Last Monday, our Year 11 students studying Sport, Life and Recreation visited the Off-Piste Skiing and Snowboarding centre at the Entertainment Quarter.
The excursion allowed each student to experience a skiing simulator session, which addressed the key skills and body movements required for this activity.
The day was an enormous success, with all students showing a great level of enthusiasm and skill.
Last Friday, Waverley College hosted the first round of the 2023 CSDA Public Speaking Competition. This event was made even more exciting as it was the first time in three years competitors were back face-to-face.
More than 80 competitors across 13 schools took part in this prestigious competition, with two of our competitors, James Peate (Year 10) and Ewan McDonald (Year 11) moving forward to the Zone Final this week at Marcellin College.
James Peate and Ewan McDonald
James’ topic, ‘Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200’ and Ewan’s topic, ‘When it’s dark enough you can see the stars’, were delivered with poise and confidence in equal measure.
I would like to congratulate all public speaking students for assisting in the organisation and hosting of this round; their maturity and leadership is highly commendable.
Dates
Click here to view the permission slip for 11MS02 on 15 and 16 March
Click here to view the permission slip for 11MS01 on 20 and 21 March
Time: 8:30am – 4pm
Cost: $499
Abyss Scuba Diving will run a PADI Open Water Diving Certification with our students, which is internationally recognised and will allow students to dive up to 18m below the surface.
The course is split into two sections – Theory and In-water training/Dives.
Theory will be completed online during class time and at home if necessary.
Dives will take place on:
For safety, all students must complete a Scuba Medical Questionnaire that asks about medical conditions that could be a problem while diving. If none of these apply, you sign the form and you’re ready to start.
If your son has or has ever had asthma, or wheezing with breathing, or wheezing with exercise; frequent or severe attacks of hay fever or allergy; frequent colds, sinusitis or bronchitis; any form of lung disease; pneumothorax (collapsed lung); other chest disease or chest surgery; behavioural health, mental or psychological problems (panic attack, fear of closed or open spaces); epilepsy, seizures, convulsions or take medications to prevent them; recurring complicated migraine headaches or take medications to prevent them; blackouts or fainting (full/partial loss of consciousness); frequent or severe suffering from motion sickness (seasick, carsick, etc.); dysentery or dehydration requiring medical intervention; a head injury with loss of consciousness in the past five years; recurrent back problems; back or spinal surgery; diabetes; back, arm or leg problems following surgery, injury or fracture; high blood pressure or take medicine to control blood pressure; heart disease; heart attack; angina, heart surgery or blood vessel surgery; sinus surgery; ear disease or surgery, hearing loss or problems with balance; recurrent ear problems; bleeding or other blood disorders; hernia; ulcers or ulcer surgery; a colostomy or ileostomy, he may not be able to participate in the PADI Open Water SCUBA diving course.
If any of the conditions in the medical form or above apply to your son, as a safety precaution, a dive medical must be completed by a specialist physician to assess the condition as it relates to diving, and sign a medical form that confirms that you’re fit to dive.
I recommend that you phone and arrange an appointment as soon as possible. You will need to accompany the boys as their parental guardian/carer and sign the paperwork.
A copy of the permission slip has been emailed to students’ parent/carer/guardian email address.
Please read the above information and give your permission for your son to participate in this excursion.
Details: Australian Museum Shark Exhibition, ferry trip to Manly and snorkelling
Date: Thursday, 23 March 2023
Time: 9am – 3pm
Cost: $0
Students meet at The Australian Museum (1 William Street, Darlinghurst) at 9am.
As a class, we will view the Shark Exhibition, learning about in the history and biology of sharks. After the exhibition, we will then make our way to Circular Quay to catch the ferry to Manly. Students will have the opportunity to speak to the crew on the ferry. From there, students will participate in a snorkelling activity at Manly Cove.
Uniform: students to wear full sports uniform and bring a backpack with swimming attire, hat, towel and sunscreen.
Students are required to bring enough food for the day, including water bottle and their OPAL card for use on public transport.
