topics that sometimes seem difficult to tackle however theatre brings the audience into the experience. This helps the audience feel an emotional impact as if they were truly there. It starts a conversation with a message that changes perspectives. The aim is for the audience to leave a show feeling moved and inspired to incorporate the moral in their own lives. An actor has the important job of making the points of the shows clear and impactful. There are so many exciting projects for Drama students being planned for the future so stay tuned and start practicing! “The gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.” - Meryl Streep
Dance
2021 started with a record amount of dance auditions. With over 30 students joining teams across Years 5-12 we started with a full day of learning choreography and performing. Students were challenged and pushed in their dance ability. Hillcrest offers broadway jazz, contemporary, lyrical and hip hop. Our dancers practised routines for public performances, school assemblies, musical dance teams, eisteddfods, general assemblies and the Hillcrest Presentation Night. This year we entered the Future Star Dance Competition. Students performed their hearts out, displaying amazing talent, grace, and perseverance. “Dance this year has helped us seniors and given us the opportunity to connect better as a team and thrive in what we love doing.” Jade Eastwood
As Albert Einstein once said, "Dancers are the athletes of God" and this year we have truly seen God's light shine through our students and their incredible talent.
Instrumental
"Being a musician maps the human mind for success, success in all avenues of life. The learned skills needed to excel in music are transferable to every academic subject. Playing a musical instrument creates a multi-dimensional templateof-quality adaptable (and applicable) to every personal and professional challenge." Lautzenheiser (2010) Music triggers both the cognitive and affective mind. Students participating in instrumental music acquire and develop a desire for creative expression generated by their music-making. This was evident in student performances in numerous and varied instrumental ensembles this year. They demonstrated the ability to work with others, cooperation and flexibility in a communal environment, developed self-discipline, and extended their musical understanding and performance skills, which in turn, enhanced the ensembles upon which they were active members. The instrumental ensembles, Wind Symphony, Vivo String Ensemble, Volare Stage Band and SLC Rock Band saw great advancement and received great applause and recognition for their accomplishments at various College events and concerts. 2021 saw the commencement of new instrumental ensembles including the MLC Concert Band, MLC String Ensemble and MLC Rock Band. Instrumentalists in these year levels embraced these new opportunities, forming a strong foundation upon which students for years to come will look forward to engaging in, as they continue to progress and develop on their respective instruments. We are privileged to have the expertise and experience of professional musicians and musical educators that tutor our instrumental students either on an individual or paired basis. This enables students to enjoy a personalised musical journey, study Music as part of their academic pathway, embark on gaining the necessary skills to successfully sit practical music examinations, and be nominated for university-linked programs, such as the State Honours Ensemble Program held at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music. Congratulations and thanks must go to each music student and their tutors in helping to make Instrumental Music such an integral and fundamental part of Music at Hillcrest Christian College.
PLATO
ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT
Academic Enrichment opportunities were abundant in 2021, despite the impact of lockdowns and restrictions, and many students across the community participated in them. The opportunities varied from a diverse range of areas and involved many different competitions. Some of the big events included the World Scholars Cup, Readers Cup, Science and Engineering Challenge, Write a Book in a Day and the Ethics Olympiad. Other enrichment opportunities included the STEM Ambassadors, Debating, AB Paterson Public Speaking, QAMT, CyberTaipan, BEBRAS, ICAS, Author workshops and many more.
World Scholars Cup
In May we hosted the World Scholars Cup for the third year in a row, with over 170 students from nine schools visiting our campus for this two-day event. This international team-academic competition involves students competing in writing, debating, quizzes and a variety of other sessions. Hillcrest entered several teams from Years 5-11 and took away multiple medals, cups and alpacas. Hillcrest students did well across all the events, winning the Team Debating trophy in Junior and Senior divisions, as well as many individual trophies for some of the top performers.
Science and Engineering Challenge
The 2021 Gold Coast Round involved 32 students from Years 9-10 competing over a series of challenges against seven other schools. Our team did exceptionally well, finishing as runners-up and taking out the showcase bridge building event.
