In this issue

We live in the age of disruption.

The future your children will inherit will be very different than the world we live in now. A university degree, once a guarantee of a well-paid job, no longer ensures your child a career, let alone a steady income.

So how can we prepare children to thrive in a world where it’s estimated that over 20 per cent of today’s jobs won’t exist in just five year’s time? How do we prepare them for a work-life of multiple careers and job changes?

South African educator and author Nikki Bush believes that the future will belong to those who develop a broad range of personal capabilities rather than a narrow number of academic abilities. Bush has outlined five key personal factors that will help kids succeed in the future world of work.

These are:

1. Creativity and Innovation

With information being only a digital search away, knowledge is relatively easy to obtain in the digital age. The ability to think outside the square and find new solutions to old problems will be one of the most highly valued skills in the new world of work.

2. Love of learning

In a world where people working into their seventies and beyond will become common place, a degree of qualification obtained in the early twenties won’t guarantee continued success. The future will require people to be in charge of their own learning and be willing to continually upskill. Continuous learners rather than those who close themselves off to new ideas and concepts will thrive in the future.

3. Resilience

Life doesn’t unfold in a straight line. It never has, but the future of work will have more twists and curves than ever before. Kids will need to be resilient and flexible enough to cope with rapid workplace change and lack of security, as well as be able to manage risk to earning a living.

4. Self knowledge

Personal knowledge of strengths, capabilities and talents has long been a skill, that we’ve neglected to develop in kids. When the future is fluid and work continually changing, self-knowledge will become a passport to happiness and success.

Reassuringly, there is a great deal you can do as a parent to prepare your child to capitalise on the changing career and jobs landscape. Use Bush’s five personal factors for future success as a starting point as you ponder how to prepare your child to prosper in the age of disruptive change.

Related Webinar

Our school has a membership with Parenting Ideas. As part of this membership, you can attend the below webinar ‘Futureproofing your child’ at no cost. In this webinar Nikki Bush teaches parents what to expect and how to support their kids to thrive in a future world of work.

Click here for more information on the upcoming webinar.

How could we start this edition without featuring the $3.9 million STEM building? We are blessed to have such a world-class facility.

In this building you will find mathematicians who understand the patterns that surround us and use these to solve complex problems. You will find designers, who because of their empathy, create beautiful solutions. Our engineers will be applying their physics and maths abilities to implement solutions. You will find real products created for real audiences.

Our tools in the new building include drones, robotics, laser cutters, 3D printers and virtual reality.

We are forging ahead with partnerships with universities and peak industry associations to drive the innovation and relevance for our students in STEM.

The new building also houses our amazing Learning Support team and has expanded our undercover seating areas.

We invest heavily into the lives of our students so they face our ever-changing world with confidence. Our intention is that they care for, nurture and delight in this life and are always agents for the common good.

The year has already seen a number of very successful events:

• Dedication Service where we acknowledged our thankfulness to God for His provision
• Leadership Commissioning Service which focussed our attention on our corporate vision
• Swimming Carnival that celebrated a tremendous sense of house spirit.

I am very much looking forward to the upcoming Cross Country on Thursday, 12 March and expect to see all in attendance.

Last year, our school was chosen as one of the PISA tested schools in Australia. This is an international test of 15 year old students across the world. We have now received the results and they show Genesis is comfortably above like schools (the literacies they test are reading, mathematics and science). We are also on the upper end of student perceptions for school belonging, classroom climate and adaption of instruction to student need.

What a great start to 2020 we have!

Blessings,

Stuart Taylor

Head of School – Secondary

Myanmar Parent / Carer Information Evening 

 7pm, Wednesday, 4 March 2020

Are you interested in learning more about our annual trip to Myanmar? Parents of Year 10, 11 and 12 students are invited to attend an information session with our dedicated Myanmar team at 7pm on Wednesday, 4 March.

This 11-night trip is described as a life changing experience from many and is a meaningful and rewarding alternative to Schoolies for Year 12 students.

Students are provided a true cultural experience immersing themselves in life as a local in Myanmar, as well as some sightseeing and a few days in Thailand to finish the trip.

If you are interested in learning more about the itinerary, costs and payment plan options for the 2020 trip, or even thinking about sending students in the coming years, this is a great forum to learn more and ask questions.

Save the date through the Facebook Event here and register your interest to attend by emailing a.lyons@genesis.qld.edu.au

Anthony Lyons

Student Life Coach

Eden Eats

Eden Eats had a wonderful opening week and has now been available to our school community for three weeks.

Volunteers Required!

If you can spare some time and would like to assist us at our POS (point of sale) terminals, we would love your help – as would the students! The terminals are very easy to use – we promise!  Times where we need assistance are 10:50-11:15am and 12:40-1:30pm on weekdays.  If you can help at all – or would like to come along and see how easy it is before you commit, please email us at edeneats@genesis.qld.edu.au

Did you know?