Students will be dismissed from Circular Quay at 3pm.
Should there be any concerns or medical conditions that may limit your child’s ability to participate in these activities, please do not hesitate to email me: aromijn@waverley.nsw.edu.au
A copy of this permission slip has also been emailed to parents and carers.
The education community has recently been abuzz with the rise of ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer), an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can generate responses to questions in real time with a simple prompt.
The question is, how will we respond?
Tools like ChatGPT are not going away, in fact, they are only going to improve and become more sophisticated over time. Whether we like it or not, this particular form of AI is now a permanent fixture of our society.
Stopping students using the tool is a short-term knee jerk reaction to dealing with AI. We cannot be the gatekeepers of this knowledge. We need to be smarter. We need to figure out a way to adjust to these tools, and not just ban them. Remember when calculators, computers, smart phones and watches, spell and grammar checkers, and Google arrived and panic ensued. “Each of these technologies infringed on the educational status quo, yet teachers managed to make it work.” (Education HQ, 2023). Educators used these innovations to supplement and enhance human capabilities not replace them.
We can not ‘un-invent’ technology, so we are determined to teach AI well. We should not be afraid of AI. Generally speaking, it has been modelled that people tend to respond to the introduction of new technologies according to their age bracket.
Reference: [< 15], [15 – 35], [35 >] (Mr Long Education, 2023)
With the right approach, ChatGPT can be an effective teaching tool. We can help our students think about leveraging AI, and consider its applications, its shortfalls and its benefits.
As Roose points out in his 2023 New York Times article, our young people will graduate into a world full of generative AI programs. “They’ll need to know their way around these tools — their strengths and weaknesses, their hallmarks and blind spots — in order to work alongside them. To be good citizens, they’ll need hands-on experience to understand this type of AI works, what types of bias it contains, and how it can be misused and weaponized.”
ChatGPT does not need to be viewed as a threat to student learning, especially if teachers pair it with substantive, in-class discussions and creative tasks. Our role as educators is to ensure our students are critical thinkers. We need to emphasise that AI does not replace thinking, rather, enables higher-level thinking to occur. It enables thinking to be faster and better informed.
Some examples, and not limited to, of how we are using ChatGPT as a teaching tool include:
Having students generate an AI response and then compare it to an exemplary script or with the marking criteria to evaluate its level. At best an AI response is usually a C grade. The responses are not higher order; they do not include in text referencing; the sentences are simple; the vocabulary is not particularly sophisticated and the paragraph style is simplistic, repetitive and formulaic.
Some teachers are asking students to try to ‘trip up’ ChatGPT. It has flaws and limitations. Sometimes it is factually incorrect, has bias and it currently only has information up until 2021. Such flaws and limitations can stimulate a critical thinking exercise where students can fact check, refine, edit and validate with human judgement.
We are also designing assessment questions that require students to draw on a personal reflection in their response. Something that can not come through an AI-generated answer. Additionally, we are incorporating Writer’s Toolbox (WT) with task submissions which require specific sentence structures and paragraphing techniques unique to the WT program.
Currently, plagiarism software companies such as Turnitin are working on how their programs can detect AI writing to uphold academic integrity. While they have not committed to a release date, they are confident that they have the technology to address emerging forms of misconduct using ChatGPT. In the meantime, we will be addressing the ethics of best practice with ChatGPT. We will be very clear with our expectations around its use, and teach our students to use it wisely and ethically. We will educate them about the consequences of misusing Chat GPT, consequences of plagiarism and the importance of ethical decision making.
The adjustment to this AI innovation may not necessarily be easy. Sudden technological shifts, particularly one of this magnitude, rarely are. But who better placed to guide students into this dynamic new world than their teachers.
Thank you to parents, carers, staff and students who participated in Monday’s Wellbeing Mentor meetings. Academic research supports the notion that educational partnership has a positive impact on students’ cognitive, social, emotional and physical development. Our Wellbeing Program was extensively reviewed seven years ago by Emeritus Professor Donna Cross, who provided the College with a strategic report regarding our pastoral and wellbeing programs, structures and curriculum.
