Junior School – Week 3

Diary Dates

Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 2 events, please refer to the College calendar. 

May

• 13 May – Round 3 Winter Sport 
• 19 May – Athletics Carnival 
• 20 May – Round 4 Winter Sport 
• 26 May – May Procession (half day)
• 27 May – Round 5 Winter Sport 

June

• 1 June – Tevlin House Mass, 6pm
• 3 June – Round 6 Winter Sport 
• 7 June – Quinn House Mass, 6pm 
• 8 June – Year 5 History Showcase 
• 9 June – Year 5 Retreat Day 
• 12 June – Pupil-Free Day – King’s Birthday 
• 14 June – 16 June – Year 5 Camp
• 14 June – Year 6 History Showcase
• 16 June – Reports Available, 5pm 
• 17 June – Round 7 Winter Sport 
• 19 June – Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews 
• 22 June – Classes conclude 

Mother’s Day Mass

Today’s Mother’s Day Mass was absolutely beautiful. The church was full and vibrant. Celebrating our mothers, grandmothers and anyone that is like a mother, is one of the most special occasions of the year. Thank you for making the Mass such a special occasion and I wish you all an amazing Mother’s Day on Sunday.

May Procession

As you are aware, May Procession is on Friday, 26 May. Students need to be dressed in their full academic uniform. This is a very special event and we would love you to join us. Should you be able to attend, the Mass starts at 10:30am. Students come to school as normal, but will be dismissed at the conclusion of the Mass at 12pm.

If you are not attending, please have arrangements in place for your son to be picked up at this time, or make alternative arrangements at dismissal time. 

 

Ms Gaby Bransby

Director of the Junior School

 

---

Edmund Rice Activity Day

Last Friday, 5 May, Junior School students participated in the Annual Edmund Rice Activity Day. Throughout the morning, the boys learnt about the life of Edmund Rice through a variety of activities including trivia, research projects and a Prayer Service.

We welcomed Millie, Nathan and Jenny from Edmund Rice Camps, who spoke about the work that they do to help underprivileged children enjoy weekend activities and overnight camps, that we sometimes take for granted.

At assembly, awards were presented to students who demonstrate the same qualities of Edmund Rice, such as kindness, compassion, humility and a desire to put others first.

Congratulations to the following students:

• 5 Blue  – Blake Collins
• 6 Blue – Cormac Maher
• 5 Gold – Ace Simmins
• 6 Gold – Sam Burrows
• 5 Indigo – Sebastian Lopez Heslop
• 6 Indigo – Sebastian Karhan
• 5 Orange – Zac Mueller
• 6 Orange – Marcus Millard
• 5 Red – Harrison Hughes
• 6 Red – Hunter Bligh
• 5 White – Noah Medniuk
• 6 White – Charles Carrano

During the afternoon, the boys were involved in a number of different fundraising activities, aimed at raising money to go towards Edmund Rice Camps. There was a buzz of excitement around the school as a majority of the boys immersed themselves in the different games.

I am proud to say that over $2,500 was raised with all the money going to Edmund Rice Camps. Well done to all boys for their efforts.

Raffle Results

• 1st Prize -Ellis Cario – 5 Orange
• 2nd Prize – Harry Robinson – 5 Blue
• 3rd Prize – Oscar Young – 5 White
• 4th Prize – Zayn Khatib – 5 Blue
• 5th Prize – Boyd Haslam – 6 Blue

Jelly Bean Guessing Competition Winner 

• Kai Freeman – 5 Orange

Table Tennis 

• Table Tennis Winner – Ethan Daemi – 6 Red
• Table Tennis Runner-Up – Remy Milis – 6 Blue

 

Big Brother/Little Brother – Session 3

On Friday, 5 May, the Year 5 and Year 10 students were once again involved in a Big Brother Little Brother activity, which happened to coincide with the Feast Day of Blessed Edmund Rice. We were lucky to welcome the senior boys to the Junior School classrooms, where they engaged in a Kahoot Quiz based on the life of Edmund Rice.

Needless to say, all boys seemed to enjoy the morning activities, and a lot of fun was had competing for a podium finish. We look forward to our next session later in the term.

 

Mr Steve Ghattas

Assistant Director of Junior School / Identity & Student Formation

 

---

Winter Co-Curricular Sport – Round 3

Round 2 consisted of blue skies and an array of positive final results from all Winter Co-Curricular teams. Tomorrow marks Round 3 (Saturday, 13 May). I know our students will represent the College proudly and demonstrate the utmost respect and sportsmanship towards their opposition teams.

Please ensure you refer to the Waverley College app announcements each week, as I will continue to send out the weekly Sports Fixtures for each round. Families can also locate all relevant Junior School co-curricular information through the College website via the link below.

>>> Click here to view all Junior School Co-Curricular information on the Waverley College website.

House Athletics Carnival (Years 5-12)

The Junior and Senior School will be holding our annual Years 5-12 House Athletics Carnival next Friday, 19 May. This will be held at ES Marks Athletics Field. All information regarding parent/carer permission has been sent out and should now be finalised by all class teachers, ensuring we can safely account for all Junior School students on the day.

Please view to the information document below for further information about the House Athletics Carnival. This document is written for both Junior and Senior School parents/carers.

