Positive relationships in schools are central to the wellbeing of both students and teachers and underpin an effective learning environment. Moreton Bay Boys’ College’s culture is clearly defined by positive relationships that help us to feel a sense of belonging and purpose.

I am very grateful for the many partnerships that make up this wonderful community. The Board, Parents, the P&F, the Old Boys, and the Foundation Board are all committed to achieving the best outcomes for our boys. It reminds me never to take for granted the importance of relationships where we can come together as a community to support, care for, and encourage one another.

Research tells us that a thriving community brings people together and provides opportunity for social interaction. A strong community helps build relationships, creates a sense of care, and promotes mutual respect. It empowers, inspires, and motivates individuals to connect which helps our boys to thrive and flourish. As Principal of Moreton Bay Boys’ College, I am proud of our community that supports the growth of our boys into young men and embraces a culture that values them as unique individuals.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the annual Mother and Son breakfast which reminded me that you do not attend MBBC, you belong to MBBC. An annual event organised to allow our boys to show their appreciation to their mothers and other special carers who play an important role in their lives. It was a wonderful occasion, with the boys sharing a delicious breakfast with their mothers and grandmas, followed by heart-warming speeches by Jack (Year 1), Aiden (Year 6), Joshua (Year 6) and College Captain Hugh Bettinson.

Aiden reminded us all of the importance of community and relationships during his speech. But it was when Jack spoke, in front of 210 guests, that it reminded me of the special bond that exists between a son and his mother. I was inspired by the courage that Jack showed to articulate his message at such a young age. As such I would like to share with you, his speech.

Mother's Day Speech by Jack (Year 1)

I love my mum

She is so amazing

She gives me so many hugs

She makes delicious dinners

My mum is the best because

She looks after me and my sister when we are sick

She watches tv with me

I love you to the moon and back

Have a Happy Mother’s Day.

I am humbled to have witnessed the speech of such a confident young boy who is embracing a College culture built on relationships and connection. A College culture that fully embraces the unique abilities of each boy, nurturing their talent, building their confidence, and providing them a supportive learning environment. A College culture that is committed to the tagline; The boy he is now. The man he will become. And finally, a College culture that embraces the bond between a son and his mother.

I leave you with the poem Super Mum by Joanna Fuchs. 

Super Mum

Mom, you're a wonderful mother,

So gentle, yet so strong.

The many ways you show you care

Always make me feel I belong.
 

You're patient when I'm foolish;

You give guidance when I ask;

It seems you can do most anything;

You're the master of every task.

You're a dependable source of comfort;

You're my cushion when I fall.

You help in times of trouble;

You support me whenever I call.
 

I love you more than you know;

You have my total respect.

If I had my choice of mothers,

You'd be the one I'd select!
 

By Joanna Fuchs

With Faith and Integrity

Please refer to the TASS Calendar for up to date information regarding school activities.

It was great to be able to attend an ‘in-person’ Kids’ Lit Quiz Competition after the 2020 Competition was held over Zoom. MBBC entered two teams – Primary and Secondary – who had attended weekly preparation meetings in the library this term.

They were ably led in these meetings by Harry Naumann and Ceejay McMillan, both experienced former Kids’ Lit Quiz team members. 

More than twenty teams competed, and rounds of questions were interspersed with Trivia questions – heaps of fun for all. The pop-up Mad Hatter’s Bookshop was well patronised. Teams who won question rounds, took home a book prize. 

Our boys put in a superb effort, but didn’t place in the competition. We are now looking forward to forming our 2022 teams in Term 4 this year, to prepare for next year’s competition.

I sing like I play golf, poorly but enthusiastically. Unlike my golf, which I prefer to play alone, away from the watchful and judgemental eyes of others, I love singing with others. I think that stems from my childhood belting out hymns at chapel or singing the hits of the 80s and 90s on long bus trips with mates as a way to pass the time. I just know there is something special about joining my voice, which is actually quite ordinary, with other voices; the more the better. There is a palpable sense of connection where voices join in unison, some simply adding volume, others producing beautiful harmonies.

So, on Sunday evening, I was really excited to join thousands of others at Riverstage to learn and perform a song by iconic Australian Band, the Bee Gees. While it was a lot of fun, something the host/choir leader said struck a chord. We were engaging in this artistic endeavour under strict physical distancing constraints while a game of football was happening a stone’s throw away under quite different conditions. This got me thinking about what we value and promote and support as a society. Governments, including our own state government, have gone to great lengths to ensure sporting competitions can continue during the pandemic.

