Principal, Mr Graham Leddie
Term 2 finishes with some very powerful messages and learnings including Educating the Future and NAIDOC Week
Thank you for all of the effort and care from staff, students, parents and Old Boys in making Term 2 a great success. The College was less affected by COVID-19, but the predicted harsh flu season required our community to work well together to navigate this challenge. It was wonderful to see events, competitions, games, performances and interactions all return in full flight across both campuses.
Year 12
Please keep our Year 12s in your thoughts and prayers at this busy and crucial time of the year, as they continue their preparation for their upcoming final examinations. Thank you to our staff who continue to offer extra tutorials throughout this term, and through this upcoming holiday period.
HSC ATAR boys have been given study programs, where they should be allocating at least six hours per day for revision and preparation for the upcoming examinations.
Please ensure your son maintains good exercise, relaxation time, reduced screen time, good sleep patterns and a healthy diet during this time. Please do not allow your son to change his normal sleep patterns drastically and sleep in. A consistent approach to his day over the next few months is what is required.
Don’t forget to book into your Year 12 Parent Teacher Interviews which will be held Wednesday, 20 July 3:30pm to 7pm. Bookings will be available next week.
>>> Click here to view the Nurrunga article by Mr Chris Soden to learn more about these interviews.
Trial HSC Examinations commence on Monday, 1 August and finish on Monday, 15 August.
>>> Click here to view the Nurrunga article by Ms Elizabeth Watson to learn more.
Educating the Future 2022 Gala Dinner – Saturday 6 August
From Senior School students to co-founders of a registered charity in a year. For Waverley College Class of 2016 graduates Adam Hegedus and Alexi Piovano, the College’s social justice program was life-changing. They are now the Old Boys behind Educating The Future (ETF), a not-for-profit that facilitates powerful change through education in Timor-Leste. Their organisation seeks to facilitate relief from poverty and generational disadvantage by providing access to pre-school education. ETF has established a volunteer team of students and an expert advisory panel, who are all committed to improving the quality of education in Timor-Leste.
Funds raised by ETF in Australia, enable the construction of pre-school infrastructure in regional and in-need areas of Timor-Leste, as well as the facilitation of in-country partnerships and capacity building. By investing in youth through the power of education, Educating The Future is seeking to transform the lives of disadvantaged children in Timor-Leste, our neighbour.
Their major Fundraiser for 2022 will be held at Waverley College on Saturday, 6 August. To book a table or find out more details click on the link below:
>>> Click here to book a table and view more information.
National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week – 3-10 July
NAIDOC Week is celebrated nationally every July, and this year it occurs from 3-10 July during our winter break. NAIDOC origins can be traced back to the Aboriginal rights movement, and on Australia Day 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney to highlight the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
This protest was one of the first major civil rights gatherings in the world and was known as the ‘Day of Mourning’. This later became ‘Aborigines Day’, and in 1955, it was decided that it should become a positive celebration of Aboriginal culture, heritage and achievement, rather than a protest. NAIDOC Week 2022 gives us the opportunity to continue to build positive relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, enabling a deeper understanding of our differences and similarities. It challenges us to eliminate bias and discrimination, by reflecting and reconciling the wrongs of the past, to facilitate hope and build a fairer future. Difference brings strength and our society can benefit from a range of world views and experiences.
Student Enjoyment of Reading
Last week I wrote about encouraging your boys to embrace their physical dimension over the winter break. I would also encourage them to embrace their cognitive dimension and find the opportunity to read at least one book during this time. Twenty minutes a day will see them complete most books in that time. I have just started reading Holly Ransom’s The Leading Edge and I am looking forward to her unpacking the knowledge she has extracted from some of the world’s leaders, trailblazers and change agents such as Malcolm Gladwell, Sir Ken Robinson, Barack Obama, Dalai Lama, and Sir Richard Branson.
Research has shown that reading for enjoyment has an impact on academic achievement. The most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey measured the attitudes held by 15-year-olds about reading. An Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) Snapshot report has analysed these attitudes, and looked at how they differ between girls and boys, Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, and most disadvantaged and least disadvantaged students.
I reflected upon my daughter and son’s love of reading and the statistics were accurate for me.
End of Term
Most boys have worked hard to achieve their goals this term, and we wish them all a safe and enjoyable break, and look forward to their return in Term 3 which starts on Tuesday, 19 July.
