It has been an absolute delight to welcome students back on campus this week. Their warmth, enthusiasm and excitement has created a positive vibe around our Junior School.
6 Indigo have shared words to describe how they are feeling about being back at school:
Congratulations to Mr Ben Meadley, who got engaged over the holiday period. We wish Ben and his fiancee Widad all the very best as they plan their future together.
Congratulations also goes to Mrs Audrey Coupe, who received a special mention in the Fitz Files (Sydney Morning Herald) over the weekend:
“Mrs Audrey Coupe. This lady from Waverley College Junior School has been the mainstay volunteer of the Australian Schools Rugby Union for over three decades, booking venues, taking minutes, making travel arrangements, writing letters, sorting points tables … the lot. Upon announcing her retirement she has just been made a life member. Well done, oh good and faithful servant of the game.”
As you are aware, the boys participated in a marble run challenge last week. The project was designed to enhance the boys’ problem solving, critical and creative thinking skills while ensuring that they have a much-needed break from technology. I would like to share some of the highlights with you below.
Max Nearne and Jack Richardson shared some wonderful photos that they captured of their local beaches throughout COVID-19. Jack captured the following image of Bronte Beach using a drone and Max captured Tamarama with a canon camera given to him by his mum.
It was exciting to see and feel the enthusiasm, the joy and the optimism in the air at school this week as the boys returned to the Learning Hub.
We are currently in a period of transition. Many events in our community have been postponed, including the annual Book of the Year Awards and Book Week, which has been rescheduled for Term 4. However, the Junior School will celebrate Book Week 2020 in Term 3, Week 6. I am optimistic that our love for books and reading will be celebrated as a school community.
Look out for more information regarding the pop-up bookstore, author and illustrator visits at the beginning of Term 3.
Congratulations to the following students on their respective appointments to the leadership position of Prefect at the College. Staff and their peers have recognised the following boys for their care and service to others: Will Cooley, Hugh McSweeny, Joshua Cornelius, Hugh Johnson, Alfie Sewell, Axel Runow, Lachlan Cunningham, Joseph Simonella and Sam Tsaousis. I wish them good luck in their roles.
The mid-year prefect appointment process reminds us that there are many reasons as to why things don’t always go the way we hoped in situations. Sometimes competition is tough and you can just miss out. Sometimes people are not quite ready. Sometimes you are not the best fit for a role at that particular time, and sometimes institutions make mistakes and get it wrong. Whatever the reason, it teaches us the value of learning, being resilient and continuing to develop and seek feedback.
There have only been four schools in NSW that have had a case of COVID-19 over the last eight weeks, out of 3,136 schools in NSW and 1,488 schools in Sydney. However, there will likely be others as we head further into winter.
If the worst-case scenario occurs and we are informed by NSW Health that we have a student or staff member who has contracted COVID-19, we will activate our emergency plan.
Parents and students will be informed immediately via SchoolBag, email and SMS. The College will effectively move into lockdown and we will follow the directives from NSW Health to isolate certain students. We will then move to evacuate the rest of the campus in a supervised and orderly fashion. Parents will be asked to pick up their sons as soon as possible. Contact tracing will then commence.
The school will move to online learning while the campus undergoes a deep clean. This usually takes 24-48 hours. Face-to-face classes will resume as normal once this is complete. Affected students will be quarantined as per NSW Health Guidelines. However, I pray and hope that this does not occur – and that all members of our community are monitoring their hygiene practices and interactions in order to try and reduce the risks.
Please reiterate the Waverley College Hygiene precautions document to your son, please follow this link.
The College strongly recommends that all members of the College community download the COVIDSafe App, which will assist with the tracking process. In the Senior School, we have adjusted our mobile phone policy to allow students to carry their phones on their person during the day. The other elements of the mobile phone policy still need to be adhered to.
As the Junior School operates in core classes, they are not amending their mobile phone policy, however, we still highly recommend downloading the app for tracking out of school.
