On Monday and Tuesday this week, four staff from the College including myself, Elizabeth Watson, Director of Teaching and Learning; Stephanie Boyce, Academic Enrichment Co-ordinator; and Kaitlyn Downey, the ILeader Co-ordinator attended the 2018 Visual Learning Seminar held at the Australian Technology Park, Redfern.
This year’s theme was ‘The Story Behind the Data’. The key note speaker was international education expert John Hattie who created sessions focused around explaining the types of behaviours that will contribute to developing collective efficacy, the inter-relatedness between the strands, and the connection between the collective teacher, leader, and student efficacy.
Much of the data presented will form the basis of the College’s next Strategic Plan which will have a significant emphasis on teaching and learning at the College.
Our group heard from top-tier practitioners on the critical impact that cultivating collective efficacy can have on our students, classrooms and College.
Practically we were given the skills how to translate current research (much of which comes in the form of meta data) into practice to build capacity and significantly improve learner outcomes by aligning all levels within the College from Year 5 through until Year 12.
Staff gained insights into the latest learning innovations from world’s top educational leaders and we were given practical examples how to maximise student potential.
Importantly. we shared our thoughts and practice with over one thousand educators from across Australia and Asia Pacific, who have had direct experience putting Visible Learning methods into practice and explore what we can do to make a difference in our classrooms.
A message from NESA for parents and carers of Year 5, 7 and 9 students 2018.
In 2018 NAPLAN will begin moving from pencil and paper tests to online tests in some states and territories. Waverley College is one of the NSW schools that will do NAPLAN Online in 2018. The move to NAPLAN Online means new benefits for your son’s school including better assessment and greater student engagement.
This week Waverley held a successful practice online test for all students of Year 5, 7 and 9.
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses the literacy and numeracy skills of students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, in schools across Australia.
NAPLAN assesses writing, language conventions, reading and numeracy.
NAPLAN results will help you understand how your child is progressing through school.
More information can be found on the following links.
On 14 March the Year 12 Marine Studies students travelled to Maianbar Beach to meet with local Fish Care volunteers for a day of fishing. Throughout the day the students learnt to catch their own live bait by pumping for red nippers, bait their hooks and perfect their casting techniques.
Once all of the boys got over their fear of sticking their hands in the bucket of live nippers, they were able to successfully bait their hooks and catch some fish. The first fish of the day was caught by Justin, a nice Bream, unfortunately too small to keep. The biggest catch of the day came from Lachie and equally as impressive Mr Chen with a couple of Whiting. Isaac and Corey caught 4 fish, the most fish of the day, impressing the volunteers and frustrating his classmates yet to get a nibble.
The boys are very much looking forward to going on their next fishing trip to continue to develop their angling skills.
With heads still being shaved and donations still rolling in, it gives me great pleasure to report that our online total has exceeded the 2018 target of 15,000. Waverley College currently sits as the 30th placed school Nationwide for fundraising. With the cash donations collected last Thursday yet to be credited to our official total we will no doubt continue to climb the leaderboard.
Once again a huge thank you to all of our boys who “braved the shave” and especially to Thomas Carey for his courage and maturity in sharing his family’s story at the College Assembly last week. Our thoughts and prayers get out to all members of are College community who may have been touched by this terrible illness. No doubt the overwhelming generosity and kindness of spirit shown by everybody who supported this fantastic initiative will help support those currently fighting their own battles with Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma.
Last Thursday night approximately 250 parents from Waverley College, St Clare’s and St Charles attended a presentation from renowned Psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg on the eve of the National Day of Action Against Bullying.
The presentation covered topics such as the definition of bullying, consequences of bullying, the role of the school in providing a safe and supportive environment for all students, what to do as a parent if your son is being bullied, what to do as a parent if your son is bullying others. A full copy of Michael’s presentation as well as the documents referred to can be found below.
During Friday’s House Assemblies all boys from Year 5-12 were asked to take a stand together in recognition of the National day of Action Against Bullying and Violence. Each boy received a post-it-note and was asked to come up with their own promise on how they would “Speak Through Action” to make Waverley College a bullying free zone. Some examples from our School Captains and Year 12 Prefects were provided to get the boys thinking.
