Read more: CAS Debating, Winter Co-curricular Awards Assembly, summer sport changes, Old Boy Ryan Abbott.
I encourage all students from Years 5-12 to keep participating in the recommended activities during this period that include Track and Field drills, recommended activities from Summer sports such as Cricket and Basketball, as well as the great wellbeing classes through the team at Advanz Health, that can be watched at any time.
The importance of maintaining physical activity during these challenging times is critical to physical, emotional and mental health. Many of the recommended activities for students are published on the Waverley App or are in the Daily Notices.
I want to thank and congratulate our Debating teams and staff who have continued to implement the CAS season online. Whilst this poses a number of challenges, we have still been able to produce some admirable performances against some strong opposition. We will have our final round next Friday 20 August against Cranbrook, and I want to wish all of those teams the very best for this week and next week.
Next week we will run our online Winter Co-curricular Awards Assembly for all activities for Years 5-12. We will publish the award winners in next week’s Nurrunga, and those students will be able to collect their awards once we have been able to assure production. It is most likely that we will notify students of their availability in Term 4.
This week we also concluded all of the requests for summer sport changes, and are now closing these applications. Students will be notified via email of the results of their requests. Pleasingly, we had a great uptake for Sailing, and we will notify those students regarding the implementation of this Olympic sport.
We were notified this week of the wonderful news that 2020 1st V Basketball captain Ryan Abbott was successful in finally obtaining a scholarship to NCAA Fresno Pacific College in California. We wish Ryan all the very best with his opportunities over in the USA, and hopefully we will get to see Ryan representing at the highest levels in years to come.
Ryan Abbott, 2019-20 Australian Schoolboys Basketball Player
Mr Steve O’Donnell
Director of Co-curricular
E: sodonnell@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Read more: Years 7-12 online meeting via Google Meet and registration information.
All students who would like to represent 1sts and 2nds Basketball for the upcoming season 2021-22, need to attend the online meeting for information regarding the pre-season and season moving forward.
If you have any questions, you may direct these to Mr Matthew Johnston at mjohnston@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Mr Matthew Johnston
Teacher Year 6 Red, Basketball Head Coach
E: mjohnston@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Read more: Cadet of the Week, Recruit Platoon Competition, online Escape Room.
Congratulations to our Cadet of the Week – an equal tie between REC Gina Kimpton in 2PL and REC Yannick Hott of 5PL. These recruits were passionately engaged in their lessons and activities on Friday. Not easy at the end of a long week online, so well done to both of you!
7 Platoon is still marginally ahead in the Recruit Platoon competition, although 10 Platoon gave them a good run for their money last week. Our recruits learnt how to keep healthy and hygienic in the field without running water, and I was impressed with how many could quickly access their equipment in the online scavenger hunt.
Learning how to keep clean and healthy with limited resources is a skill for anyone keen on camping, or with ambitions to backpack on a Gap Year, or to trek the Larapinta or the Camino. In a group setting, staying healthy keeps up the morale of both the individual and the group, and means you are fit and able to support your team. We encourage our cadets to constantly look at the bigger picture.
Support Company had a great time on Friday enjoying the Online Escape Room, and our recruits will take turns with this activity over the coming weeks.
Online Escape Room
MAJ(AAC) Julie-Ann de Kantzow
Commanding Officer – WCCU
E: jdekantzow@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Read more: Virtual Book Week activities and competitions, amazing 5 Orange artworks, Fun Friday winner, Father’s Day photos, Cyber Safety webinar.
Welcome to Week 5. We have had a very busy week in the Junior School. This week the Junior School students alongside the Senior School participated in a Cyber Safety webinar presented by ySafe. Our presenter Ryan Leonard shared important strategies on ‘How to make SMART choices when navigating the Cyber World.’ When looking at the statistics of ‘Types of Cyberbullying’ it is clear why we believe educating our students on cyber safety is paramount in the current climate.
We should all be working together to ensure we invest time and resources into raising a generation of smart, safe and responsible children, who are capable and compassionate – both on and offline.