Click here to view further information about the House Athletics Carnival

Although, please refer to the below points of information that aren’t mentioned in the information document above:

1. All students arriving to ES Marks Athletics Field by a parent/carer or walking there, will need to sign in to Mr Ghattas at the entrance of ES Marks. Please ask your son to be looking out for Mr Ghattas, as this is critically important for us accounting for all Junior School Students.
2. Students on the bus in the morning to ES Marks need to meet at the Carrington Road entrance gates to the senior campus by no later than 8am. The bus will be departing at 8:15am sharp.
3. Students catching the bus back to Carrington Road gates will be arriving back between 3pm and 3:15pm. Please ensure you have made arrangements for dismissal and pick up from this spot. 
4. The conclusion of the carnival is at 2:30pm. If you are picking up your son from ES Marks, please be there on time. Pick up will be from the grandstand where there is teacher supervision, or alternatively, arrange a pick up location so your son knows exactly where to go.
5. The Athletics Carnival event nominations meeting will take place next Wednesday and Thursday, prior to the carnival. This will allow students to find out and record their race division for the 100m sprint. Please be aware of the following points regarding the events on the day:

• Students in divisions 1-5 will race the 200m sprint, and students outside those divisions will be able to nominate for this event.
• Students can nominate for 800m, Shot Put, Long Jump, High Jump and Novelty Events (Three Legged Race and Wheelbarrow Race).

Please view the House Athletics Carnival map below for reference to where events are taking place and House areas for where your son will be located.

IPSHA Rugby League Trials

Monday this week, the following students represented Waverley College Junior School at the CIS Rugby League Trials at The Kingsway Rugby League Fields: Kalan Fisher, Jackson MacAskill, Joey De Blasio, Henry Callen, Jacob Roorda.

All students gave it their all in the trial, and we were fortunate to have three out of the five secure a spot in the team. These included Kalan Fisher, Jackson MacAskill and Henry Callen.

A massive congratulations to these students and to Joey and Jacob for giving it their all.

 

Jack Wachtel

Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Years 5-12)

 

---

Home Learning Club 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

Click here to register your son

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/carer 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 and Wednesday – Ms Natasha Zivanovic – nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au
• Tuesday and Thursday – Ms Gaby Bransby – gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

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

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. Try to avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.

 

---

2023 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. Top performers will be eligible for medals.

If you would like your son to compete in the 2023 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/carers 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 2023.

Waverley’s School Access Code FBT592

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, Australian Toll-Free, 1800 931 775.

 

---

Reader of the Week

Drawing Club 

This week, the Drawing Club students had great conversations about their mums. This was the inspiration for our drawing sessions. The boys Googled their mums, drew from memory, or had a special photo saved on their laptop to create a Mother’s Day portrait.

 

Ms Natasha Zivanovic

Literacy & Innovation Teacher

 

---

6 Gold Class Item

This term, the boys in 6 Gold have been engaged in learning across the different Key Learning Areas. Here is a snapshot of some of their current work. 

English

The boys have been studying Young Dark Emu, a book written by Indigenous man, Bruce Pascoe. This book highlights some of the misconceptions we have grown up with and gives us a truer perspective about the Indigenous way of life.

Here are some examples of diary entries written by 6 Gold students in response to reading information about their way of life.

Henry

In the chapter ‘Home’, I learnt about how the Aboriginal people lived in their houses and how their big huts could fit 40-50 people. Also, how their small huts would usually be for food storage and all their supplies.

In summer when they use their huts, they would leave the doors open to get fresh air because of how hot it was and in the winter they pretty much did the opposite. They would put leaves on the outside of the hut and shut the doors to keep warm. The British didn’t like it when they saw this, as they felt that they could not claim this as their own land. – Henry Callan

Freddie

Aboriginal peoples’ technique of food storage was very civilised. It really questioned the settlers that said the Aboriginal people were hunter-gatherers. There were three different techniques: Caching, Stockpiling and Direct Storage. Caching was where they would wrap eucalyptus leaves and save them if they would ever run out of food. Stockpiling is where they would wrap food up in animal skins or hollow trees. They would then go back to their stockpile and use the food when they needed it. Direct Storage is where the Aboriginal people would make clay buildings or houses typically in a cold environment so they could store their necessary food. Therefore they would stay in their land and would store their food, meaning they were not Hunter-Gatherers and had a clear understanding of Agriculture and Aquaculture. – Freddie Fearon

Marlow

What I have learned from Young Dark Emu is that the Aboriginal people had a couple of different approaches to catching fish. Some of them are: using spears and fishing rods,  standing on a ledge, and throwing or casting into the water. Or they would fish in a canoe by going out into the middle of the lake, river, or pond and then casting or throwing when they saw a fish.

Another way they would fish was to use traps. One of the traps they used was one where they had a small outcrop of rocks, and there was a man kneeling to the side of the rocks with a stick. The wide end of the stick would be in the water, while the man would hold the thin end. He also had another stick that had a noose on it. As the fish swam in, it would swim into the noose, and it would be caught by the gills. On instinct, it would try to escape. As it struggled, the noose tightened, and more pressure would be applied to the stick. Then, the stick would flick back, and the fish would fly into a bucket. Then the man reset the contraption.

These systems are proof that Aboriginal people were more than just hunter-gatherers. They were civilised people and their land should not have been taken from them. – Marlow Moffitt

History

Our History unit for Term 2, ‘Waves of Migration’, looks at the timeline of migration to Australia and both the positive and negative impacts on Australian society. As a class, we read ‘The Little Refugee’ by Ahn Do, as an introduction to why people leave their home country and immigrate elsewhere. The book also delves into the different experiences Ahn and his family dealt with on their journey, as well as the early years settling into Australian life.  Below are two mind maps which highlight these ideas.