With the excitement of Stage 22 building, it might come as a surprise to know we have another building project on the go on the other side of the campus!

Late last year, work commenced on additional Secondary classrooms and additional ball courts adjoining the current Sports Complex.  This project this work will provide a purpose built classroom for Secondary Agricultural Science to replace the current demountable, a Secondary Physical Education classroom, space for new Physical Education Staffroom, as well as an additional general purpose classroom for Secondary use.

This project will include the building of two additional sports courts alongside the current sports courts.  The intention is that in the future these courts will be covered.  Once construction is complete, further development will occur in the Agricultural farm in order to provide enhanced facilities for the various components of this learning space.

We anticipate that this work will conclude mid-2023!

Stage 22 Update | Pick Up/Drop Off Zone Procedures

Watch the video here

Dear Parents, 

 As the year draws to a close, it is time to look back on the wonderful year we have had at Genesis, especially in our Primary school. Our students and staff continuously amaze me not just with their exceptional results across sporting, artistic and academic endeavours, but also, and perhaps more importantly, with the dedication to training and studying, humility, and selflessness with which they do this. Our Genesis students consistently perform at the highest levels in all of these areas, within our culture of high expectations, and now is the time to rest and unwind as we head into the holiday season. 

 2022 has been a year of growth and innovation in our Primary school. We opened Stage 21 – The Learning Village to our Year 3s, and have been planning towards Stage 22 scheduled to commence early 2023 to complete this area of Primary. We have enjoyed our Project-Based Learning units of work, making a difference in our own community and others. We have developed and used our Secret Skills to learn how to be effective members of 21st century society; and we have really entered the digital age with all students actively engaged in our Digital Learning platforms! 

Most importantly, our Christian culture has been intrinsic to everything we do through our Chapel services, learning, and events. 

Staff Farewells  

Each year some staff move on from Genesis, and we are truly thankful for their work at the College. 

•  Pam Rae – has been a Primary teacher at Genesis for many years. Pam will be stepping back from her permanent role at the College to our relief teaching staff. 
• Anne-Maree Kingston – has been at Genesis for many years as a teacher, then Prep ILL, and now Director of Innovation & Learning. Anne-Maree will be finishing this season at Genesis and moving onto the next stage of her educational journey. 
• Naomi Shakespeare – has completed 6 months part-time contract work in Year 6 and will move back into our relief teaching staff. 

2023 staff appointments 

We have been very blessed with the very high quality of staff who desire to work at Genesis, and we are excited to announce the following appointments for next year. 

•  Rachel Nicol – will be joining our teaching team in a full-time capacity in the Lower Primary. Rachel has three children at Genesis and is a very experienced Primary teaching having spent many years working for Education Queensland.
• Imogen Sweeney – joins us teaching in the Upper Primary. For the last few years Imogen has served as a teacher at Emerald Christian where she taught Years 3 and 4 and Music; amongst also teaching the choir and running some camps!
• Catriona Bennet – has been promoted to the position of Director of Innovation & Learning for the Primary school. Catriona is a very experienced classroom teacher, and leader in Primary. She has also completed her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership through QUT.
• Lisa Aston – has been appointed as a new Innovation & Learning Leader in the Primary school. Lisa joined us 12 months ago as a very experienced classroom teacher. She has advanced qualifications in Gifted Education and has been leading our debating program in Primary this year. 

Primary Colours Assembly  

Recently we conducted our Primary Sports and Colours Co-curricular Awards which combine Sport, Cultural and Service Awards.  We have had a considerable number of students achieving these awards and this is a very healthy sign of a growing program and also an expanding commitment to activities that the College offers beyond the classroom.  

 Through the Colours system, we not only recognise the efforts of many students but also demonstrate to all, the many and varied ways of contributing to our College Life.  By doing so, students gain so much more fulfilment, a sense of worth and a sense of service and well-being and these attributes are so necessary for a balanced and healthy lifestyle.  

 The Colours Scheme provides students with a small incentive to be involved in activities beyond the classroom. Students accumulate colour points varying on the commitment required for training or involvement.  All activities are College based and the Colours system operates across the whole College with a small roll over of points from Primary into Secondary.  Both systems are similar in nature with the end goal for Primary, a Gold award and in Secondary School, full colours, worn on the College Blazer.  

Primary Celebration Services 

The last two weeks of school have seen our annual Primary Celebration services for Prep-2, Year 3&4, and Year 5&6. These services were a fine demonstration of student achievements throughout the year. One particular aspect of the P-4 services special to Genesis is the individual citations. At Genesis, we believe that every student is special in God’s eyes, and brings their own unique skills and talents to make our school a better place. Therefore we don’t just celebrate academic, sporting and cultural achievements, but other aspects of life such as citizenship and character, in every student. 

 I will however give special mention below to our Major award winners from Year 6, as they represent the pinnacle of Primary school achievement. 

•  Most Valuable Contribution  Senior Primary Choir – Lauren G & Evangeline P  
• Most Valuable Contribution Brass Ensemble – Lanna G
• Most Valuable Contribution Concert Band – Ava J & Evangeline P
• Most Valuable Contribution Intermediate Strings – Evie Y
• Most Valuable Contribution Bella Voce – Evangeline P & Asher T
• Most Valuable Contribution Movers & Shakers – Lauren G
• Most Valuable Contribution Mini Dance Company – Lola B
• Susan Hay Memorial 2nd Runner Up to Best and Fairest Girl  – 2-way tie – Courtney H & Abby Q
• Susan Hay Memorial 2nd Runner Up to Best and Fairest Boy  – Flynn S
• Susan Hay Memorial Runner Up to Best and Fairest Boy – Felix N
• Susan Hay Memorial Runner Up to Best and Fairest Girl – Amelia L 
• Susan Hay Memorial Best and Fairest Boy – Matthew T
• Susan Hay Memorial Best and Fairest Girl  – Indigo K
• Christian  Citizenship Award – Male – Roman Z
• Christian Citizenship Award – Female – Lauren G
• Year 6 Runner Up to Dux – Lio P
• Year 6 Dux – Luca W

Blessings,

Jeremy Williamson

Head of School – Primary

The Technologies Curriculum team is excited about the launch of QUEST – a newly redesigned core Technologies subject in Years 7 and 8.  Currently Design and Digital Technologies are taught as separate subject areas in the Middle School.  It was our desire to develop an interdisciplinary program that encompassed the core principles of Project Based Learning (PBL).  PBL is a student-centred teaching strategy that focuses on real-world problems and challenges using problem-solving, decision-making and investigative skills.  Students will demonstrate their knowledge and skills by creating public products and presentations for a real audience.  As a result, students develop deep content knowledge as well as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication skills. 

Quest has engaged two external partners for this program:  

1. Mini Farm Project (MFP) and its founder Nick Steiner are driven towards providing a solution to food insecurity in Australia through the creation of a network of charity farms growing food all year round that will then be given freely to local charities to create urgently needed meals. Further information and avenues to engage check out: 

• The Mini Farm Project (mfp.org.au)  
• Site unveiled for region’s new Mini Farm 
• Mini Farm Coffee  
• Give a Box 

2. Meals on Wheels (MOW) Moreton Bay Region is one of the local organisations that benefit from the produce grown.  The purpose of MOW is to support well-nourished, independent, and connected communities through the delivery of a nutritious meal, social connection and a wellbeing check by our dedicated volunteer workforce.  Students will be working with MOW chefs to cook and design healthy meals for their clients and explore the nutritional value of locally sourced produce and its impact on the clients. Further information and avenues to engage check out: Meals on Wheels Australia 

Offering an opportunity for students to learn, while connecting with the community, will assist in further developing the skills of collaboration, resilience, problem solving and communication – essential skills which will help to future-proof learning experiences. 

We are looking forward to the many opportunities for our Year 7 and 8 students to engage in a meaningful way with both organisations in 2023.   

Aaron H, Tony L, Mitchell R and Zeph H entered the Australian STEM Video Gaming Challenge this year.

They competed in the Years 9-12 Unity and Unreal gaming category against students across Australia. Students were mentored by their Digital Solutions teacher, Mrs Walker. The team created a 3D game using the Unity gaming engine, called “Cave of Light”. Students designed and created all aspects of the game including the 3D graphics, storyline, music and effects, as well as programming the game so it was playable. The judges were impressed with the artistic direction of the game and the visual effects.

The judges are looking forward to another submission from this team next year. This outstanding team reached the semi-finals in the competition this year.

We’re pleased to share with you information about Stage 22, our latest planned building project.

Please take a moment to watch this short video that explains why we’re undertaking this project and provides an overview of the new planned facilities.

Stage 22 is tentatively scheduled to begin in January 2023, pending funding.  If we are able to commence the building in January, please stay tuned for further communication which will be issued through our App and also posted here, our new ‘Builders Bulletin’ website.

Watch the video here

 

Our big moment for Term 4 was Dance Showcase!

• 10 year anniversary event
• ‘What is your legacy?’

Alumni event

• 3 big nights
• Over 250 talented dancers from Years 3-12
• 3 packed nights!

Is your child interested in studying at university post-school? Not sure which course of study will offer them the best future?

There’s good news for Australian university graduates of all kinds. The Graduate Outcomes Survey conducted by the federal government tells us that full time employment for university graduates four months after graduation has risen from 73.6 to 91.5 percent. And it doesn’t matter what you study!

In excellent news for our students who are passionate about the Humanities and Social Sciences, students graduating from studies in History, Geography, Politics, Language, and Literature are employed at 89.6%.

Students who graduate from Science and Mathematics degrees are employed at 88.2%. Some specialist degrees have even better rates of full-time employment with Computing and IT at 92% and nursing, teaching, and law in the mid-90s.

Creative and fine arts degrees have employment of nearly 80%, busting the myth of the unemployed artist! It’s also worth considering that many creative artists work in a multitude of ways that are not comparable to traditional employment measures.

The most employable graduates are occupational therapists, with 100% rates of employment. Like Medicine, OT has limited places, making it a course with a high ATAR for admission, but it is also in high demand, along with physiotherapy and veterinary science.

Currently employment rates across Australia are at record highs, so these percentages may not remain the same, but the trends across subject areas have been consistent for many years. Lifelong learning is key, with postgraduate studies and ongoing professional development playing an important role in most professions. Some students completing generalist degrees such as Humanities and Science go on to do post graduate studies in areas such as education and health; while many specialist degrees, such as psychology and law, require postgraduate study to practice professionally.

No matter what study areas our students choose, the key ways to gain the employment they want are to become involved in professional organisations and subject area groups, seek work experience and networking opportunities, and of course, work hard to maintain good results. In further good news, the average salary for recent university graduates is $80,000, with those who complete postgraduate studies going on to earn over $100,000.

As always, we recommend that students choose what they enjoy. If students are passionate about what they study, the opportunity of success is at their fingertips.

If you have any questions about your child’s pathway to further education, please contact Future Pathways at futurepathways@genesis.qld.edu.au

All data is sourced from the Australian Government 2022 Graduate Outcomes Survey.

Elizabeth Hobman

Director of Future Pathways

We are very excited to reintroduce a printed, hard copy College Calendar next year!

In 2023, Genesis Christian College will be printing and distributing a hard copy calendar to the families of our 1,600 students. The calendar will feature key school dates as well as room for families to record their own personal reminders. The calendar will be free for Genesis families.

Sponsor our calendar:

Over the years, we have had many business owners in our community enquire about how to position their business to our families. Therefore, we have created a new opportunity for our families who run their own business or service to exclusively sponsor one calendar month (see below)

The calendar will be distributed to the families of our 1,600 students. We anticipate the calendar will be displayed in a prominent position in the family home and will be regularly referred to throughout the year.

By sponsoring a month in the Genesis Calendar will provide you with an opportunity to have your brand, product offering and contact information on display and viewed repeatedly throughout the month.

The Genesis Christian College community is a strong one and families are often seeking recommendations for local businesses that are part of the Genesis community to support. By sponsoring a month, your brand will be aligned with the Genesis community, helping you to form new connections and build brand trust.

Your investment:

• The cost to sponsor a month in the Genesis Calendar is $275 inc GST.
• You will receive a (insert size) ad on one calendar month.
• Total space for the sponsor’s tile is 100mm x 25mm which could be a combination of a logo and some details
• With only one brand appearing per page, you will have exclusivity on for your respective calendar month.

Example Sponsorship Designs (for illustrative purposes only):

Contact Us:

If you would like to discuss this opportunity further, please email Taryn Thomas – marketing@genesis.qld.edu.au

We thank you for your support!

We are excited to host two Alumni Reunions in October for our classes of 2002 and 2012! Please refer to the relevant invite below.

For more information, please visit our Facebook page and join our Alumni Group!

Are you details up to date or have you got exciting news to share? Please fill in our form!

College infrastructure and campus development is a key emphasis of our College Strategic Plan, which released to our Genesis community earlier this year.

The focus of this exciting work is to ensure that the College continues to improve learning environments and student facilities. At Genesis, we’re well known for our high quality facilities and infrastructure and we seek to build upon this reputation.

The Process

Through a process of consultation, planning and future thinking the College has completed a new Master Plan which provides clarity on campus development for the next 10 years… and beyond! Together with our College Architect, an extensive review process looked at our current and future infrastructure and campus needs to ensure that our facilities optimally serve the College and students in the years ahead.

Initially, the development focus of our Master Plan will look towards older sections of the College and specific facilities that are currently operating in less-than-ideal spaces and locations.

The First Stages

Secondary Classrooms / Undercover Courts / Agricultural Farm

We’re pleased to report that we are currently in the planning and approval stage to develop additional classrooms at the end of the Genesis Sports and Aquatics Fitness Centre. This will include a dedicated room for Agricultural Science, replacing the current demountable on the Agricultural Farm. This building will also include a classroom for Physical Education that opens out to the oval. This development will include two additional sports courts to cater for the growing demands on our current sports courts and sporting facilities. These courts will sit alongside our existing indoor courts.

Prep & Year 1 Classrooms & Student Services Building

Two additional projects currently in the planning phase include new Prep and Year 1 classrooms specifically designed to cater for the needs of our youngest Primary children and incorporating larger, more agile, and flexible learning spaces along with a uniquely designed Nature Play learning space, designed to be in the centre of the Prep, Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 classrooms. This is an extremely exciting project for our Lower Primary school and one that requires careful planning. Additionally, this building will also include a dedicated Student Services facility opening onto the Forecourt which will include a Student Reception, Health Room (First Aid), Counselling Offices, Future Pathways Offices and Senior Student Study Lounge.

Take a virtual tour through the proposed new development here!

MP1 Extension

The second project currently in the planning phase is the extension of our current Multipurpose Building enabling our entire Primary school or entire Secondary school to gather in the one space for Assemblies, Chapels, and other special services. We understand and appreciate that this extension will be well received by our students and staff!

Future Works

Below is a concept map detailing some of the key projects that our Master Plan:

As mentioned, this Master Plan will provide clarity on campus development over the next decade and this will provide us with many opportunities to update you on the developments.

We look forward to providing you with timely news as the commencement of these projects draws near. We are extremely passionate about providing campus infrastructure that is of an excellent standard, and I welcome the opportunity to discuss the plans with you.

Kind Regards,

Paul Sterling

Principal

Since graduating from Genesis in 2021, Ella Smith has gone on to reach exciting heights in the sporting arena. This year, Ella has been drafted to the Brisbane Lions in the AFLW league. She says it has been one of her proudest moments.

‘I have had a footy in my hands since I was little. My dad and brother both played so I started as soon as I could, and I absolutely loved it. It’s been my dream to play professionally.’

Ella is a talented dual-athlete, shining not just in AFL but in rowing as well. Next year, Ella plans to compete in the state and national rowing championships.

Looking back on her school days, Ella says that a highlight was participating in sporting events. She says she loved getting to travel to competitions and spending time with her teammates. Ella says she always felt her sporting endeavours were su

pported by her sports teachers and she credits her time at Genesis to teaching her some valuable life lessons

‘It taught me important values and morals as well as the organisational skills and discipline that has been required to achieve what I have in sport’.

These days, Ella’s weeks revolve around training and living a healthy lifestyle. She spends three mornings a week rowing and trains with the Brisbane Lions most other days. In between, Ella is very generous with her time to help to grow the sporting talent within the Genesis community.

Earlier this year, Ella participated in an interview and Q&A session with the Genesis STEEP students and in October, she will feature as a guest speaker at the Youth Sports Stars Breakfast.