Strength in Numbers will resume as usual from 8am on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings in classroom E24. These sessions have been implemented to offer additional help to students who are struggling with particular concepts, or who are keen to come in early to complete homework or embrace extension work.
The College is committed to support and enhance Numeracy across all stages, therefore we also run a Numeracy program that will be held every Wednesday and Thursday afternoon from 3:30 pm- 4:30 pm in the school library.
Tuesday 26 May – The early finish day for Senior Students has been cancelled.
Thursday 4 June – Year 12 Teacher Parent Student Interviews will be held via Zoom between 4pm to 7pm. Correspondance with further details has been sent to your email.
Friday 5 June – With the 110th May Procession and Founders Day celebrations, the College would usually have a day in lieu. As these had to be held online this year, Friday, 5th June will be a normal school day at the College.
Enrolment applications for 2022 entry to Years 5 and 7 are closing on Friday, 31st July. If you know someone who is interested in sending their son to Waverley, please inform them of this date, as application assessment will begin shortly afterwards. Please follow this link to apply.
COVID-19, like previous pandemics, has created significant health risks, social pressures, economic loss, general hardship and influenced how we have had to deliver education. Through the hard work and dedication of our staff, the College successfully transitioned to online learning over a few days.
Online learning has played a crucial part in ‘flattening the curve’ and saving lives, however, short-term school closures and social distancing has had a negative impact on people’s wellbeing.
With the help of staff, students and parents, we are creating a video series that documents the many and varying perspectives on life at Waverley College during COVID-19. We envisage that this series will act as a virtual time capsule.
Episode 1 takes a look at how we planned and transitioned to online learning, how staff and families responded to this change, and their reactions when they learnt that we were returning to face-to-face learning. In Episode Two, we will highlight the transition back to school and what the ‘new normal’ looks like for the Waverley College community.
I would like to share Episode One of the series with you and thank you once again for your ongoing support and resilience during these challenging times.
The ATOM Groundswell Schools Competition offers Australian and New Zealand primary and secondary school students the opportunity to create a piece of work addressing environmental issues or sustainability, and win fantastic prizes in the process.
Entries may consist of one of the following formats:
Film
Website
Essay
Photo Essay
For more information go to https://jamieduriesgroundswell.com/competition/
or to express interest, please email Ms Buchan.
Dear Parents and Carers,
The second hand clothing pool will open on:
Wednesday, 27th May from 2-5pm
We have lots of stock of the old uniform at greatly reduced prices if you wish to come in and stock up for the remainder of the year.
Running for Premature Babies (RFPB) would like to invite the Waverley community to get involved in their virtual run.
You can run anytime, anywhere – laps of your house, on a treadmill, at the local park or around your suburb – between Sunday, 17th and Sunday, 24th May. There are run distances of 2km, 5km, 10km and 21km to choose from.
Everyone is encouraged to have fun, get active during the COVID19 self-isolation period and achieve a fitness goal.
It would be fantastic to have Waverley families and staff involved – there is no registration fee and fundraising is optional.
There is also a free running singlet and cap for anyone who fundraises or donates $100.