Do not get me wrong, I am all for it because I love sport. I love the sense of theatre; I love the tribalism and the passion of the supporters and it provides a livelihood for thousands of people well beyond the players. During tough times, we can get excited by kick off or bounce down and the contest that will ensue.

I wondered about how even the playing field is when the arts don’t seem to receive the same funding, support, or promotion. Theatre, music, film and tv also provide livelihoods, comfort in difficult times and an outlet for passion.

As I was musing about this, I made a connection with an experience I’d had last week. I am going to try to respect confidentiality here, but I witnessed an activity where individuals were challenged to nominate something they are passionate about. While some were able to clearly articulate a passion, others found it really challenging.

I’m not sure if they were second guessing themselves and trying to think of an answer that would impress their interrogator, or perhaps more importantly, their friends, or maybe they truly just weren’t sure. You can be passionate about reading, music, singing, friends, family, your favourite sporting team, Pokémon, chess, growing plants… the list is infinite and there is no right answer.

I challenged secondary students at assembly to make it a focus of theirs to find out what lights their fire, what brings them joy, what gets them excited to get out of bed. If they don’t know yet what that is, one of the most important things they can do is find it and they should start now, leaving no stone unturned.

Many years ago, when I was living in London, I was asked by a friend to play for his wedding and, of course, I was very happy to do so. My friend selected a movement from a trumpet concerto that was particularly famous as it was currently being used as the upbeat theme tune for a well-known TV Soap. Being classical in style, he thought it would be nice to have the solo accompanied by a string quartet, which he could organise quite easily as he told me “my mum takes piano lessons from a friend who also plays violin in a string quartet”. So, I set about practising the chosen piece, which was not overly challenging – except for one difficult four bar phrase about a minute and a half in. As I just began to realise how difficult this one section was going to be, I suggested to my friend that we might want to get together with the quartet to rehearse in advance of the day. That’s when he told me, “It’s ok – my mum’s friend, the piano teacher/string quartet leader - she’s the principal violinist for the English Chamber Orchestra – it’s her professional quartet and they don’t think they need to worry about a rehearsal.” They might have been happy to just turn up on the day and play, but I know I wasn’t! 

I spent the majority of the next 3 months working almost exclusively to try and perfect this one small yet complex passage, to the point that as the wedding approached, I realised I had not really worked to master the flow of the overall piece. I had been too stressed about the details and had forgotten the bigger picture. Both these aspects are vital to giving your best performance and I think our student musicians can also frequently fall into a similar trap – either just playing their pieces through over and over, skimming past and never mastering the difficult bits, or alternatively (like I did) fixating on every mistake and never allowing themselves to develop the flow, fluency and confidence needed to give their best performance. I wonder if this is also a useful lesson for other aspects of our life as well? 

Perhaps making sure we find a balance that keeps track of both our immediate projects and our long-term goals, and allows us to focus on the bigger picture without neglecting the immediate needs of those directly around us? 

In the end, the wedding performance went fairly well (though the string quartet probably played better than I did). If you follow this link, you can hear Wynton Marsalis play the Haydn Trumpet Concerto movement the way it is meant to be!

With the recent term break, Performance Assembly and Monday public holidays, it seems like an age since we have been able to feature a primary musician on the weekly assembly, but we were back this week with a fantastic performance from Harry Fainton playing Tiberius on drumkit, complete with a rocking backing track. One of the really difficult things in playing with a backing track is keeping exactly in time – the backing doesn’t musically adapt with the soloist like a live accompanist would. This challenge is made harder when playing an instrument like drums, where the loudness of the snare and cymbals is right next to the player’s ears, drowning out the backing track almost completely. However, dealing with these sorts of challenges is a part of live performance – and is something that Harry did particularly impressively today. Great work Harry!

