Our very own Principal, Joanne Sheehy, is the only Gold Coast primary or secondary school educator named as a finalist in this year's Gold Coast Bulletin Women of the Year Awards!
Nominated as one of three finalists in the Champion of Education category, Joanne's passion and leadership continue to empower young minds and strengthen the future of learning across our region.
The winner will be decided by a panel of judges and announced at special Gala awards dinner on Friday 14 November, where the region’s most inspiring women will be celebrated for their outstanding contributions.
Student Achievements at Australian Mathematics Competition
Miki, Mitchell and Lilium
Last term 125 students in Years 4-12 took part in the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC). The AMC is Australia’s longest running, largest and most well-known maths competition for school students.
The AMC is an engaging 30-problem competition that is designed to challenge and extend students problem solving abilities. We would like to congratulate the following students on their achievement in the competition.
High Distinction and Best in School
Jiacheng Wu (Year 9)
Three High Distinctions (Top 3% in the year and region):
Elena Xu (Year 7); Mitchell Chen (Year 11); Matilda Grant (Year 12)
Distinction and Best in School
Eassie Pan (Year 6)
38 Distinctions (Top 20% in the year and region)
Kai Fomin, Yi Joon Jung, Cedric Lai, James Mercer, Kanon Whiteley (Year 4);
Saya Gharie, Alfie Yan, Scarlett Zhong (Year 5);
Lucus Hu (Year 6);
Methula Gunawardena, Jason Hu, Alex Li, Alana Liew, Rehan Mohammed, Abigail Odgers-Jewell, Angelyn Song, Lucas Sun, Thant Thiha, Sean Weng, Emily Wong, Rhyder Wu, Esoup Yoo, Allan Zhang (Year 7);
Benjamin Clark, Alyssa Fu, Nikita Harish, Maxim Nadezhdin, Sahishnu Sriram, Thomas Yang (Year 8);
Lana Francesconi, Mathew Lee, Helen Li, Alisha Xu (Year 9);
Peter Zhu, Summer Wang, Aiden Zhang (Year 10)
We congratulate these students, the 66 students who achieved a Credit and the 45 students who achieved Proficiency awards.
Erin Keogh | Assistant Head of Mathematics Faculty
Success at the Queensland Volleyball Schools Cup!
Year 8 Girls Volleyball team
Our Year 7 and 8 volleyball teams had success at the Queensland Volleyball Schools Cup.
Congratulations to our Year 8 Girls Volleyball team who achieved a Gold Medal.
The Year 7 Girls Volleyball team achieved 4th place - well done!
The Year 7/8 Boys Volleyball Team achieved 5th place - well done!
GO BRUMBIES!
Sara Eade | Head of Co-Curricular Sport
CBSQ Sophomore Tournament
Year 7/8 Boys Basketball Team
CBSQ Sophomore Tournament was a success! Congratulations to both teams - finishing strong with 6th place finishes.
An incredible wrap-up to an action-packed CBSQ Basketball campaign for all teams in 2025!
Here’s to an even bigger season ahead - Go Brumbies!
Sara Eade | Head of Co-Curricular Sport
Griffith University Business School Ambassadors Program
This week, ten Year 11 Business students had the opportunity to attend the Griffith University Business School Ambassadors Program.
The day was filled with exciting and interesting presentations from current university students, lecturers and program directors. The day started with a panel session of the Strategic Advisory Board members and student leaders, which included hearing from Belinda Dawes, the General Manager of NewsCorp for the Gold Coast and Toowoomba region.
Students then chose from the following seminars to attend; Brick by Brick: Building Growth Mindset for Business Careers, Thinking with Machines: Learning how to solve problems with AI and not just get it to think for you, Flip the Script: Smarter Business Models for People & Planet, Economics in Action: Beyond Money and Trading Places: Inside Queensland's Biggest Student-Managed Investment Fund. These sessions, led by current professors and lecturers, were very engaging and provided our students with a hands-on university experience.
This excursion is perfectly timed with the cohort currently preparing for their first summative assessment item and beginning the exciting journey of choosing a university program and future studies. We are always grateful for the strong relationship our business students have with the Griffith Business School and we look forward to future opportunities to participate in these valuable experiences.
