The end of Term 2 brings about the end of a successful semester for the members of Brennan House. This term has also seen the beginning of the Winter season of sport and the commencement of the Brennan House major charity project, the Holdsworth Ball. All boys have continued to involve themselves in all that the college has to offer and have represented both Brennan House and Waverley College with pride.
Term 2 began with our Year 12 cohort sitting their Half Yearly Examinations. It was good to hear from so many boys after their exams who were able to say that they had applied themselves well to their studies and had been very happy with the results that they achieved in these exams. The work ethic that a number of our Year 12 students are demonstrating at the moment is setting a great example for all boys entering Year 12 in the coming years.
Two key members of the Year 12 cohort were also rewarded for their continued efforts and commitment to the college by being selected as mid-year prefects. These two students were Sebastian Rasmussen and Oliver Read. These boys were two of just eleven students to be recognised in this manner and are very deserving recipients. Despite not being named as prefects in Term Four last year, they have both demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the entire Waverley College community and since their appointment have already been working hard to add to our already very strong 2018 prefect student body.
There has also been a broad range of student achievements this term which we have celebrated within Brennan House and throughout the broader college as well. These achievements include:
Will Cooley
Will Cooley – Continues to excel in the field of sailing. He has been training 6 days a week with the AIS and has been involved in a number of competitions during the term where he has experienced great successes. This exceptional dedication to his discipline has earnt Will selection in the Australian Youth Olympic team. This is a huge achievement and is a tribute to the amount of work Will has put in over a number of years. We wish Will all the best for the Youth Olympics later this year and also in Texas, this holiday break, where he will also be competing. We all look forward to hearing how he goes!
Daniel Andrews – Has experienced success on the rugby field, attaining selection in the CAS Rugby 2nds team.
Daniel McSweeny – Has been the first member of Brennan House to receive a Head of College Award, after already receiving three Gold Awards this year, for both academic achievement and positive contribution to the college community.
Tom Donaldson – Took part in an Open Chess tournament in Parramatta where he came first. A great achievement against some older opposition.
Alex Sideris – Competed in and won a 50cc Go-Kart race in the Under 12 division at Eastern Creek.
Campbell Scally – Has earned selection into the CIS hockey team.
Fred Carmody – Displayed his surfing prowess, winning the Bondi Boardriders Competition in the Micro-groms division.
Maximilian Fischer – Continues to take the golfing world by storm, winning a major golf tournament (The Harvey Norman Week of Golf).
The spirituality program has also been at the forefront of Term Two, with the celebration of our 108th Annual May Procession. This is always a very significant event in the life of the college and it was wonderful to see the leadership displayed by our SRC and Prefect representatives, as they carried out their various roles on the day. The entire house should also be commended on the reverent and respectful way in which they conducted themselves throughout the event.
Term 2 has also seen the commencement of the winter season of co curricular activities. The amount of opportunities for boys to hone their skills in a wide variety of disciplines continues to grow every year and it is wonderful to see the successes of Brennan students in all areas. Special congratulations goes to all students in Brennan house who have achieved selection in a Firsts team and who have been representing Waverley proudly so far. Supporter’s duty has also seen some changes this year, that allows boys to attend any “Firsts” team competition during their allocated week to help support all co curricular activities. It has been great to hear about boys getting to sports they normally would not get the opportunity to see, such as debating, and showing their support.
This Friday sees the running of our House Athletics Carnival which is always a great day for House spirit and a chance for all boys to show off their athletic skills. It is also a chance to repeat or efforts from last year and go back to back with another victory this year. Our prefects and Year 12 students have been working hard teaching everyone the house chants and I look forward to seeing how we go on the day. I encourage everyone to get involved and give an event that you would not normally do a try, all house points are valuable on the day! We are also looking forward to having the Junior School attend the carnival. It will be the first time that we have competed as a combined Junior and Senior School and it should be a great day for all involved.
Organisation of the Holdsworth Ball also commenced this term for roughly 20 Year 11 students. The Holdsworth Ball is the primary social justice initiative for Brennan House and runs during Term Three each year. The volunteers from Year 11 have been meeting every Wednesday after school to plan the event. They meet in organising committees with a similar number of students from Year 11 at St Clare’s, to focus on organising all aspects of the night. The ball itself is a Waverley College initiative that works with local charity organisation, The Holdsworth Community, to provide a ball for their clients, primarily consisting of adults living with intellectual disabilities. This event is something that all Holdsworth clients look forward to each year and is always a sellout event, as well as a major fundraiser for the organisation. The students are already well into planning this year’s event with a theme of “A night at the Oscars”. It will involve a three course dinner, live music, lucky door prizes and much more! The event is funded and run entirely by the fundraising and donations organised by the students themselves. As such if you, or someone you know, would like to donate any prizes that could be raffled off on the night or used as lucky door prizes we would love to hear from you. If you are interested, please feel free to email me directly for further information. The Junior School have already been busy fundraising for the Ball and have held a raffle and a sports competition at the Waterford Campus.
