Junior School News

From Acting Director of Junior School, Ms Gabrielle Bransby

We’ve had another exciting couple of weeks here in the Junior School. Last week we kicked off with Mr Mitton organising a House-based Maths competition, using the Education Perfect Maths Championships 2020. Our students answered 477, 107 questions in total, finishing 2nd in Australia and 4th in the world! Congratulations to our winning house, Conlon – and a special mention to the following boys for answering over 6,000 questions each: Oscar Paul, Charles Coutts, James McDonald, Raff Toohey, Auguste Gibson, Daniel Morrow, Peter Soumilas and Dylan Sperring. 

Last Friday saw the beginning of our first House sports competition run by Mr Ryan on a Friday morning. The first round is our Dodgeball tournament, which started with Year 5. After seven different games of intense competition, O’Connor beat Conlon in the final with a hit of the stumps and an automatic victory well before the final siren. This week Year 6 will have the opportunity to show us their skills on the Dodgeball court.

The third core value that we introduced last week was ‘RESPONSIBILITY’. This has married in so well with R U OK? Day this week. There have been many meaningful and important conversations around responsibility and how it links to important messages that R U OK? Day represents.

Mr Lavorato and 6 Indigo have created some fantastic work around the concept of responsibility and R U OK? Day. 

 

Let’s Fix the Dangerous Traffic Conditions at Charing Cross

Please read the following message from the Charing Cross Pedestrian and Driver Safety Group in relation to:

Charing Cross six-way intersection of Carrington Road, Victoria Street and Bronte Road, Waverley

Waverley Council is currently reviewing the traffic conditions at the Charing Cross intersection.

Local parents from Waverley College and St Charles’ School have started a petition to Council and the State Government to ensure the review addresses the multiple hazards that exist here, and that they prioritise the safety of the hundreds of pedestrians who use this intersection every day.  

We need your help to get 500 hard copy signatures to be heard in State Parliament.

Due to COVID restrictions, parents won’t be able to sign the petition at Waverley College.

Instead, please sign at:

1. Mary Immaculate Church
2. Ezy Mart
3. Waverley Newsagency
4. Café Sorelle
5. St Charles Primary School reception (between 8:30am and 9am, or 3pm and 3:30pm)

For more information, visit the Charing Cross Pedestrian and Driver Safety Group Facebook group.

Thank you for supporting this, let’s not wait for a tragic accident before we act.

Learning Hub News – From Literacy & Innovation Teacher, Mrs Natasha Zivanovic

R U OK? Day Guest Speaker Kevin Heath 

This week we kicked off with an important message: R U OK? The national day is today, Thursday 10 September. However, as we heard from our guest speaker Kevin Heath, “Every day is the day to start a conversation using the four steps.”

https://www.ruok.org.au/education

What Did Our Boys Take Away From the Presentation?

“One thing I learnt was that always be open about your feelings to a person you trust and also NEVER bottle your feelings up.” – Charles Power, 5 Gold Student

“I learnt from Kevin Heath, if someone is bullying you or not being nice to you, not to retaliate without thinking first, which I thought was a huge thing to understand.” – Elie Baker, 6 Gold Student 

 “I learnt the four steps: Ask, Listen, Encourage Action and Check-in. And you don’t have to do them in order.” – Lachlan Gibbins, 6 Gold

Mornings in the Learning Hub

Every morning boys are welcome to start their day in the Learning Hub. It is fantastic to see them playing a game, reading, drawing or simply having a morning chat. 

Supporting Reading At Home

Recently, I read an article called Infographic: Which Generation Reads the Most? This article zoomed in on the five types of generations and their reading habits. Our boys being Generation Z, 5-25 years of age, was of greatest interest to me.

What did I learn? I discovered that GenZ reads for the least amount of time but still reads for fun, although this number halves when they become teenagers and they prefer fantasy genres and books with humour.

After reading this article, I reflected on the importance of catering for our different learners. Reading, however, does not necessarily have to mean opening up a book and staring tentatively at pages and pages of endless words. For the auditory learners among us, the option of audiobooks is one that our society is increasingly turning to – and for good reason. There are many options out there and the most important thing is that your son is reading, or listening to audiobooks if that’s his preferred choice.

Your son has access to audiobooks from the Learning Hub, as well as a multitude of options online. Just remember it doesn’t always have to be a hard copy book.

Resources

Audiobooks

https://waverley.wheelers.co/

There are over 500 titles to choose from.  Your son can log in using his Waverley username and password. To select the appropriate age group. Click on the ‘BROWSE’ tab and then select ‘Child’ under the ‘AUDIENCE’ tab. 

EBooks

https://nswsecondaryau.libraryreserve.com/

Online Reading Material

https://www.natgeokids.com/au/

https://www.kidsnews.com.au/

Co-Curricular News – From Assistant Director of Co-Curricular, Mr Matthew Ryan

Aerogym

As part of curriculum delivery for our PDHPE program, our Year 5 students have started participating in Areogym, which is a form of gymnastics. As an extra on a Tuesday lunch, some of our Year 5 students have been given the opportunity to participate in more advanced Aerogym activities in the auditorium. 

This is a great chance for students to try something different and be involved in a sporting activity that they may not get a chance to do at any other time. It’s great to see the boys so excited and interested in participating in this fun activity. Thanks to our great Aerogym coaches for their time and expertise each Tuesday.