Ethics Olympiad
Late 2020 we participated in the Middle Years Ethics Olympiad and immediately enjoyed success with one of our teams qualifying for the Australasian Finals in March, where they placed 11th overall. In May two senior teams competed in the Queensland rounds and once again one of our teams finished as champions. This team qualified for the first ever International Ethics Olympiad Finals in July. The event featured 38 teams from five countries (Australia, NZ, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore) competing over Zoom. Our team did very well against high quality opposition from prestigious schools all over these nations. Congratulations to Laila Chequer de Souza, Jed Gregory, Luca Nathan, Torrek Elbeb and Jessie Duduc. Our team finished in 18th position overall, and also received honourable mentions from the judges. In June the first Junior Olympiad took place with a team of Year 6 students participating. In November a further two teams participated in the Queensland Middle Years Olympiad. Thor Hudson has been instrumental in coaching the students this year and developing their skills.
Readers Cup
In 2021 the annual Readers Cup expanded with Hillcrest becoming the host for the Years 5-6 and Years 9-10 Gold Coast Rounds. Both events were well attended by many schools, with excellent results achieved by Hillcrest teams. In May, over 100 students from across 26 Gold Coast schools came to Hillcrest to compete in the annual Year 5/6 Readers Cup. In preparation for the Cup, students were required to read five novels, and then were asked a series of questions throughout the night to test their comprehension skills. We are very proud to share that our Hillcrest MLC team, consisting of Cameron Hawley, Emily Tsymay, Maddie Berkowitz, Poppy James and Amelia Ballaban, won 1st place on the night. In the inaugural Year 9/10 Readers Cup the two Hillcrest teams did very well, finishing 2nd and 4th overall.
Write a Book in a Day
The annual Write a Book in a Day fundraiser for the Kid’s Cancer Project saw a record number of Hillcrest teams and students participate. There were 13 teams from across Years 7-12 and over 100 students spending 12 hours at school creating their illustrated children’s books. Each team was given a number of parameters and random words to include in their story. In the end they all created amazing stories with spectacular illustrations. The students raised over $4500 for the charity. These books will be shared with children across the country in various hospitals.
INTERNATIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY
INTERNATIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY - SLC Jeff Davis (Executive Head of College), Edward Enriquez (Director of International Students), Jason Day (Head of Senior Learning Community), Teresa McGuire (Teacher), Wendy Chidambaram (Administration)
FRONT ROW Sakura Noda, Minseo Kim, Jing Ru Kwong, Nene Oya, Heiman (Chloe) Tong, Jia jia (Lena) Li, Junxi (Jessica) Liu, Giana Ebert ROW 2 Hane Gari, Yuxin (Louis) Liu, Ayden Ebert, Moeno Masuda, Jing-Zhi (Alex) Zhou, Nono Toshikawa, Ziyue (Jonathan) Shi, Jaeyun (Nate) Chang, Jaeyoung (Leia) Chang ROW 3 Utano Toshikawa, Ryu Noda, Ho (Leon) Kwon, Yujun (Kevin) Kim, Kotaro Toshikawa, The Nguyen (Brian) Diep, Kosei Suzuki, Yuanning (Maggie) Dai, Po Tin (Franky) Wen, Yichen (Ethan) Rao, Pengqian (Benjamin) Dong, Jaewon (Jaden) Yoon, Halynn Kim BACK ROW Shi Yuen (Rain) Au, Lok Him (Gordon) Leong, Emmanuel Njongoro, Mingxian (Ricky) Cai, Qianxun (Cynthia) Wang, Zichen (Kerry) Huang, Tianyi (Eden) Xing, Yuhan (Jack) Liu, Houlin (Hollis) Zhao ABSENT Kam Fai (Eric) Lai, Suyoung (Aiden) Lee, Seung-A (Crystal) Shin
Despite our reduced numbers, the international cohort grew closer together, becoming an even tighter knit community in 2021. This year has strengthened their resolve for studying in Australia, it has made the reason for the sacrifices they and their families pay, even more imperative. In addition to the challenges Hillcrest's students faced during the autumn lockdown and Learning from Home, international students were also confronted with the difficulties of being away from their families and loved ones back in their home countries. They've had to navigate the uncertainties of the pandemic without the face-to-face support of their brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers. 2021 has highlighted again to all of us the importance and invaluable contribution our homestay families provide to not only our students but the entire Hillcrest community. Great treasures truly await them in Heaven for all they've done. Overcoming their many challenges, international students' contribution to the larger Hillcrest community was no less vibrant or dynamic in 2021. Alex Zhou (Year 12), the International Student Captain, eloquently spoke multiple times during Assembly, participated and engaged student leadership, and deepened international students' connection to mainstream students. In May, international students presented Japanese Children's Day. They decorated the SLC courtyard with koinobori (huge carp fish-shaped streamers), served bento lunch boxes to students and staff, and hosted the Kizuna Gold Coast Wadaiko all-women drum corps who performed traditional Japanese drum songs. Lena Li (Year 12) won an academic award for Chinese. Ricky Cai (Year 9) represented the Heat Hillcrest Knights Basketball team at the state final, winning the gold for 2021. And Leah Chang (Year 11) won the 2022 International Student Captaincy. As is the tradition of my report, I conclude a passage from Scripture and with the words and stories of international students themselves.
