Beaconhills College

Bailley strikes again: with his State medals

Two of Beaconhills College’s Middle School students have qualified for the School Sport Australia Track and Field Championships.

Bailley M (Year 5 Pakenham) and Caitlyn M (Year 6 Berwick) will head to Canberra to compete from 4-8 December.

Caitlyn will compete in shot-put, while Bailley will run against the country’s best in the 800m. Bailley finished first in the 1500m and second in the 800m at the School Sport Victoria State Athletics Carnival, but will only run in the 800m as the 1500m is not run at nationals.

He hopes to improve on his 800m time of two minutes and 24 seconds. His strategy: “stick behind Queensland, because they’re fast!”

Regan C with his trophy

Year 8 chess whizz Regan C has become the Middle Years individual state champion after competing in the recent Chess Kids finals.

Regan won eight of his nine games, including beating the top seeded player, competing amongst 166 players from 30 different schools across Victoria.

Chess is Regan’s great passion and he is a regular competitor at club tournaments, often competing against adults. So far he has collected 29 trophies and numerous medals.

Since April alone he has earned the title of Group 1 champion at the Box Hill Chess Club Rookies Tournament, won the Grade A trophy at the Dandenong Chess Club Grades Tournament and placed third in Under 16s in the Victorian Junior Chess Championships in July.

Regan, from the Pakenham Campus, said he loved using strategies to win a game.

“The rules of chess are simple but the combination of moves are endless,” he said. “I get great satisfaction when I set winning combinations (traps) and sometimes I sacrifice pieces to get a better position on the board.

“Chess teaches to you to have a plan and to plan ahead.

(L-r) Year 4 student Keown O, Federal Member for La Trobe Jason Wood, Federal Member for McMillan Russell Broadbent, The Right Reverend Paul White, Assistant Bishop, Anglican Diocese of Melbourne and Year 4 student Laila V

The Pakenham Campus Junior School celebrated the official opening of its new extension on Tuesday 27 October with parliamentarians, church leaders and local business people among the invited guests.

The development will meet the growing needs of the community, providing four new classrooms, an indoor multi-purpose stadium and landscaping.

But it was the new 10m-long pirate ship playground that brought out the inner child of many guests, including Member for McMillan Russell Broadbent.

At the opening ceremony, Mr McMillan told students to honour those before them who had helped make the facilities possible. He said an exciting future awaited them.

“My expectation is that students across this electorate – from the snow to the sea – will be the leaders of this nation,” he said. “You will not only work in Australia, but across the world.”

Head of the Junior School, Peter Hockey, said while the wealth of a country was reflected in its educational facilities, the heart of a country was reflected by those inside.

“These buildings will teach us the three ‘Rs’ – but it is the missing two Rs, respect and relationships, that I hope becomes central to what these buildings become in the years ahead,” he said.

The ceremony included a blessing by Assistant Bishop The Right Revd Paul White from the Anglican Dioscese of Melbourne and prayer by Pakenham Uniting Church minister Revd Ann Simons, along with a choir performance by Junior School children.

Headmaster Tony Sheumack said the project had been primarily a local community effort, led by builder Greg Noonan, architects 3D Design and teams of local professional tradespeople.

The development cost $2.8 million, provided by Beaconhills College along with an $850,000 Federal Government contribution under the Capital Grants Program.

Elliot P with a map showing where his planet is located

Year 6 student Elliot P needs your help to name a planet – or an exoplanet to be precise.

Elliot is a finalist in a competition run by the International Astronomical Union called NameExoWorlds.

Elliot, from the Pakenham Campus, was delighted when his suggested name ‘Heroicus’ was shortlisted and now needs as many online votes as possible to win the competition.

Currently known as xi Aquilae, Elliot’s planet is part of the Eagle constellation. An exoplanet is a planet which orbits a star outside the solar system.

“I know that it’s 209 light years away,” said Elliot. “I came up with the name when I was looking for something Latin – I typed ‘epic’ into the translator and it came up with Heroicus.”

