Junior School

Welcome to Week 2!

We have really hit the ground running here in the Junior School. We have had a very busy and lively start to the term. Last Wednesday I attended the IPSHA Cross Country and was so proud to see our students representing Waverley with great sportsmanship and support of one another. We welcomed Mr Brendan Cook who is the Creative Director at Picture Drift for our lunchtime talk. The students were so intrigued and inspired by his amazing work and skills in animation. 

We started this week with a beautiful ANZAC Day Commemoration Service as a whole school. We were very lucky because Junior School student Levi Dunbavin (5 Gold) brought in his father’s precious medals. His father Paul has been serving in the Australian Army for over 34 years. He has just left Australia to serve in Iraq for the next six months. We pray for his safety and thank God for his dedicated service. We are thinking of Nicolle, Levi, and Ky during this time.

Look at Paul Dunbavin’s many impressive medals, acknowledging his bravery and service:

• Order of Australia presented in 2015 for service to Defence / SF
• Active Service Medal clasps Afghanistan / East Timor
• Interfet Medal 1999 for East Timor
• Afghanistan Campaign Medal 2005 / 2013
• Australian Service Medal clasps for Sinai, Timor Leste, and Counter-Terrorism
• Long Service Medal with clasps 34-year service in Defence
• 4 Year good conduct medal
• Sinai Campaign medal    
• NATO medal Afghanistan
• Unit Citation for Gallantry 2005/ 06
• Meritorious unit citation Afghanistan 2007 -2013 

Staff Update

Last Friday, we said goodbye to our Learning Support teacher Ms Katrina King. She has accepted a wonderful opportunity at Grammar Edgecliff. Katrina has given 15 dedicated years of service to Waverley College as a Learning Support teacher. She has provided quality learning opportunities through her skills, talents and enthusiasm for our students in Mathematics, Spelling Mastery, Decoding and Enrichment Classes. We thank Katrina for her devoted service and wish her the best for this new and exciting chapter of her life.

We welcome Ms Deanne Seamons who has been a Learning Support Teacher in the Senior School since 2004. She is highly experienced and we are delighted to have her join our team in the Junior School. 

Open classrooms 

We are pleased to announce that we will be holding open classrooms for parents to come and see what your son has been learning this year. This will be held in Week 5 from Tuesday 18 May to Friday 21 May. The session will be from 2:30 – 3pm on one of these days. In next week’s Nurrunga, I will have a timetable outlining your son’s exact time. We look forward to seeing you on campus. 

Medical Information for Year 6 Camp (12-14 May)

If your son has any medical conditions, you will need to update his medical information in the Parent Portal. Please click this link for detailed instructions on how to update his information.

If your son needs to take medication while he is on camp, we require one snack-size ziplock bag for each dose, according to your son’s requirements. For example, if he takes 1 tablet at breakfast, 1 at lunch and 1 at dinner you will need to provide the following as indicated:

• Day 1, Breakfast: 1 snack-size ziplock bag with the dosage included
• Day 1, Lunch: 1 snack-size ziplock bag with the dosage included
• Day 1, Dinner: 1 snack-size ziplock bag with the dosage included
• Day 2, Breakfast: 1 snack-size ziplock bag with the dosage included
• Day 2, Lunch: 1 snack-size ziplock bag with the dosage included
• Day 2, Dinner: 1 snack-size ziplock bag with the dosage included
• Day 3, Breakfast: 1 snack-size ziplock bag with the dosage included
• Day 3, Lunch: 1 snack-size ziplock bag with the dosage included

Please clearly mark your son’s name on all individual dosage bags, and place them into one large ziplock bag clearly marked with your son’s name.

If your son requires liquid medication, or you have any questions, please contact Ms Coupe to discuss on 9387 5022.

This needs to be delivered to Ms Audrey Coupe by Friday 7 May.

 

Ms Gabrielle Bransby

Acting Director of Junior School

E: gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 

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NAPLAN 2021

Students in Years 5, 7 9 will be participating in the annual NAPLAN tests in reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy online this year between Tuesday 11 May and Thursday 13 May.

Click here for NAPLAN Parent Information Pack

Students must bring their fully charged laptops and headphones to this session.

Students are encouraged to practise for the tests by clicking on this website. They should try out the online tools including calculator, protractor and ruler, as well as text magnification and flags.