Professor Cross has just been appointed by the NSW Government as the first chief behaviour advisor to work across Public, Catholic and Independent school sectors in a bid to improve student behaviour and educational outcomes for all students.
Waverley is a member of the Positive Educations Schools Association (PESA) and Association of Independent Schools of NSW (AIS), and we are currently working with their Deep Learning program initiative which incorporates the learning competencies (6Cs – Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Citizenship and Character) into our teaching, learning and wellbeing programs to underpin all of our curriculum. Deep Learning integrates academic skills with personal and social capabilities, and gives priorities to those capabilities and dispositions that support whole-school learning and living.
In the early centuries, Christian fasting rules were strict during Lent, as they still are in Eastern churches. One meal a day was allowed in the evening, and meat, fish, eggs, and butter were forbidden. The Eastern church also restricts the use of wine, oil, and dairy products. In the West, these fasting rules have gradually been relaxed. The strict law of fasting among Roman Catholics was dispensed with during World War II, and only Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are now kept as Lenten fast days.
In addition, Catholics and other Christians often choose to give up specific pleasures, such as sweets, alcohol, or social media during Lent, as a way to foster simplicity and self-control; many use their cravings or desires for these items as a reminder to pray and to refocus on spiritual matters.
As a school, we focus on penitential practice and almsgiving during Lent, where we encourage students to support other members of the wider community and build bridges within their families and friends. There are several wonderful examples within this newsletter of where families and students can offer support. Please take the time to read these articles about:
Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting with Mayor Paula Masselos and we discussed how our students and community could interact further within their local community. The following opportunities currently exist.
Would you like to learn more about the Waverley College SchoolTV initiative?
Click here to view further information
Because parenting doesn’t come with instructions, SchoolTV is a wellbeing resource implemented at our school to help support you in the challenges of modern-day parenting. Parenting is a learning journey and it’s easy to feel stressed and overwhelmed when faced with raising happy, well and resilient young people today.
Every family has experienced some sort of difficulty or adversity in recent times, some more than others. As mental health concerns continue to rise, there have been some alarming statistics reported in relation to the mental health and wellbeing of young people. Unfortunately, the blueprint for parenting is often based on our own experiences, but this is no longer fit for purpose in raising children as citizens of tomorrow. Parents and caregivers play a vital role in providing the guidance needed to support children and adolescents as they reframe their worries and focus more on the things they can control in their life.
In this Special Report, we are seeking parent participation through a short survey. The survey is designed to provide a barometer to help gauge the state of student wellbeing within our community. We encourage you to take a few moments to complete the survey as this will help our school know the nature and extent of your concerns and determine how best we can support families in the months ahead. Responses remain anonymous and will only be reported on an aggregated basis. You are asked to base your responses on observations made in the last 12 months.
By working together we can continue to build relationships, foster connections, enable understanding and break down barriers as we navigate a pathway towards better mental health and wellbeing for all students. Please reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you or your child, please reach out to the school or seek professional medical advice.
Click here to view the Special Report
SchoolTV is conducting a national study to measure their impact on youth mental health. The goal is to better understand how they can support communities and empower confident parenting.
They have partnered with Deakin University to conduct this study. By positioning themselves with the findings of the Deakin University study, SchoolTV can demonstrate to government bodies that their platform is effective in improving the wellbeing of young people, and that they have a strong track record of success. This, in turn, can help SchoolTV secure funding to expand its reach to more communities in need, and to continue to provide vital support and resources to schools and their families.
How you can help
SchoolTV understands that parents and caregivers have the greatest influence on a young person’s life, and they invite anyone who is willing to help to participate in the survey. If you have a friend, acquaintance, or family member whom you think may also be willing to help, please feel free to share the link.
All responses are anonymous, and all data is managed by Deakin University.