• In our opening week we processed over 2,000 transactions!
• Our top sellers have been:
  1. Hot Chips
  2. Chicken Nuggets
  3. Sushi
  4. Breaka milk
  5. Wraps
• Students can access a free piece of fruit any time (no obligation to be buying at Eden Eats)
• Eden Eats is open before school from 8am, First and Second break, and after school until 3:30pm
• We have some wonderful breakfast and afternoon tea options for students and families – as well as the morning tea and lunch time offerings.

We make most of our delicious food onsite! Here’s Chef Ben whipping up his famous banana bread!

We look forward to continuing to serve our students and school community!

Curriculum News

Everyday Matters

The College is committed to providing excellent and relevant professional development for their staff. During the week prior to students returning to a new year, all new teachers were privileged to attend a one day in-service through Discoveries, which centred on Relationships @ Work.  There was much discussion between staff members regarding the importance of positive and cohesive relationships in the work environment and Discoveries presented a number of straightforward strategies that could be used should conflict arise in the work place, or indeed in personal life. Additionally all College Leaders and Pastoral Care attended workshops, tailored to the requirements of their roles within the College.

Habits of Mind

Costa and Kallick define Habits of Mind (HOM) as “a set of 16 problem solving, life related skills, necessary to effectively operate in society and promote strategic reasoning, insightfulness, perseverance, creativity and craftsmanship.” Understanding how we think and equipping ourselves with the tools to enable us to work through problems that may arise are essential skills everyone requires.  Putting these habits into practice so that they become routine and a part of our general vocabulary, is probably a little more difficult.  Please assist us in promoting these habits by adopting the HOM language and modelling these essential life skills at home.

Learning Extension and Enrichment

At Genesis, we believe that every child should be provided with the opportunities to develop to their full potential. Our aim is to extend and enrich students in one or more domains through:

• exposure to special programs and competitions,
• a differentiated classroom teaching approach, and
• the provision of a Learning Extension and Enrichment Program (LEEP), either as elective subjects in the Secondary School or special programs in the Primary School.

The identification of student ability and aptitude through a variety of diagnostic testing modes assists in the academic profiling of each student.  Each academic profile is built upon the results of diagnostic tests, including NAPLAN and Edutest, academic reports, psychological assessments (if available), performance in external competitions, and teacher recommendations.

A dedicated Gifted and Talented Team, together with classroom teachers, use these profiles to guide them in providing appropriately targeted and engaging academic support for identified students.

Read Every Day Program Commences

Formally known as Support A Reader this rewarding program is designed to assist Prep to Year 3 develop stronger reading skills in a fun learning environment. The program operates Monday to Thursday 8:30 am – 9:30 am and we are currently calling for volunteers to join us in 2020 to work one-on-one or in small groups with our readers. Flexible times to volunteer within the hour available.  Please join us at the Read Every Day information session to learn more about the program here and how you can be involved.  Register your interest to Gayle Solly g.solly@genesis.qld.edu.au or the sign on sheet in classrooms.

Secondary Assessment Calendars

Assessment calendars are published in Parent Lounge and Student Café as both a PDF and editable version.  Parents and students are encouraged to take a careful look at the calendars and plan accordingly.

Assessment for Years 7-10 can take a variety of formats such as research assignments, tests, practical activities, student folios and in-class tasks. In-class tasks will not be published on the assessment calendar as they are intended to provide a point-in-time indication of a students’ progression and feedback on student learning.  All assessment (in-class or other) makes up a student’s final semester grading.

Year 12 Academic Results 2019

An OP is a student’s position in a state-wide rank order based on their overall achievement in Authority subjects and indicates how a student has performed in comparison to all other OP-eligible students in Queensland. Students are placed within broad bands from OP1 (highest) to OP25 (lowest) that are used to determine tertiary entrance. High demand university courses are offered to students with higher OPs.

At the end of last year, the realisation of hard work and commitment has finally paid off for Genesis students as their journey of formal schooling came to an end.

We congratulate our class of 2019 on their results. May they each pursue their individual passions with the purpose and determination that has assisted them throughout their school life at the College. Our goal has been to encourage, challenge and nurture students so that they can pursue and reach their potential beyond school and become active and servant-hearted members of the workforce.

Congratulations go to Sophie Kingsford and Robert Burton for achieving an OP1. However, it is not only these two OP1 students that have reason to celebrate, with a large number of students from Genesis Christian College achieving an OP1-10 and many gaining entry into their preferred tertiary or after school pathway courses

Nichola Welsh, Di Todd, Fiona Hogan, Anne-Maree Kingston & Wayne van den Bos

Curriculum Team

Applications for Prep 2021 and Year 7 2021 close 31 March!

Apply now!

Application forms and the Application Process Guide, is available on the College website

Applications received after the closing date will be added to supplementary waiting lists and may still be considered for subsequent offer rounds for 2021 or future years.

