From the Head of Aungier House, John McCoy
Term 2 provided students in Aungier House with the opportunity to engage in a range of community activities. The term presented opportunities for students to support a number of social justice initiatives, join together with the community in prayer and engage with the academic and co-curricular challenges encompassed within a short but busy period.
The first Sunday in May marked a very important community event for Waverley College, as we came together in honour of Our Lady. Aungier Students in Years 5 and 7 had their first experience in attending the 108th Annual May Procession. The community heard from Sr Jan Barnett, Social Justice Coordinator of the Sisters of St Josephs, who gave a beautiful reflection on how Mary was portrayed in Luke’s Gospel. Another feature of the May Procession in 2018 was the reciting of the fourth decade of the Rosary in the native Irish tongue. Mr David McCormack, Aungier Mentor, along with four other staff members took part in this special element of the Procession.
The “Beanies for Brain Cancer” initiative was a focus of support for students, staff and families involved in Aungier House. This was an imitative led by one of our youngest members, Digger Callander. Digger’s father, Matthew, sadly lost his battle with brain cancer last year. Digger, bravely, shared his story in front of the large senior school audience. Digger’s incredible efforts really did make a big impact on the school community as hundreds of students and parents flocked to Bondi Beach to support the launch of the NRL Beanies for Brain Cancer Round; which was a World Record Attempt to have the most number of people gathers on a beach wearing beanies. Furthermore, Aungier students including James Waterhouse, Tom Jaeger and Ryan Jones helped in the sale of beanies at school to raise funds for the Mark Hughes Foundation in fighting brain cancer.
The winter sport season really took off in Term 2. Aungier House had students involved in a range of activities including football, tennis, rugby, lawn bowls, table tennis, debating and media group. The footballers commenced the CAS season and Aungier students Domenic Abruzzese and Jasper Marsh-Cashman were given the honours of representing the 1st XI team. The rugby players met some strong GPS and ISA schools in the preseason matches and started the CAS season off with a flying start against Knox Grammar and St Aloysius. Congratulations to Aungier students Kieran Donohue, Lathan Hutchinson-Walters and Ronald Volkman who all had the honour of wearing the “Double V” (1st XV) jersey. The Davis boys (Dylan and Daniel) led the way in the table tennis in Term 2, with the coaching staff amazed at the incredible Forehand Drive which both boys possess!
Aungier Students were again involved in the promotion of Refugee Week. The motto for Refugee Week this year was “#WithRefugees”. Members of the Aungier SRC were fantastic in their efforts to share the positive contributions that some notable refugees have contributed to Australian society. Announcements were read out across the Waverley College Community each morning including profiles on Anh Do and Dr Munjed Al Muderis. This was followed by a prayer titled, “A Place to Call Home”:
A Place to Call Home – A Prayer for Refugee Week
Compassionate God,
No one is a stranger to you
and no one is ever far from your loving care.
Watch over those who are separated
from their loved ones and homeland;
those who fear persecution
and hope for a better life in our community.
May we reach out in welcome
to all those who arrive as refugees,
embracing one another so that
together your hope O God
will be our future.
We make this prayer
through Christ our Lord.
Amen
Students in Years 5, 7 and 9 completed the NAPLAN testing in Term 2. This testing was completed online for the first time, which all students seemed to adjust to well. Aungier students worked hard through the Half Yearly Examination block. Aungier Academic Prefect, Andre Vumbuca, addressed his House prior the exams with wise words. “Creating strong study habits and ensuring preparation is thorough, is a key to academic success now and in the future”.
It was wonderful to sign off on all the Gold Awards that were issued in great numbers across Aungier House. Awards are issued by classroom teachers for effort, achievement, leadership and cooperation. A big congratulations to the following Aungier students who received Gold Awards (5 or more Blue Merit Awards) in Semester One:
Michael Momcilovic, Joseph Petroni, Thomas Jaeger, Oliver Ferguson, Joshua Gentle, Achillies Zanapalis, Benjamin Rogers, Connor Phibbs, Jasper Wilde, Jett Mitchell, Matthew Gallagher, James Clarke, Jesse Gordon, Christopher Snelling, Saia Afeaki, Jack Crotty, Hugo Stephenson, Ash Plesums, Peter Stamatelatos, Alejandro Zanapalis, Guy Hammerschmidt, Jet Marsh-Cashman, Harrison Palmer, Bertie Cottell, Isaac Diaz, Ben Finegan, Jude Sedley, Hunter Smith, Jules Cibej, Rafael Di Giorgio, Darcy Ferguson, Stephen Davies, Luca Holmes, James Kort, Noa Kathriner, Leo Astridge, Luke Furlong, Max Dimitrijevic, Finn Hocking, Toby Davidson, Daniel Davis, Daniel Di Paola, Miles Minto, Mackenzie Palmer, Antonio Rodriguez, Zac Wotherspoon, Luca Fucci, Emile Stephenson, Joshua Psarros, Lachlan Miller, Zac Trosti, Kit Armstrong, Henry Kopsiaftis and Liam Russell.
The Aungier Man of the Week Award has proved to be an exciting new initiative in Aungier House where students who go above and beyond are recognised at the House Assembly. This term, we celebrated the achievements of Digger Callander (Year 5) who made a tremendous effort in driving the Beanies for Brain Cancer campaign, as well as Matthew Gallagher (Year 11) who gave up his time to help scribe for another younger Aungier student who unfortunately had a broken arm during the Half Yearly Examinations.
On a sad note, we recently received new that Mr McCormack will be moving on from Waverley College. I would like to sincerely thank Mr David McCormack for his services to students in Aungier – particularly those students in Aungier Group 6. Mr McCormack is such a dedicated, friendly and approachable mentor and always gave a great deal to ensuring those students in his company got each day off to a positive start. We congratulate Mr McCormack on the news of his recent engagement and wish him well in all his future endeavours. Good luck and God bless!
Term 3 will once again see many exciting and challenging events for Aungier House. Our Year 12 students will be continuing to work hard in the HSC Trial Examinations (6th August – 20th August). Term 3 will mark the end of the Winter Sport Season (hopefully with plenty of CAS titles!) and the commencement of the Track & Field Season. The Waverley College Cadet Unit will be off to camp for the Annual Bivouac, and we will say farewell to our departing Year 12 students who graduate with a farewell Mass and Assembly at the end of term (28th September).
I would like to congratulate all students in Aungier House for the continued positive efforts in Semester One. I would also like to wish all students the very best as we move into a new term, which will be the final term for some. I look forward to catching up with all students and families in Term 3.
Have a wonderful break!
