Director of Junior School, Ms Gabrielle Bransby
Diary Dates
Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 4 events, please refer to the College calendar.
- 4 November – Round 10 Summer Sport
- 7 November – Year 7 2024 Orientation Day
- 11 November – Round 11 Summer Sport
- 15 November – Junior School Music Festival, PAC, 6pm
- 18 November – Round 12 Summer Sport
- 27 November – Semester 2 Reports published on Parent Lounge
- 28 November – Year 6 laptops return
- 1 December – Year 6 excursion to Raging Waters
- 4 December – Year 6 Graduation Mass, Mary Immaculate Church, 1pm
- 5 December – Presentation Day
Ms Jade Sparks – Everest Three-Passes Trek
I wanted to share the incredible trip that our 6 Blue teacher Ms Sparks journeyed on over the last month. Ms Sparks completed the Everest Three-Passes trek in Nepal. This was no small feat and I thought her story below was worth celebrating.
Next week, I will share Charlie Barrett’s adventure (6 Gold) who also went to Nepal and completed the trek to base camp.
Namaste! On the 30th September this year, I boarded an eight-hour flight to Singapore and then a five-hour flight to Kathmandu, landing in the early hours of the morning. I was greeted with a smack of heat and a buzz of human and car traffic, despite the time. In Kathmandu the next day, I met my World Expeditions leader and my fellow trek-mates, then we got on a bus to Ramechhap. After a breakdown and a swap of buses, we arrived safely at Ramechhap after six hours. Our first night at camp ended in the early hours of the following morning, when we woke in the dark to get to the airport for our final flight (18 minutes on something not much larger than a remote-controlled plane) to Lukla.
Once in Lukla we finally started walking. And for 18 days we walked, up to eight hours every day. Each day, walking was different, but never flat. “Nepali flat” means “a little bit up, a little bit down.” The first of our three high passes was Kongma-La (elevation 5,550m) where we battled altitude and many steep climbs to get to the top. The way down was always a relief, but mostly a sense of accomplishment. The second of our high passes was the Cho-La (elevation 5,420m) which involved wearing ice cleats over our boots to trek up the glacier (imagine walking on a snow cone). Finally, the third high pass was the Renjo La (5,360m) which we conquered after staying at the beautiful Gokyo lakes.
Gokyo Lakes
Amidst the three passes, we climbed Kalla Pattar, went to Everest Base Camp, stayed in Wilderness Camps, visited the Sir Edmund Hillary School, stayed in the tiered village of Namche Bazaar, and saw incredible views of Sagamartha (Everest), Ama Dablam and so many more of the highest peaks in the world. In total we walked 170km and climbed a total elevation o 8,500m. I am so grateful I had this experience which was made possible by our World Expeditions leader, Sherpa guides, porters and cooks.
Thank you to the support of the College and community whilst I was on leave in Nepal. I have returned more aware, grateful and fulfilled and I recommend traveling to Nepal to anyone who wishes to experience the stillness and serenity of the highest points on Earth, while being surrounded by some of the happiest people in the world. – Ms Jade Sparks
Ms Gaby Bransby
Director of the Junior School
gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Year 6 Graduation – Monday, 4 December 2023
Dear Parents and Carers,
You are all invited to the Year 6 Graduation on Monday, 4 December to acknowledge the end of your son’s primary school years. Please see the invitation below.
Year 6 Graduation – Request for Photos
As part of the Year 6 Graduation, I will be putting together a slideshow presentation. I would be very appreciative if you could send through a photo of your son’s Kindergarten photo (or their first day of Kindergarten, or similar), as this will form part of the presentation.
If you could please send a labelled photo through to liturgy@waverley.nsw.edu.au by no later than Friday Week 5. Picture format as a jpeg or png file would be preferred. Please do not send through pdf files.
Mr Steve Ghattas
Assistant Director of Junior School/Identity & Student Formation
sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Summer Co-Curricular Sport
Round 10 Sport (Saturday, 4 November 2023)
Please refer to the link below to access the sports fixture for Round 10 this Saturday, 4 November. All adjustments to times and venues have been noted in red, please take note carefully.
>>> Click here to view the College Website: Junior School Sports Fixtures and Season Draw.
Mr Jack Wachtel
Assistant Director of Co-curricular
jwachtel@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Term 4 Week 5 – Home Learning
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 – 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’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 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 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.
Try to avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.
Hugh Rachel
A shout out to Hugh Rachel (Year 5) for going above and beyond to get the latest Learning Hub books signed by the incredible author Suzanne Leal! And let me tell you, the new release, Running With Ivan, is an absolute page-turner! It’s a thrilling read that will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Don’t miss out on this fantastic book.
Lunchtime Talk
Monique Kalmar, actress and mum of Ashaan (Year 5), took us on a journey on why she became an actress. Monique’s insights and experiences were truly inspiring, and we are grateful for the opportunity to have learned from her.
Monique’s passion for acting and her dedication to her craft were evident in her life experiences, and the Junior School students were all captivated by the stories of her time in remote villages in developing countries.
Monique’s willingness to share her journey with us has left a lasting impression on our students, and I am confident that they have taken away valuable lessons from her talk.
Thank you for taking the time and for sharing your expertise with us.
Ms Natasha Zivanovic
Literacy & Innovation Teacher
nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au
News from 6 Blue and Ms Jade Sparks
This Term in English, our theme is “Life Is An Adventure,” a fitting topic for our last Term of Year 6 where change and adventure awaits our Year 6 students next year. We are immersing ourselves in a wide range of quality imaginative texts, through our own reading and being read to. We are exploring short stories (humorous and adventurous), particularly those of Australian authors, for example Paul Jennings and Oliver Phommavanh.
One way of presenting short stories is through stop-motion films. We have viewed some examples of stop-motion films through Literacy Shed and examined the themes, imagery, emotion and effectiveness of each short story. This Term we will create several short film projects individually and in groups. Our focus is using creative visual literacy skills to develop stop-motion films that use characters and stories to engage audiences.
See the images below of our creators at work, using their bodies to make a stop-motion film. We had to pay great attention to the shots and angles we used in order to create the illusion effect that is possible with stop-motion. For example, we could make our characters fly and flip in the air through a sequence of high-angle shots of someone lying on the ground.
6 Blue embraced the challenge and have now produced two high quality stop-motion films, with more to come.
Ms Jade Sparks
Teacher 6 Blue
jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au