Blessings,

Kate White

Community Engagement Officer

 Smashing good time at the P & F Bush Dance!

On the 13^th of August the Genesis community donned their flannos and Akubra hats for the P&F Association’s inaugural Bush Dance.

Families enjoyed tasty delights from a great range of food trucks on picnic rugs around the oval. As the sun set, the oval came alight with glow sticks, headbands and necklaces all sold by the Pastoral Care team to support the work of local chaplaincy groups.

The Smashing Bumpkins were the main event, and they didn’t disappoint! They had everyone up on the dance floor busting out moves to old time favourites like the Chicken Dance and the Nutbush. The energy was infectious with parents and students from across all year levels getting in on the fun.

Congratulations to the P&F Association for a great night and a big thank you to all the Genesis families who came out to support the event.

Blessings,

Kate White

Community Engagement Officer

It is with excitement that plans that are underway to develop a Secondary Independent School Sport competition – the Northern Independent Schools Sporting Association (NISSA).

Participation in high standard school sport competition is known to provide many benefits in terms of physical fitness, health benefits, cognitive development, personal wellbeing, and social integration. As a result, four foundation schools including Grace Lutheran College Rothwell, The Lakes College, Prince of Peace Lutheran College and Genesis Christian College have been working collaboratively for more than 18 months in planning to bring the vision of a secondary sports competition to reality with the competition planned to commence in Term 1, 2023.

The plan is to initially establish an Interschool Sport Competition to be known as NISSA, with the competition being run during the school day, targeting students in Year 7, 8, 9 and 10. Our objective is to create a sports competition based on strong collegial relationships, sportsmanship and healthy competition of a high standard, amongst like-minded schools. The competition will incorporate two seasons across the calendar year, incorporating a variety of popular sports.

Northern Independent Schools Sporting Association (NISSA) was originally established amongst a group of Primary schools including Grace Lutheran Primary School, The Lakes College, Genesis Christian College and more recently Prince of Peace Lutheran College. This competition has been highly successfully running for several years. This new secondary sports competition will build upon this foundation by adding a Secondary school competition.

Although the competition is planned to launch with Interschool Sport offered to Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 students, further consideration is being given to suitable opportunities for Year 11 and 12 students with a model structured appropriately for the rigors of students completing the final years of schooling. It is also the intention of the NISSA Management Committee to introduce additional competitions such as carnivals for member schools in the future.

We are incredibly excited about the sporting opportunities that NISSA Secondary will provide for our students, the collegial relationships that will be developed and the opportunity to partner with like-minded schools. Further information will be provided to individual school communities as the 2023 school year draws closer.

Yours faithfully,
NISSA Management Committee

UNIFORM BUYING – BACK TO SCHOOL 2023

Term 4 means that it’s time to start thinking about ‘Back to School 2023’ uniforms! Please note the following information:

Remainder of 2022
No appointments are necessary, just pop into the uniform shop during opening hours and we will gladly help you out.

A reminder, our opening hours are:

• Monday – Friday 8-10am
• Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday – 2.30-3.30pm

January 2023 (before school goes back)

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the Uniform Shop – UniformShop@genesis.qld.edu.au

Blessings,

Mandy Morgan

Uniform Shop Coordinator

Term 3 is Primary Camping Season!

Each year the students in years 3, 4, 5 and 6 go on their annual school camp during term three. Already this term, our Year 6s under the leadership of Mr Johnson visited Longreach and other western Queensland towns, learning about our Australian history in a week-long camp. I had the privilege of attending this camp with the Year 6s this year and it truly was an incredible time away for students, staff and the parent helpers who always attend our trips. Our Genesis students are shining role models; children of high character and calibre. Oftentimes staff at venues visited, or members of the public will contact the school to let us know just how good Genesis students are.

The culminating Yr6 trip is a capstone event for Primary students, but the success of this trip can be attributed to the camping program of Year 3, 4 and 5, and the development of life skills which students learn through these experiences. Our camping program is designed to progressively challenge students by adding one night to the length each year. At each camp students enjoy a range of challenge activities which test their teamwork, resilience, critical thinking, and a whole range of other life skills like making your bed, going to sleep on time, and learning how to serve others at mealtimes. Ultimately what we are seeking to help shape in our students is Character. We believe at Genesis that if we can help build young people of great Character; young people whose actions reflect their values, which in turn influence the decisions they make – our future world will be a better place in many ways.

Students always have the best of fun, away camping with their friends, and at Genesis we always embed our Christian values into activities and share a devotions and prayer time at night together. Thankyou to all our parents for supporting our camping program, and thankyou to our wonderful teachers who work hard to make these the best experiences possible for our children.

Blessings,

Mr Jeremy Williamson

Head of School – Primary

Athletics Season:

PREP-YR 2 ATHLETICS CARNIVAL:

Our Prep-Year 2 students participated in their Athletics Carnival with great enthusiasm. Congratulations to all the students for running, jumping and throwing with their very best efforts. Congratulations to our Year 6 students who did a fabulous job on the day running the events. What a beautiful morning to share with our parents.

PRDSS:

Congratulations to our amazing 10-12 Years Team on their success at the PRDSS Track and Field Carnival held this week. All of our students were amazing over the 2 days of competition. We had some amazing individual performances seeing 16 of our students gain selection in the PRDSS Track and Field team:

Thomas M, Flynn S, Matilda T, Felix N, Matthew T, Viveca M, Theo H, Dylan M, Giselle B, Zarhli R, Sienna M, Ayla J, Bailey S, Lilly D, Eliza B, Cameron E, Holly M.

Congratulations to Giselle B who was awarded 12 Years Girls Age Champion.

NISSA:

We competed against our great mates at The Lakes College, Grace Lutheran Primary School and Prince of Peace Lutheran College at our NISSA Athletics Carnival. A huge congratulations to our Genesis team who were Champion School on the day. The students competed with amazing Character making us all proud to be part of Team Genesis. Well done!

CSSAQ:

Congratulations goes to our 10-12 Years Athletics Team who competed so well at the CSSAQ Track and Field Carnival at QSAC. It was a hard fought competition throughout the day with the top 4 placings very close and battling it out for Champion School until the very end. Our Genesis team finished in 3^rd place.

Congratulations to our students who finished with individual Age Champion places:

• 1^st 9 Years Boys – Charlie S
• 3^rd 11 Years Girls – Eliza B
• 1^st 12 Years Girls – Giselle B

Met North:

Congratulations to all of our 10-12 Years Students who competed at the MN Track and Field Championships last week. We are so proud of you all.

Congratulations goes to:

• Ayla J (1^st 11 Years Girls Tetrathlon)
• Viveca M (2^nd 12 Years Shot Put)
• Matthew T (1^st 12 Years 800m, 1^st 12 Years 1500m).
• Dylan M (Team selection).

A special congratulations goes to Matthew T who broke the MN 12 Years Boys 1500m Record.

In February 2021, we put the call out to our families to donate books for a Children’s Book Drive for Papua New Guinean Schools

Our community, together with Bridgeman Baptist Church donated approximately 5,000 books along with several boxes of books donated by AFP NC members.  Due to extensive COVID-19 delays, RAAF base Amberley were eventually enlisted to help, enthusiastically taking up the challenge delivering the books by C-17 to Port Moresby where an official ceremony took place led by Detective Superintendent Steve Hulbert and his team alongside PNG Constable, Community Ambassador and Rugby League legend Ase BOAS.  The books were gifted to Buk Bilong Pikinini (Books for Children), an organisation founded in 2007 with a mission to help increase literacy rates in Papua New Guinea through the establishment of children’s libraries and the provision of high-quality education programs and books.

Thank you to the CLTNC for involving us in this program and to our families for so generously donating.

Term 3 has been full of spectacular performances by students in our Dramatic Arts subjects!

A Night at the Theatre

An Afternoon with Shakespeare

All 3 Dance Companies blitzing it at all of their eisteddfods

Excursion to Bangarra Dance Theatre’s ‘Terrain’

Excursion to Australasian Dance Collective’s ‘Three’ 

Upcoming highlights:

Chookas to our Senior Dance Co heading to Sydney for Nationals in the September holidays

Dance Showcase, including special alumni event for the 10 year anniversary

10 Year of Dance – Alumni Reunion

Outback Tour 2022 

At the start of Term 3, our Year 6 students took off an epic 2000km journey through the heart of Queensland! We visited multiple Outback towns including Emerald, Rubyvale, Barcaldine, Longreach and Winton. 

Along the way we met so many wonderful characters including Dan from Camden Park Station and Lane from Nogo Station. These outback heroes, among many others, captured the passion and history of Queensland. They shared the history of their homes and gave us city folk an insight into the day-to-day life on a sheep or cattle station.  

The Qantas Founder’s Museum gave us a glimpse into the pioneering spirit of Australians as we toured the humble beginnings of the now global airline. The Outback Stockman’s Hall of Fame and the Waltzing Matilda Centre helped us to see the creativity and resilience required to carve a livelihood from the land.  

There were many other adventures that were had throughout the week away. The students demonstrated what wonderful, quality young people attend Genesis Christian College, as they interacted with each other, members of the public and with venue staff.  

Whether it was chatting with friends on the bus or sharing a meal by the fire under the star-filled outback sky, these memories will last a lifetime.  

Take a look at the video below. It features photos that we have not published anywhere else!

These dates are not extensive, are intended for reference only and are subject change.

Please refer to the College Calendar (accessible via the App or Parent Lounge) for the extensive dates and most update to information.

3 October	Queen's Birthday Public Holiday
4 October	First day of Term 4
5 October	Prep 2023 Parent Information Evening (7pm)
6 October	Year 12 Final Chapel (8:30am) Strings in Spring (6pm)
7 October	P&F Disco - Primary (5:15pm)
10 October	Dance Showcase - A Decade of Dance Display Opens
11 October	P&F Meeting (7pm)
13 October	Secondary Co-Curricular Presentation Ceremony Dance Showcase - Junior Show
14 October	Dance Showcase Senior Show from 4:30pm
15 October	Dance Alumni Event (2.30pm) Dance Showcase Senior Show
17 October	The Pictures Visual Art Display Open. Presentation Evening (4pm)
19 October	Secondary Senior School Presentation Ceremony (7pm)
22 October	Alumni Reunion - 10 & 20 Years
24 October	Year 12 External Exams Begiin
28 October	Day for Daniel Primary NISSA Gala Day Genesis Staff Day Breakfast
31 October	Year 9 into 10 Work Experience Info Evening
4 November	Family Friday Worship (8.10am) Volunteers Thank You Afternoon Tea (1.30pm) Family Movie Night (6.30pm)
8 November	Year 8 Parent Information Evening
9 November	P&F Meeting (7pm)
15 November	Yrs 3-6 Primary Colours Awards Assembly (1.30pm)
16 November	Concert on the Green (5pm)
18 November	Year 12s Last Day Valedictory Service (9am) Year 12 Formal (7pm)
21 November	Year 6 into 7 Transition Day
22 November	Yrs 3-4 Celebration Service (12.30pm)
23 November	Secondary middle School Presentation Ceremony
25 November	Years 10-11 Last Day Years 5/6 Celebration Service (1pm) Year 6 Graduation Dinner (6pm)
28 November	Year 9 Celebration Ceremony (11.15am) Year 9 Celebration Dinner (6pm)
30 November	Prep - Yr 9 Last Day Prep - Yr 2 Celebration Service (9am)

Term 3 has well and truly been a busy one for our Year 3 students!

Year 3 Camp

The highlight of our Term was definitely the Year 3 students’ first overnight camp at QCCC Brookfield. The students had a ball learning new skills, developing new friendships and enjoying the fun of being away with their classmates and teachers for a night!

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

Earlier in the term, we travelled for an excursion to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. This excursion formed an important part of our Science Unit that included investigating Living and Non-Living things, classifying animals in their scientific groups and exploring ways we can be Wildlife Warriors to care for our native animals. Further to this, as part of our PBL we are designing bird feeders to attract native birds to our gardens.

Smudge visits Year 3!

We also had a very cute four legged furry friend visit out classrooms, following our very persuasive letters to Mr Williamson about why Genesis would benefit from having a therapy dog! We were blessed to have a visit from Dr Michelle Farbotko from Wag Therapy and her furry friend Smudge.

We pray our students and their families enjoy a relaxing holiday after such a big term in Year 3!

Natasha Fox

Year 3 Innovation & Learning Leader

There’s been a lot happening in our Library over the past Term!

The Primary library space has seen a few changes during Term 3, firstly with my arrival as the new primary teacher-librarian, but also in seeing the first few steps in the evolution of a partnership between the library and the classroom, particularly in the development of digital literacy.

The modern-day library space, while remaining a fantastic physical space within which students can both learn and escape to the natural habitat of the bookworm, is also continually extending its boundaries according to the ever-growing digital world. As a result, the primary teacher-librarian, in partnership with classroom teachers and library staff, has begun a journey to help students build skills and knowledge in the area of digital literacy in meaningful contexts aligned with their units of work.

Throughout Term 3, the development of research skills has been a focus, particularly making effective use of digital and print resources available through the library such as databases, websites, e-books, physical books, and film.

Lastly, it would be great to reflect on the Book Week celebrations that took place across the primary school. It was encouraging to see the majority of students and staff embrace the dress up day, with characters and themes from a diverse range of books bringing an extra measure of colour to the college for a day. A special acknowledgement also goes to all the students who entered the bookmark competition in which there were many creative designs reflecting the theme, Reading is dreaming with eyes open.

Did you see our video of the wonderful Book Week costumes? Check it out here!

Mr Benjamin Swift

Primary Teacher-Librarian

In August, our Year 7 students eventually made it on their Year 7 camp, after being postponed from February.

The students enjoyed an amazing camp at Noosa North Shore, where they tackled the high ropes course, stand up paddle boarding, canoeing and bodyboarding just to name a few!

Blessings,

Andrew Duncan

Year 7 Care & Conduct Leader (CCL)

Year 4 are Busy Bees!

This week the Year 4’s rounded out their Science studies with a surprise visit from Year 11 student, Daniel. In class the children have been busy learning about plant lifecycles and the importance of bees and pollination. As a fun finish for the term, Daniel visited the Year 4 classes and taught them about many other cool facts about bees, including the honey making process. As an added bonus, the children all left with a honey sample for them and their family for afternoon tea! Thanks Daniel – we love your work!

Kind regards,

Mrs Kate Johnson

Primary & Innovation Learning Leader – Year 4

As Term 1 draws to a close, I imagine for many families there will be a slight sense of relief at the end of what has been yet another unpredictable and change filled season!

As a College, we are so thankful for the caring, compassionate and grace filled community culture that we enjoy at Genesis. Thank you for your contribution in continuing to foster and strengthen these cultural elements. I pray that you and your family are able to take some time across Easter to rest and recharge the batteries before the return to school on Tuesday 19 April.

Easter is a special event on the Christian calendar and it encourages us to reflect upon the sacrifice of Jesus as he was crucified on the cross for the sins of each one of us. When Jesus died on the cross, it looked as bad as it could possibly be. His followers at the time, would have felt hopeless, perhaps overwhelmed with the suffering and injustice associated with the crucifixion of Jesus. I am sure we can all relate to feeling a of lack of hope for the future in the midst of the global pandemic. What we know is that there is hope on the other side of the cross – the hope of the risen Jesus, the Saviour of the world. Even when things are not looking hopeful in our life – the story of Easter shows that we can find a beacon of hope even in uncertain times and we are reminded that God is in control, God has the answers that we need and God is a God of the miraculous.

Please take a moment to watch my end of Term message here.

I wish your family a safe and refreshing Easter break.

Blessings,

Paul Sterling

Principal

This year, the Primary School has introduced a new space for students called, The Brave Room.

The Brave Room is located upstairs in Upper Primary. The concept behind this space is to give students who may be feeling overwhelmed a quiet, less stimulating place and the opportunity to regulate their emotions and refocus. This can be done independently or with the support of a member of our Pastoral Care Team.

There are a number of tools available to aid the students with self-regulation, such as sensory tools (e.g. pop-its, playdough, cushions), books, lego and a weighted blanket.

We are so pleased to be able to offer this space to our students. During Term 1, The Brave Room  has proven to be a wonderful new addition to our school.