Sibling Applications

Genesis families are reminded to enrol younger children/siblings as soon as possible, especially for Prep. As family life can become quite hectic, sibling enrolment can sometimes be overlooked and closing dates apply.

Attendance at Little Genesis Early Learning Centre does not automatically transfer to enrolment at Prep and a separate application to the College must be completed and directed to the Enrolments office.

Application forms are again available on the College website

Please contact our Enrolments office via email  or 3882 9000 for more information.

Lynn Swanson
Enrolments Registrar

The year has started strong, as curriculum and co-curricular Dramatic Arts students have immersed themselves in classes and rehearsals.

Our Dance Companies have been working hard in their weekly rehearsals, and the Juniors and Seniors are looking forward to their first competition at Everybody Sing and Dance Now in five weeks time!

Show Choir, Junior Dance Company and Senior Dance Company recently returned from a wonderful weekend away at Dance Camp. The students sweated it out in full day workshops and rehearsals with guest choreographers and enjoyed some fun games and activities in our night time sessions. The whole experience was a truly rewarding one for our students.

All of our students are putting in some serious hard work now, in the knowledge that they will reap the rewards of their labours in due course. We encourage all students to continue pursuing their passion with grit and determination and look forward to what comes next.

Emily Briddock

Innovation and Learning Leader – Dramatic Arts (Yrs 7-12)

Director of the Genesis Dance and Drama Academies

Care & Conduct – Primary

Welcome from our new Primary Care & Conduct Leader, Mr Paul Cobb

I started my teaching career back in the dark ages, teaching at a Primary school on the south coast of England, in a beautiful county called Dorset. My desire to become a teacher came from my involvement with church youth groups, camps and helping to run a children’s church.

Personally, I enjoy reading about history, a passion fuelled by growing up in the shadow of hillforts, castles, spitfire bases and even dinosaurs. No not real dinosaurs – I’m not that old! Just their fossilised remains. I also enjoy running and was a decent athlete in my youth. I like to relax by playing football (soccer) or watching rugby or the occasional T20 cricket game.

In my thirties, now with a young family and having taught in the UK for 14 years we felt ‘called’ as a family to move to Australia, to work in a new Baptist College just south of Perth in Western Australia. Working there for the past ten years, I have come to consider myself Australian and have grown to love this beautiful country and its people. One of my favourite parts of working in WA was developing and leading students on a truly life changing missions trip to the Philippines – it was incredible to see the impact the trip had on both the people we came to serve, and in the lives of my students.

My wife and I visited Brisbane for the first time some two years ago, we loved it so much that we encouraged our daughter to attend Bible College here; a year later, she is now enrolled into UQ and the whole family has moved across. Securing my new role as Care and Conduct leader in the Primary school was truly wonderful and I am so excited to come and be part of the Genesis family. I am excited about my role as Care and Conduct leader and count it a real privilege to be able to work with pupils across the whole primary age range. I have already learnt that Genesis has not only amazing facilities, but also has a staff that go ‘above and beyond’. I am looking forward to getting to know more about life in Brisbane, to discover more of beautiful Queensland and to help make a difference at Genesis.

Paul Cobb

Care and Conduct Leader

Primary Sport

We are off to a flying start in Primary Sport for 2020.

Swimming and Cross Country Captains

• We have had the pleasure of announcing 2 of our Sporting Team Captains for 2020
• Swimming – Ralph Nielsen and Alice Bell
• Cross Country – Manie Van Tonder and Ella Postle

  

  

  

  
  

NISSA 

• We hosted the 2020 NISSA Twilight Swim Meet on Friday, 14 February.  Our students competed well and Genesis came away as the Aggregate Champions on the day.

Secondary Swimming Carnival Success

Our 12 year old swimmers took part in the Secondary Swimming Carnival with Xavier Clarke-Bates being awarded Boys Age Champion and Ella Postle and Emily Petherbridge placing 2^nd and 3^rd in the Girls.

Pine Rivers District Swimming Carnival

Recently, we took 29 ten to twelve year old swimmers to the Pine Rivers District Carnival. After many excellent performances, 20 of these students were selected in the Pine Rivers District Swimming team.

Met North Regional Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to Kiara Vanstyn, Ralph Nielsen and Felix Nielsen who were selected in the Met North Swimming Team.

Recent Congratulations

• Ella Postle and Sienna Barr competed as a part of the Met North Regional Team at the Qld State Aquathlon Championships.
• Madison Rand has been selected in the Pine Rivers District Basketball Team.
• Phoenix Gaulke has been selected in the Australian team to compete in the upcoming Trans Tasman Cup for Golf which will be held in New Zealand in March.
• Lucille Ivosevac has been selected to attend the QLD state Little Athletics Championships in March.

Upcoming Events

• Thurs, 12 March: Year 3-12 Genesis Cross Country Carnival
• Mon, 16 March: CSSAQ Swimming Carnival
• Fri, 27 March: NISSA Gala Day 2

Louise McCarthy
Director of Sport- Primary

The Practise of Practice

There is little doubt that positive work habits and learning practices set a student up for academic success, both at school and beyond.

