TRANSPORT ARRANGEMENTS
All students will be transported to and from Homebush by Bus.
IMPORTANT – Students who wish to travel by bus to Hurstville Railway Station or Maroubra Junction on the return journey must register their names at the Front Office no later than Tuesday 12 September.
Periods 1-4 will be as normal for students in Year 7, 9 & 12.
All other Year Groups (8, 10 & 11) will have a full normal school day.
Any student who has signed up for the Maroubra or Hurstville bus will be given a wristband to get onto the bus. Only those with wristbands will be allowed to travel on either of these 2 buses.
Hurstville Station & Maroubra (cnr Anzac Parade & Maroubra Rd) students will take their bags with them, all other bags for Years 7, 9 and 12 are to be left at school in school lockers.
Some food and a drink will be provided for each student attending the Carnival.
SCHEDULE
11.00 am: Bus 1 & 2 departs with athletes and athletics staff / coaches
1.15pm: Move in House groups to load buses, under direction of the Deputy Head of College, Head of Sport and Heads of House.
2.15pm: Arrival at Homebush
2.15pm – 8.00 pm: CAS Athletics Championships
8.15 pm: Board Buses to Waverley College, Maroubra & Hurstville Station
RETURN TIMES:
– approx 9.00pm in Birrell St
– approx. 9.10pm at Hurstville Railway Station (Ormonde St)
– approx. 9.10pm at Maroubra (cnr Anzac Parade & Maroubra Rd).
If you have any problems or enquiries regarding the day please do not hesitate to call at the College on 9369 0600.
Thursday September 14 is RUOK? Day. Waverley College has very strong links to this charity through the Larkin family, in particular with Gus Larkin (Class of 2016) who passed away in 2013.
The class of 2016, Gus’s classmates, would like this initiative to continue through supporting this charity and raising awareness for suicide prevention.
Cakes will be sold on Thursday 14th September at recess (10.15am – 10.35am) and this is where we need your help. If you are able to bake/supply some cakes or biscuits it would be greatly appreciated. These cakes will be sold at recess for a gold coin donation.
Please drop cakes off to school reception on Thursday morning.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Donna Drew via email at donna-drew@bigpond.com.
Student NAPLAN results should now have arrived at home for all of our students. Here at school our curriculum staff have been analysing the results, and they are very pleasing. Early analysis shows our student growth is strong across the entire school.
Overall we are seeing significant benefits from the curriculum-wide writing programs we have been delivering for the past year. Our Year 7 students have attained literacy growth at a higher rate than the NSW average and the Association of Independent Schools (AIS) average, including in reading, writing, spelling and grammar.
The average literacy growth for our Year 9 students is greater than growth for the average State student and AIS student in reading and writing. While growth in spelling, grammar and punctuation was not quite as strong in Year 9, I expect that our new ‘Literacy for Learning’ program, commenced this term across the Junior School and Senior School and being rolled out extensively over the next two years, will have a big impact in improving these results for 2018. It will see explicit literacy instruction embedded into lessons across all of your son’s subjects.
In numeracy, Waverley students also showed strong performances. The average Waverley student enters Year 5 at around 11 scale scores below that of students at AIS Schools; but by Year 9 the Waverley average score is equal to average AIS scores.
Year 9 students have naturally been anxious about gaining high enough band levels to secure their Higher School Certificate. I’m pleased to note that the number of students who failed to meet the Band 8 standard is lower than expected and that we anticipate the vast majority of these students will succeed in achieving the required standard on their future attempts, commencing next year.
This week we have participated in the trials for the online delivery of NAPLAN testing. The college is well equipped for this testing, with excellent wifi infrastructure and 1:1 laptops for each student. The tests were a great learning experience for our IT team, teachers and students in relation to this new approach to examinations.
Graham Leddie oversees the NAPLAN online testing trial.
It was a privilege to attend the combined St Clare’s College and Waverley College Visual Arts and TAS show hosted by St Clare’s last night. I was impressed with the high standard of work but also the insight it provided into our students’ creative thought processes and the depth of understanding they shared of life, its struggles and beauty. Congratulations to Ms Tanya Schneider and Mr Garth Aird and their respective teams on the high quality of the work displayed. Good luck to all our Art, Music, Drama and TAS students who are presenting their HSC performances and major works for marking at the moment. From the high standard of many of the works I have seen, I am expecting excellent results.
At the Art & TAS Exhibition with staff and guest speaker Lorraine Kypiotis of the National Art School.
I spoke to our Year 12 students this week regarding the importance of finishing their final year of schooling positively. They have led our College with distinction this year and managed some significant changes extremely well. I spoke to them about the pressures that will come into play as the ‘business end’ of their HSC approaches, and I let them know that this will be a time when their character and maturity is likely to be tested. I encourage all of our community to be active in their support of these young men for their final few weeks at the College. Parents of Year 12 students, please have a word to your son about the College’s high expectations and the risks and consequences for poor decision making at this specific time. It is time to finish off strong and shine.
The Blue and Gold Ball last Friday was an outstanding example of the strength of our College community, with the Cosgrove Centre bursting at the seams with parents and friends of the college. After a hiatus of 40 years, the event had all of the colour and elegance of old. The attendance of our celebrity guest for the evening, Olympian, Bronte Campbell added extra glamour to the evening. I’m very pleased to confirm that the night raised in excess of $70,000. Combined with our annual giving project, this means that over $100,000 will now be exclusively targeted at improvements to college infrastructure. Feedback from the event has been overwhelmingly positive. I’d like to extend my very sincere thanks to all of our supporters for their generous donations and assistance. Special thanks also go to our Development Manager, Rebecca Curran for her great work on these projects and the team of parents that supported Rebecca so well.
