Vanessa Witton, Author at Waverley College

As you know students in Year 8 don’t have an opportunity to study Drama as part of their curriculum. Hence the Drama Department is providing students with an opportunity to watch a performance and participate in a workshop in the final week of Term 2.

Zeal Theatre are coming to perform a play called Meltdown for Year 8, during periods 1 and 2 on Monday 10 May, 2021. Your son will then be withdrawn from one further period during the day, to participate in a Drama devising workshop.

Hopefully this will inspire some students who have forgotten about Drama to choose it as an elective in Year 9. For others, it will be an opportunity to watch an issue-based performance, and participate in a fun, experiential workshop. The workshop aims to give students an opportunity to learn theatrical techniques and work as a team to create an original play and perform it to the rest of the workshop group.

Zeal Theatre’s 50th original production, ‘Meltdown’ deals with fear, depression, anxiety, stress and anger. Zane is 15 and his ‘normal’ family is rife with mental health issues; a Year 12 sister paralysed by fear, a stressed-out Mum, a little sister hooked on Social Media, a baby brother who can’t stop crying, and a volcanic Dad about to explode. With Zeal’s dynamic multi-character acting and blend of music, drama and comedy, Meltdown is a powerful story for all secondary students.

Meltdown is written and performed by Zeal veterans who play a multitude of characters in a fast-paced production, blending elements of heightened naturalism, expressionism and verbatim theatre.

Writer, director and performer Stefo Nantsou

Our Local Health District Immunisation Team will be visiting next week on Tuesday 4 May 2021 to provide the Meningococcal ACWY for all Year 10 students. We have not received as many completed vaccination consent forms as we have in previous years. Our vaccination participation rate is normally very high for Waverley College students, especially against Meningococcal.

The forms were distributed to the students last week in their house groups and every student received one (unless they were absent). Please ensure you complete the consent form and ask your son to return it to the Health Centre this week. If he does not return the completed original consent form, he will not be able to receive the vaccine against four strains of Meningococcal disease.

Meningococcal disease is a rare but serious infection that usually leads to meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord) and/or septicaemia (blood poisoning). Symptoms of meningococcal disease may be non-specific but may include sudden onset of fever, headache, neck stiffness, joint pain, a rash of red-purple spots or bruises, dislike of bright lights, nausea and vomiting. Up to 10% of meningococcal infections are fatal even with antibiotic treatment and survivors may be left with long term complications.

The meningococcal vaccine works by triggering the immune system to fight certain infections. If a vaccinated person comes into contact with the infection their immune system is able to respond more effectively, preventing the disease developing or greatly reducing its severity.

*Please note: consent forms can not be emailed and the original consent form must be returned. Public Health will not accept copies or scans of originals. If your son has lost his form please ask him to collect a new one from the Health Centre (unfortunately we can not email them to you).

Should you have any more questions please do not hesitate to phone me directly on (02) 9369 0644.

On Wednesday 5 May 2021 your son will be participating in the Academic Assessment Services (Allwell) Test during Periods 1-4. This is a mandatory test and you may remember your son also sat a similar test upon entry to Year 7 and Year 8. In Periods 5 and 6 on that day, Heads of Department will be presenting to Year 10 students to outline subjects available for HSC study.

This test forms a key part of Waverley College effectively and consistently measuring the academic growth of your son. When combined with the NAPLAN data the College will have four years of data measurement to feedback to you regarding your son. We also use this data in a variety of ways to improve the delivery of curriculum within the school and to assist with subject selection pathways in Year 11.

After the testing day you will be provided with a written report, summarising your son’s results. These results will be returned to the College a few weeks after the testing date.

There is no course material to study prior to the day. It is a measurement, identical to NAPLAN, to give the College a picture of how your son is progressing during Year 10. It is vitally important on the day for your son to try his best, read the instructions carefully, and use every minute to maximum effect.

There will be another day allocated to enable students to complete the test if they are away.

Time Schedule: 8:45 am – Start Session 1; 10:45 am – Recess Break; 11:05 am – Start Session 2; 12:30 pm – Finish

Year 12 PDHPE classes will be attending an excursion to Sydney Academy of Sport, Narrabeen on Friday 21 May (Term 2 week 5). Students need to be at school at 7.45am and will return by bus at 3.15pm.

Important note: students are required to wear full school uniform. All students need to bring PE practical gear, running shoes, swimming gear and a towel. Students will need to bring lunch because there are limited facilities available to purchase food.

Permission Slip for Waverley College needs to be returned to your son’s PDHPE teacher by Monday 10 May. Please click on this letter with permission slip for further information. This has already been given to students.

If you still have not completed the Sydney Academy of Sport medical/consent/booking form, this is overdue. This is a compulsory requirement for attendance and must be completed by parents for each student online.

This video series consists of multiple short videos (length varies from two to twenty minutes, four hours in total) that provide targeted support for Year 12 throughout this crucial year.

The videos are designed to address the specific study skills needs of Year 12 at particular times and are grouped into videos for each term. Access to this expert video series helps to increase the circle of support for Year 12.

Brought to you by Eastern Suburbs Cooperative Libraries, Larry Grumley presents this Year 12 lecture series with tips and advice for upcoming HSC exams in:

Entries for the 2021 Waverley Youth Art Prize are Open!

Looking at the theme: We are Family – ancestors, bloodlines and belonging, students are invited to create an artwork to submit for the competition. Works can range from drawings, paintings, ceramics, sculptures, prints or photographs. Be creative!

The art rooms will be open in the Senior School during lunch on the following days:

Eligibility

All students from the Junior and Senior Campus are encouraged to enter the Waverley Youth Art Prize. All works entered will be exhibited in the opening on 3 June 2021. Entrants will go into the running to win vouchers and prize packs.