Congratulations to all students who performed so beautifully at last night’s concert. For many of our junior boys and girls this was their first ever formal public concert, so it was a little bit scary for many of them, but they did a fantastic job. I would particularly like to congratulate our student comperes – Isabella Berg, Sophie Blackwell, Camilo Suarez, Amelie Eberspaecher and Alex finch– who spoke so confidently and professionally to introduce the musical items. Thanks must go to our music staff for helping the students prepare, the extra teachers who came along to assist – Ms Mothershaw, Ms Meimaris, Mrs Inglis, Mr Burridge, Mrs Curtis, Mrs Woodforth, Ms Ellis, Ms Khafagi, Mrs Venn, Mr Cox, Ms Wallace, Ms Leaver, Mrs McBurnie and Mrs Larkin – as well as our stage and sound crew of Alex Dirie, Ethan Kircher, Lucy Morton, Lily Kunin and Maddie Ryan-Kerr.

Given the range of Cocurricular opportunities for boys at Moreton Bay College, many students have very full weekly schedules. With increased academic demands, students and their parents may question the value of time spent in Physical Education or Sport. However, the College promotes a holistic approach to student development, incorporating academic, student wellbeing and cocurricular activities. All three of these areas enable our students to develop the MBBC values.

The Academic and Cocurricular programs are complementary, with sport adding value, rather than detracting from a student’s ability to learn. A growing body of research backs this up. In a recent study, Professor Francisco Ortega of the University of Granada’s Research Institute of Sport and Health used brain scans to see if there was a positive relationship between physical activity and cognition.

"The answer is short and forceful: yes, physical fitness in children is linked in a direct way to important brain structure differences, and such differences are reflected in the children's academic performance." (Sports and Health Institute (2017). Teach Physical Education every day because it boosts the brain. University of Granada.)

Similarly, an article published in the Journal of Sport Sciences concluded:

"…this meta-analysis demonstrates that there are positive effects of physical activity interventions on cognitive outcomes …. However, chronic physical activity interventions seem to have larger effect sizes on a broader range of cognitive outcomes…. it is recommended to implement chronic physical activity when possible.” (Effects of physical activity interventions on cognitive outcomes and academic performance in adolescents and young adults: A meta-analysis. Barbara Franca Haverkamp, Rikstje Wiersma, Karen Vertessen, Hanneke van Ewijk, Jaap Oosterlaan and Esther Hartman).

In this article, “chronic” refers to regular and consistent activity. Students who engage in ongoing physical activity experience a longer-term benefit.

Physical activity also has a positive impact on student wellbeing. A three-year study of HSC students in NSW published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed the value of including physical activity into the curriculum.

"One of the psychological stress responses is the body’s release of cortisol… If you are experiencing a lot of stress over time, you are accumulating cortisol – your body is not processing it. That leads to impairments in mental health and also in learning. The exercise helped students process the cortisol and manage the stress. They’re paying attention, they’re not being distracted. Ours is the first study to ever [show] that in senior school students. That’s nothing new for primary school students. I can say with absolute confidence, you give up some class time, you get better quality from your students." (Professor David Lubans, quoted in Baker (2021, April 20). Brief, intense exercise helps students cope with HSC and life stress. Sydney Morning Herald.)

In addition to the social and emotional benefits, regular physical activity gives students lifelong capabilities and skills. For these reasons, the College and MBBC Sport continues to encourage boys to engage in regular physical activity from Prep to 12.

My takeaway messages for our students:

• To enhance academic performance, engage in physical activity.
• To increase student health and ensure a balanced approach, ensure physical education and activity is regular and ongoing.

A reminder to stay up to date via the College App > Sport and MBBC Sport Instagram.

Good luck to all boys competing this weekend.  

I would like to personally thank the contingent of forty-eight runners who headed to Limestone Park to compete at the CSSAQ Cross Country Championships on Monday 10 May. Our runners competed over a range of distances 1.5km, 2km, 3km, 4km and 6km in very hot and testing conditions, and over a brutal cross-country course. I acknowledge the boy’s efforts and commitment to representing the College with honour. They are role models to others by giving everything for a bigger cause and playing their part by contributing to the team. Congratulations!

HIGHLIGHTS

Individual Results

• Zane Keily | 11 Years - 3^rd place
• Calan Tindall | 11 Years - 11^th place
• Assel Eisa | 11 Years - 18^th place
• Nash Boal | 12 Years - 11^th place
• Thomas Roebuck | 13 Years - 3^rd place
• Diego Echeverry | 13 Years – 4^th place
• Hamish Paterson | 13 Years - 13^th place
• Noah Maguire | 14 Years - 5^th place
• Kaden Mikanovic | 15 Years - 4^th place
• Francis Chitukudza | 15 Years - 9^th place
• Lachlan How | 16 Years - 4^th place
• Ben Holmes | 16 years - 11^th place
• Lachlan Glavicic | 16 Years - 9^th place
• Jack Jones | Opens - 8^th place. 