Cutting the cake with Special Guest for the evening, Olympian, Bronte Campbell
Congratulations to all students who received a Winter Sports Award last week. Mr O’Donnell published his speech and recognised all award winners in last week’s newsletter, but I would like to make special mention of Ben Donaldson who was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal. Named after the founder of the Modern Olympic Games, the Pierre de Coubertin Award recognises students who demonstrate academic excellence and sporting prowess whilst exemplifying the Olympic values. Each award recipient must participate in sport and display the Olympic values, in particular, good sportsmanship. Well done, Ben.
Please make every effort to attend our Parent Association’s second Parent Forum of the year, which promises to be full of useful tips and information for parents. Sonya Karras is a renowned speaker who helps parents guide their adolescents towards safely managing partying, drugs and alcohol. She shares her strategies in a no-nonsense and humorous way that parents will enjoy.
Sonya’s fellow author, Sacha Kaluri will also present on the night, providing you with strategies for encouraging your son to investigate and plan for his future career.
This great evening will be held in the Gym on 6 September at 6.30pm. Please register here. I hope to see you there.
God of Joyful Blessings,
As we participate in our Athletics Carnival this week, let us pray that it will be a time of celebration for our school community as we share our skills, efforts and enthusiasm, working together in our teams for the benefit and joy of the whole community.
Bless the teachers and parents who are giving so generously of their time to help make the carnival a wonderful day and being here to support us.
We pray in gratitude for our House Captains and Student Leaders who will be working hard to encourage team spirit and sportsmanship.
Let is be a reminder to us that we should always try our best in all that we do, displaying the skills and talents God has given us. Help us to accept defeat without disappointment and success without arrogance.
May we all continue to grow together in a spirit of joy and friendship. This we ask through Christ our Lord
Amen.
Blessed Edmund Rice: Pray for Us
Mary, Mother of God Pray for Us
Live Jesus in our Hearts: Forever
The Junior School Staff and Students send our heartfelt thoughts, prayers and sympathy to Mr Banboukjian and all the family on the death of his Father, Leon at the age of 82, on Tuesday 25 July. The Junior School gathered on the playground on Tuesday morning to share the sad news and Mr Ghattas lead the boys in prayer. We ask that the grace and strength of the Lord be sent their way at this difficult time. Please keep them all in your prayers.
LACHLAN GRANT – For spending a day in the first week of his holidays at Bellevue Hill Public School with his brother. Lachlan was sharing his knowledge of Indigenous Culture as part of NAIDOC Week with the children at his old school. He was sharing information and showing aboriginal artefacts to all the classes. What a wonderful selfless act in giving up the time to do something that means so much to you, your family and the community. We were lucky enough to have had Lachlan’s mum, Fran, here for our NAIDOC Week Assembly in week one
MATTHEW WONG & MAX GOMEZ – Well done to these boys who gave up some of their time for charity at the beginning of the school holidays. Both boys and family sacrificed a few hours of their holiday play time to support a charity called ‘Thread Together’ to prepare, sort and pack boxes of clothes for the Matthew Talbot homeless and the Women’s Justice Centre. We are ALL very proud of their efforts and thought it is worth sharing with you and the school community – Isn’t it great to see what you can do to make a small difference to the world – Fabulous Effort!
CongratulationsWell done to the following boys for their performances in the 2017 International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) – Spelling Competition – Awards were given out at this week’s Honour Assembly:
Distinction Awards
Year 6:
Will O’Connor (top 10% in Australia)
Year 5:
Ewan McDonald (top 10% in Australia)
Credit Awards
Year 5:
Hunter Eldridge
Year 6 :
Jake Perks
Gabe Phillips
Conor Black
William Perkins
Hugh McDonald
Aiden Mahoney
Jack Crotty
Thomas Holroyde
Matthew Wong
Jules Cibej
Merit Awards
Year 5:
Freddy Maree
Campbell Porteus
Practice for Wakakirri is now in full swing and the boys are really enjoying themselves. It is great to see the boys get so excited when the announcement over the PA calls all those involved Wakakirri. The boys perform at NIDA on Monday 7 August.
Please note the date for the Individual and Class photos is Wednesday 9 August. Can I ask you ensure your son is at school on this date as the photos cannot be rescheduled.
If anyone has photos from Saturday sport or any other Waverley College event that they would like to share with the rest of the College community could I ask you to send them in on a disk or memory stick to the Junior School office.
This message came in this week from NSW CIS Golf Convenor, Grant Andrews:
Please see below the NSWCIS GOLF TEAM for 2017. I would like to thank you all for nominating this year. It was the most nominations we have had in the 6 Years that I have been doing the job. It was also the strongest field by far with all boys who made the team having a handicap of under 20.
Mr Andrews selected an eleven-player squad and we would like to congratulate, Maximillian Fischer of 5 Red, for being selected. There have been very few boys from the Junior School who have ever achieved this. Well done Max on being in an exclusive club.
The culmination of our winter house sports competition – Blitz Day was held last Wednesday in sunny but cool conditions. It was great to see all the boys so involved and excited about representing their different houses. Congratulations to Tevlin and O’Connor House on their outstanding win.
Well done to the following boys who won Best on Ground for the Colour Competition this year:
Rugby
Year 5 – Christian Robbins
Year 6 – Ryan Harper
Football
Year 5 – Alfie Griffiths
Year 6 – Vidar Sundkvist
A big thank you to Mr Ryan for his great organisation of the day – very much appreciated by all the boys.
The Junior School annual Athletics Carnival at E S Marks Field was held at Moore Park this week on Wednesday 26 July.
A glorious day met us as we headed off in busses to the venue. From here Mr Ryan lead the boys through a wonderful day that was physically demanding as every last effort went into each event from 800 metres races to three-legged races. The stands were filled with happy faces as the boys socialised and mingled in their houses enjoying the company of their peers.
It was great to see so many Parents attend to share the day with us and cheer on their boys and the different houses.