Submission Details – entries close 21 May 2021

If you are wanting the Art Department to enter your work on your behalf, please bring in your artwork by 19 May 2021 with the completed entry form for your age category.

Waverley College awards the George William Rummery Music Scholarships as a means of encouraging students to realise their potential and strive for excellence. The George William Rummery Scholarship is a gift of the Rummery Family in memory of their son and brother, George, whose life ended tragically in 1982 when he was in Year 8 at Waverley College.

The Scholarship is awarded to students of the College who display particular aptitude and interest in music. The scholarship covers ongoing full remission of music tuition fees for students from Year 7 to Year 12.

It is with great pleasure that we announce the recipients of the George William Rummery Music Scholarship for 2021 are:

George William Rummery Music Scholarship winners for 2021

George William Rummery Music Scholarship 2021

Well done to all players, staff and coaches on a positive first full round of activities last weekend. There were some standout team performances across all activities including in Year 7 Football, Years 7-8 AFL and 1sts Tennis. I also want to thank all players and parents for their patience with the new attire and we will communicate with the College community as soon as the new gear is available. We also encourage any student who has yet to get fitted for their new gear to go to the uniform shop to order.

Our Rugby teams are all away this weekend with most teams playing at The Institute of Sport at Narrabeen, and please allow for appropriate travel times on Saturday to ensure we are arriving 30 minutes prior to the match. Parking is also limited at this venue so please also allow time to find a location. Our Football is at Dangar at Rose Bay and parking at this location can also be challenging.

This Saturday we also have our Prep 1st XI Football and Prep 1st Rugby playing on QP1 and I want to wish these teams and their coaches the very best in playing their games on that full-sized field.

I also want to remind all students that they must be in full College sports attire or winter uniform when attending any fixtures to support, including those at Queens Park.

Next Thursday we are also presenting the 2021 Waverley College Winter activities captains and 1sts teams and I want to congratulate those students who will be presented.

For those present for the 1st XV on Saturday, there was a very unfortunate injury to a Newington player to end the game early, however, I am pleased to announce that the player is okay and will make a full recovery. The Newington staff and parents of this young man were very grateful for the care and respect shown and this was a great representation for the College.

We will continue to assess and adjust selections for all teams over the next couple of weeks. I also want to remind all parents and students as well as the wider College community that all schools still have COVID-19 restrictions and QR Coding in place, and we need to ensure that we are meeting these expectations.

Please click here to view the fixtures.

A positive start to the season!

On Saturday 24 April, our Rugby teams played their first opposed fixture for the year against Newington College. It was a terrific and very competitive day of Rugby, with some highly entertaining matches played out in glorious conditions.

Most importantly, the day gave coaches a good chance to monitor player performances and assist with making calls on team selections and grades. The selection process will most likely take further time as coaches continue to identify the strengths of each player. Our goal is to ensure teams are ready for the commencement of the CAS season at the end of May.

Injuries – Information and procedures to be aware of

Unfortunately, we did have some nasty injuries during our first weekend of Rugby. We pray for and pass on our best wishes to those students who did suffer injuries. May your recovery be swift and free of any pain.

An area for parents and carers to be aware of are the procedures in place to support a player who has received a concussion. We encourage parents to be familiar with the Rugby Australia Concussion Management Protocol, which was created with the wellbeing of all rugby players in mind. For more information about codes/policies/safety/welfare and concussion management, click on the Rugby Australia website

In summary, if a player displays signs that they have suffered a concussion, they are to be removed from the playing field. The medical staff at each ground will then be able to provide some instructions on treatment, but in all cases a player who has suffered a concussion will be required to see a doctor sometime in the 24 hours after the incident. Following this, a player will not be able to train for 14 days (rest) or play for at least 19 days (which would usually be two matches).

This Week – Waverley College Vs St Augustine’s

This weekend most teams will be heading to Narrabeen to play against St Augustine’s College. We do also have a few teams who will be playing against St Joseph’s College and Shore (see fixtures). We do ask that players and families allow plenty of time to get to the fields at Narrabeen (Sydney Academy of Sports and Recreation), as traffic heading towards the Northern Beaches can be heavy on a weekend. As we are still in a trial period for all teams, we do encourage players to arrive at the ground early and remain after the match to reserve. Good luck to all teams!

Thank You – BBQ & Canteen Support

I would like to thank all those wonderful volunteers from our community who put their hand up and donated some time to assist on the BBQ or the canteen last weekend. I often receive feedback from our visiting families and staff who comment on how friendly our community are during interactions with parents, carers and friends who have volunteered their time. This says a great deal about the fantastic community we have at Waverley College. Thank you all very much. I look forward to seeing you at Narrabeen this weekend.

How proud we were of our cadets as they participated in the ANZAC Commemorative Service and Parade during Assembly on Monday. The front of the Gym was lined with our VC Guard, Catafalque Party and Flag Party while our cadets, interspersed amongst the school, held vigil with a candle, lit to commemorate the lives of the 65 Waverley Old Boys who lost their lives in World Wars 1 and 2. The school community followed the cadets’ lead and approached the service with respect and pride. It was a wonderful way to mark this very special day in the Australian Calendar.

Cadet training recommences this week for the whole Unit and we are thrilled to welcome back 75 of our recruits as fully-fledged cadets, having now completed AFX and their Recruit Induction year. This term we prepare for our Year 12 Graduation Ceremony – The Passing Out Parade – on Sunday 6 June, but we still have time for some exciting field training in the lead up to this.

Once our Year 12s pass out of the Unit, we look to our new leaders to take the helm into Term 3, which is when our new Year 8 recruits will start their Cadet journey. Promotions for these new leaders takes place in the first week of the school holidays.

I would ask all parents to take note of the following dates for their calendars: