We wish Year 12 student James Peate all the very best as he competes in the final this weekend of the NSW Rostrum Public Speaking Competition.
James is the defending champion of this competition winning it as a Year 11 student last year. We also congratulate Dante Fearn (Y11) for making it through to the semifinals. Waverley was the only school in NSW to have two students competing.
The Final:
Date: Saturday, 21 June
Location: The Independent Theatre, Wenona School, 269 Miller Street, North Sydney
Time: 2pm to 5:30pm
Spectators (family, friends, teachers) are welcome – Admission is free.
A special thank you and congratulations also go to Ms Maisie Gordon, Ms Allison Fullman and Ms Alice Curtis for their invaluable support and contribution.
On Friday, 13 June, eight of our Year 12 Chemistry students competed in the State Titration Competition at UTS.
Working in teams, they accurately determined the concentrations of three unknown ethanoic acid solutions and performed exceptionally well against schools from across Sydney.
They also had the opportunity to work in the UTS Superlab and hear from current university students about their research, inspiring thoughts about future pathways.
We’re proud of their efforts and look forward to competing again next year!
Students and parents are invited to attend the Stage 5 Subject Selection presentations on Tuesday, 24 June, from 6pm to 7pm in the Kenny Building Classrooms.
This is a valuable opportunity to explore the courses available in 2026 and to speak directly with Heads of Department or their representatives.
The room schedule will be emailed to you next week. Students can wear either PDHPE uniform or casual clothing.
A reminder that the Stage 6 Subject Selection Evening will take place next Tuesday, 24 June.
Students and parents are encouraged to attend, with the evening commencing in the Gym at 6pm, followed by individual subject presentations in the Kenny Building Classrooms from 7pm to 8pm.
This is a great opportunity to gain insights into the courses available for 2026 and to speak directly with Heads of Department or their delegates to ask any questions you may have.
The room schedule will be emailed to you next week. Students can wear either PDHPE uniform or casual clothing.
A reminder that bookings for Term 3 Parent/Carer/Teacher/Student interviews opened 9am Friday, 27 June, and will close Friday, 18 July at 3pm.
An app notice and an email has been sent to each family with instructions on how to book.
This week we hosted an Industry Careers Night. The evening offered students and parents real-world insights into the diverse paths available after school.
A group of Alumni returned to the College to share their unique career journeys. Not only did they share their experiences, but their challenges and successes. The audience heard from individuals who have forged careers in a wide range of fields, including engineering, construction and project management, real estate, the police force, finance, entrepreneurship, and physiotherapy.
It was a fantastic opportunity to ask questions, gain inspiration, and explore the many exciting possibilities that lie ahead. Thank you to Ms Kath Knowles and Mr Billy Nicholas for coordinating the evening.
Back to Queens Park Day was a fantastic celebration of Waverley spirit with more than 150 Alumni returning to both Queens Park and then sharing a meal on the Centenary Building Rooftop.
It provided an opportunity to reconnect with classmates and reminisce. Alumni travelled from across Australia and New Zealand and one student returned from his work in Saudi Arabia to make the night.
The event highlighted the enduring bond of our alumni community.
This week was packed with meaningful activities that celebrated community, compassion, and inclusion.
On Monday, Mental Health Day, students participated in the Push-Up Challenge, with representatives from each house gathering in the Centenary Quad for a fun and energetic event.
During Connection, Culture and Communication (CCC) time, a Kahoot competition was held, with prizes awarded to the winning wellbeing groups.
Tuesday’s Diversity Day was a vibrant celebration of our school’s diverse community, featuring a captivating performance by our Pasifika students in the Centenary Quad.
On Wednesday, Social Justice Day, students designed and created cards for people in need, which were later distributed to clients of the Salvation Army in Surry Hills.
A guest judge from the Salvation Army awarded prizes for the most inspiring cards. During Connection, Culture and Communication (CCC) time, a thought-provoking slideshow on homelessness from the Salvation Army was shared with the students.