Congratulations to O’Connor House for claiming the day as the best House on Ground and to all our House Champions who should make up the bulk of our Athletics Squad for the upcoming season along with other boys chosen in specific disciplines.
Thanks to Mr Ryan on yet another well organised day and all staff for your assistance.
Results for the day were as follows:
| !st – O’Connor | NO FIFTH |
| 2nd – Green & Tevlin | 6th – Aungier |
| NO THIRD | 7th – Conlon |
| 4th – Lacey & QUINN | 8th – Brennan |
| Y6 U/12 | Y5 U/11 |
| 1st Ryan HARPER | 1st Campbell PORTEUS |
| = 2nd Archie McINALLY, Lachlan GRANT | = 2nd Tashi HARRISON, Eden BYRD |
| NO THIRD | NO THIRD |
| 4th Billy LYONS | 4th Milan MANN |
| Y6 U/11 | Y5 U/10 |
| 1st Jesse GARRATT | 1st Zachary DUANE |
| 2nd Oliver NEATE | 2nd Joe MOHI |
| 3rd Thomas JOHNSON | = 3rd Cameron PIERCE, Will SWEETMAN, Thomas McKENNA |
| 4th Callum PENNY |
The 29th Annual Junior School Walkathon is taking place towards the end of this term and boys will be seeking sponsorship to raise money for several different charities that we have been supporting. Last year we raised over $50 000. We would be grateful of your support in donating to the boys should they ask over the next few weeks. This is a wonderful example of the Edmund Rice philosophy in practise. If you would like to contribute by donating goods or services as rewards for the boys’ efforts please contact Anthony Gill in the Junior School.
Parents of boys who are currently in the U11 and U10 Rugby Squads please note the following:
Over the next few weeks we will be naming the Armidale Squad for 2018. Throughout the season we have been listing payers we are interested in taking into our U/12 Armidale Rugby Squads for 2018. Coaches have been watching and recommending players throughout the season and Mr Harris has taken every chance to look at the players on Saturdays, Wednesday Colour Comp and at the recent Blitz Day. At this stage, ALL boys have been looked at from U10s, U/11 Sevens and U/11 15-A-side Rugby. Discussions have now become serious with only two rounds of our season to go before the current coaches sit down to select hopefully a 40-player U/12 Squad. No further grading into teams will be done until next year, however, before we make our final choices we will need to know if your son is available for consideration. NOTES WERE GIVEN OUT ON FRIDAY 21/7 to any boy interested in being considered.
Rugby numbers are much smaller this year and we will need to make an early decision as to whether we have enough players. This will mean either we select a 20-player squad (1 team) or 40-player squad (2 teams) to take away to Armidale. This has not yet been decided. Initial numbers based on verbal interest from the boys is as low as 45 players. If this was to drop below 40 once we get parental commitment to the tour then we would seriously need to consider only taking one squad to Armidale for the first time in many years.
Next year’s carnival is runs from Friday 13 April to Sunday 15 April; the FIRST weekend of the Term 1 School Holidays 2018. THE CARNIVAL IS IN THE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS and usually costs approximately $350 per boy.
U/10 and U/11 Rugby Parents are asked to check if your son has given you the detailed note and permission slip handed out on 21 July. These are due back at school by Friday 28 July.
40-player Squad Breakdown:
Preference will be given to students who can play at least two positions and who have impressed in trials and this season.
Students from the 2017 U/10 team are permitted to put their names forward for selection, but we need them to be aware that it is an U/12 carnival and their involvement if selected would be with the full knowledge that they would be playing up an age group. We have always taken a few U/10 boys if we have felt they are good enough to make the squad, but parents need to be aware that it is an U/12 Tournament.
Today at College Assembly the prayer acknowledged NAIDOC week and we celebrated the academic achievement of students in Years 10,11 and 12. I believe that Einstein was correct when he said, “intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.” He was challenging all of us, students, parents, support staff and teachers at the College to keep learning no matter what stage of life we are at; to keep developing and challenging ourselves to be better, to learn from the past, to understand different perspectives, different cultures and different methodologies. Education is not just about the individual, it is about our wider community progressing and society developing as a whole.
Kofi Annan the seventh Secretary General of the United Nations said, “… education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rests the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable development.”
Since 2005, the Australian Government has developed a bipartisan strategy known as ‘Closing the Gap’ that aims to reduce disadvantage among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with respect to life expectancy, child mortality, educational achievement and employment opportunities. The Closing the Gap strategy has resulted in some improvements, but national statistics indicate that there is still a long way to go.
As a Catholic school in the Edmund Rice tradition, we have four touchstones that are at the crux of what we do and how we should do it:
All four touchstones have key elements that traverse what the Closing the Gap strategy is trying to achieve.
The College has recently partnered with the John Moriarty Foundation to assist Indigenous students from the remote Northern Territory, near the gulf country, to have access here at Waverley College to wider educational opportunities.
John Moriarty was born in Borroloola, Northern Territory to a tribal Aboriginal woman and an Irishman from County Kerry. As such he was classified as ‘half-caste’. The government policy at that time was generally to remove ‘half-caste’ children from ‘full-blood’ mothers. John was removed from his mother at four years of age, making him part of the Stolen Generation. He was placed in a home for Aboriginal children at Mulgoa in the west of Sydney, and a few years later was moved to Adelaide.
Education played an important part in John’s life and he went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts and was later a recipient of a Churchill Fellowship.
John Moriarty AM
John served in various departments of Aboriginal affairs, both state and federal and on the Board of Indigenous Business Australia. He also holds a Advance Australia Award and is a member of the Order of Australia. John was the first Indigenous Australian to play for the Socceroos. John is also a well known designer and artist and was commissioned by Qantas to paint two of its Boeing 747s.
The Balanrinji designed Qantas jet.