In total 1500 color coded post-it-notes, each containing a pledge from staff and students were strategically placed on to a blank canvas to create our “Helping Hand”. This formed a symbol that when it comes to Bullying and Violence Waverley College says “No Way”. A big thank you to the Art Faculty, Media Club, SRC and Student Leaders for making such a huge production run so seamlessly. The finished product will be displayed in the Student Wellbeing Centre.
A full copy of the Waverley College bullying policy can be found in the A-Z of Wellbeing in the Student Diary. We strongly urge all students to report incidents of bullying to their Head of House. This can be done in person, via email or online via the “Incident Report” facility on the Sentral Family Portal.
All students in Year 7-12 were emailed a copy of the 2018 Waverley College Bullying Survey. If your son has not yet completed this please remind him to do so. We encourage families to engage in a conversation with your son about bullying. The following conversation starters from the “Bullying No Way” website may prove useful.
First, make sure you have a clear idea yourself by checking out the formal definition of bullying at What is bullying? You can also find ways to describe bullying that are suitable for children of various ages here.
Point out that bullying is not just when someone is mean to you once, but it happens over and over and makes you feel like you can’t stop it. If you want, you could use some of these questions:
https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/TeachingAboutBullying/Pages/Talking-about-bullying.aspx#Anchor1
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is everywhere and shapes our everyday experiences, meaning STEM education is vital and we need to encourage students to understand and embrace these core subject areas. The STEM tour, running in 2019, will expose students to a new realm of learning experiences centered around the space industry in the United States of America.
You can find out more about the application process, costs and dates at a STEM Tour information night, on Thursday 5th April at 6.30pm in the TAS building.
Further information can be found at the following link
https://hakaeducationaltours.com/private/waverley-college-stem-tour-usa-2019/
If you would like to attend, please let us know by clicking on the link and filling in the form.
As we continue on our Lenten journey this week let us pray:
Loving and Merciful God,
The tiny sacrifices that we make during this Lenten period remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. Help us to live our lives according to the path that Jesus taught us.
Let your love shine out from within us and guide our lives in this sacred journey toward the Easter joy you offer.
We ask you this, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
St Mary of the Cross: Pray for Us
Blessed Edmund Rice: Pray for Us
Live Jesus in our Hearts: Forever
It never ceases to amaze me that our boys can be so generous, always looking for ways to help others. Social justice is alive and flourishing at the Junior School. Over the past few weeks a number of boys have really stood out for their actions in raising money for Project Compassion and The World’s Greatest Shave, raising thousands of dollars between them.
The tradition for Confirmation has always been to receive the sacrament in the person’s parish of worship. The 2018 Confirmation programme offered at Waverley Junior School is for students who are members of St Charles Borromeo Parish, Mary Immaculate Church, Waverley. This is for students who live within the parish boundaries and identify as members of this parish. For enrolment forms and further information, please contact Mr Davis (Senior College) and Mr Ghattas (Junior School).
Enrolment forms need to be filled in and returned to school before Friday 13th April (Term 1 Week 11).
Please note the following dates regarding Confirmation:
On Wednesday, April 4, from 6.30pm to 8pm the Senior College Library is hosting an entertaining and informative evening with Australian Author, Will Kostakis.
Will Kostakis is an award winner author who has published numerous novels and stories, and has an enviable list of achievements to his name. He will inspire and inform us on how to get boys to read and ways to develop good writing skills and habits.
A light supper will be served. Please rsvp by email or phone to William Roberts, Head of Library.
Email: wroberts@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Phone: 9369 0671
Last Saturday saw the conclusion of the first half of summer sports program. The same teams will compete in Term 4 for the second half of the competition. It is always great to see every boy at The Junior School participating in our sports program. The comments re the boys at training and the games have been overwhelmingly positive. Bring on the winter season.
Sport isn’t just about winning or losing. For our sports coaches, the focus is on teaching young boys fundamental skills, both sports-related and life lessons. As parents, you can reinforce the following eight life lessons every boy learns from sport.
Mistakes will occur on the training field and on game day. That’s okay. Life is about making mistakes then learning from them. Parents and coaches can challenge players to evaluate their actions and then provide guidance on how to learn from them. The same applies to failure. Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, “Anything I’ve ever attempted, I was always willing to fail… You can’t be paralysed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself.” In life, as in sport, you will never succeed if you are always worried about losing.
Boys have the opportunity to take on leadership roles in youth sports. This helps them develop confidence in their ability to make decisions and positively influence others. Equally, sport teaches boys how to be followers by taking instruction from the coach or captain, respectfully questioning authority, and learning to be patient with others.