Over the last few weeks, 5 Orange has been very busy creating amazing artworks. I hope they put a smile on your face like they have for me. We have some very imaginative and creative students in 5 Orange! I also loved the screenshot of the Friday morning Google Meet where the students dressed up. Enjoy the amazing artworks from Jasper Lumsden, Henry Jones and Jake McEvoy.
5 Orange artwork – Hot Air Balloon
By Jasper Lumsden, 5 Orange
Plastic Pollution by Jasper Lumsden, 5 Orange
By Jake McEvoy, 5 Orange
By Henry Jones, 5 Gold
It was so wonderful to see the time and effort students put into last Friday’s Fun Activity. The STEM Castle challenge was a hit last week, and what was created blew me away! Each student produced unbelievably creative and imaginative castles. Picking the winners was a very hard task. I want to congratulate all students for their hard work. There were eight winners and here is Oliver Lorimer in 6 Orange, the winner for last week.
Congratulations Oliver Lorimer in 6 Orange
Ms Gabrielle Bransby
Acting Director of Junior School
E: gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au
As you are probably aware, Father’s Day will be celebrated on Sunday 5 September 2021. Unfortunately, due to current circumstances, we will not be able to celebrate together as a school community, therefore myself and the students at the Junior School will be putting together a virtual Father’s Day presentation to mark this special occasion.
To help facilitate this, could you please send through a photo with your son(s) and their dad(s) and grandad(s), or those who are like fathers to our boys, so that they can be used in the presentation. It would be really appreciated if files labelled with your son’s name be sent through as a jpeg file.
Please send all photos to liturgy@waverley.nsw.edu.au.
Mr Stephen Ghattas
Assistant Director of Junior School/Student Formation
E: sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Book Week 2021 is fast approaching in Week 7, and we have a few activities and events for students to take part in from now. The theme this year is Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds. As parents, this is an important time to celebrate the wonders that books create.
Our pop-up book shop which is proudly supported by ‘The Children’s Bookshop & Speakers’ Agency’ has gone online. Allowing your son to make his own reading choices is an important part of encouraging reading.
Books you purchase will be delivered to your door free of charge.
Encourage reading by allowing your son to make his own reading choices
Harry Laing is our guest author. Harry Laing is a poet, children’s author, creative writing teacher and comic performer. The presentation aims at promoting reading and creative writing. Your son will receive a calendar invite for this event in Week 6.
Year 6: 8:45am – 9:30am
Year 5: 9:40am – 10:25am
Harry Laing
Two Competitions have been running since the start of the term. Creative Writing ‘Poetry’ and Visual Arts. The closing date for both these entries is Monday 16 August.
Judging will begin in Week 6. A huge thank you to the following Senior School teachers who are the guest judges. Mr Robert Tall (Literacy Coordinator and Secondary Teacher) will judge the writing, and Ms Jenna Turnbull (Visual Arts Teacher) and Ms Natalie Oates (Head of Visual Arts) are judging the visual arts.
Students will have the opportunity to design and create their own Book Week costume! They will need to take a photo or video of themselves in character.
Students need to upload this to their ‘Friday Fun Day’ activity folder. Students will receive more details in their Week 6 Google Meets.
The ‘most creative and original costume’ judges will be Ms Rollins, Mr Watchel, and Ms Bransby.
All prize winners will be announced in Week 8!
Ms Natasha Zivanovic
Primary Literacy and Innovation Teacher
E: nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Read more: watch the Roger Steel trailer, filmmaking ideas for lockdown, valuable film competitions.
Wavefest 2021 has been postponed but this hasn’t stopped our incredible filmmakers from continuing to film and complete their short films. The aim is to have Wavefest at a later date in the year, or in an online format yet to be decided.
When you have completed your films, please email them to Ms Buchan at bbuchan@waverley.nsw.edu.au
This Spring, strap on your seatbelts (because that’s the law) and get ready for the ride of a lifetime!
This week we are sharing a trailer from one of the Wavefest entries titled Roger Steel. It stars Owen Neamond and Paddy McCausland (Year 6), who wrote, directed, acted and produced the film. An incredible feat, during such a tumultuous time. Well done to both students.
“We had the greatest time making this movie and we can now confirm that Roger Steel 2 is in production. Roger That!!”
