Director of Junior School, Ms Gabrielle Bransby
I would like to take the opportunity to thank all families for a wonderful Term. Some highlights from this Term have been the wonderful Year 5 Camp where the boys connected with nature and made new friendships, to the outstanding work all students produced at the History Showcases.
It was amazing to see the commitment and grit all students showed at Saturday sport and training sessions throughout the Term. It has truly been impressive to see the sportsmanship amongst the students and how far they have developed as a team.
I hope the Parent/Student/Teacher interviews this week were valuable and gave you a chance to connect with your son’s teacher, go through their Semester 1 Report, and set goals for next Term.
I hope the break provides much-needed rest and family time. I look forward to seeing the students return to school in Term 3 renewed and ready to take on Semester 2.
After-School Code Camp
Waverley College Junior School has now partnered with Code Camp to offer a weekly coding After-School program, starting in Week 2, Term 3 on a Monday. This is open to all students in Years 5 and 6.
Code Camp After-School allows students to hone their creative skills and keep practicing through weekly sessions over the Term. Their fun and engaging content ensures students learn new creative skills in a safe, educational environment.
If you would like to enrol your son please click the button below.
Click here to enrol your son in Code Camp
There is an Early Bird discount for $15 if you enrol prior to 30 June using the discount code AS3-EB-15.
School Supplies
Can I please ask families to make sure all students’ stationery supplies are topped up over the break. Many students don’t have the basic necessities in class for learning. Please make sure they have enough pens, pencils, ruler, rubber etc ready for Term 3.
Ms Gaby Bransby
Head of the Junior School
Winter Co-Curricular Season Break
Well done to all Winter Junior School teams for their commitment and dedication throughout Term 2. It was an uninterrupted term of Saturday sport, often freezing, but minimal cancellations allowed our teams to develop genuine camaraderie and mateship together.
I’d like to wish all families a restful mid-year break with plenty of time for rest from weekend sport commitments. We look forward to finishing off the Winter Co-Curricular season at the beginning of Term 3.
Year 5 Camp (Stanwell Tops)
There was an exciting energy from all of our Year 5 students leading into the camp at Stanwell Tops. Located on the Illawarra escarpment, we didn’t need to travel too far to enjoy the experiences of camp. Once arriving, it was obvious to see the students wanted to get stuck into the activities and burn off some of that energy and excitement.
The boys quickly settled into camp life, getting stuck into the wide range of activities on offer by Stanwell Tops Conference Centre in close proximity to where the campsite was located.
These included:
- Archery
- Beach Walk
- Car Racing
- Fireside
- Giant Swing
- Minute 2 Win It
- Survivor
- Vertical Cluster
In Spite of the chilly weather, students embraced all the adventures and activities that pushed them out of their comfort zone each day. All staff were very impressed with the students’ involvement, engagement and support for one another.
The overall experience of Year 5 Camp gave all students every opportunity to create new memories and connections, step out of their comfort zone to face challenges, and conquer fears along the way. It taught our boys about resilience, compassion and genuine mateship for one another. It was an experience the boys will hopefully never forget.
I would like to acknowledge all the Waverley staff who donated their time to be a part of the experience, and to Stanwell Tops staff who made every day enjoyable and memorable for our students.
CIS Rugby Trials
Congratulations to Jacob Roorda and Kalan Fisher for both being selected in the CIS Rugby Union team for 2023. This is a significant achievement and something we’re truly proud of as a Waverley College community. Well done to all other Waverley students who were selected in the CIS Trials, but didn’t make it through in the end.
Mr Jack Wachtel
Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Years 5-8)
Term 3 Week 1
Home Learning on Wednesday and Thursday.
We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school to complete home learning tasks. The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.
Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3pm until 4pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.
Procedures
Register your son via the link https://homelearningclub.youcanbook.me
Only register his name once to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots. There will be a roll call to ensure attendance.
Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent’s signature will be required.
Behaviour
As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not cause a disturbance for others.
Teachers
- Monday and Wednesday – Ms Natasha Zivanovic – nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au
- Tuesday and Thursday – Ms Gaby Bransby – gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au
If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.
An important note to remember, if afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately, you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached.
Try to avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.