To register, please click on the following link: https://bit.ly/
Congratulations to the following summer sports award winners:
Ryan Abbott | 1st V Basketball Captain 2019/20
Ryan Abbott | 1st V Best & Fairest 2019/20
Matthew Higgins-Titsha | 2nd V Best & Fairest 2019/20
Freddy Hunt | 10A Basketball Best & Fairest 2019/20
Thomas Gleeson | 9A Basketball Best & Fairest 2019/20
Aren Yaghoubian | 8A Basketball Best & Fairest 2019/20
Renato Rovacchi | 7A Basketball Best & Fairest 2020
Thomas McMahon | 1st V Best Defensive Player
Christian Diaz | 1st V Most Improved Player
Ryan Abbott | Special Award for Achievement and Excellence in Basketball
CAS Premiers 2019-20 2nd V Basketball:
Patrick Gooley
James McMahon
Sebastian Van De Hoek
Xavier Ruppert
Matthew Higgins-Titsha
Ben Walton
William Gibson
Daniel Malone
Matthew Douglas
Jacob Smith
Fritz Jahnke-Tavana
Reid McNamara | Captain of the 1st XI Cricket 2019/20
Reid McNamara | 1st XI Cricket Best Batsman 2019/20
Harry Schultz | 1st XI Cricket Best Bowler 2019/20
Reid McNamara | 1st XI Cricket Best Fieldsman 2019/20
Liam Andrews | 1st XI Cricket The Hayes Shield; for Best Team Man 2019/20
Leo Shanahan | 2nd XI Cricket Best & Fairest 2019/20
William Dodd | 10A Cricket Best & Fairest 2019/20
William Hickey | 9A Cricket Best & Fairest 2019/20
Matthew Frost | 8A Cricket Best & Fairest 2019/20
Jonathon McDonald | 7A Cricket Best & Fairest 2020
Hundreds Scored:
Hirav Gandhi | 2nd XI – 101 not out v St Patrick’s
Reid McNamara | 1st XI – 110 v Cranbrook
50+ in 1st XI / 2nd XI Cricket:
Jackson Dodd | 1st XI – 92 v Knox
Dylan Brown | 1st XI – 65 v St Aloysius; 55 v Knox; 56 v St Patrick’s
Edward Regan | 1st XI – 55 v Barker
Reid McNamara | 1st XI – 51 v Trinity; 52 n.o v St Patrick’s
Patrick Hoggett | 2nd XI – 64 v St Aloysius
Nick Quinn | 2nd XI – 53 v St Aloysius
Sam Connolly | 2nd XI – 55 v Knox
Jack Hickey | 1st XI – 57 v St Patrick’s; 54 v St Joseph’s
Jesse Sonego | 2nd XI – 94 n.o v Cranbrook
Maxim Brooks | 1st XI – 77 v Barker; 51 v Izingari
Batting 50s – Other Teams:
Jack Rigg | 10As – 55 v Trinity; 50 v Barker
Jett Lenzo | 7Bs – 53 n.o v St Aloysius
Jonathon McDonald | 7As – 62 v Knox
Edward Sullivan | 3rd XI – 56 v St Aloysius; 57 v Knox
William Dodd | 10As – 88 v Barker; 56 v Cranbrook; 77 v Trinity
William Hickey | 9As: 63 v St Aloysius
Hirav Gandhi | 9As – 63 n.o v Barker
Hunter Eldridge | 8As – 50 n.o v Barker
Bowling 5 Wickets:
Sam Caro | 7Bs – 5/2 v St Aloysius
Maxim Brooks | 1st XI – 6/16 v Barker
Harry Schultz | 1st XI 2019-20 Coach’s Award
Jesse Sonego | 2nd XI 2019-20 Coach’s Award
Cooper O’Donnell | 3rd XI 2019-20 Coach’s Award
Daniel McSweeny | 10A Cricket 2019-20 Coach’s Award
Freddie Le Vay | 9A Cricket 2019-20 Coach’s Award
James Sonego | 9B Cricket 2019-20 Coach’s Award
Joseph Packington | 8A Cricket 2019-20 Coach’s Award
Luca Kopsiaftis | 8B Cricket 2019-20 Coach’s Award
Liam Walsh | 7A Cricket 2020 Coach’s Award
Samuel Caro | 7B Cricket 2020 Coach’s Award
Constantine Iatrou | 7C Cricket 2020 Coach’s Award
William Dodd | Br. Murphy Shield 2019-20 First Place
Daniel McSweeny | Br. Murphy Shield 2019-20 Second Place
Reid McNamara | Br. Murphy Shield 2019-20 Third Place
Leo Shanahan and Zac Wotherspoon | 2019-20 Outstanding Contribution to Cricket (X2)
Harrison Palmer | Captain of Diving 2019/20
Max Leedham | Diving Most improved 2019/20
Hugo Poulos and Kai Chavez | 2019/20 Best & Fairest (Senior) x 2