After a long and successful career, John had a desire to put something back into his community of Borroloola and set up a foundation to support young boys and girls who showed some football talent and to support them to obtain a more comprehensive education than they would receive in remote Australia. Clearly he is a talented and passionate man.
We have three students who have started with us recently who are recipients of John Moriarty Scholarships, a foundation that is also supported by the Socceroos. This LINK explains the program further and features ex-Socceroo and ex-Waverley parent Craig Foster.
Getting used to life as Waverley students.
It is my very great pleasure to welcome Darius Kidd, Tremaine Jupiter and Jeremy Herbert to Waverley College.
Our Year 12 students chose the theme of ‘Strength through diversity’ this year, and there is no doubt that these young men will have a great chance to take advantage of the learning opportunities offered by the Waverley College community, our other indigenous students and our students from different backgrounds to their own. We all have a great opportunity to learn from them; to understand their stories and gain a greater insight about where they have come from and what they and their communities can teach us. To come from remote Australia into Sydney is a different world for these young men, please extend the Waverley hand of friendship to our new community members and support them wherever you can.
Both John Moriarty and our new students are from the Borroloola area.
To our Year 12 students, I wish you strength and calmness as you approach your trial HSC examinations. You have led the school very well this year, worked hard individually and collectively and I wish you well on behalf of the rest of the College.
And I leave you with the words of Kofi Annan – “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.”
I congratulate our academic award winners for Semester One and encourage them to keep up the high standards. Congratulations, too, to their families for the great support they provide to these students at home. The award winners from today’s assembly are listed at the bottom of this page.
This term, we farewell Mr Nick Kozma who has resigned from the College. Nick has worked at Waverley for four and a half years and we thank Nick for his service to the College. We wish Nick all the best with his future endeavours.
On behalf of the College I would like to welcome the following staff members:
We welcome back Ms Gaby Bransby from maternity leave and wish her a smooth transition back into the College. Whilst Gaby has been away on leave, Ms Jennifer Hoare has been acting Junior School Curriculum Co-ordinator and we thank Ms Hoare for doing an outstanding job.
Mr Chris Blenkinsopp is still in hospital, probably for another 6 weeks. We continue to keep Chris and his family in our thoughts and prayers and wish him a speedy recovery.
Many Waverley families and ex-students will remember Mrs Pam Shiels with fondness. Pam retired in 2012 after 36 years of service in administrative roles at Waverley College and 58 years of service to Catholic education. Pam died on 8 July 2017, aged 84 years. Her funeral service was attended by several members of our College staff during the holiday break. On behalf of the entire Waverley College community I extend our sincere condolences to Pam’s family and friends.
Lewis Thompson performed very well at the recent Oceania Athletics Championships representing Australia in Fiji – Gold Medal in the U18 Mens 1.5kg Discus and 7th in the U18 Mens Shot Put, competing for the Australian Schools Athletics Team. Lewis is still recovering from recent knee surgery which makes these fine results even more impressive.
Zavian Taylor-Simi has been selected for the Junior Bunnies Development squad to train in Jindabyne.
Ben Donaldson, Luca Moretti, Finn Wright have been selected in the Australian Schoolboys Rugby Union Team, whilst Marco Bell was selected in the Australian Barbarians Team.
Cameron Walker performed very well at the recent National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) held at the University of Singapore.
Noah Havard, Ben Walker, Zac Harvard and Jack Macgregor all performed well in recent open water ski paddling events held in Sydney that attracted top international paddlers.
We wish Nikita Strbac and Charlie Negus all the best with their preparations for Australian Junior Water polo team as they prepare for the Junior World Championships to be held in Belgrade in August.
We wish Daniel Gandy all the best as he has been selected by International Cycling to compete in Melbourne next week.
Ned Wieland is currently in Dover (UK) on his amazing challenge to become the youngest Australian male to swim the English Channel.
His father, Mark, sent us the following update:
“There’s been little to report, at this stage, due to the weather but on the upside, the fundraising for RUOK? is now over the $25k mark. That’s incredible – a huge thanks to all those that have contributed to this very worthy charity.
As far as Channel swimming goes, we were hoping Ned would have swum earlier this week, but the swell and winds picked up and closed off the opportunity. After a rather long wait, it looks like Ned’s off early next week, (fingers crossed) when the winds are due to abate.
So, in the meantime, Ned’s not only been swimming at many locations, but has visited sites in London, plus local features such as Canterbury Cathedral, the Battle of Britain museum, the white cliffs and the Castle in Dover itself. So his English history is coming along well during this waiting period.
If anyone would like to keep posted on updates and also a live feed, once he gets underway, this can be done via Ned’s FACEBOOK page or Instagram @channelswim2017.”
All the best to the Matthew Coorey Concert Band who are competing in the NSW Band Festival this weekend.
Good luck to all our Lawn Bowlers, Debaters, Cross Country Runners and our Judo, Tennis, AFL, Rugby, Football, Volleyball, and Table Tennis players as they approach the last three weeks of winter competition.