The Holdsworth Community is an incredible organisation who do some amazing work in our local community. Their primary goals are stated as being “to support children and adults living with intellectual disabilities; families with young children; older people who may be frail, ill, lacking mobility, experiencing social isolation or living with dementia; and their families and caregivers. We aim to build a community where all people have the support and services they need in order to build their personal capacity; have a voice and make choices; and make the meaningful social connections needed to live an active and happy life in the community.” The chance for our students to work with them is such an incredible opportunity and the young men involved learn a great deal about some topics of great significance to all Australians. If you would like more information about the Holdsworth Community and their work, feel free to visit their website.
Men’s Health Week was celebrated in Week Seven with a wide range of activities encouraging students to stay aware of their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. There were also a range of competitions that were run with House Points on the line. Brennan House was strongly represented across the week with a number of great achievements. Connor Andrews and Luca Whitaker had an excellent 1, 2 finish in the Junior “Waverley’s Fastest Man” competition. In the “3 vs 3 Basketball” competition we finished 2nd in the Juniors and 1st in the Seniors. Congratulations to Oscar Walters-Green, Cameron Abbott, Thomas Gleeson, Ryan Abbott, Ben Walton, Kyle Goulding and Jonathan Chen who were members of those two teams. Well done also to all students who attended the reading sessions in the library and the guided meditation session.
Academically, Term 2 is also an immensely busy time for all students, with Half-Yearly Exams taking place and Semester One Reports being distributed. I encourage all students to carefully read the feedback they receive in each subject so that they can start planning for an even more successful Semester 2. The end of Term 2 provides a good opportunity to rest and reflect on Semester 1 and all that has occurred this year so far, before returning ready to begin the second half of the year fresh. For those in Year 12, it marks the eve of their final full term of High School. I wish them all the best for their Trial HSC exams, which will be taking place soon after their return to school next term.
As with every term, I would like to once again thank the wonderful Wellbeing Mentors of Brennan House. These mentors work very hard every day to ensure that they are there to support the members of their Wellbeing Groups and I am blessed to work with such a great group of professionals. The success of all house activities relies upon their hard work and support, thank you.
Finally, I would like to wish all members of Brennan House, and the wider College Community, a safe and relaxing holiday period. Good luck to all students taking part in the Red Earth and Timor Leste Immersions and also to all involved in the Music Tour. I look forward to seeing you all next term for the start of Semester Two.
Term 2, 2018 has been a successful one for the young men of Conlon. They continue to live our motto, ‘Aut Viam Inveniam Aut Faciam’ – I’ll either find a way or make one. Despite being a short and very busy term, the boys have embraced all that the College has to offer; be it in their academic pursuits, in their support of a wide range of social justice initiatives and in their whole hearted participation in Inter-house and co-curricular activities. I have no doubt that they will continue to have a very positive and productive year.
Congratulations to George Pantazis (Conlon 7) and Samuel King (Conlon 4) who are both very worthy recipients of their appointments as Mid-Year Prefects. Both boys are showing great leadership, particularly with their charismatic and enthusiastic vocal skills in leading the House chants at the Inter-house competitions and the House Athletics carnival. They join our hard working Prefects and SRC team.
Our Conlon breakfast was held on Friday, 25th May. This was a great House community event and a wonderful opportunity to come together, meet old and new friends and importantly christen the new College BBQ’s. Our wonderful Conlon mentors ( Jennifer Hoare, Anthony Gill, Phil Davis, Nick Brophy, Paul Cornish, Karen Jones, Mary Ryan, Prue Fitzsimmons, Kaitlyn Downey, Sherrie Falkinder, David Reidy, Bruce Dominish, Richard Bryant, Suzanne Pinter and Chris Blienkinsopp) along with our SRC boys and Sandy Templeton-Martin (mum to Tom, Mackenzie and Luca) helped prepare a delicious breakfast. Thank-you to all the Conlon parents and grandparents who were able to make this such a special event.
As mentioned, Term 2 is not only a short term but an extremely busy one. Winter co-curricula activities began in earnest and the boys were kept busy completing their Semester 1 academic studies. Year 10 students completed their Career Profile testing and interviews and together with their results from their exams and class assessments, they will now be making important decisions about their pathway and subject choices for their Senior years.
Early in the term, the Year 12 boys completed their Half-Yearly Examinations and are now busy preparing for their HSC Trial examinations which they will complete early in Term 3. We wish Year 12 all the best with their preparations during the holidays.