Blessings,

Melanie Keane

Acting Primary Admin Assistant / Primary Sports Admin Assistant

This term, our Academic Prefects, Robert and Hannah, have done an excellent in launching Study HQ, the site for all your study needs. In addition to launching Study HQ, Robert and Hannah have also created weekly study videos for our Secondary school students.

Study HQ includes a huge range of resources and also a weekly, Study Tip of the Week. The site can be found on the Student Intranet.

Please take a moment and watch two of our most popular videos so far!

Study HQ Launch

Study Space Tips & Tricks

Blessings,

Fiona Hogan

Director of Innovation & Learning Middle School

We’re excited to introduce a new segment to our newsletter, Campus Round Up, showing a quick glimpse of life at our wonderful College!

Year 8 Science Revision

• Mrs Hogan asks, “Would you wear this?”. This biologgically accurate shirt was a handy study tool that our Year 8 Science students used to revise for their Biology exam!

Genesis Aquatics – Promoted to the Brisbane Premiership League!

• Congratulations to Genesis Aquatics, who recently topped the 1^st division of the Brisbane Premiership Swimming league.
• Next year the Club will be reinstated in the premiere division
• 

Genesis Alumni – Artwork on Display at GOMA!

Congratulations to Genesis Alumni, Jaeve, whose artwork will be on display at GOMA between 28 May and 21 August for the Creative Generation Excellence in Visual Art exhibition.

Each year, the ‘Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art’ recognises and celebrates the artistic achievements and creative talents of senior high school students from across Queensland.

This exhibition showcases the work of the 37 excellence award recipients selected in 2021 from over 500 entries submitted by students from metropolitan and regional schools throughout the state.

Make sure you celebrate the success of our 2021 Genesis alumni by visiting the exhibition!

On Friday, 18 March  our College joined the rest of the nation to participate in our National Day of Action Bullying and Violence (NDA), better known here as, You Matter Day.

It was so heart-warming to actually have an opportunity be together as a school community. We were surrounded by a sea of orange colour from delicious cupcakes with orange icing to orange shirts, balloons, hats, and badges. How blessed we were to hear the singing of the choir along with many other activities and to simply feel the joy of experiencing community and fun together after months of COVID restrictions, it made this year’s YMD extra special.

This year’s theme for YMD was Kindness with a major of focus on kindness online. To support kindness online NDA has released a new animation series, Be Kind Online. This series promotes and encourages young people to block content, report it, and support each other. Take a look at the information here.

Kindness in essence is the opposite to being mean which tends to be at the heart of any bullying situation. As simplistic as it sounds if we promote kindness, meanness won’t have a voice. Kindness is also a value held by Christians and modelled by Jesus.

Apart from kindness to each other online the expression of kindness across all aspects of our community goes a long way to build a sense of people feeling they do matter.

To further promote YMD’s kindness theme, here’s a challenge for us all. Let the sight of something orange throughout this year, serve as a reminder to be kind to one another. Let’s act on the value of kindness and remember that every single person really does matter!

Blessings,

Sherrie Brook

Pastoral Care Team

xThis month our Year 11 Hospitality students embarked on an excursion into the City for the day. Class member, Chloe K, has written a review of the day!

On the 11^th March, the Year 11 Hospitality students attended an excursion to further develop front and back of house knowledge. The first destination was Wolff Coffee Roasters. They students viewed the process of roasting coffee beans and tasted a variety of single origin roasts and were challenged to consider the flavour wheel. There was time for a relaxing morning tea at the café section of the warehouse before getting back on the bus.

The next place that the students attended was the Emporium Hotel. The students were absolutely dazed by the hotel’s facilities. They started off by meeting two beautiful ladies who took them on a tour, Anita and Celeste. Anita gave the students an in-depth backstory of her jobs and her career progression to show where she is today. They then took the students on a tour where they viewed many different places within the hotel.

The first place they visited was the roof top bar and pool. The view was gorgeous, and the students were so amazed that they had to take many photos. After that they made their way to the penthouse and words can not describe the look on their faces. They were overwhelmed by the quality of the room and astonished by the price ($9,000 per night!). They then looked at the regular rooms to compare the difference before making their way to the back of house. The students found the back of house sketchy and were shocked by the difference between what guests see compared to those who work there. After that they enjoyed a lovely lunch that was provided by the Emporium Hotels kitchen staff and went to Southbank until the buses arrived.

Overall, it was a lovely experience and well enjoyed.

Written by Chloe K (Yr 11) 

PREP 2023 ENROLMENTS

Prep is an exciting year of significant growth and development. Our Prep program helps to develop students who are curious, intrinsically motivated, knowledgeable, confident, reflective and independent. Applications for Enrolment for Prep 2023  are being accepted at this time and available on the College website

Genesis Christian College offers a holistic approach to education, involving the spiritual, academic, social, emotional, and physical development of each student, based on biblical foundations and delivered from a Christian worldview.

YEAR 7 2023 ENROLMENTS

Middle school is an important stage, as young people in this developmental phase crystallise their beliefs about themselves, their philosophies of life, their values, and their aspirations for the future. As such, the Middle School curriculum at Genesis offers students choice and the opportunity to explore and experience a variety of subjects before they enter their Senior Secondary studies.

Applications for Enrolment for Year 7, 2023 are being accepted at this time and available on the College website.

Genesis Christian College offers a holistic approach to education, involving the spiritual, academic, social, emotional, and physical development of each student, based on biblical foundations and delivered from a Christian worldview.

Located within the Genesis Christian College campus, Genesis Dance Academy and Genesis Drama Academy offer after school performing arts classes in state-of-the-art dance and drama studios, with passionate teachers and engaging programs. With a focus on participation, developing technique and providing age-appropriate classes, Genesis Dance and Drama Academies are open to both Genesis Christian College students and members of our local community. Our Dance classes include Tiny Stars, Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Acro. We also offer Drama & Musical Theatre classes as well as Performance Team and solo programs.

Please email dancedrama@genesis.qld.edu.au to find out more and claim your free trial class.

Did you know Genesis Sport & Aquatics offers a range of sports & activities for you and your family? Whether it’s swimming, tennis, football, fitness, triathlon or our Multisport school holiday camp GSA has something for everyone!

Conveniently located on-site at Genesis Christian College, GSA offers world-class coaching in fantastic facilities. Interested in one of our programs? Please email us at gsa@genesis.qld.edu.au.

Welcome Back!

A warm welcome back to all Genesis families in this, the first newsletter for the 2022 academic year.  A particular welcome to families new to the College.  Although we have been required to limit the number of parents on site, it has been great to have new families join the College and we do trust that you will feel more connected as COVID-19 restrictions ease across our State.  Thank you to all parents for your patience and understanding through this most unusual start to the school year.  It has been wonderful to watch students engage quickly into the school routine and the learning for the year ahead.

During the holidays, many in our graduating class of 2021 received their ATAR results along with Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) offers and we are so proud of their outstanding results.  Please take some time to review these results in the Secondary School update.

The College has many events and activities planned for the year ahead and we are incredibly excited to be joining together with you as a community for these.  I encourage you to keep an eye on the College calendar available in both the College App and on Parent Lounge.

In the coming weeks, the College will be sharing the new Strategic Plan with parents.  Unfortunately, this was delayed with the disrupted start to the school year.  Please keep an eye out for details of this launch as we would love to share with you our future vision for the College.  I look forward to connecting with throughout the course of the year.

Blessings,

Paul Sterling

Principal

Curriculum 

Recently we acknowledged the DUX of the College 2021, Julius Hart for his remarkable approach to his studies and co-curricular involvement and the humble way he approached his years of schooling.  In his address to the Secondary students Julius emphasised the necessity to have a balanced approach to one’s studies, emphasising the messaging we provide to our students, to take a measured approach to part-time work, socialising, academics, and co-curricular/extracurricular activities.  

The start of the school year has once again been disrupted as school staff, students and parents alike negate different ways of working – drawing on the lessons that have been learnt in the past to create teaching and learning programs which are flexible in their approach.   We welcome a new cohort of Preps and Year 7s, who have by all accounts settled into the College well, largely due to the excellent processes which have been set up to support their transitions.  The College community is commended for its resilience, patience and support this term and we look forward to another year of learning.

Kind regards,

Nichole Welsh

Head of Teaching & Learning (P-12)

During the holidays, Yr 12 student Matthew wanted to build something. Matthew used his creativity and coding skills to good use, by designing and building a mini desk vacuum cleaner!

Firstly, Matthew sourced all of the electronic components he needed to create his project. He sourced most of the components from Core-Electronics. Secondly, Matthew coded his solution using the Python programming language. He coded around 500 lines of code for his solution. Matthew used his 3D skills that he has learnt from Blender to create 3D models in CAD. The models were then printed on his 3D printer.

Once all of the components were ready, Matthew put them together to create the mini desk vacuum. Matthew said that the biggest challenge of the project was trying to get all of the components to fit into the case.

Matthew has refined his solution by adding additional features. He is currently working on version two of his robotic vacuum cleaner. The new and improved version will be larger and have wheels for movement. Sensors and cameras will be used to sense objects and prevent crashes.

Core Electronics was so impressed by Matthew’s project, that they have recognised Matthew, by publishing his design and project on their website. Congratulations Matthew! See the website for more information https://core-electronics.com.au/projects/mini-desk-vacuum.

Matthew has studied a range of design and digital technology subjects at the College, which have inspired his design, complemented his natural ability and given him the skills to create his project.

Kind regards,

Claire Walker

Secondary Teacher

What a great start to the year in Primary Sport. We are back into the swing of things with many events on our calendar.

Morning Training has started for those wanted to join. Anyone is welcome in Prep-Year 6. Please check the School Calendar for our specific dates around carnivals etc. No sign up required – we meet on the main oval at 7:30am.

Swimming Team: our Swimming Team has started our season this week with both the Metropolitan North Carnival and the NISSA Twilight Swim Meet. We will update you on the results of these carnivals next Newsletter.

Congratulations to our Primary Swimming Captains for 2022 – Felix Nielsen and Indigo Kovac. We congratulate both of these students on this recognition of both their achievements in Swimming as well as the characteristics they display making them both extremely worthy captains.

Queensland School Sport Aquathlon Championships:

Congratulations to Matilda Taylor and Matthew Turner who participated as pat of the Met North Team at the recent State Championships. Both Tilly and Matthew performed well on the day giving their all to their performances.

Congratulations to Matthew Turner who finished 8^th in his division gaining him selection in the Qld State Team. What an amazing achievement.

NISSA Semester One Sports:

Students have started up their Semester One Sports and have started enthusiastically on the first Friday Sport session. What an amazing opportunity for students to learn from experienced sport specific coaches.

Upcoming events

Please ensure you have updated your subscriptions on the Genesis App and check back regularly. All sporting information will be communicated on the app.

• Thursday 10 March 3-12 GCC Cross Country
• Monday 14 March CSSAQ Swimming
• Friday 25 March NISSA Gala Day

Kind regards,

Louise McCarthy

Director of Sport – Primary

Dance Camp

Dance Camp this year presented itself quite differently to other years, being held at school to fit government requirements, yet this did not limit the fun or change the experience for us students, and we even had aircon which was a great bonus.

Dance Camp ran for 3 days, Senior Dance company, Junior Dance company and Show choir attended the camp from Thursday and the Mini Dance Company joined in on Saturday, the final day of camp. The purpose of Dance camp is an intensive block of rehearsals and workshops to prepare teams for competitions and performances. Between rehearsals there was plenty of fun, games, food and activities. We were privileged to have a variety of guest choreographers come in to teach us, and on the final day we performed for our peers to show what we had been working on throughout the camp. Between the games night, trivia night, a group tik tok and buddy activities, the students had plenty of time to bond and build new friendships with other like-minded students. Despite being different to other years dance camp was very successful and we finished off Dance camp well with Zooper Doopers and look forward to the competition season ahead of us.

Kind regards,

Amy Filmalter

2022 Dance Captain

Welcome back!

I would like to extend a vote of appreciation to our families for the smooth start to the academic year. Despite facing delays to the start of Term and increased COVID restrictions we have enjoyed a very positive first half of Term. Mum; dad; your parenting is paying dividends!

Likewise at College 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- the Dedication Service acknowledged our thankfulness to God for His provision; the Leadership Commissioning Service focussed our attention on our corporate vision; and, the Championship and House Swimming Carnivals celebrated a tremendous sense of excellence and House spirit. I am very much looking forward to the Cross Country on 10 March and expect to see all in attendance.

Our ATAR results from December 2021 were outstanding:

Also, keep an eye on the App tomorrow for an exciting update on our plans for House spirit this year… here’s a sneak peak below!

Kind regards,

Stuart Taylor

Head of School – Secondary

Dear Parents,

Welcome!

We warmly welcome families back to the 2022 school year, and I look forward to getting to know those who are new to our school community, and journeying with families, as together we work towards the development and growth of your children academically, socially, and spiritually.  It’s been an interesting start to the school year (yet again!) but we will begin to move into more normal school life soon.

The next stage of our new building plan has opened and we welcomed Year 3 into The Learning Village.  The children and the staff are enjoying the new spaces and I’m so excited to see all the planning come to fruition.

We trust you enjoyed the videos that were provided by teachers, in place of the usual Class Information Sessions.  The purpose of these sessions is to give parents an overview of the year ahead, and an introduction to your classroom teacher, and their expectations for the class. Discussions on individual students and their progress will occur during the official Parent teacher interviews in Week 10 of term.

Although I work as a school leader and manager, I am firstly a teacher, who loves just being around children, and working with staff in a child’s development. As such, you will see me out and about the school grounds, and regularly in classrooms. Our teacher-parent-student relationships are vital, and I encourage parents to connect with me when possible; even just for a quick hello and a chat. I also pray that the start of the school year has been a blessed one for your families, as you send your older children back to school, and some of your children to school for the first time. May the peace of God be with you all these coming weeks.

Can I take this opportunity to remind families to subscribe to the College App (including any activities your child is involved in)  – this is the point of contact for most College correspondence.

I’m looking forward to what the coming year has in store for us all.

Blessings,

Jeremy Williamson

Head of School – Primary

Some important notes from our Uniform Shop:

• Please call or email the Uniform Shop if you wish to make an appointment for a full fitting for new uniforms (with your child)
• Appointments can be made for the following days:
  • Monday 10 to Friday 14 January
  • Monday 17 to Tuesday 18 January
• General day for picking up laybys, collecting online orders or making an exchange – Wednesday 19 January – 8:30-3:30pm (closed between 12:00 and 12:30pm).
• General day for small item purchases – Thursday 20 and Friday 21 January – 8:30-3:30pm (closed between 12:00 and 12:30pm each day).
• Refer to the updated attached flyer for further information and times.
• For any queries please contact the Uniform Shop
  • Ph 3882 9031
  • Email UniformShop@genesis.qld.edu.au

Bus Changes -2022

Please note that Term 1 2022 will bring some changes to Translink School Routes that service our College.

6800PM will now be starting from Kurwongbah State School, which will have an ETA at Genesis 3:20pm. This service will continue as it has during 2021.

You can view the new timetable here

Year 3-6 Swimming Carnival

What an amazing day we had for our Year 3-6 Swimming Carnival recently! The cheering started before the first race and continued non-stop until after the final presentation. It was so great to see our Year 6 Students have such an amazing time in our new ‘Year 6 Challenge’.

Congratulations to our Champion House on the day, Gilead!

A huge congratulations to Indigo K and Ruby K who were our Record Breakers on the day.

Age Champions

• 8 Years Boys 
• 1^st Seth M
• 2^nd Charlie S

8 Years Girls 

• 1^st Zoe B
• 2^nd Mia D
• 3^rd Avianna O W

9 Years Boys

• 1^st Keegan H
• 2^nd Deezil P
• 3^rd  Cael B

9 Years Girls

• 1^st Ruby K
• 2^nd Holly MC
• 3^rd Zoe P

10 Years Boys

• 1^st Theo H
• 2^nd Flynn S
• 3^rd Mark B

10 Years Girls

• 1^st Indigo K
• 2^nd Charlie B and Amelia L

11 Years Boys

• 1^st Felix N
• 2^nd Matthew T
• 3^rd Jared H

11 Years Girls

• 1^st Kiara V
• 2^nd Abby H
• 3^rd Giselle B

Champion House 2021:

Congratulations to Gilead House on being crowned our Champion House for 2021.

