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.
- 27 May – Round 5 Winter Sport
- 30 May – Free the Funk – Students wear fluro mufti – $2 donation
- 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
It was wonderful to start the week off with a wonderful class assembly led by Mr McKimm and 5 Orange. They showcased all the amazing work they have done so far this Term and presented so well. Thank you 5 Orange for starting the week off with a bang!
Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews
Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews will be held on Monday, 19 June. This is a pupil-free day for students however, they need to attend the interview. They need to be in their full academic uniform. This will be a hybrid session that will be split into two. The morning session will be face-to-face and the afternoon session will be Zoom. More information will be coming out over the next couple of weeks.
Free the Funk
On Tuesday, 30 May, we are asking students to come to school in fluro mufti to raise awareness of mental health. ‘One Wave’ is an organisation that runs a program called ‘Free the Funk’ which visits schools to start conversations, learn tips and tools for taking care of your mental health, and discuss how to support friends and family members.
One Wave will be holding a 30-minute session with Year 5 and Year 6 separately on Tuesday. We ask that students bring in a donation of $2 so we can support this wonderful organisation that visits schools for free, to start early prevention, which is critical for our students.
Below is the link for more information:
https://www.onewaveisallittakes.com/
WriteOn Competition 2023
This is a reminder about the WriteOn Competition. If your son is looking for some extra inspiration over the next few weeks please direct him to this competition.
WriteOn is an annual writing competition open to all NSW primary students in Years 1 to 6. Students compose an imaginative text of up to 500 words, using the below image as the stimulus.
This competition provides students with the opportunity to become published authors and showcase their creativity.
Entries are due to me by Week 6 Term 2.
Year 5 History Showcase
We would like to invite all parents/carers to attend Year 5’s History Showcase on Thursday, 8 June at 2pm.
The students in Year 5 will be presenting their historical knowledge from their history unit learnt this semester. They have been involved in a history inquiry unit that explores the significance of people, groups, places and events, that have led to the development of Australia.
Each student will have a booth at the showcase on which they will:
- Display the historical research of their chosen event/group
- Choose a character from their event or group
- Dress up as their character
- Prepare a minimum of five questions for the audience to ask about their character
Below are some amazing examples from last year to get you inspired, we can’t wait to see what this year’s Year 5 has in store for us!
Year 6 History Showcase
We would like to invite all parents/carers to attend Year 6’s History Showcase on Wednesday, 14 June at 1:30pm.
Year 6 has been learning about the many reasons why people have migrated to Australia over time. They have interviewed somebody they know, who has migrated to Australia. At the showcase, students will:
- Dress up as the person they have interviewed or in a way that represents them
- Present information through a variety of sources in their booth
- Showcase the documentary they have created during class
Examples from last year are below. We are so looking forward to learning about and celebrating the diverse stories of migration to Australia that Year 6 will be sharing with us.
Ms Gaby Bransby
(Acting) Director of the Junior School
Winter Co-Curricular Sport – Round 5
I wish all teams the best of luck this weekend, and hope for friendly competition and respect for our opposition teams. For the last several rounds I have been really impressed with how our teams have been performing, and I know it won’t be any different this weekend.
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 Whole School Event)
Last Friday, 19 May Waverley College held its annual House Athletics Carnival at ES Marks Athletics Field. It was a glorious sun-shining day and the electricity was high, having both Junior and Senior students and staff together for a day of friendly House competition. It had been two years since having a whole school Athletics Carnival due to the redevelopment of ES Marks.
All Junior School students demonstrated true House spirit, along with a fire to compete in as many events as they could, throughout the day. Track and Field events included: 100m, 200m, 800m, 1,500m, Championship Race, Long Jump, High Jump, Shot Put.
It wouldn’t have been a House Athletics Carnival for the Junior School without the Novelty events that our students love participating in. This year they included: Three-Legged Race and the Wheelbarrow Race. All staff and Junior students got involved, including some Senior House Prefects, and it no doubt was the highlight for many students.
Students gave their all in each event they were involved in, and as a result, we can announce the following students who are the Junior School Age Champions for 2023 based on the final results and placings.
| Under 10s | |
| 1st | Patrick Spencer |
| 2nd | Kai Lopez |
| 3rd | Leo Mithen |
| 3rd | Hugo Cuschieri |
| 4th | Reis McEvoy |
| Under 11s | |
| 1st | Charlie Carrano |
| 2nd | Tio Norman |
| 3rd | Oliver Burke |
| 4th | Phillip Rizzo |
| 4th | Louis Vereker |
| Under 12s | |
| 1st | Leonardo Rodella |
| 2nd | Talin Opai |
| 2nd | Sam Powell |
| 3rd | Louis Coleman |
| 4th | Noah Borlotti |
The IPSHA Athletics Team will not yet be announced until Term 3, as we still need to undertake Discus, and redo Shot Put due to Senior Staff not recording the distances. Once announced, those students will be invited to begin training as part of the Senior School Athletics Program.
