Beaconhills College

The combined fundraising efforts of six Relay for Life teams from the Pakenham Campus have already raised $12,000, with donations still flowing in after the Friday 24 event.

Five House teams from Beaconhills, plus Little Beacons Learning Centre, participated in the all-night walk around the Toomuc Reserve oval.

Two brothers from Woods House, Bailey and Joel McLean (Year 5), managed to raise an impressive $1000 – double their original relay goal.

On the Relay for Life website, the duo said two of their uncles were currently fighting cancer: “Cancer has taken people from our lives too soon, and we want to make sure that this doesn’t happen to other families.”

The Blixt family (Clark House) also donated $500.

The 44 teams who took part in the Cardinia Relay for Life have so far raised around $92,195 – well ahead of the $80,000 goal. The Casey event starts this Friday 3 March at Berwick’s Akoonah Park.

Joel McLean and brother Bailey raised $1000

Ashley Hart and mum Nicole

Ben and Isaac Simpson

Laura Hanrahan with mum Sarah

Mitchell Hall, Tahlia Adkin, Mason Moon, Antony Bakens, Tom Ferrari, Abhay Aneja, Euan Grierson, Daniel Sumsion, Mackenzie Coutts

The College has welcomed a group of French students from our sister school in Laval, who are staying with host families from both campuses until 3 March.

The students are enjoying a range of activities both in and out of school. They have already visited Puffing Billy, Phillip Island and the Great Ocean Road, cooked ANZAC biscuits, played some Aussie rules football and attended our French classes.

Pakenham Campus Head of French Yelena Pinchuk said the Laval visit reciprocated the one by 23 Beaconhills students to Laval late in 2016.

During that exchange, students stayed for two weeks in Laval and visited the Caen memorial and WWII museum, Mont St Michel and Chinon Castle, along with many other excursions.

“As teachers, we were lucky to have accompanied such a great group of young people,” Ms Pinchuk said. “There were some amazing talents amongst them.”

“At the end of our stay in Laval, students were interviewed by Immaculée Conception school radio (in French!) and the interview broadcast live.”

Students also performed songs in English and French for students and parents.

Chinon visit

In November, four Beaconhills students took part in a separate exchange program with the Lycée Rabelais school in Chinon, located in France’s Loire Valley.

Student Russell Reader said that taking part in French schooling – where the days are long – was an interesting experience and very different to school life at Beaconhills.

“There was quite a contrast between our school, where every student is obliged to have a device, and France where such things are unheard of,” he said.

All students returned with a better understanding of French culture and improved language skills.

Mandarin classes at Beaconhills College moved to the kitchen recently when teacher Yanie Chen helped students cook tang yuan (sweet rice balls) to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Two of our Year 9 international students Tom Tang and Olivia Cui were happy to try out their cooking skills and at the same time learn some of the origins and legends of the tang yuan tradition.

Students found a recipe for tang yuan, which is made from glutinous rice flour, peanut butter and sugar. They cooked the rice balls in class then took them home to share with their homestay families. Ms Chen said the students were pleased to have the chance to make tang yuan themselves, rather than buy it already made.

“That’s part of the reason we include cultural elements in Mandarin classes as part of students’ Chinese study,” she said.

“Cultural awareness is the foundation of communication. It recognises that we are all shaped by our cultural background, which influences how we interpret the world around us, perceive ourselves and relate to other people.”

Tom Tang was happy with the rice balls

Olivia Cui

Hundreds of Beaconhills College walkers will descend on the two major Relay for Life events in Cardinia and Casey in February and March.

Beaconhills is traditionally a major supporter of Relay for Life, with the Berwick Campus ‘Beacon of Hope’ team last year the second top fundraiser at the Casey event.

In 2016, the combined College teams from Pakenham and Berwick contributed more than $35,000 in donations to the Cancer Council for research and development.

This year Pakenham Campus will field six teams from the Middle School and Little Beacons Learning Centre at the Cardinia Relay for Life held at the Pakenham Football Club, Toomuc Reserve, on 24/25 February.

The Casey Relay for Life event is on 3 and 4 March at Berwick’s Akoonah Park, with this year’s Beacon of Hope team aiming to raise $20,000.

One of the teacher organisers of the Berwick event, Nicole Maus, said Beaconhills students, staff and families were enthusiastic participants in Relay for Life events.

“Everyone in the Beaconhills community has been touched in some way by cancer,” she said. “Our community is very keen to contribute to the research and development facilitated by the Cancer Council of Victoria, as a means to finding a cure for all kinds of cancers.”

Register now or donate to the Pakenham Campus teams here:
Little Beacons
Pakenham Campus (select) Middle School Houses

or support the Berwick walkers here:
Berwick Campus

Creese House ran a Relay for Life fundraiser BBQ this week at the Pakenham Campus Junior School

Beaconhills’ Head of Citizenship and Service Clare Tuohy at last year’s Berwick Relay for Life event with Middle School student Keturah

One of Beaconhills’ six chaplains, Kate Jacob, was ordained as an Anglican Church Deacon at a ceremony in St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne on Saturday 4 February.

Revd Jacob said she was “overwhelmed” with the support she received from the Beaconhills community on the day of her ordination.

“My ordination was one of the most joyous occasions I have experienced, as I was able to publicly commit to serving God and serving others in Jesus’ name,” she said.

“Being able to serve God and his people is a great privilege and responsibility and I am honoured to be able to serve the community of Beaconhills College.”

As a Deacon, Revd Jacob is now able to conduct weddings and help with Communion and baptisms for the College community. She will be ordained as a Priest in November.

Revd Kate Jacob at her ordination

Year 10 Beaconhills College student Jake Cawfield’s debut film Mum’s Chores made the shortlist of Tropfest’s junior short film competition.

TROP JR, the world’s largest short film festival for kids, was held in Sydney on Friday 10 February.

Jake’s film was a five-minute comedy starring his sister Maddy, who he had to pay $50 for her acting services.

Jake managed to pull together the production in just two weeks, despite having only a short window in which to film after school and before sunset.

“I stayed up all night, for two nights in a row to do all the editing,” Jake said.

He said his only regret was running out of time to finish colour correcting, grading and improving the sound quality. But he was amazed to learn that he still made the Tropfest shortlist.

Each year Tropfest sets a signature items that film-makers must incorporate somewhere in their work. This year’s item was a mask.

Jake now hopes to enter his film in other festivals. He studied Media last year with teacher Nick Zomer and plans to pick it up again in Years 11 and 12, with a view to pursuing a career in film.

Year 6 Beaconhills College student William Arrowsmith is the public face of a national campaign to raise awareness about childhood heart disease (CHD).

HeartKids runs Sweetheart Day each year on 14 February. HeartKids focuses on funding vital medical research and improving the lives of children with CHD.

This year William appears in HeartKid posters as well as featuring in an interview with actor and comedian Shane Jacobsen, Sweetheart Day Ambassador.

William has also launched his own personal crowd funding page for the campaign.

He said he hopes to raise at least $3090, the amount needed to support just one family.

“I was born with a complex heart condition and so far I have had two major heart surgeries and I will soon need to have a third surgery,” William said.

“I know several of my heart buddies have been or are a part of the Beaconhills community.

“The more people that know about HeartKids Australia, the greater their impact, so please also spread the word by sharing my page with your friends and family.”

One in every 100 babies born in Australia has a heart defect and there is no known cure.

William in the campaign poster for Sweetheart Day