There has been much published about the neuroscience of learning, with the basic premise being that good practice, practised often leads to mastery and automation. Home study (let’s not call it homework!) provides students, from a very young age, an opportunity to recall and revisit work that has been done at school.  It provides opportunities for children to unpack complex concepts, to ask questions and to cement this to memory when they sleep – and far more likely to be able to recall this information for longer periods of time.  As we enter into a second year of ATAR, with external exams accounting for 50% of year long course work for General subjects such a Mathematics and Science, the mastery of excellent study skills and habits are essential.

The partnership between school and home, in terms of promoting positive learning habits is vital. Providing your child with a space in which to read, revise or study, which is quiet and free from the distractions of unnecessary devices, blaring televisions or music, other family members, favourite toys/pets etc is something parents can implement. Setting aside an agreed time in the day, whether it be after a healthy snack, straight after school or after another commitments, sets up a learning routine which, if practiced daily, prioritises learning at home.

Home study is a skill which can begin from a young age and should be something that is mastered well before the Middle school years. A habit of summarising work and reviewing work on a regular basis, and not just before an assessment, will set a student up for better outcomes because students have had time to process content and are in a better position to not only recall the lower order content questions but also to apply their acquired knowledge to more complex and unseen problems or questions.

Hopefully students have now settled into their new year levels and the expectations of a new year are clear.  Now would be an ideal time to start practising good learning practices!

Nichola Welsh
Head of Teaching & Learning (P-12)

The Christmas holidays feel like a distant memory already!

This year, we had several projects in progress at once and all of them went right through the holiday period. This meant weekends and even some holidays were spent keeping these projects moving forward.  In addition to the key project, we still carried out our usual holiday projects including the annual top dressing of the oval and grounds, pressure washing of all the concrete around the campus and countless other maintenance activities which help keep the campus looking and running smart!

Eden Eats Tuckshop 

There has been a lot of attention given to the new Eden Eats this year and those of us involved in the renovations and extension couldn’t be happier! The crowds, the positive feedback and the great looking facilities make all the long days and hard work worth while! 

STEM Building

The new STEM building is home to not just the new STEM lab but is also a new home for our fabulous secondary Learning Enrichment team. It also features plenty of state of the art classrooms and collaboration areas for our Senior students. We have been able to gain access over the past couple of weeks and now there’s just some landscaping to be done and it’s done! The building certainly makes a statement from the outside but the learning areas inside are really quite something! The large covered areas will also add great spaces for students to gather in fun and in learning.

OSHC Centre

Our new two story OSH Centre is getting very close to completion and will have the doors open on the first day of Term 2. This new centre has really taken shape over the Christmas break and we are excited to see it in full swing very soon! 

New Automatic Gates

Have you seen the new gates? They have turned out even better than we had hoped! They have created a safe, secure environment for our campus and our students!

Kevin Dekker

Director of Facilities

March Special – 15% off second hand items

For the entire month of March, we will be selling all of the great quality second hand uniforms on our racks at 15% off!

Make sure you stop by and grab yourself a bargain!

Did you know our Uniform Shop is now open longer?

• Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
• 8.00am to 10.30am and 2.00pm to 3.30pm

Cathy van Vuuren

Finance Officer / Uniform Shop Coordinator

Children at play!

Welcome to our new families and welcome back to our existing families!

It has been an incredible start to the year here at OSHC. This year we have been blessed with the ability to increase our occupancy and extend our care to Prep siblings. As we foresee continued growth, we look forward to relocating to our new premises and plans are well and truly underway with construction.

One of the greatest joys about attending OSHC is that it offers a place to gather and to connect with others. A combination of multi-age play, loose parts and “playwork” are examples of children holistically learning and developing ideas as nature and evolution intended. By trial and error, in play and with peer guidance, rather than adult.

A great outcome for loose parts and free play fall within the “Zone of Proximal Development” of their slightly older peers through observing, learning and then mimicking. In some cases, students then refine their usage. This is a perfect example of how play and its environment combine to provide subtle permission that the children innately and holistically pick up on.

Our environments operate as a village or tribe in a cycle. Children will come in, bring ideas, rise to challenges and develop by being pulled forward by those older or more skilled than them and in turn, pulling forward those younger or less skilled.

We need to remember that play is a language, one of the hundred ways in which children work through their ideas and understandings of the world.

Our Vacation Care Program includes nature play, adventure day camps, hiking, fishing, canoeing and for the more adventurous rock climbing and abseiling!

While we all about adventure, our program is inclusive to cater for all interests and each child is able to participate within each activity. Our wonderful team of Educators are all highly skilled and attend professional development throughout the year.

We currently have vacancies for:

• Before School Care
• After School Care
• Vacation Care

Did you know we also accept casual bookings and provide care for students in Prep to Year 7?

To enrol, please email our Director.

Susan Cooper

Genesis OSHC Director

Ph: 3882 9013

Welcome!

Term 1 in the Music Department is flying and off to a great start. We would like to welcome all new families to the department as well as welcome back all of our existing Music students and their families.

Rehearsals are well underway and students are working very hard for upcoming performances. Senior Primary Choir, in particular, who had their first performance at the Primary Dedication Service after having only two rehearsals!  What an achievement.

New Ensembles

The Music Department started four new ensembles this term to accommodate growth in this area. The Secondary Concert Band has been divided in two to create the new ensemble, Middle School Concert Band, conducted by Mrs Marta Preston. Senior Concert Band continues to be conducted by Mr Steven Hannah.  Similarly, what was once known as the Secondary Jazz Band is now two ensembles; Middle School Jazz Band, conducted by Mr Matthew Hobbs, and Senior Jazz Band, conducted by Mr Steven Hannah. The growth in the Brass Band area has resulted in the creation of a Primary Brass Band in addition to our Secondary Brass Band, both conducted by Brass Teacher Mr Rowan Yates. Our Percussion department has also grown to accommodate two Percussion Ensembles this year, both conducted by our new Percussion Teacher, Mr Jow Chow. This is an exciting time in the life of our department and we can’t wait to hear these ensembles perform.

Secondary Band Camp

The first Genesis Secondary Band Camp is currently on now at QCCC Brookfield. Students departed the College on Thursday, 27 February and will return on Saturday, 29 February at QCCC. Four ensembles will rehearse – Senior and Middle School Concert Bands as well as Senior and Middle School Jazz Bands. The two days of camp are sure to be filled with new music, rehearsals, sectionals, tutorials, performance preparation and lots and lots of playing; approximately eight weeks of work in one weekend!  Thank you to Genesis Music Staff for sharing their expertise with our students and thank you to all students for their incredible hard work that we know you’ll put in.

We look forward to performing for the Genesis community very soon.

Marta Preston
Performance Music Coordinator

5 keys to a good year!

Hello Parents,

I hope the year is off to a good start so far. I have been reflecting on the year so far and I have been thinking a lot about how life is full of starts. Starting a race, starting a new job, starting a new school, a new relationships … the list goes on. While how we start something is important and can sometimes set the tone to how well we go along the way, it is not the most important thing. More importantly is knowing how to keep going when challenges arise – because they will.

I always take great encouragement on this topic from the Bible in Hebrews 12:1

‘Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us’.

The key word here being perseverance or in other translations, endurance. The question is how do we help our children develop endurance? Especially in a culture that tends to move so quickly that there is often no time to perfect things so we just give up, especially when things get too hard or uncomfortable? I want to share with you five keys to help you and your children navigate the challenges that will happen along the way this year.

1. Looking ahead – lessons learnt from surfing and driving

When I was learning to drive I failed four times. Yes, four times! Before my fifth and final attempt a friend of mine (who was married to a police officer), suggested he go for a drive with me to see where I was going wrong, as police officers are often taught specific defensive driving skills. One of the main things he noticed was that I was only looking as far as the bonnet or just in front of me and that day he taught me to look way ahead in the distance to extend my vision to what was ahead or what was coming. As I practised this skill, my driving improved dramatically and I ended up getting my licence the next test I went for. I was reminded again of this tip a few years later during a surfing lesson. Again, this simple little tip of looking beyond just what was in front of me meant I stood up on the board and gracefully rode the wave in, which is amazing for the very accident prone me! The message here is that we can so easily get distracted or discouraged by what is happening around us in the moment but the truth is it doesn’t give the big picture. We can easily trip ourselves up when we forget to look and focus on what is ahead and keep moving forward. Remember that things do not last forever and tomorrow is a new day.

2. Failure is the key to success

When we don’t fail we don’t learn what we need to do differently. Failing in friendships and relationships, at behaviour, in our school work etc. are all good lessons – as long we learn from them and commit to always improving. When we instead spend time beating ourselves up or allowing these mistakes to define us, we waste time and energy. However learning to accept that making mistakes and learning from them quickly is how we grow and mature each day. Having this mindset can lead us to some of the most wonderful successes in life.

3. Try, try and try again – don’t give up!

I might be showing my age here but as a child my mum used to read a poem to me called The Triantiwontigongolope. This poem was about an insect with a name that was very hard to say and each stanza of the poem would end with,

So try: Tri, Tri-anti, Tri-anti-wonti, Triantiwontigongolope.

The concept of this poem was an encouragement that when you keep trying, you will eventually get it but if you give up you will never learn anything! Teaching our children to have an attitude to keep trying, learning and persevering until we get “it” shows them life only gets better when we don’t give up – no matter how hard, painful, tedious, boring, costly, frustrating or uncomfortable something is.

