Throughout the academic year, the University of Sydney hosts a round-robin style debating competition for school students. Last Friday, Waverley debaters from Years 7, 8, and 9 participated.
The students were required to debate in three rounds, speaking for five minutes with only half an hour to prepare.
This was a fantastic experience for our junior debaters to practise their argumentative skills learnt during the winter season. All teams showed progress across the three rounds, with particular congratulations to the Year 9 team who won all three debates.
On Saturday, 15 October, Waverley students participated in the UN Youth public speaking competition: Voice. A unique competition, in that students are required to pitch a solution to given global issues such as aged care crisis, climate change, and public housing.
Waverley students Ewan McDonald, Charlie Murphy, James Peate, and Lachlan Miranda represented our College. All three students spoke confidently and presented innovative solutions to their chosen concern.
I congratulate Ewan, Charlie, James, and Lachlan on such a strong start to the public speaking season, and look forward to continuing to support them as they hone their rhetorical skills.
Given that many exciting things are scheduled for our Year 10 students – exams, service weeks and activity days, we kindly ask that all their textbooks are returned to Book Hire promptly.
If students can please ensure that they return their textbooks upon completion of their exams, that would be greatly appreciated.
Lastly, a friendly reminder that the Book Hire room is open Mondays to Thursdays 8am-4pm, however students are welcome to return their books on Fridays to the Senior library as an alternative.
Thank you in advance and wishing Year 10 best of luck for the upcoming exams!
The 1st XI claimed their first win of the season against St Aloysius’ College at Queens Park in the first two-day game of Term 4. Aloysius’ were sent into bat first, and were limited to a total of 104 due to an impressive performance with the ball by rookie and team favourite, Matthew Frost.
Frost proved that consistency is crucial in building pressure, as he went on to take 4/26 off 11 overs. Lucas Ryan provided the helping hand by taking an excellent diving catch in second slip. Waverley currently has a lead of 14 runs going into the second day, which was boosted by Hunter Eldrige’s 27, who was unfortunately run out. Congratulations to Mr Kroll and the team for their superb efforts on Saturday.
I would also like to acknowledge and thank all the parents/carers involved in putting on the famous Waverley College lunch for the 1st XI players. COVID-19 had restricted the College’s capacity to facilitate this lunch, and it was pleasing to see that as a cricket community, there is still a driving force of unity in organising this event.
Ultimately, these efforts as a community make the experience of playing 1st XI much more enjoyable for all the students. In particular, thank you to both the Hickey and Andrews families who have devoted their time in not only organising the lunch, but also embraced the many new parents/carers as members of our community.
Furthermore, some other notable performances across the grounds included:
Lastly, Lachlan Chalmers from the 8As bagged a hat trick playing club cricket for Randwick on Sunday, and definitely deserves a special mention. Lachlan’s performance is a reflection of his attentive approach to training and his respect for his team, including his coaches. Well done, Lachlan.
Please find below key event dates you need to be aware of for the Junior School in Term 4. For all of the College events, please refer to the College calendar.
Today we had the pleasure of Reese Araujo leading the Junior School as the Director. Reese won this privilege through his incredible fundraising efforts at our Junior School Fun Run.
Our day began with an Assembly, where the teachers faced off in a game of Three Second Rule – Congratulations to Mr Steve Ghattas who received two release periods for taking out the competition.
The students enjoyed being able to wear mufti, which included some very colourful costumes. An ice block, a free period, and a session where they wrote kind affirmations to teachers, all contributed to making it such a great day.
Probably the biggest decision Reese made was No Homework – Week 3. I have to say, this was probably one of his most popular calls on the day!
*There will be no Home Learning Club in Week 3.
Reese Araujo
Director of Junior School
Welcome back to Term 4. I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful break. We have a very full and busy term ahead, which will include being able to celebrate your son’s academic achievements. This is also an important term with Semester 2 reports going home towards the end of term.
We will continue to motivate our students to keep working hard to achieve their goals, and to reach their full learning potential. Our students will be very busy with Summer sports starting, so it is important that you help your sons manage their time, and plan the week ahead to incorporate a balanced approach to training, home learning and assignments.
Below is the Curriculum Overview for Term 4. You will be able to see what your son will be learning in the classroom. It is clearly set out so that you can see the subject and the topics being taught across the curriculum.
