Ms Gaby Bransby, Director of the Junior School
Diary Dates
Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 2 events, please refer to the College calendar.
- 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
Ms Gaby Bransby
Director of the Junior School
gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Digital Borders and Boundaries
Last week I attended a Professional Development course and the keynote speaker was Dr Kristy Goodwin – a highly sought-after digital wellbeing & productivity expert. Kristy’s a speaker, author, researcher and consultant who delivers evidence-based information about the impact of digital technologies on children, adolescents’ and adults’ health, wellbeing & learning.
She’s passionate about sharing the latest research and insights into how “digitalised childhoods and adolescence” are changing the ways that students learn, play and develop (without telling parents or educators that they need to ban the iPad, or disconnect the Internet).
Dr Kristy Goodwin cutting-edge research from neuroscience, psychology and technology and translates it into brain-based protocols to power-up performance.
3 Top Tips from Dr Kristy
- Create a Digital Landing Zone in your home – This would be a designated spot where digital devices go when you don’t want to use them (e.g. a basket, a drawer or a lockable tech charging station). Our willpower diminishes throughout the day. Put in place strategies to manage your ‘tech-temtations’ to stop your reliance on your device throughout the day.
- 20 – 20 – 20 – 20 Rule – After every 20 minutes of looking at the screen, take a 20 second break, look at something 20 feet away, and blink 20 times. This helps prevent digital eye strain which can occur after hours spent in front of a screen.
- Establish your tech-free zones in your house – These spaces would ideally include bedrooms and meal areas. Having designated spaces free from technology can give you some much needed respite, especially since our brains are processing around 11 million sensory cues every second!
Ms Gaby Bransby
Director of the Junior School
gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Junior Sport Fixtures, Training Schedules, Maps and Venues
Click HERE.
Co-curricular Sport
Round 4 of Winter Sport was a success with teams starting to demonstrate what they have been learning in training. With beautiful weather, we showed Waverley pride throughout all AFL, Football and Rugby games. Players are showing our three Core Values Respect, Compassion and Resilience by never giving up and being good sports.
James scored 5 goals for 11C Football team – Congratulations James!
Congratulations to Jordan Strbac, Louie Cummins and Alex Jenkins who competed as part of the CIS AFL team at Albury last week. We are very proud of their efforts over several tough but exciting games. They had a huge week of AFL, had fun swimming and getting to know other boys in their team and have returned to the Junior School ready to use their skills in their Waverley jerseys. 6 Blue were also able to enjoy supporting the boys, watching the live stream for half of their first match, with two of the CIS boys in 6 Blue. Go Waves!
CIS AFL Team
AFL A Team
CIS AFL
6 Blue
Athletics Carnival
Our 5-12 Athletics Carnival is fast approaching! We are looking forward to an exciting day of races, field events, House spirit and lots of fun. Please make a plan with your son about the day and ensure he is aware of the below details:
Location: E S Marks Athletics Field, Boronia St, Kensington NSW 2033
Date: Friday, 7 June 2024
Time:
- Boys getting on the organised bus from the Carrington Road gates need to be there by 8am. Buses will depart no later than 8.15am and anyone not on the bus will have to make their own way to the carnival.
- Boys getting dropped to E S Marks must arrive at the Fields no later than 8.45am.
- The carnival concludes at 2.30pm, when students can get picked up; or buses will bring boys back to the Carrington Road gates for a 3pm dismissal.
Clothing:
- Boys can wear House colour shirts and must be in PE uniform otherwise. Running spikes are allowed.
- Bring a hat.
Food:
- No canteen so bring both lunch and recess and enough snacks.
- Bring a water bottle to refill and stay hydrated throughout the day.
*Further information can be found on the Waverley App > ‘JS: Athletics Carnival Permission Slip REMINDER’.
Ms Jade Sparks
Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Junior School)
jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Home Learning Term 2 Week 5
NO Home Learning on Monday 3 June
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 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during school term, unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.
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, and a parent’s signature will be required.
It is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, and as such all students are expected to do their work quietly while attending the Learning Hub and minimise disturbance to others.
The Learning Hub will be supervised by;
Monday
Ms Natasha Zivanovic
Tuesday & Wednesday
Ms Gaby Bransby
Thursday
Mr Steve Ghattas
If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.
nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Important: 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.
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 for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report, and 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.
To register your son, click here. 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 below to register your child no later than July 23, 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 here.
If you require additional support registering your son contact the customer service team on 1800 931 775
National Simultaneous Storytime
National Simultaneous Storytime in the Junior School was a resounding success, thanks to the dedication and enthusiasm of the Year 8 students, Mr William Roberts and Ms Tamara Bliznjakovic. Their commitment to fostering a love of reading and nurturing the next generation of book lovers is a testament to the power of education and the enduring magic of storytelling. This year the beautifully written and illustrated text ‘Bowerbirds Blue’ was the highlight of NSS.
National Simultaneous Storytime
LEGO Club
Last week the theme of cartoons came to life. As the club continues to thrive, one can only wonder what captivating themes and challenges await in the weeks to come. The possibilities are endless thanks to the creative imaginations of these young architects and storytellers.
LEGO Club
LEGO Club
LEGO Club
Ms Natasha Zivanovic
Teacher of Literacy & Innovation
nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au
A New Generation of Podcasters – News from 6 Blue and Ms Jade
This term in English have been studying ‘A Different Way of Looking’. This unit has involved studying Bruce Pascoe’s non-fiction book ‘Young Dark Emu.’ We are learning about alternative ways of understanding the past, and how to unpack the rich history that lies within the culture of First Nations peoples. We started by journaling about our responses to the book and ended with our first assessment.
The first of our English summative assessments this term was to script and record our very own Podcast about our response to the text and the topic we have been learning about. Podcasts are a conversational way to share knowledge and make learning fun. We have been using the Deep Learning progression ‘Collaboration’ to learn to work in pairs on this assessment. It is important that we do not divide up the work and create separate pieces of writing when collaborating – our aim is to work on one piece and communicate with each other about how to progress. Like our school motto this year, Stronger Together, United as One.
6 Blue
6 Blue
6 Blue
Ms Jade Sparks
Teacher of 6 Blue
jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au
