From the Principal, Mr Graham Leddie

Parent Gatherings 

I have been liaising with Ms Jade Stapleton (President Parents’ Association) and the parent Cocktail Party will be postponed to later in the year (probably in Term 2). However, Year level parent gatherings will proceed. Dates and venues are being finalised for individual year group gatherings, and will be sent out by the end of Week 3.

COVID-19 Update 

Please ensure your son has a mask when he leaves home and a back up mask in case it breaks during the day. Whilst our Health Centre has back up masks, we can not maintain the rate of providing masks for students that is currently occuring. 

There has been a delay in us receiving RAHT tests from the NSW Government, and Years 8, 9 and 10 are currently one short. RAHT tests will be distributed on Monday to these Year levels. 

Please see below the current number of students across each Year level and also staff who currently have COVID-19, or who have been a close contact. We are travelling well at present, but I encourage all community members to continue to embrace preventative measures: 

• Practice hand hygiene 
• Wear masks indoors 
• Social distancing 
• Staying in their cohort 
• Monitor for symptoms and stay home if sick   
• Routine RAHT testing 

COVID-19 positive cases = 48

• Year 5 – 2
• Year 6 – 3
• Year 7 – 10
• Year 8 – 7
• Year 9 – 4
• Year 10 – 5
• Year 11 – 10
• Year 12 – 4
• Staff – 3 

Household/Close contacts = 33

• Staff – 1 
• Junior School – 9 
• Senior School – 23 

Getting to School on Time 

COVID-19 has definitely had an impact on transport to and from school, with buses and car traffic being most affected. Despite these difficulties, we encourage parents to ensure that their son is at school well before the starting time of 8:40am, and to allow for delays in their son’s journey.

It makes such a difference being able to start the first lesson of the day with every student in attendance and ready to learn. Getting into good habits and routines early in the year sets your son up well for a successful year ahead. How he wears his uniform, his appearance, manners, organisational skills, and demeanour, all have an impact on every aspect of his life. 

Parent Involvement Matters

Research overwhelmingly concludes that a student’s home environment is one of the biggest factors influencing the success of a student. There are specific parent behaviours that are most influential:

• Parental communication of high expectations: parents who regularly communicate high but realistic academic aspirations for their children, have a far greater positive effect on student outcomes than any other parental behaviour, including how strictly they supervise their homework or monitor their free time.
• Communicating about school in a positive manner: research suggests that positive conversations about the school environment encourage students to maintain a positive approach to school. Fostering a ‘triangle of support’, where the teacher/school and parents are working towards the best possible outcome for the student, is also very important. Negative talk, teacher put-downs or verbalising distrust for a new policy or approach, encourages a more adversarial relationship between the school, student and parents.
• Involvement at school: when conducting enrolment interviews, I like to stress that we are not just enrolling your son, we are enrolling your family. You are becoming a part of the Waverley College family. Being a single unit, supporting the school and fostering positive relationships, ensures students are exposed to a positive culture, conducive to learning. The parenting style that most correlates with student success, combines love and support with structure and discipline.

Cosi 

The Drama Departments of St Clare’s School and Waverley College are very excited to announce that we are staging a classic Australian play this year called Cosi by Louis Nowra in June in the Performing Arts Centre (PAC). Set in a psychiatric facility, Cosi is a play about friendship, romance, community and difference. Mr Peter Lamb is directing and Ms Alison Jinga is producing the show. Rehearsals will be held outdoors and are on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. 

Student Congratulations 

Congratulations to Luke White (Year 11) who took out First Prize in the Senior Mayor’s Choice Award for his photograph Street Mirror in the Youth Photographic Award and Short Film Prize, Woollahra Council’s annual competition.

Congratulations to Joshua Tsoukalas (Year 9) who took out the Winner of the People’s Choice Award for his photography landscape My Happy Place in the Youth Photographic Award and Short Film Prize, Woollahra Council’s annual competition.

Congratulations to Marko Rangan (Year 11) on his selection in the U18 NSW metropolitan basketball team. 

Staff update

Welcome to the following new staff to the College;

• Rita Roshni and James Listberger as Science Technicians to the Science Department
• Philip Shepherd who joins us in the role of Cadet Admin Officer
• Alice Green who joins our Canteen team