From the Deputy Head of College

From the Deputy Head of College, Patrick Brennan

The start of the year has been a truly positive one amongst staff and students. The transition to a vertical house system has been a smooth one thanks to the work of Mr Matthew Porter and the Heads of House team.

The new Wellbeing Centre is looking fantastic. It houses the eight Heads of House in addition to a number of open and private meeting spaces and areas where students can take time out should the need arise. The high ceilings and ocean views make it a special place on campus. I would like to welcome to the College Suzi Sucur, our new Wellbeing Centre Assistant.

Other facilities which have been completed over the break include:

• The establishment of a College Health Centre (and employment of our new school nurse, Ms Adele Cutbush)
• Refurbishment of the Senior College reception
• Resurfacing of the tennis courts
• The Print Room has been refurbished
• The Kenny Building is now fully upgraded
• The Junior School COLA cover has been removed and cleaned and all the supporting structure pressure washed and re powder coated. The surface has been replaced with Rebound Ace
• Replacement of all remaining old timber Windows with commercial Aluminium Windows to the Junior School Classrooms.
• Refurbishment of the Preschool children’s bathrooms.
• Establishment of eight House Locker areas.
• Brand new weights room and gym equipment

I thank Mr Stephen Byrne for his management of the above work. The campus is looking fantastic.

Week One

Week one has begun with great enthusiasm and activity. It has been great to interact with students across the Junior School and the Senior Schools over the last few days.

It has also been a pleasure to meet many Year 5 and 7 parents as they have attended the opening assembly and the Year 7 Macbook Air Computer roll-outs that occurred last Friday.

Cocktail Party

I would like to invite all parents to the Waverley College Parents’  Association Welcome Cocktail Party. Last year several hundred parents got together to renew old acquaintances and meet new parents where we as a College community celebrated the start of another College Year and welcomed new parents to the community. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

Policy changes

We have made two important policy changes which I would like to share with you:

• Mobile Phones

The College appreciates that mobile phones are an important tool in a student’s life. The College is also mindful that they can be a distraction in a learning environment.

At Waverley College a student is permitted to bring his mobile phone to school on the provision that he follows the following guidelines for acceptable use:

❏ Mobile phones are not to be taken to class under any circumstances

❏ Mobile phones are to be stored in a student’s locker and can be used adjacent to their locker during recess or at lunch only

❏ Parents needing to contact their son during class time, should contact school reception directly.

The consequence for any student using a mobile phone in any other way between 8.40am and 3.15pm is an automatic SATURDAY DETENTION.

• Early Leavers

From time to time students may need to leave early from school. With the opening of the Wellbeing Centre the following procedure is to occur:

Students in Years 7-10 get themselves signed out at the Wellbeing Centre then wait for their parents/guardians at the front office for collection.

Students in Years 11-12 get themselves signed out at the Wellbeing Centre then can leave campus without collection from the front office.

I would like to conclude by sharing with you something I saw recently on news.com.au and which appears at the top of this article. With the significant shift in US policy, we pray that our world leaders demonstrate compassion and use hopeful language. May we all as individuals demonstrate these values in the way we live our daily lives within our own families, our work and our local communities.

“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

– Romans 15:5-6