Junior School – Week 6

Pop Up Bookshop in 2022

Diary Dates

Please find below key event dates you need to be aware of for the Junior School in Term 3. For all of the College events, please refer to the College calendar. 

• Friday, 2 September – Father’s Day Mass and BBQ Lunch, Mary Immaculate Church, 12pm
• Monday, 19 September – Year 6 Allwell Testing – Academic Uniform 
• Friday, 23 September – Term 3 Classes Conclude

Ms Gabby Smith

Director of the Junior School

E: gsmith@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Curriculum News

Science Week 2022 – Glass – More Than the Eye Meets

Incursion ‘Window to the World – A STEM Story’ 

What a wonderful week it was for our students last week. We made sure we celebrated Science Week in a variety of ways. We started the week off with a great incursion called ‘Window to the World – A STEM Story.’ We were lucky to have two very talented and entertaining actors who really delved deep into the world of ‘glass.’ This was very informative and a great way to introduce the theme of Science Week to our students.

In-class Experiments 

Throughout the week, students were involved in some great hands-on experiments where they looked at Surface Tension.

Students completed two experiments: 

1. Rainbow milk
2. Pepper surface tension

Students loved the opportunity to get messy, make a hypothesis and were amazed with the results.

Live Experiments 

We were so lucky to have our talented senior school science teachers come down to the Junior School to share their knowledge and skills about science. The students were blown away by the live experiments!

They loved the giant elephant’s toothpaste, the hydrogen balloon explosion and the dry ice. A big thank you to Ms Emily Pace, Ms Gemma Brown and Mr James Listberger who delivered these mind-blowing and exciting experiments. 

Classes also had the opportunity to watch some great virtual ‘excursions’ online through SciFest 2022, where they were able to see live experiments. ‘Breaking Point’ was one particular excursion that focused on glass and had fun experiments. Students are still able to watch these if they missed out.

>>> Click here to view these.

It was a wonderful Science Week, and I can’t wait to hear which Junior School students won the Scientist of Waverley Competition next week.  

Ms Gabrielle Bransby

Assistant Director of Junior School/Curriculum

E: gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Fathers Day Mass – Friday, 2 September 2022 – Mary Immaculate Church – Request for Photos

The celebration of fathers, grandfathers and significant others in the lives of our Waverley College Students, will be celebrated on Friday, 2 September at 12pm (Week 7, Term 3).

This will be held at Mary Immaculate Church followed by lunch at the Junior School. 

Your invitation to this event has been in previous Nurrunga articles over the past few weeks.

Part of the celebration will include a slideshow. Can I please ask that you send through a photo of your son(s) with their fathers/grandfathers if you would like a photo included in this presentation. This needs to be emailed no later that Wednesday, 31 August.

Please email all photos to liturgy@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

Mr Steve Ghattas

Assistant Director of Identity & Student Formation

E: sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

FunRun Fundraiser News

The FunRun Fundraiser has seen some amazing achievements and I am thrilled to share the following milestones reached:

1. $87,368 fundraised across six weeks 
2. 280 out of 314 students have signed up with profiles
3. 1,055 total donations received
4. Reese ​​Araujo (6 Blue) leading the fundraising at $31,378, and Leo Henderson (5 Blue) has raised $2,430
5. 6 Blue are convincingly still in the lead in class fundraising, with $36,379 raised

The total amount raised for the FunRun will be announced in next week’s Nurrunga, once we have calculated the final total from all the in-school fundraising events and raffles.

Feel free to pass on the following Waverley College Junior School fundraising link for other people to use, or students may send out their personal link for one last-minute fundraising push:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/waverley-4812a57b-0562-43bd-aaca-8f442f30ea3d

You have until Monday to purchase raffle tickets:

Log on to Flexischools

Click ‘Fun Run Raffle’

Purchase Tickets

• First Prize – Two nights’ accommodation in a resort room including breakfast for two at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley
• Second Prize – Overnight stay at InterContinental Sydney in an Eastern Harbour View Room including breakfast for two

We look forward to announcing the winners on Tuesday, 30 August!

The big FunRun event was a great success today. We hope you enjoy the photos below. The full report will be added to next week’s Nurrunga once we announce the final fundraising amount.

External Sporting Achievements

Australian Swimming Championships

This week, Ryan Desousa (5 Blue) returned from the Australian Swimming Championships in Brisbane, with three Bronze medals for the following Multi-Class Events:

• Backstroke (50m)
• FreeStyle Relay (200m)

Waverley College would like to congratulate Ryan on these huge achievements.

Waverley is very proud of you, Ryan!

NSW AFL Team

Marcus Strbac (Year 6), recently travelled to Adelaide as a member of the NSW Under 12 AFL team to compete in the School Sport Australia National Championships. 

Following his NSW selection from the PSSA carnival in Coffs Harbour, the team met for a three-day training camp in July at Barooga on the Murray River.