I would like to congratulate the following boys who received a Head of College Award this term. This award is the culmination of a boy receiving at least 3 Gold awards:
Year 7
Lang Curran (2), Van Larkin, Campbell Groves, Harry Lee, John Walsh (2), Kai Jones, Gabriel Johnson
Year 8
Christian Kitas (2), Finn Nebauer (2), Dylan McCullouch, Marley Bridge
Year 9
Cooper O’Donnell, Saem Goffe, Hayden Wild (2), Dennis Baphis, Baxter Flynn
Year 11
Lachlan Manastirovski, Edoardo De Vecchi
Year 12
Flynn Schulz
Cooper and Flynn receiving their Gold Awards
Congratulations to Hayden Wild who also received a Science Recognition award and to the many, many Conlon boys who have received Gold Awards during the term.
Away from the classroom our Year 6 boys travelled to Canberra. Here they visited Parliament House, the Australian War Memorial, AIS, Questacon and much more. By all accounts, the trip was a great success and the boys had a wonderful time away with their friends and teachers.
Conlon boys have once again shown their full support of the many co-curricula opportunities offered here at the College. I would like to commend the following boys;
Drama production – Andrew Badger, Dylan McCulloch, for their inspiring & insighful performance in the play; Stories in the Dark and Ryan Bakels for his technical support.
European Music Tour – Zacharey Straker, Eliot Vincent-Hull, Saem Goffe, Jared Garwood, Hugh Marshall, Finbar Moss and Jack Priddis
Red Earth immersion to Cape York – Cooper O’Donnell, Patrick Hoggett, James Hoggett, Jesse Sonego and Joshua Cornelius
Timor-Leste Immersion – Hugh Marshall and Cooper Flynn
Conlon Mentor Group 4
CAS AFL – Ash Backlund and Max D’Agostino
CAS Rugby – Luca Martin (Opens 2nds) Miles Amasotero and Emmanuel Di Bartolo (U16’s)
Baxter Flynn is traveling to Serbia to attend a Water Polo camp and Daniel Gandy is travelling to Adelaide to attend a high performance cycling camp.
Conlon had great success this term in the Inter-House competitions. As part of Men’s Health week there were a number of lunch time competitions; our junior 3×3 basketball team of Van Larkin, Jack Ringrose, Jack Sherston and Alexander Constantine won their final and our senior 3 x 3 basketball team of Peter Cassimatis, Ash Backlund and Keilan Grace narrowly lost their final, but finished a gallant second. We cannot forget Huntter Keyes-Ahern who successfully won the title of Waverley’s strongest man.
In our own Inter-mentor group Trivia Pursuit challenge, Mr Reidy’s mentor group were victorious.
In the last week of term the Year 7 boys had the opportunity to attend their first senior school dance, along with the young ladies from St Clare’s, St Catherine’s and Brigidine. The boys were all looking extremely smart and displayed surprisingly great skill on the dance floor and I think all round had a wonderful time.
Conlon BreakfastThe whole House is looking forward to the House Athletics carnival held on the last day of term. We still remember how close we came to winning the carnival last year. The Prefects and Year 12 boys are ready and eager to lead the Conlon boys to a win this year.
I wish all Conlon families a safe and happy holiday break and I very much look forward to the second half of 2018.
As Term 2 draws to a close I find myself reflecting on how lucky I am to be looking with the young men of Green House. As a staff group we are blessed to be able to work with respectful young men who have a desire to learn. It is also great to be able to work in leading educational facilities and for the young men of Waverley to be able to learn in these spaces provided to them. It is very pleasing to see the students making the most of the opportunities at Waverley College in Term 2 and I am looking forward to a productive and positive second semester.
Green House prefects hosted several important events this term. Our Academic Prefect, Allan Cannes hosted a Writing Challenge Competition as part of Refugee week. Boys that took part learnt some valuable tips with his support.
Waverley’s Strongest man competition took place with several Green House students competing. Congratulations to Aydin Caltagirone-Pantano (Yr11) who took out 3rd place and Ty Sigsworth (Yr11) who came in 2nd. A wonderful representation from Green House.
The Inter House Athletics Carnival takes place on the last day of this term. I would like to thank in advance our Community Prefect, Ben Scarf for his work in leading into this event. His passion and leadership always shows on days like this, congratulations to all boys that actively took part and engaged in the event.
In addition to the events above, Green House held our Term 2 assemblies at the Junior School this term. This was a huge success thanks to Junior School staff Mr Stephen Ghattas and Ms Gabrielle Bransby. Our Junior School students were wonderful in their support this term, I would like to thank them for their support in running a very successful house assembly during Week 8.
