Beaconhills College

Our Berwick Year 8 students are on the adventure of a lifetime this week, as they explore the mysterious valleys of Walhalla and Mt Baw Baw.

Braving the rain, students have participated in mountain bike riding, hiking and rafting, all washed down at the end of the day with plenty of marshmallow by the campfire.

Year 9 students at our Pakenham campus this week raised over $4,000 for charity at the annual Market Day.

The event was well supported by lots of student and staff customers, eager to sample the range of tasty treats for sale.

This was by far our most successful market to date, raising almost double the funds from last years effort.

Now playing in his second season for the Gippsland Power, Callum has been pegged as one to watch by AFL scouts, having been named ‘Player of the Round’ against the Geelong Falcons, and recently making his VFL debut with the Casey Demons where he kicked one goal.

On and off the field, anyone who knows Callum will talk of his relentless pursuit of excellence, and outstanding leadership skills. This is something that he demonstrates in all aspects of his life, not just football. As well as being named Vice Captain for the Power this year, he is the 2017 Beaconhills College Sports and Millett House Captain.

When asked how he balances VCE and football he said “it has definitely been a massive year in terms of balancing all of my commitments.

“While this is a challenge, I’m very lucky to have an incredible amount of support from the College and in particular my family and friends.

“They not only push me to achieve the best results that I can, they also provide me with release in that I can take my mind of everything and just focus on being happy in their company”.

As for life after school, Callum intends to follow his academic pursuits hand-in-hand with a career in the AFL. He recognises that “life as a professional footballer (if you are lucky enough to get there in the first place) is not a very long one, so you have to be prepared for what comes next”.

He plans to study a double degree Bachelor of Education (Health and Physical Education) and Bachelor of Exercise Science in the hope of one day becoming a sports teacher. This path was inspired by his Beaconhills teachers.

“Seeing the PE teachers here at the College enjoy their lifestyle and have such a passion and love for their job has definitely inspired me to take the same path”.

In the meantime, the advice that he offered to younger students is “believe in yourself and never doubt your ability. A strong belief system and a love and passion for what you do, more than anything, will propel you forward”.

NOTE: Since posting this story, Callum has been named in the 2017 TAC Cup Team of the Year. Congratulations Callum on this fantastic achievement!

An innovative reading program which has Beaconhills College students stopping to read for 15 minutes in their first class after lunch each day has led to a boost in NAPLAN reading results.

The Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) program was rolled out in the Middle School (Years 5-8) at the College’s Berwick Campus more than 18 months ago. Pakenham Campus has a variation on the program called Power Reading.

The Middle School’s Head of Teaching and Learning, Victoria Spicer-Stuart, said that in 2014, the Year 7 NAPLAN results for reading were five points below the state average. This year, the results have risen to 15 points above the state average.

Year 5 reading results have also lifted – from nine points below the state average in 2013, to five points above the average this year.

“This is excellent,” said Ms Spicer-Stuart. “This five year trending for reading is extremely positive, with the highest results in 2017 that we have seen in some time.”

She believed the results were directly linked to the DEAR program and the work of teaching and library staff in implementing a “reading culture” in the Middle School.

The Middle School’s Head of Literacy and English, Clare Polglase, said the DEAR program has required the co-operation of all staff as students needed to stop and read, no matter what their class was at the time. Students are free to read whatever text they choose.

Ms Polglase said it was particularly gratifying to see some boys, who until a year ago had refused to read anything, suddenly discover a new love of reading. And parents had reported back similar observations.

Library borrowings up

Not surprisingly, the program has led to jump in library borrowings. Head of Information Services, Carmel Byrne, said Middle School loans rose 95 per cent from semester 1, 2015 to same period the following year, then a further 30 per cent for 2017.

“This increase includes a sharp rise in loans of audiobooks and ebooks across our three platforms – Overdrive, eplatform and Borrowbox,” Ms Byrne said.

Both Pakenham and Berwick Campus libraries have also increased book borrowings by cataloguing books by genre (eg adventure or fantasy), similar the way you find them in bookshops. Regular author visits, dress-up days, book clubs and Book Week events also make the school’s two libraries popular with students.

“Every single day, every single child in the Middle School is not only reading for pleasure, they are also seeing this positive behaviour being modelled,” Ms Spicer-Stuart said.

To add to last week’s winter sport premiership news, congratulations to the Berwick Campus’ intermediate boys’ soccer team for winning 7-1 against Newhaven College.

The boys finished their winter SEISA (South Eastern Independent Schools Association) season with a convincing win in heavy conditions after overnight rain.

Berwick’s intermediate girls’ soccer team played well throughout the season, but were defeated 5-1 in the finals against Gippsland Grammar. A great season of soccer for the Berwick Campus!

That makes a total of four SEISA premierships for College teams this winter season.

Today is a special day for our College.

On this day in 1980, the very first meeting was held at St John’s Fellowship Hall, Upper Beaconsfield, to consider the possibility of a local Christian school.

The meeting was called by John McConchie with permission and approval from his vicar, Reverend Roger Rich – 17 people attended the meeting, including Lois and Ben Maghanoy.

Some fantastic results for the College from this week’s SEISA (South Eastern Independent Schools Association) Winter Sports finals, with four winning teams.

Pakenham Campus SEISA Premiers:
Inter Boys Football defeated Newhaven College 83 – 42
Senior Girls Soccer defeated St Pauls 4-2
Senior Girls A Netball defeated St Pauls 39-36

Pakenham Campus SEISA Runners Up:
Senior Boys Soccer lost to St Pauls 4-3 (on penalties after 0-0 draw)
Senior Boys Hockey lost 4-1 to Gippsland Grammar

Congratulations to the Berwick Campus’ intermediate boys’ soccer team for winning 7-1 against Newhaven College.

The boys finished their winter SEISA (South Eastern Independent Schools Association) season with a convincing win in heavy conditions after overnight rain.

Berwick’s intermediate girls’ soccer team played well throughout the season, but were defeated 5-1 in the finals against Gippsland Grammar. A great season of soccer for the Berwick Campus!

Well done to all the students and staff who have dedicated their time and effort to such a successful season!

Creative business ideas by two Year 10 Beaconhills College students have earned multi-media prizes in Victoria University’s ‘I Plan a Business’ (iPAB) awards.

Paige Van Leeuwen and Jake Cawfield were equal winners of a $500 prize. Paige designed ‘Adorn Bridal’, an exclusive jewellery business for brides and debutantes, while Jake’s business idea was called ‘Munch Busters’, a school lunch-making business.

Nearly 300 business students from 34 secondary schools across Victoria entered the competition. The students’ teacher at the Berwick Campus was Rodney Gonsalves.