Prior to leaving for Adelaide, the NSW Blue Pups (as the team is fondly known), were invited to attend Sydney Swans training, were able to soak up the atmosphere of the SCG for team photos, and also have their jerseys presented by current Swans stars Nick Blakey and Errol Gulden. Marcus was presented with jersey number 5 – like his favourite player Isaac Heeney (Class of 2014) – a former Waverley Senior School student. 

Congratulations Marcus Strbac!

Over six days, the Blue Pups were defeated in their first two games against traditional AFL states like Victoria and SA, and had extremely close games with WA and QLD, where a win could have gone anyone’s way. The NSW state coaching team was proud of the closing gap with the more dominating AFL states, and said the boys should hold their heads high. In their fifth game, NSW had a convincing win over ACT.

Kicking a goal 30 metres out, in the tournament against Western Australia, will be one of Marcus’ most memorable moments playing for NSW, along with making some fantastic and lifelong new mates. 

The experience off the field with all his team mates was just as exciting as the one on the field, and he is thankful to Waverley Junior School for providing him with such a fantastic opportunity. 

Marcus Strbac

Mr Jack Wachtel

Assistant Director Co-curricular (Years 5-8)

E: jwachtel@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Home Learning Club – Week 7

>>> Click here to register your son.

If your son is unable to attend, please email the College nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au or call reception.

ICAS Week 7

If you have entered your son in the ICAS ‘Mathematics’ exam, it will run in the Learning Hub next week. See timetable below. 

Please make sure your son charges his laptop the night before. Students need to arrive at least five minutes before the start time.

Debating 

Congratulations to the Junior School Debating Team who once again managed to walk away with a double win against Kincoppal. 

The topic was ‘That schools should only use popular modern books to teach English.’ 

The adjudicator was highly impressed with Waverley’s strong arguments and rebuttals. The teams are now preparing for a Debating Gala Day which will be held at the PLC campus. Here they will debate back to back against a variety of schools. 

Sami Bayly Author Illustrator Guest Speaker 

Junior school students enjoyed a highly entertaining and engaging presentation from Sami Bayly as part of our Book Week celebrations.

Sami is an author and illustrator. Her new book is coming out in September and the Waverley students were the first to see the hard copy. 

The boys were lucky to hear about all the ugly, dangerous and peculiar creatures in our world, and even have a demonstration on how to draw one! 

Pop-up Bookshop 

An essential aspect of supporting your son with his reading is to allow him to make his own book choices. The Pop-up Bookshop was a great experience for the students to enjoy browsing and buying books.

Writing Workshop 

Writing a story continuously is a fun way to work collaboratively, constructively, critically and creatively. The students in Years 5 and 6 showed many strong writing skills, especially when working under pressure with time constraints.

I’m looking forward to reading the finished stories and sharing them with the boys. A special thank you to Mr William Roberts who supported the Year 5 Writing Workshop. 

Book Week Competition Winners

Thank you to all the Junior School students who entered one or both, Book Week competitions. It was lovely to see students’ interpretation of the theme of ‘Dreaming with eyes open…’ 

Ms Mary Ryan, Literacy Coordinator, had a tough job judging, see the winners below.

Writing Poetry Competition 

• First Prize – Ryan Loughrey for ‘Dream Big’ 

The judge said: A beautifully composed inspirational poem. Ryan has offered the readers (young and old) lots of ideas on how to achieve our dreams. Thoughtful use of rhyme and structure.

Dream Big

Dreams will always be there,

They sit in your mind under your hair.

It’s something you look forward to,

Or a thing you practise through and through.

You want to achieve it 

And not quit.

Keep your eyes open

Don’t close them.

If you want to win a short distance race,

Start with your fastest pace.

You can’t win with your eyes closed,

Otherwise you should just stop and pose.

Keep them open nice and wide,

 Run with swift, speedy strides.

Ace a really difficult test,

And you keep on getting stressed.

Open your eyes as wide as you can,

Calm down and make a plan.

Write down your answers one by one,

And as soon as you know it you are done.

Compose a song, 

And everything is wrong.

You believe in yourself and open your eyes,

Then you give everyone a staggering surprise.

You start to sing,

And words gush out like a flowing spring.

Become a soccer star,

But you can’t shoot the ball very far.

Open your eyes and believe,

And you will achieve.

You play a game and shoot,

With a brilliant goal you celebrate with a royal salute.

You can always achieve,

If you believe.

Keep your eyes open wide,

And use them as a guide.

Don’t keep them closed,

Don’t sit and doze.

Keep them open,

Not closed.

• 2nd Prize – Joe Madden for ‘I’m Thinking Tall’ 

The judge said: I love the imagery in this poem. Lots of clever repetition and contrast too. A wordsmith!

I’m Thinking Tall

I am thinking of a giant, 

I am thinking of the moon. 

I am thinking oh so tall. 

I will grow pretty soon, I won’t be small. 

I will be so so much more.

I am thinking of a giraffe or a giant 

Wait! 

