This week on Tuesday, the Senior Learning Community held our 2019 Founders Day Assembly. This annual event is our College's opportunity to express our gratitude to Hillcrest's founders who showed great wisdom and ambition in establishing a Christian school out of Reedy Creek Baptist Church in 1982.

This year we welcomed past and present representatives to share their experiences with our students and staff. The members of our community on the panel were Mr Steve Hardy, Board member and member of the College community for 39 years, Mr Norman Power, a well-known and much-loved Hillcrest teacher since 2005, Mrs Allana Swanson, Hillcrest parent for 25 years, and Savannah Norambuena, an original student.

During interviews with our College captains, the panel shared heartwarming experiences from their involvement at Hillcrest over many years. They told stories about fires on campus before students arrived, knitting clubs in classrooms, changes to buildings, numbers of students and many other memories that have been formed. In closing, all panellists encouraged students to be wholeheartedly involved in the community and to continue to seek ‘Excellence in Christ’ in all they do. The assembly was concluded with the College song ‘Shine your light,’ a reflection of our original school charter, beautifully sung by Bella Vocé.

It is important to reflect on where our community began and the values that are important to enshrine in our future. Thank you to our four special guests for sharing their stories, experiences and dreams for our College.

Have a blessed week,

Jeff Davis
Executive Head of College

On Thursday, 23 May, our little learners in Prep – Year 2 enjoyed Under 8s Day. The excitement began before school even started, with free coffee for parents, and croissants, face painting and story time at the Castle library for everyone to enjoy.

The fun continued in the middle of the day when we all gathered on the Prep Deck for National Storytime, and very a special moment when under 8 students in schools around Australia read the same book Alpacas with Maracas simultaneously. Thanks to Mr Cavanough for reading to our under 8s this year. Guest magician, Mr Anthony Laye, had some tricks up his sleeve and bedazzled students with his lively show.

Mrs Flowers then introduced the theme of our Under 8s celebrations ‘different languages,’ and our eager students headed off to enjoy a range of rotations designed to help students appreciate various other cultures and languages. From Japanese origami, to traditional Aboriginal games, Chinese lanterns, and fun on the bouncy castle, our Prep – Year 2 students learned a lot while having so much fun with their friends.

On Tuesday, 28 May 2019, the annual Years 3 – 6 Athletics Carnival was held at the Somerset College Athletics Track. Students participated in a range of events in spectacular conditions. Students ran, jumped and threw their way to personal best performances, and each House demonstrated amazing team and community spirit. Thank you to all our staff and SLC helpers for making this day a success. 

Congratulations to our Age Champions, House Champions and House Spirit Champions, who all received their awards at a special presentation assembly on Thursday, 6 June.

2019 Athletics Carnival Results

2019 JLC Athletics - House Champions

2019 JLC Athletics - House Spirit Champions

Have you ever wanted to just get on a plane, travel to another country and get immersed in the culture, landscapes and food?

Well that’s exactly what our Year 3 classes have been doing through role play and creative learning experiences. Upon entering the classroom, they boarded the plane which took them to one of Australia’s closest neighbours, including Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Vanuatu and Fiji. As is important with all flights, students watched the safety videos to ensure they travelled well. Upon landing, students exited the plane not to a classroom, but to another country. While there, students found themselves engaged in the local industries that make their countries economy run, explored local landmarks and key tourist destinations (where there may have been opportunities for pictures of them at these destinations) and engaged in local craft or food activities in some instances. It was such a delight to see the students so engaged in learning and excited for each week as questions like “where are we travelling to today?” and “when is the flight leaving?” became a regular occurrence.

On Monday, 27 May, Dr Sarah Sweet connected with Year 5 LUMOS via a Skype interview in Tech Central. Dr Sweet is an Australian Astrophysicist studying her third doctorate at a Melbourne University. 

Her insights into current research of our universe, as well as her recent experiences travelling the world to use some of the largest telescopes ever made, were absolutely captivating. As a young professional in the field, students enjoyed her passion and experiences so far. Dr Sarah Sweet has shared her research on TedX and will undoubtedly become a professor in the years to come.

As well as being captivated by her scientific success and insights, students were also very inspired by her Christian perspective. Dr Sarah Sweet is a highly respected scientist but also studied theology as a practicing Christian since her childhood. She could not express enough how her scientific knowledge has complimented her faith, and the wonder of God she sees in our universe every day. We will explore this even more next time we Skype.

