Last week, our Year 12 students were privileged to participate in a wonderful formation experience during their House retreats. These retreats took place at four different venues across New South Wales:
Below you can read variety of reflections on these retreats from both staff and students.
A retreat experience at Waverley draws on the four EREA touchstones, as such was witnessed on Year 12 Retreat 2022: liberating the minds of young men through deep reflection, bridging life stories with the Gospel, ensuring inclusivity and respect for every young man in attendance, and educating about the importance of justice and solidarity that is learnt through lived experience.
As a new teacher at Waverley, I was privileged to attend the Year 12 Retreat. It was vital I built a strong foundation early on with the students, in which I earned trust by sharing my own story, listening to their stories, offering a safe place for open and honest dialogue, and ensuring there were plenty of laughs.
Highlights included small group discussions, affirmations, +3 – 3, warm-ups involving balloons, and the highly-competitive ping pong championships during free time. And who could forget mud footy. Witnessing the boys in action, harnessing their gifts and sharing these with everyone else, was incredibly powerful.
This unique retreat experience offers all students in their final year, the opportunity to strengthen existing relationships, and make new ones, with a focus on the individual and their life story – i.e. who am I? Who makes me who I am? Who do I want to be? I won’t forget my first Year 12 retreat at Waverley – what a truly awesome experience it was!
As a group, we reflected on the year ahead, as well as the plans for our future. Some activities that Tevlin and Brennan were involved in were affirmations of our peers and ‘ice breakers.’ These experiences broke down the social walls for both classmates and teachers, which inevitably brought us closer together throughout our time.
I also was able to reflect on my years of schooling and the goals I wish to achieve throughout my last year at Waverley. Overall, I personally created stronger friendships with both students and teachers, solidifying bonds for years to come.
During the retreat, we completed a wide range of activities within our small and larger groups, which encouraged me to talk and form relationships with people that I hadn’t connected with before.
In addition, it made me explore my existing relationships and further develop my understanding of my relationship with God and others. All in all, I had a wonderful time away, and enjoyed getting to understand myself and my year group more deeply.
Thank you to all the staff who made this experience possible, and to all the students for their enthusiastic participation. It was indeed a pleasure to see all our Year 12s so authentically engaged.
Ms Suzanne Walsh
Director of Identity & Student Formation
E: swalsh@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Our Year 11 students have been keeping busy this term actively engaged in their Community Service placements. The students volunteer to attend a number of not-for-profit organisations in our local community, as part of the College’s Social Justice initiatives. The Year 11 program runs from Term 1 through to the end of Term 3.
Currently, our Year 11 students work in two community volunteer placements per year for a period of three weeks each. It is wonderful to see so many students willing to get involved, with many students opting to attend more than their requirement.
COVID-19 restrictions have limited the number of organisations involved this year, and we are grateful for the organisations below that have been able to accept our students:
Community Service Learning at Windgap Manhattan Bowling
Community Service Learning at Windgap Manhattan Bowling
Community Service Learning at Windgap Manhattan Bowling
A special thank you also to the Waverley staff who assist with this program throughout the year; Mrs Cooper, Ms Walsh, Mrs Metros and Ms Toscano.
If you would like any further information about our Social Justice initiatives, have further ideas, or would like to share your thoughts, please feel free to email Ms Maakrun.
Ms Marie-Anne Maakrun
Assistant Director Identity & Student Formation
E: mmaakrun@waverley.nsw.edu.au
This week, Year 11 Hospitality students enjoyed a fun prac creating ‘monster milkshakes.’
The emphasis was on creativity, presentation, safety and hygiene.
The students had a year’s worth of sugar in one drink!
Fynn Weston and Xavier Quinn
Hamish Kelly, Zion Poitaha, Oscar Stanton-Green
Ms Bev McCarthy
TAS/VET Teacher
E: bmccarthy@waverley.nsw.edu.au
On Tuesday, 29 March, myself and five members of the Students of the World Ecology Group (SOTWEG) were accompanied by Ms Sutcliffe to St Clare’s College to meet their Environmental Committee.