Sport is a great setting to learn how to set goals and determine what constitutes success or failure. For a lot of coaches, youth sport isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about setting achievable goals that can be reached through factors within the boy’s control.
There is almost always a right and wrong way to win. Good sportsmanship is something that all coaches and parents should teach. This doesn’t just apply to winning, but also learning how to lose gracefully. In the short-term losing can hurt, but it’s important that we teach our boys to lose with dignity.
A good coach helps players to identify their strengths and weaknesses so that they can contribute well to the team. Knowing their best traits can help boys work out what to do later in life. Likewise, knowing their weaknesses will guide them to know when to ask for help from others.
Sport is frustrating no matter what age you are. For boys, this frustration can be magnified by the hormonal changes taking place in their body. To add to this, sports can be stressful. This is an opportunity for players to learn how to deal with the nerves and stress they feel from a young age. This will benefit boys later in life.
It’s a tough lesson to learn when you’re young but one that every boy learns at some stage. Injuries happen, referees make mistakes and winning is not guaranteed. Sulking about it won’t change anything. Players have to learn to deal with setbacks and move on.
Most boys have a lot of things to keep them busy — sport, school, friends, homework, maybe even a part-time job. The best way to handle everything is to prioritise their time and stick to a schedule. Good time-management is something that you can help your son develop when he is young, so that it benefits him as a young adult.
Last Wednesday, ten Year 10 boys had the honour of attending the ‘Justice Literary Event 2018’ that was hosted by the Edmund Rice Centre at Santa Sabina College.
We all woke up nice and early to get to the train from Bondi Junction at 7:45am. Throughout the day, we were accompanied by Ms Attard and Ms Miller, who both take great interest in the Arts and literature. The day was an opportunity for students and teachers who are involved in the Arts to understand how themes of social justice, human rights and eco-justice in literature, music, song and art can powerfully raise awareness in society, and help build the skills and capacity for change.
We heard from some fantastic speakers, including the amazing Mem Fox, the author of Possum Magic, Professor Munjed Al-Muderi, Robin Morrow, Phil Glendenning and Jill Finnane. The Director of the Edmund Rice Centre, Mr Glendenning presented an intriguing look into the refugee experience and helped us to understand the kind of abuses that refugees are subjected to on an almost daily basis in Australian detention centres.
This speech was followed up by Professor Munjed Al-Muderi, who himself was a refugee. He showed the refugee crisis from his own experience and perspective. His speech was particularly moving as he truly demonstrated to all of us what it means to suffer but to remain hopeful for the future.
After this, we heard Mem Fox give a fascinating and hilarious speech about the use of books in social justice. She demonstrated to us how she explored themes of racial prejudice and eco-justice throughout her children’s book whilst lamenting that she doesn’t believe her books can ‘change the world.’ However, she would be unable to sleep at night if she had not at least made an attempt. Dr Robin Morrow also gave a speech in which she explored the use of art in children’s literature to reflect social justice concepts and ideals.
All the boys who attended found the day to be a humorous, moving and an overall beautiful experience to witness some of the greatest minds in literature and the arts at work.
In his recent article, The Guardian’s Bradley Busch investigates whether listening to music while studying actually helps the learning process, as many students claim it does.
He uncovers a study from the Applied Psychology Department at Cardiff Metropolitan University, which found that students who revised in quiet environments performed more than 60% better in an exam than their peers who revised while listening to music with lyrics.
The findings show that;
Busch also explores related research in this field and how it relates to the classroom.
Read the full article here.
Dear Parents of Year 7 Students,
Each year NSW Health works with Waverley College to offer the vaccines recommended for adolescents. In 2018, the following vaccinations will be offered to Year 7 students:
The Parent Information Kits for all Year 7 students will be distributed this week at the college. Please complete these consent forms as soon as possible so your son can return the document to the Health Centre by the end of this week. The first scheduled date for the Public Health Immunisation team visit is Tuesday the 10th of April, 2018 (Week 11).