All Schools Aquathlon:

A team of our primary students took part in the QLD All Schools Triathlon at Kawana Waters in October. Congratulations to the following students who gained Metropolitan North Regional Team selection:

• Junior Triathlon: Madison R – 9^th
• Primary Aquathlon: Matthew T – 2^nd and Matilda T – 17^th

Queensland School Sport Tennis

Elijah N was invited to fill-in as part of the Capricornia region at the 10-12years Queensland State Tennis Championships held at the Brisbane Tennis Centre on 17-20 October this year. Elijah ranked 19^th overall and helped the Capricornia Regional team place 6^th out of the 12 regions.

Brisbane Swimming – Patrons Shield:

Congratulations to Mitchell E who was selected into the Brisbane Patrons Shield team. He placed 2^nd in his race.

Kind regards,

Louse McCarthy

Director of Sport – Primary

Farewell to Year 12

Well, what a year it has been.  It is hard to believe that our cohort of 2021 has graduated already – our 20^th cohort to graduate in the 30^th anniversary year of the College. It feels like only yesterday that they entered the high school as eager-eyed Year 7 students.

The cohort under the guidance of Micah Richardson, Brooke Criddle, Sam George and Frances Goodwin set their theme for the year as unity. From cross-year level games of handball to connecting with individual students on a daily basis, the cohort have worked hard on their shared purpose of driving unity across the College.

As their Care and Conduct Leader for the past 3 years I am excited for what lies ahead in the future for these students but it certainly is bittersweet as I will miss them dearly.

I wish them all the best as they enter this new chapter in their lives.

Kind regards,

Shayne Kriel

Care and Conduct Leader – Year 12

Celebration Services

Last week saw three wonderful End of Year Celebration services for our Primary school. From the entertaining Christmas Celebration service for Prep – Yr 2 student, the Yrs 3-4 Service with class awards and performances, through to the formal Yrs 5-6 Service and Graduation, each service was exceptional!

Each year at the Yrs 5-6 Celebration Service,  I share some thoughts and reflections of the year that has been. 2021 has been another monumental year for us – and so today I share the speech I gave at this service.

“So for some reflections of 2021 – or perhaps the last season of developments at Genesis Christian College and particularly the Primary school. For a long time, myself, and my colleagues here at Genesis – and indeed forward-thinking educators across the World, have been asking some critical questions of schooling. Questions like:

Is schooling really relevant to the real world anymore?

What are the most important things to learn, considering a 10 yr old can pretty much Google anything they want to know and find the answer?

What skills do employers really want in employees?

How do we develop young people of quality character, who are “others” centered, who can work in teams, who can collaborate, who have empathy?

How do we help young people navigate life in a world which is increasingly more digitised, with the treacherous landscape of the online world, and yet remain true to themselves, the truth and a healthy life in the real world?

You see, schools who are thinking about these matters, and concurrently attending to them through policy, practice, and teaching and learning, like Genesis are actually preparing our young people to be successful in their future world which potentially is quite uncertain. This is a scary statement, or is it?

I have this cycle of thinking which goes something like this. We believe in something (Bible, God, Jesus), this means we have a set of values, this means we choose a set of behaviours which support these values, which establishes a set of benchmarks which we strive towards in life – this is called the development of character. If we have a character of God-honouring, truth seeking integrity, and values – these matters will ultimately transcend the knowledges of a modern or bygone era, or anything Google might tell you. If we can educate and build young people of great character – anything the world or society might throw at them can be managed – because they live their lives by long-term principals, not facts or in the moment, or by likes on social media.

So in turn – let’s consider some of the initiatives we have intentionally instituted in the Genesis primary school to develop character, and these future skills. Things like…

PBL – Project Based learning, which brings learning to life in the real world. Providing students with an experience of creating real things for a real audience, often solving a complex problem, and often having to rely on others in a team to get the job done. PBL gives students a taste of the real world like – designing donuts for an actual shop, writing books for students in prep, or designing and making bath toys that float (like the preps did). Experiences like this are full to the brim of the curriculum – the knowledges and skills prescribed by ACARA. Things like reading writing and “rithmatic” are critical, they are fundamental to success. But as an employer I don’t just want to employ the guy who knows his times tables – that’s a given – I want to employ the person who can work with others – who has people skills – or who can solve complex problems which require creative thinking.

Secret Skills,  a Cambridge University developed set of skills which prepare students for the real world. This includes how to get along with each other, how to develop resilience and self management skills, and how to empathise with others.

Longreach, bussing 130 odd people to a far flung country town in the middle of a pandemic to experience things that city kids just don’t really get to do. And a hint for the 5s – we are going again next year, and its going to be even more country! Experiences like this are challenging students to grow up an awful lot in just a few days!

Building Programs, building learning spaces like the STEM building or the new Learning Village in Primary – specifically designed for the modern learner – with a range of innovative elements to support our pedagogical advancements.

Digital Learning Platforms – COVID induced

Things like SeeSaw, Teams and Onenote allow our students to operate in real time in the Digital world – collaborating with teachers and peers on projects, and all types of learning. Our ethic as educators has to be “how can we navigate the digital world through a Christian Worldview – ensuring our children are protected, yet provided with the very best of excellent technologies” Might I suggest partnering effectively with parents on this matter is critical – but also remembering that the real world and the natural environment are equally important for a child’s development. Kids need to play in the mud, climb trees and dance in the rain!

So our Primary school has been evolving over the last season. We are proud of where we have come from and how we are developing – our desire is to prepare our students for the future; to be the future entrepreneurs, champion athletes, elegant dancers or passionate musicians, builders, sparkies, plumbers, financial experts, medical professionals, dreamers and thinkers, – whatever they have the potential to become –  but ultimately positive contributors to a society of the future.

We want to be building young people of Godly Character – empathic people. People who know God, know themselves, and how they can contribute to society. Let me leave you with a verse from the bible about how to gain Godly character –

Proverbs 4:6-7 “Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, though it cost all you have, get understanding.”

Character is that deep understanding – that transcends knowledge – that comes from experience and seeking after a knowledge of God our creator. That is what I pray for all of our students at Genesis.”

Kind Regards,

Jeremy Williamson

 Head of School – Primary

Secondary Highlights 

Dear Parents,

As more communication comes about Launch 22 (7:30am – 6:00pm – Thurs, 20 Jan 2022) please make time to have your children collect everything they will need for classes on Day 1 and to sign-up for the many co-curricular endeavours that enrich their schooling experience.

A new school year is also a time for new school clothes to fit those rapidly growing teenage bodies. I am looking forward to seeing boys with size 10 feet wearing size 10 socks (it might be time to throw out those smaller ones) and tall torsos wearing shirts that stayed tucked in! Please review the shoe policies as well, I’d hate for you to buy shoes needlessly. A particular reminder would be Sport shoes are white.

In the new year we will be reviewing Formal Hats and ensuring they are in ‘good repair’. Please plan to purchase a new hat if necessary. Likewise, a reminder that Year 10 will be wearing their Senior blazer on the Thursday of week 1.

My Christmas encouragement to one and all, is to declare to each other at the end of your Christmas our thankfulness for God’s love toward us. He so loved the world, that He gave us Jesus.

Blessings,

Stuart Taylor

Head of School – Secondary 

Curriculum – Finishing Strong

It has certainly been a busy couple of months, as students and College staff prepare for the end of year celebrations, assessment, reports, and of course learning. It is important to take a moment to consider how far we have come this past year.

The College community has once again tackled the challenges that COVID brought us, in terms of learning from home.

Students in the Primary school embarked on new ways of learning as Project-Based Learning was implemented and the Secret Skills of getting along and working well were introduced.

Students in the lower Primary shared insights into their school life, through SeeSaw.

Year 4 students learnt to use new devices. To top this off some students moved into a brand-new learning space, where they collaborated in rooms which gave them opportunity to stretch their legs and brains in flexible learning spaces.

In the Secondary school, students continued to master the use of OneNote and Teams, improving opportunities to collaborate as classes and cohorts.

Blended technologies improved engagement in many learning areas and different ways of learning explored.

Year 7 students (and parents) followed their academic journey through Progressive reporting and intentional opportunities for students to participate in a number of co-curricular programs and competitions offered.

And of course, our Year 12s completed their final journey in formal education, blessed and prepared for their next steps.

Of course, there is so much more that goes on in a school year, but these are perhaps some of the highlights.

We acknowledge the importance of the partnership between school and home, and the symbiotic relationship that exists in supporting our young people to be the very best they can be; and thank our parents for their continued support of their children’s education.

Finally, we ask for your continued prayers for our Year 12s at this time, as they leave Genesis to embark on their future pathways.  May the blessings of the Lord light your path and keep you safe.

Kind regards,

Nichola Welsh

Head of Teaching and Learning

Pastoral Care Pen – November

Hello parents! Well yet again I cannot believe that we are at the end of another year. It has again been another interesting and at times ‘unexpected year’ however as I look back and reflect, there are so many things to be grateful for and I can really see God’s hand of guidance and protection over our year as a school.

Last week many people celebrated the American holiday of Thanksgiving. This is one of their traditions that I really love and admire. To set aside a day/meal/moment to consider all that there is to be thankful for. Gratitude is a powerful and life changing act, especially when we think about what we are grateful for on a regular basis or when we may be feeling overwhelmed or discouraged.

Gratitude can so beautifully move our state of mind or perspective from a state of despair or distress into clarity and courage, enabling us to take steps to keep moving forward. I believe this is a powerful tool for our young people to learn, one that they can use for life and can keep their life moving forward despite the setbacks they may experience. I encourage you over the next few weeks and into the Christmas holidays to take some time to think about and practise gratitude as a family and make it a daily practise so that it becomes a life habit and way of being, as 1 Thessalonians 5:18 in God’s word, encourages us to…

^“Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live”.

The Genesis Christian College Pastoral Care team is praying that all of our families and students have a safe and joy-filled Christmas break.

God Bless.

See you in 2022!

BONUS – Some cyber safety tips for the holidays

5 tips to keep kids safe and well online:

1. It is illegal for children under age of 13 to have social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Discord. Try Facebook’s ‘Messenger kids’ for a safe App for children and young teens.
2. Keep an eye on messaging abilities in platforms like Pinterest, gaming sites and apps such as Discord. The app or activity itself may be harmless but who is talking to your child or what are they talking about.
3. Keep phones out of bedrooms, bathrooms and limit screen time by providing meaningful activities
4. Keep an eye out for hidden devices, social media apps and accounts. Just because you can’t see the app or the interactions, does not mean it is not happening.
5. NO matter the age and stage of your child or the stage your child is at with their technology use it is never too late to establish boundaries and rules – have a technology reset at the beginning of each term or year and write an agreement together to set boundaries and establish a refence point to come back to for when things go wrong.

For more information or to continue to educate yourself in all things technology go to https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents or https://www.cybersafetysolutions.com.au/keeping-safe-in-cyberspace/

Yours sincerely,

Louise Klar

Head of Pastoral Care and Growth

Creating Memories

As the holiday season is almost upon us, a common topic of conversation is how we will spend our holiday. It is easy to get caught up with planning our annual summer camping trip or our holiday by the beach or arrangements for Christmas day. These are all important things and extremely exciting; however, I have been reflecting on how easy it is to allow things to keep you busy and therefore forget the real meaning of the Christmas season.

The way that we, as parents approach this holiday season has a significant impact on the images being formed in the minds of our children as they observe us. Taking time to intentionally pause and remember the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ during our Christmas holiday break can help our children write upon their future memories. There are many activities that families can enjoy together which highlight the significance of Christmas to help create lasting memories for our children.

An Advent calendar is one way that families can celebrate the days leading up to Christmas. These calendars are designed with fun and excitement in mind. Some have windows that open and play music or contain scripture verses for the family to read together each day, while others have gifts inside each window that build to the ultimate gift, our Saviour. Sharing in a carols service together as a family or reading the Christmas story from the Bible are other ways to intentionally focus on Jesus and build special memories. My family have enjoyed arranging the nativity scene and discussing where to place each of the figures most appropriately – often, an insightful opportunity to discuss the Christmas story together.

As parents, the years we have with our children pass extremely quickly and the challenge for us is to ensure that we take hold of every opportunity to build memories that count for the future. I wish you all a safe, restful and blessed Christmas season and look forward to partnering with you again in 2022.

Blessings,

Paul Sterling

Principal

Growing together at Genesis OSHC

Genesis OSH facilitates is a home away from home to many of our Prep to Year 7 students at Genesis Christian College. We deliver a vibrant, innovative nature-based play and sustainable learning program where children are free to enquire and develop their self-identity and promote integrity through child centred initiatives within a Christ Centred environment. We incorporate child-centred pedagogies and agency to encourage culture, belonging and trust. We value our OSH families and the partnership between our educators and families to ensure children are supported in their development and growth, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Through play, our program facilitate the development of life-skills, conflict resolution, problem solving and build resilience. Educators gently guide and support our children through play experiences which in return builds and nurtures relationships. At Genesis OSH we continue to advocate for the wellbeing and inclusivity of all our children. Critical reflection and quality improvement are the driving force behind our practices and the love of children our biggest reason for what we do.

Kind regards,

Friné Lupke

Director of Childcare Services

Department Spotlight – Dance Showcase 2021 – Don’t Stop

Earlier this term, over 250 passionate performers took to the stage in our biggest dance event yet. Dance Showcase 2021: Don’t Stop.

In response to the changed event restrictions, a third show was added and the students did not disappoint. All of our curriculum and co-curricular dance students ranging from Year 3-12, in addition to one of our Genesis Dance and Drama Academy eisteddfod teams performed a variety of highly entertaining dance pieces that thrilled our audiences.

Featuring 34 impressive dances, over 800 dazzling costumes and over 1000 excitable audience members, it was a production like no other. From contemporary to African fusion and musical theatre to tap, our students shone bright on stage in a truly God-glorifying event.

One particular highlight of the evening was a combined, choral, strings and dance item called ‘The Blessing’. This piece was dreamt up as a way of celebrating the 30^th anniversary of Genesis Christian College and aimed to give God all the glory for the immense favour He has poured out over this wonderful school. Dance Showcase 2021 was certainly an event to remember and we are so grateful for the ongoing support of our families, friends and community.

It is evident that Genesis loves to dance and we consider ourselves truly blessed to have these platforms to share our gifts, talents and passions with you all.

Kind regards,

Emily Briddock

Innovation & Learning Leader – Dramatic Arts

Department Spotlight – The Pictures

As always, our Visual and Media Art students have been busy with a range of exciting tasks. Most recently; however, we were quite busy with The Pictures – our annual showcase of talent from Visual Art and Film, Television and New Media students. On this night, we celebrated the hard work, skill and brainpower of our students with a large display, live music, refreshments and an awards ceremony.

The following students received awards:

• Best Cinematography: Emmerson C
• Best Editing GOSCAR: Amara W
• Best Sound Design: Tia J
• Rising Star GOSCAR: Charl P
• Best Year 11 Film GOSAR: Sarsha H
• Best Year 12 Film GOSCAR: Cally N
• People’s Choice Film GOSCAR: Tia J
• People’s Choice Photography Competition: Holly M
• Best in Show Photography Competition: Daniel P
• Industry Encouragement Award: Brooke C and Madi C
• Principal’s Art Choice: Dane K
• Head of School’s Art Foundation Purchase: Charlie W

Some of our other recent highlights include:

• Year 12 Film student, Tia J was shortlisted in the BUFTA Film competition.
• Year 12 Visual Art student, Jaeve P, received an Excellence Award as part of the 2021 Creative Generation Excellence in Visual Arts. As a result, Jaeve’s beautiful artwork will be on display at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) between 28 May to 21 August 2022.
• At the recent Moreton Bay Youth Art Awards, our students shone. We took home the following awards:
  • First Prize in the Year 7-12 Collaborative Artwork
  • Third Prize in the Year 11-12, 2D section: Joshua T
  • Highly Commended in the Years 11-12, 2D section: Charlie W and Jaeve P
  • Highly Commended in the Years 7-10, 2D section: Nicolas G
• Year 11 Visual Art students engaged with printmaking during an incursion with Dr Glen Skien, artist and Griffith QCA academic.
• Year 11 and 12 Film, Television and New Media students explored virtual reality at a recent excursion to Warner Bros. Movie World.

We are very excited by the talent of our students and are very thrilled to hear that so many of our Year 12 Visual Art and Film, Television and New Media students are moving into creative fields next year. We wish them the very best!

