Director of Junior School, Ms Gabrielle Bransby
Diary Dates
Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 2 events, please refer to the College calendar.
- 18 May – Winter Sport – Round 3
- 24 May – May Procession – classes conclude at 12pm
- 25 May – Winter Sport – Round 4
- 30 May – College Assembly 5-12 Reconciliation Week
- 1 June – Winter Sport – Round 5
- 7 June – Athletics Carnival – ES Marks Field
- 10 June – King’s Birthday Public Holiday
- 12 June – Year 5 History Showcase
- 12 June – Quinn House Mass and Supper, Chapel, 6pm
- 13 June – Hearts for Arch Day – mufti and $2 donation
- 14 June – Year 5 Reflection Day
- 15 June – Winter Sport – Round 6
- 19 June – Year 6 History Showcase
- 19 – 21 June – Year 5 Camp
- 22 June – Winter Sport – Round 7
- 25 June – Semester 1 Reports Available
- 26 June – Classes conclude
- 27 June – Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews
Hearts For Arch Day
In 2020 our community was rocked when we lost Year 8 student Archie Perkins. Archie passed away from a pre-existing heart condition over the summer holiday period. This came as a terrible shock to Archie’s family and the Waverley College community, particularly Archie’s close friends and Year group. Archie would have been graduating from Waverley College this year and in memory of him, we will be holding a Hearts For Arch Day.
This day will be held on Thursday, 13 June 2024 in which the students will wear mufti uniform and are required to give a gold coin donation. All money raised will go directly to the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network Cardiac Unit and to the purchase of the mobile ECG units; Kardia.The aim to provide a Kardia mobile to every eligible cardiac patient at Sydney Children’s Hospitals, and at $173 each, every dollar counts. Donations can be made through the Hearts for Arch Foundation.
We also encourage students to purchase merchandise which they can wear throughout Week 7. This will be available for purchase at school on Thursday 13 and Friday 14 June, however, you can also purchase merchandise HERE.
We look forward to welcoming Archie’s family to our College Assembly where they will share Archie’s story and the importance of the Hearts for Arch Foundation.
Congratulations Ethan!
Congratulations to Ethan Storie (6 Gold) who entered a poem competition in the science magazine Double Helix. He had to write a poem about Covid and chose to write an acrostic poem (see below). Ethan won his age category and won Pandemic the board game. Well done Ethan!
Cook tasty meals
Observe outside creatures
Vaccination
Internet overload
Did online schoolwork
UNSW and IBSC Boys’ Learning and Wellbeing Research Project
Waverley College is participating in a research project titled ‘Supporting School Students’ Learning and Wellbeing‘ facilitated by the School of Education at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the International Boys’ School Coalition (IBSC), which aims to investigate the educational practices that support students’ learning and wellbeing in the classroom and in their co-curricular activities.
Students in Years 7-12 will complete an online questionnaire during Period 1 classes on Friday, 24 May 2024. Students in Years 5-6 will complete the questionnaire during Period 1 on Thursday 23 May. The questionnaire will ask them about educational practices at the school (eg instruction, guidance from teachers, coaches, etc) and also about their learning (eg motivation, engagement) and wellbeing (eg flourishing, sense of belonging). The questionnaire should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
If you agree for your child to take part in the project, you are not required to do anything else.
Students can provide their own consent as they do the survey.
If you do not want your child to participate in this project, please fill in your details on page 4 of the attached Parent Information Form for UNSW & IBSC Research Project and email it to Ms Lauren Ryan, EA to the Deputy Principal-Students lryan@waverley.nsw.edu.au by 12pm on Wednesday, 22 May, 2024.
Click HERE to view the Parent Information Form.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact me at gsmith@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Ms Gaby Bransby
Director of the Junior School
gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Termly Curriculum Overview and SMART Goals
A warm welcome back to another exciting and packed Term of learning at the Junior School. Please find below the Termly Curriculum Overviews to see what your son will be covering in each of his Key Learning Areas in Term 2.
A new Term is a fantastic opportunity to set new goals. Your son will be setting SMART goals in class using the College Diary as a guide, we recommend you use this to prompt a conversation about what he wants to achieve and how he can be supported in this.
Term 2 Year 5 Curriculum Overview
Term 2 Year 6 Curriculum Overview
Mr Elliott McKimm
Assistant Director of Curriculum
emckimm@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Co-curricular Sport
AFL
Round 2 went ahead for two of our AFL teams, and they both came away with convincing wins. Well done to the boys who played in the rain and mud and made Waverley proud!
Football
Next week, Year 5 will begin their ManCity PE takeover where they will have the privilege of Mr Ben Charlton running them through professional Football sessions.