Ethan Shields | Assistant Head of HASS Faculty
Cornerstone Concert 2025
Come and watch the Senior Choir and Bellas and Fellas on the Cornerstone Concert on Saturday, 15 November, in the LPAC, 7:00pm to 9:30pm.
Cornerstone is a group of young men, conducted by Mr Jonothan Albertini, who rehearse at A.B. Paterson College and include alumni singers as members. Each year this event brings together high-quality a cappella groups to showcase their acts.
All are invited to support the students and also watch award winning groups including Cornerstone (men’s national chorus champions) and Blindside (Australia’s best male barbershop quartet).
If your son or daughter is entering into Years 7, 10 or 11 in 2027, s/he is eligible to sit the ACER Scholarship test for the A.B. Paterson College Scholarship Program for academic or music scholarships.
This page will allow you to access the ACER website where you can make your registration. More information about the College’s Scholarship Program is also available on the College website.
Registration will close on Wednesday, 4 February 2026, at 4pm. Registrations cannot be accepted after this date and time.
Karen Milburn | Head of Admissions
35th Annual Speech Night 2025
The 35th Annual Speech Night will be held on Wednesday, 19 November at 5:30pm in the Dunlop Multi-Purpose Centre.
Parents please note, Speech Night is a compulsory event for all students in Years 4 to 12.
Please ensure your child arrives promptly at 5:00pm to have their name marked from the roll. The evening is expected to end at 8.00pm.
Further information, detailing where students are to go for roll call at 5pm and where parents can pick them up at the conclusion of Speech Night will be available in the coming weeks.
The Speech Night program will be electronic, but can be obtained from Reception after the event.
We look forward to seeing everyone on the night!
Joanne Sheehy | Principal
Mackellar Wright Colour Fun Run Coming to Our School!
Last year’s fundraising event was an unforgettable explosion of colour, community, and celebration—and this year promises to be even bigger, brighter, and bolder! As we gear up for the end of the school year, what better way to celebrate than with the return of our legendary Colour Run.
This semester Mackellar and Wright House fundraising event will be fundraising for our combined charities of Orange Sky Laundry, Young Care, Salvation Army and our Winton Service Learning program with a Monty’s Colour Fun Run supported by Australian Fundraising!
If you would like your child to participate in the Colour Fun Run, please accept the Terms and Conditions via Parent Lounge and create your child’s online profile page to start fundraising.
The Mackellar & Wright House fundraising event will be on Wednesday, 3 December 2025, from 1:30 pm to 3:20 pm.
Entry fee of $15
Students will be given free sunglasses and a rainbow headband for the event.
Please make sure students wear a WHITE t-shirt and closed in shoes.
Students will be covered in non-toxic, biodegradable colour powder from head to toe.
Colour Powder is made of high-quality corn starch and permitted food colours. Safety data sheet is available upon request.
Some families may recall that previously we have run this event as a Colour Run. Unfortunately, even though the powder used in the event is non-toxic, biodegradable and environmentally friendly, we found that in some instances, the coloured powder stained clothing and hair. Please ensure that all clothing items worn during the event, including shoes can get dirty.
How Do We Fundraise?
Fundraising for our Colour Fun Run is entirely online. Follow the instructions in your child’s sponsorship booklet to create a cybersafe, online profile page at www.australianfundraising.com.au or follow the instructions on the attached registration PDF file. At the end of the fundraiser, students receive a prize for their fundraising efforts by simply raising $10 online! At the end of the fundraiser, students can mix and match up to a total of five prizes based on their fundraising total and golden coins.
Please note: Participation in the fundraising event is optional. The fundraising portal opens on Friday, 5 September. All cash donations must be converted to online donations before Tuesday, 15 November. We cannot accept any cash donations for this fundraiser.
A.B. Paterson College has had an amazing response from the community for this year’s edition. The Inspire Business Directory allows the College to support parents, caregivers, and members of the broader school community, with the opportunity to promote their business.
Please take the time to have a look, you might be pleasantly surprised with some special discount offers, or the opportunity to find a new service provider from within the College community.
A big thank you to all of the family businesses who have supported the A.B. Paterson College Foundation and advertised in this year’s edition. We look forward to supporting you and your families.
Each week we will be promoting a College family business in our 'Business Spotlight of the Week'. This week the business spotlight is on Riviera Luxury Motor Yachts - view the slide below.