Inspired by Mr Brennan’s desire for increased collaboration between Waverley and the local girls’ schools, I reached out to St Clare’s a few weeks ago to see if they:
Fortunately for us, the answers to both these questions was “yes.” I was put in contact with Mr Burden, their head of Ecology, and, after a quick phone call, made plans to meet up in person.
Once we arrived at St Clare’s, it was clear that everyone involved was really enthusiastic. After we gave each other a brief rundown on who we were, such as how long SOTWEG has been running (since 2020), and the current and future projects we are working on, it became apparent that we had the similar objective of reducing the amount of waste and litter at our schools.
2021 Waste Management Audit – Waverley’s Students of the World Ecology Group
At the end of the meeting, we finished with plans to meet up again and to hopefully attend a workshop in Term 2 hosted by NetNada – a sustainability company St Clare’s are currently working with.
This was a fabulous opportunity for myself, members of SOTWEG, and Ms Sutcliffe to gain new perspectives, ideas and plans on how to improve the waste management situation at our College. It was great to meet and talk with people who are just as interested in Ecology as we are, and the girls’ insight was greatly appreciated.
Finally, a massive thank you to St Clare’s for hosting us and for giving us a room with really nice chairs!
P.S Just a friendly reminder: please put your rubbish in the (correct) bin.
Student author James Peate (Year 9)
Member of the Students of the World Ecology Group (SOWEG)
Ms Rebecca Sutcliffe
Ecology Coordinator and Geography Teacher
E: rsutcliffe@waverley.nsw.edu.au
*Please wear a mask when coming into the shop as per current College policy.
A big thank you to all parents who have generously donated their sons’ outgrown uniforms to the Secondhand Clothing Pool.
This provides someone else with the opportunity to purchase a secondhand uniform well below the new price, whilst at the same time, raising funds for the College through the Parents’ Association.
We are steadily rebuilding stock levels and are so pleased to be able to offer some more items for sale. These are mostly academic uniform items with very few co-curricular uniforms yet.
Email us to check on stock or pop in Monday morning.
The Secondhand Clothing Pool will gladly accept the donation of all clean and wearable current uniform items for resale. There is a $30 ‘buy back scheme’ for the donation of Blazers and All Weather Jackets in excellent condition.
At the Senior School campus reception in the designated Secondhand Clothing Pool donation box (courtesy of our fabulous Campus Maintenance Team).
If leaving Blazers and All Weather Jackets, you may include name and phone number inside the bag, and we can contact you to arrange “buy-back” if appropriate.
Unfortunately, we don’t have any rain jackets in stock.
We do have a range of good quality academic shirts available, and in addition, we have:
For more information on stock availability or to make an appointment, please email the Secondhand Clothing Pool: clothingpool@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Phone: (02) 9369 0703 — please leave a voicemail, and one of our volunteers will get back to you.
You will find us in the main building on Birrell Street. Enter via the Senior School campus reception, and take the lift to Level 3. The Secondhand Clothing Pool is next door to the Uniform Shop (turn right when stepping out of the lift on the uniform shop side).
Kirsten and Camille
Secondhand Clothing Pool Coordinators
E: clothingpool@waverley.nsw.edu.au
P: (02) 9369 0703
Last Friday, we enjoyed our Big Brother Little Brother Gathering with Years 5 and 10. It was great to see the interaction of the students right from the start.
We had a BBQ first and then moved onto Bondi Beach for games and anti-bullying photos.
The conversations and enjoyment that followed were wonderful to see and I would especially like to thank all the Heads of House and Year 5 teachers for helping facilitate this event.
These students will have a range of opportunities throughout the remainder of the year to foster this valuable relationship.
Ms Suzanne Walsh
Director of Identity and Student Formation
E: swalsh@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Congratulations and thank you to everyone for their incredible support of our St Patrick’s Day Flood Appeal cake stall last Thursday. A mouthwatering array of delicious green cookies, cakes and lollies were enjoyed by many at both recess and lunch.
A special thank you to Mr Moylett and Mrs Ryan for their help with the Gaelic football challenge between Years 10 and 11 at lunchtime. Sportsmanship was the winner on the day and a memorable time was had by all.