CIS AFL
Freddie Fearon represented Waverley College at the AFL CIS trials and was deservingly selected in the NSW CIS team and participated in the annual tournament last week.
The team came away with a silver medal, doing a great job throughout the tournament – working hard and playing with spirit, grit and determination. Unfortunately they were beaten in the Grand Final but it was a great game.
A massive congratulations to Freddie for his involvement. Waverley is proud of you.
NSW CIS AFL Team
IPSHA Rugby Union Trials
Last Thursday, seven Junior School students were invited to be involved in the 2023 IPSHA Rugby Union Trial, in the hope of making it through to the NSW CIS Rugby Union Trials. Mr Olds was there as a coach and selector, which I’m sure gave all the students comfort, knowing a familiar coaching face and energy.
At the conclusion of the trial, we successfully had all seven students selected to be a part of the IPSHA squad to progress to the NSW CIS Trials coming up in June.
Congratulations to the following students: Kalan Fisher, Hugo Cummins, Jacob Roorda, William Carr, Henry Callen and Talin Opai.
Mr Jack Wachtel
Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Years 5-8)
6 Blue English Podcasts
Our focus text this Term in English has been Bruce Pascoe’s Young Dark Emu, a non-fiction text telling a ‘truer history’ of pre-colonised Australia. The 6 Blue students have studied the background of author Bruce Pascoe, analysed each chapter, and written thoughtful journal entries about their learnings and wonderings. Each student has been surprised, shocked and in awe of the knowledge shared in this book, adding more detail and a wider perspective to their view of history.
As the summative assessment at the conclusion of this deep-dive, students are required to script and record a podcast sharing their thoughts and findings about the text. Here are some of the students’ lines in their podcasts:
Leo Schwarz and Jet Venning
“Leo: So, Jethro I have one last question for you: What was terra nullius and how was it justified by claiming that Indigenous Australians were primitive?
Jethro: Well Leo, actually it was not justified to call it terra nullius because that actually means “land belonging to no one”, but the Indigenous people of Australia had been there for over 60,000 years and had many different ways of agriculture and aquaculture, as well as food storing and house building.”
Jacob Pelletier and Cole Berkley
“Jacob: The book says that the Aboriginal women were the first to make bread. They would do this by grinding up seeds and then mixing them with some water until it was a thick dough. After the dough had rested for a day they would place it over a fire to bake and voila, BREAD!
Cole: That is so cool, it might be my new favourite book.”
We are looking forward to completing our podcast recordings and listening to them as a class.
Ms Jade Sparks
Class Teacher 6 Blue
Running Club
Every Monday at lunchtime, a number of students and staff in the Junior School head to Waverley Park for Running Club. In its second year at the College, this initiative aims to support the mental health and fitness goals of its participants.
The reasons that runners and walkers have for attending is varied, however, all are welcome no matter your pace. Many of us are training for the City2Surf and are excited to support Running for Premature Babies once more.
If you have any questions about Running Club or the City2Surf, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Winter Cricket Training
While the winter sport season is in full swing at Waverley College, a group of very keen cricketers have been meeting every Wednesday at the Junior School nets. These boys have been batting and bowling with the purpose of keeping their skills active throughout the winter, so that they are ready to go when summer rolls around once more.
Mr Elliott McKimm
Running Club Coordinator
Home Learning Club Week 6
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.
Lunchtime Guest Speaker – Richard Simpkin
Richard Simpkin, Waverley Old Boy, proud Tevlin member and Dad of Ollie (Year 5), had the Waverley Junior School students buzzing with excitement during his presentation.
Richard, who is a photographer and writer, took the boys on a celebrity journey and shared the strong message of perseverance and believing in yourself.
You had the students captivated from start to finish. You are a natural-born storyteller. I look forward to reading more of your books. Thank you for taking the time to inspire the students to ‘dream big’ and follow their dreams.
Sorry Day 26 May and Reconciliation Week 27 May – 3 June
This week, the boys explored the very important theme of National Sorry Day and next week will focus on Reconciliation.
Rich literature was used to encourage valuable discussion on the cultural heritage of the First Nations Peoples.
The boys highlighted many important facts and we were involved in activities that promote creative and critical thinking.
Drawing Club
Good luck to the Drawing Club students who entered the Waverley Youth Art Prize 2023 competition run by Waverley Council. Your interpretation of this year’s theme, Climate Utopia, was creative and original.
Reader of the Week
Ms Natasha Zivanovic
Literacy & Innovation Teacher