You may also like to enter your films in Wavefest, or make more films to enter in other competitions.
Ms Belinda Buchan
PDHPE Teacher, Convenor of Volleyball, Student Mentor Coordinator
E: bbuchan@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Read more: digest a thoughtful piece authored by student Christian Kitas in Year 11.
On Wednesday 28 July, the New South Wales Advocate for Young People, Zoë Robinson, along with Multiculturalism NSW, hosted an online forum for young people to hear NSW Government officials answer questions about COVID-19 from young people.
The forum included The Hon. Alister Henskens MP, Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services, The Hon. Natalie Ward MLC, Minister for Sport, Multiculturalism, Seniors and Veterans, Assistant Commissioner Gelina Talbot, Capability, Performance and Youth Command, NSW Police, Dr Jan Fizzell, Senior Health Advisor, NSW Health and Ms Deb Summerhayes, Executive Director, School Performance, Department of Education.
The forum was a major success and was extremely informative. All speakers responded to each of the questions in great detail and showed a tremendous amount of respect for each question asked. Questions included: Racism during COVID-19 and the blaming of suburbs for the current lockdown, vaccine mandates for school students, and whether AstraZeneca is safe for young people.
When answering questions, each speaker repeated the optimistic message that ‘We will get through this’, and this message of hope conveyed the mindset that everyone should adopt during this tough period of time; one of hope and optimism. This message was especially needed at this forum as the questions indicated that many students had a negative and pessimistic outlook toward the future in lockdown. However, the message reassured each attendee that we will get through this together.
One of the biggest benefits of attending this forum was the ability to hear the perspectives of other students and how lockdown was affecting them, their school community, and the wider community. It was especially interesting to hear questions from students whose schools were located in the local government areas which had the highest COVID-19 infection rates. Those questions were some of the most interesting to listen to, especially those regarding the vaccine and whether students will be able to attend school if they are unvaccinated. All questions asked were quite sophisticated and very worthy of being answered by the speakers who responded.
This forum inspired hope amongst students in a plethora of ways, and for myself, personally, I also left the forum with a newfound sense of hope. I became much more optimistic in my general feelings toward both this lockdown and COVID-19. I was also optimistic for the future generation due to the calibre of questions asked by the students, and I appreciated the articulate, detailed responses from the speakers.
To conclude, it was a remarkable event to attend, and I would like to thank the speakers and the NSW Advocate for Young People for organising this wonderful forum.
Christian Kitas
Year 11 Student Representative
E: bbuchan@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Read more: view the Years 7-11 Waverley College Bronze Medallion Program Information Pack.
I’d like to take this opportunity to raise awareness of a summer sport choice unknown to many. Waverley College is one of a very few schools in Sydney that offer a Surf Life Saving program as a school sport. In 2021, the College is opening up the opportunity to all students in Years 7 -11, allowing students in Years 7 and 8 to participate.
and / or
If your son is interested, please ask him to email Mr Stephen Wilmot (Assistant Head of Co-curricular) as soon as possible at swilmot@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Mr Adam Wallington
Head of HSIE and Surf Life Saving Convenor
E: awallington@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Read more: learn how to join a Waverley team to help a vital charity whilst getting fit!
The Running for Premature Babies charity was founded by a Waverley parent, and Australian of the Year, Sophie Smith, after losing her prematurely born triplets in 2006. The charity provides life-saving neonatal equipment and research to give premature babies a better chance of survival.
The charity is holding their annual ‘Premmie Marathon Challenge’ this November and we encourage students, staff, parents, family members and Old Boys in our school community to get involved!
The challenge is to run (or walk) a 42km marathon or a 100km ultramarathon over the month of November. The ‘twist’ is that you can elect to complete your chosen distance either over a day, a week or over the whole month, making it very achievable to everyone! You can run anytime, anywhere – laps of your house, on a treadmill, at the local park or around your suburb.
Log the kms you run (or walk) to achieve your marathon goal within your set time frame. You can track your progress online through your personal fundraising page.
Why not have fun, get active during the COVID-19 lockdown, and achieve a fitness goal? It’s free to register and anyone who raises over $50 will receive a special finisher’s medal.