2022 Year 5 Curriculum Overview
2022 Year 6 Curriculum Overview
Ms Gabrielle Bransby
Assistant Director of Junior School/Curriculum
E: gbranby@waverley.nsw.edu.au
As part of the Year 6 Graduation, I will be putting together a slideshow presentation. I would be very appreciative if you could send through a photo of your son’s Kindergarten photo (or their first day of Kindergarten, or similar), as this will form part of the presentation.
Please email your labelled photo to liturgy@waverley.nsw.edu.au by no later than Friday Week 5. Picture format as a jpeg or png files would be preferred. Please do not send through pdf files.
Thank you.
Mr Steve Ghattas
Assistant Director of Identity & Student Formation
E: sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au
It was a picturesque day for our first round of Term 4 Summer sport last Saturday. Thank you to all parents who took on board the parent support announcement, it was wonderful to see and hear the amount of support given to our coaches. It was equally pleasing to see our students running around enjoying themselves, with zero chance of weather interruptions and ground closures.
Please click the button below to ensure you are up to date with fixtures and venue maps for Round 8 (Saturday, 22 October). Keep a close eye on the Waverley College app for any further adjustments due to weather conditions or ground closures.
Sporting Fixtures and Venue Maps
Wizards Basketball team
Congratulations to the Wizards Basketball team who were runners up in the grand final for Easts Basketball League 12A’s Season 3 2022, which was played on the last weekend of school/first weekend of the holidays.
Congratulations, Wizards Basketball Team: Hugo Murphy, Charlie Gibbins, Ben Fernandez, Nico Peshos, Max Tuffs, Max Malley, Henry O’Donnell, Levi Dunbavin
Junior Australian Oztag Championships
Congratulations to Kalan Fisher, Hunter Leondis and Jackson MacAskill for representing the East Coast Orcas at the Junior Australian Oztag Championships in Coffs Harbour. The boys played 7 games over 3 days, making it to the Quarter Finals.
Junior Australian Oztag Championships
Mr Jack Wachtel
Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Years 5-8)
E: jwachtel@waverley.nsw.edu.au
This term in English our topic is ‘Life is an Adventure.’ Throughout this Unit, the students will be immersing themselves in a variety of short stories across all different media, from written texts to stop motion films.
The students have already shared funny and scary experiences in their own lives, from encounters with sharks and stingrays, to adventures and mishaps whilst away overseas.
They moved on to reading short texts from various authors, worked in pairs to create their own short stories, and combined that with an illustration to match. I look forward to seeing their own stop motion animations that they will create towards the end of the term.
A Short Story by Jonah Nioplias and Ben Fernandes
Hi, My name is Jonah. Jonah Fernandes. And my dog, Bijúzz, has taken my sock. She does this all the time. I am currently chasing her up and down the hallway of my house, absolutely exhausted and fed up with it.
I felt like I was about to pass out and suddenly I stepped in something wet, sticky and chunky. It had a familiar stench of leftover barbecue from last night. It was VOMIT!! With my sock in it. I looked around and Bijúzz was nowhere to be seen, then suddenly I saw her sitting in my bedroom gnawing on my mum’s brand new, fresh out of the box, 100 billion dollar Gucci high heels!
OH NO! I thought to myself. OH NO! OH NO! OH NO! I ran up to her and “Bijúzz!” I yelled, ripping the shoe out of her mouth. After I had taken the shoe out of her mouth, they had been covered and saturated in dog slobber and dug in with teeth marks. There was only one solution to this unfixable problem. It had to be the… Reverse Bot 2000! It had been sitting under the stairs collecting dust, so today was the right time to use it. Once I had opened the door, its eyes lit up in all its glory, waiting for this moment for an eternity. By a simple click of a button the machine reversed back all the way to five minutes ago.
I had sped up into my mum’s room and grabbed the heels. Bijúzz was right behind my tail ready to intercept them. I had made a tumble roll and had the heels in my grasp. I had got them! But then, I heard the creak of my house’s front door open. The only way to act this out was to- “Hi, darling. Why are you wearing my new heels?”
“I was just playing dress up.” “Ok. They look nice on you.” “Thanks, mum.”
The culmination of 6 Indigo’s Science unit on ‘Sustainable Citizens’ was to design and create a game for a younger person. All students were engaged throughout the design process and finally got the chance to put their games into action.
A lot of excitement could be seen and heard as they challenged each other to friendly competition. Well done to all boys on completing this project with the notion of using recycled materials at the forefront of their design.