| Year 10 | First in Subject |
| Religious Education | Nat Yarrow |
| English | Luke Harris |
| Maths Level 3 | Gleb Samokhin |
| Maths Level 2 | Marko Dundovic, Liam Faulkner-Hogg |
| Maths Level 1 | Nathan Papageorgious |
| Maths Accelerated | Luke Harris |
| Science | Luke Harris |
| PDHPE | Lachlan Manastirovski |
| Commerce | Marco Emery, Rocco Evans |
| History | Rocco Evans, Matthew Gallagher, Brad Marzol, Connor Pilger |
| iSTEM | Rocco Evans |
| IST | Finn McCloskey |
| PASS | Harry Whitaker |
| Music | Oliver Ruse |
| Drama | Ethan Vella |
| Visual Art | Flynn Gordon |
| Visual Art (Most Improved) | Ridley Owens |
| Photography | Bradley Marzol, Benjamin Rogers |
| French | Luke Harris |
| Wood Technology | Cameron Dawson |
| Food Technology | Flynn Gordon |
| Design & Technology | Lachlan Manastirovski |
| Applied Philosophy | Edward Kranz |
| Work Education | Ryan Smith |
| Spanish | Billy DeLuca, Connor Pilger |
| Year 11 | First in Subject |
| SOR I Unit | Oliver Read |
| SOR 2 Unit | Lewis Thompson |
| Catholic Studies | Riley Singles-Fotopoulos |
| Advanced English | Allan Cannes |
| Standard English | Benjamin Heal, Jerome Mendes |
| English Studies | Christopher Salakas |
| Extension English | Allan Cannes |
| Mathematics | Roby Guo |
| General Maths | Harry Blackett |
| Ext 1 Maths | Benjamin Heal |
| Accelerated Maths | Oliver Read |
| Biology | Oliver Read |
| Chemistry | Oliver Small |
| Physics | Oliver Small |
| Senior Science | Noah Havard |
| PDHPE | Lewis Thompson, Daniel Andrews |
| SLR | Isaac Bartholomaeus |
| Music Course I | Dominic Augoustis |
| Music Course II | Damian Lin |
| Spanish | Daniel Brown |
| Ancient Hist | Patrick Kossenberg |
| Modern Hist | Harley McGuiggan |
| Geography | Oliver Read |
| Business | Perry Aziz |
| Economics | Patrick Kossenberg |
| Legal | Allan Cannes |
| Drama | Leonardo Bosi |
| Visual Art | Mark Goncalves |
| Photography | Tom Bower |
| Photography (Most Improved) | Zachary Bloch |
| Design & Technology | Benjamin Heal |
| Industrial Technology | Anthony Pomes |
| Construction | Tadgh Murphy |
| Hospitality | Jye Davidson, Nathan Higgs |
| Food Technology | Luca Galeazzi |
| Information Processes and Technologies | Damian Lin |
| Entertainment | Simon Finnegan |
| Marine Studies | Baxby Ward-Gyton |
| Year 12 | First in Subject |
| SOR I Unit | Tyler von der Heyden |
| SOR 2 Unit | Stephen Croft |
| Catholic Studies | James McPherson |
| Advanced Eng | Stephen Croft |
| Standard Eng | James Rusconi |
| English Studies | Jake Galluccio |
| Ext English 1 | Stephen Croft |
| Ext English 2 | Stephen Croft |
| Mathematics (2 Unit Candidate) | Harrison Delaney |
| Mathematics | Joe Nardo |
| General Maths 1 | Joel Ellis |
| General Maths 2 | James Campbell |
| Ext 1 Maths | Taaj Davis |
| Ext 2 Maths | Taaj Davis |
| Biology | Lachlan Stewart |
| Chemistry | Joe Nardo |
| Physics | Lachlan Stewart |
| Senior Science | Huon Beccaris |
| Marine Studies | Matan Sharon-Lemon |
| PDHPE | Ben Donaldson, Tyler von der Heyden |
| SLR | Ricardo Duilo |
| Music Course I | Marco Bell |
| Music Course II | Alexander Vardanega |
| Spanish | Daniel Priestley |
| Ancient Hist | Stephen Croft |
| Modern Hist | Ryan Crawshaw |
| Geography | Luke Ryan, Nicholas Sterianos |
| Business | James Rusconi |
| Economics | James Rusconi |
| Legal | Stephen Croft |
| Drama | Hal Cumpston |
| Visual Art | James Campbell |
| PDM | Cooper Linardos |
| Design & Technology | Kelvin Li |
| Industrial Technology | Huon Beccaris |
| Construction | Liam Rayner, Huon Beccaris |
| Hospitality | Joe Capron |
| Entertainment | James Rusconi |
| Food Technology | Justin Fung |
| Information Processes and Technologies | James Rusconi |
Congratulations to Year 12 award winners.
Congratulations to Year 11 award winners.
Congratulations to Year 10 award winners.
For Refugee Week (18 to 24 June) Year 7 student, Antonio Rodriguez has made this inspiring short video about activities at school.
Students from Aungier House are running an awareness campaign throughout the week and setting up an interactive display in the Centenary Quadrangle for students to experience.
Refugee week is Australia’s peak annual activity to raise awareness about the issues impacting refugees around the world, as well as recognising the positive contributions made by refugees to Australian society. The theme for this year is ‘With courage let us all combine’ – a line taken from the Australian National Anthem.
Teachers will be providing students with opportunities to explore refugee issues through activities such as:
You can experience the same virtual reality of a refugee camp as our students, by viewing ‘Clouds Over Sidra’ at https://with.in/watch/clouds-over-sidra/ made at the Zaatari Refugee Camp. The camp is home to 130,000 Syrians fleeing violence and war. Children make up half the camp’s population. This is the story of Sidra, a 12-year old girl who has spent the last 18 months in Zaatari. This personal story immerses the reader into Sidra’s world, building empathy for the plight of displaced children and the aftermath of war. (NB. For viewing this VR, there are 4 basic options: An immersive VR headset; a simple VR viewer that uses a mobile phone; a mobile phone on its own; or a web video player. This virtual reality (VR) site requires a robust internet connection.)
A careers information night was held in the Performing Arts Centre (PAC) on Tuesday 30 May, attended by more than 50 senior students from Years 7-12 and their parents. These events aim to guide and inspire our students in their high school studies.
This year the college was very lucky to have four speakers working in STEM careers – all past students – who generously volunteered their time.
The speakers were:
The quality of information from these speakers was outstanding and their insights were invaluable. I cannot thank them enough for inspiring our students.
Thanks must also go to the many parents who brought their sons along; the transition from school to study or work isn’t easy and students benefit greatly from looking at a very broad range of possibilities. It is both exciting and daunting for students to make these choices and having a well informed and supportive parent on hand makes all the difference.