Please note that the physical card must be returned. Public Health will not accept any electronic/emailed or scanned copies. Parental/guardian consent is required for students to be vaccinated. Parents/guardians who wish to withdraw their consent for any reason may do so by phoning the Public Health Unit directly on (02) 9382 8333
Thank you for your assistance and support to ensure the success of this important public health program. If you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to email the Health Centre: healthcentre@waverley.nsw.edu.au
The swimming season has once again come to an end with the CAS Swimming Championships last Thursday the 15th of March. The Waverley swim team trained hard throughout the summer season, and all their efforts paid off on the night. With Year 8, 10 and 11 cheering them on, the team swam some amazing times and ultimately held on to 4th place ahead of St Aloysius and Cranbrook.
The entire swim team deserve to be congratulated for their efforts on the night, but some particularly memorable performances deserve special mention:
All the Waverley competitors who swam on the night contributed to a total points score of 353 points, which is very impressive when compared to our 333 points last year and 318 the year before.
The following boys were recognised at presentation night for their efforts throughout the swimming season:
The entire swimming squad had a fantastic season, and finished it off with an outstanding performance at CAS. Congratulations to all the boys, particularly our amazing captains, and thank you to the staff and parents who helped to make it such a great season. Now it’s on to the CIS Championships in two weeks time.
Waves to Win!
There was definitely a little bit of Summer in the opening weekend of the Winter Sport Season! Well done to all players and coaches who started the season off very impressively with some high quality trials as well as energetic training sessions in some age groups.
A big thank you to all those parents and friends who assisted in such hot conditions on the canteen – supplying refreshments to players and spectators. It was fantastic to see so much support from so many members of the community in the first week. Thank you!
This week we are expecting to receive a mixture of weather with some hot and cold conditions predicted. All players are asked to please keep an eye on any emails which may be sent out (to student emails) to indicate if trainings will still go ahead or if any age group meetings may take place – should the bad weather hit.
CAS Sevens & Internal Trials
This Saturday (24 March) 15 players in each group will be involved in the CAS Sevens at various CAS venues across Sydney. Venues and playing times are listed below:
Coaches will have informed players if they have gained selection in this side. Team lists will also appear on the Team App. Players involved are to be at each respective venue at least 30 minutes before kickoff.
All other players will be involved in Internal Trial matches at Queens Park. This includes all those students returning from Cadet Camp (who are not involved with CAS Sevens). Players involved in trials are reminded that they need a Waverley jersey and a “Colour” (non-Waverley) jersey.
Team App
For those who are not aware, Waverley College Rugby has a Team App. This contains information including weekly draws, playing venues, team lists (updated weekly), gallery, news articles and live scores.
You can access the Team App at https://www.teamapp.com where you can simply search for “Waverley College Rugby” and request access.
You are also able to download the Team App to your iPhone/iPad/Smartphone device by going to the App Store and again search for “Team App” (created by Team Mates). Once downloaded to your device you can then search for “Waverley College Rugby” and request access. An admin (Waverley College Staff Member) will then be able to grant access.
Lost Property
Already, lost property is starting to pop up at the conclusion of trainings. Lost property will either be kept at the Queens Park Pavilion (top level) or taken up to the Waverley College Wellbeing Centre. I highly recommend all players label their kit with their name and a contact number, so any found items can be returned to the owners.
Good luck to all players involved in the CAS Sevens as well as players involved in Internal Trials.
WAVERLEY TO WIN!
The last few weeks have seen the Football trials take place as students are put through skill and trial matches to help with team selections. I would like to thank the coaches for their organisation of teams and getting the season off to a great start. As team selections are finalised, I would like to remind parents and players that players are able to change teams throughout the season.
We also have a change this year with the 1st XI playing all of their home games on Queens Park 1. Last weekend during the trials the 1st and 2nd XI had the opportunity to trial on the field. It was great to see the players from the 1st and 2nds trialing on the field and using the new goals.
The CAS Blitz competition for all A’s groups are on this weekend at various CAS School. Can I please ask that all players involved arrive 45 minutes in advance and are wearing their correct playing gear. This includes the Waverley Jersey, shorts and socks. Locations, times and addresses can be found on the fixtures.
Team app is being used by Football to deliver all the latest news, fixtures and results, TeamApp is available for Apple and android devices. To join search Waverley College Football and request to join.
This year we will be holding the Waverley College Football Development program at Waverley Oval on Friday mornings. Bookings can be made through https://www.trybooking.com/UVOJ
This year we will be running a holiday camp for any student in football over the second week of the school holidays. Details on the camp can be found on the below flyer and bookings can be made through the following link https://www.trybooking.com/UVOL
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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