Thursday’s highlight was the Wheelchair Basketball session, where students and teachers participated in an inclusive game and heard from guest speakers from Wheelchair Sports in the gym at lunchtime.
Over the week our students, parents, alumni and staff contributed to raising an impressive $1700 to support our major immersion works projects which includes – building a toilet block, painting classrooms, and constructing wheelchairs. Thank you!
Students from schools around Sydney gathered in the College Library on Wednesday afternoon for our annual Leaders Gathering.
Prefects and Student Representative Council members engaged with leaders from other schools and discussed the challenges and opportunities that they have navigated this year.
Waverley Old Boy and current parent, Mr Owen Finegan, was our special guest. Owen spoke of his experiences playing for the Wallabies, further study after sport, professional coaching, and his last ten years as the CEO of The Kids’ Cancer Project.
His story and leadership insights were inspiring, and reinforced the importance of servant leadership, and the transformative impact that a single person can make.
Thank you to Owen for sharing his story, and to the Year 12 leaders who put this fantastic afternoon tea together.
On Sunday morning, we proudly farewelled our Year 12 cadets at their Passing Out Parade — a special occasion marking the end of five years of dedication to the Australian Army Cadets program.
Before an audience of family, staff, and peers, the cadets delivered a flawless performance for Reviewing Officer Major Michael Lange, showcasing the discipline, leadership, and teamwork they’ve developed throughout their time in the unit.
We warmly congratulate the graduating cadets from Waverley College and St Catherine’s School on their achievements and thank them for their service and commitment. We wish them all the best in the future.
On Sunday evening, alongside Ms Deb Magill, Headmistress of St Catherine’s School, we farewelled the Senior Ranks of 2025 at the annual Dining In Night – a formal military mess to conclude their time in Cadets.
I would like to acknowledge Ms Magill and the team at St Catherine’s for generously hosting us in the Multi-Purpose Hall of their Performing Arts Centre.
Thank you also to our Dining Stewards for preparing the venue and providing professional service throughout the evening.
Payment 1 of the 2025 school fees was due on 12 February, and Payment 2 was due on 20 May.
Payment 3 is scheduled for 6 August 2025.
The next Fee Statements will be issued during the week beginning 21 July 2025 and will be sent via email. For your convenience, they will also be available on the Parent Portal under the Accounts and Payments tab.
We kindly ask that all fees are paid in full by the due date. If you’re unable to do so, please ensure a financial arrangement is made with the Business Services Team by the due date.
If you’re planning to withdraw your son’s enrolment from Waverley College, the College requires written notice to the Principal at least one full Term in advance, in line with the enrolment contract and as outlined on our website.
To help clarify, if you intend to withdraw your son at the end of Term 2, notice must be given by the first day of Term 2. Similarly, to withdraw at the end of Term 3, notice must be received by the first day of Term 3, and so on.
If this notice period is not met, a fee equivalent to one Term’s tuition will apply, as specified in the enrolment contract.
Read a book Inside or Outside – Winners will be announced on Monday, Week 9
As you are aware, students and teachers have all been registered with the Beanstack Reading platform to track our reading.
Our aim is to continue to build a vibrant reading community at Waverley by reaching a community goal of 100,000 minutes. Students have almost reached this target and at the time of writing, we are sitting on an incredible 87,000 minutes.
We also set a Reading Challenge for Years 7-10 running from April 10th to June 18th. Using the Beanstack platform, students have been logging their reading in the hope of winning prizes and gaining recognition.
How It Works:
The Winners!
The winners of our reading challenge will be announced early next week (Week 9) and posted in next week’s Nurrunga. We will also acknowledge the incredible efforts of some of the students in our Academic Assembly next term.
Prizes will be awarded to:
Stay tuned for more details about our next Reading Challenge – Books to Movies which will be launched next week.
This will ensure students are actively reading over the holidays and can continue to log. Parents are encouraged to engage with student logging on Beanstack. Why not read the same book and watch the movie version too? Happy reading!
