The Southport School Band of Brothers Issue 19 by The Southport School

ISSUE 19: June 2019

Band of Brothers

In this issue 19 TSS NEWS

T S S F E AT U R E

Parent Surveys

TSS Tops ATAR Ranking

Surf 's Up at TSS Preschool

A New Dimension of Design

Preschool Education

TSSVING

Would You Like Navy Blue, Royal Blue or French Blue?

TSS ARTS 18

Old Boys Lead Wicked into a HOTA Season

'Young Archie' Award

24 25

TSS SPORTS 26

TSS Cricket First XI Premiers 2019

2019 Football Wrap

Revamped TSS Art Show

TSS Delivers Their Best Stroke to Land in Top 3 at GPS

National Band Competition

2019 Tennis Wrap

TSS IN FOCUS

TSS HISTORY

That 'Ah ha!' Moment

Vale Adam Radcliffe DFC

Student Voice at TSS

TSS House Shield Historic Tie 2008

No Second Chance

Future Proof Careers Year 10

P.A.R.T.Y Program Excursion

TSS COMMUNITY

TSS EVENTS

TSS Foundation Breakfast

Men's Health Week

Indigenous Education Program

Year 12 Formal 2019

A Meeting Place Reborn

Mother's Day High Tea

Keeping it in the Family

TSS & Musgrave Hill State School

we few, we happy few, we band of brothers.

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TSS NEWS

...work commencing on the new Music Centre and Annand Theatre. These two mammoth projects have been on the Strategic Plan for over a decade.

Headmaster's Introduction Mr Greg Wain Headmaster

elcome to another news-filled edition of Band of Brothers. This edition includes an article highlighting the recent visit of our 2018 Dux, Harrison Chen, and Proxima Accessit to the Dux, Josh Moss. Harrison was excited to let us know that he is off to study Medicine with a direct entry to Melbourne University. Harrison scored an OP1 at the very top end which equated to an ATAR of 99.95, the best ATAR possible. An outstanding result. In New South Wales last year, only 46 students out of 75,000 in Year 12 achieved an ATAR of 99.95. Josh also scored an OP1 and needed an ATAR score for his university application. His ATAR was 99.75 which would have placed him in the top 230 students in New South Wales out of 75,000. Josh is now studying at the world-renowned London School of Economics. Congratulations to both Harrison and Josh. Read further into Band of Brothers to find one of our outstanding recent staff recruitments. This man has travelled the world as an integral coach with the likes of the Melbourne Rebels, Queensland Reds, Queensland Cricket, Brisbane Heat, the Australian Cricket Team in

their World Cup winning year, the Irish Rugby Union, Munster Rugby Club in Ireland - one of Europe’s biggest rugby clubs - and in his competition days, nearly made the Olympic High Jump Team after missing out by just 1cm. He did jump an impressive 2.18 metres, giving him a ranking on the Athletics Australia All-Time List. I also recently found out that he worked with the Wallabies for six years and was a speed consultant in the 2003 World Cup! You will also find that our Parent Survey ‘report card’ is included in this edition and we celebrate our steady growth in positive school culture and teacher quality which are now the top two aspects of TSS. There is also lots of news from our Prep School campus: we are thrilled to announce that the TSS Preschool has again received the difficult to obtain ‘Excellent’ rating no doubt helped by the new ‘beach lifesaver’ themed play area; find out about the Prep Archibald prize exhibition; and meet two boys who are in Reception this year and their Old Boy dads who started at TSS together in Year 1 in 1989!

Read also about the game changer for Music with work commencing on the new Music Centre and Annand Theatre. These two mammoth projects have been on the Strategic Plan for over a decade. The Secondary School will soon be able to match the Prep School in having a meeting place, which is key to building community and culture, where every boy will have a seat and be able to see and hear what is happening at our weekly community gatherings. Music Evenings, Speech Day, Orientation Day and Graduation will soar to a new level of ‘stately occasion’ and comfort when the building is completed late next year. Enjoy this edition of Band of Brothers!

TSS NEWS

full scholarship to a d re e ff o s a w n o s “My ld not even read u o w e H l. o ho c s r anothe school’." the letter. TSS is ‘his

"In two years my son’s grades and self-esteem have gone through the roof! Thank you.”

Parent Surveys Help Keep us on Track W

e look on our biennial parent surveys as an invaluable source of critical feedback to help keep us on track, so thank you to over 550 families who took the time to respond to the 2018 Biennial Parent Survey at the end of last year. I have read them all and the results and recurrent themes appear on the next page. In the interest of transparency, every suggested ‘area for improvement’ or ‘parent concern’, mentioned by just three percent (or more) of respondent parents, is listed herein. All these issues, and our many strengths, have already been presented to the School Council. As always, this valuable information will help inform our planning and resourcing. The staff have also seen the results, and we have talked about ways to improve our service whilst celebrating the great positive results. We are delighted that parents are noting steady growth over many years in both our culture (spirit, camaraderie, community feel) and teaching quality. These are now consistently our two greatest strengths. I note that the boys themselves are key drivers of this culture in terms of academic diligence, anti-drugs, spirit, involvement and care for others.

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Another key measure I track over time is our value proposition. In terms of the ‘value for money’ of the total TSS package, 76% of parents feel “very positive” or “positive” about their value for money, with 4% of parents feeling “not satisfied” or “very negative”. We do target the areas of concern raised recurrently by parents and boys, and it is good to see that effort reflected in the survey results over the years showing less parent concern in ‘difficult to fix completely to every ones satisfaction’ areas, such as uniform standards, bullying, and pick-up time traffic. Every family who felt “not satisfied” or “very negative” in terms of value for money has (anonymously) had their specific reasons conveyed to both the School Council and to the teachers. Our persistent efforts in ‘value adding’ to your son’s education in terms of TSS leading the way in Boys’ Education initiatives such as; Learning Styles, Academic Diligence emphasis, Thrass phonics and reading programs, Bounce Back, Positive Psychology, Habits of Mind, Habits of Heart, Leadership Programs, Cadets and the like are, pleasingly, also reflected in the survey results and parent comments.

"My son joined TSS and worried if he would fit in or enjoy it. Now about to graduate and he doesn’t want to leave. That’s compelling!” from not “TSS changed our boy iastic thus liking school to an en academic”

“The boys love their school”

TSS NEWS

Best aspects of TSS 1.

Aspects in need of impro vement

TSS Culture (62% of respond ents noted this aspect) – grea t spirit, positive, sense of com munity, camaraderie, sense of belonging – “our boy is enc ouraged by peers and staff to be the best he can be” … “such a positive culture” … “you can sense the strength of the cult ure when you visit”

Communication (13%) – “abo ut events… too many places to look on the website… tardy email responses from teachers … more proactive notice needed of poor results or problems” No areas for improvement that we can see (8%) – “lov e all of it… best school in Austral ia… keep up the good work”. Bullying (7%) – “seems no consequences…too many cha nces given to bullies… zero toleran ce should mean out of the school at first offence”

Teachers (57%) – “fabulous” … “amazing” … “ dedicated, involved, enthusiastic” … “com passionate and kind” … “the y respect the boys and the boy s respect them”

Facilities and Resources (40% ) – “outstanding”

Sport (38%)

Boarding Food (6%) – “mo re quantity, too much chicken and rice, more sandwiches, more pasta… has improved this year though”

Opportunities (36%)

Academics (30%)

Location and Grounds (20% )

Quality of Teaching (6%) – “most are amazing but som e need to improve … don’t yell at the boys… stop device distraction in class… don’t use your phone in class … mak e sure all the work is in Canvas” .

Discipline and Manners (13% )

Pastoral Care and Student Welfare

Tuckshop Food (5%) – “un healthy … some improvemen t since last survey”

Troublesome Boys and Rep eat Offenders Need to Go (4%) – “some boys are getting awa y with too much … seems no escalating consequences for repeat offenders … too man y chances given”

Academic Results (4%) – pare nts are generally happy with their boys’ results but want us to have higher NAPLAN averages and more top end OPs.

(12%)

10. Boarding (11%) 11. Balanced and Wholis tic Ethos (9%) 12. Leadership of the Sch ool (8%) 13. History and Tradition (8%) 14. House System and Hou semasters (8%) 15. Personal Developmen t of the Boys (5%) 16. Values and Morals (5% ) 17. Leadership Developmen t of the Boys (5%) 18. Music (5%) 19. Learning Support (4% )

10. More Day and Boarde r Interaction (3%) 11. Prep Book and Parent Portal (3%) – “confusing… last minute notices…night befo re not helpful” 12. Dress Standards (3% ) – “waiting for pick-up… cros sing Ferry Rd… Boarders at Wo ollies and Night Owl”. 13. Teacher Turnover/C hanges (3%) – “too many cha nges of teachers and Housemasters during the year due to Long Service Leave and Maternity Leave.” 14. Prep Car Park Pick-up (2%)

15. Coaching Standards of Lower Teams (2%) 16. Sports Scholarships (2%)

20. Christian/Anglican (3% )

17. Secondary Parent Por tal (2%) – “needs a user guid e”. 18. Learning Support (2% ) – “more support for boys with learning difficulties”.

21. Cadets (3%) 22. Old Boys (3%) 23. Wellbeing and Positiv e Psychology

Device Distraction (6%) – “good effort to date, but mor e restrictions needed to stop gaming, watching YouTube in class… Boarders up too late gaming”

(3%)

19. Fees Too High (2%) 20. Drugs and Alcohol (2% ) – “keep working at it … mor e drug testing” 21. Secondary Car Park Pick-up Traffic

22. Theft and Use of Oth er’s Proper

23. Need a Prep Pool (2% )

(2%)

ty (2%)

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u S 6

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p U s ' f r l o o h c s e r P at

TSS NEWS

oming to Preschool is terrific fun, and now each day includes a visit to the ‘beach’ and a tour of duty in the life-saving tower!

TSS has unveiled a brand new Preschool playground, championing the important theme of surf safety.

Preschool Coordinator Karen Humphreys said “We wanted to encapsulate the biodiversity of the Gold Coast, with its extensive range of unique and precious natural landscapes and wildlife habitats, from our hinterland ranges to the coast and wetlands. “The beach plays an important role in the makeup of the Australian psyche, especially here on the Gold Coast. Our boys spend many hours of their free time enjoying our beaches and many of them enrol in Nippers with their local surf clubs,” Mrs Humphreys said.

“We place incredible importance on our boys’ understanding of water safety. The Australian surf lifesaver has become synonymous with the beach, and in particular with safety at the beach.”

“A recent heart-warming moment, as an early childhood educator, was to see at the end of a school day, one of our boys taking his dad to see the boat and then sitting in there together.”

TSS Preschool has formed a relationship with a number of Gold Coast surf clubs and lifeguards visit regularly to discuss beach safety with students.

TSS educators have worked hard over the last six years to develop an outstanding early childhood friendly environment. The introduction of Bush Preschool, with support from our local Indigenous elder Uncle Boomerang in 2016, linked our Preschool environment with our hinterland and rainforests.

“It seemed only natural that the theme of beaches and lifesavers came through in our project.” The boys have fully embraced their new play area, particularly given it is familiar to the environment they spend time in with their families. “They often link experiences from outside of Preschool with the new area, such as fishing with dad, and then they reenact that activity in our playground boat,” Mrs Humphreys said.

“We wanted to follow on with this aspect and together with Andrew Brenchley from local company Everything Outside, we were able to successfully incorporate this into the boys’ new play space,” Mrs Humphreys said.

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TSS NEWS

TSS Cyber Team in action: (L-R) Samuel Stevens, James Walden, Richard Kim, Mitchell Wood and Lachlan Christie-Adams

TSS Cyber Team: (L-R) Samuel Stevens, James Walden, Lachlan Christie-Adams, Mitchell Wood, Taisei Fujii (captain) and Richard Kim

TSS Cyber Team 2: (L-R) Coach Mr Anthony Wolfenden, Richard Kim, Mitchell Wood, Taisei Fujii (captain), Samuel Stevens, Lachlan ChristieAdams, James Walden and former mentor Mrs Angela Foulds-Cook.