Last week I attended the Association of Catholic Principals (ACSP) Conference in the Hunter Valley, along with 400 principals from across NSW, both primary and secondary. Hillary Cameron of St Charles’ Waverley and Antoinette McGahan of St Clare’s College Waverley also attended.
Presenters at the conference were inspiring and included:
Dr Pasi Sahlberg
Pasi Sahlberg is a Finnish educator, author, and scholar. He has worked as a school teacher, teacher educator, researcher, and policy-maker in Finland and has studied education systems and reforms around the world. His presentations focused on how we can learn from successful education systems, with a focus on Singapore and Finland.
Prof Stephen Dinham OAM
Professor Stephen Dinham OAM PhD is Associate Dean Strategic Partnerships and Professor of Instructional Leadership in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne. He examined the research evidence on teaching for learning and highlighted the strategies and approaches that have most impact on student learning and development.
Dr Pak Tee Ng
Pak Tee Ng is Associate Dean, Leadership Learning at the National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. He teaches in executive programmes for school leaders including Principalship and Head of Departments. The Singapore education system is changing to focus on quality instead of quantity. Professor Ng explained how Singapore reformed curriculum, teaching and learning in its schools. He shared the key success factors, reform challenges, and the lessons learned along the way. In particular, one of the policy initiatives in the Singapore education system is to encourage teachers, paradoxically, to “teach less” so that students can “learn more”. “Teach Less Learn More” encourages educators to reflect upon the why, what and how of teaching and learning, and encourages students to become engaged learners.
Prof Chris Sarra – Indigenous Education
Professor Chris Sarra is the founder and Chairman of the Stronger Smarter Institute Limited and Professor of Education at the University of Canberra. In 2016, Chris received the prestigious NAIDOC Person of the Year Award as recognition for ongoing and relentless efforts to positively change educational expectations of Indigenous children throughout Australia. Professor Chris Sarra’s work at Cherbourg State School, an Aboriginal community school in South East Queensland, was groundbreaking, exposing the teaching profession and Aboriginal communities to a newer, more positive and honourable reality in which Aboriginal children could be stronger and smarter. He invited us to contemplate how we as educators we might set about purging the problem of low expectations in our own schools.
The conference inspired and challenged all of us, as school leaders, to remain vigilant for proven techniques which can be applied in our own schools to maintain excellence through ongoing innovation in teaching and learning.
This morning on his way to school, Year 12 student Daniel Morris noticed a car stopped on Southern Cross Drive with a driver slumped over the wheel. Daniel used his own car to push the other vehicle out of the way and then proceeded to remove the driver and call for an ambulance. Whilst waiting, Daniel applied CPR as the driver was showing no signs of life. After four minutes of CPR the driver started to display signs of life and was successfully transported to hospital in the ambulance. Although we don’t know the outcome for this patient, Daniel demonstrated notable bravery and presence of mind for a young man in Year 12. Congratulations, Daniel.
In May 2017 Edmund Rice Education Australia released its policy document ‘Live Life to the Full’, the organisation’s response to providing safe and inclusive learning environments for all students, in particular for same-sex attracted and gender diverse young people. The policy notes that there has been a growing awareness in recent years that there is a strong correlation between homophobic and transphobic abuse and negative impacts on the mental health and wellbeing of victims. It also notes that schools have been identified as major locations where such abuse can occur.
In part, the Statement says:
Our sacred scripture reminds us (Genesis 1) that each and every person is made in the image and likeness of God; therefore each person has their own inherent dignity and is intended by God to grow to fullness. For EREA, this means supporting each person to achieve growth and liberation through pastoral as well as academic and co-curricular support.
Our schools have a moral and legal responsibility to ensure that each student receives an education free from discrimination and bullying, irrespective of their sexual orientation and gender. More importantly, Edmund Rice inspires us to give particular care to young people who might otherwise be excluded and rejected.
Catholic schools in the Edmund Rice tradition recognise that to be inclusive communities, students, parents, caregivers and other family members, as well as staff must be valued in all their diversity.
The policy makes a number of recommendations which schools can follow to ensure they address the wellbeing and education needs of young people who are same-sex attracted or gender questioning. EREA has also provided a resource to assist the school leaders and teachers who work with these young people. The college will be following up on the document’s recommendations by reviewing our existing policies, procedures, guidelines, programs and practices to ensure that they are inclusive of the needs of these students.
You can download a PDF copy of the full policy document HERE.
More than thirty Waverley College students from Year 7 to 12 attended the 2017 CAS Ecumenical Service, themed ‘The Light of Companionship’ at St Aloysius’ College, Milson’s Point, on Monday Evening.
It was a wonderful service with an outstanding combined choir and the students sang beautifully. Following the Acknowledgement of Country Ceremony, Year 11 SRC student Joseph Moroney was the candle bearer for Waverley College, leading the College’s students into the St Aloysius’ chapel. Year 11 SRC student, Daniel Andrews read one of the prayers in the Penitential Rite and Year 11 SRC student, Oliver Small delivered one of the readings in the Liturgy of the Word part of the ceremony, 1 Kings (19:9-13).
Thank you to Anne Fahy and Chris Balkizas for their great work on this project. Thanks also to the Year 11 SRC students who attended and the Waverley College students who participated in the combined CAS choir. This annual service is a wonderful opportunity for CAS schools to celebrate our shared faith together in an atmosphere of collegiality.
National Reconciliation Week begins and ends on the same dates as significant events that strengthened the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous peoples. On 27 May 1967 Australians voted to give the Commonwealth Government the right to make laws for Indigenous people and for them to be included in the national census. On 3 June 1992 the Mabo ruling was made, which paved the way for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples be recognised as the traditional owners of their land. This year marks 50 years since the referendum and 25 years since the Mabo decision, making it a special milestone. This Reconciliation Week the college has taken a number of steps to mark the occasion and highlight the importance of these events:
The following prayer was read at today’s college assembly:
Created in the image of God we pray
God, who looked upon creation and said, ‘it is good’,
help us to see your face in the faces of all people –
not just the ones ‘like us’.