The Waverley College Senior Surfing team achieved an impressive 3rd place finish out of 21 teams at the Sydney Surftag surfing competition held at Urbnsurf Wavepool.
The team, comprising of Years 10-12 students Fred Carmody, Hunter Norburn, Jacob Sheehan, Jet Corte, and Noah Bowler, showcased exceptional skill and teamwork.
Highlighting their performance, Fred Carmody scored an impressive 8.1/10 for a standout right-hander – one of the highest wave scores of the event.
For over 120 years, Waverley College has been shaped by the generosity and spirit of our community. Since 1903, the support of families, Old Boys, and friends like you has helped make Waverley College one of the most trusted and respected schools in Sydney.
As we approach the end of the financial year, we’re asking for your continued support during a time of increasing financial pressure, including reductions in government funding. Your help is more important than ever as we prioritise our most important project to date: the upcoming Science & Innovation Centre.
This facility will provide our students with world-class learning opportunities in Science, Technology, and Innovation. Your donation to the Building Fund will help bring this visionary project to life.
We’re also offering exclusive naming opportunities – from individual laboratories and classrooms to entire floors or the building itself – so your family’s contribution can leave a lasting legacy.
You may also choose to support the Bede Kenny VC Scholarship Fund, giving students in need the chance to access a Waverley College education, or leave a longer-term impact through our bequest program.
All donations are fully tax deductible, making this the ideal time to this financial year.
How to Give
Please click on the link below to donate via our secure Giving Site:
https://www.charidy.com/WCGiving
Bank transfer to:
Building Fund – BSB: 062-124 Account Number: 10151703
Bede Kenny VC Scholarship Fund – BSB: 062-124 Account Number: 10133871
Post a cheque to: Waverley College Foundation, 131 Birrell Street, Waverley NSW 2024
Bequests or questions? Contact us at: foundation@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Thank you for standing with us and helping secure Waverley’s future for generations to come.
We extend our heartfelt thanks and warm congratulations to Ms Gabrielle Smith, who concluded her outstanding seven-year tenure at Waverley College on Thursday, 19 June.
Ms Smith leaves us to take up the role of Deputy Principal – Students at St Ignatius’ College, Riverview. Her time at Waverley has been marked by unwavering dedication, professionalism, and a deep commitment to the wellbeing and development of our students.
Fittingly, in her final week, Ms Smith will co-present Waverley’s Wellbeing Framework at the International Boys’ Schools Coalition (IBSC) Conference in Boston, alongside Mr James Horrocks, Director of Student Wellbeing. This presentation reflects the lasting impact of her work in this vital area.
Our incoming Deputy Principal – Students, Mr John Allen, will also be attending the conference, providing an excellent opportunity for a professional handover and meaningful time together as we prepare for the next chapter in student leadership.
We wish Ms Smith every success and happiness in her new role and thank her sincerely for the energy, compassion and expertise she brought to our College community.
Following the success of this year’s ‘After the Bell’ parent evening, the network of eastern suburbs deputy principals will again be coming together and presenting another parent event this time focusing on teenage mental health titled‚ “Getting Comfortable with the Uncomfortable”.
Please mark the date in your calendar as Monday, 1 April 2020. The event will again will be held at Waverley College.
To view the save the date flyer, please click here.
Over the Summer holidays, Year 12 students have the opportunity to access the facilities of the UNSW library which is a great place to study. The program will be available to students until Wednesday, 30 September 2020.
To access the UNSW library please complete an application form, available here.
For each form, the relevant section needs to be filled out by:
One fully completed the form can then be:
The Library card costs $35 and payment for this can be made at the ‘Print and Copy’ area at the Main Library. Please note that the Library does not accept cash payments, only credit card or EFTPOS payments can be accepted.
For more information about UNSW Library click here.
If you have any further questions, please contact UNSW Learning Services Specialist, Jane Campbell via email on LIB.LLS.Supervisors@unsw.edu.au or call 02 9385 5999.
Click here for the latest careers update.
