November Monthly Newsletter 2023

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” – Oprah Winfrey

It is difficult to believe that I am writing the final newsletter for 2023. Time has certainly passed quickly this year. I would like to begin by sharing my deepest gratitude to all our families, staff and students for the support I have been given throughout 2023 as I fulfilled the Acting Principal role.

I have been honoured to be in this role and to be able to work with our staff to provide another year of excellent education for our students and to work with our girls to assist them to deepen their sense of belonging and understanding of what it means to be a St Hilda’s girl. Part of this journey is experienced in the final weeks of each year when a number of traditional and unique events take place recognising the tremendous work of our students and forming the next step in the history of St Hilda’s School.

This week our 2023 Year 6 students participated in a Farewell Chapel Service, during which each girl was celebrated and acknowledged for their great commitment to their years in the Junior School. Thank you to our wonderful families who gave their time to attend and join with the staff to congratulate the girls and to witness them crossing the path from Junior School to their Senior School experience in 2024.

The Junior School also recognised the hard work of students in Years 3 to 6 at the End of Semester Awards Assembly which was held on Thursday. Congratulations to the students who achieved great success in their studies during Semester 2 and received awards for their commitment to their learning.

On Wednesday evening, it was our great honour to celebrate our 2023 graduands at the Year 12 Graduation Ceremony held at the The Events Centre, Aquis Park. The only way I can describe the evening was magical as each Year 12 girl was recognised for her tremendous contribution to St Hilda’s School and celebrated for completing her schooling journey. Ms Alana Chesser, School Captain 2018 and President of the Old Girls’ Association, addressed the graduands, sharing wise advice for their life beyond the school gates.

On behalf of the School, I expressed our gratitude to the girls for their hard work and commitment to the School values and motto, Non Nobis Solum. The girls have led the School with pride and generosity this year and we wish each graduand every success.

As the final week of the 2023 academic year unfolds, I encourage all in our community to enjoy time together and especially the joy of coming to school and spending time completing learning and time with your teachers and friends. During the final week, the Junior School Speech Day will be held on Tuesday 22 November and the Senior School Speech Day will be held on Thursday 23 November. I look forward to celebrating our amazing girls at each of these special events.

Mrs Amanda Shuttlewood
Acting Principal

Last week I attempted to explain to the Boarders at their last Boarders’ Chapel for the year, the real or religious meaning of Halloween. In our contemporary society, the religious meanings of many of our most popular customs and observances have become blurred or forgotten. It is difficult to understand the joy of biting into a hot cross bun at Easter after the forty days of Lenten fasting, if that bun has been available in supermarkets since Boxing Day and called an Easter Bun. Similarly, mince pies formerly only eaten at Christmas are now common fare.

This of course is a natural phenomenon of change over time; thus, a holy day became a holiday. However, if the origin of a custom or ritual is lost, then much is lost. So, returning to Halloween. It is really All Hallows’ Eve, the day before All Saints’ Day and two days before All Souls’ Day. In medieval times, these were respectively the days set aside to remember those saints who had not their own particular day of remembrance in the Church’s calendar and those Christians, who had died, and their families wished to remember. It has its own parallel in the South American custom of Day of the Dead which again is not a fear of the dead but rather remembering and giving thanks for their lives. Over time as All Hallows’ Eve contracted into Halloween and this concept was taken to America by Irish and Scottish migrants, fear replaced the acts of familial love. Loved ones of the past were replaced by the images of witches, hobgoblins, and ghouls that we see today.

Certainly, today’s Halloween is entertaining for children and “trick or treating” can be an enjoyable occasion but something is lost when we do not remember that in essence, Halloween is a celebration of love, goodness, and the Christian hope of the resurrection from the dead.

Fr Patrick Duckworth
School Chaplain

Term 4 has certainly been a busy time for the music department with our annual awards presentations as well as other recent performances including:
· Big Band and Rhythm and Blues Band providing the entertainment for the Principal’s and Old Girls’ Christmas Party.

· Years 3 and 4 String Classes presenting Open Classroom performances for their parents in Week 6.
· Prep and Year 1 Singers, Junior Concert Band, Years 2-3 Choir, Years 4-6 Choir and Vocal Ensemble and Junior String Ensemble recording performance to be presented at the Junior School Christmas Carols on 17 November
· Year 6 presenting their song – “This Is Me” for their Graduation Ceremony.

The last weeks will see:
· Years 7-9 Choir and Middle School & Senior Concert Band recording a performance for presentation at the Final Middle School Assembly.
· Years 4-6 Vocal Ensemble, Senior Choir, Senior String Ensemble and Middle School and Senior Concert Band as an integral part of the Speech Day event.

Junior Music Presentations Assembly

At Junior School Years 3-6 Assembly on Monday 6 November, we were very impressed by some outstanding music performances and able to award Junior School musicians who have worked hard throughout the year as members of choirs and instrumental ensembles.

The assembly opened with solo performances by seven Year 6 musicians performing in competition on their instruments as part of the annual Year 6 Instrumental Idol competition and also the Year 6 Percussion Ensemble with their rendition of 'Somebody That I Used To Know'. All performers were outstanding this year, and the placegetters were:
1st Effie Tang - Flute
2nd Mila Park - Clarinet
3rd Hazel Dufty – Alto Saxophone

The Year 5s followed with their excellent first public performances on the instrument they started as part of the instrumental music program 6 months ago, with the Concert Band piece Dragon Dance.

The Junior Music Captains also presented a great summary of their year in music during 2023. Congratulations to Charlotte Baker, Hazel Dufty and Athena Wang on their contribution as Junior School Music Captains this year.

Congratulations must go to the trophy winners for ensembles presented also at this assembly. Their leadership and achievements this year as part of their choirs, bands and strings groups has been greatly appreciated.