The Southport School National Cybersecurity Champions

SS are national champions following a dominating win in the finals of the inaugural CyberTaipan competition, held in Canberra on Saturday 16 March. The team consisting of Taisei Fujii (captain), Lachlan Christie-Adams, Richard Kim, Sam Stevens, James Walden and Mitchell Wood, represented the school impeccably in all areas of the competition and were held in high regard by competitors and officials alike. TSS Cyber Team coach Mr Anthony Wolfenden, said he was incredibly proud of the way the boys conducted themselves throughout the competition. “As a father at the school and an IT professional, it has been a pleasure and an honour to coach and mentor these young men from TSS.” Mr Wolfenden said. “The lads have demonstrated the teamwork and skills

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expected of experienced IT security professionals as well as the manners and sportsmanship I have come to associate with TSS students.” CyberTaipan is an Australian cyber security competition that puts teams of high school aged students in the position of newly hired IT professionals, tasked with managing the network of a small company. Over a four or six-hour period, each team must identify cyber security vulnerabilities, receiving points for hardening multiple systems while maintaining critical services. Time limits and point loss for errors creates the stress that makes the competition life-like. The challenges become more difficult with each round, and the finalists need extensive IT knowledge and experience to be successful. Mr Wolfenden said individuals that compete successfully in the CyberTaipan competition are far more likely to:

• Pursue STEM education after high school • Pursue 4-year higher education than their peers • Feed into the cyber security and technical workforce • Enter a competitive workforce with highly valued skills “The TSS Cyber Team have previously competed in three international Cyber Security competitions never finishing lower than 52nd and most recently 33rd out of over 6,500 teams globally (in the top half of 1%). “As individuals, TSS team members are highly dedicated, motivated and skilful, collectively as a team, they are most formidable,” he said. The team was also announced as the winner of the international portion of the US CyberPatriot competition, and placed 33rd globally.

TSS NEWS

From left: Sam Bowen, Harry Crooks, Jake Gray, Peter Lynch, Finley Smith, Nick Farley, Alexander Walker, George Nield, Giulian Grasso and Connor McGregor.

Legal Studies Head to Court

n Term One this year, two groups of Legal Studies students were involved in excursions to the various courts in our local area.

The Year 11 class visited the Southport Magistrates Court where they sat in the arrest court, witnessed a District Court sentencing, and puzzled over the never ending flow of procedural matters. We were also lucky enough to go behind the scenes and have a look at the holding cell, and the boys were able to talk to some of our TSS parents engaged in a professional capacity at the courts. Subsequently, the Year 12 legal studies class visited the Supreme Court in Brisbane. Students were very interested in the variety of civil and criminal cases they witnessed on the day, and ended up observing several sentencings. All the boys commented on the deference displayed

Ms Jessica Prouten Head of Department Business and Enterprise

to judges in the courts, and also the silence in which the court rooms operate (which is very different to what the Year 11s had observed two weeks prior at the Magistrates Court). During this excursion, students also had time to make use of the Law library at the Supreme Court in preparation for their Term Two assignment. This task is open-ended and allows the boys to explore an area of law they are interested in. Currently, students are looking at diverse topics such as online privacy, provocation as a defence, the reinstatement of the death penalty, euthanasia, and the ability of children to consent to medical treatment, when their parents donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wish it to occur. All students found the trips to the courts very interesting and informative, and we look forward to visiting the Supreme Court later on in the year, as we begin the exploration of civil law. Band of Brothers

TSS NEWS

We understand that parents are looking for an excellent start to their sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education...

e w y h w That â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ! t i d e t crea

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TSS NEWS

Preschool staff - Bottom row left to right: Kerrie Lesko, Colette Super, Louise Wilson, Rhonda Ellsmore Top row left to right: Jeff Symms, Tiffany Mitchell, Fabiola Freitas, Debra Wilson, Karen Humphreys

Mr Jeff Symms Deputy Headmaster Head of Preparatory School

In Australia, kindergarten programs must be rated by the national body: The Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). After a review of the centre by an expert panel, each centre is awarded one of the following ratings: 1. Working towards the National Quality Standards (for those centres who are not demonstrating that they meet the standards for quality care) 2. Meeting the National Quality Standards.

he Southport School opened a kindergarten program, dubbed the TSS Preschool in 2013, as an opportunity to provide a first class early years education option to the families of the Gold Coast. Since its opening, the quality of the TSS Preschool has become well-known across our city. Over 500 boys have settled into school life confidently and wellprepared, due to having been a part of one of these three special classrooms. The history of the TSS Preschool has been one in which formal acknowledgement of its quality has been quickly given.

3. Exceeding the National Quality Standards. After just one year of operation, the school requested that our preschool be evaluated, a process that normally does not occur until a centre has been open for three years, and we were delighted to receive the highest possible rating of ‘Exceeding’. For a program to be awarded this standard in such a short time was a real achievement and a commendation to the incredible work ethic and talents of our preschool team. In 2016, Mrs Humphreys, Preschool Co-ordinator, examined the standards required to achieve an ‘Excellent’ rating and determined that we believed our service was providing an excellent standard of care and

education, and so commenced the process of putting together our application. This required documenting across fifty-eight key standards, and providing evidence of how our preschool was ‘leading the way in early childhood education within our community’. A key component of receiving an ‘Excellent’ rating is that the service is considered the community leader in early years education. The authoring of this documentation was immensely time consuming and demanding, yet when complete and ready for submission, summarised our approach and communicated our commitment to excellence, very clearly. Following the submission of the application, Mrs Humphreys and I were interviewed by officers of ACECQA – so that they could probe and further flesh out our application. This interview was very specific, and targeted, and took three hours to complete. It was in December 2018, months after the process was complete that we were delighted to hear that we had been successful and TSS Preschool had been awarded an Excellent rating. continued next page... Band of Brothers

TSS NEWS

It is important for the whole TSS community to appreciate the significance of this. The ‘Excellent’ rating by ACECQA is very hard to get. Each year, less than one-third of applicants are successful, and failure in an application dictates that you cannot apply again for three years. Queensland actually leads the way in this sector and TSS Preschool will be the seventeeth service to be awarded an ‘Excellent’ rating, but importantly, our preschool is the first, and only, service on the Gold Coast to reach this standard. This is something our whole community can celebrate and promote. A few statistics which help put this achievement in perspective:

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• There are 2,861 kindergarten programs in Queensland alone and we are one of only 17 to be awarded the Excellent rating, and the only program on the Gold Coast to have been so. • While Queensland has the largest number of excellent rated services (17), there are only 49 in the whole of Australia that have achieved this distinction. NSW – 11, ACT– 7, NT – 2, SA – 5, TAS – 0, VIC – 8 and WA – 2. • Less than one–third of applicants for ‘excellent rating’ are successful and the awarding of ‘Excellent’ can only be given by the National body (ACECQA), who ensures quality of standard across the whole country.

The achievement of this ‘Excellent’ rating is an incredible endorsement of the work our Preschool team undertake, and further evidence of our school’s commitment to deliver the very best educational opportunities to the boys of the Gold Coast.

T S ST S FS E ANTEUW RS E

What's in store for 'The Store' Y

ou may have noticed a couple of new faces in our TSS Store. Anthea and Nicole have joined our Store team in conjunction with Perm-a-Pleat, a family owned and operated uniform manufacturing and retail company. This didn’t happen overnight, but over a six month process of touring factories, tendering proposals and school visits. The Store here at TSS is run by the P&F Association and being a volunteer organisation, it was decided The Store needed a long-term, practical, stocking and staffing solution. A growing majority of private schools across Australia have changed tack with their oncampus Uniform Store and handed over the running to an outsourced business that specialises in retail. In essence, a practical move that makes a lot of sense. Over the next couple of years, manufacturing of most uniform items will slowly move to Perm-a-Pleat sourced items, and with this comes a massive array of benefits – from a parent perspective as well as from

the Schools. One of these benefits is size and colour consistency, a size 14 formal blue shirt will be the same size 14 house shirt or a size 14 jumper, and the navy blue of our uniforms will be the same across the board – not a mixture of navy blue, royal blue and/ or french blue! Another plus for our parents would be stock control. At the moment we are relying on over 20 different companies who have their own order and stock timelines. As many of our Preschool parents know, we fell foul of this once the cooler weather hit, and our current tracksuit supplier ordered and shipped the wrong sizes. With Perm-a-Pleat in control of stock and manufacturing, stock is automatically controlled by sales, and refill items will be shipped before items run low in The Store – thus items will never be out of stock! In this regard, TSS is also looking at our current uniform garments and ways in which they can be improved or consolidated, with both students wear and parents pockets in mind. Another improvement

the P&F have introduced is locating the Second-Hand Store within the TSS Store so parents can peruse these items before making a choice of purchasing new. As part of this change, the School and P&F have confirmed that 100% of all proceeds from the sale of the second hand uniforms will now be directed to the School’s Indigenous program, facilitated by the support group Hand Up, who assist with supporting our Indigenous students. A most worthy cause. We have a period of cross-over happening at the moment, and with this we can expect some teething problems, as is expected with periods of change. We hope these will be as brief and as trouble-free for our parents as possible, and look forward to a beneficial relationship with Perm-a-Pleat.

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T S S F E AT U R E

Harrison Chen, Headmaster Mr Greg Wain and Joshua Moss

TSS Tops ATAR Ranking 1 in 46 students

Mrs Jacqueline Latimer TSS Marketing

total of 46 students in NSW received the top ATAR of 99.95% in 2018… along with The Southport School’s Harrison Chen.

TSS offers more than just academic excellence. There’s so many other extra-curricular pillars that offer opportunities

Harrison who commenced at TSS in preparatory, is now studying Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne. He also credits the many opportunities offered at TSS as part of his success. “Maths extension was my favourite subject, but I also enjoyed visual art, French and music as elective options. TSS offers more than just academic excellence. There’s so many other extra-curricular pillars that offer opportunities,” Harrison said. Headmaster Greg Wain explains TSS culture as being based on a wholesome approach tailored specifically for boys. “We take our cue from authoritative brain research, that demonstrates the gender-specific learning modes of

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boys and have developed our curriculum accordingly. We maintain a low student-to-staff ratio to ensure greater individual attention, and we respond to the research that shows boys perform better academically when involved in cultural and sporting activities,” Mr Wain said. Congratulations must also go to graduate Joshua Moss who secured an OP1 with a score of 99.75%, allowing him to gain entry to the prestigious London School of Economics. He credits TSS teachers Mr Graham Herlihy and Mr John Wallace for their passionate and relatable teaching methods. “These teachers displayed so much energy in the classroom which helps push you forward and makes you excited about the subject. I found this a huge support in maintaining interest and self-motivation to do my best,” Josh said.

T S S F E AT U R E

A NEW DIMENSION

OF DESIGN S

tudents at the Preparatory School can now look at purposeful design like never before.

Earlier this year, the School took delivery of three Flashforge 3D printers.

This is a real step forward in design skills for the students...

The printers will provide students the opportunity to not only create custom designed solutions on computer programs, but print out and physically hold their new creations. The printing process works by taking plastic filament, having it melted inside the 3D printer, before being slowly squeezed out the printer nozzle, layer by layer, and as it does so, the plastic quickly dries on the printing plate below. This is a real step forward in design skills for the students who have participated in the 3D printing program so far. Not only can they print out their new creations in a matter of minutes to hours, depending on the design complexity, but it also comes with a number of new cross-curricular opportunities.