You will be helping to give critically ill and premature babies a better chance of survival.
OR
Simply click the purple JOIN US button sitting next to the social media buttons on the main banner at the top of the page.
Ms Gemma Brown (Assistant Head of Science) and Ms Sophie Smith (Founder and Managing Director of Running for Premature Babies Charity)
E: gbrown@waverley.nsw.edu.au
I encourage you to read the Careers newsletter and contact me if you require any further information.
Should you require any assistance with anything whilst you are at home, please do not hesitate to contact me and we can arrange a Google Meet.
Ms Kath Knowles
Senior Studies & Careers Coordinator
E: kknowles@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Welcome to Week 4. Another impressive week of online learning from our students. I know this is a challenging time for everyone but our students have really put in the effort and commitment this week.
On Tuesday 10 August, ySafe will be presenting a webinar for our students on ‘Cyberbullying and Bystander Empowerment + Safety on Social Media and Games + Digital Wellbeing.’
Your son has received a ZOOM calendar invitation for the webinar which will be scheduled for Period 1 (8:45am-9:30am) for YEAR 5, and Period 2 (9:30am-10:15am) for YEAR 6.
This is a compulsory event and all students must attend.
The ySafe presentation will emphasise the constructive relationship students can have with technology under a positive digital citizenship ethos, and upskill students in understanding the importance of and ways to implement safe online practices.
We should all be working together to ensure we invest time and resources into raising a generation of smart, safe and responsible children, who are capable and compassionate – both on and offline.
It was so wonderful to see the time and effort students put into last Friday’s Fun Activity. The marble race courses and robot collages that were created by each student were unbelievably creative and imaginative. Picking the winners was a very hard task again this week.
I want to congratulate all students for their hard work and for their amazing ideas. The following students were the winners for last week:
Ms Gabrielle Bransby
Acting Director of Junior School
E: gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au
During Week 4 of Online Learning, Year 5 have integrated their Visual Arts lessons with Science. This week the students in 5 Gold have been learning about buoyancy. Buoyancy is the upward force that is caused when the hot air is trapped inside of the balloon. A hot air balloon rises because it has buoyancy.
Each student designed their own hot air balloon. Each design had to show the three essential parts: the burner, which heats the air; the balloon envelope, which holds the air; and the basket, which carries the passengers.
It was wonderful to see the detail and colour in their designs.
Buoyancy Collage by Flynn Killen, Jayden Newrick, Nicholas Giannikouris and Joshua Raymond
Ms Jenny Hoare
Year 5 Gold Class Teacher
E: jhoare@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Congratulations to our Semester 1 Academic Award winners in Years 10-12. Their dedication and persistence has paid off and we congratulate them on their fine achievements. These students were recognised at our recent online academic assembly. They lead by example and by striving to reach their potential, have set new benchmarks. We are very proud of each of them.
Connor Andrews – First in PDHPE and Physical Activity and Sports Studies
Marcus Antonio – First in Spanish
Eddie Beswick – First in Visual Arts
Anderson Franulovich – First in Mathematics Level 2
Campbell Groves – First in Science
Charles Hely-Hammond – First in Commerce and Religious Education; Equal First in History
Carter Hjorring – First in Design and Technology
James Iatrou – First in Photographic and Digital Media
Jamie Khov – First in Mathematics Accelerated
Freddie Le Vay – First in Applied Philosophy
Aidan Mahoney – First in Industrial Technology (Timber)
Jake Perks – First in STEM
Jack Preller – First in Food Technology
Xavier Quinn – First in Work Education
Liam Russell – First in Music
Leo Schmid – First in English
Sam Stewart – Equal First in Drama
Ben Stirling – First in Information and Software Technology
Theo Varvaressos – Equal First in History
Euan Veale-Wright – First in Mathematics Level 1
Vasili Vertsonis – Equal First in History
Liam Wood – First in Mathematics Level 3 and History Elective