The Inter House basketball competition was a tough day for Green house, sadly being knocked out in the first round. But Green students represented their house proudly in their attempt to earn Green house valuable house points. Congratulations to all boys involved.
The 108th May Day procession took place in May this term. I would like to thank all Green students and parents for the way in which they attended and engaged in this great tradition of Waverley College.
I would like to thank again our prefects for their contributions to Green House again this term, even as their assessment and study expectations continue to grow.
I would like to welcome new Green House Prefect, Daniel Chow to our Green House leadership team. Daniel has consistently been a leader in Green House. Contributing extensively in our Term 4 drive for white ribbon day last year and actively being involved in setting up Green House Assemblies.
Congratulations on your appointment Daniel.
The following Students received Head of College Awards this term, an achievement that requires 15 Merit awards and 3 Gold Awards. These students exemplify consistent effort in the classroom, ongoing excellent behaviours and go above and beyond what is expected of them on a regular basis. It is wonderful to see students achieve so well. Congratulations to the following students:
Congratulations to Rory Doyle (Yr11), Selected to take part in the CIS Golf tournament in Foster this term, he was also selected to compete in the Jack Newton junior golf competition in April and came in 14 out of 150 students.
Congratulations to Conor Ryan (Yr8). Conor was part of our year 8 debating team that made it through all of the elimination rounds of Catholic Schools Debating Association competition. They have now made it to the quarter finals.
Congratulations to William Hope (Yr10). William was nominated to represent Waverley College at the Young Men’s Health Forum this term. The students engaged in presentations with ex-NRL player Dan Hunt and Kathy Kelly of the Kelly foundation about ways to improve the mental health of young people in Australia.
Congratulations to the following students. They have received perfect or near perfect A’s on their mid year report. A monumental effort that demonstrates Green students going above and beyond in 2018.
Congratulations to the following students for their nominations in 1sts teams or as sports Captains:
Junior School Update
Congratulations to Mr Stephen Ghattas and his wife, Kristy, who gave birth to their son, Zane. An exciting new addition to the extended Green House family. We are lucky to have such wonderful Junior School mentors in Green House.
Thanks to Mr Ghattas for his role in implementing the Edmund Rice Theme Day with much enthusiasm. Celebrating our Founder; learning a bit about his life and sharing a movie that has a social justice theme. Mr Ghattas came back from parental leave and threw himself into the organisation of the day, where the boys enjoyed wearing their mufti clothes and donating a gold coin to The Smith Family.
Congratulations to Mr Gabrielle Bransby for her work on the new engaging and very exciting initiative where the boys are part of an Independent Inquiry Unit called ‘i-Time.’ It has been exciting to see this new system implemented in the Junior School and the program that has been developed under her guidance.
Congratulations to the following Green House students for outstanding achievements during Term 2:
The following boys represented Waverley in Armidale at the beginning of the Term 1 holidays:
James Dyson-Merwe, Jack Kerves, Eden Byrd, Ethan Ginnane, Jack Sammut, Jack George (all in Year 6). Although they were not successful, they represented their school with pride.
Ethan Ginnane (Yr 6) also represented IPSHA at the CIS Touch Football Trials. He was down to the final 30 students out of approximately 100 trialists. Well done Ethan!
Year 6 enjoyed a trip to Canberra this term and braved the cold weather to learn about our nation’s capital. An exciting tour made better by the staff the supported the students in such a wonderful way.
The following boys made their Confirmation at St Mary’s Cathedral on Sunday 17th June at St Mary’s Cathedral:
Congratulations to the Junior School students and staff for a wonderful term.
Finally, I would like to thank all teachers in Green House for their continued support this year. The time and effort provided by our mentors each morning is one of the many positive aspects of belonging to Green House.
A special congratulations to Green Mentor Ms Kath Knowles for organising our Inaugural Trade Night this term which was very well attended (over 200 people). The feedback from parents and students has been very positive. Kath’s care and attention shone through with each Old Boy reflecting on the positive difference she had made in their lives and the informative guidance. We are lucky to have such a wonderful mentor in Green House who has made such a significant impact on students during her time at Waverley.
To the Green community, I wish you all an enjoyable, safe and restful break. To those travelling on the European Music Tour, The Timor-Leste Immersion or the Red Earth Immersion, I wish you a wonderful trip. l very much look forward to seeing all Green House students back next term for the second half of 2018.
Lacey House continues to go from strength to strength in our pursuit of excellence following our motto of “Never Give Up”. Opportunities have continued to grow for leadership opportunities within the Mentor groups and for the Leadership team in House meetings. Our team of Prefects have maintained a very high standard of House meeting presentation with across the years conversation being the cornerstone of their meetings. Getting boys to know each other and to look out for each other is one of our key performance indicators of continuing success. Any boy seeking leadership within Lacey House should be able to name every boy in his Mentor group and be able to tell me at least one interesting thing about their fellow Mentees.