Mr Russell Ayres Lego Robotics Teacher and ICT Mentor Teacher

The 3D design and printing process will help improve student knowledge and skillsets in design and technology learning areas, but they will also have an opportunity to learn and apply mathematical concepts, technology concepts, language concepts, science concepts as well as others. It can deliver real cross-curricular benefits and outcomes. Some of the projects students can get involved in are the design of assistive devices for those who may require them, creating play blocks with letters and the corresponding braille, the creation of spinning tops, 3D population graphs, objects to help out the classroom, and much more. There really are very few limits as to what students can design and print in 3D. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an incredible opportunity for the boys of TSS. This year, the program is slowly being trialled in Year 6 classes, before being rolled out to a wider student base in future. Band of Brothers

T S S F E AT U R E

TSSVING MOVING AND IMPROVING TSS STUDENTS Mrs Jacqueline Latimer TSS Marketing

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T S S F E AT U R E

You’ve got kids from Goondiwindi learning to surf and then surfing kids that go out to see the bush boys on the farm. It’s just great to see.

ollowing an illustrious career with some of the best professional sporting teams across the globe, Damian Mednis is back on the path he first began.

Mednis has travelled the world with the likes of the Queensland Reds, Queensland Cricket and also did a stint in Ireland with Munster - one of Europe’s biggest rugby clubs. Not only that, he just missed out on making the Olympic High Jump Team in 1988 after missing out by 1cm. He did jump an impressive 2.18 metres, giving him a ranking on the Athletics Australia All-Time List. Now, he has brought his wealth of experience to TSS, helping hone students’ fitness, both on and off the field. After commencing his career as the Head of Physical Education at St Edmunds College in Ipswich, he has gone full circle and recently returned to education as the School’s Strength and Conditioning Coordinator and Director of Track and Field. Following a nine-year stint in teaching, he was approached by the Reds in 1995 after being recognised for his speed work with various league and rugby teams, including the Wallabies where he worked as a speed consultant in the 2003 World Cup. “I spent ten years with the Reds and saw four coaches from John Connolly (89-00), Mark McBain (01-02), Andrew Slack (02-03) and Jeff Miller (04-06) before I moved my family to Ireland to work with Munster,” he said.

“There, we won the European Cup in 2006 and that was fantastic and a big deal. I stayed there for three years and was asked to a stay on, but I wanted to bring the family home.” After returning to Australia, Mednis worked casually in various lecturing roles before a job came up with the Queensland Bulls, and this is where he really felt at home. “I stayed at the Bulls for eight years. It was a really good time, I loved it and they were a good bunch of blokes. Queensland Cricket has always been held in high esteem, and whilst winning a European Cup was special to the Irish and to be a part of that was great, to then go and win a Sheffield Shield was phenomenal. “The coach at the time was ‘Boof ’ (Darren Lehmann) and at the end of 2013, they lost the Ashes and he then said ‘would you come with the Aussies?’ This was a massive decision because you’re away travelling most of the year.” Following his father’s passing from melanoma, Mednis decided to sign with the Aussie cricket side in October 2013.

new state-of-the-art gym. This is where he has instilled the TSSVING philosophy. “Moving and improving and that’s all I want them to do. It’s simple! I just want kids moving. We’ve had a couple of kids that got OP1s last year who would come down and say I need some therapy Sir, then they’d jump on a bike, put the headphones on and cycle away. “It’s so good for their wellbeing and the facility itself is outstanding. We’ve had the Wallabies, the Reds, the Argentinians, Sydney FC and the New Zealand Warriors coming to train at the school.” Mednis said since commencing at TSS he has met some amazing and down-to-earth kids. “We have a great mix of city and country kids and they love to come down to the gym and chat footy or cricket and then they jump on a bike and ride away. “You’ve got kids from Goondiwindi learning to surf and then surfing kids that go out to see the bush boys on the farm. It’s just great to see.”

“That was a fantastic experience. I met three or four Prime Ministers and Prince Charles, and travelled the world, but it was hard on the family - travelling 300 days a year.” Mednis has seen great change at TSS since he started in January 2018, with last year’s unveiling of the brand Band of Brothers

TSS ARTS

Tim Carroll (Sur '12) and Matt Ward (Kai '97)

Old Boys Lead

Wicked into a HOTA Season Mrs Jacqueline Latimer TSS Marketing 18

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TSS ARTS

Doing speech and drama at school definitely ignited the passion...

Image courtesy of Matt Ward Entertainment

he extraordinary adventures of Oz will take stage at the Coast’s top performance venue HOTA, when former Old Boy Matt Ward (Kai ’97) introduces Wicked the Musical. Wicked tells the story of the profound friendship between Glinda, the Good Witch and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Helmed by Matt Ward Entertainment, a stellar principal cast was announced, and includes former student Tim Carroll (Sur ’12) who will play the much loved munchkin Boq. Ward said once he realised Wicked had become available, he jumped at the chance and applied for the rights. “I’ve had a fascination with Wicked since I saw it 15 years ago when it opened on Broadway. And I said to myself back then ‘I either want to be in it or produce it’ and here I am producing it on the Gold Coast which is very exciting,” he said. “This will be my third production... we started with Rent in 2017 at the Brisbane Powerhouse, which was an amazing success and we saw a 100% sell-out across the whole season. Then we brought it back in 2018 at QPAC with a larger production, bigger cast and longer season and we again smashed box office records.”

Although they have both worked in performing arts for many years, Ward and Carroll first crossed paths during a special occasion at TSS in 2012. Ward was a special guest at Carroll’s Valedictory Dinner where they enjoyed an impromptu performance with two other students – Alexander Arena (Mel ’12) and Benjamin Provest (Kai ’12). “I was invited back as an Old Boy and share my experience from school, and after in terms of my career. I was then given the opportunity to sing and I said why don’t we involve the graduating students who are singers and performers’,” Ward said. Both Matt and Tim are a little hazy on which song they performed but Matt is sure it was Man in the Mirror. However, Tim thinks it was This is the Moment. Regardless, they both agree it was a special experience. “It was really special because Alexander, Benjamin and I had just finished the musical and we were on top of the world. We were graduating and so to have someone like Matt who is critically acclaimed and has performed worldwide, come back and share his knowledge and experience with us was really humbling,” Carroll added.

“Doing speech and drama at school definitely ignited the passion but I also remember mum and dad dragged me kicking and screaming to see Hugh Jackman in the Boy from Oz and I just sat there thinking this is the dumbest thing ever. But then when everyone started clapping for him I thought oh yeah that’s pretty cool’,” Carroll laughed. “We did these awesome school musicals and I remember we did Romeo and Juliet in the Clock Tower at TSS. “I think the connection the music department has with the Queensland Conservatorium was so helpful. Fostering that relationship really helped give you the confidence to put yourself out there. And luckily enough I was accepted into the musical theatre stream.” Wicked will take the HOTA stage from June 25 to July 6 and also stars Samantha Dodemaide as ‘Elphaba’, Emily Monsma as ‘Glinda’, Trent Owers as ‘Fieyro’, James Shaw as ‘The Wizard of Oz, Antonia Marr as ‘Nessarose’, Shannon Foley as ‘Dr. Dillamond’ and Kaye Tuckerman as ‘Madame Morrible’ to deliver the beloved untold story of the witches of Oz.

Both have fond memories of their time as students at TSS and credit the School for helping them get to where they are in their careers today. Band of Brothers

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h t l Hea k e e W

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SNAP SHOT

TSS EVENTS

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TSS ARTS

g n u o 'Y ' e i h c Ar d r a w A Band of Brothers

Mrs Kerrie Anderson Prep Art Coordinator

he â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Young Archieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; award began in 2013, at the Art Gallery of NSW, in conjunction with the famous Archibald Prize exhibition for adults, which has run since 1921. Children aged five to 18 are eligible to draw or paint a significant Australian who has contributed to their lives and/or society in a positive way. The Archibald Prize is awarded to the best portrait, of a man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics, and painted by any artist resident in Australasia. This open competition is judged by the trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW. The prize was first awarded by J.F.Archibald, whose aim was to foster portraiture and perpetuate the memory of great Australians. Over the years some of Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most prominent artists have entered and their subjects have been equally celebrated in their fields. The prize each year is $100,000.

TSS ARTS

The Year 6 cohort has undertaken a portraiture unit based on a study of human anatomy and the drawings by renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci, and contemporary artists such as Ben Quilty. TSS Prep Art has its own ‘Young Archie Award’, and Year 6 boys this year have drawn Australians whose contributions they greatly value. The TSS Prep Young Archie Award winner for 2019 is Kyle Grassick 6H. The Year 6 cohort has undertaken a portraiture unit based on a study of human anatomy and the drawings by renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci, and contemporary artists such as Ben Quilty. Kyle's subject was Eddie Woo. Eddie Woo (born 1985) is an Australian mathematician, best known for his free YouTube channel "WOO TUBE', that focuses on explanations of perennial mathematical problems. This assists many thousands of students, has over 500,000 subscribers and more than 30 million views worldwide as of December 2018. In 2018, Woo was the first teacher to ever give the address in NSW.

Woo won the Australia’s Local Hero Award at the 2018 Australian of the Year Awards.

organisation dedicated to supporting families leaving domestic and family violence.

In March that same year, Woo was named a Top 10 finalist in the Global Teacher Prize. It is interesting to note that many boys chose to draw their own teachers, such as ‘Mr Hamilton’ by Joshua Greaves in 6H. Joshua said he chose Mr Hamilton because “he is a teacher that I trust”.

Rene helps drive awareness of domestic and family violence in the media and the community, and provides practical assistance to the families leaving violence behind. Families are given a barren property which volunteers transform into a purposefully created furnished home, specific to each family's individual needs, including such items as food, blankets and urgent funds. Rueben is clearly very proud of his mother’s valuable community service.

“He listens carefully to what each boy says. I love how he manages to spend time with his son each day as well as managing a big class. At times when I’ve had problems, he acts immediately and cares about what boys are doing to achieve their best and not let them fail,” Joshua said.

The Year 6 portrait exhibition, is currently on display in our new illuminated art exhibition cabinet, kindly donated by the 2018 Friends of Prep.

Parents also rate a distinguished place in the 2019 Young Archie, including a portrait of ‘Rene Cronan Dixon’ by her son Reuben Garnier. Rene is a volunteer/ organiser with RizeUp Australia, a community driven

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TSS ARTS

Revamped TSS Art Show

he presentation and preservation of art within communities underwrites the cultural and social values endorsed by those communities. For millennia, humans have recorded images of their everyday activities, their tragedies and triumphs, their past and present. From cave wall to canvas to computer, every single piece of art reveals something about its creator and society. Providing the opportunity for TSS community members to celebrate human creativity and excellence is very important. Supporting the Creative Arts is paramount to human enlightenment and we are delighted to announce that, after a 15 year hiatus, TSS will host an art show in August 2019. TSS Art Show will include works from both Prep and Senior students as well as an extensive collection of works by professional artists of national repute. All works in the exhibition will be available for purchase with the proceeds of the sale of all boys’ works going directly to Livin, an organisation that provides mental health support initiatives for our local community. Conducted over two days, the exhibition will be much more than a simple art show. With extensive support from the art, music and drama departments, TSS Art Show will be a cultural feast of live music, drama performance, workshops, gallery walks and artist talks.

The exhibition opens on Friday 2 August with a lavish cocktail reception held under the Clock Tower building. At this ticketed event, you will enjoy the musical and dramatic talents of our TSS boys and be invited to follow an art trail that weaves its way through four different exhibition venues showcasing the artistic talent of TSS Prep and Senior students. It promises to be a most memorable evening. Who knows, you might even discover the next Banksy or Brett Whitely! On Saturday 3 August, the exhibition venues will be open for public viewing from 10am. On this day, visitors are invited to participate in artist workshops, gallery walks and artist talks. These presentations are free to all. Registration details and more information will be available closer to the event. Most, if not all of us, realise that art has considerable influence over releasing human emotion and energy. Art can serve as a window to the soul and the human spirit; it has the potential to create new and diverse visual narratives. Inevitably, every artwork, in its own way, speaks to us – we just have to learn how to listen. Join us at the 2019 TSS Art Show to hear what our Prep and Senior boys have to say.