Blessings,

Natasha Gillies

Innovation and Learning Leader – Visual and Media Arts (Year 7-12)

Department Spotlight – Legal Studies

Year 10 Justice & Legal Studies – Queensland Parliament House

The first of two Year 10 Justice and Legal Studies classes have visited Queensland Parliament House this term. We have been fortunate to make this excursion considering the disruptions of COVID-19 and possible lockdowns. This excursion comes at the conclusion of the Term 3 unit of study on Law and Society. Students have learned the importance of laws in our society, how and why laws are made through Parliament and society’s need for order. During this visit to Parliament House, it was a great experience to take what has been learned in class and see it in the real world. Students enjoyed a tour of Parliament and sat in the Legislative Assembly Chamber. As part of this visit, students joined with another high school class to parliamentary role-play in debating on a mock bill for Parliament.

Legal Studies Youth Parliament

Six Year 11 Legal Studies students recently participated in the Legal Studies Youth Parliament. Each student was given a role to play in this role-play of Parliament. Students prepared speeches to deliver, debating and supporting a Mock Bill for Parliament or on an adjournment debate on an important issue in Queensland. Students had a great time and enjoyed sitting in the MP’s comfy chairs.

YMCA – Youth Parliament

Over the recent school holidays, Year 11 Legal Studies student Elise Bennett participated in the YMCA Youth Parliament. This six-month program saw students across Queensland engage small teams (portfolio) to write a Bill proposing a law reform they are passionate about. The conclusion of this program was a week in Queensland’s Parliament House where participants proposed and debated their bills in a Mock Parliament. Elise was the Youth Member for Kurwongbah and was a member of the Health, Emergency Services, Disability and Seniors Portfolio.

Kind regards,

Nina Johnson

Legal Studies Teacher

Care and Conduct – Year 9 Survival Camp

In Week 8, Year 9 students undertook a 5-day Survival Camp near Noosa on the Sunshine Coast. The intention of the camp was to put the students in new and challenging situations, encourage teamwork and co-operation, and to spend time in personal reflection. Right from the moment they stepped off the bus, the students knew this was different to previous camps when they were told they had a series of challenges and tasks, and their dinner was conditional on how well they completed them as a team.

Students had to build their own fires, prepare and cook their food themselves, and ensure all the necessary washing up and other duties were complete. Sleeping in tents was not new for most, but kangaroo’s and goannas walking around through the night was new for some.

Activities on the camp included learning how to transport and filter water, light a fire and hard boil an egg, all while working as a team. There was also a challenge to build working rafts and retrieve prizes while other students built catapults and fired wet sponges to protect the prizes. Survival skills were also taught, with methods of building shelters put into practice while on a bush walk.

The highlight for many students, and all teachers, was the 24-hour solo. Students were given their own spot along a bush trail and left with a large bag of food, a tarp and a swag if they chose. While on the solo, students had several small tasks to complete that included attempting a knotwork bracelet and a letter to their future selves that were collected and will be handed back when the students are in Year 12. Many people said how much they enjoyed the solitude and not having any digital devices with them, all the students said it was an experience that they would remember.

A big thankyou to all the staff that went above and beyond all week to ensure the students had an enjoyable and worthwhile experience.

Andrew Duncan

Year 9 Care and Conduct Leader

Year 5 Camp

The annual camp is a wonderful highlight for students, and this year, the Year 5 students were extra excited about their camp seeing that they were not able to have one in 2020. Camp Somerset in the beautiful, hilly bushland on Lake Somerset has been the location for the Year 5 camp for many years. The camp has always been a fun-filled, challenging experience for all and this year did not disappoint.

Once again, our students experienced activities that are designed to challenge, enthuse and build confidence, and foster connections with one another. Activities such as the Giant Swing and Koala Climb certainly require courage and students surprised themselves as they faced their fears and took themselves beyond what they thought they could achieve.

Many of the activities require the students to work together and develop trust – for example the crate climb, raft building, canoeing and the mysterious Burma trail where students were taken on a bush walk blindfolded!

The night time activities did not disappoint – the highlight perhaps being camp fire songs starring Mr Bedville himself and star gazing with Mrs Testa. As always, the food was amazing but the best of all were the amazing parent helpers who worked so hard to give the students a wonderful four days. Thank you to our parent helpers. And a big thank you to the Genesis staff without whom the camp would not be possible.

Bring on 2022 Year 5 camp!

Kind regards,

Simon Bedville

Assistant Head of School – Primary

Care and Conduct – Year 4 Camp

Year 4 Camp 2021 was an absolute blast! Students, teachers and parent volunteers all enjoyed an incredible three days away filled with adventure, sunshine and lots of good times.

The theme of our Year 4 camp was Facing and Conquering Giants. We choose to centre the camp around the scripture Romans 8:31 ‘if God is for us, who can stand against us’. Our current Year 4s, like David in the story David and Goliath, are not deterred by the size of the giants they face. This was evident on our recent camp as all the children faced and conquered difficult or uncomfortable situations. We were so proud of them all!

The first two days of camp saw us complete six activities run by Apex Mudjimba staff. These activities included: Bush Skills, Mid Ropes and Flying Fox, Radio Rogaine, Canoeing, Mud Pit Challenge and Catapults. Canoeing seemed to be the biggest hit with the most students! On Friday, we finished the camp with our very own novelty Mini Olympics and time of reflection.

All in all, the camp was a wonderful experience filled with many opportunities to grow, challenge ourselves and make new friends.

Kind regards,

Kate Johnson

Year 4 Primary Care and Conduct Leader

Primary Sports 

BOSL Competitions:

Genesis competed in the BOSL competition for both Netball and Football with both seasons wrapping up recently. Congratulations to both teams on great seasons of competitions, with both finishing in 3^rd place.

Queensland School Sport Golf:

Earlier in the year Phoenix G competed in the QSS Golf Championships as part of the Met North 10-12 years team. Phoenix’s team won the tournament and were crowned State Champions. Congratulations Phoenix!

North Queensland Athletics Championships:

Over the holidays Dylan M participated in the North Qld Athletics Championships where he placed 1^st in the 11 years boys 100m. Congratulations Dylan!

NISSA Gala Days:

We are wrapping up our NISSA Sporting Competition for the years where we have participated in Gala Days against our friends at The Lakes College, Grace Lutheran Primary School and Prince of Peace. Our students have participated with enthusiasm and have improved their skills over the course of the year.

Prep-2 Athletics Carnival:

On the 7^th October we hosted our postponed P-2 Athletics Carnival. What a beautiful morning of smiling faces and fun! Well done to all our of amazing Prep-Year 2 students for trying their best.

Year 3-6 Swimming Carnival:

Our Year 3-6 Swimming Carnival is coming up on Friday 12^th November. We are looking forward to a great day with opportunities for all students to take part on the day to gain points for their houses. We are excited for the 1^st run of our new Year 6 Challenge on the day. Information about the day can be found on the Genesis App.

Kind regards,

Louise McCarthy

Director of Primary Sport 

As the year draws to a close it is time to look back on the wonderful year we have had at Genesis, especially in our Primary school. Our students and staff continuously amaze me, not just with their exceptional results across sporting, artistic and academic endeavours, but also, and perhaps more importantly, with the dedication to training and studying, humility, and selflessness with which they do this. Our Genesis students consistently perform at the highest levels in all of these areas, within our culture of high expectations, and now is the time to rest and unwind as we head into the holiday season in just a few weeks.

2021 has been a year of refining our vision and defining the key focus areas in the Primary school, with a number of new leaders settling into roles at the College; new academic programs, and ways of working, and as we head into 2022 our intention is to consolidate the changes and refinements, and really focus on our priorities of Project-Based Learning, Digital Learning Platforms, new buildings for Year 2 and 3, and of course our rigorous focus on literacy and numeracy. However, within this, and covering all of this, of course, is our Christian culture; through which we observe and design everything, and ultimately understand learning and our world. With the help of God, and seeking his will in all things, 2022 will be another great year in the Genesis community.

2022 staff appointments

We have been very blessed with the very high quality of staff who work at Genesis, and we are excited to announce the following internal appointments for next year.

• Jacqui Grotius – Learning Innovation & Technology Leader – Primary
• Natasha Fox – Innovation & Learning Leader – Year 3
• Karen Sella – Innovation & Learning Leader – Year 2

Primary Colours Assembly

In the next few weeks we will conduct our Primary Sports and Colours Co-curricular Awards which combine Sport, Cultural and Service Awards. We have had a considerable number of students achieving these awards and this is a very healthy sign of a growing program and also an expanding commitment to activities that the College offers beyond the classroom.

Through the Colours system, we not only recognise the efforts of many students but also demonstrate to all, the many and varied ways of contributing to our College Life. By doing so, students gain so much more fulfilment, a sense of worth and a sense of service and well-being, and these attributes are so necessary for a balanced and healthy lifestyle.

The Colours Scheme provides students with a small incentive to be involved in activities beyond the classroom. Students accumulate colour points varying on the commitment required for training or involvement. All activities are College based and the Colours system operates across the whole College with a small roll over of points from Primary into Secondary.  Both systems are similar in nature with the end goal for Primary, a Gold award and in Secondary School, full colours, worn on the College Blazer.

Primary end of Year Celebration Services

For 2021 we will be conducting 3 services, our yearly 5/6 Celebration and Graduation service, our 3/4 Celebration service, and for this year, our newly designed Prep-2 Christmas Celebration service. Be sure to look out for the bookings to attend these events

Kind Regards

Jeremy Williamson

 Head of School – Primary

Secondary Highlights 

I love Term 4; and not just because the Christmas holidays can be heard jingling in the background!

I love the way in which we get to celebrate the amazing achievements of our students. I love the Presentation events and the farewells to Year 12. I love the way in which the College community can come together and honour the students’ application to all areas of school life.

Our Co-Curricular Presentation Ceremony was a great success with the awarding of close to 300 certificates and trophies. These achievements are made for the roar of crowds, the applause of audience and the admiration of peers. In Week 2 the Secondary school was the crowd, we were the audience that these great endeavours deserved. Thank you to the parents who were able to attend this school time event.

We have also been blessed through the Dance Showcase and The Pictures. What an amazing variety of talent! It is a blessing from God that we enjoy the greatest of co-curricular opportunities here at our school.

At the Senior and Middle School Presentation Ceremonies we get to acknowledge the best qualities of Genesis. The ones we strategically plan for and strive in earnest to achieve. We celebrate achievement in sport, service to the school and broader community; excellence in the arts; character that reflects Christian values; academic distinction; and student leadership. We will get to see first-hand the outstanding quality of our bands, dancers and choirs.

We celebrate the Genesis Student; the work product, as it were, of parents and teachers seeking the common good in the life of your children/our students. We give thanks to our God for His provision, gifting and enabling.

Blessings,

Stuart Taylor

Head of School – Secondary 

Strategic Pillars

The College’s forthcoming Strategic Plan, to be launched to parents in 2022, identifies several key priorities which will drive the College’s strategic planning for the next three years. As one would expect, future-focussed learning is one of these key pillars. With strong links to the Alice Springs Declaration (Education Policy) which outlines the need for schools to be providing opportunities for students to be acquiring skills which are transferrable into both the workforce and into everyday life, future-focussed learning identifies skills such as the use of digital technologies, creative problem solving, collaboration, research and inquiry skills and curiosity.

As a Christian College we overarch these skills with a Christian worldview, which not only facilitates the acquisition of these skills but facilitates the acquisition of these skills with a Godly purpose and ethical lens. Students at the College are provided with an array of opportunities to practice these skills both in and outside the classroom. Participating in fundraising events such as ‘Write a Book in Day’, the Rite Journey, Reader’s Cup, Future Problem Solving, The QAMT Quiz, as examples, provide a number of opportunities to connect, collaborate and to act purposely. Additionally, the College is committed to providing opportunities for students to achieve their personal excellence.

Two new subjects in Secondary are being introduced next year, with a view to this. As an addition to the already established Learning Extension and Enrichment Program (LEEP), an elite sports program is being introduced in Year 7 called STEEP (Sporting Talent Extension and Enrichment Program) with a view to foster and develop young athletes in their chose sport. Additionally, LEEP LInC will help students to lead innovation and creativity using entrepreneurial and STEM-related skills.

Finally, our Year 12 students will shortly begin the final leg of their formal schooling journey as they begin their External Assessment. For many, these exams mark the peak of their hard work and dedication to their studies, and towards the end of term, to celebrate their achievements with their peers at the College Formal and Valedictory service. We welcome the College community to pray for these young people as they enter this final phase.

Nichola Welsh,

Head of Teaching and Learning (P-12)

The Pastoral Care Pen

Our children are our greatest treasure, and once again this year we raised funds for Day for Daniel last Thursday, 28 October.

This year, as always, the Daniel Morcombe Foundation focused on child safety, but especially SAFE BEDROOMS, which is a challenge to us as parents!

So many of our children, especially our teens, retreat there for copious amounts of time with their phones and devices.

Here are some quick reminders:

Use devices in shared spaces

• Encourage your children to use technology in places you can check they are okay – such as the living room or the kitchen.
• Keep devices out of bathrooms and bedrooms.

Stick to ‘real life’ friends

• Teach your child that if they don’t know someone in the real world, they are actually a stranger.
• Remind them that they should never meet up with anyone they only know in the online world.

Share their online world

• Sit down with your children and let them show you the apps, games and websites they love

Think before you post

• Help your child understand that, once it’s out there, it won’t go away.
• Show them that, even if they delete something, they can’t control who has seen it, saved it or made a screen shot

Use a strong and secure password

• Help your child to develop a strong password and to keep this password secure.
• Prompt them to sign out before they leave the computer.

Make a Family Technology Agreement

• Work together to outline the ways your family can develop and maintain a healthy, balanced and safe relationship with technology.

Switch off

• Have a safe and healthy balance of online and offline time. Encourage regular technology free times.
• Switch off your devices at night and turn off the family Wi-Fi at bedtime.

Care Hub

Have you visited our Care Hub recently? We have a huge range of resources on our website including:

• Student wellbeing
• Family resources
• Podcasts, playlists and devotions
• Join our Parents Prayer Group
• Submit your prayer requests

Check it out here!

Genesis Christian College – Community Survey

Recently the College facilitated a Community Survey as part of the final stages of our Strategic Planning process. The survey was completed by a significant portion of our parent body and I would like to thank the many families that took time to complete the survey. The survey results have achieved three critical outcomes: valuable information for the College; a benchmark for measuring growth, and future improvement and important feedback on the five key strategic priorities that were identified through the development of the new Strategic Plan.

Below is a summary of the survey results:

• 84% – families responded that their child/ren is/are happy at Genesis Christian College
• 85% – families responded that they would be likely to recommend Genesis Christian College
• 84% – families responded that they were satisfied with the overall education at the College
• 90% of families believe the College has met most of their expectations

Additionally:

• Our community indicated that Genesis creates a safe and inclusive environment for students and that teachers are caring, nurturing, professional and supportive.
• Our community expressed the importance of ensuring that the education that is offered is future orientated, equipping and preparing students for the jobs of the future.
• The Survey revealed the importance of teachers being both engaged and passionate about the subject matter being taught.
• Also highlighted was the strength of our Pastoral Care program with students feeling supported and genuine care being offered.
• Our community highlighted an opportunity that exists to further strengthen the sense of community across the campus, particularly amongst parents. Responders acknowledged that COVID has had an impact on our ability to connect in normal ways.
• Parents expressed the importance of the consistent enforcement of discipline and behavioural expectations.
• The following Strategic Priorities received overwhelming support:

– Robust faith framework

– Future focussed learning

– Engaging culture

– Inspiring staff

– Campus development

We are blessed to be a part of a rich and thriving community but always acknowledge that there is room for improvement and further development. We look forward to sharing with you the new Strategic Plan at the commencement of 2022 and thank you again to the many parents that completed the survey. We are so thankful to you for partnering with us in this important undertaking of nurturing and equipping our young people.

Blessings,

Mr Paul Sterling

Principal

As the College reaches the completion of our recent Strategic Planning process, one of the initiatives that has been established within the plan is ongoing infrastructure and campus development.

As a result, the College will be undertaking a Master Planning process which will seek to develop plans for our campus facilities for the next 10+ years. The College will be working with our Architect, Novum and we are thankful to the Australian Government for the recent financial assistance provided to the College to support the associated expenses of the Master Planning process.

The Master Planning process will occur throughout the remainder of this year and we look forward to providing our community with insight to the exciting plans for the future in 2022.