Please click the button below to complete the survey
Ms Gabby Smith
Deputy Principal – Students
gsmith@waverley.nsw.edu.au
In last week’s edition of Nurrunga, Mr Leddie wrote about the findings of the Deakin University, QUT, and the University of Canberra reading survey titled ‘Teen Reading in the Digital Era’ conducted at Waverley College last year. All evidence pointed to the fact that our students are not engaging in reading as much as we would like. However, the students indicated that they would like to be reading more in 10 years’ time.
The question Mr Roberts and I have asked is ‘Why wait?’
Since Week 1, we have welcomed all Year 7 and Year 8 students and their English teachers to the library, providing them with the opportunity to browse the shelves, select a book and read. We have also read short stories and extracts from novels and autobiographies aloud to the students.
According to reading expert and academic Meghan Cox Gourdon, reading aloud has many benefits:
“Students who engage in ‘Reading aloud’ are used to listening, so it’s easy for them to do it. They’ve heard lots of language, so their comprehension will be comparatively strong. And they learn from experience that paying attention brings rewards. By contrast, technology distracts us and pulls us in different directions. Technology is training us to dart and react like hummingbirds, scrolling, liking, posting.”
I have personally enjoyed reading chapter 1 of Roald Dahl’s Matilda. If you haven’t already, read it quickly before it’s too late.
Reading Matilda by Roald Dahl
Over the course of these lessons, Mr Roberts and I have made some interesting observations, which may be of interest to parents, carers and teachers.
We have emphasised that the purpose of our reading lessons is to encourage the students to read for pleasure. We are not testing the students’ reading level or asking them to ‘study’ the book. We have discussed the many benefits of reading for pleasure and set reading goals. We have found careful selection of age-appropriate texts is leading to student buy in and heightened interest. We have thoroughly enjoyed watching the students on their personal reading journey. And we have learned that, hypothetically, students don’t have any problems with eating raw eggs.
It would be wonderful if our students could also ensure that they complete at least 10 minutes of reading at home on a daily basis. Cox Gurdon sees reading as, “an antidote to a world of fractured attention spans, one in which students are being increasingly deprived of what is an ancient and proven human connection”. If this is possible in just 10 minutes daily, students and teachers will soon begin to notice improvements.
For more information please send your sons to myself or Mr Roberts.
Click here to view information about the 2023 Premier's Reading Challenge
Well done to the majority of Year 7 students who have remembered to complete and bring their NAPLAN writing booklets to their library lessons. I encourage all students to ensure that they return their work on Tuesday, 7 March at the latest, as NAPLAN is fast approaching.
Students in Year 7 and Year 9 will continue their NAPLAN preparations over the next few weeks, in time for their writing exam on 15 March.
Woollahra Libraries is inviting Waverley HSC students to attend their upcoming HSC events at Double Bay Library at 451 New South Head Road, Double Bay.
Rowan Kunz from Art of Smart is running two FREE workshops in March:
Click here to view more information
Click here to view more information
*Get in early, because bookings are essential.
Waverley Council has launched an exciting new project and installed five temporary parklets along the walk from Bondi Junction to Bondi Beach.
These parklets are like mini parks and are free spaces to sit and relax. They’ll be in place for a six-month trial period.
Council would like to know what you think of them and how they could be improved.
Would you and your family like to give your feedback? If so, you have until Sunday, 30 April 2023 to do this.
Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 1 events, please refer to the College calendar.
All Junior School announcements via our Waverley App will always have ‘JS:’ at the beginning of the title. All co-curricular announcements sent out from Senior School are not related unless it references JS at the beginning of the titled announcement.
There has been some confusion lately, and we want to make sure this is cleared up for all Junior School families.
Thank you so much to all the parents and carers who attended our webinar on Embracing Change and Puberty. I have attached the Slides from the presentation.
Our students had their first session on Tuesday, and the feedback from the student surveys were excellent. Please have a conversation with you son to discuss the topics and any further questions they may want to discuss with you.