Mr Andrew Stark Head of Libraries

Creativity takes courage Henri Matisse 1889-1954

Join us for the official launch of The Southport School

Art Sh ow

6 - 8pm • Friday 2 August, 2019 ST ALBAN’S GALLERY - CLOCKTOWER BUILDING This extensive exhibition will showcase art works from Prep and Senior boys and include a variety of works by local and nationally recognised Australian based artists. All works will be available for purchase. The exhibition continues on Saturday 3 August from 10am to 3pm and will include free Artist-in-Residence workshops, Gallery Walks and Artist Talks. Profits from the sale of professional works will go towards the St Alban’s Acquisition Fund. All proceeds from the sales of boys’ works will be donated to Gold Coast-based Livin Organisation.

Proudly supporting

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TSS ARTS

Adam Skawinski and QYO Wind Ensemble’s conductor, David Law

National Band Competition Many thanks must go to Mr Mitchell Buckley for his hard work preparing the group...

Mr Rob Cooke Director of Music

ver Easter, the Senior Concert Band represented TSS in the ‘C’ division of the National Band Championships.

The boys were competing against schools and community bands from Queensland and New South Wales and performed very well, placing 4th overall with a score of 553 out of 600. Their test piece, which is weighted more heavily in the competition, was ranked third. Many thanks must go to Mr Mitchell Buckley for his hard work preparing the group and to the boys who played as well as they could on the day. Congratulations must also go to Year 9 student Adam Skawinski who is a trumpeter in the TSS band, and also plays in the Queensland Youth Orchestra Concert Band. Their group placed first in the ‘A’ Grade Junior band division on the day. Well done Adam!

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TSS SPORTS

TSS Cricket First XI Premiers Hugo Burdon TSS First XI Captain

hrough sport we learn to embrace being out of our comfort zone, but more specifically in cricket, we learn adaptability through learning to cope and operate with uncertainty. Cricket is more than fitness, it’s strategic, which requires a range of skills and emotional discipline. So how have we got to this point through uncertainty? No one would predict that Matthew Eddowes, one of our front line bowlers of 2018 First XI would be out injured last December or that Cody sustained a finger injury in the Adelaide January pre season games, but was there to face Round 1 against Nudgee. No one thinks you will win a premiership when you begun the 2019 season with a significant loss

Band of Brothers

2019

to Nudgee. Tom Watts didn’t know he would be thrown into captaincy mid game in Week 5 due to my illness at the time, and he did this effortlessly and carried on in Weeks 6 and 7. These were not ideal situations and the coaches and players shouldered it all. Against BSHS, their captain, who has been clocked bowling at 143km, summed up Jack Sinfield’s performance as having “nerves of steel” in getting us to their total. This win put us back into the mix. That inner strength is what binds us together. It is what we leverage off, and why when we get knocked down we get back up again. Every week someone pulls off an exceptional winning performance with either bat, ball or fielding. This team is not about being invincible, it is about facing adversity together. In the last round vs IGS ,TSS First XI batted first towards the 2019 GPS Cricket premiership. It was such an exciting finish and just like last year, it came down to the last over. They needed 10 to win and we needed to bowl them out. If we had lost, Nudgee would have won

the title... so it was a great win, just because every First XI game has been close. The TSS First XI outplayed the opposition in the key moments of the match. Cody Durante (51) and Matthew Manley (36) had a key partnership and then TSS kept the pressure on in the field, with Peter Lynch chiming in with a run out and three wickets. Matthew Dalton delivered in the last over of the match in a thrilling finale. This sort of adaptability can only be learned through facing uncertainty, and playing with a spirit to focus on the bigger goal and find a way to win. For every scenario we have been able to find a solution. That is the greatest strength of the TSS First XI. That is what shapes us, a determination to collectively do it for one another, for our coaches and support staff and for our whole school. Three consecutive years… and seven in the past ten years. What a highlight!

TSS SPORTS

First XI Team Photo

First XI vs GT

First XI in Adelaide

Hugo Burdon in action for QLD U17

TSS First XI Players 2019 Jack Hocart, Ky Newitt, Mitch Freeman, Hugo Burdon, Matthew Manley, Kye Shield, Jack Sinfield, Tom Watts, Cody Durante, Louis Chabert, Matthew Dalton, Jack Kann, Peter Lynch

First XI Awards 2019 Bowling shared by Peter Lynch and Ky Newitt Batting Cody Durante Allrounder Jack Hocart Fielding shared by Tom Watts and Ky Shield

First XI in Adelaide

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TSS SPORTS

FOOTBALL

WRAP Mr Joe Dolan Director of Football

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TSS SPORTS

ARTICLE SOCCER PLAYER

PS Football 2019 started well with our U15 team taking out our annual pre-season Easter tournament held at TSS in the holidays. We also took our A teams up to Ipswich Grammar for friendlies at the end of Term One, which enabled the coaches to prepare better than last year when we had to compete with the norovirus and the impending Commonwealth Games. The U13s had their first flavour of competitive football with several new boys joining the School and the First XI squad were finalising their tactical preparations in advance of Nudgee College in Round One. The First XI had a great start with wins away at Nudgee and Brisbane State High as well as a home win against soon to be premiers Churchie, demonstrating excellent discipline, organisation and resilience in the face of some very talented individuals and teams. The following two games against Brisbane Grammar and BBC were a different challenge whereby the boys had to lead from the front and try to create chances from open play, and this slowed us down along with a tough home defeat to second placed TGS. A hard fought 1-0 win at home to GT and 0-0 away draw at IGS, finished off a very satisfying season with the bye round in Week 9 this year. Several other teams are worthy of mention for their successful seasons â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Second XI only lost one game with three wins and four draws; the 11As had a similar record with five wins two draws and one defeat. Congratulations to all the boys that participated this season and best of luck in your GPS sport choices in Term Three! Band of Brothers

2 R O W I N G 1 9

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TSS SPORTS

Mr Adam Harrison Director of Rowing

The 2019 rowing season for TSS saw many solid performances throughout the season.

SS Rowing had a good season with a number of crews performing exceptionally well at the Head of the River. The TSS First VIII posted a good result with the crew finishing 3rd in a photo finish across 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Nudgee were the victors with a very strong crew. This result was a solid for the School and the focus stays on sustainability in the hope to produce more winning crews in the coming seasons. The TSS Rowing program had 220 rowers signed on for the 2019 season. Using this large squad, the School was able to field all GPS point scoring events with three extra crews to bolster the squad. TSS Rowing had a solid day at Lake Wyaralong in the Beaudesert Hinterland, achieving third place in the Old Boys Cup, which reflects the depth across the GPS squads. One of the many highlights was the fact we finished in the top three in seven of the twelve available races on the day. We will continue to work hard with the focus on keeping all TSS crews competitive, and getting all boats into the top three at the Head of the River. In 2019 the Year 9 Quad were part of the Head of the River for the first time in history. Although their efforts did not go toward the Head of the River point score (Aggregate Cup) they were able to race on the ‘big stage’ which was a fantastic opportunity. TSS won 10 of the 12 divisions of racing and showed that the squad is going to be a force to be reckoned with over the coming seasons.

performances reflecting six of the ten divisions winning their race, particularly the Year 8 First Quad coming away with the win. The Year 10 program performed solidly, improving on their previous season with a noted increase in performance and attitude toward shed culture. Our Year 11 program performed well on the day and have proven they will be a strong group coming through for 2020. One of the major highlights of the 2019 season was the Year 9 Quads. They were a large cohort and have developed into a strong squad. We wait with anticipation to see what they are capable of in 2020 and the hunt for the O’Connor Cup. In addition to the Head of the River, TSS attended the Australian Rowing National Championships held at the Sydney International Regatta Centre. Men’s Under 17 4X+ – 2nd Place Men’s Under 19 4X – 1st Place Men’s Under 17 2X – 1st Place Men’s Under 17 1X – 2nd Place The 2019 rowing season for TSS saw many solid performances. There is no doubt that the School can aspire to higher levels of achievement within Qld GPS Rowing. Based on our improvement over the past few seasons, we are looking forward eagerly to the 2020 Head of the River.

There were many highlights to the 2019 season. Our Year 8 ‘Learn to Row’ introduced all new rowers. Their

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TSS SPORTS

Will Riches

TSS Delivers T Their Best Stroke to Land in Top 3 at GPS

GPS Swim Captain

his season of GPS Swimming has been a massive experience for everyone involved. From the Friday night lead-up meets, to the team building session at Aqua Splash, all of the boys have brought into the culture of the team this year, as we worked towards building the strength of our Band of Brothers. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t all easy though. The past eight weeks we were pushed to our absolute breaking point. Main set after main set, forcing the boys to work harder than ever before. The workload was beginning to get so intense that it prompted the question; how bad do we want it? I think our guts and determination displayed at GPS answered that question. The final results showed us coming in third place, only just behind Nudgee and Brisbane Grammar School. As hard as it was to see someone else on top of the podium, all of the swimmers from TSS came together to produce a performance that we should all be proud of. Losing is always a tough pill to swallow, but it is how the boys respond next year, that really matters. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to say a massive thank you to all the staff who were part of the GPS Swimming season as well as all of the world class coaches that helped push the boys to new levels. Also, to the vice captains, Kalani Skipps and James Ware, for their support and energy that helped create a really great team culture.

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TSS SPORTS

Mr Liam DuFeu Director of Swimming

t has become expected to see fast swimming whenever a TSS swim cap hits the water. 2019 was no different. Another top three finish takes The Southport School to 17 years in a row in the top three at GPS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; only two schools have achieved better since 1960! The focus however, has been to increase participation in the wider TSS community. We have seen more swimmers training and racing, as well as more staff training through the summer months than ever before. It was only eight years ago that TSS struggled to find 60 swimmers to travel to Chandler. We now have over 150 boys training and competing. The future is bright for TSS Swimming.

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TSS SPORTS

TENNIS

WRAP Mr David Hodge Director of Tennis

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TSS SPORTS

he TSS Tennis teams have solidified their place as a serious contender for the GPS Tennis Premiership every season. The TSS First IV finished a highly successful season claiming resounding victories against Gregory Terrace, Nudgee, Churchie, Ipswich Grammar, Toowoomba Grammar and State High. Their efforts saw them take outright 3rd for 2019. Jack McCarthy went undefeated at the #1 singles position for the second year in a row. A feat unmatched in the record books for a Year 11 player. Ryan Selvey captained the 2019 squad with Matias McDonald and Timmy Yeung Packer rounding out the First IV. Even though the First IV had an outstanding year it was the Second IV who took home Team of the Year honours. Led by Player of the Year Aidan Kitchin, who didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lose a set this season, the Seconds went 6-1 including a win over BBC for the first time in recent memory. The team also consisted of Angus Timoney, William Bucknell and Samuel Strid. The Tennis Festival concluded a great season with live music, food trucks and our 2019 award announcements who were: Player of the Year

Aidan Kitchin

Team of the Year

Second IV, Angus Timoney, William Bucknell, Aidan Kitchin, Samuel Strid

Open MVP

Jack McCarthy

Open Most Improved

Nash Wright

Year 11 MVP

Thomas Schwerkolt

Year 11 Most Improved

Wyle Cullimore

Year 10 MVP

Louis Chabert

Year 10 Most Improved

Thomas Gossett

Year 9 MVP

Chaad Hewitt

Year 9 Most Improved

Buddy Holley

Year 8 MVP

Rohan Sheppard

Year 8 Most Improved

Max Dewhurst

Year 7 MVP

Jasper Cleland

Year 7 Most Improved

Sean Mudimu

Year 6 MVP

Alex Walker

Year 6 Most Improved

Leonardo Cozzolino

Year 5 MVP

Luke Neophytou

Year 5 Most Improved

Thomas Rogers

Prep School Champion

Charlie Cleland

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TSS IN FOCUS

'ah ha!'