Blessings,

Mr Paul Sterling

Principal

Flexible and Creative Learning – the key to educational success

Recently, the Genesis teaching staff attended the Australian Christian School’s conference, with keynote speaker Dr Catherine Ball. Dr Ball is a futurist, and spoke with passion about the skills that young people will need to operate successfully in the future educational landscape and the workforce. Her focus was largely on technology and the rapid change in that space. She emphasized how it is impossible to predict how technology will alter the way we interact with one another and the world. The face of the health system, the defence force, education, transportation and just about everything else will be impacted by our ability to use and develop technology at an ever-increasing pace.

Some might be inclined to say that we should be exalting STEM subjects and the like, given this information. Dr Ball; however, also made the comment that we need “good people to make good robots” and this is where the teaching of ethics, religion, the Humanities, the Arts and Languages plays an essential role. In fact, she identified literacy as the key to unlocking the future. At Genesis, we believe that teaching our young people to develop and use technology for the common good is essential. Our young people need ‘cognitive flexibility’ (a term used by Einstein) more than ever – the skill which enables us to switch between different concepts or adapt our behaviour to achieve our goals in an ever-changing landscape. The ability to think creatively and courageously are also skills that will help our young people thrive.

At the College, we are endeavouring to ensure that our students are provided with many opportunities to practice and master these skills. Be it designing donuts, selling products at the Genesis Festival or designing new protypes, the future is looking bright for our Genesis students.

Kind regards,

Nichola Welsh

Head of Teaching and Learning (P-12)

Year 6 Outback Tour to Longreach

Written by Year 6 students Maddison, Bridget and Lucy.

Longreach is a beautiful place with plains that go for kilometres full of grass, animals, and occasional trees. But Longreach was not the only place we went on camp, with places like Emerald, Rubyvale, Barcaldine and Winton on the list of wonderful places we visited. Rubyvale, one of the stops for an activity. We learnt how the main mine at Miner’s Heritage Walk in Mine and the history behind.

After going through the maze of the mine we went fossicking for sapphires. Once everyone had finished the experience we departed for Longreach!

Once in Longreach we checked into our accommodation at Longreach Pastoral College and readied our rooms. After dinner bus 1 & 2 went to QUANTAS Founders Museum light show. The light show educated all of those who watched about the 4 founders, the planes and the beginning of QLD & NT Areal Services or QUANTAS. The next morning we visited Longreach School of Distance Education, seeing what learning from a distance was like. The Camden Park Station, being educated what life of an Australian stockman was like. Following on with the stockman theme Australian Stockman Hall of Fame was next Learning through audio of an iPod. We learnt life as an Australian stockman in the past. Then learning further at Kinnon & Co: Bush Fire at Night at Nogo Station under the moonlight, having the experience which any stockman would,(with a bunch of Year 6 students that is) having beef stew, mash potato, rice pudding and billy tea.

The next day off to Winton we went! Waltzing Matilda Centre was the first stop, before entering though we all got a horse drawn carriage ride around the area. Then we all headed for the sights of
the displays and artefacts. Next stop was Australian Age of the Dinosaurs museum! With footsteps and fossils of Australia’s dinosaurs, we learnt of Australia’s many dinosaurs. With the night activity at Australian’s Stockman‘s Hall of Fame : outback show. Full of whip cracking and stockman fun. After a good sleep ending our time at longreach with QUANTAS Founders museum, visiting the 747 and Super Constellation, we left Longreach after a spectacular time. On the way home we visited Barcaldine’s Tree of Knowledge Memorial, where the Labour Party was founded. Learning about Iningai culture.

Next morning we woke up on the bus near home. Couple hours left and no more time on those buses. Then we were there that Friday morning we were at school with most of us heading to Macca’s for breakfast. The end of the best camp ever!

Term 3 is Primary Camp Season!

Each year in Term 3, our Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 students embark on their annual school camp! Already this term, our Year 6 students. under the leadership of Mr Johnson, visited Longreach and other Western Queensland towns, learning about our Australian history in a week-long camp. Again, by all reports this camp was an incredible time away for students, staff and the parent helpers who always attend our trips. Our Genesis students are shining role models; children of high character and calibre, with staff at venues visited often contacting the school to let us know just how amazing our Genesis students are.

The culminating Year 6 trip is a capstone event for Primary students, but the success of this trip can be attributed to the camping program of Years 3, 4 and 5, and the development of life skills which students learn through these experiences. Later this week, our Year 3 students will go on their first school camp for one night, then Year 4 will go next week for two nights, and Year 5 in the last week of term for 3 nights. At each camp students enjoy a range of challenge activities which test their teamwork, resilience, critical thinking, and a whole range of other life skills like making your bed, going to sleep on time, and learning how to serve others at mealtimes.

Students always have the best of fun, away camping with their friends, and at Genesis we always embed our Christian values into activities and share a devotions and prayer time at night together. Thankyou to all our parents for supporting our camping program, and thankyou to our wonderful teachers who work hard to make these the best experiences possible for our children.

Kind Regards, 

Jeremy Williamson

 Head of School – Primary

Moreton Bay Regional Council (MBRC) Local Laws Unit undertakes a School Parking Patrol Program where officers complete scheduled school patrols, both in the morning and afternoon, to ensure that vehicles are parked in a safe and lawful manner. The primary aim of the program is to ensure that students and family members/caregivers are able to safely move around the school area as part of dropping off or picking up students from the school.

The Moreton Bay Regional Council Local Law No.5 (Parking) 2011 and Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1999 control parking or stopping of vehicles on footpaths, bicycle paths, marked yellow lines, shared paths, dividing strips and nature strips, along with vehicles parking across residents driveways and within ‘No Stopping’, ‘No Parking’, ‘Bus Zones’ and Pick-up / Drop -off zones. Council is legally required to enforce these areas and the School Parking Patrol Program forms part of this process.  Drivers are reminded that footpaths and nature strips are in place to promote pedestrian movement in a safe manner along roadsides and that drivers and residents must not stop on a bicycle path, shared path, dividing strip or nature strip.  Please also note that vehicles that are parked with two wheels up and two wheels down is not considered as a lawful parking practice.

Local Laws officers conduct enforcement through the issuance of Penalty Infringement Notices as part of each School Parking Patrol. Please be aware that Council officers may take photographic evidence of vehicles stopping or parking illegally with Penalty Infringement Notices to be issued via mail at a later date to the offending vehicle’s owner.

Visit www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/parking for further guidance on parking restrictions.

For any further information, members of the School community are welcome to contact Moreton Bay Regional Council on 3205 0555.

Care and Conduct – Year 11 Camp

Emu Gully Adventure Camp 2021 far exceeded all our Year 11’s expectations. Our students set out to prove they could achieve the goals they established upon their arrival, and they didn’t disappoint.

Genesis camp staff were humbled at our students’ perseverance and willingness to work on their individual, team and cohort weaknesses, despite the challenges they faced. All campers braved the extreme cold and low winter temperatures, working together as teams to overcome a range of challenges while reflecting on the ANZACs and their legacy. From crawling through dark tunnels, crossing over suspended logs, trudging through meters of thick fetid mud, all the while carrying a team member on a stretcher, and hiking through terrain in darkness; our future leaders faced their fears and foibles.

Some memorable highlights of the camp include the bush dance run by “Smashing Bumpkins” where we kicked up our heels to some new and old songs, pulling a truck, rock climbing, driving buggies, and playing paintball while capturing the flag. It is fair to say that our Year 11 students grasped the importance of character development and servant-hearted leadership. They experienced the strength and unity that comes from practicing our ‘Walk in the Light’ themes of Grow, Give and Connect with Conviction.

The challenge our Year 11 cohort now face is to apply the lessons they learned from camp to their lives each day which I am confident they can do.

Thank you to all the dedicated staff who gave of their time to accompany our Year 11s throughout this event.

Kind regards,

Sally-Ann Arro

Year 11 Care and Conduct Leader

Department Spotlight – Music 

Wintersong

Genesis Music was excited to present our Wintersong Ensembles Performance at the very end of last term. The College’s beginner and junior level ensembles performed a wonderful showcase of all they have achieved so far this year and the memorable evening featured debut performances from Beginner Strings and Year 4 Band. The excitement and buzz in the wings filtered out on to the stage which was filled with a sea of smiles and grins. We are looking forward to hearing more from these talented Genesis ensembles.

Singspiration

In Week 2 of this term, we held our first “Singspiration” event which brought together Junior Primary Choirs from local schools in a joyous celebration of song. This year, we were joined by Junior Choirs from Petrie State School, The Lakes College, Bounty Boulevard State School and Northside Christian College, as well as guest conductor and composer, Katherine Rhule. It was a wonderful afternoon of performances from these young choristers and everyone who attended commented on the joy and celebration of the occasion. Congratulations to these students and their talented choir directors.

Kind regards,

Marta Preston

Performance Music Coordinator

Primary Sports 

We have had a very busy period in Primary Sport pre-lockdown. We feel very fortunate that our students have had the ability to take part in these events in such uncertain times.

 Queensland State Cross Country Championships:

Recently Madison R, Sienna B and Matthew T were selected as part of the Met North Team to compete at the State Championships held in Ipswich. Our students performed amazingly and should be congratulated on their results:

• Madison R – 12 Years Girls: 4^th individual, 1^st– State Champions Relay
• Sienna B – 12 Years Girls: 8^th individual, 1^st– State Champions Relay
• Matthew T – 11 Years Boys: 12^th individual, 2^nd Relay

A very special congratulations to Madison who was selected into the Qld State team

Pine Rivers District Athletics:

Our Primary Athletics Team of 43 students competed at the Pine Rivers District Carnival. Congratulations to all members of the team. There were a lot of fantastic performances (and some big PB’s) but none more so than the team effort and cheering from our amazing kids!

Congratulation to the following 16 students who were selected in the Pine Rivers Team:

Noah C, Sienna B, Madison R, Mitchell E, Dylan M, Hayden N, Taylor B, Giselle B, Matthew T, Flynn S, Thomas M, Matilda T, Grace R, Charlie B, Eliza B, Lucille I.

Congratulations:

Pine Rivers District Team Selections:

• Oliver P (Year 6) Cricket

 Metropolitan North Region Team Selections:

• Jordyn C (Year 7) Softball

NISSA Gala Day:

We were so lucky to squeeze in our first Semester Two Gala Day which saw our kids participate in Soccer, Netball and Rugby Union against The Lakes College, Grace Lutheran Primary School and Prince of Peace. What a fabulous day it was for the students!

Kind regards,

Louise McCarthy

Director of Primary Sport 

Secondary Sport

On Wednesday 25 August, Kirralee H competed in the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games in the 100 metres Butterfly and finished in 12^th place with a personal best time. The College celebrated this by dressing in Green and Gold and watched “The Race That Stopped the School”. She also raced in her pet event, the 50 metre Freestyle, on Sunday, 29 August coming 4^{th .}

Kirralee commenced her swimming journey at Genesis when the pool first opened in 2012. She started training in the Skills Squad which is the first level after Learn to Swim. She became a foundation member of the Genesis Aquatics Swimming Club and this was the beginning of her competitive pathway. Through her swimming career, Kirralee currently holds 22 Queensland records and 6 Australian records. She has won State and National Championships and we are very proud to have a home-grown Paralympian at our College.

On behalf of the College we would also like to congratulate the coaching team at Genesis Aquatics (Brendan Keogh, Rick Pendleton and Tony Keogh) for the role they played in coaching and mentoring Kirralee through her swimming development. We look forward to celebrating Kirralee’s achievements on her return.

Track and Field

Congratulations to all the students who represented Genesis proudly at the Pine Rivers District Track and Field Carnival, held on 29 and 30 July. Students selected in the Pine Rivers District team were:

Megan A, Ashley M, Joseph A, Grace M, Cooper B, Benjamin M, Petri B, Ralph N, Shandri B, Emma N, Jaegar B, Janelle P, Ella B, Travis P, Kaelah B, Ella P, Jordan B, Cooper S, Xavier C, Makenzie S, Luke D, Charlize S, Sophie D, Lincoln S, Michaela F, Lucy S, Hayley F, Olivia T, Alexander G, Eden T, Matthew G, Lachlan T, David H, Marne V, Owen H, Kairav V, Luka L, Windsor W, Preston L, Lucy W, Morgan L, Madeleine W, William M, Mitchell W and Holly M.

District/Regional Team Sport Selections:

Congratulations to Jordyn C (Year 7) for her selection in the Met North Softball team. This is a fantastic achievement and we wish Jordyn all the best for the State Softball Titles which will be held later this year.

Congratulations to Alyssa S for her selection in the Met North Basketball team. Unfortunately, the State Titles in Mackay had to be cancelled.  This is an outstanding achievement and well done.

Blessings,

Anthony Arro

Director of Sport – Secondary

Secondary Highlights 

At Genesis Christian College our DNA is excellence; we are not satisfied unless we are out performing across all categories.

Our students represent in Queensland and Australian teams for rowing, dance, swimming, shooting, boxing, netball, football, track and field, and the list goes on.

As this is written; we are about to go nuts cheering for our Year 12 student competing at the Tokyo Paralympics.

We not only compete at the highest level; we enjoy excellence in academics.

Our students represent at STEM in Australia and London; they place in the top 30 results for Year 12 in Queensland; they design and build for the F1 in School’s competition, gain drone licencing, win at Reader’s Cup and Shakefest, and once again the list is too long for now.

I am immensely proud of our students, their families who support them and our teachers, coaches and support staff who stretch and encourage them to higher achievement, day after day, in a warm and safe environment.

We love our students. They delight us. They inspire us.

We provide excellence in pastoral care and take seriously any issue which negatively effects our strong sense of community. We work hard to have every student enjoy a sense of place here and a strong bond of belonging. Our investment into enabling leadership throughout the student body reaps a rich harvest.

Genesis is strong in spirit and rightly proud of our students’ achievements and conduct.

Our focus though, is to live lives that ‘Walk in the Light’.

Our heart is to build character that charts a course in life that serves our world for the common good and glues it together with compassion.

I love this school and trust you feel that same sense of pride and family.

Blessings,

Stuart Taylor

Head of School – Secondary 

The Pastoral Care Pen

The Benefit of Serving Others 

A few weeks ago, a group of Secondary students and staff volunteered to take part in a MAD (Make A Difference) Backyard Blitz project. The afternoon involved gardening and labouring work for a person in need. The yard and garden looked fantastic after a couple of hours of work. However, I was most impressed, not with the results, but with the attitude of all involved. Students were smiling, laughing, asking what needed to be done next, and the team pushed hard to get it all done in time. By the end of the session, there were sore backs and red faces… but some of the students were already asking when they could do it again!

I was reflecting on how important it is that schools, families and communities give young people opportunities to serve others. There are so many benefits to volunteering and community service. Here are just a few…

We forget about ourselves and think of others instead

It’s easy for us to become absorbed in our own needs, stresses, desires and worries, and forget about the bigger picture of life and the people around us. Serving others, particularly someone in need, reminds us of what’s important in life and can help us to see things with a better perspective.

We build resilience

In his article, ‘How Persistence and Grit Helps Kids Succeed’, Michael Grose discusses how it is more important to celebrate and reward character (including grit, determination, perseverance, resilience) rather than talent. When we get used to doing things that are easy for us, we struggle to respond to situations that are more difficult. Getting our hands dirty at Backyard Blitz was a great chance for us to learn new skills, work hard, and persevere to get to the end of a project. Moments like this are important for developing character in young people.

We develop empathy

Exposing young people to stories and lives that are different to their own helps them to develop empathy and a deeper understanding of the journeys of others. We can also model this to our students and children by creating communities and families where caring for others is prioritised. It was fantastic to have such a great staff attendance at our MAD project and demonstrate what care and kindness looks like to our students.

We feel good afterwards!

Doing something good for others releases dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, which contributes to a positive mood and decreases stress. It seems that God has wired us to serve others! Some of our students reported that they were on the project ‘because their mum signed them up’. By the end of the session, they were cheerful and proud of the work they completed. It’s important that we expose young people to volunteering and serving others and demonstrate to them that it feels good to do good!

I love the way Eugene Peterson summarises this in Philippians 2:3-8 Message version:

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favour: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

I wonder if there are some opportunities this week to partner with your child in doing a good thing for someone else. We hope you will see the benefits of teaching young people how to serve others and help them to build a character of empathy, care, and awareness of those around them.