Should you have any questions regarding this practice test, please contact either Ms Lynsey Porter, Director of Curriculum, or Thomas Mitton, Acting Assistant Director of Curriculum.

 

KLA Curriculum Overview

Please follow the links below to view the KLA curriculum overview for Term 2 for Years 5 and 6.

Year 5

Year 6

 

Mr Thomas Mitton

Acting Assistant Director of Curriculum

E: tmitton@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 

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Mother’s Day Mass

You are formally invited to our Junior School Mother’s Day Mass on Friday 7 May 2021 at Mary Immaculate Church. 

Unfortunately, we are still restricted by COVID-19 regulations, therefore we cannot hold a combined Year 5 and Year 6 Mass. As a result, we have decided to hold two separate Masses to make this day a special day for the mothers of the students at the College. We are also restricted to one parent/carer per student.

Mass Times:

• 10:30am – Year 5 Mother’s Day Mass followed by a light morning tea at the Junior School
• 12pm – Year 6 Mother’s Day Mass followed by a light afternoon tea at the Junior School

If you have a son in both Year 5 and Year 6, we ask that you please attend the 12pm Mass. Additionally, if your son is in Year 5 and in the Cantores, we also ask that you attend the Year 6 Mass.

As part of the celebration, there is a slideshow presentation showcasing our mothers/grandmothers with their son(s).  If you would like to send a photo through, please email it by Friday 30 April to liturgy@waverley.nsw.edu.au

We hope that you can join us for this special occasion.

 

Mr Stephen Ghattas

Assistant Director Identity & Student formation 

E: sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 

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News from the Learning Hub 

Lunchtime Talk 

Our Junior School students had an insightful Lunchtime Talk with guest speaker Brendan Cook, the father of Mikey Gauci-Cook in Year 6. Brendan is the Creative Director at Picture Drift. We learnt that being creative takes a lot of patience, and that sourcing ideas doesn’t happen overnight. It was a full house with aspiring creative students wanting to learn all about the world of animation. Thank you for taking the time out to inspire our Junior School students.

If you would like to volunteer to do a presentation, please email me directly at nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Debating Training

I would like to thank our Year 12 students Conor Boyd-Boland, Patrick Hoggett and Luke McLellan for offering to mentor our Junior School IPSHA Debating Team. It was a successful first training session. Waverley’s first debate for the season is against Coogee Prep and the topic is ‘That technology is harmful to our friendships.’

Meet The 2021 Learning Hub Assistants

I am thrilled to be working with a new group of students who will help make the Learning Hub even more exciting with new initiatives this term: Alexander Avdalis, Carter Kennedy, Charlie Griffin, Cooper Burns, Evan Service, Henry Furlong, Jack Stuart, Jeremy Pounder, Jude Maher, Liam Boreland, Maximilian Wu, Oliver Adkins and Thomas Ingham. 

2021 ICAS Competitions for Years 5 and 6 students

If you would like your son to compete in the 2021 ICAS Competitions, you will be asked to nominate which competitions you would like him to be entered in through the Parent Payment System. At the Junior School the following ICAS competitions are offered: Writing & Digital Technologies, Science & Spelling Bee, English and Mathematics. This year all the competitions will be held in August / September, Term 3, and will be completed online. 

Click https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps to register your son. Through this system, parents can pay for ICAS directly online while tests will still be held at our school. Please use the school’s access code details to register your child no later than 18 June 2021. Waverley’s School Access Code QKV852.

Please consider carefully before choosing this enrichment opportunity for your son. It is a rigorous competition with many questions set beyond grade level. Participants are required to demonstrate a deeper, integrated and thorough level of learning. If you are unsure of your son’s suitability, please consult with his teacher. Click ICAS Assessments: Home for more information about the assessments.

If you require additional support registering your son contact the customer service team on 1800 931 775 (Australian Toll-Free).

Home Learning Club 

We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school for the completion of home learning tasks. The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.

Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3pm until 4pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term.  

Home Learning Club Procedures and Behaviour

Register your son via the Skoolbag app and follow the link https://homelearningclub.youcanbook.me

Only register his name once to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots.There will be a roll call to ensure attendance. Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent signature will be required.

As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not cause a disturbance for others.

Teachers:

Monday & Wednesday – Ms Natasha Zivanovic

Tuesday & Thursday – Mr Matt Ryan

If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.

