New College Leaders, Wellbeing, and Careers

From the Head of College, Graham Leddie

Wellbeing in Operation

As I write this article for today’s newsletter it is recess time at the College and I am looking out across the Centenary Quad. Unscripted, there are Year 12 boys playing handball with Year 7 and 8 boys. The Year 7s are holding their own with their advantage being closer to the ground. I get the feeling the Year 12s are going easy on them. Boys feeling connected to their school, their peers and to older boys is part of the focus of any good Wellbeing Program. As humans it is in our DNA to want to connect to each other and feel valued. Connection to the school and to the wider community is important in a boy’s overall development. Today’s recess view tells me we are making good progress in this area.

Part of our Wellbeing Program brings experts into the College to work with students, staff and parents. Last year we had renowned Psychologist Dr Michael Carr Gregg. Next Monday we have equally acclaimed clinical psychologist Andrew Fuller presenting to our Year 7 and 8 students, our staff and at 6.30pm in the gymnasium to our parents and carers. The RSVP is via this link and we are already at 575 people. Please don’t miss out – Andrew will provide you with some great advice and insights in your roles as parents and carers.

 

Leadership

The College sees every Year 12 student as a leader, with a special responsibility to positively influence others through their words, deeds and actions. Our 2017 Year 12 students have done a great job thus far in leading the College and today we hosted a BBQ lunch on the roof of the main building to say well done and thank you.

We also appointed five new Mid Year Prefects. These students may have just missed out during the leadership process in Year 11 or had a more recent calling to leadership that has seen them working hard to make a difference in others’ lives. Either way, they have been recognised by the staff and their peers. Nominations were called for from Heads of House, staff were asked for their input and finally the Captains of the College were also asked for their opinion before names were presented to the Head of College for consideration.

I am proud to announce the following boys have been appointed to the position of Prefect of the College: Daniel Harasta, Marco Bell, Taaj Davis, Daniel Morris, and Miguel Joson.

 

 Career Profile Interviews

I have received much positive feedback from parents with regard to the career profiling interviews that have recently taken place with our Year 10 students. The meetings always highlight for our students a broad range of career options, many of which had not previously been considered. Thank you to Ms Kath Knowles for organising these sessions.

 

Careers Information Evening: STEM

Technology and globalisation are changing the way we live and work and jobs are evolving in response to innovation and the new practices it generates. An important job for schools like Waverley is to ensure our students are prepared for the challenging new work environment of the future.

Since the launch of the Federal Government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda in 2015, a new era for Tertiary courses and careers in STEM has begun. A survey for the Office of the Chief Scientist of Australia, found that 75% of the fastest growing occupations require STEM skills and even if a job doesn’t directly need STEM skills, more than 82% of employers said they would value them in an applicant.

It is in response to this environment that the College is staging a STEM Career evening on 30 May and inviting students from Years 7 to 12 to attend. Recent research has shown that the earlier students develop an interest in a particular career path, the better focus they demonstrate in their subject selection choices.

Parents play a vital role in encouraging their son’s career selection process and I strongly encourage you to consider attending. Helping your child wherever possible to explore the tremendously diverse range of career options available is a great way to engage with them.

The College has ex-students Richard Zhang (a biomedical engineer), Chris Miletich (an information security analyst), Tim Spies (a mechanical engineer) and Bart Kratochvil (a final year Actuarial Studies student) returning to share with us their experiences in tertiary study  and working in STEM careers.

We currently have over 100 attendees registered to attend the evening, which promises to provide great insight into STEM study and career pathways.

 

NAPLAN

Last week, the Years 5, 7 and 9 students completed three days of NAPLAN testing. The results of these tests will enable the College to tweak strategies for remediation, improvement and extension.

Congratulations to the students for their serious approach to these tests and we look forward to seeing how they achieved and analysing the data for trends.

Thank you also teachers Mr David Parnell, Margaret Fitzgerald and Katrina King for their contribution to the smooth operation of the NAPLAN tests.

 

 Congratulations to the following students on their recent performances:

• CAS Football Representation: Mitchell Knight, Zac Conacher-Smith, Jack Hardwicke-Owen and Liam Preston
• Our two Theatresports Teams competed for the first time this year. The Intermediate team consisted of Daniel Pomes, Jack Hilary, Remy Crompton-Lamb and Lucas Giordano, and the Seniors were Simon Finnegan, Ryan Bakels, Sam King and Leo Bosi
• 1st Tennis Team had a great win against Barker.
• Rugby 1st XV had a passionate win against Joeys.
• Luca Wilson was selected to umpire at the 2017 PSSA NSW AFL Championships – one of only nine across all of NSW.