Elliott Witten | 2019/20 Best & Fairest (Junior)
Jamie Khov | 2019/20 Most Promising Junior
Julian Ginnane | 2019/20 Most Promising Senior
Angus MacDougall | Best & Fairest 2019/20 Best & Fairest 2019/20
Charles Thompson | Most Improved 2019/20
Kai Mooney-Narita | Best photographer2019/20
Lucas Giordano | Best videographer 2019/20
Dylan Purbrick | Jack Standen Award – Best & Fairest 2019/20
Christopher Snelling | Peter Auer Award – Most Improved 2019/20
Lachlan Rowney | Best New Rider 2019/20
Brock Preston | Best Performer 2019/20
Carter Hjorring | Murray Garretty Award for the Most Outstanding Performance at CAS
Ehren Little | Boyd Wright Memorial Award for Best Team Man
Luke Stewart | Brent Harding Memorial Award for the Most Improved
Sacha Cohen | Kerry Murray Awar for Commitment to Swimming
Peter Cassimatis | Swimming Captains Award 2020
Liam Davis | Fred Etter Award 2020 (Swimmers Swimmer)
Thomas Maxwell | Under 10 Age Champion
Duke Thomas | Under 10 Age Champion 2nd Place
Evan Rowbotham | Under 10 Age Champion 3rd Place
Luca Hjorring | Under 10 Age Champion 4th Place
Aiden Renford | Under 11 Year 5 Age Champion
Owen Roorda | Under 11 Year 5 Age Champion 2nd Place
Lewis Leyland | Under 11 Year 5 Age Champion 3rd Place
Ned Panlilio | Under 11 Year 5 Champion 4th Place
Charlie Coutts | Under 11 Year 6 Age Champion
James McDonald | Under 11 Year 6 Age Champion 2nd Place
Felix Kelly | Under 11 Year 6 Age Champion 3rd Place
Nicholas Scerri | Under 11 Year 6 Champion 4th Place
Raff Toohey | Under 12 Age Champion
Jack Richardson | Under 12 Age Champion 2nd Place
Parker Campbell | Under 12 Age Champion 3rd Place
William Tate | Under 12 Age Champion 4th Place
Brennan House | Junior and Senior House Swimming Champions
George Vouros | Best & Fairest 2019/20 George Vouros
Bert Cottell | Most Improved 2019/20
Lachlan Unsworth | Summer Tennis Captain 2019/20
Patrick Smith | Summer Tennis Firsts Captain 2019/20
Lachlan Unsworth | Opens 1st and 2nd Tennis Best & Fairest 2019/20
Massimo Di Napoli | Opens 3rd and 4th Tennis Best & Fairest 2019/20
Daniel Pomes | Opens Internals Tennis Best & Fairest 2019/20
Jared Garwood | Year 10 Tennis A and B Best & Fairest 2019/20
Archie Small | Year 9 Tennis Best & Fairest 2019/20
Joel Hammerschmidt and Dominic Torbin | Year 8 Tennis Best & Fairest 2019/20
Oscar Wilson | Year 7 Tennis A and B Best & Fairest 2020
Daniel Risk | Year 10 Overall Most Improved 2019/20
Cooper Stewart | Year 7 Touch Football 2020 Best & Fairest
Jordan McCreery | Year 8 Touch Football 2020 Best & Fairest
Sam Johnson | Year 9 Touch Football 2020 Best & Fairest
Noah Gilmore | Year 10 Touch Football 2020 Best & Fairest
Thomas Martin | Opens Touch Football 2020 Best & Fairest
Paolo Aoli | Year 7 Touch Football 2020 Most Improved
Marcus Kastrissios | Year 8 Touch Football 2020 Most Improved
Mitchell Reimer | Year 9 Touch Football 2020 Most Improved
Tommy Wilson | Year 10 Touch Football 2020 Most Improved
Sunny Capron | Opens Touch Football 2020 Most Improved
Cuba Kanakis | Best and Fairest Competitor/ Participant 2019/20
Axel Jeffries | Most Improved 2019/20
Surf Lifesaving 2019-20 Bronze Medallions:
Flynn Keir
Lachlan Varcoe
Dominic McGrath
Oli Goodrum
Axel Jeffries
Cuba Kanakis
Damian Poulos
Daniel Di Paoulo
Thomas Kenny
Surf Lifesaving 2018 -19 Bronze Medallions:
Nicholas Pineiro
James Brenchley
Oliver Brownie
Oliver Watt ( has left the College)
Jack Fingleton
Nikita Strbac | 2019/20 1st Captain