Mr Steve Ghattas
Classroom Teacher 6 Indigo
E: sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Well done to Ecology Coordinator and Geography teacher, Ms Rebecca Sutcliffe, for her tireless work in organising the ceremony and native planting last Thursday and Friday with the Indigenous community in the Main Quad.
This very special collaboration with our Ecology and Walawaani students, Indigneous Elder Uncle Dean Kelly, Mr Kevin Heath (Indigenous Liaison Officer), Ms Marie-Anne Maakrun (Assistant Director of Identity & Student Formation) and Old Boy Costa Georgiadis (Class of 1980), has seen our traditional hedges around the statues of Mary and Edmund Rice, replaced with the critically endangered Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub, which proliferated in the region prior to non-Indigenous settlement.
Uncle Dean performed smoking ceremonies for each plant and educated students and staff about the new plantings, and the reasons why they were chosen. Old Boy Costa educated our students about the importance of connection, respect, working together and always staying ‘present.’
Congratulations to the following captains and teams who were presented at assembly this week.
1st Captain – Jack Preller
1st Team
Captain – Scott Swinburn
1st Captain – Luke White
Captain – Jamie Khov
Captain – Will Hickey
1st Captain – Hirav Gandhi
1st Team
Captain – Daniel Palacio
1st Captain – Thomas Gleeson
1st Team
Captain – Alistair Isaac
1st Captain – Paul Muir
Captain – Liam Athanassiou
1st Captain – Felix Turinui
1st Team
Captain – Sam Johnson
1st Captain – Hugo Kulscar
Captain – Matt Woods
After 37 Years of distinguished service to boys, parents, staff and the community, Ms Audrey Coupe will retire at the end of this year. Over this time, Audrey has provided amazing support to Headmasters and Directors of Junior School. She has run both campuses and supported key personnel, whilst also meeting the needs of families. Audrey has ensured the College got through the storms and shone at all other times. She has put her heart and soul into the College, and left a wonderful legacy of care and service for others. Many an Old Boy remembers fondly the impact she made in their life, long after they left the College. We will thank and acknowledge Audrey at the end of this term and I wish her a wonderful end to her career at the College.
After 47 years of distinguished service to the boys, staff, parents and community, Mr Chris Blenkinsopp will retire from full-time teaching at the end of this year. Over his time at the College, Chris has shared his passion of Music with many students through camps, musicals, and tours to Europe, China and the USA. Chris has been an integral member of the Music Department, and inspired many students to pursue and develop their musical talents. Chris was Head of the Music Department from 1992 – 2005. He has also assisted with many College and community bands over the years, and left a significant mark with all of them. The Cadet program has benefited from his many hours of service and tuition. We will thank and acknowledge Chris at the end of this term, and I wish him a wonderful end to his career at the College.
Welcome to Ms Helen Barrie, Head of Academic Enrichment, who started with us this week. Helen has nine years teaching/leadership experience in a leading Government School in Sydney. Most recently, she has held the position of Head Teacher – Teaching & Learning, working closely with the leadership team to develop and implement a number of key frameworks within the school. In this role, she implemented the Department of Education’s High Potential and Gifted Education. Helen has also spent time working with the Education Department as a member of the HSC Strategy Team, looking at ways to enhance outcomes for students across the departments. We are very excited to have Helen join Waverley College.
Congratulations to Mr Nic Brophy who is acting as Head of History for the first half of Term 4, whilst Mr Barry Smith is away on leave.
Farewell and thank you to Mr Walter De Vecchis and Mr Simon Finegan, both from the Campus team, who have contributed significantly to the College Campus team this year. Simon has accepted a position with the Opera House and Walter is travelling overseas to visit family. We wish them both all the very best.
Waverley College Aquatic Centre Swim Squad Opens Term 4
Drug and alcohol expert, Paul Dillon, returns to Waverley College presenting to Years 10 and 11, as well a parent session at 6pm on Thursday, 3 November. Paul has been working in the area of drug education for more than 30 years.
The College has responded to feedback from the Parents’ Association and will hold the parent session via Zoom.
Paul regularly appears in the media and is regarded as a key social commentator, with interviews on television programs such as Sunrise, TODAY and The Project. Paul also writes a blog where he discusses topical issues of the day, as well as addressing some of the questions and queries he is regularly asked by those attending his presentations.
Paul’s presentations cover a variety of drug and alcohol-related issues, including the decline in alcohol consumption and the rise in vape use. Interestingly, he sees online gambling as an area of increasing concern for adolescent boys. This issue has previously been identified at the College and discussed at House Meetings, College Assembles, Mentor Groups as well as in PDHPE lessons.