Every senior boy has had at least one opportunity to lead their Wellbeing group during this last term and the impact has been noticeable. I have been impressed by the increased level of attentiveness to the ideas presented by the senior boys. I strongly encourage the boys to look for increased areas in which they feel they might lead. I will be looking for volunteers to fill the music/performance slot that each House meeting will have next term.
The second term of the year is all about academics, sport and preparation for the music tour to Europe. I wish the following boys from Lacey House all the best for the tour. Dante Bryan, Conor Cahill, Lorenzo & Massimo Di Napoli, Harrison Gippel, Alexander Jones, James Simpson and Alex Woods.
Harry Gippel was also the recipient of the prestigious Head of College Award at the last College Assembly for outstanding effort and achievement in his academic life. The boys of Lacey House are represented by the following lads in their fantastic levels of application levels in their semester one reports. These boys have achieved an “A” in over 95 % of their application grades:
Year 7; Darius Hall, James Mazor, Jack Preller, Mitchell Reimer and Oliver Schai.
Year 8; Conor Cahill, Harrison Gippel, Max Harrison, Kieran Hozack, Sasha Moustacas and Michael Richmond.
Year 9; Dante Bryan, Sacha Cohen, Massimo Di Napoli, Will Gibson, Harjot Mand, Dante Pontes-Cox, James Simpson and Max Valentine.
Year 10; Matthew Brock, Ben Elder, Luke Fadel, Shosei Fukushi and Bo McNamara.
In House sport Lacey won the Bronze Medal in the hotly contested “3 on 3” Basketball Competition. The boys pictured are the members of the Year Seven, Eight and Nine team. From left to right they are Nathaniel Phipps, Joseph Morris, Mitchell Reimer, Jonti Morsehead-Feidel, Daniel Malone, Will Gibson and Kieran Hozack. Representing the Senior team who also won the Bronze Medal were Jacob Gibson, Daniel Marando, Nathan Papageorgius and Stephen Morrisey.
Lacey Bronze Medallists in the 3 on 3 Competition
The Wellbeing program focused on the theme of “Virtus Sola Nobilitat”, the words inscribed beneath the Waverley College crest. These words have been translated to; ‘Virtue is its own reward’, suggesting that a person should not be motivated by a potential reward, but rather by the knowledge that whatever one does should be fundamentally good in itself. Throughout history certain people have distinguished themselves from the crowd and will forever be remembered as being truly exceptional. The boys have been asked “What will your legacy be”? “What footprints will you leave behind”? and “How will others remember you”? This challenge to our boys is a constant reminder that our daily actions shape who we are and dictate how we behave in challenging circumstances. Our Mentor groups were very active in the Men’s Health Week challenges coming away with several prizes for the quizzes and challenges. The image below shows Mrs Cassandra Foster’s group with their winning image of “Make your House” challenge.
Ms Ashleigh Della Marta’s group made an innovative project come to fruition with their Mother’s Day gift. The boys really got behind this activity and produced a wonderful present for this very important person in their lives.
The House Mass was well attended with a dramatic performance of the Gospel being the highlight of the Liturgical celebration. Thank you to Fr Bernie for celebrating the Mass for Lacey House.
Luke Fadel with Will Gibson, Harjot Mand and Ben Elder role play the Gospel
Looking forward to an enjoyable Term 3.
O’Connor House welcomed new students to the senior campus on the 31st of January, 2018. Students from Year 7 partnered up with their ‘Big Brothers’ in Year 12. Our Year 12 students were able to gently guide their new ‘Little Brothers’ around the school, and engaged in a number of activities aimed at making positive connections early.
To extend on the Big Brother/Little Brother Program in 2018, our Year 5 students were also partnered up with Year 10 students. This was designed to assist in building stronger relationships between our senior and junior students, with the intention of giving our younger members confidence in making the transition to high school as well as giving our senior students leadership opportunities.
Our new Year 7 started their journey into Senior School with a 3 day camp at Broken Bay Sport, Life and Recreation in Term 1. It is a great venue with personal and team building activities that provided the students and staff a flexible learning environment and an opportunity to form and build relationships.
In Week 3 of the Term we had the Senior College Swimming Carnival at Homebush Pool and the Junior School Carnival at the College Pool. The boys and staff of the O’Connor House demonstrated great enthusiasm and participation throughout both days. There was a lot of strong performers, however, the best performance of the day was out of the pool, where the boys demonstrated great spirit and passion, winning the House chants.