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40
"In 2021 I made a lot of new friends at Hillcrest and became more fluent in communicating with people as my English improved. I hope my English continues to get better in the future. This year I also befriended Ajha from my Life Group class. She's the best!" (Jessica L, Year 8) This year started challenging because of COVID and the lockdowns. I couldn't be as active as usual, the biggest impact was on all my basketball. My basketball team, Heat Hillcrest Knight and I had to make many changes to adjust. The season started with three straight wins. I had an ankle injury, which knock me out for a few weeks. The team suffered multiple losses and some injuries. Then the lockdown happened, temporarily bringing the season to a halt. When we got back, we won a few games and lost a couple. One of the most memorable games was when we were up by 26 points, but only won by three as we were overconfident. However, during our semi-final, we brought our best game back. We versed an undefeated team, which felt daunting. But we walked in as winners, played the hardest defence, and our best offence. And boom! Their undefeated season ended, and we advanced to the final, taking the gold medal home. I will always remember 2021 with the team and the Hillcrest community. (Ricky C)
PARENTS & FRIENDS
The Hillcrest P&F Association serves to build and maintain a strong relationship between the College, parents and its communities. Throughout the year, the P&F strives to create a sense of belonging for College families, coordinates social and other activities that celebrate the achievements of our students and College, and support Hillcrest by using funds to enhance the experience of our students. While we were not able to run our full list of events this year due to COVID restrictions, we still committed to the Mother's Day Stall, Father’s Day Stall, School Banking and O Day. On the last day of school in 2020 the P&F ran a JLC Fun Day with inflatable obstacle courses which was very popular and a great way to finish the year. We also funded the sausage sizzle as part of the SLC's last day of school celebrations. And finally, we supplied Hillcrest families with food hampers and family meals as needed to provide support and care to members of our community.
P&F Committee
President Summa Coleman Vice-President Kylie Da Ros Secretary Sally Nickless Treasurer Rachel Collins Committee members Mark Parry, Mel Henderson, Tracey Helling, Kristen Whittingham We appreciate every person who has served alongside the Committee this year and acknowledge the success of our events thanks to the support of the College and its wider community.
P&F General Meetings
P&F General Meetings are held every term and all Hillcrest families are part of the P&F Association. We encourage you to attend, either in person, or via our live streaming option. It is a great way to be involved, meet other families and speak directly to the Executive. All meetings are advertised in the College calendar and in our Facebook group. Hope to see you there!
Class Parents
The P&F work together with Class Parents to keep our College updated with community events, and to nurture and support our class families. A big thank you to our Class Parents who took on the role this year, and willingly volunteered their time and energy to welcome and encourage their class families.
New Parents Dinner
Our New Parents Dinner is a wonderful event held in Term 1 every year, where Executive and the P&F connect with families over a yummy, catered dinner in the SLC Courtyard. It is a perfect time to welcome and meet new families who have joined the College in the last year.
P&F Contributions
Every year the P&F votes on a large project to assist the College. We also fund Teacher Grants where teachers have the opportunity to apply for funds related to a passion or identified need. This year we funded new futsal goals, games and equipment for the MLC, new books for Years 3-4, cameras in the SLC and sanitary items for female MLC and SLC students.
CORETTA SCOTT KING
