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• Old Boys’ Cross Country
• Giving Day 2026 – more than fundraising
• National Reconciliation Week
• Speakers’ Challenge

On Saturday, we were delighted to welcome back a record number of Old Boys for the annual Cross Country fixture against the School’s First team. This year, 22 old boy runners took part, representing a wide range of graduation years. It was a closely contested race, with the Firsts team ultimately prevailing to take out top spot. Thank you to Mr Jacob Marai for his efforts in making this such an enjoyable event and a valued fixture in the Cross Country calendar. There is already plenty of anticipation building for next year.

Yesterday I launched the School’s Giving Day, which will take place on 10 June. A Giving Day is more than fundraising — it’s a celebration of community, connection, and collective impact. When families, alumni, staff, and friends give together, it sends a strong message of support for the students and the future of the School. Every contribution — no matter the size — helps enrich learning today and demonstrates our shared commitment to shaping thoughtful, capable, and compassionate young men.

As a School, we are proud to acknowledge National Reconciliation Week, a significant time for reflection, learning and respect. It provides an important opportunity for our community to recognise and celebrate the histories, cultures and contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Through age-appropriate learning experiences, we aim to deepen students’ understanding of Australia’s rich and ancient heritage, and to foster an appreciation for the perspectives and stories that shape our shared national identity. In recognition of this week, we were privileged to welcome friend of the School and Wilman, Balardong, Binjareb, Wadjuk Nyoongar man Olman Walley to share stories, language and cultural knowledge with our Early Learning Community students. Experiences such as these play an important role in helping students build cultural awareness and respect from an early age.

Our Year 5 and 6 students will participate in the final round of the Speakers’ Challenge in the Chapel tomorrow afternoon. This competition sees every student prepare and deliver a speech within their class, with selected students progressing to the final. Winners from this round will go on to represent the School at the IPSHA competition. Providing all students with the opportunity to develop confidence in public speaking is an important part of building their communication and presentation skills, which are further strengthened through Senior School opportunities such as House Arts and the PSA Public Speaking Challenge.

I  wish everyone a restful mid-term break. Our Year 11 and 12 students have been working diligently through their examinations over the past two weeks, and this break offers a valuable opportunity to pause, recharge and return refreshed for the remainder of Term 2.

Alan Jones
Principal

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• Push-Up Challenge
• Giving Day – encourage participation
• Cold and flu season
• Mid-term break

The Christ Church community is again demonstrating its commitment to wellbeing by taking part in Australia’s largest mental health and fitness challenge, combining physical activity with education around mental health and wellbeing. From Week 7 (Wednesday 3 June), students and staff will take on the Push-Up Challenge, aiming to complete 3,307 push-ups over 24 days, representing the number of lives lost to suicide in Australia in 2024.

Throughout Weeks 7 to 10, tutor groups will engage in daily push-up sessions, fostering a spirit of healthy competition, physical activity, and meaningful discussion around mental health and resilience. Led by the Student Wellbeing Committee, this initiative invites all members of the Christ Church community to get involved by joining their House team in the Push-Up Challenge.

Christ Church Giving Day will be held on 10 June and is a time for the community to come together and make a collective impact. We introduce the concept of philanthropy to our students at a young age so they understand the importance of empathy, kindness and community. All Senior School boys have been briefed over the past month regarding how they can participate in a House Challenge in support of Giving Day. Students have been asked to undertake chores and earn pocket money to donate on Monday 8, Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 June. All money raised by the students will go towards a scholarship – making sure a Christ Church education is accessible to boys from all backgrounds. We ask that parents encourage their boys to earn money through chores and participate in the House Challenge. Click here for more information.

At present, we are experiencing the arrival of the cold and flu season in our Senior School. As parents, can I please ask you to encourage your son/s to take responsibility for personal hygiene by washing hands regularly, using the sanitiser provided by the School and being thoughtful about physical contact during the school day. If flu-like symptoms occur in your son/s please keep them home.

Wishing you all a restful mid-term break and enjoyable family time, especially for our Boarding community, and I look forward to having a full complement of students back on campus. It is also important for students to get their hair cut if it is getting too long and untidy. For some, it is a week or two overdue, so it would be appreciated if parents could ensure their son is compliant with the school’s presentation standards on their return from the mid-term break. The presentation standards can be viewed here.

Upcoming Senior School Events

• PSA Sport (1^st Teams only) versus Guildford – Thursday 28 May
• Mid Term Break – No school – Friday 29 May to Monday 1 June
• Year 7 Parent Forum #2 – Tuesday 2 June, 9.00am to 10.30am – Register here
• Year 9.1 Craigie Camp – Wednesday 3 – Monday 8 June
• PSA Sport v Trinity – Friday 5 and Saturday 6 June
• Giving Day – Wednesday 10 June
• House Arts Grand Final – Thursday 11 June
• PSA Sport v Scotch – Friday 12 and Saturday 13 June
• Year 9.2 Hill Camp – Saturday 13 to Thursday 21 June

Jamie Foster
Deputy Principal/Head of Senior School

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• Reconciliation Week
• ICAS Assessments
• CCGS Giving Day – 10 June
• Semester 1 Academic Reports

Reconciliation Week has been celebrated in the Preparatory School this week with Olman Walley visiting our boys in the ELC. Olman is an acclaimed Noongar performer and community leader who has worked with Christ Church students over many years, sharing stories, dance and insights into Indigenous culture. We thank Olman for his time and expertise and know the boys thoroughly enjoy his teachings.

On Tuesday this week, parents of boys in Years 3 and 4 were invited to a Parent Series offered by one of our school psychologists, Kate Atkinson. This session focused on how parents can support their son’s social and emotional wellbeing. Kate offers four sessions each year aimed at the different age groups through our Phases of Learning.

The International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) assessments for 2026 will be taking place during Term 3, commencing in Week 3. The ICAS assessments are designed to target boys’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Writing, Mathematics, Science, Spelling and Digital Technologies. The assessments are suitable for boys wishing to extend themselves academically and take up the personal challenge of competing in an international assessment. All ICAS assessments will be online and are available for boys from Years 2 to 6. For information regarding registration, sitting dates and the purchasing of practice papers, please click here.

Christ Church Giving Day will be held on 10 June and is a time for the community to come together and make a collective impact. We introduce the concept of philanthropy to our students at a young age so that they understand the importance of empathy, kindness and community. This year students will continue learning about philanthropy on the morning of 10 June when age appropriate stories with themes of empathy and community are read to all boys. Then in Term 3, all money raised at the annual Market Day will be directed towards the Scholarship Fund. Please click here for more information and a countdown to Giving Day.

At the conclusion of Term 2, families will receive their son’s Semester 1 Academic Report. These reports contain information regarding his academic, social and emotional progress through the first half of the year. The reports are preceded by the Term 2 Parent Teacher Interviews, commencing in Week 9, providing families with opportunities to further learn how your son is progressing with his learning at this mid-point of the academic year.

I would like to wish all families a restful mid-term break, and I look forward to seeing the boys back on campus Tuesday, June 2.

Dr. Steven Males
Head of Preparatory School