Your words do not discriminate, but rather cast upon humanity
a call to justice, compassion and mercy.
Your Son made this message clear, ‘love your neighbour.’
He made this non-negotiable to those who choose to follow his way.
Not just in Reconciliation Week, but in all the weeks and years ahead,
help us challenge prejudice in all its forms within ourselves and others.
Help us to be the peacemakers you call us to be.
Help us to see your face in the faces of all people –
not just the ones ‘like us’.
We pray, through Christ our Lord. Amen
Blessed Edmund Rice…Pray for us.
Waverley College is supporting Men’s Health Week in its aim to improve the health of men in our community. This year’s theme “HEALTHY BODY – HEALTHY MIND: KEEPING THE BALANCE” explores the different ways men and boys are managing to keep healthy, physically and emotionally, in a busy and sometimes challenging world. The event will engage our students and their fathers in a healthy activity overlooking the ocean.
The session will be held on Thursday 15 June at 7am (sharp) on the sand in front of the main Life Guard Tower on Bondi Beach. The event is open to Waverley College fathers (or male role-models) and their sons. Places are strictly limited by Waverley Council to 100 people. Please be sure to bring along a yoga mat or towel. Students MUST wear full PE uniform to this event (no other sport uniform items are acceptable). Fathers should wear clothing that is comfortable for moving and stretching. This is a free event but you MUST register to attend as numbers are limited.
At the conclusion of the session, students will walk together back to the College where free fruit will be available for all participants.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR PLACE
Throughout the week a variety of additional activities will be available to promote health, wellness and positive social connections for our students.
We are living in an environment where being unhealthy has become normal. Over half of adults and more than one in five children in NSW are overweight or obese, increasing their risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke and type 2 diabetes later in life. The good news? It’s never too late to make a change for yourself or your family. Small changes to your lifestyle can make a big difference. We need to change normal. We need to make healthy normal.
Find out more about making healthy normal at: https://www.makehealthynormal.nsw.gov.au/?gclid=CMDI4bf4m9QCFd0GKgodi_kNmQ
On Thursday 1 June 2017, Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) Principals will be in Canberra for their national conference, focusing this year on the issue of sustainability and integral ecology. I will be present, representing Waverley College.
The principals will gather from 8.30am to 9.15am at the National Arboretum, a unique place of regeneration, renewal and healing and EREA will make a National Apology to Survivors and Victims of Sexual Abuse on behalf of all EREA schools.
It is a response by the current EREA school communities to abuse that took place in some EREA schools in the past.
Ray Paxton, National Director of Identity and Liberating Education, has led the development of the Apology ritual, supported by John Crowley, Principal of St Patrick’s College Ballarat, in consultation with survivors, who will be represented at the National Apology.
The message of hope which will emerge from the National Apology will provide us with a new voice and a firm resolve to acknowledge the shameful abuse that took place in some EREA schools in the past, to stand beside the victims and actively support those who have suffered.
This is an exciting time for Waverley College as we head into the next stage of the masterplan for College facilities: We’re looking towards building a dynamic and sustainable school that inspires current and future generations of students to learn, create, innovate and develop their skills.
Now more than ever, we need to ensure our school, your school, is future-proofed while maintaining links to our past.
The buildings that house the majority of classrooms at the College have served us well, but they are in need of an upgrade and to turn them into 21st century learning spaces, where every student will benefit.
There are opportunities and challenges for our school, and in keeping with all that we have achieved in our first stage of building, we also need to:
In the coming weeks, information about the above will be mailed to you. With your help, I think we can achieve the much needed changes to our College landscape.
I was delighted that we had a huge response to our Parent Association Forum with clinical psychologist Andrew Fuller on Monday night when 780 parents and carers registered to attend the event. Importantly, this shows that our parents are engaged and enthusiastic about working with the college to support the wellbeing of students.
The chart below shows which student year groups were represented by the parents who attended the forum. It shows that parents of students entering their early years of high school were particularly keen to be supported with information and expertise on parenting techniques, but it is pleasing to see that we had great representation from across the full range of year groups.
I’m very pleased to be able to announce that we will host a second forum this year on Safe Partying, featuring well known presenter Sonya Karras. You can read more about this forum here: https://waverley.nsw.edu.au/events/parent-association-forum-safe-partying/
Both forums could not have occurred without the financial support of our Parent Association and I wish to extend my sincere thanks for the wonderful working relationship they have established with the college.
Congratulations to Ms Mary Ryan and Mr Nick Brophy who competed in the recent Blue Mountains Ultra Marathon (100km) and raised money for Edmund Rice Camps. These camps provide assistance for those less fortunate to experience a camp learning experience and provide some respite for parents and carers.
Congratulations to Ms Sherri Faulkner who has hosted again for the Cancer Council – Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea event. We all know someone close to us that has been affected by cancer, funds raised go to research that aims to find cures to a variety of cancers.
Congratulations to the following boys who represented very well at the 2017 da Vinci decathlon which is an academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of school students. Students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: engineering, mathematics and chess, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, philosophy, creative producers, cartography and general knowledge. Thank you to Ms Nehal Badiani, Mr Dominic Hearne, Mr John McCoy, Mr Steve Wilmot for supporting and coordinating the teams.
Year 7
Dominic McGrath
Ian Vuk
Noah Culkzar
Jake Deale
Damian Pulos
Sachiel Bass
Pablo Berdaa
Henry Kopsiaftis
Year 8
Joseph Agius
Perri Quirk
Mark Gaponov
Dante Bryan
Flynn Herbert
Max Hooker
Fergus Braham
Patrick Hoggett.
