Beaconhills College

Today, Beaconhills College Pakenham Campus Principal Sarah Rudiger is wearing yellow in support of R U OK? Day.

In a year when so many of us have faced challenges, we encourage our College community to reach out and have wellbeing conversations with loved ones.

And if you hear “No, I’m not OK” listen with an open mind, encourage action while offering what support you can, and make a time to check in again.

Remember, there is more to say after R U OK? Visit www.ruok.org.au for more information.

The Beaconhills Home Challenge is the gift that keeps on giving during lockdown. And now Year 6 Pakenham Campus student Zoe Sharpe is the latest to jump on board, with the aim of donating 20 handmade beanies to children in the cancer ward at Monash Children’s Hospital.

Zoe has already made her first beanies and scarf – using Loopz yarn – while her grandmother also plans to donate home knitted tiny beanies and cardigans for premature babies in the neonatal ward.

Zoe said she read about the ‘Being Kind’ initiative – part of the Beaconhills Home Challenge – in the College Middle School bulletin.

“I wanted to help the children who had just gone through a massive thing in their life,” Zoe said. “I don’t think I would be able to even imagine what they have gone through, so I wanted to help them get better, or even put a smile on some of their faces.”

Beaconhills students are taking part of a variety of activities in the Home Challenge, from creating art to recording km in a ‘Run Around Australia’.

Zoe gets to work on her beanie challenge

Today – 2 September – is Early Childhood Educators’ Day, celebrating the wonderful contribution our early learning educators make to the wellbeing and healthy development of the children in their care. So here’s a big thanks to all of our staff at Little Beacons in Berwick and Pakenham.

The Association of Coeducational Schools (ACS) Chess Tournament is usually held in May where 7 schools play off face to face in a round robin.  However, due to Covid-19, it looked highly unlikely that this event would be possible in 2020.

Fortunately, due to the technology of Zoom and Tornelo, an online tournament was held on August 21^st.  Due to all the technology involved that could possibly go horribly wrong, it was with excitement and some trepidation that our team of seven students (Sam Sail, Sarah Prendergast, Matthew Pearson, Cooper Lambert, Terry Prendergast, Taiji Ogawa and Alfie Howat) played in the Swiss format online tournament.

The team started strongly and after 5 rounds were equal 1^st.  However, although the students played determinedly, we finished 5^th after the final round.  Our best players on the day were Sam Sail who placed 5^th after winning 5 games while Alfie Howat and Matthew Pearson placed 15^th and 16^th, winning 4 ½ of their 7 games.  All players enjoyed the event immensely and commented on how much fun they had.

The quest to find a seizure alert dog for their teenage son Cody has led to success for Pakenham Campus teacher Scott Wallace and his wife Tracy.

Cody Wallace, 14, was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour and hydrocephalus (excess fluid on the brain) 12 years ago. He has since undergone multiple brain surgeries and lives with constant seizures. The family raised money two years ago for a seizure alert dog to help with Cody’s care and has been waiting since then for the right dog to be found.

Last month – after an exhausting and stressful process – the Wallace family was granted an exemption to travel to Queensland so they could be trained to handle their special new family member – Lulu the SmartPup.

The initial outbreak of COVID-19 had meant the placement of Cody’s first dog was cancelled. Without the recent exemption to travel to Queensland, he would have lost Lulu too.

“We spent two weeks in quarantine – during that time, I taught my classes via Zoom while my wife and son counted down the days until we were out of quarantine,” said Mr Wallace, who is Head of eLearning and Information Technology at the Pakenham Campus.

He said the family had a weekend to enjoy the sun and sand before the intense training began. By the end of the week, Lulu had passed her Public Access Test and was ready to move to her new home.

“Getting home wasn’t without its challenges… three cancelled flights and the fourth delayed certainly tested our patience,” Mr Wallace said.

This video shows a small part of Lulu’s training. She has responded to a t-shirt that has Cody’s seizure scent on it, her bark is to alert the family of a change in Cody’s condition.

“Knowing that Cody has a companion who can detect the slightest change in Cody’s health will definitely have a positive impact on our entire family, moving forward,” Mr Wallace said.

A seizure alert dog costs $30,000 for its initial training and more than $5000 a year to maintain its training, diet and overall health.

Lulu the SmartPup is a welcome addition to the Wallace household

Scott Wallace, who is Head of eLearning and Information Technology at the Pakenham Campus

It certainly hasn’t been the first year of school that our students would have imagined, but the resilience and teamwork of teachers and families alike is something to be celebrated. To recognise 100 days of school students celebrated (at home) by dressing as centennials, and taking part in 100 themed learning activities.