Junior School News

From Director of Junior School, Ms Gabrielle Bransby

Another exciting week here at the Junior School. We started our week with a wonderful assembly by 6 White who showed us the true meaning of compassion. We saw wonderful examples of students composing clips as part of their Home Learning task. We witnessed creative and powerful images of what showing compassion to another classmate looked like, and heard the stories of those who are much less fortunate than us through Project Compassion. 

This week I spoke to our students about the Junior School’s 5 Core Values – respect, compassion, responsibility, commitment and resilience. These values have been created to give students an easy, practical and meaningful way to respond to the expectations here at the Junior School. These core values underpin who we are, how we act, and what we value. I have discussed with the students the meaning and the importance behind the creation of our core values, and how they will be the principles that guide us daily to make the right choices.  We will delve deeper into these through our assemblies, in-class and through our SRC members. 

Art Appreciation Class 

This week our students created beautiful artworks called Pastel Planets. They experimented with pastels, chalks and templates, and created stunning calming atmospheric planets and moons. We are so lucky to have the very talented Ms Faye Hopkins to extend our art lovers. 

From the Assistant Director of Junior School/Student Formation, Mr Stephen Ghattas

House Masses

I would like to remind both parents and students of the upcoming House Masses in the College calendar.

Week 6 – Wednesday 3 March – Aungier House Mass -Mary Immaculate Church – 6pm

Week 7 – Wednesday 10 March – Brennan House Mass – Mary Immaculate Church – 6pm

Week 8 – Thursday 18 March – Green House Mass -Mary Immaculate Church – 6pm

Week 9 – Wednesday 24 March – Conlon House Mass – Mary Immaculate Church – 6pm

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, Year 5 and Year 6 students are invited to attend, however, it is not compulsory, as we understand that this may prove difficult for parents to arrange for their sons to be picked up afterwards.  If you do wish for your sons to attend, they are required to be in school uniform.  Upon arrival at the church, they are to get their name marked off by one of the Junior School House Mentors.  Please ensure that you are there to pick up your son by 7:15pm and he knows of the necessary arrangements.

Sacrament of Confirmation

For parents seeking information regarding the Sacrament of Confirmation, it is important that you contact your local parish to find out the details regarding when the Sacrament will be celebrated and when the preparation classes will be held.

For students of Waverley College who are part of St Charles Borromeo Parish (Mary Immaculate Church), the Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated on Sunday 20 June.  Compulsory preparation classes will be held in the weeks prior to the celebration. 

Due to COVID-19, the Sacrament was postponed in 2020, therefore in 2021 we are only celebrating the Sacrament with current Year 6 and Year 7 students.  Please rest assured that the Sacrament will be held again next year to accommodate any Year 5, 2021 students.

If you enrolled your son for the Sacrament in 2020, I have the registration form with me already, however payment will still need to be made as this was reimbursed last year. More information regarding the celebration including the registrations forms will be made available in the coming weeks.  

For any questions or enquiries, please contact Mr Stephen Ghattas sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

Mother’s Day Mass – Request for Photos

The celebration of mothers, grandmothers and significant others in the lives of our Waverley College Students will be celebrated in Week 3, Term 2.  Details regarding how this celebration will take place will be sent out as soon as we have more information regarding protocols for large gatherings to take place.

Part of the celebration will include a slideshow.  Can I please ask that you send through a photo of your son(s) with their mothers/grandmothers if you would like a photo included in this presentation.

Please send through all photos to liturgy@waverley.nsw.edu.au

From the Acting Assistant Director of Curriculum, Ms Charlotte Stephens 

This year in the Junior School we are excited to introduce our new Home Learning Policy. After listening to feedback from parents, students and teachers we have developed a more streamlined and consistent approach to home learning across Years 5 and 6. The ultimate goal of this new direction is to encourage our students to develop positive home learning habits, provide challenging and diverse home learning experiences and, ultimately prepare our students for the greater independence, academic rigour and organisation demanded of them in the Senior School.

Students in Years 5 and 6 are recommended to complete 30-60 minutes of home learning per night Monday-Thursday in line with our College Policy and this is set by their Classroom Teacher. 

Home Learning tasks can include:

• Reading – A minimum of 10 minutes of reading every night
• Consolidation of Learning Tasks – These tasks are designed to give students the opportunity to consolidate learning that has happened in the classroom including tasks from specialist teachers. 
• Flipped Learning Tasks – These tasks are designed around concepts or topics that are upcoming in the classroom so students are able to do prior investigation or learning and come to class with some background knowledge or questions.
• Major assignments and assessment tasks – Students receive an assessment notification through CANVAS at least two weeks before any major assignment is due. 
• Mathematics home learning tasks are set by individual maths teachers 

Students are expected to engage fully with the Home Learning program. Should your son be having any ongoing difficulties completing his tasks, please contact his classroom teacher to discuss further. 

From the Assistant Director of Co-Curricular (Years 5 to 8), Mr Jack Wachtel

Year 5 Camp (YMCA – Yarramundi, NSW)

Last Wednesday 17 February, Waverley Staff and Year 5 Students headed off to Yarramundi for three days of adventure, new experiences and plenty of fun. There was a large amount of nervous energy amongst students, unaware of all the new experiences, rewarding challenges and friendships that would be formed. 

Once arriving, students were given time to acquaint themselves with their dorm roommates and sort out whether they’d be on the top or bottom bunk bed. We had lunch and hit the ground running, with an array of activities being undertaken across the three days. 

Activities included:

1. Alpine Rescue
2. Giant Swing
3. Initiative Games
4. Orienteering
5. Bush Craft
6. Low Ropes
7. Archery
8. Rock Climbing

Once the day’s activities had finished, dorms were split into two big groups to allow one to freshen up, and the other to enjoy dinner, before swapping. Night activities were full of energy and excitement. They included an active games night and a disco, where students and staff members could showcase their creative dance moves. It was obvious by the last day that the majority of students had used up all of their energy reserves and were ready for a much deserved night’s sleep in their own bed.

On reflection, students came away from camp having developed greater social skills to get to know one another and form long lasting friendships. They broke out of their comfort zone, trying new things to build resilience, improve teamwork and potentially conquer their fears in the process. We hope all students had an enjoyable experience and came away with lasting memories and experiences, and developed social and emotional skills to hold onto throughout their schooling journey and beyond.