House assemblies each Friday morning have been beneficial in bringing the House together to build on the Year 12 theme of ‘Speak through Action’. I would like to congratulate and thank the House Prefects Tadgh Murphy, Reece Thorn, James Bodkin and Patrick Kossenberg who have displayed outstanding leadership in their roles and presented. Congratulations must also go to Joseph Moroney, Jerome Mendez and Harvey Papastamos who were elected mid-year Prefects. These assemblies provide time to build on our culture and recognise the great achievments by our students, particularly the large amount of students receiving Gold Awards for their great efforts and positive attitudes in class.
The Wellbeing Interviews took place on Monday 26th February. This was an opportunity for students and parents to catch up with our very supportive O’Connor House Wellbeing Mentors to review the individual student effort of 2017 and set important goals for the new year.
Throughout Term 1 our Fundraiser for the College Lent Charity was “The Ruben Centre”. O’Connor House also fundraised and organised Solar Buddies for the Ruben Centre to help assist young students living in energy poverty to complete homework and various tasks. We constructed the Solar Buddies during House Assembly and Wellbeing time and this allowed the students to work together to create the finished product.
The O’Connor House Mass in Term 2 was also a significant occasion for students in Years 5-12 to come together in prayer and reflection. The key theme of our Mass this year was “Speak through Action”. O’Connor House Prefect, James Bodkin, gave a thoughtful reflection on how students in O’Connor should focus on what good they can do for the community.
The 108th May Procession took place on Sunday the 6th of May. I would like to thank all O’Connor student’s and parents for their attendance, respect and reverence on display. It is a great tradition and one that remains very important and central to College life.
Good luck to the Year 12 students who will be sitting their Trial HSC Examinations exams in early Term 3. We will have our House Breakfast next term and I welcome all parents and students to join us at this informal gathering. I will email everyone when a date is finalised.
I would like to congratulate all students in O’Connor House for the positive start to the school year. I would especially like to thank the O’Connor Wellbeing Mentors for their wonderful support of students in O’Connor.
Thanks again for a great Semester and I wish everyone a restful and relaxed Holiday break.
Looking forward to seeing everyone next term.
Our main focus for Term 2, was social justice and raising awareness around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues and topics.
Quinn House recognised and celebrated Reconciliation Week with an important assembly acknowledging the importance of learning more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and culture. We explored the meaning behind reconciliation and how important it is as we move forward as a nation.
We also recently celebrated NAIDOC Week. The College hosted Dean Kelly, a community liaison officer with National Parks and Wildlife and a community activist involved with issues around indigenous communities, Youth Off the Streets and Juvenile Justice. Dean spoke about the disciplines that he lived his life by and how important it is, as young men, that our students also try to live their lives in accordance with: respect, patience, observation and responsibility. James Knight and Bellino Testafredda from Year 7 spoke about influential figures Mum Shirl and Mick Dodson, and the impact each has had on Aboriginal communities, rights and recognition. Thank you to all of our Quinn speakers who participated in the assembly.
We celebrated Mass together as a House and community. The Mass explored the Year 12’s theme: Speak through Action. The Quinn House Prefects spoke of how each Quinn student could use their actions to make a positive change at the College, in their friendship group, within their community and at home with their family. Parents also joined us for Mass. This was particularly special as we also shared breakfast as a community afterwards. Thank you to Davina O’Hara and the students who helped her prepare a beautiful breakfast for over 200 people.
We also have a number of students who deserve to be recognised for their incredible achievements this Term:
Congratulations to our Gold Awards winners this term:
| Patrick Abrahams | Nicholas Pineiro |
| Angus Anthony | Dylan Purbrick |
| Ben Campbell | Mario Rebollo |
| Hugh Clothier | Ronnie Roth |
| Harry Cox-Nugent | Axel Runow |
| Andrew Custodio | Xavier Schofield |
| Oliver Davis | Brynn Siltala |
| Ethan Flanagan | Darcy Standfield |
| William Heffeman | Bellino Testafredda |
| Charles Hely Hammond | Vin Toresellini |
| Charlie Hudson | Riley Vidulich |
| Axel Jeffries | Thomas Walker |
| Chris Kallo | |
| Aidan Korpar | |
| Thomas McMahon | |
| Kai Moonen-Narita |
The above students received more than 5 Blue Merit Awards from their class teachers for cooperation, achievement, leadership and effort.
Congratulations, also to Vin Torsellini who received a Head of College Award this Term for his outstanding efforts in class and in the playground.
I would also like to wish all those travelling on the Music Tour, Timor Leste Immersion and the Red Earth Immersions a safe and rewarding experience while away.
Wishing you and your family a restful holiday and I look forward to seeing you in Term 3.
