Star Wars Movie Illustrated Novels
Episode IV: A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel and the Farm Boy by Alexandra Bracken
Although the Rebel Alliance has won a few battles against the Empire, hope is fading. The Empire is about to unveil the greatest weapon the galaxy has ever seen–the Death Star. The Rebels’ only chance to defeat it now lies in the unlikely hands of a princess, a scoundrel, and a farm boy….
Episode V: The Empire Strikes back: So you want to be a Jedi by Adam Giowitz
It seems cool. You can move things with your mind. Control people with your thoughts. Oh, and the lightsabers. Yeah, those are awesome. But it’s not all mind control and weaponized flashlights. Being a Jedi is hard work. Also, there are bad guys. Lots of bad guys. Who want to kill you.
Episode VI: Beware the power of the Dark Side by Tom Anglebeager
It’s the Star Wars story with everything: Jabba, Boba, Wicket, Rebo, Salacious Crumb, Nien Nunb, “It’s a Trap,” Luke doing a flip and catching his lightsaber, speeder bikes, Yoda, Ghost Yoda, The Rancor, The Falcon, Wedge, Lando, Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, C-3PO, R2…But there’s also a second death star, the Emperor’s hideous evil smile, and Luke’s final confrontation with Darth Vader!
Available to borrow or reserve now.
It was inevitable that once students got their hands on their MacBook Air laptops, some of them would discover the joys of programming: the excitement of creating something that never existed just by using words, the ability to make your ideas into reality by carefully crafting sentences. Okay, it’s not Hogwarts but it can feel just as magical.
Commencing 11 March, meetings of the Waverley Coders group will take place after school. The new group is open to any student who’s free at that time and who would like to develop their coding skills. The group will be meeting in E21 each Friday from 3:30 until around 5:00 pm with a short presentation followed by time to code and work collaboratively. There’ll also be time for a show-and-tell so students can show work and get feedback and tips.
The group will have access to a fairly wide range of languages and platforms, so won’t be just working on iPhone and iPads: there’ll be support for Android devices, Windows phones, websites and remote servers. Although there’ll be lots of support for Swift (Apple’s latest programming language) other options might include Objective-C, Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, php, C#, HTML5, CSS3, AngularJS, Angular2.
If meeting with other Waverley students who share an interest in computer programming is something you would like to do on a Friday afternoon, come along to our meetings. Students will need to bring their school computer (or a laptop PC if you’re programming Windows), a charger, enthusiasm and curiosity. Those working on Macintosh or iOS software, will need the latest version of Xcode (7.2.1 at the moment), Android Studio or IntelliJ IDEA and Visual Studio on a PC.
Students who have questions or need help to get set up should see Mr Reidy in the Science Department at lunch or recess. Otherwise just turn up on Friday and get coding!
The 2016 NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) commenced March 7.
The Challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure and pleasure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely.
Students in Years 7 to 9 who want to participate must be entered on the Senior Library’s official register.
For previous participants, registration will be straightforward as their login details from 2015 (or prior) are still current. Registration will include completion of a short survey. New participants will be provided with a username and password by the Library, and will be guided through the process.
To assist the students with the Challenge, the Library has produced a brochure featuring a selection of titles from our Library collection. Students can access the list on our ‘Library Community 2016’ Haiku page. The listing will be updated regularly throughout the Challenge. A full list of books that can be read as part of the challenge can be viewed on the official PRC website.
Many students have already expressed their interest to participate, which is very encouraging. The Challenge will run through to August 19 and late registrations are accepted. For more information contact the Senior Library.
On Thursday 10 March, during our CAS Swimming Assembly, Thomas Carey (Year 9) took a brave step and shaved his head as part of the World’s Greatest Shave. Thomas decided to do this after his sister Elisabeth was diagnosed with leukaemia. Sadly, Elisabeth passed away within a month of her diagnosis in September last year.
Thomas Carey before the shave
Thomas’ bravery and strength has inspired many people, including the Waverley College CAS Swim Team. Many of their number, including their captain Adam Lawther also had their heads shaved this week in support of Thomas and this important cause.
Thomas, we as a school are so proud of all the incredible work you are doing to raise awareness for this cause. You are an inspiration and we stand beside you to change the future of blood cancer.
Adam Lawther, Captain of Swimming (front) and Thomas Carey in the World’s Greatest Shave
Below is the speech that Thomas gave during the assembly:
Hi, my name is Thomas Carey. Today I am having my head shaved as part of the World’s Greatest Shave. This is in support of the Leukaemia Foundation which offers support and help with medical research into blood cancers.
Just over 7 months ago, my family was affected when we found out my sister was diagnosed with leukaemia. At this time charities and foundations, such as The Leukaemia Foundation, Red Kite and Canteen supported us. They provided information and empathy that helped us with the initial shock.
Unfortunately, my sister had complications and with her reduced immune system she couldn’t fight back and she passed away.
By doing the World’s Greatest Shave I can help to raise awareness and funds so that others can be supported by the Leukaemia Foundation.
I started this with the goal of reaching $1,200, as this would provide two weeks of transport for people who are too ill to travel after chemotherapy. Through the support of friends and family and their friends, I have been lucky to raise over $13,000. This means that The Leukaemia foundation can support over 300 families to help them get over their initial shock plus provide other valuable services such as blood cancer research.