I have already said that. 

I will be taller than the Queen’s Guards in high hats. 

The taller I’ll grow the more I will show they will know.

And that is that.

It’s all in perspective 

When dealing with heights from up in a skyscraper

I would look like an ant on a big piece of paper 

Then down below, 

I would grow and outgrow.

I am thinking so tall,

Being small is such a bore

Through the clouds I will soar 

By tomorrow giraffes 

Won’t seem tall

A-tall.

• 3rd Prize – Henry O’Donnell for ‘Dreaming with your Eyes Open’  

The judge said: Beautiful imagery in this poem which really captures the power of dreams and the imagination. Interesting structure too – one single verse captures the movement of falling and drifting out of reality and into another realm.

Dreaming with your Eyes Open

I wander throughout my day

strolling the woods because I could and I would.

I stumble on a patch of sticks and fall into something thick,

it’s warm, it’s cozy, it’s dozy.

I close my eyes and relax. I have to be home by sunset so I don’t plan on staying long. 

I pull myself up and start on the voyage home.

With my eyes still closed I find my way into the dark, and BAM!

I see swirls of color and balls of fire,

Other planets, bursting with diversity and joy,

Like a planet of my own.

I take my first steps on the firm ground, 

Then I feel weightless and calm. I drift up

then slowly start to come down.

My heart won’t stop beating with pumps of energy,

I start running to the other side of my planet,

I see the most staggering yet peaceful creatures.

I keep moving, fast.

Drifting in the air as I jump

I dash through the world until it ends 

Just a faded black line. 

I won’t stop running, I run thinking I’ll float,

But I fall

I fall into a small black hole, I think.

I keep falling until… 

Whoosh!

In a blink, I’m back in the woods.

I look up high in the sky to see the sun start to go to bed.

I rub my eyes and walk back home.

• 4th Prize – Kobi Keenan for ‘Dreaming with my Eyes Open’  

The judge said: Great use of contrast here and I love how Kobi has interpreted the stimulus. An inspirational poem of a different nature. Subtle but extremely powerful.

Dreaming with my Eyes Open

I can sometimes drift into a Daydream of happy times

in moments of sadness with my eyes open

A little smile will arrive.  

Dreaming With My Eyes Open again

To give me hope of happy times.

I can sometimes escape sad times

Dreaming with my eyes open.

Dreaming with my eyes open and sad moments.

To always remember I am thoughtful of others.

I dream that others can see that words can hurt.

But dreaming with my eyes open will help 

Me see that those happy days will arrive.

I am home and safe to hear those words of kindness.

They always say the right things to make me see those who hurt with their words. Have problems of their own but don’t have the tools just yet

to dream of the happy times in moments of their uncertainties.

Show kindness to those people

hopefully they too will Daydream with their eyes open!

So with my eyes wide open once again

I’m ready for the day ahead.

Visual Arts Competition

Thank you to Ms Natalie Oates, Head of Visual Arts and Ms Jenna Turnbull, Visual Arts teacher, for judging the Visual Arts competition. See the winners below. 

• First Prize – Cooper Hawkins

The judges said: ‘A collection/series of work which encompassed the student demonstrating an individual style of art making, whilst also taking the theme on a more thoughtful and conceptual idea.’

• Second Prize – William Collignon

The judges said: ‘A series of work which encompassed the student demonstrating an individual style of art making, whilst also taking the theme on a more thoughtful and conceptual idea.’

• Third Prize – Harvey Smith

The judges said: ‘This was so future focussed with an impactful meaning on the treatment of our current world. It demonstrated stylistic drawing qualities whilst using symbolism to convey key issues of our world.’

• Fourth Prize – Ishaan Jeena

The judges said: ‘This artwork was out of this world! The detailing and the composition of the artwork was meticulously composed and well thought out.’

• Highly Commended – Dash McDonough

The judges said: ‘Such fantastic skills in painting. He has grasped a strong concept of the theme and looked beyond our own world and what might be our future.’

• Highly Commended – Dexter Francis

The judges said: ‘It was interesting to see digital art involved within the competition and students utilising their skills to adapt into art. Not only did the artwork portray an individual flair of the theme, but it demonstrated a high skill in digital art.’

Ms Natasha Zivanovic

Literacy and Innovation Teacher

E: nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

News from 5 Orange

I feel privileged and honoured to be the classroom teacher of 5 Orange. These boys have embraced Waverley College life and aim to make the most of every opportunity that is offered to them.

5 Orange believes in manners, respect, teamwork, and displaying a growth mindset at all times. The young men of this class know that life is not always perfect, and use strategies such as the ‘reset button’ and ‘changing your internal dialogue’ to get back on track.

5 Orange loves to seize any opportunity to work outside and enjoy the beautiful outdoor learning spaces that the Junior School Campus has to offer.

Mr Elliott McKimm

5 Orange Classroom Teacher

E: emckimm@waverley.nsw.edu.au