Axel Runow | Captain of Water Polo
Nikita Strbac | Open 1st Water Polo Best & Fairest 2019/20
Joshua Cornelius | Open 2nd Water Polo Best & Fairest 2019/20
Ben Finegan | U16 Water Polo Best & Fairest 2019/20
James Mazor | U15 Water Polo Best & Fairest 2019/20
Ehren Little | U 14 Water Polo Best & Fairest 2019/20
James Finegan | Year 7 Water Polo Best & Fairest 2020
Ryan Abbott | NSW U20 Basketball 2020
Nikita Strbac | Australian Schoolboys 2020 Water Polo Captain
Campbell Groves | NSWCIS Triathlon – 4th place
Will Cooley | Australian SailGP 2020
Dear Parents and Carers,
Today’s trial return for our Year 11s went very well. It was great to see so many smiling faces and the boys were looking very smart in the new uniform. We look forward to welcoming back our Year 12s tomorrow and then each respective year level next week.
The College Leadership Team, Heads of House and Year 11 teachers welcomed the boys back at a short assembly in the gymnasium (200 chairs, socially distanced well). The prayer I shared with them was in celebration of Edmund Rice Day, 5th May.
Creator God, on this special day of celebrating the vision and work of Edmund Rice, we pray as one.
Help us to look out our window and see those most in need in our community. Let us clean our own lens so that we look out through love, with love and to love. Bring clarity to our vision and purpose to our action.
Inspire us to always choose courage over comfort, choosing for the good of all, not some. Guide us to pay attention to the personal story of each individual, fostering the respect, honesty and compassion that help transform lives. Help us to always remember that providence is our inheritance.
For Edmund and for us, precious moments are experienced in our ordinary encounters. Here we get a glimpse of the extraordinary that we can store in our hearts and share at any time. Through these moments may we stay connected to you, our loving Creator, and give generously from what we have for the good of others.
May we, in each of our own families and communities continue to enjoy the prayerful quiet and resolve learned over the past few weeks.
May we, in each of our own families and communities, be open to the spirit of Blessed Edmund moving in our midst to bring simplicity, humour, humility and warmth to the relationships we share.
At the assembly, I also spoke to the boys about another important anniversary celebration this week. VE Day celebrates 75 years on 8th May. Victory in Europe Day marks Germany’s official surrender in Europe. The official end of the global war came several months later after the US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan.
I spoke about life throwing challenges at each of us throughout our lives. British theatre actor and manager-turned-soldier, Colonel John Counsell, had a challenge thrown at him on VE Day. He was asked by Allied Commander General Eisenhower to draft the surrender document in one and a half hours.
Counsell was a good theatre writer, but he had never written a surrender document the lives of hundreds and thousands of people across many countries at stake. He accepted the challenge and the surrender went ahead. In his autobiography, fifteen years later, it dawned upon Counsell the significance of the challenge he was set on that particular day. ‘There was no time or way around the issue, lives were at stake and I had to face the challenge in front of me and play my part.’