Click here to view the presentation slides
Ms Gaby Bransby
Director of the Junior School
gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au
As part of our Lenten Appeal, the students have been asked to make a promise to help support CARITAS. During the 6 Gold Assembly, as well as through in-class activities, students have been looking at the different ways in which CARITAS is helping to support those who are less fortunate than others.
Students have been encouraged to use part of their weekly pocket money or do extra chores around the house, to help to fulfil their pledge. We thank you in advance for your generosity.
With no screening programs available and no means of prevention through lifestyle changes, blood cancer is Australia’s hidden cancer crisis.
Every day, 53 Aussies are diagnosed with blood cancer, and 16 will lose their life.
We can’t delay taking action together.
That’s why, as a College, we have decided to take part in the Leukaemia Foundation’s ‘World’s Greatest Shave.’ We’ll be raising crucial funds that help give those facing blood cancer all the support and information they need, while driving breakthrough research projects discovering better ways to diagnose and treat blood cancer.
You have the power to help us make an extraordinary difference. Big or small, every donation counts. Will you help by sponsoring us?
Our top five Junior School fundraisers will have the opportunity to have their head shaved (optional) in front of the Junior School at lunchtime in Week 7 to celebrate their wonderful efforts in donating to such an important charity.
Alternatively, you can help to support by clicking the button below.
Click here to view the Lacey house World's Greatest Shave donation page
I am pleased to announce the Years 5 and 6 Student Leaders for Semester 1 2023. I look forward to working with them over the next couple of terms, and hope that they can be good role models to the rest of their peers.
| Year 5
Captains |
Year 5
Vice Captains |
Year 6
Captains |
Year 6 Vice Captains | |
| Blue | Thomas Sheehy | Cruz Peralta | Franklin Pyke | Boyd Haslam |
| Gold | Leo Mithen | Toby Armson | Sam Burrows | Leo Vigil |
| Indigo | Fergus Samba Hoare | Tom Johnston | Noah Dalton | Louis Coleman |
| Orange | Hugh Rachel | Hugo Cuschieri | Jack Baker-Sedgman | Marcus-Millard |
| Red | Ruben Lopez Crestani | Harrison Hughes | Andreas Alexandratos | Samuel Powell |
| White | Finn Constable | Alastair Dunn | Vincent Lee | Leo Bowers |
Mr Steve Ghattas
Assistant Director of Junior School/Identity & Student Formation
sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Next week, we are excited for the Junior School to take part in a day of activities to develop their Leadership and Team Building skills.
Throughout each day, students will work in their Houses as teams, to take part in an array of team-building, survivor-style activities. These activities are focused on building stronger connections and friendships through developing communicative, collaborative and problem-solving skills.
Students will need to wear their PE uniform for the day, and are strongly encouraged to wear their House colour shirt if they have one.
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a point in time assessment of literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life.
Students in Years 5, 7 and 9 participate in the annual NAPLAN tests in writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.
Our school will be participating in NAPLAN Online between 15 and 24 March 2023.
We do not recommend excessive preparation for NAPLAN Online, however, if you are looking for any resources to familiarise your son with the online testing platform, click the button below to view the public demonstration site.
Click here to view the NAPLAN public demonstration site
We truly believe that we prepare our Waverley students through the quality teaching and learning experiences they already receive in the classroom.
Our Year 5 teachers will be offering opportunities for Year 5 to become familiar with the NAPLAN interface, and utilising Education Perfect to set some NAPLAN-style practice questions in the lead up. We hope for this to be a stress-free and supported experience for all of our students.
Ms Charlotte Stephens
Director of Curriculum
cstephens@waverley.nsw.edu.au
As it is Round 4 tomorrow (Saturday, 4 March), I wish all teams the best of luck and ask them to represent Waverley proudly, as I know they will.
Please ensure your refer to the Waverley College app announcements each week, as I will continue to send out the weekly Sports Fixtures for each round.
Families can also locate all relevant Junior School co-curricular information through the College website by clicking the button below.
