As Term 3 comes to an end, it was lovely watching our Junior boys be a part of the Year 12 Farewell last week. We had a final house assembly to celebrate the successes of individual students. It was inspirational to hear how much our Year 12 students have accomplished during their school years. Our boys created farewell cards and wrote words of wisdom for the boys. We wish them luck as they prepare for their final exams and their future endeavours.
It was heartwarming to see the overwhelming support for RUOK? Day last week. We acknowledged and celebrated RUOK? Day with many significant initiatives.
We were blessed to have Sam from OneWave speak to us. OneWave is a non-profit surf community who work together to tackle mental health issues with a simple recipe: salt-water, surfing, good mates and Fluro Fridays. The boys engaged in a variety of activities to raise mental health awareness and empower them to be able to meaningfully connect with those around them. Ms Katrina King organised a delicious cake stall that was very popular with the boys. The Junior School raised a total of $1,679.75. A huge thanks to the community for the support of such an important initiative.
Congratulations to The Waterford Concert Band (Year 5-6) combined band, who played on Sunday afternoon at the UNSW campus. In the Robert McAnally Primary School Concert Band Event, the boys received a Silver Award.
Our Year 6 students have been fortunate enough to work with the Senior School TAS Department throughout this term on different projects. The boys learnt about agriculture, planted their own seeds, made garlic bread with the herbs and took a booklet back to school to graph the growth of their plant. We have been so lucky to tap into the expertise of the TAS team. A special thanks to Mr Kyle Newbury, Mr Garth Aird and the TAS Food Technology Assistant Ms Anne O’Loughlin for facilitating this program.
A group of Year 6 students were also fortunate enough to work with Senior School Geography teacher, Mr Brad Thompson. Mr Thompson organised and facilitated an enriching Geography Field Work experience where Year 6 and Year 7 students had the opportunity to work together. The Junior School boys thoroughly enjoyed the activities and gained a great deal from working with the Year 7’s. The Field Work linked with the Geography skills being taught in Geography.
We are so excited about the 31st annual Junior School Walkathon being held tomorrow at Centennial Park. Thank you to the 132 parents who are volunteering on the day, I am blown away by the support. I have received quite a few emails acknowledging boys who have set up stalls and really stepped out of their comfort zone to go the extra mile with fundraising. I congratulate all the boys on their fundraising efforts. To date, the boys have promised just over $46,000. It is so so wonderful to see the Waverley community have so much support for such a worthwhile event. The Edmund Rice ethos is very much alive within this school. I look forward to catching up with many families tomorrow.
IPSHA 2019 Speakers’ Challenge
From Literacy and Innovation Teacher, Mr Natasha Zivanovic
On 9 September, a number of Year 5 & 6 boys participated in the IPSHA Speakers’ Challenge at a school level. In the preliminary round, the boys presented their three-minute speeches on the theme of ‘Reimagine’ to a group of students, teachers and visitors from St Boniface, South Africa.
Congratulations to Max Sheehy and Kayden Baker who will represent Waverley at the IPSHA NSW Branch Speakers’ Challenge on Thursday, 14 November at Abbotsleigh.
Although not all the boys could progress to the finals, the boys displayed outstanding public speaking skills and presented speeches of sincerity, depth and conviction. We wish the boys well for their future public speaking opportunities.
Sports News
Congratulations to Sam and Alfie Frain who competed as part of the CIS team, in the PSSA Golf Championships at Blackheath Golf club in the Blue Mountains. Alfie finished 4th out of the 80 competitors and has qualified for the NSW team, he is the only year 5 student to do so. Sam also played well but sadly finished just outside the top 8 to make the team.
Congratulations to all the boys who competed in the IPSHA Athletics. A special mention to Basiley Gosbell, Felix Kelly, Julian Minto and Darcey Parkes, our Junior boys relay team who came third in the IPSHA final. They have now qualified for PSSA.
Well done to Luke Newrick and Jack Johnson who competed in the CAS Athletics Carnival today. This is a huge achievement considering it is a Senior School event.
Also congratulations to Charles Coughlan, Johno Mcdonald and Ben Van Dam who represented Waverley College at the IPSHA Cricket Trials.
Zholtan Szabo and Lincoln Tanner have been given a fabulous opportunity to represent Waverley on the Hawaii Swimming and Waterpolo Tour in 2020. A fantastic effort from both boys.
Science and Space Excursion – Wollongong Planetarium
From 5 Red Students, Oliver Bracic and Sam Brader
As we got off the bus at the Wollongong Planetarium we were all so excited! The instructors guided us into a hall full of science experiments. We played with magnets, tested parachutes for air resistance in the air shoot and got up close and personal with dinosaurs.
Next, we got to do lots of interesting experiments with energy in the science show. The most dangerous was when we saw a lightning creator conduct electricity through Mr Lavorato to light up a bulb! We also took part in experiments involving static electricity and liquid nitrogen. It was so cool!
But really what everyone was busting to see was….wait for it THE PLANETARIUM!!
It was AMAZING. First had an introduction to star constellations and then watched an animation about the universe called WE ARE STARS.
Although it was a long trip, it was worth it.