4. Have a soft place to fall

Have you been to an indoor trampoline centre? What I love about these places is that anyone can have a go at falling or failing because there is always big tubs of foam surrounding each trampoline. In fact, it almost feels soft and comforting when you fall. This is such an important part of our job as parents – being a safe and comfortable place for our children to fall when things do go wrong. In fact, having a few people like this in your child’s life is really important. When they are accepted, encouraged and guided when they fall and fail, it will help them to get back up and keeping bouncing!

5. Secondary Assessment Calendars

One of the great lessons we learn from team sport is that we only achieve a score or goal when we are all working together. In life when we have people to help us achieve our goal or learn new things, we always go so much further than when we are just on our own. Who are these people in your child’s life? Having this conversation to help them identify who they can reach out to when they need help for whatever reason is key to seeing them persevere through whatever challenge comes there way.

Please reach out to your child’s teacher or the Pastoral Care Team if you need any further encouragement for your children as they learn and grow this year.

Louise Klar

Head of Pastoral Care and Growth

Year 7 Camp

Year 7 Camp 2020 was a time of building resilience, motivation and taking steps towards a cohesive cohort identity. The adverse weather at Luther Heights Youth Camp did not manage to dampen the students’ spirits as they participated in a number of activities including the flying fox (by far the most popular), a scavenger hunt, beach games, boogie boarding and a combination of individual and team challenges.

Both staff and students were very well fed, courtesy of a caring and professional catering team. The facilities were amazing including the new Dining Hall as well as the “Ocean Outlook” dormitories and they certainly made camp that much more comfortable.

I would like to give a special shout out to all teaching and pastoral care staff involved in leading our groups as well as our dedicated parent volunteers who made the coordination of the camp both organised and enjoyable.

A special thank you also goes out to the instructors at Luther Heights who managed to make activities work – even in the rain!

Ryan Craig

Year 7 Care and Conduct Leader

Year 12 Camp

As the final year at school can be full of stress and pressure, Year 12 Camp in early February was a chance for students to get away and relax at the beach, while also having some high quality information sessions to prepare for the year ahead. Guest speakers Graham Hyman and Peter Janetzki gave the students great advice on how to get the most out of their final year of school.

A drum session on the first night brought the cohort together and the now traditional garbage bag formal was a nice dress rehearsal for the real thing later in the year! Although the rain got in the way of quite a few beach activities, it was wonderful to see the Class of 2020 maintain a positive attitude and get the most out of this experience!

Rohan Mills

Year 12 Care and Conduct Leader

It’s been a great start to the year in Primary!

Five weeks have now passed since the start of the 2020 school year, and I am very happy to say that on the whole, our Primary school students have settled in well into the new year, with teachers, support staff and students all working and playing hard.

One of the features of the new year for Year 2 classes has been the complete re-furnishing of these rooms. It was wonderful to see the faces of the children return back to school and see the transformation of their classrooms into really beautiful, inviting and engaging new spaces. The furniture items chosen for these rooms was very intentionally in line with what the teachers are trying to achieve with student learning. You will notice in the photos the new “cloud” tables, which students work at together, in a collaborative way during lessons. Many of the tables also have whiteboard surfaces for writing on during these times. In the classrooms there is a selection of different seating options for students, depending on their preference, and different spaces, both collaborative, and quiet for students depending on the learning taking place. We call this kind of classroom setup a “flexible” classroom, as it allows all students to access curriculum according to how they learn best. Our teachers have been planning accordingly, establishing processes and procedures for how children adapt and work within their classrooms, to set them up for success. From what I have seen in my classroom visits and from all reports from staff, our students are really thriving in their new classrooms this year, with lots of great learning taking place.

I would also like to acknowledge the swimming teams on their recent success at both the NISSA swim meet and the Pine Rivers District swimming carnivals. At both meets, our Genesis primary swimmers were triumphant, with many individuals achieving podium and personal best results. Much thanks is to go to our aquatics centre staff, and coaches, and also Mrs McCarthy and Mrs Turner for all of their hard work with our swimmers so far this year.

This Friday sees our first NISSA Gala day for 2020, with our Year 4 to 6 Genesis students lining up in fixtures with The Lakes College and Grace Primary in basketball, t-ball and touch football. Parents are most welcome to attend NISSA Gala days to support our students at any of the events this year.

Jeremy Williamson

Head of School – Primary

Finance

School fees were emailed to parents on Friday 31 January and your action is required by 28 February to ensure you have nominated your preferred payment frequency and method.

This year, all families must log into Parent Lounge and click on the heading ‘Accounts & Payments’ and select ‘School Fees Account’ to nominate your payment option.

• You can choose to pay your full account for the year upfront by clicking on ‘Make a Payment’.
• Alternatively, you can add a payment method (Credit card or bank account) and then set up a payment schedule to have your School Fee payment direct debited weekly/fortnightly/monthly/quarterly.