Earlier in the year, Waverley commenced a trial of new technology that used facial recognition to identify and match students to images that were collected in the classroom. The aim was to see whether facial recognition could be used to streamline the attendance taking process and provide teachers more time to engage with students at the start of class. Initially, six facial recognition sensors were installed in the High School and the intention in 2020 is to broaden by adding six more classrooms and the teaching spaces in the Junior Campus. At the start of 2020, we will also be using mobile kiosks to register students into the system. There is also the potential for this system to help with recording student attendance at Music lessons, checking in/out of the Library or visiting the health centre.
Throughout this evaluation process, the privacy of our students has been a high priority. The following resources provide information about how the system works and how the data is handled.
LoopLearn Privacy – https://www.looplearn.net/privacy
How LoopLearn works (video) – https://tinyurl.com/r6kqksn
LoopLearn FAQs – LoopLearn FAQ – Parents
On Friday 22 November, Green House took part in the “Step Out, Speak Out” Walk Against Domestic Violence (previously Sydney‚ White Ribbon Walk) from Randwick to Coogee. It was overwhelming to see the students, parents and staff taking a stand and making their voices heard. Talking to the students in Green House during the walk, they mentioned they felt part of something bigger and that by taking part they were making an impact on social issues in the community. Each student in Green has been able to take part in an important social justice initiative and this will be the focus for Green House for years to come.
We also had quite a few parents that came to walk with their sons. Their involvement shows the importance of the students taking a stand on this issue and the support behind us from our parents at Waverley. It was inspiring to see parents taking part in such a significant event. We also had students take part in the walk from several other houses and years across the school. Thanks to all students for their involvement.
Green House Prefect, Patrick Smith, spoke passionately at the event about creating change in our community by speaking up, supporting those in need and making a cultural change by showing respect.
I would like to thank the following staff for their attendance and for taking part in the event, their involvement allows students to see the importance of these events in the college community. We are lucky to have such motivated staff at Waverley and again, these staff members went above and beyond with their participation.
Ms Gemma Brown
Ms Emily Pace
Ms Tessa Prior
Mr Richard Bryant
Mrs Kathryn Knowles
Ms Patricia Alborough
Ms Ashleigh Della Marta
Ms Belinda Buchan
Mr Patrick Darvill
Ms Sinead Kenrick
Mrs Phoebe Guirguis
Mr John McCoy
Mr Stephen Ghattas
Ms Gabrielle Bransby
Ms Katia Iturrieta (Currently on maternity leave)
Mr Graham Leddie
During Term 2, we collected roughly 100 kg‚ worth of e-waste in our school e-waste bin. There will be another pick up at the end of the year.
Parents/Carers and Students can bring in:
Congratulations to Nathaniel Phipps for being awarded 1st prize in the South Maroubra Art and Photography Prize. He won the 12-16 age group for his monochromatic self-portrait titled ‘Green Man’, 2019.
The South Maroubra Art and Photography exhibition runs each year in November, showcasing local community members’ work. It is recognised as one of the largest community based sponsored Art and Photographic Prizes in the East.
The Waverley College Counselling team is made up of three Registered Psychologists, Ms Tessa Prior, Mr Greg Cameron, and Ms Alex McCredie. Together we work with all students from Years 5-12 to support their mental health and wellbeing. As a team, we will be writing regular articles in the Nurrunga about topical or relevant issues each month with a link to a platform called SchoolTV for more resources. Our contact details are on the school website and linked on SchoolTV if you would like to get in touch please email or call us at any time.
This month we will be focusing on resilience. Resilience is one of those skills that all boys need and should have. It refers to their ability to cope and adapt in situations when confronted with challenges such as adversity, trauma, tragedy, or even stress. It is essential to their mental health and wellbeing as part of their journey to adulthood. It is a skill that can be learned from an early age through the support of an adult role model.
