Principal, Mr Graham Leddie
Read more: Academic Development Programs, Yom Hashoah, ANZAC Day, COVID-19 Health Update.
Term 2
The term has started well at the College and I wish all boys a successful term ahead. Thank you to those Year 7-10 parents that were able to attend parent/teacher/student conferences on Tuesday this week. Hopefully, relevant feedback and strategies were discussed in preparation for the term ahead. Please liaise with your son with regards to formulating his SMART goals for Term 2 that are to be recorded in his school diary on page 85. Input from parents, students and mentors will provide the greatest outcome.
The College offers a variety of programs to further support your son’s academic development, ensuring he achieves his full potential, these include:
The Year 12 Tutorial Program
The Year 12 Tutorial program has started this week and I encourage all boys to make time in their schedules to attend these valuable sessions. Last year’s cohort appreciated the learning and confidence that these tutorials provided with many boys surpassing their academic goals. Learn more in the Tutorial Program article in Year 12 Action Items.
Home Learning Club
All students in Year 5 and Year 6 have 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 Junior School Learning Hub from 3-4pm, Monday to Thursday. Learn more about the program in Year 6 & 7 Action Items.
Strength in Numbers
This program is offered by the College to offer additional support to students who are finding particular concepts difficult to grasp, or who are keen to come in early to complete homework or who are high achievers wanting to embrace extension work. Strength in Numbers runs every Tuesday and Wednesday morning from 8am in E24. If you are interested in this program please email Ms Phoebe Guirguis, Head of Maths at pguirguis@waverley.nsw.edu.au.
Study Groups
The College is committed to support and enhance Literacy and Numeracy across all stages, therefore, we also run Literacy and Numeracy study groups for Years 7 – 10 in the Senior School Library.
Literacy Program – Monday and Tuesday 3:30 – 4:30pm
Numeracy Program – Wednesday and Thursday 3:30 – 4:30pm
ANZAC Day
This morning Channel 10’s Studio 10 crossed live to the Centenary Quad to showcase our Cadets in preparation for the ANZAC Day service. Click here to view the segment.
Our Cadets will represent the College at the Waverley Council and North Bondi RSL services as well as our own service on Monday. Please see Major Julie-Ann De Kantzow’s ANZAC Day article for further information.
Yom Hashoah 2021 – 80 years since Holocaust in Soviet Union
Yom Hashoah is one of the most important events on the Jewish calendar as it is the day that Jewish people and others remember the Holocaust. This year Yom Hashoah fell between 7-8 April. 2021 is a significant milestone as it denotes 80 years since the Nazi Germany invasion of the Soviet Union. We now know that the Nazis murdered more than one million Jewish people there.
In the 1980s and 1990s many Holocaust survivors from the Soviet Union came to Australia to make a new and happier life, but few of their extraordinary stories have been told. They are stories of extreme courage, privation, resourcefulness and resilience.
Should you wish to view this year’s Yom Hashoah commemoration and its moving speeches, stories and historical photographs, please click: https://www.facebook.com/NSWJBD/videos/vb.305225869610189/257330639189962/?type=2&theater
We must never let ourselves forget the horror of the Holocaust and must always stand up against anti-Semitism, prejudice and discrimination when we see it happening to groups and individuals. It must never be allowed to happen again.
Health Update – COVID-19
Students should not attend school if they exhibit any of the following symptoms and get themselves COVID-19 tested, even if the symptoms are mild.
The NSW Government website provides the following information for parents of secondary school children (12-17 years):
- If your teenager is sick, keep them at home and get them tested for COVID-19.
- If you visit a public testing clinic, check that your local clinic tests children 17 years and under.
The website also stipulates that if you have any of the following symptoms you need to get tested for COVID-19 immediately: fever (37.5° or higher), cough, sore or scratchy throat, shortness of breath, runny nose, loss of taste or smell, fatigue, acute blocked nose (congestion), loss of appetite, muscle pain, joint pain, headache, diarrhoea, nausea/vomiting and loss of appetite.
It is important to maintain high testing rates to identify as many cases in the community as quickly as possible. The College Health Centre will continue to send students for COVID-19 testing who exhibit any of these symptoms. Please click here for further information.
We really appreciate your support when it comes to sending your child for COVID-19 testing. Please note that any child presenting to school with any of the above symptoms will be sent to the Health Centre to be assessed. The nurses may then contact the student’s parents to come and collect the child for COVID-19 testing. Students cannot return to school unless they have returned a negative COVID-19 result to their Head of House (via email) or to the College nurse.
Ms Adele Cutbush (College Nurse) will be working Monday to Thursday during Term 2 in the Health Centre. On Fridays, we welcome Ms Dani Hillier who joins the College today. Ms Hillier has been a school nurse for 15 years and is a highly skilled and capable health practitioner who is currently working part-time at St Andrew’s Cathedral School.
Should parents or guardians have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the College nurse on 9369 0644 or email healthcentre@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Staff Farewell
We farewell Katrina King this week – Junior School Learning Support Teacher, who has accepted an exciting opportunity in Learning Support at Sydney Grammar School – Edgecliff. Katrina has worked at the College for 15 years and has been instrumental in the development of all our students, particularly those who have required tailored programs. Katrina has been a passionate learning support teacher and has made a significant positive impact on the learning outcomes of students in the Junior School. I would like to thank her for her dedication to the College and wish her the very best in her future endeavours.
Mr Graham Leddie
Principal
E: principal@waverley.nsw.edu.au