We’d love to hear of some of the things you get up to! Email Pastoral Care or share your good news stories to our #thelightside campaign by emailing Marketing.

How Persistence and Grit help kids succeed: https://www.parentingideas.com.au/blog/true-grit-helps-kids-succeed/

For more creating a culture of caring: https://www.parentingideas.com.au/blog/make-caring-common/

Blessings,

Laura Tepe

Secondary Chaplain

Department Spotlight – Senior Fashion Excursion to Reverse Garbage 

At the beginning of June, the Senior Fashion class went on an adventure to Reverse Garbage. They are Queensland’s only eco arts and reuse co-operative specialising in the collection of clean industrial discards and other high quality materials. Every week they are saving approximately 2 tonnes of reusable ‘waste’ from landfill. 

Students were given a warehouse tour which gave them some perspective of the type of products and ‘bits and pieces’ that go into landfill. The warehouse stock changes on a regular basis and includes everything from wood, textiles, plastics, corks to medical x-rays, mannequins and Perspex offcuts. The possibilities were endless. Students were given a small budget to choose items to make into an Accessory for their assessment pieces and access to their workshop equipment to help guide them on what are the best tools for the job.   

Teaching our youth the importance of looking after our environment and the ability to re-use or recycle everything, means we are one step closer to a healthy and prosperous future. 

Department Spotlight – Music Through the Years 

Our Music – Through The Years performance evening occurred on Wednesday 2 June, with students from Year 9 through 12 showcasing their musical talent and passion. 34 performances were given to an appreciative audience of parents, families and peers.  

All proceeds went to the Myanmar orphanage, and the Music Department is grateful for the opportunity to support these causes. There were many amazing performances from all the students.  

It is with a tinge of sadness that some familiar faces will not be returning to the Music rooms in 2022. However, we do wish them God’s blessing in their future endeavours, and hope that music will continue to remain an important part of their lives.

Department Spotlight – Dramatic Arts News 

2021 in the Dramatic Arts Department is looking refreshingly different to 2020. Our students have been embracing every opportunity offered to them and we have some wonderful news to report. Following a fabulously fruitful Dance Camp earlier this year, our Mini, Junior and Senior Dance Companies have thoroughly enjoyed being back on the competition stage and are off to a very successful start to their competition season:  

Ipswich Combined Teachers Dancing Festival 

• 2 x Firsts 
• 1 x Second 
• 1 x Third
• 2 x Very highly commended 

Sunshine Coast Dance Eisteddfod 

• 1 x First 
• 3 x Seconds 
• 1 x Third 
• 1 x Highly commended 

Our brand new Movers and Groovers group, along with our much-loved Movers and Shakers Team have been rehearsing hard in preparation for their debut performance at the College Festival!  

Show Choir, under the direction of our GDA Assistant Director and Musical Theatre Teacher, Mrs Jessica Sankey, presented their debut performance at the recent Colours Awards Assembly.  

Many of our Dance and Drama classes have enjoyed excursions to live performances, including Shrek, The Tap Pack, Three, Our Town and more.  

Our Year 11 and 12 Dance students were also treated to an excursion to QUT Kelvin Grove, where they spent a day in the life of a QUT Creative Industries student. The students experienced a 90 minute dance workshop, in addition to a full tour of the Creative Industries precinct and a Q&A session.  

Finally, we hosted a wonderful afternoon of Shakespearean inspired arts performances at the inaugural ‘An Afternoon With Shakespeare’ event.  

We continue to thank God for His favour upon the Arts at Genesis and look forward with anticipation to a fruitful Semester two.  

Kind regards,

Emily Briddock 

Innovation and Learning Leader 

Dramatic Arts – 7-12 

Primary Sports 

Athletics 

What an amazing day we had for our Year 3-6 Athletics carnival. We were blessed with amazing weather and the students participated with enthusiasm and sportsmanship on the day.  

Congratulations to our winning house – Gilead 

Congratulations also goes to our Age Champions: 

Age Champions 

• 8 Years Girls – Emily C, Zoe B, Kayleigh N 
• 8 Years Boys – Charlie S, Theo L, Max M 
• 9 Years Girls – Holly M, Ruby K, Zoe P
• 9 Years Boys – Deezil P, Harrison L, Cale S 
• 10 Years Girls – Ayla J, Lucille I, Matilda T 
• 10 Years Boys – Cameron E, Theo H, Flynn S 
• 11 Years Girls – Giselle B, Chelsea L, Courtney H 
• 11 Years Boys – Matthew T, Felix N, Lachlan S 

We also had 21 of our Year 6 students attend the Secondary Athletics Carnival. These students competed strongly on the day and were excellent ambassadors of our Primary School.  

Congratulations goes to the following students who were Age Champion placings:

• 12 Years Girls – 1st Madison R 
• 12 Years Boys – 2nd Noah C 
• 12 Years Boys – 3rd Stefan V 

NISSA Athletics Carnival 

We attended the NISSA Athletics Carnival with a team of 47 athletes who ran, jumped, and threw with all their efforts to come away as champion school at the end of the meet. Congratulations to all the member of our NISSA team. 

Morning and Lunch Time Training 

Morning and lunch time training with Mrs McCarthy and Mrs Turner is continuing with our Athletics focus. Please see the Genesis App or school calendar for training weeks and details. 

Congratulations 

Met North Region Team Selections 

Cross Country 

Matthew T (Year 5) 

Cross Country  

Sienna B (Year 6)  

Cross Country 

Madison R (Year 6)  

Pine Rivers District Team Selections: 

Tennis  

Hayden D (Year 7)  

Tennis  

Elijah N (Year 7)  

Kind regards,

Louise McCarthy 

Director of Primary Sport 

Secondary Sports 

Swimming 

Congratulations to Kirralee H for her selection in the Australian Team for the Paralympics in Tokyo. Kirralee will represent Australia in the 50m Freestyle. Kirralee started swimming training at Genesis when the Aquatics Centre opened in 2012. She has demonstrated outstanding commitment to her sport and her character both in and out of the water has been exemplary. Kirralee has been supported well by her parents, coaches and teachers at Genesis who have all contributed towards her being able to fulfil her dreams of becoming a Paralympian. We wish Kirralee well as she starts her swimming journey towards the Paralympics this August and into the future.  

Genesis Athletics Carnival Results 

Overall House Champion 

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

House Spirit Trophy 

Shiloh 

Record Breakers  

• Malachi S – 15 Boys 200m Dash – 23.88sec 
• Malachi S – 15 Boys Triple Jump – 11.63m 
• Alex G – 15 Boys 200m Dash – 24.18 sec 
• Shandri B – 16 Girls Discus – 27.40m 
• Joseph A – Open Boys Triple Jump – 12.08m 
• Lucy W – Open Girls Shotput – 11.54m 

Age Champions 

• 12 Years Girls  –  1st Madison R, 2nd Olivia T, 3rd Lucy S 
• 12 Years Boys – 1st Jaegar B, 2nd Noah C, 3rd Stefan V 
• 13 Years Girls – 1st Emma N, 2nd Megan A, 3rd Morgan L 
• 13 Years Boys – 1st Luka L, 2nd Xavier C, 3rd Santiago R 
• 14 Years Girls – 1st Ashley M, 2nd Kiara K, 3rd Haley W 
• 14 Years Boys – 1st Ian B, 3rd Lincoln D 
• 15 Years Girls – 1st Grace M, 3rd Holly M 
• 15 Years Boys – 1st Malachi S, 3rd Jake S 
• 16 Years Girls – 1st Sophie D, 2nd Hayley F, 3rd Shandri B 
• 16 Years Boys – 1st Ben M, 2nd Lincoln S, 3rd Mitchell W  
• Open Girls – 1st Charlize S, 2nd Ella S, 3rd Charli J 
• Open Boys – 1st William M, 2nd Joseph A, 3rd Travis P 

District/Regional/State Team Sport Selections

Soccer  

Stephanie H (Year 9) was selected in the Queensland team for Soccer. Stephanie took part in the State Championships representing Met North at the State Championships in Hervey Bay. The Met North team also won the State title. Well done to Stephanie for this outstanding achievement. 

Volleyball 

Jenna C (Year 10) represented Met North in the State Volleyball Championships with her team coming in 2nd place. Jenna was selected in the Qld Merit Team. This is a great achievement for Jenna who has also represented Genesis in the BOSL and State Schools Cup competition previously. 

Touch 

Charli Jarvis (Year 12) represented Met North District at the Queensland Touch Football Championships in Brisbane. Congratulations to Charli on an outstanding year in Touch Football, representing Genesis in BOSL and for her selection in the Met North team. 

Cross Country 

Ben C (Year 9) and Ella S (Year 12) represented the Pine Rivers District at the recent Met North Cross County Championships and have been selected in the Met North team for the State Cross Country championships which will be held in July. Well done on this outstanding achievement. 

ISSA Soccer 

Genesis were represented this term in the ISSA Soccer Cup (Junior Boys, Junior Girls, Senior Boys and Senior Girls) which is a tournament for Independent Schools in South East Queensland. All four teams have performed very well with the Junior Boys progressing to the knockout stage of the competition. The Senior Boys and Senior Girls will finalise their round matches early in Term 3. Thank you to Will Allan (Football Coordinator) and coaches Jade Dethlefs and Jarrod Benbow.  

BOSL Basketball 

Genesis were represented by five teams (Senior Boys, Senior Girls, Intermediate Boys, Junior Boys and Junior Girls) in the BOSL Basketball competition. The teams represented the College proudly and for many of the teams it was their first year playing together in this tournament. Congratulations to Izac Craze for being named in the Intermediate boys All BOSL team. A special thank you to the Basketball Coordinator Brad Dutney and coaches Paul Gandini, Richard de Villiers and Brent Wood.  

BOSL Volleyball 

Genesis were well represented in the BOSL Volleyball competition with the Open Boys and two Junior Girls teams. All teams had a great season with the Junior Girls Blue team winning the premiership and the Junior Girls Yellow team placing third. The Open Boys will be playing in the play-off game for third place and we wish them all the best. We really appreciate the efforts of Tom Connolly (Senior Volleyball Coordinator) and Jade Walters (Junior Volleyball Coordinator). Thank you to the coaches Tina Serafino and Albert Diloi.  

Gymnastics 

Recently Year 11 Student Toby A was awarded a Gold medal at the 2021 Australian Gymnastics Championships Level 7 Open division. He also went on to win Gold on the Vault and Silver on rings. This capped off a great year for Toby after winning both the Regional and State Championships. Well done Toby on these achievements this year and for the years of dedication, hard work and commitment you have demonstrated in your chosen sport.  

Netball 

Charlize S has been selected in the Queensland Under 17 Netball team and will take part in the National Championships in Hobart in the holidays. This follows on from her recent success by representing Met North in the Qld School Championship. Congratulations to Charlize for an outstanding year in Netball and we wish her every success at the upcoming National Championships. 

Rowing 

Year 12 students Ella S and Jaeve P, who were selected in the U19 Australian Rowing team after their success in the national championships in March, competed over the past week in Adelaide in a World Cup Simulation Regatta against other Australian representatives and the Australian Olympic team as part of their preparation for the Tokyo games. The girls performed extremely well, finishing as the number one ranked junior crew. This event was held in place of sending athletes to the Junior World Rowing Championships in Bulgaria due to COVID.  

Year 9 students Maddy G and Jess C won First place in the Under 16 Double Skulls at the South East Qld Age Championships. This is an outstanding achievement and the girls have been paired up for two years in the Genesis Rowing program. We wish the girls all the best of success in their future with rowing. 

Blessings,

Anthony Arro

Director of Sport – Secondary

Primary Highlights – Project Based Learning in Primary  

You may have heard your child coming home excited about a new project they are doing in class this term, and if not, you certainly will before the end of this year. A new initiative in the primary school this year is Project-Based Learning, or PBL for short. 

What makes students and staff so excited about PBL is just how engaging it is. Do you ever remember being at school, having to learn something that seemed so irrelevant and asking yourself or the teacher the question, “How am I ever going to use this in real life?” I know I did, and it didn’t always go down well! But that was the 80s and 90s; today more than ever we need to be preparing our students for the real world, through an experiential education that is meaningful to them.  

PBL contains a few key ingredients to its success in the classroom. These being: 

• Key knowledge, understanding and success skills 
• A challenging problem or question 
• Sustained inquiry 
• Authenticity 
• Student choice and voice 
• Reflection and critique 
• Public project 

Typically, teachers collaborate together to design PBL units in the HASS, Science, and Design Technology curricula; often integrating these curriculum in a real world project or problem for students to solve. Though PBL can work in any curriculum area. 

In a project, students have to use their life skills – those skills which are so crucial in a team or workplace to navigate their way through designing a solution to a problem. These skills often include self-management, teamwork, creative and critical thinking, effective participation, inquisitiveness, and reflection. Sound familiar? Yes, these are the Secret Skills our students have been learning about since last year. Through authentic curriculum related projects, all of our holistic learning and experiences come together to create a rich and engaging learning environment for our students. 

Some year levels have jumped in early this year into PBL, with the Year 4 designing donuts, and also having a project around the environment and sustainability. Next term watch out for some book writing for younger students, bath toy design, mini-beasts, and so much more. 

 Kind Regards, 

Jeremy Williamson

 Head of School – Primary

Secondary School Highlights – Your Word is my light 

Genesis Christian College School motto 

Psalm 119:105 

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path 

From its very inception, the school motto has been ‘Your Word is my light’. For 30 years we have remained true to this ‘guiding light’ for choosing a path for Genesis. We are thankful for God’s blessing as we have attended to the Word, and the directions we should take.  

Walk in the Light is how we speak about the character of the Genesis student. The one sentence pitch being- Grow, Give and Connect with Conviction.  

Character is grown as we Grow with Conviction, as we Give with Conviction, as we Connect with Conviction. 

Conviction describes the basis of our decision making; the choices we make moment by moment. Conviction reminds us that we are responsible for those choices, and that right choices are what we all want to make, but sometimes stumble over.  

In the face of difficult circumstances our Conviction is the moral compass of life. In the good times, Conviction is the compass that leads us to be grateful. 

God’s Word is the true North point for our moral compass. It is the light that shines on a path to follow, a path that is rich and rewarding. Conviction needs to be deeply rooted in an understanding of who we are in God and what His purposes for us now and into the future entail. 

The Bible tells us: 

• We are shaped and gifted: we need to Grow in all spheres of life 
• We are to Serve: we need to Give in a way that makes a difference in this world 
• We are a body: we need to Connect to each other as if family 
• We are formed for faith: we need to exercise Conviction 

Blessings,

Stuart Taylor 

Head of School – Secondary 

Curriculum Matters

Cross Age Tutoring 2021 

 Servanthood is about attitude. Leaders seek ways they can add value to others, which is primarily through serving them.  

Around 100 students from Year 7 to 11, are exemplifying such servant leadership through their involvement in the 2021 Cross Age Reading and Cross Age Tutoring programs. During Week 7 of this term, students in Years 7, 8 and 9 participated in a training session to upskill on book walks, retell, and reading strategies. Attending before school sessions, they support their Year 1, 2 or 3 reading buddy, diligently by asking here, hidden, head and heart questions after the completion of each book, to check for comprehension.   

Students from Years 10 and 11 will join the program in Term 3 to work with teacher selected students in Prep and Year 1. Through games and hands on activities, these students will practice beginning literacy skills, including letter and sound knowledge, blending and segmenting words and sentence construction.  

An added benefit for lower primary students in having a high school tutor, is the opportunity for one-on-one conversations. A solid foundation of oral language helps children become successful readers, strong communicators and increases their confidence and overall sense of well-being.  Together, these students in primary and secondary, implement the 21st century skills of communication and collaboration, as they work together to increase our primary student’s love for literacy. 

Blessings,

Nichola Welsh

Head of Teaching & Learning (P-12)

The Pastoral Care Pen

Body Image 

According to the results in the Mission Australia Youth Survey, 2020, body image is one of the top three concerns that young people struggle with. Body image refers to the way in which a person thinks and feels about their body. 