2023 ICAS Competitions | Years 5 and 6 Students
What is ICAS?
ICAS is an online academic competition designed to assess students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing and Digital Technologies.
Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed
certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals.
If you would like your son to compete in the 2023 ICAS Competitions, you will be asked to nominate which competitions you would like him to be entered in through the Parent Payment System.
At the Junior School, the following ICAS competitions are offered: Writing & Digital Technologies, Science & English and Mathematics. This year all the competitions will be held in August / September, Term 3 and will be completed online in the Learning Hub before school starts. A timetable will be shared closer to the assessment dates.
Click https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps to register your son. Through this system, parents can pay for ICAS directly online while tests will still be held at our school. Please use the school’s access code details to register your child no later than 23 July 2023
Waverley’s School Access Code FBT592
Please consider carefully before choosing this enrichment opportunity for your son. It is a rigorous competition with many questions set beyond grade level. Participants are required to demonstrate a deeper, integrated and thorough level of learning.
If you are unsure of your son’s suitability, please consult with his teacher. More information about the assessments can be found at ICAS Assessments: Home
If you require additional support registering your son contact the customer service team. Call us on: Australian Toll-Free Tel 1800 931 775.
ICAS Exam Timetable Term 3
All ICAS exams will be sat before school in the Learning Hub.
| WEEK | START TIME | DATE | ICAS EXAM |
| 4 | 7:30am | Wednesday, 9 August | Writing |
| 8am | Thursday, 10 August | Digital Technologies | |
| 5 | 8am | Wednesday, 16 August | English |
| 6 | 7:45am | Wednesday, 23 August | Science |
| 7 | 8am | Wednesday, 30 August | Mathematics |
Book Week Competitions
Term 3 is nearly upon us and in August we will be celebrating Book Week at the Junior School. The theme this year is Read, Grow, Inspire…
All students from the Junior campus are encouraged to enter one or both of the competitions running for Book Week.
Writing Competition
Visual Arts Competition
Pop-up Bookshop
Allowing your son to select his own books is a crucial part of encouraging him to read. In order to recognise Book Week and inspire your child to read, the Pop-up Bookshop will be open Monday, 21 August.
*This year it will operate differently because I won’t be selling books through a third-party bookshop.
To promote sustainability, please send any books you have that your son has read, that you would like to contribute to the Pop-up Store.
Five books at most for each student. You may begin sending them in Week 1 of Term 3.
I will provide more details about the Pop-up Bookshop’s operations early Term 3.
Ms Natasha Zivanovic
Literacy & Innovation Teacher
A Day In The Life Of A 5 Gold Boy
Being a boy in 5 Gold at Waverley College, our days are filled with excitement and learning. Every day, without fail, we collectively embark on a magical adventure as we “Individually Drop Everything and Read.” By devoting time to reading or listening to audiobooks each day, we expand our knowledge, sharpen our language skills, and develop critical thinking abilities.
This Term, we have had a large focus on a grand endeavour: the much-anticipated history showcase. The showcase was a culmination of months of dedicated work, where we dressed up as historical personas and crafted intricate dioramas that brought their stories to life. From the infamous outlaw Ned Kelly to the brave Aboriginal warrior Pemulwuy, the boys in 5 Gold brought these characters to life with their remarkable dedication and attention to detail.
One of the most impactful things we learned was about the life of Pemulwuy, the brave Aboriginal warrior. As he was a Bidjigal man, we were amazed to imagine that he might have once walked and worked on the very land where our school now stands.
We began with the immerse phase where we watched different documentaries about Australia’s history, post-1788. Next, we went into the explore phase where we formulated our own questions, igniting our curiosity and driving our individual research quests. The identity phase followed, that involved one-to-one meetings with our teacher, ensuring our questions were on track and expanding our understanding.
Next came the gather phase, where we meticulously documented our knowledge using an array of resources, from books to articles and online treasures into a very handy booklet. Armed with a wealth of information, we next entered the create phase, fashioning captivating dioramas that captured the essence of our chosen historical figures. This phase all took place at home, so we have to thank our adults for putting up with all of the mess that we created to make our end results so special.
Mr Luke Burns
Class Teacher 5 Gold