CIS Rugby League Trials
Congratulations to the five students who attended the CIS Rugby League Trials on Monday, 13 May. Please read the below report from our Junior School Rugby Convenor, Mr Alon Horry.
The Waverley College Rugby program is up and running at the Junior School, with a wide array of talent and skills on display. After a series of fiercely-contested Rugby trials, we have named our sides to proudly don their respective gold and blue jerseys and represent the Junior School Campus. Mother Nature has been doing her best to stand in the way of our season thus far, with some rain-interrupted fixtures in the opening rounds. However, the boys are raring to go for what is set to be an exciting campaign across the grades.
Preps
For Round 3, the Prep Firsts will be travelling to Riverview for what will be a gruelling opening match against a longstanding rival. The two sides last met on the Armidale tour and the Waverley boys will be gunning for a victory to open up their account for 2024. The Prep Blues and Golds will battle against one another in their highly anticipated derby match and one not to be missed. Kick-off is at 8am at Queens Park 6.
The under 11s are heading to Shore for their first match of the season, with the 11As determined to get their season up and running with a win. The Cs will play in the curtain raiser with the 11Bs travelling to Terrey Hills to face Mosman Prep. All three sides had the luxury of Waverley Old Boy and former Wallaby, Morgan Turinui joining them for training this week as part of ‘Legends Week’ at the College. Morgan put the boys through their paces with some tackling drills that will have them in good stead for this week and the upcoming season.
U11
U11
Around the grounds, we had five students from the College try out for the CIS representative Rugby League team this week at The Ponds. Jacob Coleman, Taj Cooke, Jude McDermott, Fergus Samba Hoare and Patrick Spencer attended the all-day event and represented the College with great honour and prowess. Each of our boys were well in the mix right up until the very end with Jacob, Fergus and Patrick selected as part of the 17 who will play matches in Lake Macquarie and Wollongong. Congratulations to all of the boys for their monumental efforts and especially the boys selected for representative honours.
Selected in the CIS Representative team
Mr Alon Horry
Rugby Convenor (Junior School)
ahorry@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Ms Jade Sparks
Assistant Director of Co-curricular
jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Home Learning Term 2 Week 4
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 unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.
Procedures
Register your son HERE.
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’s signature will be required.
Behaviour
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: Mrs Natasha Zivanovic nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au
- Tuesday and Wednesday: Ms Gaby Bransby gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au
- Thursday: Mr Steve Ghattas sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au
If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.
An important note to remember, if afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately, you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached.
Avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.
2024 ICAS Competitions | Years 5 and 6 students
What is ICAS?
ICAS is an online academic competition designed to assess students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing and Digital Technologies.
Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities forrecognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report.
Top performers will be eligible for medals.
If you would like your son to compete in the 2024 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 & English and Mathematics.
This year all the competitions will be held in August / September, Term 3 and will be completed online in the Learning Hub before school starts. A timetable will be shared closer to the assessment dates.
Click HERE 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 23 July 2024
Waverley’s School Access Code YGC063
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. More information about the assessments can be found at ICAS Assessments: Home.
If you require additional support registering your son contact the customer service team. Call Australian Toll-Free 1800 931 775.
IPSHA Debating
I thank our Year 10 student Dante Fearn for offering to mentor our Junior School IPSHA Debating Team. It has been a successful start to training sessions.
Dante’s experience in debating has offered the Junior School team valuable insights into effective argumentation, rebuttal strategies, and public speaking techniques.
Drawing Club
Good luck to the Drawing Club students who entered the Mysteries of the Deep competition run by Waverley Council. Your interpretation of the theme was original.
Ms Natasha Zivanovic
Teacher of Literacy & Innovation
nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au
A Window into the World of 6 Gold and Mr Ghattas
Over the last couple of weeks, the students of 6 Gold have been busy working on different class tasks to showcase their learning across the different subject areas.
In Mathematics, to reflect their knowledge of angles and how they are useful in the real world, they designed a mini Putt Putt Course that needed to adhere to certain criteria.
In English, we are studying Young Dark Emu, by Bruce Pascoe, which gives an insight into the early history of Australia from an Indigenous perspective.
The students have been reading the various chapters and then reflecting on this through their own personal journal.
Along with the rest of the students, they researched and discussed the life of Blessed Edmund Rice, founder of the Christian Brothers, through various activities in class including podcasts, posters and research activities.
I am proud of how they have all been applying themselves to the their schooling in Term 2.
Mr Steve Ghattas
Assistant Director of Junior School / Identity & Student Formation
sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au