Indicators that your child may be struggling with their body image are: 

• Being self-critical of their body 
• Comparing their body to their peers/people on social media 
• Obsessing about losing weight or bulking up 
• Avoiding activities that would make the size and shape of their body more exposed, such as swimming 
• Feeling self-conscious about photos being taken of them 
• Feeling guilty if they’ve eaten ‘too much’ or not exercised 
• Using supplements to increase muscle mass 

If this is a struggle for your child, here are some tips to help them develop a positive body image: 

• Help your child to focus on their strengths, God-given gifts and positive internal traits that have nothing to do with their body 
• Regularly affirm your child on their inner qualities  
• Help your child appreciate everything that their body enables them to do 
• Encourage your child to eat a healthy diet by providing them with a wide variety of nutritious food 
• Encourage your child to participate in a sport or other physical activity that they enjoy 
• Be a positive role model for your child when it comes to eating nutritious food, exercising regularly, and appreciating of your body 
• Encourage your child to make wise choices when it comes to social media accounts that they follow. Encourage your child to avoid following people who are fixated on their body 

If you are concerned that your child may be struggling with their body image, feel free to contact the Pastoral Care and Growth Department. 

Kind regards 

Julie McGovern 

College Counsellor 

References: 

https://raisingchildren.net.au/pre-teens/healthy-lifestyle/body-image/body-image-teens 

https://au.reachout.com/articles/what-is-body-image 

From the Leadership Team 

This term at Genesis has been full of outstanding achievements, from individual students and groups, across sports, performing arts and academic pursuits. However, of special note are the wonderful achievements of Kirralee Hayes, selected onto the Australian Paralympic Swim Team to compete at the Tokyo Paralympic Games later this year. Congratulations Kirralee. Also, Ella Smith and Jaeve Proberts, recently competed in Adelaide in a World Cup Simulation Regatta against other Australian representatives and the Australian Olympic Rowing Team, an event held in place of sending athletes to the Junior World Rowing Championships in Bulgaria. Congratulations Ella and Jaeve. At Genesis what makes us excited and proud is seeing our students exploring, and using their God given gifts! 

Inside Tour 

As the end of Term 2 draws to a close, so does the work on Stage 21.1 of our building project in Lower Primary. The first stage of this build will be complete on Friday 25 June with our Year 2 students commencing in this new facility on the first day of Term 3, 19 July.  Jeremy Williamson and I will be conducting an ‘Inside Tour’ of these facilities on Wednesday 21 July from 8:45am-9:30am. If you would like to join the Tour for a special look inside, please register here.

Stage 21.2 of construction will commence on 28 June with an expected completion date in late October.  

Strategic Planning 

The College has been undertaking the exciting process of developing our new Strategic Plan throughout the first half of this year. Can I thank parents who provided the College Board and Leadership Team with feedback earlier this year regarding the future of the College. A further opportunity for feedback will be provided to parents at the commencement of Term 3. The upcoming survey will focus around the draft strategic pillars that have been identified within this new plan. Parents will be asked to comment on the relevance of these key areas. Please keep an eye out for this feedback opportunity early in Term 3. 

Blessings, 

Paul Sterling 

Principal

Primary Highlights 

This week, our Under Eights Day celebration was held at Jump Up for Kids at Bald Hills. The purpose of Under Eights day, as a nationwide initiative, is to celebrate the early childhood years and to deliver a message that childhood is a precious and significant time. 

Run by Occupational Therapists, Jump Up for Kids, provided the perfect environment for celebrating outdoor play and learning. Our students in Prep to Year 2 were involved in child directed loose object play and activity stations designed to encourage creativity and a connection to nature; as well as fort building, climbing small trees and even getting into the mud!   

The national theme for Under Eights Day 2021 was ‘Children Celebrating Outdoor Play and Learning’.  The importance of outdoor play in the Early Years should not be underestimated, providing many benefits including but not limited to: 

• An active lifestyle; 
• Appreciation of nature and the environment; 
• Developing social skills; 
• Encouraging independence and resilience; and  
• Understanding risk. 

 Following their excursion to Jump up for Kids, the Prep-Year 2 children returned to school for the afternoon session, where they participated in National Simultaneous Storytime. Here they were read the book “Give Me Some Space” by Philip Bunting. This was read by some special visitors to the College including two astronauts, a Storm Trooper and even Chewbacca from Star Wars!  

Most schools around Australia participate in the National Simultaneous Storytime, and Genesis Primary was proud to be a part of this literacy initiative, whilst also having loads of fun at the same time. Truthfully…learning should be fun most of the time when you are a kid in Primary School! 

Enjoy the following photos from just an awesome day in the Primary School 

Eden Eats

We’re excited to introduce the Term 3 menu! Please take a look and remember there are always lots of fresh options in our cabinets every day too!

If you’d like to contact Eden Eats please email us!

Innovation and Learning Spotlight – Year 2 BBQ Bush Dance  

This year our Year 2’s came dressed, ready to impress us with their dance skills. The evening started with a family BBQ and a time to mingle with friends. It was so lovely to see the children running around and posing for photos with their classmates. Mr Bedville and Mr Williamson did a tremendous job on the BBQ and our Year 6 student leaders made sure we were all doing our part to be COVID safe.  

The children bravely and enthusiastically performed their dances with their dance partner. To end the evening, the parents joined the children on the dance floor. Mrs Turner was crowned ‘Queen of the Bush Dance’ for all her hard work getting the children ready for the evening. We all had a ‘Boot Scootin’ tremendous time! 

Kind regards, 

 Jacqui Grotius

Library News – Guest Author Visit for Year 4-6 Students 

Students in Year 4, 5 and 6 participated in writing workshops on Friday 7 May with Australian author, Tim Harris. Tim is the author of the Exploding Endings, Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables and Toffle Towers series of books for Primary school children. He is a former teacher and plays drums in his church band.   

Tim shared hacks for writing great stories, including how to create interesting characters and settings, the importance of planning before you write, and how paragraphs and punctuation add impact to stories. 

During first break, Tim met with students from the 2021 Year 5 Readers’ Cup Team and the 2020 Year 5 Readers’ Cup Team. Toffle Towers is one of the books selected for the competition this year.   

Kind regards, 

Astrid Roberts-Weiss 

Primary Librarian 

Department Spotlight – Tourism 

Brisbane City Council offers Brisbane residents and visitors the opportunity to learn more about the city by providing free Brisbane Greeter Tours.   

The Year 12 Tourism Class participated in an excursion as part of their studies for their Certificate III in Tourism. As part of the excursion, students needed to create a scripted commentary on one of the attractions and develop their own itinerary for a 3-hour walking tour of Brisbane/Southbank.   

The class was split into 3 groups of ten with the day commencing at Brisbane City Hall and ending over at Southbank with lunch at Pourboy Coffee Roasters. We visited a variety of iconic sights such as Brisbane Arcade, Brisbane Botanical Gardens, Regent Theatre, Anzac Square, and The Wheel of Brisbane to name a few.

Cross Country 

Genesis were well  represented at the Pine Rivers District Carnival on 4 May and the CSSAQ Cross Country Carnival on 10 May. The students represented the College with pride and demonstrated excellent character! 

Results  

Pine Rivers District Cross Country: 

• 12 years Boys – Windsor W – 2nd 
• 13 years Boys – Santiago R – 3rd 
• 13 years Girls – Michaela F – 1st 
• 13 years Girls – Ella P – 2nd 
• 14 years Boys – Ryan F – 1st 
• 14 years Boys – Ian B – 2nd 
• 15 years Girls – Holly M – 2nd 
• 15 years Girls – Grace M – 1st 
• 15 years Boys – Ben C – 3rd 
• 16 years Girls – Stella B – 1st 
• 16 years Boys – Mitchell W – 3rd 
• Open Girls – Ella S – 1st 
• Open Girls – Jaimee D – 2nd 
• Open Boys – Brayden W – 2nd 

CSSAQ Cross Country Results 

• Genesis 5th place Overall – 13-19 years 
• Age Champion Team – 15 years girls 
• Ella P – 3rd (13 years girls) 
• Grace M – 3rd (15 years girls)
• Mitchell W – 3rd (16 years boys) 
• William M – 3rd (Open boys) 

Students Selected in Pine Rivers District Cross Country Team 

Manie VT, Luka L, Santiago R, Reagan B, Michaela F, Mackenzie S, Ella P, Olivia Y, Ian B, Ryan F, Lachlan M, Charlie G, Laura G, Henry J, Ben C, Grace M, Holly M, Arabella A, Mitchell W, Lincoln S, Ella S, Charlize S, Jaimee D, Jaeve P, Stella B, Carmen S, Hayley F, Reegan T, Sophie D, Windsor W, Owen H. 

District/Regional team sport selections: 

Congratulations to the following students : 

• Stephanie H – selected to represent Met North School sport at State Champs – 13-15 years Girls Football 
• Windsor W (Year 7) has been selected in the 12 years Met North AFL team  
• Isabella SE (Year 7) – Pine Rivers District U12 Netball team 

SEQ Interschool Equestrian Champs 

Kaitlyn D (Year 12) 

• 3rd Overall Senior (Year 10-12) Preliminary Dressage 
• Champion Secondary (Year 7-12) Combined Training 95cm 

Carmen R (Year 11) 

• 3rd overall Secondary 60cm Show jumping 

• 23rd Intermediate Preliminary Dressage 

Stella B (Year 9) 

• 7th Secondary (Year 7-12) Combined Training 80cm 
• 14th Secondary (Year 7-12) 90cm Show Jumping 

Lara R (Year 9) 

• Champion Secondary 70cm Show Jumping 
• 23rd Intermediate Preliminary Dressage  

Morgan L (Year 8) 

• 10th Intermediate (Year 7-9) Preliminary Dressage 
• 2nd Intermediate Show Hack 
• 2nd Intermediate Working Hunter 55cm 
• Champion Secondary 50cm Show Jumping
• Champion Secondary Combined Training 60cm 
• Reserve Champion Intermediate Novice Dressage 
• 3rd Place Intermediate Novice Dressage 

BOSL Touch

 Congratulations to the Junior Boys and Junior Girls BOSL Touch teams for making the finals in the BOSL Touch Football. Both teams narrowly went down in the Semi Finals. A special thank you to our coaches – Dan S, Maddy L, Rei San A and Damon B.  

Rowing  

 Congratulations to Jaeve P and Ella S for winning Gold in the Double Sculls, Gold in the Club women’s Double and Silver in the Quad Sculls events at the Australian Under 19 Rowing Championships. Jaeve and Ella were selected in the Australian team for the World Simulation Regattas which are a series of three events. The final world simulation final will be held in Adelaide. These are outstanding achievements and testament to the years of hard work and dedication from the girls in training for these events. 

Other Sporting Achievements  

• AFL – Ella S was selected in the Under 19 Lions Academy team and the Under 19 State team.
• BEACH VOLLEYBALL – Matilda J (Year 8) represented Queensland at the National Beach Volleyball Championships on the Gold Coast.  

 Well done to Ella and Matilda with these achievements. 

Blessings,

Mr Anthony Arro

Director of Sport – Secondary

Cross Country: 

We have had a busy season of Cross Country with some amazing results from our Primary runners! 

 Pine Rivers District Cross Country:   

Congratulations to our runners who participated so well at the carnival. Ten of our students were selected in the Pine Rivers Cross Country Team with individual placings going to the students below: 

• Sienna B –  12 years Girls – 1st 
• Matthew T – 11 years Boys – 1st 
• Eliza B –  10 years Girls – 1st 
• Madison R –  12 years Girls – 2nd
• Windsor W –  12 years Boys – 2nd
• Thomas M – 10 years Boys – 2nd 
• Jonty M –  12 years Boys – 3rd 

 Other team selections were: 

• Owen H 
• Lucy E 
• Mark B 

 NISSA Cross Country:  

What an amazing Team Genesis effort, to come away as Champion School at the NISSA Cross Country Championship against The Lakes College, Grace Lutheran Primary School and Prince of Peace. 

Individual placings on the day were:

• Madison R –  12 years Girls – 1st 
• Jonty M – 12 years Boys – 1st 
• Matthew T –  11 years Boys – 1st 
• Chelsea L –  11 years Girls – 1st 
• Thomas M –  10 years Boys – 1st 
• Eliza B – 10 years Girls – 1st 
• Mark B –  10 years Boys – 2nd 
• Holly M –  9 years Girls – 2nd 
• Lucy E –  11 years Girls – 3rd 
• Matilda T –  10 years Girls – 3rd 

CSSAQ Cross Country:  

On Monday, 10 May, we competed at the CSSAQ Cross Country Carnival. Congratulations to all students who attended on the day competing fiercely for our College.  

 At the end of the day, the 10-12 years team were crowned 2nd place behind our friends at Citipointe in an extremely close race. Team Genesis finished as winners in the 10 years Girls age group as well as placing for the following age groups:

• 9 years Boys – 2nd
• 9 years Girls – 3rd
• 10 years Boys 2nd;
• 11 years Girls = 2nd
• 12 years Girls 3rd. 

 Individual place-getters on the day were:

• Madison R – 12 years Girls – 1st 
• Matthew T –  11 years Boys – 1st 
• Eliza B –  10 years Girls – 1st 
• Chelsea L –  11 years Girls 2nd 

Morning and Lunch Time Training: 

Morning and lunch time training with Mrs McCarthy and Mrs Turner is continuing with a change in focus to Athletics. Please see the Genesis App or school calendar for training weeks and details. 

Congratulations: 

Met North Region Team Selections: 

• Isabella S (Year 7) – Netball 
• Windsor W (Year 7) – AFL 
• Logan T (Year 6) – Hockey 

Pine Rivers District Team Selections:

• AJ V (Year 6) – Rugby Union 
• Blayze W – (Year 6) – Rugby Union 
• Logan T – (Year 6) – Rugby Union 
• Jackson M (Year 6) – Rugby Union 
• Logan T (Year 6) – Hockey and Touch Football
• Chelsea L (Year 6) – Hockey 
• Mark B (Year 5) – Hockey 
• Hunter T (Year 5) – Hockey 
• Matthew T (Year 5) – Hockey 
• Mitchell E (Year 6) – Rugby League and Touch Football 
• Ella W (Year 6) – Touch Football 
• Ellke S (Year 6) – Touch Football 

P-2 Fun Run: 

On the 27 April, we hosted our annual P-2 Fun Run. It was such a special event to invite our parents back to. The kids did an amazing job and loved challenging themselves around the course. A special thank you to our Year 6 Leaders and House Captains who did an amazing job on the day as helpers. 

NISSA Gala Days: 

We have completed our final Gala Day for our Semester One sports. We now transition into our semester 2 sports – Rugby Union, Soccer and Netball. It has been great to welcome our new NISSA school, Prince of Peace, and continue to build our strong relationships with our friends at The Lakes College and Grace Lutheran Primary. 

Next up… 

Our Year 3-6 Athletics Carnival on Friday 4 June. Please see the Genesis App for details. 

Kind regards,

 Louise McCarthy 

Director of Sport – Primary

Department Spotlight – Music Excursion to QPAC 

“Lights! Camera! Action!”  

Highlights from Music Reviews Written by Year 7 And 8 Music Students:

Music students in Year 7 and 8 attended a concert entitled “Lights! Camera! Action!” at QPAC on Wednesday 27 April. The event showcased the Queensland Symphony Orchestra performing well-known movie and film music, from “Star Wars” and “Avengers” themes to “My Neighbour Totoro” and “In the Hall of the Mountain King.” Here are what the students had to say!

• “Each time a new composition was played, they had different lighting which complimented the music and helped to build the atmosphere. Also, all of the musicians were dressed up based on characters of the pieces from the music they were playing.” (Hazel A, Year 8) 
• “My favourite composition was “In the Hall of the Mountain King” because of the build up of tempo at the start and end. I also really enjoyed watching the cellist and double bass’s hands and arms move at 1 million kilometers per second.” (Eli A, Year 8)
• “Overall, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra was great at giving the music classes an experience that they will never forget, as they went into great detail when explaining to us what they were about to play, and the important features to look out for in the music.” (Windsor W, Year 8)
• “This orchestral concert made me feel like I was in the actual movies! I have found a new appreciation of music in movies. I would 100% recommend this orchestra to anyone as it takes up 50 minutes of your time…but it’s worth it!” (William A, Year 7)
• “This amazing experience gave me the opportunity to explore a different genre of music.” (Santiago R, Year 7)
• “I enjoyed the outing as we got to experience something new instead of just sitting in a classroom.” (Natasha L, Year 8)
• “This was a great excursion in a well-managed facility, and I would love to go on another trip like this again!” (Caleb D, Year 8) 

Excellence – Genesis values in action 

 Over the course of this year, our students’ achievements continue to captivate me.