Connecting with industry experts is highly valued in the College, and we thank Dr Sarah for volunteering her time for this special lesson.

Michelle Pohlmann
Year 5 LUMOS Teacher

The 2019 SLC Athletics Carnival held on Monday, 28 May, was a great success with all four houses competing fiercely. The day started with our mighty senior relay which set the tempo for a great day. We saw amazing dress up themes which included car racers, aerobics and seas of yellow and blue. We had five records broken and many Personal Bests recorded in all of the track and field events. The mighty Greene House were crowned the 2019 SLC Athletics Carnival champions, while Carmichael took out the House Spirit Award.

We would like to acknowledge and thank all students who competed and cheered on their peers, while also thanking our amazing staff for being so supportive and running another amazing Carnival!

2019 Athletics Carnival Results

2019 SLC Athletics - House Champions

2019 SLC Athletics - House Spirit Champions

Year 11 students, Taylor Ryan and Ella Ramsey, both completed the Student for a Semester program at Bond University last semester. On Tuesday, 14 May, they attended their Student for a Semester Award Ceremony to celebrate their success and receive their certificates in the presence of family, friends and Bond University representatives.

Taylor completed the Sports Development subject, while Ella studied Design Communication: Architectural Drawing, and both girls achieved Distinctions in their subjects, coming very close to High Distinctions. This was an exceptional effort, as the program can be very challenging and requires participants to continue their school studies, in conjunction with undertaking their university subject, attending university lectures and tutorials, and submitting all assessments.

Several Hillcrest students have successfully completed this program over the many years that it has been offered at Bond, and they have benefited from the great opportunity to gain a firsthand experience of university life, while acquiring credit points toward their tertiary studies beyond Hillcrest.

Congratulations Taylor and Ella on your hard work and academic success!

Student for a Semester is offered in each of Bond's three trimesters, and you can find out more about the Bond University Student for a Semester program by following the link.

MEDIA RELEASE: FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Thursday, 30 May 2019

Hillcrest Christian College is pleased to announce the appointment of experienced company director, Reverend Ken Conwell to the Board in the role of Co-Chairman, along with current Board Member, Mr Jame Lewis (who is also a solicitor in private practice).

The appointment of Reverend Conwell follows extensive consultation between the College Board, Reedy Creek Baptist Church (RCBC) and senior leaders within Queensland Baptists. Queensland Baptists has made Reverend Conwell available to be Co-Chairman at this important time, because it considers Hillcrest Christian College to be an important ministry of RCBC and wishes to demonstrate its tangible support and commitment to both RCBC and Hillcrest Christian College.

Mrs Kim Horne (a member of the College Company) has also been appointed as a Director, bringing the number of directors to seven which enables the Board to fulfill its responsibilities under the College’s Constitution.

With these appointments, the Board expects it will be in a strong position to resolve the issues the College is currently facing and is confident Reverend Conwell and Kim Horne will provide sound counsel and pastoral leadership to determine the best outcomes for the future for the College.

Reverend Conwell brings 30 years’ experience to the role including six years as the Professional Standards Manager for Queensland Baptists overseeing the persons of concern processes, dispute resolution and child safety and risk management.

A veteran of the Queensland Baptist movement, Reverend Conwell has served as Pastor and Senior Pastor in the Beenleigh & District Baptist Church, Bayside Baptist Church (Manly West) and Southport Baptist Church.

Reverend Conwell is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and experienced board director. He is a Board member for Baptist Insurance Services Ltd and chair of its Risk and Compliance Committee, and has served on the board of Queensland Baptists and chaired Barnabas Fund Australia.

Hillcrest Christian College Board of Directors

Our College community were captivated by the love story of Cinderella and the Prince from 22 - 25 May, as our talented cast, crew and orchestra took us on a magical journey and brought a favourite fairytale to life on the Hillcrest stage. Our 2019 musical 'Cinderella: Enchanted Edition,' touched the hearts of the audience, as we watched in wonder while our performers showcased their God-given talents for us all to enjoy.

A musical of this magnitude takes months of preparation, hard work, commitment and generosity from so many people and we say a heartfelt thank you to the many Hillcrest staff, parents and friends who helped with costumes, set construction, hair and makeup, and props. Thanks to our students and their families for giving up the time to attend regular rehearsals and the productions, and to our amazing staff who directed and orchestrated such a quality production. We also appreciate our wider College community who joined the audience to show their support for our students and Performing Arts department.