COVID-19 has certainly presented us all with a challenge, and how we respond to that challenge is important for the health and safety of our community. Edmund’s prayer (above) gives us a good roadmap of how to face our current challenges by bringing simplicity, humour, humility and warmth to the relationships we share throughout our community – and, of course, good hygiene practices.
On behalf of the College, I wish all mothers, step-mothers, aunties, grandmothers and female carers a collective Happy Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day will be a bit different this year, but I hope you have a lovely day and know that we appreciate the large impact you have, and the role you play in educating and caring for your sons and daughters. At school, we see first-hand the significant support and energy you put into the safety, care and love of your sons. Happy Mother’s Day.
Congratulations to Ms Emily Pace who has replaced Ms Patricia Alborough for 2020 as our sustainability coordinator. This week, she is encouraging our community to embrace International Compost Awareness Week. If you are a Waverley Council resident, they are currently offering 80% discount on Worm Farms and Composting bins through their website. To be eligible you only need to take a quick tutorial and quiz: https://
The College is aiming to increase our composting of food scraps around the school this year to reduce our waste output.
A Principal Award is received once a student has earnt three Gold Awards. Gold Awards are awarded after receiving five Blue Merits, which are awarded in recognition of any form of good effort, behaviour, achievement or service.
Congratulations to the follow Principal Award winners, who were announced at this week’s online College assembly:
Angus Anthony | Year 10
Pablo Berdaa | Year 10
Jackson Cunningham | Year 10
Cade Lacey| Year 10
Zac Wilde | Year 10
Cass Martin-Newbould | Year 11
I would also like to congratulate the Summer Co-Curricular Award Winners. For more details please read the report below.
We are all very excited to welcome the boys back next week, to hear their laughter in the corridors and their interactions, in which they have missed so much.
A reminder that, beginning in Week 3, your son will have two face-to-face days at the Junior School. I have outlined the timetable below:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Year 5 | Year 5 | Year 6 | Year 6 | Online |
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of the mothers, grandmothers, aunties, godmothers and those who are like mothers to the boys of Waverley College, a very Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday. Thank you for the positive influence you have on the children, particularly during such challenging and uncertain times.
I would like to share two excellent examples from an online Year 5 Music task called Two Programs into One! The boys were asked to compose a loop in a music program called Songmaker. They had to start from scratch and create a short piece of music that could be played and then repeated as needed. Once that was done, they had to import their loop into a second program called Garage Band, which already has its own library of loops. The challenge for the boys was to combine their loop with those already in Garage Band and compose a piece of music that sounds great!
Throughout Term One, Year 6 studied a unit of work called Australia as a Nation, where they explored the factors that led to Federation and traced the experiences of democracy and citizenship over time. The inquiry-based assessment task gave them the opportunity to research a significant person, group or an event that shaped Australia as a democratic nation.
The plan was for each boy to deliver their research to the class as a speech, highlighting the impact of this person, group or event on Australia as a nation. Due to the commencement of remote learning, the boys have recorded and shared impressive videos of their speeches. It was wonderful to see the creative ways in which they chose to video their speeches.
Part of the assessment also included the creation of a poster, model, diorama or artwork capturing a snapshot of their chosen person or event. The boys are to be commended for their impressive research, analysis, creativity and articulate delivery of their topic.
Over the past 5 weeks of remote teaching and learning, I have been impressed with the boys’ attitude towards working remotely and submitting work that demonstrates high levels of self-directed learning.
My activities were inspired by the stunning non-fiction text, Australian Sea Life by Matt Chun, and Tony Ryan’s Thinkers Keys. Thinkers keys are powerful tools that can be used to help unlock critical and creative thinking abilities that all learners have.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading all responses and wish I could showcase all of the activities. Here are a two examples:
Thank you to all Junior School students who entered the 2020 Writing Competition, which we launched at the beginning of our online learning journey.
To participate in the competition, the boys needed to compose an imaginative text of up to 500 words in length, using a single image of an elf tree as their inspiration.