Matt Woods – Equal First in Drama
Leo Astridge – First in Sport, Lifestyle and Recreation Studies and Hospitality
Nathan Barns – First in Spanish Beginners
Pablo Berdaa – First in Spanish Continuers
Toby Davidson – Equal First in Business Studies
Liam Davis – First in Industrial Technology
Daniel Di Francesco – Equal First in Biology and Engineering Studies
William Dodd – First in Mathematics Extension 1 and Physics
Oliver Elliott – First in English Advanced; Equal First in Business Studies
Mack Flitcroft – Equal First in Studies of Religion II; First in Accelerated Mathematics
Jared Garwood – Equal First in Studies of Religion II
Harry Gippel – First in English Standard
Maddox Grebert – First in Design and Technology
Guy Hammerschmidt – Equal First in Biology; First in Music 2
Axel Jeffriess – First in Visual Arts
Thomas Kenny – Equal First in English Studies
Christian Kitas – First in Legal Studies
Louis Kitto – First in Music 1
James Kort – First in PDHPE
Kayton Lee – First in Mathematics Advanced; Equal First in Economics
Max Leedham – First in Geography
Dominic McGrath – First in Marine Studies
Daniel McSweeny – Equal First in Studies of Religion II; First in English Extension, Modern History and Drama
Leo Morgan – Equal First in Engineering Studies
Luke Paterson – Equal First in Economics
AJ Preketes – First in Studies in Catholic Thought
Conor Ryan – First in Ancient History
Toby Ryan – Equal First in English Studies
Finley Stern – First in Photography, Video and Digital Imaging; First in Entertainment Industry
Carl Waterson – First in Studies of Religion I, Chemistry and Food Technology
Thomas Wilkins – First in Mathematics Standard; First in Construction
Saia Afeaki – First in Sport, Lifestyle and Recreation Studies
Diego Berdaa – First in Spanish Continuers
Conor Boyd-Boland – Equal First in English Extension 1
Dante Bryan – First in Music 1
Duke Bushby – First in Mathematics Standard 1
Joel Caltagirone-Pantano – First in Construction
Joseph Collins – First in English Studies
Giulian D’Ettorre – Equal First in English Extension 1
Alex Elder – First in Investigating Science and PDHPE
Baxter Flynn – First in Hospitality
Mark Gaponov – First in Studies of Religion II
Jackson Green – First in Photography, Video and Digital Imaging
Elija Heininger – First in Entertainment Industry
Noa Kathriner – First in Mathematics Standard 2
Jacob Larcinese – First in Biology
Louis Liong – First in English Standard
Jack MacKenzie – First in Industrial Technology
Harjot Mand – Equal First in Mathematics Advanced and Economics
Kyle McBride – First in Design and Technology
Luke McLellan – Equal First in Mathematics Advanced
Leon Palacio – First in Catholic Studies; Mathematics Extension 1; Mathematics Extension 2; Chemistry and Spanish Beginners
James Privett – First in Business Studies
Toby Rabinowitz – First in Studies of Religion I, Ancient History and Drama
Alexander Shahinian – First in Food Technology
James Simpson – First in Music 2
Hugo Stephenson – First in Visual Arts
Darcy Sullivan – First in Marine Studies
Jacob Swann – First in Engineering Studies
Sebastian Van De Hoek – First in Geography
Aaron Varsanyi – First in Legal Studies
Hayden Walker – First in English Advanced and English Extension 2
Darcy Widdowson – Equal First in Mathematics Advanced and Economics; First in Modern History
Hayden Wild – First in Physics and Software Design and Development
Jack Ziade – Equal First in Mathematics Advanced
At 11am today the Premier of NSW announced that all HSC Trial Examinations in Greater Sydney will be held online. It is understandable with transmission numbers at 291 today, and probably rising, that the Health Department is not wanting movement across Local Government Areas (LGAs).
I would like to thank our Planning Team, Curriculum Team and our Heads of Department for the work they have done in regards to ensuring our students had both a Plan A and Plan B ready to be enacted at any time.
We met with our Year 12s and their parents online today at 12 noon to give further details about Plan B which will commence on Wednesday 18 August. Please keep our year 12s in your thoughts and prayers at this time as they continue to pivot successfully with respect to their final studies. It can not be easy in these challenging times, but I hope they know they have the community’s full support.
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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