Musicals have the ability to provide so many benefits to students and it is always wonderful to see how the production process cultivates community and builds strong relationships in the process.

Hillcrest's Director of Digital Innovation, Michael Ha, has just been announced as a winner of The Educator Rising Stars 2019 Award, sponsored by University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education.

The Educator Magazine sought applications from across Australia earlier this year, and educators were asked to nominate the brightest colleagues, under the age of 35, who they believed were poised to become tomorrow’s school leaders. After reviewing a large number of strong nominations, they compiled a list of 20 up-and-coming trailblazers. The Rising Stars’ profiles will be contained in the upcoming issue of The Educator Magazine, which is due to hit desks in June 2019.
 
In addition to this award, Michael Ha has been nominated for a Teacher of the Year award, and the finalists will be announced later in 2019. Congratulations Michael!

Volunteering Services Australia held their annual Gold Coast Volunteer Awards at HOTA on Saturday, 25 May, and welcomed over 190 guests to the special event to celebrate and pay recognition to Gold Coast volunteers, not-for-profit organisations and community projects. Councillor Gary Baildon AM, Division 7 the East of the City of Gold Coast, officially opened the evening and praised volunteers for their continuous dedication and hard work that contributes to the community and not-for-profit organisations. 

There were six prestigious awards presented on the evening, and Hillcrest's Year 2 student, Taz Traill was awarded the Youth Volunteer of the Year for his work with humanitarian charity Walk with Us, and for motivating many of his peers to volunteer. At 8 year of age, Taz was the youngest winner in the history of the Awards, and showed that regardless of age, anyone can make positive changes to benefit their community.

Simon Nugus, CEO of Volunteering Services Australia, commented that 'Every volunteer nominated was incredibly inspiring, so to choose three finalists in each category was difficult, let alone deciding the winners.'

Congratulations Taz and keep up the great work!

It's hard to believe we have nearly completed Term 2 and with school holidays just around the corner, we are excited to announce that the upcoming June - July 2019 School Holiday program is now available! We know many parents find school holiday time difficult, as they juggle their work commitments with students off school, and so our College is very pleased to be able to offer our Vacation Care program, where students are cared for by amazing educators in a fun and supportive environment at Reedy Creek Baptist Church, on Gemvale Road.

Our upcoming Vacation Care program promises another great range of activities, with some exciting excursions planned including rock climbing, Inflatable World and a trip to the cinema to watch A Secret Life of Pets 2. There'll be game days, baking, a Friday in France, Naidoc Day, a Teddy Bear's Picnic...and much more!

Vacation Care costs $53 per day, plus additional charges for incursions and excursions, and you may be eligible for a Child Care Subsidy through Centrelink. For any Vacation Care enquiries, please contact 0400 212 656 or email oshc@hillcrest.qld.edu.au, or view Outside School Hours Care on our website. We look forward to giving your children a school holidays to remember!

Use the Vacation Care Booking form to book your required days.

Have you ever thought about sharing your home with an overseas visitor? 

Hillcrest Homestay families will be required in July and August this year (from the start of Term 3) when we welcome our short study tours, and we would love Hillcrest families to host these students while they are here. The details are listed in the table below:

We will also be looking to place international students for short-term Homestay enrolments in Term 3, and these will last from 4 - 10 weeks duration. All of our Hillcrest Homestay families receive a fortnightly payment, 24-hour telephone support and a unique opportunity to learn more about other cultures. 

For more information, please contact our Homestay Coordinator, Madeleine Worth, by phoning 07 5655 0950 or emailing mworth@hillcrest.qld.edu.au

Is your child keen to be in the 2020 College Musical?... Do they love to sing, dance and act?...

Students can spend a day discovering the answers to these questions and more at our upcoming Musical Bootcamp.

Where: Hillcrest Performing Arts Department
When: Tuesday, June 18 (Year 7) and Wednesday, June 19 (Year 8)
Time: 8.30am – 3.00pm
Register: Register HERE before Monday, June 10. Limited places available.
More information: Please see the Musical Bootcamp information flyer to find out more.

Students who attend the Musical Bootcamp will actively participate in all three disciplines - acting, dancing and singing - during this challenging but rewarding day.