Co-curricular Music Awards – Middle/Senior School – 13 October

The Co-curricular Music Awards were held on Friday, 13 October, at which all of our Middle and Senior School musicians performed and were congratulated on their efforts during 2023. A great night was had by all in the Jennifer Reeves Cafeteria and thanks must go to the girls and staff for making the night a fantastic celebration of all things musical.
The 2023 Middle Senior Awards list is included here and also the Music Year in Review presentation prepared by the Senior Music Captains – Annalize de Wet, Lucy Holt and Varvara Litvinova.

Outstanding Individual Achievements

In recent weeks, we have been very excited to hear of some outstanding individual achievements by two of our musicians who have received high levels of examination competition success. Congratulations to:

• Flora Yang (Yr 11) awarded her AMEB Licentiate of Music Australia – Piano
• Aurora Salmon (Yr 10) awarded her AMEB Associate of Music Australia – Flute with Distinction

Music Examination Results

Results from AMEB and Trinity College Music Examinations have arrived in recent weeks and congratulations are extended to the following musicians on their hard work to enable the achievement of such pleasing results:

Miss Janette Kelly
Head of Music

School Sport Shout Outs!

State Athletics – Congratulations to Elise Virr, Ella Ramsay, Kate Worboys, Lorielle Scholz and Dior Scholz who all represented South Coast at State Athletics. Lorielle qualified for the 200m final. Ella qualified for the final in the 400m placing 5^th. Kate placed 3^rd in Javelin. Dior won gold in the 17years 200m Final and Bronze in the 100m and High Jump.

All Schools Triathlon

Congratulations to Alexia Abela, Isla Hawkins & Sara McCarthy who all competed in Kawana over the weekend of 28-29 October. All 3 girls were successful in gaining selection into the 2024 School Sport South Coast team. Well done ladies!

Junior Badminton

Badminton Captain – Audrey Theobald

Club & Non-School Sport Shout Outs!

Caboolture Open – Congratulations to Elise Virr who finished runner up at this recent event. Well done Elise.

Junior AFL

The St Hilda’s Sport Team regularly gets school sport results and achievements. The sport team loves to be kept up to date with our girl’s achievements across a wide range of club and non-school sports. Please email [email protected] with any sporting news that we can recognise and celebrate!

Middle/Senior Sport information regarding trials, training and competition is communicated directly to students and can also be found via the school app.

For all enquiries relating to Middle/Senior Sport at St Hilda’s please email [email protected] and ensure that you have downloaded the isthildas app for all our sporting notices.

Mrs Mel Lilley

Director of Sport and Coaching

CONGRATULATIONS

Mila Gan (Year 7) who competed in the 2023 Queensland Titles for sailing in the last holidays. Mila competes in the Optimist Open Division of this event and placed 4th after 11 races. Mila is now preparing for the 2024 Australian Optimist Championships in Adelaide in January.

Aurora Salmon (Year 10) on achieving her AmusA with Distinction in Flute Performance. The AMEB has Grade levels examinations 1-8 for each instrument and after this follows the Associate Diploma and then one step further up the Licentiate Level Diploma. The Diplomas expect an advanced level of technical accomplishment, mature musical understanding and the ability to feel and project changing moods and character within the music. The performance exam for Associate presents a program of 25 – 40 mins whilst the Licentiate presents a program of 35 – 50 mins of playing of at least 4 pieces with at least one performed from memory. Congratulations Aurora on your outstanding success!

Holly Warn (Year 8) who will be travelling to Canada at the end of term to compete at the 2023 Ken Demchuk International for the purpose of international classification. Holly will compete in freestyle, breaststroke and an individual medley event and we wish her all the best.

Olympic Change Maker Award Recipients

Congratulations to Jessica Cleverly and Coco Marshall (Year 12) on receiving the Olympic Change-Maker Award in 2023. This award recognises Australian secondary school students who are demonstrating the Olympic spirit through leadership and driving positive change in their communities.

Athena Program 2024

St Hilda’s School is committed to providing support for those girls who are pursuing their dreams of elite sport, cultural endeavours or innovative programs. We work with families to offer flexibility and support to students (Years 4 – 12) whilst ensuring that they remain connected to their education and the St Hilda’s School community throughout their schooling years.

Athena Offers:
· Consultation with parents/carers to assess your daughter’s unique schooling needs
· Personalised learning plans developed to make schooling sustainable
· Additional pastoral care and support provided to Athena students
· Ongoing collaboration and flexibility for families, to ensure curriculum delivery and schooling commitments are balanced and accessible

Applications for the Athena Program 2024 are now being taken. Students and parents wishing to apply are encouraged to read the Selection Criteria prior to submitting the Application Form, including supporting documentation, to myself via email [email protected] or by submitting the forms to Visitors Reception. Application Forms are available on the School Website under Education/Athena Program.

Mrs Lisa Cleverly

Head of Athena

Click to view upcoming Foundation events here.

For more details please email [email protected] or contact Karen Minahan on 07 5577 7358.

Mrs Karen Minahan
Foundation Officer

Upcoming Community Events

Click to view here.

OGA Cookbook Available Now

St Hilda’s Bush to Beach Cookbook is full of recipes, images and recollections from Old Girls about life at St Hilda’s. Some of the recipes in this cookbook have been passed down through generations, some are incredibly simple, others more complex.

Traditional favourites feature along with dishes that reflect the diverse backgrounds and cultures of the many generations of girls that have made St Hilda’s School what it is today.

St Hilda’s Bush to Beach Cookbook will inspire you! It’s a trip down memory lane and a time capsule for treasured recipes and a must-have for your kitchen.

Cookbook will be available in November.

Order yours today - here.