From Academic Enrichment Coordinator, Stephanie Boyce
Visions of Leadership Seminars: 3-13 August 2018
The Visions of Leadership Seminars provides Waverley boys with an opportunity to engage with professionals and academics in areas of expertise that may be applicable to their studies at school. It is run through the Applied Philosophy course, but is also open to students from other subject areas and grades who may be interested in a specific career path or pattern of study.
In previous years, students at the College have had the opportunity to liase with high profile people including The Hon. Malcom Turnbull, Her Excellency Marie Bashir (Governor of NSW), Andrew Denton, Dr Charles Teo and Dr Stella Cornelius.
The speakers for 2018 are as follows:
Howard Collins – CEO Transport NSW – 3 August
Collins’ career in public transport spans over decades – initially spending 35 years with London Transport. Collins used his expertise from London Transport to attempt to transform Sydney Transport into the same efficient, globally recognised system as the London Tube. Bouncing off the success he experienced throughout the London Olympics in 2012, Collins set his targets on Sydney Transport. Collins came in with a number of ideas that had been implemented in London. They included supporting the introduction of the Opal card effectively on trains (Collins had seen great success with Oyster in London), putting paramedics on the platforms and building a new railway operation centre to manage the operation of the railway in one place. Sydney Trains provides train services throughout the Sydney CBD and metropolitan area. Howard leads the agency’s focus on patronage growth, increasing customer satisfaction, reduction in peak incidents and improving safety performance.
The Hon. Tanya Plibersek – Member for Sydney, Australian Labor Party – 10 August
After graduating from UTS with a Bachelor of Communications, Plibersek began working in the Domestic Violence Unit of NSW while she studied a Master of Politics and Public Policy at Macquarie University. During her career she has campaigned for various social justice causes such as paid parental leave, fair worker rights and marriage rights. In 2003, when President George Bush visited Australia, Tanya presented national security adviser Condoleezza Rice with a letter explaining why Labor parliamentarians opposed Australia invading Iraq without United Nations approval.
Following the election of the Labor Government in 2007, she has held the portfolios of Housing, the Status of Women, Human Services and Social Inclusion. She was appointed Minister for Health in late 2011.
The Hon. Dr Annabelle Bennett – Bond University – 13 August
She initially graduated from University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Science and a PhD in Cell Biology. Later studying Law she became a barrister and a Senior Counsel, later becoming the Judge of Federal Court of Australia. Bennett has also served as the President of the Copyright Tribunal of Australia, Arbitrator of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Presidential Member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and an Additional Judge of the Supreme Court of the ACT. In 2005 she was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to the law, particularly in the areas of intellectual property, administrative law and professional conduct; and to the community.
If your son is interested in participating in the sessions on the 10th and 13th August, please contact Stephanie Boyce, Academic Enrichment Coordinator (sboyce@Waverley.nsw.edu.au)
Education Perfect Science Competition: 13 – 20 August
One of the world’s largest online competitive events, students have an opportunity to participate in a variety of online tasks to accumulate points and win prizes. Students who compete will gain valuable skills in preparation for upcoming examinations and areas of study in science.
For more information, please go to https://worldseries.educationperfect.com/science-world-championships.html or speak with Stephanie Boyce, Academic Enrichment Coordinator (sboyce@waverley.nsw.edu.au)
Financial Basics Foundation Essi Money Challenge: 20 – 31 August
The Financial Basics Foundation vision is; that all young Australians are financially capable and can manage their finances now and into the future.
The ESSI Money game is now being turned into a national competition for two weeks! Not only will your students be competing against their classmates, they’ll be up against students from around Australia.
Students compete in one of two age brackets: 12-15 or 16-18. The 3 highest scores in each age category will be the winners.
In the Suncorp ESSI Money Challenge the final score combines the net value score at the end of the ESSI Money Game with the score from the mandatory end-of-game financial literacy quiz. Students have the opportunity to increase their score by answering the quiz questions correctly to earn bonus cash.
A fantastic opportunity for students interested in mathematics, commerce, Economics and Business Studies
For more information please go to https://www.financialbasics.org.au/essi-money-challenge/about, or contact Stephanie Boyce
Enrichment in the Classroom – NRMA Transport Challenge
Focussing on the Stage 5 courses of iSTEM and Design & Technology, Year 9 students work in groups to create solutions to solve today’s big transport issues. The submission is in the final stages and students are working on a car share initiative in the CBD to help reduce traffic, which also includes a mobile application.
Thank you to Cassie Perry for facilitating this co-curricular competition and supporting our students!