However, being resilient does not mean your son won’t experience any difficulties, but it will better equip him to manage those situations. Particular parenting styles such as ‘over-protection’ can be viewed as being unhelpful towards the building of resilience. Although this may be a natural instinct, potentially experiencing failure is all part of the process. Encouraging your son to take healthy risks will help them trust their capacity to deal with uncomfortable situations and increase their capacity for courage.
Please look at further information on the SchoolTV link below to gain an understanding of how to support your son’s brave behaviour, to assist them in adapting to situations, and developing resilience.
If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your son, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.
Here is the link to this month’s edition https://waverley.nsw.schooltv.me/newsletter/resilience
In Week 3, Waverley students competed in the Matraville High School Surfing Invitational competition at Maroubra Beach. A tag team event and in tricky two-foot conditions, Waverley’s two teams made some good decisions and surfed well to allow both teams a berth in the semi-final round.
Waverley team surfers included Finn Filipek, Axel Runow, Liam Greggorio, Judah Miller, Alex Morris, Max Leedham, Zygi Mann, Riley Vidulich, Matis Jos-Roland and Duke Weiland.
Overall, it was wonderful to see the Waverley boys working together and proudly flying the College colours.
“There is no greater suffering than constantly measuring yourself and coming up short. But where do we learn these things? Because, really, they are learned. We don’t come crying out of the womb because of our birth weight or because we have no money in this brand-new world. We learn to measure and we learn to attach our self-worth to those measurements.” Author, Vironika Tugaleva
I like this quote which sums up our inclination to contrast ourselves against others. Students experience this, as evidenced in our Student Wellbeing Survey conducted earlier this year. This psychological phenomenon ‘relative deprivation’ is credited to sociologist, Samuel Stouffer. The quotation above refers to ‘learned relative deprivation’ – always comparing, and always paling in comparison to someone else. It’s pervasive, especially in Western countries, and especially since the rise of social media.
Your son has been hampering for a new iPhone 10 or the latest Air Pod Pro’s released this month. You eventually give in, and he receives this for his birthday. Showing it off to his friends, he is dismayed when a friend whips out his new iPhone 11. He is now disappointed with his new iPhone and considers ways to acquire a new iPhone 11. Similarly; he was very proud of his staged photograph posted on Instagram at Bronte Beach. His friend then posts a similar photo from a party last weekend in the latest ripped jeans he has been coveting.
This ‘learned relative deprivation’ impacts student opinion – their looks, studies, future direction, sporting prowess, performance presence, photographic images on Instagram… Does it have a similar effect on us as well? We encourage you to engage in conversations with your son about this.
We will continue to focus on the character strengths of gratitude, humility, self-worth, perspective, temperance, prudence, humor, and hope as part of our Positive Wellbeing programs, building skills, and mindsets for positive self-worth, growth, and resilience.
The House of Welcome’s Annual Christmas Party is coming up on Saturday, 30 November 2019. The House of Welcome works with people seeking asylum who are living in the community.
Their Christmas party is an opportunity for their clients to come together and share a day of food, fun, and friendship. For some families, this is their first Christmas in Australia and for many children, it will be their only Christmas gift.
The House of Welcome is currently in need of gifts for the following groups:
Please, help us to spread the love and joy of Christmas with our clients by donating a new, unopened gift. Gifts can be bought to the Wellbeing Centre before the end of the Term.
The Scientia Challenge Program features a range of exciting workshops taught over three days designed for gifted and talented high school students in Years 7-10.
Developed and led by practicing experts, the workshops follow a university-style investigative structure with intellectually-stimulating content. With the level of study aimed two years higher than the students’ grade level, these dynamic workshops offer gifted students a rigorous and challenging program.
The program is held at the UNSW Sydney Campus giving students exposure to university life to help reimagine their future study options and provide opportunities to meet potential role models and mentors. The program also offers a space for gifted students to meet like-minded peers with similar interests.
The workshops are confirmed for the January 2020 Student Programs. Scholarship and Equity Advanced Placement applications are accepted prior to main round registration.
Registration will open at 7AM on Tuesday, 26 November: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/january-2020-gerric-student-programs-tickets-72044520099
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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