• Students will begin the day with a character-based drama workshop that will allow them to build their given character
• They will work through a singing workshop where they will deconstruct the lyrics of a musical theatre song learning how the character’s message can be communicated through song
• They will be directed through a scene from a musical to see how the scene comes to life through staging and the dynamics of chorus and characterisation
• They will work through a choreographed dance and learn how to use specific gestures and facial expressions of their character to communicate the meaning of the song and create an engaging musical theatre performance.

The day will conclude with a performance for family and friends.

On Monday, 27 May, our U14 Boys, U16 Boys, U12 Girls and U16 Girls Hillcrest Futsal teams all competed at the Gold Coast School Futsal Titles. All teams competed well showing great sportsmanship. A special mention to both of our girls teams who were undefeated throughout the tournament and both won their respective age groups.

As a result of such a successful display of sportsmanship, we now have a number of students selected for the South Coast Futsal Team. Our U12 and U16 Girls teams will also go on and represent Hillcrest at the State Champion of Champions Tournament in July this year.

On Wednesday, 29 May, students from Years 7 - 9 participated in Round 2 of the QLD Cricket Secondary Schools T20 Challenge. The match was played under a beautiful blue sky at the Mudgeeraba Nerang Districts Cricket Club against Marymount College. Bowling first, Hillcrest was able to restrict Marymount to 119 from their 20 overs. It looked like the boys would get there up until the very last over. Although the close nature of the loss was tough to handle, the students were able to learn from the match and become better young men of character through the experience. Playing highlights once again included captain, Lachlan Aitken, scoring 64 of Hillcrest’s total of 113. Well done to our cricket team on a very competitive match!

Our Hillcrest team included the following students:

• Lachlan Aitken
• Isaac Carger
• Matthew Freame
• Jed Gregory
• Asher Hammersley
• Lachlan Hammersley
• Oscar Hardy
• Yuan Ida
• Xavier McMullan-Elliott
• Kooper Ransome
• Jonathan Rouse
• Eathan Waters

The Experiment

What do you get when you create a football team, made up of some of Hillcrest’s best athletes from Years 7 - 9 from a range of sports, and enter them into the AFL Queensland Schools Cup carnival? This was a question which we were very much looking forward to finding out the answer! Last term, coach Matt Lappin called for interested athletes to create a new AFL team. He invited athletes from AFL, rugby, basketball, athletics, soccer and rugby league to participate in a once-only event with only five weeks of training. The result was a very enthusiastic, committed collection of young athletes with a huge variety of unique sporting skills. What was obvious was that these students' abilities in their preferred sport were very transferable to AFL.

Game Day

Led by our captain, Seth Welsh, our boys started the first two games slowly, but improvement was quick and obvious. Winning the first two games had the coaches excited that our team was able to compete with schools with well-established AFL programs. The last two games were very close losses, including by 7 points against Varsity College, the undefeated champion team of the carnival.

Both coaches were extremely proud of how of students represented Hillcrest Christian College. We were impressed with the tackling ability of our rugby players, the athleticism of our basketballers and the ability to adapt to a new game by all of our athletes. But most of all, we were impressed with how our boys carried themselves at all times. The respect shown to the opposition, umpires and the game itself is something that our school community can certainly celebrate. Congratulations boys!

Our AFLQ Schools Cup Squad

• Adam Orth
• Bailey Ouslinis
• Brodie Halik   
• Callum Marlow 
• Connor Smith 
• Cooper Nix
• Eden Xing
• Isaak Cullen
• Jake Hely
• Jayden Adams
• Jet Semaan
• Joey Muller
• Kye Hannant
• Luke Wilcox
• Oscar Geyer
• Ryan Cornwell
• Ryan Schuback
• Seth Welsh (C)
• Solomon Richmond
• Tajh Feltham
• Toby Duncan
• Trevor King
• Tyler O’Neill
• Tyson Winter

Last week Lola Alaia from 4LG attended the Northern New South Wales Jack Championships.

She took two ponies of her own and also rode others at the event. Lola successfully piloted her little pony around achieving Championship, which has qualified her for Grand National in 2020. She placed twice for 'Smartest On Parade,' was awarded Runner-up on her Hunter pony, and placed Third in her Rifer Class Ages 9 - 12.

Congratulations Lola. We are all very proud of you!