Please note that there are no credit card or transactions fees charged to parents on direct debits (these are absorbed by the College). However, if your payment fails, a dishonour fee of $15 will be charged.

• For further instructions, please refer to the online instructions.

If at any time you need to delay your payment by up to 3 days, or you need to change your bank account or credit card details, you can do this in the same area on Parent Lounge.

Should you require any assistance with this new process, please feel free to call our office on 3882 9018 or email finance@genesis.qld.edu.au

What’s in your hands?

A book? A bible? Read for your life!

The Australian Children’s Laureate (2020-2021) is Ursula Dubosarsky and her theme is Read For Your Life. This author encourages children to develop reading as a lifelong habit. Some of her books in our library, include:

• The Word Spy
• Brindabella
• The Terrible Plop
• The Perplexing Pineapple

The Library Strategic Plan states that one of our goals is to make reading a core value in our College. Our professional teacher librarians promote reading to learn through applying the Library Research Process when doing assignments. Our virtual library provides 24/7 access to the Library Page on the School Intranet. Digital databases, eBooks and videos. Under the Tools tab, the Library Handbook can be found. It outlines how to do research and how to do APA referencing.

At Genesis we promote reading for leisure as a wonderful way to relax and to grow our students’ imaginations and empathy for others. The Accelerated Reader programme motivates our Year 4 and 5 students to read good fit books. We already have three Year 5 students who have read over one million words this year!

The Student Library Council consists of Senior Secondary students who took the initiative to create the ‘Suggestion Box’ in the library. Any student is welcome to post a request for a title of a book to purchase for our library.

Genesis Christian College has a Christian ethos. As our children learn to read and develop a lifelong love of enjoying reading, we hope that they will also learn to read the Bible and to grow in their love of God and their love of others. Daily reading of the Bible is a wonderful habit to develop to nurture our children’s souls. It is in your hands to encourage your son or daughter to, as Ursula Dubosarsky says,  Read for your life!

Joy Payne

Director of Library Services

Welcome to the first article of 2020 discussing areas of interest in Careers.

This year will be known for years to come as the first year that Queensland students will receive an ATAR instead of an OP. Its introduction into Queensland will mean that we now have a system that makes it easier for Queensland students to understand the entry requirements if applying for entry into tertiary institutions interstate and vice-versa. Many questions are asked about what subjects will provide the best ATAR. As with the OP system and others over the years, it’s best to study those subjects that hold an interest for you, and you perform best in.

Another area of change is in the character of the workforce with new career titles being added each year while other titles disappear. The World Bank in its World Development Report 2019 states, “Technology is also changing the skills that employers seek. Workers need to be better at complex problem-solving, teamwork and adaptability.” It’s important that all students endeavour to develop their problem-solving skills, learn to adapt to different situations and fully engage in team-oriented activities that lead to them possessing skills required in the 21^st century workforce.

UPCOMING EVENT OF INTEREST

• Year 12, 2021 students: Interested to study a university subject while at school?
  • 17 March, 4.30pm – 6.00pm @ USC Moreton Campus in Petrie

Robin Grant

Director of Careers and Student Services

In recent weeks, the College has been incredibly blessed to have opened for student use, two significant buildings:

• Eden Eats
• STEM building

It is with grateful hearts that we thank God for His provision of such wonderful resources across our campus for our students to benefit from.

Both Eden Eats and the STEM building are facilities with a difference and with great purpose.  Eden Eats provides a fabulous space for students and families to enjoy community as they gather socially throughout the day to share wonderfully healthy food options. When we opened Eden Eats recently, I shared our desire for this space to be one of great joy, abundance and community.  It has been lovely to see many students, staff and visitors enjoying this space.  I invite you to come and appreciate these elements of Eden Eats if you have not yet had the opportunity.

The STEM building incorporates many unique design elements that seek to spark opportunity and innovation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) disciplines.  Incorporating large glassed areas, it provides transparency and excitement as a variety of activities occur within the building.  Large writable surfaces throughout the building seek to foster skills of design, creation, critical thinking, innovation and collaboration.  The informal learning areas throughout the building encourage collaboration and serve many purposes such as individual study, group work, large gatherings and social get-togethers. The design provides agility therefore encouraging student ownership and new teaching methods to be embraced as a result of the flexible spaces and a variety of furniture, also allowing for multidisciplinary courses, encouraging the development of new skills necessary for students as they enter a changing workforce.

But finally and most importantly, our prayer is that these new buildings will be places where hearts, minds and souls of our students are shaped and formed.  We seek to not only educate the mind but also the heart and do so in a way that helps to shape a young persons character and their values in order for them to have a positive impact on society as a whole.  Celebrating the opening of these spaces with our students and staff was step one … these buildings will be officially opened later this year which will provide us a formal opportunity to both give thanks to God for his blessings whilst also dedicating these buildings to His service and for His purposes here at Genesis.