That moment Mrs Karen Ellis TSS Marketing

utoring was explained to me in this tiny, succinct phrase - that ‘ah ha!’ moment of learning, when students turn the corner from knowledge, to understanding the concept and being able to use it in a completely different set of circumstances. Teachers have limited class time to be able to express the idea or concept and how it is used. Some students pick things up straight away, and others (like me!) often take a little time mulling over the problem to be able to understand it completely. Often it takes time, examples and a relevance to the individual for that ‘ah ha!’ moment to occur, and this is where tutoring steps in. Usually in the younger years parents are comfortable sitting at the kitchen table and helping with reading, maths and spelling. Chanting times tables in the car was a firm favourite of mine… (the last is said with much sarcasm). As children grow up, our firm knowledge is usually limited to our line of employment and Google can only go so far when you start talking trigonometric functions, polynomials and parabolas. We have long opened the doors of our Senior Library to outside tutors, joining students after school to continue their learning, many of whom are recent

Band of Brothers

graduates of TSS. Deputy Headmaster Mr Hawkins, seeing a definite pattern and favouritism towards Old Boys as tutors – obviously due to the recent exposure to the same curriculum, proposed a more formal approach for the boys. Four years ago, he approached the TSS Parents and Friends Association (P&F) who agreed to fund the tutors and provide this service free of charge for parents. This has been an ongoing priority for the P&F since 2016, and they continue to fund this service each year. Tutoring in the Senior Library is provided free of charge thanks to the TSS P&F Association and is available to all students from 6.30pm–8.30pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings in Weeks ThreeSeven of every term. Tutors cover main subject areas, but should students require a specialised elective, Mr Hawkins would be happy to look at sourcing a suitable Old Boy. There is no need to book for any of the above sessions. If, like me, you are struggling with helping your son at home with Year 9 mathematics equations, please take advantage of this amazing service provided by the P&F. I’m sure you will sigh with relief, when he experiences his own ‘ah ha!’ moment of understanding.

TSS IN FOCUS

Student Voice at TSS Mr Andrew Hawkins Deputy Headmaster Head of Senior School

recently heard respected educator, Dr Kate Hadwen, speak at a conference on how her students are allowed to have a voice in her school. Dr Hadwen is the current Principal of PLC in Perth, but was recently announced as Principal of Pymble Ladies College in Sydney from 2020. I left the conference reassured that we give our boys ample opportunity to have a ‘voice’ at TSS. For a start, the students from Years 7 to 12, choose their School Captain, Prefects and Wardens. Via the student elected Year Group Leadership Teams, the TSS student voice has voted in and helped write the drug testing policy, the academic integrity policy, and also wrote the TSS diligence scale that forms a major component of our TSS academic reporting. One idea that Dr Hadwen discussed that happens at PLC, was students sitting in on prospective staff job interviews. Key stakeholders I spoke to at TSS, with some trepidation, agreed to have two students sit in on the first part of the interview process. The Walker House Captain and Vice House Captain were then asked to join the panel and ask some questions to the internal candidates that applied for the Walker Housemaster 12 month contract.

As fate would have it, the 2019 leaders of Walker House were Nash Wright and Taisei Fujii. Two outstanding young men with maturity well beyond their years. Our ‘trial’ of students sitting in on the panel was destined for success. The boys’ questions were organic and their insights were incredible. The Human Resource Manager, Mrs Robyn Baker-Wright, could barely wipe the smile from her face after the entire process. It added a fresh approach to student voice in our School context. Nash and Taisei personally came and found me to thank the School for allowing the opportunity for them to be part of the process of selecting the Acting Walker Housemaster. A good indication of an idea stolen from Dr Kate Hadwen at PLC, which has worked well for us here at TSS.

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TSS IN FOCUS

No Second Chance I

n 2013, Andy and Mel McElrea and their foundation N2C, were introduced to TSS through the Evans family.

Josh and Jaxon Evans both attended TSS and their father John is a keen motor sport enthusiast. Jaxon was driving go-karts for their N2C racing team at the time under the banner of McElrea Racing. After Jaxon left school he went to work for the McElrea Racing team and started to race for them in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Championship. He got second in B class in 2015, then progressed to A class for 2016 where he finished second again. In 2017 he moved up to the Carrera Cup championship and finished 4th in preparation for 2018. He went on to dominate the 2018 Australia Porsche Carrera Cup Championship. He actually clinched the title on the streets of Surfers Paradise at the GC600. He then won a world wide Porsche young driver shootout

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Mr Mike Wallace HPE Teacher / First XV Coach / Leadership Office Paul Stanley, Warren Luff, Ian Healey and Matt Speakman

in Germany, and this year is racing in Europe as a professional Porsche race driver. N2C stands for No Second Chance. The aim of the foundation is to introduce secondary school students to the idea of making positive decisions in their lives and the fact that positive decisions attract positive consequences but, on the other hand poor decisions can have significant negative consequences for which there may be ‘No Second Chance’. The message is delivered through the life stories of some significant and confronting speakers. Matt Speakman was a professional motor cycle racer who was hit one night by a drunk driver. Matt’s pillion passenger was killed and Matt was left a paraplegic. Whilst Matt has gone on to have a successful sporting career, his life and that of his passenger were irreparably changed by the actions of a young man, drunk, behind the wheel.

Another speaker, Paul Stanley, lost his son Matt in a one-punch incident at a party when he was 15 years old. The alcohol fuelled attack killed Matt and meant that his 17 year-old attacker went to jail. Paul’s story is a very real and devastating story of loss, and the anguish that a family has felt over the needless death of their son. The final speaker is Warren Luff. A professional race driver who has stood on the podium of the Bathurst 1000 on five occasions and also won other significant Super Car events around Australia. Warren’s story is one of hope, and how if you follow your dreams and make positive decisions, then the outcomes can be beyond what you could have imagined. The N2C team have been visiting TSS for seven years and speaking to the Year 12 students during Leadership Week. Their message is as poignant now as it has been over the seven years and hundreds of boys have benefitted from hearing it.

TSS IN FOCUS

Business Leadership at TSS

eadlines around Australia have recently been trumpeting the importance, firstly, of STEM and then STEAM as the future source of many jobs in Australia. It seems that in pursuing this agenda some have forgotten an important point; that in the future all jobs will be in Business (whether in STEM, STEAM or other industries), be it a profit based corporation, or a not-for profit business. All the boys who leave TSS and enter the workforce will be entering some kind of business organisation. It is therefore of paramount importance that they have an understanding of how the business world works.

Back in 2009, at the suggestion of Mr Greg Wain, the Business Department were ‘looking for opportunities to engage the wider community and utilise the wealth of experience from business mentors, whilst offering students opportunity for more experiential learning.’ It was with this in mind that the original “Business Leadership Passport Program” was launched. The original format of the program included activities each term such as; guest speaker presentations, workshops and enterprise days where students could practise their salesmanship on the captive audience of TSS students. In the first Year 12 students achieved one of the three levels, with Bronze, Silver and Gold available to Years 10, 11 and 12 students. Having now been running for 10 years, the decision was made at the end of 2018 to review the program.

Specifically the new focus was to incorporate boys who may be interested in business, or have an entrepreneurial bent, but who could not, due to the constraints of the new curriculum take one of the business subjects. We also made the decision to shorten the name, now referring to the program as ‘Business Leadership’. Thus far these changes have been very well received with over 50students from Years 10-12 signing up to participate in the program. This year we have also incorporated attendance at the TSS Foundation Business Breakfasts. The first of these featured the CEO of the Commonwealth Games Corporation and at the end of the breakfast Mr Grevemberg came over to the boys table, pulled out a chair and spent time discussing the business of the Commonwealth Games with them. We’ve also been excited to draw on the expertise of our TSS parents, hosting a lunch time session with Mr Statham who answered questions about his business Sundown Pastoral Company. In addition to these sessions we have been looking at ways to encourage the boys to engage their own entrepreneurial talents. This is done via competition afternoons. The first of these presented students with a hypothetical business situation, and 40 minutes to come up with a solution. The prize was a cash one. In order to improve their presentation skills this term we have partnered with Speech Variety and on Wednesday night students from Years 7-12 presented ‘elevator pitches’. There were some very interesting ideas, ranging from ways to clean up the ocean (Will Marshall), ways to clean up

Ms Jessica Prouten Head of Department Business & Enterprise

our streets (Reyne Fennell) and ways to encourage us to be calmer when driving (Brian Williams). Finally, the boys are required to get out and accomplish some activities themselves, whether that be by undertaking work experience, engaging in a service project or listening to a business based podcast, there is plenty of opportunity to engage in business. Students undertaking the program have been overwhelmingly positive in their feedback, and understand the importance that business plays in everyday life. Business Leadership participant Vishaak Gangasandra reflected “business is involved in every aspect of life, whether it be booking holidays or working in an office. Business is unofficially a part of everything whether it is direct or indirect and having these programs offered to me beyond the subjects that I have chosen will give me the skills that I will most likely need in the future after graduating.” We therefore look forward to continuing to build on the legacy of this program going forward, encouraging the entrepreneurial capabilities of the boys in the Senior School and developing their abilities as business leaders of the future.

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TSS IN FOCUS

Future Proof Careers Year 10 Mr Daniel Saw Careers Education Coordinator

Band of Brothers

igital disruption and globalisation are shaping Australia’s future skill needs. With soft-skill intensive occupations expected to account for two thirds (63%) of all jobs in Australia by 2030, according to a report for Business Success, by Deloitte Access Economics. Young people entering technology-rich, global and competitive job markets need different skill sets to what our education system has historically valued. Content experts, single career focuses and unilateral pathways (i.e. school – university – work) should not be a primary focus of education if we are to fully equip our students for life-long success. A range of capabilities and skills, such as self-mastery, collaboration, problem solving and critical thinking are pertinent for career success. These types of personal qualities are transferable across all job sectors and are significantly less likely to be replaced by digital disruption and automation. In addition, it is still essential to expose and inspire our students’ in regards to their future career opportunities. An exploration of current and future job demands is still an important facet of a career development program, as it provides students with long-term goals and therefore increases short-term motivation in school. Year 10 have successfully completed a semester long Careers Program. We engaged in world-class leadership and critical thinking workshops, such as; Lego Play, were inspired by Navdeep Pasricha (named Future Shaper of Australia), were motivated by guest speakers from a range of industries, and finally, had the opportunity to be engaged by local tertiary institutions on personalised field trips!

TSS IN FOCUS

TSS Junior Resident Masters

2019

Left-right: Cayden Harris, Kyle Yssel, Tom Burton, Chad Le Roux and Marc Butler

The way in which they have adapted to life in the TSS community aligns with their excellent presentation at interview, and we thank them for their already steadfast commitment to our school ethos. Mrs Helen McCleary Junior Resident Master Coordinator

SS warmly welcomes our full contingent of five Junior Resident Masters (JRMs) who will be spending the full 2019 academic year with us: Caydon, Chad, Kyle, Marc and Tom. Each of the boys went through several stages of interviews to secure their positions and all have travelled from their homeland in South Africa to join us. The way in which they have adapted to life in the TSS community aligns with their excellent presentation at interview, and we thank them for their already steadfast commitment to our school ethos. Many of our boarders will have the opportunity of getting to know our JRMs in their respective boarding houses; other students may have a JRM as a tutor or sports coach. Irrespective of the setting, our JRMs are attentive to their roles and willingly go where needed, providing exceptional assistance to staff and students alike. These discerning young gentlemen are indeed a valuable asset to our school and boarding communities, and we take this opportunity to acknowledge their collective contribution to both Senior and Preparatory campuses. Band of Brothers

TSS EVENTS

YEAR 12

SNAP SHOT

Band of Brothers

Formal

2019

YEAR 12

Formal

2019

TSS EVENTS

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TSS IN FOCUS

Program T Excursion Callum Whitton Year 10 Student

ogether with a group of other Year 10 boys, myself, Mr Stansbie, Ms Anderson and Ms Howley were fortunate to be able to attend the P.A.R.T.Y (Prevention of Alcohol and Risk related Trauma in Youth) program, which took place at the Gold Coast University Hospital. The P.A.R.T.Y program is run by medical professionals including nurses, doctors, nurse practitioners, paramedics, occupational therapists and physiotherapists and aims to educate teens about the risks of drinking, doing drugs and the potentially life changing consequences that can happen as a result. The great thing about the program is that all of these people who are contributing are volunteering their time because they see the effects this risk-taking behaviour has every day, as a consequence of the work that they do. We arrived and after walking inside realised we had to go up a floor. Due to the large number of students attending we took the public elevators where one group got stuck inside so it was an interesting start to the day! For the first part of the day we learned about what drugs and alcohol can do to your body as well as the effects they have on you and also your family. We did an activity where we used ‘beer goggles’ that not only impaired our vision, but also our motor function and we had to wear them while doing a variety of tasks. It

Band of Brothers

did not make things easy. We then saw some graphic examples of what happens when you take these risks. The outcomes weren’t pleasant. The staff were able to describe the injuries that people had sustained and showed us images of the situations that resulted. We also considered putting ourselves in the position of medical professionals and the family members who are supporting the trauma victims. This was an intense session and we needed a little break to eat and get ready for the next activities of the day. We then went into an intensive care unit, learning about a boy named Alex and the story of his accident, including the various decisions that had been taken that led to it occurring. We also went through a reallife emergency room scenario where all the boys had different roles to play, to get a real feel of what would actually happen in the trauma unit. Again this was quite a confronting experience - one of us had to make the decision to stop giving CPR and another boy was playing the role of caring for the parents and having to tell them that their child had passed away. In the afternoon, we moved through a series of workshops with the physio, occupational therapist and speech pathologist. We looked at how trauma patients

TSS IN FOCUS

We also considered putting ourselves in the position of medical professionals and the family members who are supporting the trauma victims.

recover and learn to use wheelchairs, casts, slings, braces and cages. We tried eating meals and putting on clothes without the use of one arm, we also tried pureed food and thickened water that some patients need to eat for a considerable time. The day finished with two speakers who told us about their stories and the way that it has changed their lives forever. We heard from a mum whose daughter had been killed in a road accident as a passenger when the driver had been affected by alcohol. She read us a poem she had written which brought several of us to tears. Finally we were able to speak to a lady who is a quadriplegic and permanently in a wheelchair as a result of an alcohol related accident. She controlled her wheelchair by moving her head and neck, which was the only other body part she could move. She told us about how her life is today, and will be in the future, and how reliant she is now on her family and carers. She spoke to us about what had led to the accident and the consequences that had occurred as a result of the decisions she had made. The day was a big success for the boys, as we all enjoyed it but were challenged at the same time. We walked away from the hospital with changed minds and hearts.

TSS HISTORY

V A L E

Alan Radcliffe DFC

1921 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2019 46

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TSS HISTORY

Mrs Debbie Turner TSS Archives

ur School flag was at half-mast at the end of Term in respect for Alan Radcliffe who sadly passed away on 7 June.

As our oldest Old Boy and indeed one of our oldest teachers, Alan Radcliffe’s life was deeply etched into TSS history. Alan’s long involvement with TSS represented a record few can equal. It is also an involvement with Queensland’s history transitioning from our earliest pioneering days to today’s modern society. Where to begin? The son of the School’s fourth Headmaster, John Norman Radcliffe, MC (1941-50), the Radcliffe family stamp has been left on TSS in so many different ways. Fittingly, one of them is Radcliffe House, a day House founded in 1975 in his honour just two years before his retirement. One could say this was quite an achievement for a young man who never completed his Junior and Senior examinations, and who said he was “hopeless at ball games”, but some very special talents were to reveal themselves all in good time.

Born in Brisbane in 1921, one of three children to John, a Rhodes Scholar, and Evelyn (nee Raymond whose father A J Raymond was a long-standing member of Brisbane City Council and Brisbane mayor in 1912), Alan moved to Southport with his parents the following year where they settled in Radford Street near TSS. It was here as a child that he used to watch hawks swoop down onto the waters of the Nerang River then catch the wind thermals as they rose high into the sky again. This developed his long lasting love affair with the water and sky. Both (the flying and water) were later to play a big part in Alan’s life and set in motion his dream to fly, sail and fish. “As a child I made model aeroplanes and sailed on the Nerang River in a 9” canoe we had stored in a boatshed in Radford Street,” said Alan. One has to remember the land demographic of the Nerang River was very different in those days compared to today with Pong Creek playing a pivotal role in leisure activities of TSS’ earliest students. Education was not high on Alan’s agenda in those days, although he was encouraged to attend TSS as one of only a handful of boarders in 1927. His sister, Denise, who was 10 years his junior, attended St Hilda’s School. After a year at TSS, Alan attended Southport State School until he was 13-years-old and returned to TSS to complete his scholarship examination under the Headmastership of Cecil Pearce. Alan’s father was a strong advocate for education (holding a Diploma of Education of Oxford through a Rhodes Scholarship in 1914 and an MA from Queensland University; his grandfather being the Chief Inspector of Schools in Queensland) and was a Senior Master at TSS from 1923 before his appointment

as Headmaster. It was in 1914 when Alan’s father interrupted his Oxford studies to join the Royal Artillery in France and rose to the rank of Captain, winning the Military Cross. John Radcliffe was to return to Oxford in 1937 at the invitation of the Rhodes Trust. He was also a keen golfer and tennis player scooping up many championships (State and Open Australian) in both sports. Alan’s love of the water was reflected in his becoming the swimming champion in both the Junior and Senior schools and playing breakaway on the wing in 1938 when TSS won the premiership. The year before, Alan had attended St Edwards School in Oxford while his father was at Oxford University. Despite somehow skipping both his Junior and Senior examinations, this was not detrimental to Alan’s career. After leaving TSS, he said he spent 18 months ‘marking time’ with the Queensland National Bank before seizing the opportunity to join the RAF in 1941 and follow his dream of flying. He spent three months ground training in Sydney then another three months flying Tiger Moths. Alan was posted to Ontario, Canada with the RAF where he trained flying the dual-seat Harvard and Yale low wing trainers (he came 3rd out of 60 in his course). Now there was no stopping Alan. He sailed to England and was soon flying Hurricane fighters from Usworth Airfield, near Newcastle. It was a steep learning curve for Alan as these fighters only had one seat so you were given the keys and then you were on your own. Alan joined the specialist 6 Squadron RAF, whose Harriers were involved in the Falklands Conflict. continued next page... Band of Brothers

TSS HISTORY

Alan’s piloting skills during the war took him to many destinations, including flying the Tankbuster Hurricane 2D in North Africa’s Western Desert regions where he pitted his skills against German tanks. To ensure bombing shells were armour piercing, the Hurricanes operated and fired their twin cannons at an altitude of six metres. The squadron motto was, we fly lower than you land, and the squadron always advanced across Africa, never retreating in the time Radcliffe served with it. Alan was part of a sortie that saved General Le Clerc from a group of Panzer tanks after which several French Croix de Guerre were awarded to the squadron. He never trusted the parachute, preferring a wheels-up or dead-stick landing. Luck was on his side too, at one point a bullet passed from under his Hurricane through the radiator and fuel tank, creating a fountain of hot glycol and fuel. It then went between his knees and then through the fuselage without hitting him. Alan crash landed the Hurricane relatively safely with no landing gear. Despite his age, Alan had a remarkable memory (thanks, he said, to playing Scrabble and Sudoku on his new iPad). He vividly recalled hearing the guns in the distance (70 miles away) during the battle of El Alamein in which two other Old Boys were involved (the late Bill Heatley Snr carried out a wounded Dick Newton on his shoulders on that occasion). After the allies gained control of North Africa, Alan transitioned to Spitfires and served in Malta, Sicily and Italy. He was elevated to Flight Commander of the famous 601 ‘City of London’ squadron before serving as a flight instructor between tours of duty. His final posting was Squadron Leader of 241 Spitfire Squadron in southern Italy at the ripe old age of 23 years, flying mostly against ground targets with the odd tree-top caught in the prop to contend with. He also convinced an American Catalina Flying Boat pilot to land in rough water in the Mediterranean to pick up a 241 squadron pilot. During this time despite the focus on ground targets, Alan recorded one enemy fighter shot down; one probable, and one damaged enemy aircraft and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross Medal. After being part of the effort that pushed the Axis forces out of Italy; anti-climactically, Alan waited several months at the Suez Canal for a boat to take him home and was finally discharged at Sandgate, Queensland. On his return home to Southport, Alan remembers his father asking him: “What are you going to do now for a crust?” After much thought, Alan opted to start teaching, firstly Grade 3 in the junior school at TSS. It was to be the beginning of his teaching career at TSS during which time he gained a BA externally from the University of Queensland and went on to teach geography in the Senior School until his retirement in 1977. 48

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Alan spent most of his days post WWII living at Burleigh Heads, Banora Point and Southport where he built his own two-storey house from an empty shell of four walls in Winchester Street, next door to where the late Harry Kaiser lived and just a few steps from his family home in Radford Street. The house still stands today. It was here that he and wife Elise (known to all as Mickey) raised their family – son Bill who attended TSS, daughters Barbara and Elizabeth, a radiographer who sadly died after contracting a tropical disease. The couple were married for a remarkable 68 years. Alan's later years were in a retirement home where he made many friends. While Alan admitted he had outlived his contemporaries, he said it was the students he best remembered from those days and could rattle their names off from the top of his head, who they were, where they came from and his enjoyment of teaching them geography. In Bearing the Palm (the School’s official history), one student, John Winn, says: “Alan Radcliffe taught me geography… he treated me as though I were his own son”. During his teaching tenure at TSS, Alan spent 33 years in the Cadet Corps as a Major (due to his rank and leadership of 241 Squadron in WWII). He would never get the love of sailing out of his system, looking after the School’s speed boats, and seizing every opportunity to sail the Whitsundays and other waters with such friends as Tom Atkinson. He also was a keen water skier. His phenomenal memory recounted all the boats he had sailed in starting from the small family canoe, to 12” tinnies, his grandfather’s 14 footer, a 28” family cruiser, sabots for his children and even ocean racing with TSS associates. TSS is indeed all the richer for having students and staff like Alan Radcliffe, who was a ‘regular’ at school functions and a proud sixth generation Queenslander. Last year he was the oldest Old Boy at the annual Older Old Boys’ Assembly – a true honour for such an honourable gentleman. His two favourite sayings were; “It’s not so much the intelligence (that counts) but the motivation… you can’t measure motivation” and “The best way to land a ‘Spitty’ is with the wheels up” We will miss you Alan.

On his return home to Southport, Alan remembers his father asking him: “What are you going to do now for a crust?” After much thought, Alan opted to start teaching, firstly Grade 3 in the junior school at TSS.

TSS HISTORY

T SOSM H TO TSS C MIUS N I TRYY

TSS House Shield Historic Tie 2008

n the century long history of TSS, there has only been one tie in the House Shield Competition. 2008 saw Biddle and Walker Houses locked together on 70 points with McKinley third on 50 points. Seven different fields of competition could not separate the two Houses and given the circumstances of what was a remarkable contest it was indeed a worthy result. Housemasters, Ms Jo Inglis (Walker) along with myself (Biddle) could not have asked for any more from the boys and the consistency shown in all seven fields of competition was a credit to the leadership group in both Houses. Biddle attained two 1st placings in cross country and the declamations and basketball cluster, while Walker was 1st in swimming, track and field and the touch, tennis and football cluster. Biddle did not finish worse than 5th in all seven events and apart from a blemish in House Drama, Walker did not finish lower than 4th in all seven events. Throughout 2008 both Houses were neck and neck leaving the other 10 Houses in their wake. With one event (basketball and declamations cluster) to be contested, Walker held a narrow advantage of three points. Biddle won declamations in a tie with Atkinson and basketball would decide the 2008 shield winners. Amazingly, Biddle and Walker contested the final and in an incredible game played in two extra time periods, Walker proved victorious resulting in a historic tied House Shield. The first in the history of TSS.

2008 House Captains, Callum McGilvray (Biddle) and Nick Wilson (Walker) reflected on this amazing achievement in the 2008 Southportonian and said the following: Callum McGilvray (Biddle) "In the House Shield we tied with Walker in an extraordinary all-round performance." Nick Wilson (Walker) "A tremendous accomplishment. The foundation of which was a strong team effort with a great number of individual standouts". In the end of year reports Ms Inglis and I both praised the boys for their consistency and strong competitive spirit. Ms Inglis summed up the achievements of both House’s beautifully. "I cannot help to be drawn back to Walker's finest achievement for 2008. Winning the House Shield in tie with Biddle. Over the years as I attended the House Suppers I always felt the emphasis on the House Shield Competition was perhaps a little over the top. Surely more went on about the place than this competition. Well of course, much more went on. Boys learned things: about subjects, teamwork, leadership, cooperation, rules, boundaries, consequences of choices both good and not so good. “Clearly the House Shield was an enduring focus at every House Supper I had attended. It seemed to

Mr John Wallace Humanities / Life and Faith Teacher drive the place. Having now witnessed the TSS House Shield Competition from a pastoral perspective as Housemaster, I have come to learn that here at TSS the House Competition is so fiercely fought, it is a perfect vehicle for learning much of what it is to be a good man. Winning and losing graciously, honest effort, preparing and working as a team, persistence, resilience, respect for the rules and the referees, fairness, trust in your mates, loyalty in sticking with the team in the face of a challenge, and most importantly having fun". I also said at the time, “Biddle in 2008 had very few superstars.” “The House was united as one, particularly after the passing of Year 12 student Nick Peate in early May. To win the cross country one week after his passing was testament to the spirit of the House. On paper at the beginning of the year very few would have given Biddle a chance of being top three let alone win. McGilvray and his Year 12's had other ideas and they led from the front and set up the historic tie. Ms Inglis and Walker House were always a formidable opponent and the talent in their House enviable. They achieved their potential being co-winners of the Shield." This was a magnificent result from both Houses (one boarding and one day), that after seven fields of competition, they could not be separated by the barest of margins. A truly historic record in the history of TSS.

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TSS COMMUNITY

A Morning with David Grevemberg CBE A Unique Opportunity for our Business Students

Ms Olivia Dean TSS Foundation

he TSS Foundation May Business Breakfast held at The Star Gold Coast proved to be a morning of industry insights, unique business strategies and discussions around the legacy of the Commonwealth Games for future Gold Coast communities. David Grevemberg CBE, Global CEO Commonwealth Games Federation and previous Chief Executive of the highly successful Glasgow Games, showed his wealth of experience as a professional athlete and world-renowned sport administrator when he outlined the strategy and transformation of a city during the successful delivery of the Games in 2014. Davidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship management and significant networks across national and international governments, international sporting federations and business and cultural influencers has driven the Commonwealth Gameâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brand to new heights, which he acknowledged as being a critical element of creating a more connected and better-informed audience whilst promoting athlete activism. It is always extremely rewarding and uplifting to see the opportunities the TSS Foundation and The Southport School can offer our boys and the May Business Breakfast was no exception. Mr Grevemberg spent a substantial amount of time with our business students discussing everything from impact, legitimacy and inclusion to those people in life who run head first into the fire. The boys were extremely excited for this unique opportunity and thankful for the precious time David spent with them on the morning.

The boys were extremely excited for this unique opportunity and thankful for the precious time David spent with them on the morning.

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TSS COMMUNITY

TSS Foundation Breakfast 2019 W

e have had a nonstop start to the popular Business Breakfast event series in 2019, having welcomed Keith Fennell in March and Mal Meninga in April in addition to David in May. Keith, a former Australian SAS soldier, believes his experiences on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan left him with a desire to engage and inspire others. Keith published his first book, Warrior Brothers, in 2008 and it quickly became a #1 bestseller. He then went on to complete another book while studying to become a teacher, further engaging the community and enhancing his passion for mentoring others. At our April breakfast over 500 guests gathered to hear the stories of the living legend that is Mal Meninga. Having recently moved to the Gold Coast to take up a position at the Titanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Malâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inspirational words were both nostalgic and engaging. Having joined the Gold Coast Titans as Head of Performance and Culture, Mal discussed his belief in the strength, leadership and potential of the club and his determination to engage the wider Gold Coast community to drive the support of NRL both locally and across the nation. We look forward to welcoming Nick Farr-Jones in July in the lead up to the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Nick will entertain with his winning combination of energy, enthusiasm and an instinctive understanding of what it takes to excel in any field. For more information or to reserve your seat at the next breakfast event, head to the Foundation page on the TSS website.

Malâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inspirational words were both nostalgic and engaging.

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TSS COMMUNITY

SNAP SHOT

TSS Foundation Cocktail Reception

n Friday 22 March, the TSS Foundation hosted its annual Cocktail Reception â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a thank you event to honour all 2018 donors, golf and breakfast corporate sponsors and the many people within the TSS community that support the work of the Foundation. Held within the new walls of the Preparatory School Hall, donors relaxed and mingled whilst enjoying the company and surrounds. Headmaster Greg Wain and TSS Foundation Chairman Angus Douglas thanked the crowd for their support before welcoming Matthew Dalton to the microphone. Matthew, a graduating 2019 student, has been gifted with a Foundation scholarship allowing him to thrive and succeed at The Southport School. Matthew entertained guests with his tale of tragedy and triumph on the cricket field, demonstrating his resilience and determination as a student and as a young man. The Foundation would like to sincerely thank all of our 2018 donors and 2019 sponsors for their continued support, assisting the Foundation in making a difference to the lives and future of our students.

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TSS COMMUNITY

Indigenous Education Program

An update from Mr Cameron Lestro

he TSS Foundation is fortunate to have the immense support of various corporate sponsors and major donors, enabling the Foundation to significantly contribute to the Indigenous Education Program here at the school. Below, Mr Cameron Lestro gives us an update on our Indigenous students who are forever grateful for the support from the Foundation and the wider TSS community.

My vision is to help our Indigenous students recognise the remarkable opportunity they have at TSS to achieve in all areas of their schooling experience

For those people I haven’t met yet my name is Cameron Lestro and I had the honour at the start of this year to be appointed to the position of Indigenous Liaison Officer of The Southport School. I am also a teacher at the school and having extensive experience in pastoral care I am passionate about looking after young people and seeing them reach their full potential. My vision is to help our Indigenous students recognise the remarkable opportunity they have at TSS to achieve in all areas of their schooling experience, with the ultimate goal of graduating high quality men that leave TSS to be future leaders, not just of Indigenous people but also of the wider community. The words ‘Banam Bowia’ means ‘Younger Brother Shark’ and comes from the language of the traditional owners of the land where TSS is located. The traditional owners are the Yugumbeh people and they have graciously given us their blessing in using their language to name the Indigenous Program for TSS. This name will also be taken on by our long standing and cornerstone support group HandUp who continue to give their unwavering support. I’d like to take this opportunity to recognise and thank the elders of the Yugumbeh people for advising and supporting TSS in the education of our Indigenous Students and the development of our program. Term One kicked off and the Indigenous boys had a pizza night whilst voting in the new name for the Indigenous program. We were then generously offered an outing to Game Over, which the boys thoroughly enjoyed playing Laser Tag and ripping around the indoor go cart track. Our best driver on the day was Luke Tennant who was hot on the heels of our ruthless bus driver Mr Browne. One of the highlights of the term was to hear of Malachi Stanley getting Academically Most Improved for Year 10 in Delpratt House. This young man has had his challenges in the past but everyone, especially his housemaster Mr Bland, has stuck with and challenged Malachi and it’s so heart-warming to see Malachi start moving toward the potential we all know he is capable of.

The other highlight that made our term was the comeback story of Matthew Dalton. Matthew narrowly missed out on selection for the First XI cricket team for the start of the season after performing really well in off season training and pre-season games. I spoke to Matthew after selections were announced and he was understandably disappointed although you could tell he was determined to fight on. After stand out performances for the Second XI Matty finally got his opportunity half way through the season to play for the Firsts. During the final game TSS had to win against Ipswich Grammar to take the premiership and with Ipswich having one wicket left but needing 10 runs to win, an immensely nervous Matty Dalton was thrown the ball. He didn’t waste any time and took the last wicket and secured the premiership with the first ball of the over. I was fortunate enough to visit Matty’s family in Grafton and as we sat there with his mother Heidi and little brother Callum (who started Year 7 at TSS this year) I don’t think there was a dry eye among them as we talked of Matty’s cricket season. We have already seen a great start to Term Two and hosted our first Indigenous lunch in the Darnell Room next to the dining hall, which allowed for all of our students to gather for lunch with some of the key support people at the school. We also are looking forward to our senior students taking a trip to Melbourne next week to attend the AFL Indigenous round showcase event Dreamtime at the G. On behalf of all our Indigenous boys here at the School we thank all TSS Foundation donors and sponsors for all of your support in giving them the opportunity of a lifetime to extend and fulfil their potential here at The Southport School. Each one of the events and highlights I have mentioned above could not happen without you and we hope to keep giving these outstanding boys more significant opportunities into the future.

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TSS COMMUNITY

A Meeting Place

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TSS COMMUNITY

Mr Ross Cardiff Chief Financial Officer

To put the space in context, the music department will have the same square meterage as the Shiel building. Practice rooms, studios, recording studios, offices and much much more.

ince August of 1993 the Annand Theatre has been the meeting place for the Senior School, over the last decade though, the growth of the School has rendered the building too small. As a fully functioning theatre, its primary role has been getting the boys of TSS together in one place and unfortunately itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s size of 650 odd seats does not work with a senior student population which has just hit 1000. The Annand project has been on the Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s master building plan for a number of years and has seriously been on the drawing board for the last three. Many variants have taken place until we have reached the final design which is about to be built. A big change has been the incorporation of music. The music department has lived in the former Cable Station building for decades. While they made do they were never great music spaces. The new Annand will house the entire music department in a facility that will be unrivalled on the Gold Coast and probably Queensland. To put the space in context, the music department will have the same square meterage as the Shiel building. Practice rooms, studios, recording studios, offices and much much more. Truly a game changer for music at TSS. The meeting place (AKA the theatre) will have 1,200 seats. Why so many you may ask? That is the size of the School. With 1000 students and over 120 academic staff on the Senior campus this will allow the entire Senior School to be in one place at one time. While our historic Chapel is the spiritual heart of the School the new Annand will be the cultural heart, a place where our boys can come together, for assembles, graduations, speech days, to play music and stage drama. A true meeting place, and a really nice theatre as well! Band of Brothers

o remain at the cutting edge of boys education, a new state-of-the-art theatre has commenced construction, putting TSS at the forefront of 21st century learning.

Drawing inspiration from the original Annand Theatre, the new theatre design respects the heritage of The Southport School, while creating a distinct structure with its own character and dimensions. From where the historic theatre once stood, a bold new structure has begun to emerge, the next step in the future growth of our school. The new Annand Theatre will deliver an innovative and inspiring learning and performance space that will allow the TSS community to come together and connect like never before. A place to foster collaborative thinking, showcase positive achievements and celebrate a new level of performing arts. Designed by the Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s architects, Burling Brown, the structure is now underway and is due for completion towards the end of 2020. As the biggest capital undertaking ever delivered at The Southport School, we ask you to join us in support of this historic expansion, providing an investment in the future of all future generations of TSS boys. Should you wish to donate or make a pledge to this historic project, please visit the Foundation page on the TSS website or contact Olivia Dean â&#x20AC;&#x201C; olivia.dean@tss.qld.edu.au

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Together, lets imagine what's next...

To donate visit TheSouthportSchool.com/Foundation

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TSS COMMUNITY

Left-right: Bradley and Blake Illich, Anthony and Peter Puljich

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TSS COMMUNITY

Keeping it in the

Family TSS Generations Mrs Jacqueline Latimer TSS Marketing

ormer students Bradley Illich and Anthony Puljich joined TSS in 1989 when they commenced Year 1, which inevitably saw them graduate as the Class of 2000. Fast forward 19 years, and both Bradley and Anthony are back at the School with their eldest boys sharing the same reception class.