A number of Waverley Junior School students competed in the State SLSC championships over the weekend and the results are fantastic! These are just the final results for the Bronte U11s team:
Roman Szabo also managed to get into five finals in the water, which is an amazing feat as they raced one race after the other, and ended up in a battle of fitness. He achieved the following:
The heats started with around 120-150 kids and got whittled down, which is a massive accomplishment for our students. I would like to congratulate all Waverley students who competed over the weekend.
On the weekend, Louis Coleman, Hugo Cummins, Joey Di Blasio, Jack Sedgman, Talin Opai, Oscar MacDomhnaill, Kalin Fisher and Jackson MacAskill competed at the Junior Oztag State Championships in Coffs Harbour.
The boys played six games over two days, and finished 3rd in their pool, against strong competition. We celebrate these students’ achievements and are proud of their team efforts.
Junior Oztag State Championships
Junior Oztag State Championships
Junior Oztag State Championships
Junior Oztag State Championships
Mr Jack Wachtel
Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Years 5-8)
jwachtel@waverley.nsw.edu.au
We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school for the completion of home learning tasks. The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.
Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3pm until 4pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.
Click here to register your son
Only register his name once, to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots. There will be a roll call to ensure attendance.
Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent/carer signature will be required.
As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not cause a disturbance for others.
If you require any further information, feel free to email us.
If afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately, you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached. Try to avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.
Vincent enjoys reading graphic novels – comics! If your son has never read a graphic novel before, encourage him to do so. It is also on the Waverley Reading Challenge as one of the reading categories.
It was a privilege to have Brad Burke as our very first guest speaker for 2023. Brad, the father of Tom (Year 8) and Ollie (Year 6), is the Director of OrthoSure, an orthopaedic company that provides a range of unique, world-class medical devices to enrich the quality of life for patients.
It was a full house with aspiring students wanting to learn all about the world of bones, surgery and orthopaedic implants.
Thank you for taking the time out to inspire our Junior School boys.
Our Junior School ‘Lunchtime Talks’ always inspire. This week we met Brad Burke, dad of Tom (Year 8) and Ollie (Year 6). It was a full house with aspiring students wanting to learn all about the world of bones, surgery and orthopaedic implants!
The Junior School debating tryouts are on Thursday, 16 March (Week 7) in the Learning Hub, Period 1. If your son would like to try out for the IPSHA team, he will need to do the following:
2. Write a 1-2 minute speech taking the side of the affirmative or negative.
3. On the day he will rebut the student speaking before him. Then he will continue with his own speech.
Ms Natasha Zivanovic
Literacy & Innovation Teacher
nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au
This week, 5 White engaged in many fun activities that taught us about the history and culture of Australia’s First Nations People.
Our favourite lesson was Aboriginal Art Therapy. We used watercolour paints and pastel crayons to create an art piece that reflected our feelings, thoughts and emotions in the moment.
The joy of listening to music by Indigenous artist Scott Darlow, and moving to it freely, while making marks on the paper, was therapeutic and mesmerising.
We hope you enjoy looking at our beautiful art pieces at the top of this page.
“Everyone in the class enjoyed this activity and made splendid artworks that made the classroom feel warm and vibrant. During the painting experience, we felt relaxed, happy and calm.”
By Joe Roy and Ollie Johnson
Ms Chloe-Jane Tweedie
Classroom Teacher, 5 White
ctweedie@waverley.nsw.edu.au
As per the College Diary, this is a reminder that the Year 11 Elevate Session – Ace Your Exams – will be held during Period 1 on Wednesday, 8 March.
This is a compulsory session for HSC plus ATAR Students who will attend the session in their timetabled English classes. HSC plus Vocational Students are also welcome to attend. They should liaise with their English Studies teacher prior to the session so they can be allocated a session to attend on the day.
This session is delivered by a group of recent successful graduates and will cover:
Click here for further details
Elevate work with our students in Years 9-11 at key times in the year, and they also offer free webinars for parents and carers. The webinars are held fortnightly on Wednesday evenings.
Click here to register for Free Parent/Carer Webinars
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.
Watch our video