Team Results

• 11 Years – 1^st place
• 13 Years – 2^nd place
• MBBC – 3^rd place Percentage Cup 

The results are a testament to the boys’ consistency at training.

I look forward to the 2022 season by building on your 2021 results.  

The MBBC Cross Country Programme sent 7 Primary students to the Lytton District Cross Trials, 10-12 Years on Friday 7 May at Villanova Park. MBBC runners competed in events with over 100 boys racing, which provided our Junior athletes with an insight to the level of competition and valuable learning experiences.

10 Years – 2km

• Hamish Kane | 15^th place
• Daniel Glasper | 21^st place
• Zac Elmaneh | 51^st place. 

11 Years | 3km

• Zane Keily | 8th place (selected on Lytton District Team)
• Calan Tindall | 18^th place
• Kalan Kenniff-Clapper | 19^th place 

12 Years | 3km

• Nash Boal | 16^th place

We had 3 secondary students attend the Composite District Trials, vying for selection on the team to compete at the Metropolitan East Cross-Country Trials on 25 May, 2021.

• Noah Maguire | 14 Years – 8^th place (selected on Composite Team)
• Kayden Mikanovic | 15 Years – 22^nd place
• Lachlan How | 16 Years – 11^th place (selected on Composite Team) 

Attendance at training

I ask that all boys commit to their attendance at training during the week and present ready for their games/lead up meets, home or away. Representing the College is something to be valued. Being a team member who can be depended on entails sacrifice and commitment, no matter the activity level. 

Uniform

Please be aware that all staff and coaches have been asked to monitor training and playing uniform.  We want to ensure that we represent the College and ourselves, both on and off the field, with the highest standards.

Parent Lounge

Participation in College sport is outstanding due to the quality of the sporting programs offered that allow for all participation levels and the high standard of coaching across the individual sports.  An easy flow of communication is essential, ensuring everyone is kept informed. Please sign on for each Term sport via Parent Lounge for in-season and pre-season activities offered each term.  Typically, this is available for specified periods.

We are very excited to announce that tickets are now on sale for our 2021 Combined Colleges’ musical The Wiz!

The performances will run from Thursday 3 June through to Saturday 5 June at the MBC Music centre, with the Friday night performance being an opportunity for our patrons to join in on the fund and come dressed as their favourite character from The Wizard of Oz or The Wiz. Our students and staff cannot wait for you to join them on this magical journey to Oz and hope to see you all there. Please click on the link below to secure your tickets.

https://www.trybooking.com/BQWWJ 

Performances on Thursday 3 June and Friday 4 June at 6.00pm and Saturday 5 June at 1.00pm and 6.00pm

Dear Parents and Caregivers, 

The National Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) will be gathered this term for all students who require adjustments. This is an annual collection by the Federal Government which then provides funding to Schools within Australia to best support students and to plan more broadly for the support of students. 

As a College, we provide all of the necessary information and parents are not required to submit additional details. All information is confidential and protected by privacy laws that regulate the collection, storage and disclosure of personal information.

Further information about the NCCD can be found on the NCCD Portal (https://www.nccd.edu.au).

Please contact Mrs Lynley Brown if you have any questions about the NCCD.

Is your child sitting ICAS this year? Payment is now easier with the new online Parent Payment System. Visit https://shop.unswglobal.com.au/pages/pps and enter our unique school code XUV221 to pay online and confirm your child’s participation. More information including testing dates and times has been sent home to all families. Online payment will close on July 25.

Calling all past MBC students and their sons! 

The 2021 The Generations of Moreton Bay Colleges’ Event will be held on Friday 11 June at MBC from 3.00pm for afternoon tea. 

This event started in 2019 for all the students at MBC and MBBC that are children or grandchildren of past MBC students. 

We want to ensure we don’t miss any families off our official invite list and would appreciate you contacting The Moreton Bay Colleges’ Foundation to ensure you are included on our list if you are a past student of MBC and your son or daughter is now attending The Colleges. 

An official invite for this event will be emailed in the coming weeks with other details about a group student photo. Boys will be bused to MBC for this. 

We are excited that this community is growing, and we now have over 100 students at MBC and MBBC who are a part of this special group.