Key Dates
- Thursday, 28 November – Year 6 Graduation
- Friday, 29 November – Year 6 Excursion to Wet n Wild
- Friday, 29 November – Junior School Reports Home
- Wednesday, 4 December – Presentation Day Years 5, 7, & 8 – 10am to 12pm – Arrive to school at normal time. Students whose parents do not attend will return to the Junior Schoo for the remainder of the day, all other students will go home with their parents at the end of the performance. If boys have an older brother who is attending the Presentation Day for Year 9, 10, 11 & 12 (1pm to 3pm) they may join their parents at this event.
- Wednesday, 4 December – Final Day of Term 4
Year 6 Graduation Mass and Supper – Thursday, 28 November – 5:30pm
A reminder that information has been sent out regarding the Year 6 Graduation Mass and Supper. A message was sent out last week on Skoolbag and there is also a link on the Waverley College website. You can also click here to RSVP.
Orientation Day
On Wednesday, 6 November we hosted our Orientation Day for all students new to the Junior School in 2020. It was a fantastic opportunity to welcome some existing Waverley families and many new families into our community. All students went through an Orientation experience where they connected with other students, toured the school and participated in STEM, drama and sports activities. There was also some valuable testing conducted in amongst all the fun to assist us in transitioning our new students into Waverley as seamlessly as possible next year.
I would also like to thank the Waverley College Old Boys for their invaluable help cooking and running the BBQ on this day.
Lunchtime Talk
From Literacy and Innovation Teacher, Natasha Zivanovic
Hearing all about country Australia and the drought first hand from our guest speaker Dougall Roberts was an informative way to spend our lunchtime on Friday, 1 November. Dougs had the boys captivated with his stories from the bush and how serious the drought is. He shared many photos which gave the boys a strong understanding of how dry the land has become. Dougs also spoke about the #buyfromthebush initiative currently on Instagram and the positive effect this is having on rural businesses.
This week we will welcome Matt Galanos who is the Chief Financial & Operations Officer at Australian Turf Club and Author. He will talk to the boys about his journey of writing his first book which was launched this year in July.
If you would like to be a guest speaker, please contact me: nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Robotics Program
From Assistant Director of Curriculum, Gaby Bransby
This term, Year 6 have been part of an exciting program called Robo Bricks. Robo Bricks expose students to the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), equipping them with the necessary skills for the economy of the future, all while having fun with LEGO®. This program is run by a company called Young Engineers. They offer unique STEM enrichment programs which involve students building various motorized LEGO® models and teaching them logical thinking and coding using LEGO®.
During each lesson, students employ mechanical engineering skills to build a robot and software engineering skills to code the robot to perform the desired tasks. The boys are completing this program as part of their Science and Technology Unit – Growing the Future. This program focuses primarily on the Digital Technologies content strand whilst still creating robots that fit in with the Living Things content strand.
Students work in pairs to solve complex projects based around a kitchen mixer, conveyor belt and scarecrow. These lessons include the following activities and skills;
Program Subjects
- Algorithm planning: Understanding what an algorithm is and how to write one.
- Pseudocode: Understanding what pseudocode is and how to write one.
- Flow chart: The understanding of flowchart in programming.
- WeDo programming: Learning the WeDo programming language.
- Input and Output: The purpose of input and output, and understanding when one is required.
- Loops: The use of loops to achieve similar processes multiple times.
- Multithreading: Synchronous and asynchronous code.
- Sensor applications: The use and programming of sensors to achieve tasks.
Valuable Skills Gained
- Algorithmic and procedural thinking
- Develops the ability to devise logical processes
- Familiarisation with technology
- Improve information system and media literacy
- Strengthens social aptitude and develops communication and teamwork ability
- Expands horizons and general knowledge in mechanical engineering and technology skills
There has been wonderful feedback from the students who have been part of the program so far. I’m looking forward to hearing more feedback once all Year 6 have taken part in this deep learning experience.
Waverley College Junior School Christmas Appeal
From Assistant Director of Student Identity and Formation, Stephen Ghattas
Christmas time can be a lonely and difficult time for many people throughout Sydney, therefore we are collecting donations this year in the hope of supporting a few different charities that need our help this Christmas.
Matthew Talbot Hostel
The Matthew Talbot Hostel provides accommodation and specialised support to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The service aims to provide immediate support and accommodation for people at the time of crisis as well as facilitate access to other essential services and more permanent housing. For more information on this organisation, please click here.
Donations include: Toiletries (preferably small travel size items), underwear, socks, chocolates, notepads, pens.
Bayside Women’s Shelter
Bayside Women’s Shelter is a registered charity that was established in partnership with the community in 2017. They are an organisation dedicated to sheltering homeless women through local community fundraising and philanthropy. They have established a six-bedroom shelter accommodating women, with or without children, who are escaping family and domestic violence in the South-East Sydney area. For more information on this organisation, please click here.
We would like to assist with donations of the following:
- Topped up opal cards
- Assorted Tupperware containers, lunch boxes, drink bottles
- Woolworths or coles shopping cards
- Potted herbs and veggies for garden beds, and liquid feed.
Giving Tree
You are invited to donate a gift for our Junior School ‘Giving Tree’. The gifts are for disadvantaged children throughout the local and wider communities of Sydney. The gifts are for children of any age range, both boys and girls. These gifts need to be wrapped in clear plastic with the age range specified on the wrapping. The gifts are then to be brought into school and placed under the Christmas tree.
It would be greatly appreciated if these donations could be brought into the school by no later than Friday 29th November (Week 7).
Thank you for all your generosity in supporting these worthwhile charities.
Sustainability Update
From Junior School Students, Constantine Iatrou, Jamie Vanderkemp and Liam McMaster
This year, our Year 5 and 6 Sustainability Team have been working on how to make our school more sustainable. Last term we went to the Sustainability Expo at the Sydney Observatory, where we met students from lots of other Sydney schools. We discussed issues around sustainability and took part in a number of workshops to inspire us and educate us on sustainable initiatives we could put into practice in our school. Going to the Expo gave us lots of ideas that we want to start at Waverley. This term we are going to introduce two new initiatives.
Nude Food Wednesday
Nude food Wednesday is one day a week when students are encouraged to bring a ‘nude’ lunch and recess. This means that your lunch should not be packaged in plastic or non-biodegradable packaging. This will make Waverley have less waste and create less rubbish to be put into landfills, waste escapes, waterways, oceans, and the natural world. The class teacher will tally up the number of ‘nude’ lunches in each class. At the end of the term, the class with the nudest food lunches will win a period of free play on the playground.
Compost bins
Our second initiative is to start composting our food waste in the Junior School. We have just ordered two compost bins and an individual food scraps bin for each class. Compost is an organic matter that has been decomposed in a process called composting. This process recycles various organic materials otherwise regarded as waste products and produces a soil conditioner. This soil conditioner is rich in nutrients. As a Waverley College community, we can use that to our advantage as we can use that soil to fertilize our gardens. We are hoping eventually to be able to have enough to use in our school gardens. In your class food scraps bin, you can put any of the leftover food from your recess and lunches. Apple cores, banana skins, uneaten sandwiches to name a few. Your sustainability leader will clear out your box every day.
This is the only planet that we are going to get… there is no planet B. It is our job to look after it the best we can. Together we can do our bit to help make Waverley a more sustainable school. We really hope everyone gets on board with our new initiatives.