We would like to congratulate the following boys, 1st – Jethro Jensen, 2nd – Tom Madden, 3rd – Richard Nestor, and 4th – Hugh Godby. Below are some snippets taken from the winning pieces, for you to enjoy reading.
1st Place
The Forest by Jethro Jensen | Class 6 Gold
Oh how I would have loved to go into that forest, but now my views have changed drastically. Forests, much like people, have two sides. There is both good and bad, but what side you choose to see is up to you. A bit like licorice. It’s bittersweet. Some would say that the dense gooey substance was delicious, that they loved getting the disgusting black gunk stuck between their teeth and that there was something pleasant about having such a pungent taste flood your mouth leaving nothing but cavities behind. But anyone who had even a little sense, would say that licorice was disgusting and that the creation of it was one of the biggest mistakes in the world.
Writing Competition 1st Place – Jethro Jensen
2nd Place
Poem by Tom Madden | Class 6 Indigo
They went through the woods
in worn out shoes
to pick a life no one should,
to make a choice no other’d choose:
In the enchanted forest.
To defend the trees,
their roots, their spires –
even the leaves
were deeply admired,
In the enchanted forest.
In fear they stood,
with hundreds of years of history,
get past them, no one could,
for they would not end in misery,
In the enchanted forest.
I open my eyes and see
A pair of eyes staring back at me.
I am not afraid for I know
I’m in the presence of a little man,
In the enchanted forest.
3rd Place
Adventures in Surivanoroc by Richard Nestor | Class 5 Gold
The four fairies trembled in fear wondering what they were going to do to get the werewolf to go away. Then Aoife remembered! Jeffrey, her pet griffin was on the tree branch! She whistled loudly and Jeffrey swooped down in front of her. Aoife whispered to Jeffrey in Griffin language so that he would understand her. Jeffrey leaped in front of the werewolf, lifted up its front legs and scared the werewolf back into the dark side of the forest. The four fairies and Jeffrey tiptoed back to their treehouse and because Bob had forgotten the keys, Jeffrey opened the door with his beak. They were all so shattered that they were asleep in no time.
Writing Competition 3rd Place – Richard Nestor
4th Place
Story by Hugh Godby | Class 5 White
It was a cold evening on a wistful Thursday, as the little elves scattered around the Weeping Willow Palace, looked for scraps that the wealthy did not fancy. The poor little elves found this night like every other, looking for a place to live, a place to eat and a place to have a family.
Today, they had lost all hope and thought it was their last night for eternity. At least, that’s what they thought. Underneath their tree they used as shelter, was a whole Elf City, which one little elf had stumbled upon while looking for food.
They rushed in and heard elves playing and eating all over the palace, until silence – not once had any lost elves come into the city without a saviour.
Writing Competition 4th Place – Hugh Godby
As our students begin their transition back to campus this week, with Year 11 and 12 returning for one day and the remaining year groups in a staggered approach during Week 3, the College will draw on its existing approach to student wellbeing as we move back to a familiar mode of learning.
Relationships are central to belonging and connectedness in the school environment. This will be an ongoing focus at the College through our wellbeing programs upon the boys’ return.
At the start of their first day back, time will be provided to reconnect with staff and students before the commencement of formal lessons. Members of the College Leadership Team and Heads of House will greet students each morning over the first two weeks as they enter campus, before attending year assemblies.
Getting back into the routine of lessons, breaks and wellbeing time will increase our students’ feelings of safety and security.
Explicit modelling and teaching of social and emotional learning, during mentor time, House and College assemblies and within PDHPE, will support our students transition back to face-to-face learning. A reminder of our College values and ethos will further enhance the boys’ mental preparedness to continue where they left off after the premature end to Term 1.
The value of student agency cannot be underestimated at this time, with the roles of our student leaders – Captains, Prefects and SRC members – given a high priority to provide all boys will a genuine sense of student voice during these dynamic times. On Thursday, 21st May, the College will announce mid-year Prefects for 2020, to further promote this important ingredient to student wellbeing.