Tevlin House has enjoyed a positive and rewarding second term of 2018, with students highly involved across our wellbeing, academic and co-curricular programs. The term began with all Tevlin boys participating in a highly successful May Procession, and concludes with Tevlin adorned in yellow and as a house chant says “going bananas” at the House Athletics Carnival.
Tevlin has enjoyed some further success across numerous sports activities in Term 2. Tevlin boys will have a highly enjoyable day at the Senior House Athletics Carnival on our last day of term, with a great opportunity to also welcome and involve our Junior School members to continue to be integrated into many of the great Tevlin experiences.
Elijah Heininger in action
Conor Molloy leads 1st XV by example
Men’s Health Week was also a fantastic opportunity for boys to challenge themselves in a variety of physical, mental and spiritual aspects, and many Tevlin boys and their fathers joined the Bondi Beach Pilates session. That week, Tevlin also competed with style in the House Basketball, placing 4th in Juniors and 6th in the Seniors divisions.
Oliver Small from Year 12 was inducted to the Tevlin House Prefect Body at an assembly early in the term, strengthening this group with his demonstrated leadership throughout the year. Oliver showed great resilience and the ability to lead in his humble but proactive manner, role-modelling many important virtues to younger students.
Damian Lin discusses Music with Year 10
All year groups have been challenged to rise up to a higher level of academic focus and achievement, and we encourage boys and families to discuss their Semester One reports and for boys to reflect on how they compare to the goals and targets they established for themselves at the beginning of the year. There can be areas for boys to be proud of in their academic development, while also identifying key aspects to address in Semester Two. All boys had a variety of half-yearly assessment tasks, while it was highly encouraging to see how well Year 5, 7 and 9 Tevlin boys worked through their NAPLAN tasks. Year 10 have been highly engaged in Allwell testing and Waverley’s Career Profile interviews, Study and Senior Subject seminars. Boys derived much benefit from these subject-specific sessions, which included Tevlin’s Damian Lin providing an engaging account of the strengths and value of choosing Music as an HSC Subject. Perri Quirk and Cooper Stynes were also presented with Head of College Academic Gold Awards, recognising their significant achievement, effort and leadership throughout the year.
Term 2 has seen daily meetings of Mentor Groups, with boys and their Mentors engaging strongly with some meaningful activities on the term’s theme of our School motto “Virtus Sola Nobilitat” – Virtue is its own reward. This has included units and activities on understanding our own personal strengths and traits, identifying positive virtues of others and identifying character strengths of people we aspire to be like. Mum Shirl was an example of an Australian demonstrating strong virtues, with these outlined as a part of NAIDOC Week, and Harry Whitaker from Tevlin 7 also presented a great personal account at a school assembly with some of his rewarding experiences from the Red Earth Emersion last year. In the upcoming holidays, 5 Tevlin students from Years 9-10 will engage in the 2018 indigenous emersion, including Ronan Schocher, Jackson Green, Leon Pallacio, Hugo Sewell and Barney Wilson. In addition, Logan Ryan, Harry Whitaker and Angus McPherson are travelling to Timor Leste on their Emersion, and we look forward to all these boys sharing their unique experiences with our House on their return. Refugee Week also presented many opportunities to better understand the issues surrounding the significant challenges of refugees and some of their contributions and benefits in our society.
Tev-LIN 1 in Men’s Health week challenge
Individual Term 2 Achievements and School Involvement
Collectively, Tevlin boys have been involved in significant Waverley events, with the School Production of Stories in the Dark showcasing both Waverley and Tevlin House’s talents. All boys and staff can be congratulated with the engaging manner and wonderful standard of the production. The two lead characters, played by Tevlin’s Ethan Vella and Riley Koltz, were outstanding in their character portrayals, and were backed up by very clever and often comical performances by Remy Crompton-Lamb and Perri Quirk. The hard work in preparation by these boys is to be commended, while Tevlin Mentors Ms Jinga and Mr Lamb were amazing in their co-ordination and direction of such a fantastic production.
Ethan Vella and Riley Klotz sensational in Stories in the Dark
Stories in the Dark Showcased Tevlin’s talent
A number of boys have made notable contributions and had some excellent achievements in Waverley sport, including:
Upcoming Events: Tevlin House Mass (Friday Aug 3) and Tevlin’s Winter Sleepout (Friday Aug 31)
All Tevlin students from Years 5-12 will be attending our annual House Mass at 8am on Friday August 3 (Week 2 of term 3). All parents and guardians are also warmly invited to join their boys on this morning as we celebrate the Eucharist.