Much like their dads, their friendship has evolved and they have now become good buddies.

Bradley’s son Blake and Anthony’s son Peter, started at TSS last year in Preschool but, unlike now, were in different classes. Much like their dads, their friendship has evolved and they have now become good buddies. “It’s pretty special that Anthony and I went through school together and now our boys are doing the same and they’ve just naturally become good friends too without any intervention from us,” Bradley said. “The School keeps you so busy and there’s a lot going on with sport, music and academics. It definitely prepares you for life. A lot of TSS people are business owners or professionals, and I think in this day and age you need that training because life is busy, especially once you have kids. I honestly think the school prepares you for that because they keep you flat chat.” Anthony agrees and credits TSS with being an environment where students are given endless opportunities and support from staff and other students, in a friendly and welcoming environment.

He also had a number of memorable moments during his time at school, particularly the Year 11 camp. “As soon as we got off the bus, it rained for four days and I mean flooding rain, and then when we got back on the bus it stopped. I think Brad and I were in the same group actually,” Anthony laughed. “There is a social element about things like camps. School is a lot about individual testing and grading, marks and performance and yet the most memorable times are those spent with our friends experiencing different things together. I think that’s what TSS really fosters.” Due to struggling with asthma as a child, Bradley wasn’t able to get involved with a lot of sport so he focussed on music, specifically drumming. “Music was good for me and I was able to at least keep up with my mates, get the representative blazer and be a part of three bands as well as the cadet marching band. For me that opportunity was really important and showed the School caters for all types of students.” Now, both dads are keen to see what the future holds for their boys as students at TSS.

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BR A ND O N CLIFT (MAU 98-10)

Breaking Down the Mask Ms Amy McDougall Old Southportonians' Association

After focusing on his health and turning his life around, Brandon realised that breaking down the barriers for men when it comes to mental health was something he felt passionately about...

ld Boy Brandon Clift knows all too well the challenges and struggles that come after leaving high school.

Upon graduation, he joined the Australian Gymnastics Team, and after a tour in the United States, an injury forced him to retire. Having lost his opportunity to represent the green and gold, Brandon also found himself losing his way. He states, “It was a vicious cycle. I would ask myself, ‘who am I now without gymnastics?’ and when I couldn’t find the answer, I would isolate myself and disconnect from the world.” After focusing on his health and turning his life around, Brandon realised that breaking down the barriers for men when it comes to mental health was something he felt passionately about – breaking down the mask, breaking down the ego and breaking down the persona. No money, no status, who are you at your core? The ManKind Project – founded in 1985 is a non-profit organisation that was founded to create a safe space for men to share their feelings and to be vulnerable with others. This is where Brandon, after joining a male support group, began to learn about masculinity and authenticity. Accountability, responsibility, and ownership. No blaming, no excuses, no denial. Since its conception, they have initiated 70,000 men worldwide into the organisation. Brandon says: “Many men have this belief, that if they’re struggling with anything they need to ‘be a man’

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which looks like; taking that problem, going to their cave with it and not coming out until they’ve figured it out. Having all that hidden and repressed dissatisfaction eventually comes out sideways through mind-altering substances, regrettable behaviours or really difficult periods of life. The best way to coin it is ‘emotional irresponsibility.’ I believe if we had more consciousness around this, we would have fewer men taking their lives and fewer families subjected to toxic behaviors.” Brandon now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah and spends his year travelling all over the Americas (United States, Mexico, and Canada) facilitating the ManKind Project’s ‘New Warrior training Adventure’ for men who have decided to make a change in their lives. You can learn more at www.mankindproject.org Brandon had this message for this year’s graduating seniors and our younger Old Boys: “Understand that life doesn’t begin or end at the end of your 12th year at school. NOTHING is ever set in stone. You are the author of your life, which means that you and ONLY YOU have the ability to wield the pen to write your story. My path has changed more times than I can count and although some might call those past paths ‘failures’ in fact, they were lessons. Lessons that taught me what I (Do) and (Don’t) want in life. And at 26, I can say that I have never had more clarity for my life and never been happier.”

TSS COMMUNITY

What I’ve grown to realise is that this school is like a family and as you get older, the relationships you build during this time in life are particularly important... Mr Malcolm Broomhead

It takes all of us working together to make a difference in this country and I’m just so grateful and honoured to be recognised in this way. Mr Waverley Stanley

Australia Day Honours List Recognition

ormer TSS student Mr Malcolm Broomhead was appointed a 2019 Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his distinguished service to business and mining. This honour also recognised his extensive support for education and medical research. The BHP director and Orica chairman was a Thorold boy from 1964-69 and in his final year was the School Captain and recipient of the Chelmsford Cup. Mr Broomhead is passionate about his continuing support in education and is a major donor to the School. In 2018, he officially opened the new Broomhead Lecture Theatre and continues to stay actively involved within the TSS community. “What I’ve grown to realise is that this school is like a family and as you get older, the relationships you build during this time in life are particularly important,” he said. Close friend of TSS and Founding Director of Yalari, Mr Waverley Stanley, was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia. He received this honour for his significant service to the Indigenous community through support for education.

Yalari, a not-for-profit organisation, promotes the education and empowerment of Indigenous children, who together with the TSS Foundation, provides those from regional, rural and remote communities across Australia, the opportunity to receive a full TSS boarding scholarship for their entire secondary education. Mr Waverley said he is proud to give Indigenous children the chance to be confident in themselves, their heritage and their educational standards. TSS now has over 25 Indigenous students attending the School, and while some families pay full fees, others receive scholarship support. “It takes all of us working together to make a difference in this country and I’m just so grateful and honoured to be recognised in this way.” TSS congratulates both Mr Broomhead and Mr Waverley, for being recognised in the Australia Day 2019 Honours List.

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TSS COMMUNITY

THE SOUTHPORT SCHOOL

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TSS COMMUNITY

MUSGRAVE HILL STATE SCHOOL Our kids adored them and loved every minute that they were here. The lunchtimes proved especially popular as the boys ventured out onto our oval for several games of soccer!

Mrs Frederika Hopwood Finance and Payroll Officer and Round Square CoordinatorMusgrave

t all started in December 2015, Musgrave Hill State School (MHSS) were here at TSS and we assisted them with the planning and delivery of their school Learn to Swim program. Janice Cole (TSS Swimming) was telling me what a lovely group of students they were. They were so enthusiastic, actively engaging and so thankful for the opportunity to have their lessons at TSS. Particularly for the children with learning difficulties, it gave them the opportunity to shine, and the academic staff attending with them from MHSS had the chance to share in this wonderful sense of achievement. Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding MHSS was unable to provide the Learn to Swim programme to all of its students. They could only offer it to the students of Prep to Year 2. Walking back to my office, I thought there must be something our community can do to assist. I discussed it with my manager, Catherine Pini, and then with Deputy Headmaster, Andy Hawkins, their response was “run with it”. With the support of the Round Square team and all our boys and staff, we started using our Senior Swimming Carnival BBQ and Free Dress Day as

fundraising days to support the Year 3 children to have lessons. The Prep School has also provided us with donations to assist in achieving the total required. We are now also funding Year 4, and by 2020 we aim to fund Years 3-6. It just proves what can be achieved when an amazing community like TSS gets behind a worthwhile project. Term Three, 2018 saw the next stage in our community involvement during IDEALS Week. A terrific group of our boys assisted at Musgrave State School with reading in class, and building and maintenance work in the grounds. The impact the boys made was impressive – “ their behaviour, enthusiasm, manners and their ability to jump right in and offer assistance was fantastic to witness. Our kids adored them and loved every minute that they were here. The lunchtimes proved especially popular as the boys ventured out onto our oval for several games of soccer! Speaking on behalf of all our staff, we would very much like to thank them for their time and efforts during this week. We would have them back in a heartbeat” said Katie Halsall MHSS. continued next page... Band of Brothers

TSS COMMUNITY

During this time, our very own Mr Fergus Trevethan (TSS academic staff) was appointed the Manager of The Smith Family Homework Help programme at MHSS. Fergus quickly recruited Ms Leanne Zauner and Mr Lindsay Close (TSS Academic Staff) to assist, each volunteering their time every Wednesday morning before school. After meeting with the MHSS Headmaster, an area of need identified was a Before School Sports/Agility Program, to encourage identified students to step out of their comfort zone, to help build their confidence and develop physical skills. Griffith University Sports Science student and TSS Old Boy Ethan Cole volunteered to plan and deliver this programme, assisted by fellow Sports Science student Michaela Chapman. Developing a positive, supportive sense of team through team building exercises was a crucial first step for this programme. Initially focusing on students who actively avoided HPE classes, or who were facing challenges in a social environment, the change we saw in these children was evident in their comments: “It’s nearly Wednesday Miss Halsall, I can’t wait till Wednesday!”

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“(DM) came to your sessions last year and was begging to come again, his little brother (BM) will be coming this time too!” The waitlist for the programme grew quickly and the MHSS academic staff remark on how well the children are engaging in the classroom throughout the day as well. To see the developing self-belief in these students simply transform the way they interact and engage each week is inspiring, working with a new group of students each term, the programme has been so successful it has evolved to now work with some of the most athletically talented children at MHSS extending their sport specific athleticism, their ability to review, set goals, reflect, evaluate change and actively apply new skills. They each have an individualised programme. A technology upgrade at TSS in Term One, 2019, saw an opportunity for MHSS to benefit. The smartboards that would have been disposed of have been put to great use at MHSS, an effective resource they would not have had funding for. Our IT Manager (Mr Richard Humphreys) assisted with the set up. An exciting new development and leadership activity for TSS boys in Term Two, 2019, has seen the start of the

Big Brother programme. A student mentor partnership, directed by Keith Fennell, between our Senior boys and the Year 4 MHSS students. We have a keen team of academic staff led by Mr Sam Huckstep, working with the TSS boys, teaching them how to use interpersonal skills to build rapport, problem solve and have confidence to engage with MHSS students they do not know. We have been very impressed with how positively the boys have approached this and see great benefits from being involved. The feedback from MHSS has been so positive; “ They simply had ‘the best’ day and can’t thank you enough for the offer of these sessions”. This is such an exciting and inspiring community relationship to be a part of, it is constantly evolving, involves students and staff from every part of our School (Prep, Senior, Corporate, Academic and Sports) with both TSS and MHSS benefiting. How fortunate are we, that we can offer such an invaluable experience to our TSS boys, an opportunity to apply the values they learn at TSS in a meaningful way, to benefit our wider community.

OLD BOYSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; WEEKEND 16-17 August 2019 Book tickets at www.TheSouthportSchool.com/TSS-Old-Boys/

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TSS EVENTS

SNAP SHOT

Mothers Day

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HIGH TEA

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Founded in 1901, TSS is an Anglican day and boarding school for boys from Preschool to Year 12, with boarding available from Year 7. Winchester St Southport Queensland Australia 4215 Telephone: Facsimile: Email: Visit:

+617 5531 9911 +617 5531 9977 reception@tss.qld.edu.au www.tss.qld.edu.au

The Corporation of the Synod of the Diocese of Brisbane trading as The Southport School CRICOS Provider No. 00523F

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The Southport School Band of Brothers Issue 19

Articles inside

A Meeting Place Reborn

TSS & Musgrave Hill State School

Indigenous Education Program

TSS Foundation Breakfast

P.A.R.T.Y Program Excursion

Student Voice at TSS

Vale Adam Radcliffe DFC

Future Proof Careers Year 10

TSS House Shield Historic Tie 2008

No Second Chance

That 'Ah ha!' Moment

Surf's Up at TSS Preschool

A New Dimension of Design

Old Boys Lead Wicked into a

Would You Like Navy Blue, Royal Blue or French Blue?

Revamped TSS Art Show

Young Archie' Award

Parent Surveys

Preschool Education