Year 9
Joshua Cornelius
Ethan King
Sam Markert
Jasper Anderson
Patrick Smith
Riley Finnane
James McMahon
Nic Algie
Year 10
Cooper Flynn
Matthew Gallagher
Sanm Hall
James Ritchie
Josh Hamilton
Roman Kotecsky
Alexander bayas
Ash Backlund
Year 11
Harley McGuiggan
Adam McCabe
Allan Cannes
Andre Vumbaca
Oliver Read
Oliver Small
Dominic Abruzzese
Jesse Douglas
Late last week the College invited Year 12 to the level five rooftop terrace for a BBQ in recognition for their great work as a cohort this year. For many of the boys it was their first look at this area which has fantastic city and ocean views.
We expect our senior year to model outstanding behaviour, study skills and uniform. They set the tone for the rest of the student body. Our current group of Year 12 are doing exactly that.
As well as enjoying the BBQ generously prepared by the maintenance team, the midyear prefects were announced; Marco Bell, Daniel Harasta, Daniel Morris, Taaj Davis and Miguel Joson. I congratulate them on their appointment.
Research has identified feedback as a significant influence on student achievement both at home and in the classroom.
In an effort to maximise academic growth, Waverley College teachers are encouraged to provide more feedback to their students with the understanding that not all feedback is equal. If one of the goals of education is to create lifelong learners, how can we as teachers and parents alike utilise feedback to promote this outcome?
Lifelong learners are intrinsically motivated to build on their existing knowledge. Our boys are not passive recipients of information, but wired to test and predict where new information fits.
When there is a healthy level of uncertainty about a subject, with a sense of ‘knowing what you don’t know’, boys will seek out information from their environment that will enable them to resolve the uncertainty. This process of updating is learning, and it is the role of the teacher to set the conditions to optimise this.
As parents and teachers we can nurture this curiosity for learning by engaging our boys with information that is both personally relevant and appropriately challenging. When the information is already familiar and unchallenging, boys will be bored and no learning will occur. Conversely, if the information is unfamiliar and inaccessible, they will be unable to integrate it with existing knowledge and, again, no learning will occur.
Feedback plays a crucial role in setting the preconditions, and supporting this learning.
The first step in this is to understand where to target students’ learning, and capture curiosity. A key point to recognise is that students, in every learning situation, come with their own understanding about the world. This highlights a challenge for us: the best feedback will be adapted to the pre-existing beliefs of individual students.
Once the student is engaged in the learning process, the teacher and parent should provide feedback that guides the student in a journey of discovery. Closed and non-specific feedback, such as programmed instruction and corrective feedback, should be avoided. Rather our feedback must support the learner’s ability to test, predict, and challenge their understanding of a topic. The most significant impact on student achievement comes in the use of cues, which correct errors by getting the individual to navigate their way forward using the prompts to guide them. This method of feedback can stimulate the equivalent of almost three years’ growth
Our boys also need a place in which they feel they can make errors. However, the use of non-specific feedback in the form of praise is cautioned, as this can lessen the impact of any deeper level feedback provided. Instead, we should reinforce the effort they invest to reach their goals. Understanding that when adolescent boys are focused on achieving a grade, the impact of feedback is also diluted, we are best advised to design meaningful formative tasks that give our boys the freedom to challenge their assumptions.
On Monday evening, we enjoyed the attendance of over 700 parents and carers at Andrew Fuller’s Forum on ‘Raising Boys’. He also delivered sessions to Year 7 and 8 students and staff from both the Junior and Senior School throughout the day. Andrew was both informative and entertaining and provided a great range of insights and ideas for educating and parenting adolescents. I would like to sincerely thank the Waverley College Parent Association for supporting this valuable event.
Whether or not you were able to attend, you might like to delve a bit deeper into Andrew’s insights on adolescent psychology and parenting techniques. Unfortunately, we are unable to distribute Andrew’s presentation. His website is full of incredibly helpful information for both parents and students. I recommend taking a few minutes to browse through the many articles at: andrewfuller.com.au
Also useful are the following two youtube videos which recap some of the themes covered in the presentation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OQL2fcPd00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r48qKy45Ho
I look forward to continuing to work with our parents and the broader Waverley community to strengthen existing ties and provide the best possible support structures for our boys and young men. A sincere thank you to all of the staff who worked behind the scenes to make these events possible.
During the 2017 Men’s Health Week, Waverley College will be running a series of sessions and activities designed to promote Physical, Social, Emotional, Cognitive and Spiritual health and wellness. I am excited to confirm that Waverley Council have granted permission for our Senior Boys to run a Fathers and Sons sunrise Yoga/Pilates session at the iconic Bondi Beach. This will take place from 7:00-8:00 am on Thursday 15 June, right in front of the Life Guard Pavilion on the sand, followed by a walk to school. Places are strictly limited to 100 persons, an email will be distributed shortly for students and their guests to register their interest.
The college is offering Year 12 students HSC Writing workshops this term on Mondays and Wednesdays during Period 6 in the Fitzgerald Room. These will be run by Literacy Co-ordinator, Ms Hill and supported by the Head of Curriculum and a rotation of our Heads of Departments.
The workshops will include the following content:
Speed Writing: Develop your writing speed, accuracy and vocabulary
Writing with feedback: Students write in response to a stimulus and receive feedback on their written expression, spelling, grammar and punctuation. Teachers will provide guidance to students on making their writing more sophisticated. Students are able to bring along writing for specific subjects to be checked for use of written expression. The workshops are not designed to critique subject specific content. They are to provide skills to improve the student’s written responses.
Writing books will be provided for students to complete tasks and will produce a compact yet comprehensive reference book for the student to keep. Laptops will not be required, nor permitted to be used in these workshops.
Attendance is open to any Year 12 student.
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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