 

Ms Natasha Zivanovic

Literacy and Innovation Teacher

E: nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Mr Matthew Ryan

Year 5 Red Class Teacher

E: mryan@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 

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Waverley Youth Art Prize

Are you a talented artist? Would you like to showcase your gifts?

One of the ways current Waverley College students can grow and showcase their artistic skills is by entering competitions like the Waverley Youth Art Prize. This prize is to encourage creativity in young artists from Sydney’s Eastern Beaches.

Entries for the 2021 Waverley Youth Art Prize are Open!

Looking at the theme:  We are Family – ancestors, bloodlines and belonging, students are invited to create an artwork to submit for the competition. Works can range from drawings, paintings, ceramics, sculptures, prints or photographs. Be creative!

Eligibility

All students from the Junior and Senior Campus are encouraged to enter the Waverley Youth Art Prize. All works entered will be exhibited in the opening on 3 June 2021. Entrants will go into the running to win vouchers and prize packs. If you are wanting the Senior School Art Department to enter your work on your behalf, please bring your artwork to me by 19 May 2021 with the completed entry form for your age category.

Entry forms
Click here for entry form age 9-12
Click here for entry form age 13-15
Click here for entry form age 16-18

Key Dates – Entries Close 21 May 2021

Link to previous winners 

Good luck everyone!

Please contact me should you require any further information.

 

Ms Natalie Oates

Head of Visual Arts, Senior School

E: noates@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 

 

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Round 1/2 Saturday Sport & IPSHA Cross Country

I acknowledge all players, staff and coaches for a great start to the Winter Co-Curricular Season last weekend. There were standout team performances for many of our AFL, Football and Rugby teams. As Mr O’Donnell has mentioned, we want to thank all players and parents for their patience with the new attire, and we will communicate with the College community as soon as the new gear is available. We also encourage any student who has yet to get fitted for their new gear to go to the uniform shop to order. 

It is exciting to know that both our Prep 1st XI Football and Prep 1st Rugby will be playing on Queens Park 1 this coming Saturday. I want to wish these teams and their coaches the very best in playing their games on the full-sized field; it will be an experience they’ll remember.

The results for Round 1 have now been uploaded on the Waverley College website. Click here for Round 2 fixture and Round 1 results and scroll down to the Junior School Sports section.

Good luck to all Waverley teams competing this weekend, and I hope we all display positive sportsmanship, endeavour, and enthusiasm, as shown in Round 1.

IPSHA Cross Country

On Wednesday 21 April, our Cross Country team headed to The King’s Preparatory School in Parramatta to represent Waverley College at the IPSHA Cross Country running event. The team consisted of the following students: Liam Madden (Year 5); Hunter Leondis (Year 5); Anthony Chorafitis (Year 5); Hugo Spierings (Year 5); Evan Rowbotham (Year 6); Oscar Lennon (Year 5); Conor Kane (Year 5); Joshua Raymond (Year 5); Jayden Newrick (Year 5); Daniel Morrow (Year 6); Josh Peters (Year 6); Flin Newman (Year 6); Thomas Burke (Year 6); Levi O’Keefe (Year 6).

The event was planned to go ahead at the end of Term 1, but unfortunately was postponed due to the weather conditions at the time. We had no worries about the weather this time around, as it was a fantastic blue sky day and excellent conditions for running.

All our participants gave their absolute all in their events and represented the College at the highest level. We were fortunate to have five students who performed at an elite level, finishing within the top 15 of over 150 runners per event. These students were: Evan Rowbotham, Liam Madden, Daniel Morrow, Josh Peters and Oscar Lennon.

The results are to be highly recommended:

• Evan Rowbotham (2nd in U11 – Time: 12.01 for 3 kilometres)
• Liam Madden (6th in U10 – Time: 7.55 for 2 kilometres)
• Daniel Morrow (7th in U12 – Time: 12.10 for 3 kilometres)
• Josh Peters (10th in U12 – Time: 12.18 for 3 kilometres)
• Oscar Lennon (14th in U11 – Time: 12.50 for 3 kilometres)

All students had a great day and enjoyed being a part of the event and competing against the best cross country runners of their age groups.

 

Mr Jack Wachtel

Assistant Director Co-Curricular

E: jwachtel@waverley.nsw.edu.au