Beaconhills College

• Year 3 – ‘Pig the Pug’ by Aaron Blabey
• Year 4 – ‘The 13-Storey Treehouse’ by Andy Griffiths
• Year 5 – ‘Wonder’ by R.J Palacio
• Year 6 – ’47 Degrees’ by Justin D’Ath
• Year 7 – ‘Sidetracked’ by Diana Harmon Asher
• Year 8 – ‘Detention’ by Tristan Bancks

Little Beacons at our Berwick Campus can now celebrate attaining all six health priority areas of the Achievement Program, after ticking off ‘Physical Activity and Movement’.

The program is supported by the Victorian Government and delivered by Cancer Council Victoria. It helps workplaces, schools and early childhood services to create healthy places for working, living and learning.

Berwick Little Beacons can now join our Pakenham centre in achieving recognition for all six health priority areas. These are Sun Protection, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Physical Activity and Movement, Healthy Eating and Oral Health, Safe Environments and Tobacco, Alcohol and Other Drugs.

Little Beacons even went one step further, completing the Sexual Health and Wellbeing priority area, normally recognised at school level.

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.