Elliot regularly takes part in activities at the local Mt Burnett Observatory and while he is a keen amateur astronomer, he said he was “interested in the whole of science”.

He loves entering competitions and has just placed second in a Rotary Public Speaking competition, has won a distinction this year – along with another student – for their project on Pluto for the Maths Talent Quest and has placed third in a Japanese competition.

To vote for Elliot’s planet name, follow the link to xi Aquilae then scroll to the name Heroicus. Voting closes at midnight on Saturday 31 October, with winners announced mid-November.
http://nameexoworlds.iau.org/exoworldsvote

Mark Stevens

Beaconhills College has appointed a new Head Coach, Mark Stevens, to lead the College’s Tennis Program.

Tennis at Beaconhills incorporates the Tennis School of Excellence and all outside school hours group lessons and private coaching programs. The College is one of the Berwick and District Tennis Association (BDTA) clubs.

The College launched the Tennis School in 2015. Based at the Pakenham Campus, it is the first of its type in the region and offers a world-class, on-campus tennis program aimed at students from Years 1-8.

Mr Stevens brings a wealth of experience to the role and has a strong vision for the program going forward.

A Tennis Australia Club professional, he has coached and travelled with world ranked juniors to the Australian Open and an ITF (International Tennis Federation) grade 1 event, as well as players on the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) tour. As a player, he has achieved a world ITF senior ranking of 3.

Mr Stevens is also a USA Professional Tennis Associate and has successfully placed students from his coaching programs into American College scholarship programs.

He aims to enhance and expand the Beaconhills tennis program in 2016 by providing structured pathways for players individually tailored for each student.

The Tennis School of Excellence provides students a 10-hour program fully integrated with the College curriculum, so academic education is not compromised. Next year Mr Stevens says he will expand the program with more court time and tournament play.

“Whether students are aiming for a career as a professional player, in the business management side of tennis or playing at a club level, there will be a clear pathway for every student,” Mr Stevens said.

Beaconhills College’s tennis facilities include 10 outdoor synthetic grass courts, an indoor stadium tennis court), two extra indoor stadium courts for strength and conditioning and a fully equipped gymnasium.

“With the huge interest in tennis in this region, I believe there is an exciting future ahead for the Tennis School of Excellence and College’s tennis programs,” Mr Stevens said.

Beaconhills College is delighted to launch a fresh new website.

The website is developed to offer the best user experience for accessing information, whatever the device.

The new-look site has enhanced multimedia, is more dynamic and responsive and reflects Learning That Matters as our core message.

We welcome any feedback and suggestions. Under the ‘Contact’ menu item, you will find an online contact form. We look forward to hearing from you and hope you find our new website useful.

Grace W and her grandfather enjoyed the morning

The recent Grandparents’ Day at the Pakenham Campus Junior School was a great success.

Around 900 grandparents visited the Junior School and enjoyed a morning of activities and entertainment.

They helped their grandchildren create balloon-powered cars, explored family history and made rosettes to wear. Students then presented a selection of songs in the Performing Arts auditorium, followed by morning tea in the Rainbow Room.

Celyn C

Alex M

Caitlyn M (centre) and Finn N (right), pictured with Brooke E, will compete in the finals

Three of the College’s track and field athletes have qualified to compete in the School Sport Victoria (SSV) State Championships.

Bailley M (Year 5 Pakenham Campus) and Berwick Campus students Caitlyn M (Year 6) and Finn N (Year 5) all qualified for the state event after competing in the SSV Regional Athletics – Years 4-6 – at Cranbourne’s Casey Fields on 15 October.

Bailley won both his 800m and 1500m races, while Caitlyn placed second in shotput to qualify and sixth in discus. Finn ran second in the boys’ 100m to qualify and sixth in the 200m.

The State Championships will be held on 26 October at Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park.

Bailley M qualified for the finals in two events