This SRC initiative was well supported by the generosity of the Prefects and it was pleasing to see the involvement of our younger members as well.
We raised a total of $800 on the day. Well done to everyone involved!
Ms Suzanne Walsh
Director of Identity & Student Formation
E: swalsh@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Year 12 Hospitality students have recently undertaken their mandatory work placements.
We received glowing reports all round about our students being professionally presented, demonstrating teamwork, and following instructions. The students should be proud of themselves.
Charlie Elmes and Freddy Hunt at Wonderful Cuisine
Wonderful Cuisine!
Jackson Thomas at Pier One
A big thank you and shout out to all the Hospitality venues who agreed to host our Waverley students including:
A J Preketes at Matteo Downtown Trattoria
Mrs Beverley McCarthy
TAS/VET Teacher
Email: bmccarthy@waverley.nsw.edu.au
On Tuesday, Year 10 STEM students travelled to Sydney Olympic Park to represent Waverley College in this year’s Science and Engineering Challenge.
Eight teams participated in the challenges, with one team focussing on the final Bridge Design challenge, aiming to hold 200 times its weight across the track.
Throughout the day, points were awarded for each team’s response. The challenges consisted of designing a shelter to withstand a simulated earthquake, building a bionic hand, designing a buggy to rove Martian terrain, planning efficient transport networks, building model turbines, sending secret coded messages with pulses of light, and planning electricity infrastructure to cities.
The challenges provided students with a positive experience in Science and Engineering fields. In teams, students creatively designed solutions to simulate the roles of Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, Biomedical Engineers, Construction Managers, Mathematical modellers.
The students worked brilliantly, and are congratulated on their efforts.
Ms Kim Spicer
TAS Teacher
E: kspicer@waverley.nsw.edu.au
On Thursday, 17 March, Waverley College was represented at a special St Patrick’s Day Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral by Year 11 students, Connor Andrews, Ethan McArdle and Hugo Morgan. All schools in the Sydney Archdiocese, founded by Irish orders of nuns and brothers, were present, and Bishop Terence Brady celebrated the Mass.
St Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland in the 4th century and Irish migrants brought Catholicism to Australia from the 18th century. The order of Christian Brothers founded many schools including Waverley College in 1903.
St Patrick’s Day Mass 2022
The Mass included a strong focus on the need for prayer for flood victims in Northern NSW and Queensland, and for peace in Ukraine. We were also reminded of the words of St Patrick in his prayer:
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
Ms Martina Cooper
Head of Religion
E: mcooper@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Last week, Lacey House worked incredibly hard to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation through our House charity, the ‘World’s Greatest Shave.’
We have raised over $11,000!
These funds will directly support those facing blood cancer today, as well as providing precious relief to over 50 more who will receive the same devastating diagnosis tomorrow.
A BIG thanks to all the students who contributed, as every dollar counts for this great cause.
Last week, Owen Punch interviewed Hugo Kulscar of Year 10, about his own battle against Leukaemia.
There’s still time to donate!
Mr Damien Thompson
Head of Lacey House
E: dthompson@waverley.nsw.edu.au
On Wednesday, 9 March, the Aungier community came together to celebrate the Aungier House Mass and Supper. It was a wonderful opportunity for students, parents, carers, friends and mentors to join together in prayer and reflection.
While it was a great shame that our Years 5 and 6 students and families were unable to join us, (due to a COVID case spike in our Junior Campus), they were certainly in our thoughts, and we look forward to seeing them at the next Aungier House event.
I would like to thank all those parents, carers, mentors and students in Aungier who arrived early to set up for our evening together, and stayed back late into the night to assist with the clean up.
Special thanks to our Aungier student leaders who played a big role in organising the Mass itself, as well as our Aungier House choir, led by Ms Dolso and Mr Balkizas, who sang so beautifully.
Mr John McCoy
Head of House (Aungier)
E: jmccoy@waverley.nsw.edu.au
We would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation who are the traditional Custodians of the land on which Waverley College is located. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We are committed to honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual connections to the land, waters, seas and sky and their rich contribution to society.
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