Tevlin has its special House Social Justice issue in supporting homelessness and marginalised groups, and its major experience this year is the Winter Sleep Out. This event is an opportunity for boys to participate in an overnight stay in the Waverley College Gym, hear the real accounts of some people who have experienced homelessness and gain a greater understanding of a variety of its issues. This event is compulsory for Tevlin boys in Years 7,8,9,11 and 12.
Date and Time: 7pm Friday August 31, through to 7am Saturday September 1
Location: Waverley College Gymnasium
I wish all boys and their families a great term break and look forward to seeing everyone next term.
The College celebrated NAIDOC week this week by inviting Dean Kelly to speak to the students about self respect, discipline, the significance of our natural environments and the importance of finding a balance in our busy lives.
Lachlan Grant assisted Dean Kelly in performing a smoking ceremony. The ceremony symbolised the cleansing of bad spirits from the Assembly, while also ensuring those at the assembly were protected and welcomed.
Dean spoke to students about the four disciplines by which he lives his life: respect, patience, observation and responsibility.
Respect is a grounding principle and encompasses self respect, respect for others, equal respect for women and men and respect for the natural environment.
Dean spoke about the importance of patience and how we can use it as individuals to overcome anxiety and stresses in our lives.
Observation was given as a means to connect with self and observe our surroundings and their impact on us in our lives. As well as using our surroundings to enhance our daily life.
Finally, Dean spoke of responsibility and how important it is to start each day with ‘your head on right’ and the intention of ‘doing the right thing everyday’.
These four disciplines echoed Dean’s own life. He shared stories of his own struggles to help our students realise the importance of self awareness and self respect.
The assembly also recognised the important contributions Mick Dodson and Mum Shirl have made to the rights, recognition and lives of Aboriginal Australians. James Knight and Bellino Testafredda shared their findings and understandings about why these two individuals are so important in Australia’s history.
Finally, Harry Whitaker spoke of his learning experience that took place on the Red Earth Immersion in 2017. He described the openness of the communities he visited and their willingness to share their culture, stories and history. He shared the life lessons he took away from his time in community and the many ways in which the community celebrated their culture, pride and future.
NAIDOC week is celebrated nationally from July 8th to July 15th.
As we head towards the T2 holidays it’s a good opportunity to remind parents of the FamilyZone partnership Waverley established at the start of the year.
The FamilyZone software can be installed on your sons school Macbook to provide you as parents/guardians a level of control over internet use on that device whilst at home. Additionally, you are able to install and setup the app on your sons mobile device to provide a similar level of control.
We already have over 200 families who have taken up the offer and subscribed using the product to manage internet usage in the home. Joining up is simple and the first step is to complete an Onboarding request
If you are an existing FamilyZone Customer on a paid plan we can also have your subscription moved across onto the free account. Please contact iAssist if you wish to do this.
More details on the FamilyZone Community pack offer can be found at our FamilyZone Landing page
For current trends and topics around Cybersafety have a look at the FamilyZone blog
On Tuesday June 19th, 25 Year 11 Studies of Religion 2 Unit students, accompanied by Ms Binyamin and Mrs Jones, walked to Moriah College to attend an Interfaith Conference with students from Moriah College and St. Catherine’s School. The day consisted of talks by guest speakers from the three Abrahamic Faiths, group discussions on topical issues such as religious diversity in Australia and a tour of the college. It was interesting to visit the Synagogue as the focal point of Moriah College and also to learn that their canteen does not sell meat or dairy products. Each school had representatives present on significant prayer in their faith. Waverley College students presented on the significance of Marian prayers and all joined in the Hail Mary. The students found the day very interesting, immersed in Judaism, and this experience greatly enhanced their learning. This is a significant annual interfaith event where Waverley students have the opportunity to connect with other schools and peers.
MindTime is conducting a one-day workshop for Year 12 students in Bondi Junction on the 20th July, 2018 from 9am-3pm.
The program covers:
From the co-founder of Mindtime: You might find it interesting that “in a sample of 397 adolescents, students who were flourishing reported superior grades, higher self control and lower procrastination than students who were moderately mentally healthy or languishing (Howell, 2009). Similarly, in a study of 300 students, students with the highest wellbeing at one time point demonstrated the strongest academic performance (grade point average) and lowest rates of school absences one year later” (Suldo, Thalji, & Ferron, 2011). (Literature Review- Academic benefits of Wellbeing).
Year 7 recently had the pleasure of participating in a session of the Library’s Teacher Reading Aloud Program.
Our readers were:
Mr O’Donnell – The Martian by Andy Weir
Ms Attard – Gansta Granny by David Walliams
Ms Jinga – The October Game by Ray Bradbury from Journey through horror
Mr Lamb – Yuggles from Paul Jennings Funniest stories
Thank you to all our readers for volunteering their time in an effort to inspire our boys to read.
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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