I’d like to thank Waverley College for supporting me and my family during these times.
Thomas’s fundraising has now exceeded $20,000.
Thomas with his family
Further information about the Leukaemia Foundation
The impact that blood cancer has in our society is devastating. Today, 34 Australians are expected to be diagnosed with a form of blood cancer – that is more than 12,000 people every year. With few clearly identified risk factors and sometimes no real warning, the impact is immense for the person and their loved ones.
Treatment for blood cancer can range from months, to several years and generally lasts longer than treatment for other cancers. While decades of research have improved survival, sadly, as we have heard today, not everyone survives.
As Thomas mentioned, the Leukaemia Foundation provides incredible support to families who are dealing with blood cancer. They provide emotional and practical support absolutely free of charge. This includes counselling, transport to and from chemotherapy treatment and accommodation for regional families who need to relocate to the city for treatment.
The Leukaemia Foundation are not only on a mission to care, they have a vision to cure the disease and are urgently funding research to save lives. The Leukaemia Foundation rely on the support of the community to fund their activities. You can support Thomas by sponsoring him at https://bit.ly/1pwxEhU.
Thomas Carey with supporters from the CAS Swimming Team.
Photos by Sheridan Nilsson
Tennis has been a summer sport at Waverley College for many years. This image is of the 1936 champions, sporting their striped Waverley Blazers. The boys played singles and doubles, at senior, junior, juvenile and midget levels. The Annual in 1936 noted ‘There are not many boys in the College who cannot play tennis, and there are very many boys in the College who are expert players’. Tennis then was as much a social skill as a sporting one; informal weekend matches were played amongst friends while tennis parties were a feature of the social lives of our boarders when they returned home during the holidays.
The First XI in 1948/1949 included Kelly, Curotta, Hunter, Ford, Prichard, Morrin, Gow, Fitzhugh, Watson, Hayes and Blundell. The team noted their ‘most successful year’, winning 5 games in the first innings, drawing another two and losing one game to both Cranbrook and Knox.
Posing in their whites, the boys are wearing a unique Waverley College Blazer, made of ‘royal blue wool with striking gold stripes, off-set with a hint of red’. From available records, it seems that these blazers were only worn by the school’s sporting champions – the cricketers and the swimming team amongst them. By the mid 1950s, the blazers were no longer apparent, replaced with a plain deep blue jacket that formed part of a suit.
‘Airmount’ was the house into which the Brothers moved in 1903 when they first came to Waverley. Built in the 1860s by the Birrell family, the address was officially No. 2 Salisbury Street. The house was extended over time to include extra accommodation for senior boarders, science labs and storage for Cadet equipment, amongst other facilities. There was a ‘bridge’ which allowed access to the Conlon building. Falling into disrepair in its later years, Airmount was ‘retired gracefully’ during the implementation of the master plan for the campus which occurred during 1969. The courtyard adjacent to the Hall and Chapel is named in its honour.
2017 marked the 80th anniversary of the College’s official use of Queens Park playing fields. This image shows Queens Park as it looked sometime between 1938 and 1951, when the first pavilion – affectionately known as Green Gables – was built. The playing fields were created from very uneven and rough ground by the combined, determined efforts of the Brothers and Waverley College families. Truck loads of rubbish had to be removed before levelling work could begin. Green Gables was destroyed by fire in 1960, leading to the design and construction of the new – current – Queens Park Pavilion. The building was the work of Architect Professor Neville Anderson and builder Geoffrey McCabe, both Old Boys of the College. Next time you’re on the playing field, or on the sidelines at Queens Park, spare a thought – and perhaps a small prayer of thanks – for the work of so many over such a long time in relation to the playing fields.
Before the construction of the ‘admin’ building along Birrell Street in the early 1960s, the main entrance to the College was through the gates and up the old ‘Airmount’ driveway on Carrington Road. The ornamental gates, including custom ironwork, were a gift of the Old Boys in honour of the contribution by Br Conlon to the establishment of the College. The gates were installed and officially unveiled in October 1922.
The Carrington Road gates in 1948
The admin building (now known as the Centenary Block) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2013, having been officially opened by then Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies KT CH QC MP on 20 October 1963. It was designed by well-known architectural firm Hennessy & Hennessy, who were responsible for the design of many Catholic school and church buildings throughout Sydney. The lower supports of the statue of Our Lady can just be seen in the top right pf the photograph. Together, the statue and building form a prominent landmark on the highest point in the Eastern Suburbs.
1970 was a stand-out year for Waverley College.
In February, the new ‘Middle School’ building was opened by Prime Minister John Gorton. The event attracted a significant number of demonstrators wishing to voice their opinions to the PM about the issues of the day: the Vietnam War and conscription, and the level of government funding provided to Catholic and other Independent schools.
In November, the swimming pool was officially blessed by Fr Kieran OFM and opened by the Mayor of Waverley. The entire school community celebrated with a ‘swim-a-long’, an extended carnival of swimming and diving events capped off with a bbq.
A Waverley Classroom in 1971
These images of classroom scenes are a reminder of how far we’ve come in terms of our facilities. On the other hand, the picture of boys at work over their school books serves a reminder that the essence of learning hasn’t changed: hard work, paying attention, focusing on the task at hand… not always easy after the freedom of the summer holidays!
A typical Waverley classroom in 1971
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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