Practically, the boys will be given confidence when they see some of the steps that the College has taken to ensure their safe return to campus. The College has deliberately aimed to be ahead of the game in terms of health and safety when it comes to our students’ safe return to campus. Examples include:
Finally, I publicly thank staff, students and families for their sense of commitment and hope in the face of great difficulty over the past six weeks. Nothing beats face-to-face learning for school-age students. Your positivity and ability to adapt to a rapidly changing education paradigm has been a gift to our community.
Stay safe.
Welcome back to Term 2. This week we created a virtual assembly that recognised all of the achievements during the summer co-curricular season, and I want to congratulate the many award winners in a vast range of activities. Even-though we were unable to recognise these winners at presentation evenings or face-to-face assemblies, their success is still worthy of noting and I want to especially thank the Year 12 students and families who have contributed so much to summer activities during their time at Waverley College.
We also announced the winter Co-Curricular leaders for 2020, and I want to congratulate the following Captains:
AFL | Reid MacNamara
Debating | Matthew Brock
Football | Alex Talbot
Rugby | Will Baker
Tennis | Tayt Lambley
Volleyball | James Tzavaras
Table Tennis | Jake Lewis
Media Group | Joseph Simonella
Lawn Bowls | Ky Jeffery
Judo | Noah Ratcliffe
In terms of winter co-curricular activities, we are still waiting on confirmation – based on Federal Government, State Government and medical advice – for a progressive return to training and play. There are certainly no guarantees on any winter sport but we are hopeful for some CAS fixtures at the start of Term 3. This may also impact on the length of the Track and Field season towards the end of next term. It is also highly recommended that all students, staff, coaches and parents download the CovidSafe app in the meantime. I would also highly encourage all students to keep training individually to work on their fitness, skills, speed and agility in whatever activity they do, so that if we do return to some competitive fixtures, we are ahead of the opposition. But this is also for personal physical, emotional and mental wellbeing, which has never been more important at this current time.
I also want to make a special mention to the members of our community on the front line. Those paramedics, nurses, doctors and first responders as well as those in the retail industry. The partnership between parents and the school has also never been more critical than during the current situation. As we move towards returning to some face-to-face teaching and learning, I hope that we can reflect on many of the things that are most important and be grateful for the many privileges, like playing sport, that we previously may have taken for granted. I also hope that we continue to show that bit of extra care for each other once we do go back to school as part of the ‘new normal’.
Best wishes for the term – and I know that all staff are very much looking forward to seeing the boys’ smiling faces back at school.
One of the significant ways in which the Waverley College Cadet Unit (WCCU) contributes to the local community is by attending Anzac Day services with catafalque parties, and sending our cadet band and senior cadets to march through the city. We also observe the occasion with our Anzac Day commemoration service in the Centenary Quad.
Sadly, these events were not possible this year. However, I am very proud of the many cadets who pledged to participate in the RSL’s initiative for Anzac Day 2020, Light up the Dawn.
This online service was broadcast on Saturday morning, and our cadets participated on their balconies, in their driveways and in their back gardens to commemorate our service men and women. Some proudly wore the medals of their great grandparents, others played the Last Post and the Rouse on their instruments – and many were joined by younger siblings, keen to hold a candle in the dawn. It was such a lovely way to come together as a community whilst still observing social distancing, and I thank our cadets for the maturity with which they conducted themselves.
This term sees the start of Cadet training in the online environment. Lessons will be posted to the Google Classrooms each week with some innovative ways to assess newly-honed knowledge. We are looking forward to preparing our cadets for the physical experiences they will enjoy when the day comes where we can once again come together on the parade ground.
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We would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation who are the traditional Custodians of the land on which Waverley College is located. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We are committed to honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual connections to the land, waters, seas and sky and their rich contribution to society.
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