Blessings,

Paul Sterling

Principal

Secondary Sport

Welcome to the first edition of Sport news for the year. There are many exciting things happening at Genesis in the world of sport. The Middle School Students were blessed to hear from Mr Brendan Keogh, Director of Genesis Sport, at the Leadership Induction Service. Mr Keogh shared his journey as the Australian Paralympics Head Swimming Coach and in his presentation he challenged the students with the concept that there is no “I” in team but instead they have teammates.

As we journey through 2020 in sport as a College and celebrate the many achievements of our talented students, I am encouraged by the concept that as a team – where there is encouragement, support and kindness towards one another – there is unity.

College Swimming Carnival

Congratulations to all the students involved with the College carnival and in particular, I would like to pay tribute to the House Captains for their leadership, passion and encouragement displayed towards the students in their Houses.

Well done to Lucy Winn and Riley Bushell who were named as the 2020 Genesis Swimming Captains.

Congratulation to Gilead who had their first win at a Swimming Carnival since 2013!

• 1^st Gilead
• 2^nd Shiloh
• 3^rd Bethel
• 4^th Jericho

Age champions: 

• 12 Years
  • Emma Dawson, Xavier Clarke-Bates
  • Ella Postle, Luka Lendvay (runners up)
• 13 Years
  • Isabella Jones, Jake Flint
  • Haley Wolters, Riley Thomas (runners up)
• 14 Years
  • Kaelah Bourke, Zeph Hardie
  • Lauren Whalley, Henry Johnson (runners up)
• 15 Years
  • Margot Dawson, Luke Dippelsmann
  • Jessica Bell, Benjamin McGrath (runners up)
• 16 Years
  • Lucy Winn, Patrick Clarke
  • Kirralee Hayes, Isaac Hartland (runners up)
• 17 Years
  • Hayley Seltenrych, Riley Bushell (Swimming Captains)
  • Alyssa Postle, Carel Van der Merwe (runners up)

District / Regional / State Sport

• Congratulations to the following students who competed for the Pine Rivers District team at the Met North Swimming Championships on 26-27 February:

  Cooper Ball	Emma Dawson	Luke Lendvay	Marley Pinkstone
  Lachlan Tripp	Isaac Hartland	Jessica Bell	Kaelah Bourke
  Harrison Bushell	Patrick Clarke	Madison Cothill	Margot Dawson
  Olivia Gittins	Zeph Hardie	Kirralee Hayes	David Herman
  Amity Hogan	Cayden Hogan	Danielle Jamison	Henry Johnson
  Riley Thomas	Carel Van der Merwe	Kairav Vanmali	Lauren Whalley
  Isabella Jones	Tyron King	Olivia Lee	William MacIntosh
  Lucy Winn	Haley Wolters	Isabella Young	Ellen Gittins
  Luke Dippelsmann	Sophie Ditchburn	Jake Flint

Triathlon

The following students represented Met North Regional School Sport at the Qld State Champs recently:

• Haley Wolters
• Malayah Dean
• Harrison Barr
• Abbie Ruiz
• William MacIntosh
• Mitchell Wolters
• Georgia Fredricks
• Torryn Squires
• Reagan Burke
• Luka Lendvay

Congratulations to Georgia Fredricks and Kate Collins who made the State Triathlon Team to compete at the SSA National Triathlon Championships on 22-25 March 2020 in Hervey Bay.

District Team Achievements

Congratulations to the following students who made District Netball Teams:

• Sophie Ditchburn
• Shandri Barnard
• Charlize Sivyer
• Taya Mathieson

Congratulations to Charlize Sivyer and Sophie Ditchburn for their selection into the Metropolitan North Netball Team to compete at the State Championships.

Well done to Jenna Clarkson and Alyssa Steyn who made the District U15 Girls Volleyball Team!

Other Sporting Achievements

Cycling

One of Genesis Christian College’s past students Elliot Schultz (2017) recently competed in his first tour world race (Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race). Elliott led the race in a breakaway group and showed great promise in the cycling world. We wish Elliott every success with his professional career in cycling.

Tae KwonDo

Congratulations to James Tailby (Yr 8) for achieving his black belt in Tae Kwondo. This is a remarkable achievement.

Weightlifting

Over the summer break, Josh Wood (Yr 12) competed in his second power-lifting competition (Powerlifting Australia) placing 2nd in his weight class. He has qualified for the Australia National Championships, to be held in Melbourne in May.

Football

Jack Golfin (Yr 11) 11 has been selected in the Moreton Bay United NPL U/16 Football Team, who will be participating in the Saitama International Football Tournament in Japan, to be held from 9-16 March 2020.

Cricket

Janelle Pais (Yr 8) and Mia Croucamp (Yr 6) represented City Fever who won the Under 13 QLD state championships held at the end of January in Bundaberg. Janelle got 7 wickets in the tournament – one wicket short of the bowling award for the state. Congratulations to Janelle and Mia on this great achievement.

Anthony Arro

Director of Sport – Secondary