Our Wellbeing Framework relies heavily on the parent partnership. I encourage all parents to log in to Paul’s session on the Thursday, 3 November. It is sure to be an entertaining and informative presentation. The parent session is titled ‘Vaping – short and sweet: What do parents need to know?
Vaping (the use of electronic cigarettes, e-cigarettes or ‘vapes’) has become a growing issue for many parents and carers across the country. Waverley College is not immune to this. This session will provide up-to-date and accurate information on the use of e-cigarettes and vaping, including the potential harms associated with the use of these devices, particularly for young people.
Practical advice will also be provided on how to talk to young people about vaping, as well as some possible responses that parents/carers can use, should their child attempt to challenge them in this complex area.
Click to join the Zoom meeting
Meeting ID: 814 7077 9076
Passcode: 224589
Mr Patrick Brennan
Deputy Principal, Student & Staff Wellbeing
E: pbrennan@waverley.nsw.edu.au
We’re excited to announce that Elevate Education will be hosting a free webinar for our parents/carers on Wednesday, 26 October, titled ‘How to Help Your Child Manage Their Time.’
Elevate Education works with our students, delivering high-impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation.
By tuning into their webinar series, you will learn how you can help better support your children at home, through reinforcing the skills they learn at school.
In this webinar, Elevate will be showing parents/carers how to:
1. Align family expectations on homework
2. Work with your child on managing other activities such as your child’s hobbies or sports
3. Create the best weekly planner tool for your child
Wednesday, 26 October, 6:30pm (AEDT)
Register Now to Reserve Your Spot
Congratulations to all students who took part in the Science ICAS assessment this term. There were a total of 52 students who sat the test across Year 7 to Year 10.
Merit awards are given to students who achieved within the top 50%, Credit awards are given to students who achieved within the top 25%, and Distinction awards are given to students who achieved within the top 10% of all students in Australia sitting the test.
A special mention to Aidan Murray who achieved a Distinction in the Year 10 ICAS Science assessment. Congratulations, Aidan!
Parents can log in to the ICAS portal to access their child’s results, using their individual TAP-ID and PIN which was sent to them by ICAS.
The portal breaks the test down further into different sections, which gives an interesting insight into different areas of strength and weakness.
Well done to all who took part. We look forward to you testing your scientific skills even further next year!
The Australian Government has an initiative for schools for mobile Dental clinic services, such as NSW Dental Care.
NSW Dental Care is offering free dental screenings to students at Waverley College from 24- 28 October, 2022.
The dental screening is a free of charge for eligible students aged 2-17, and provides benefits for the child for basic dental services that includes:
This service is provided under the Child Dental Benefits Scheme of the Australian Government. Early detection of decay and other dental disease is vital in preventing bigger, more painful and expensive problems in the future. Left untreated, dental disease is progressive and will result in greater discomfort and is likely lead to permanent problems, such as tooth loss or lasting pain.
COVID-19 Guidelines for Dental Services
Consent Form Process and Procedures
Click below to view and complete a consent form if you would like your child to receive a dental consultation
Please ensure the form is completed by 22 October 2022.
This falls under the Medicare – Child Dental Benefits Scheme. Parents will need to provide their child’s Medicare number on the form. Waverley College encourages our students to benefit from this service.
This service is free for eligible students. Payment of benefits under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule is administered through the Department of Human Services. If your child is eligible there will be no cost to you and no gap fee.
NSW Dental Care will provide these dental services within Waverley College on both the Junior and Senior School campuses. NSW Dental alongside Waverley College, will ensure each student’s safety, comfort, and wellbeing.
NSW Dental Care arrives with fully mobile state-of-the-art equipment and follows strict COVID-19 safety regulations, including the staff being fully vaccinated before visiting the school.
Once the check-ups are completed, reports will be mailed to parents regarding the outcome. This enables early diagnosis and preventative treatment.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email healthcentre@waverley.nsw.edu.au
You are invited to attend the Annual Parents’ Association AGM on Tuesday, 8 November at 6pm in the Senior School Library. There will be time for a light refreshment and a face-to-face catch-up, as well as the AGM Agenda.
**Please note that this event had previously been scheduled for Tuesday, 1 November.**
We are still taking expressions of interest for three positions in the Committee – Treasurer, Secretary and President. Please email me if you would like to get involved.
We look forward to seeing you on the 8th.
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
