Last week, the Year 12 Biology students traveled to the UNSW Museum of Human Disease in Kensington to undertake a four-hour seminar, applying their knowledge and understanding of Genetics, Heredity, and Disease.
The students listened to two lectures and undertook a variety of ‘hands-on’ activities whilst exploring the museum’s many fascinating specimens.
“The excursion was an eye-opening experience which gave us an insight into the world of Biology and Human Disease.” – Darius Hall
“It was cool! The teratoma (germ cell tumour) was strange but interesting to learn about. It had teeth!!!!” – Will O’Connor
“The activities clarified future career paths. It was alarming to see the impacts of our lifestyle choices on our vital organs.” – Finn Stranix
Thank you to Ms Silvia Baylie for accompanying the students on the day.
Theoretical physicist Albert Einstein is quoted as saying that the most important human endeavour is the striving for morality in our actions. Our inner balance and even our very existence depend on it.
We are so fortunate at Waverley to have students who eagerly seek to refine their skills in the dynamics of rigorous discussion. 12 of our students competed in this year’s Senior Ethics Olympiad against other teams from across New South Wales.
The very nature of this senior competition meant that the teams came to the day with a wealth of experience and knowledge. To rank highly in the competition, our teams had to marry their knowledge of ethical frameworks with advanced reasoning skills, to demonstrate a complex ability to interact eloquently and respectfully with opposing teams.
And our boys did not disappoint! The following students are to be commended on their outstanding ability to bring integrity and high regard for logical debate to the day, resulting in both teams receiving honourable mentions from the adjudicators and ranking 4th and 6th of the 19 teams that participated on the day.
Congratulations: Kayden Baker, James Birbas, Oscar Danta, Archie Godby, Yannick Hott, Ewan McDonald, James Medland, Lachlan Miranda, James Peate, Campbell Porteous, Anton Svenson, Zoltahn Szabo.
A big thank you to Mr Bill Roberts, Ms Lauren Ryan, and our hard working canteen and iAssist teams for making sure the Olympiad runs as smoothly as possible.
11 Hosp 01 and 11 Hosp 02 made Mother’s Day treats for the Junior School mums and ticked a competency box at the same time.
Students study different methods of cookery including using a microwave to heat and cook food. Along with learning about how radiation can warm and cook, students consider the safety and hygiene aspects of using a microwave.
The ‘chocolate bark’ was created, chilled, packaged and delivered by the Hospitality boys who demonstrated brilliant teamwork throughout the process.
SOTWEG brings together students who are passionate about looking after our world, not just relating to sustainability, but also about ethical and social issues.
Below are some photos of activities that happened in Term 1, 2023.
Below are some activities for your reference and participation this term.
We are supporting a recycling initiative where bread bags will be processed into oils and reused as food grade packaging. A collection box has been placed in the Senior School canteen entrance, so that students can bring bread bags from home and drop them off. In addition to delaying these plastic bags from going into landfill, the added benefit is that we may win some new sports equipment for the College!
Click here to view more information
Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) is a program designed to empower young people to take a stand on environmental issues they feel strongly about, and give them a platform to to express these issues through the media of writing, photography or video.
The Program offers enthusiastic young people a chance to have their voices heard through high-quality journalistic work. The ultimate goal of these Young Reporters is to identify environmental injustices, highlight solutions and involve the appropriate authorities to address the environmental issues.
Some of the SOTWEG members will be registering and we encourage others across the College to participate. For more information about what this program entails, visit the Keep Australia Beautiful website here.
The group meets weekly on Tuesdays at lunch and we are always looking for new students to join us. Parents/carers are also welcome to provide ideas and assistance to any activities that we will be embarking on or yet to think of, so please feel free to reach out to me directly.
Last Friday saw the commencement of the Debating season. Our first round of the CSDA competition against Marcellin College was highly successful, seeing wins across both junior and senior teams.
I want to particularly congratulate our Year 7 team who turned up ready to debate with poise and confidence in their first Senior School debating competition. Well done to Kasper, Hudson and Oisin on their deserved win against Marcellin.
Friday night also saw the annual Lawrence Campbell Oratory competition take place at The King’s School. Each year, the Lawrence Campbell Oratory brings together one candidate from each of the CAS and GPS schools to participate in one of the most prestigious public speaking competitions in NSW. Candidates are given 15 minutes to select and prepare a speech on one of three topics and present for eight minutes.
This year, Waverley’s representative was Captain of Debating, Harrison Rimell, who chose the topic ‘Everything spoken should be true but not everything true should be spoken.’ A formidable speaker, Harrison’s speech was fitting for the impromptu nature of the competition, delivering ideas about the complex nature of truth and questioning the need to know in a world where truth is often illusory.
I congratulate Harrison on his leadership in representing the College at this fantastic event.
During the second week of the school holiday break, Lachlan Miranda (Year 11) attended the 2023 YMCA NSW Youth Parliament training camp. During this time, he was elected as the Youth Minister for Mental Health. This is an outstanding achievement.
Lachlan was introduced to the Mental Health Committee and participated in a series of worthwhile group activities. Lachlan is a passionate advocate for mental health, especially the mental health of young people. As the student-representative for Coogee, Lachlan has immersed himself in politics and law, working with a committed team of student-advocates aiming to improve the Mental Health Act. Below is a piece Lachlan wrote on his experience:
“The Youth Parliament training camp was a brief, yet highly insightful experience. Surrounded by like-minded individuals who came from around the state, as far as Tweed Heads and as far South as the Snowy mountains. Opening with lectures on the structure of our state government, how policy is created and how young people are able to get involved with advocacy in their local areas. Then, the cohort of 100, split into their respective committees.
In the Mental Health Committee we discussed where our state and local areas are lacking with regard to mental health. After addressing this issue, we as a committee decided that mental health needs addressing in four key areas of our society: the workplace, our education system, the mental health committee that advises the government, as well as providing more support and knowledge for new and expecting parents.
On the third and final day of the training camp an election was held across all of the Youth Parliament students for various government positions. I was lucky enough to be elected the Youth Minister for Mental Health for 2023, not only representing my committee, but young people across NSW.
With the goals outlined previously, the Mental Health Committee and I will draft a bill amending four acts that are already in place across the state. This bill will be presented at the end of Term 2 to various NSW ministers. Ultimately aiming to benefit the mental health of many people throughout the state.”
Lachlan will meet weekly with his committee to develop a cogent Youth Mental Health Bill. We look forward to witnessing Lachlan in action in July where he will debate in NSW Parliament House, connect with elected members, and have a meeting with the Governor of NSW.
Next term, Lachlan will share his learnings and experiences of being a Youth Parliamentarian.
Students complete a unit called ‘Mighty Markets’ as part of Year 7 Technology Mandatory. The class work in groups of four every fortnight to cook different recipes after watching a teacher demonstration.
On Thursday in TO2, they made pancakes. Such recipes teach them the different methods of cookery to practise and this recipe gives them opportunities to use frying.
The Years 7 and 8 cohorts were involved in the Anti-Violence Education campaign on Tuesday. The presentation spoke about the importance of young people engaging in positive social relationships and respecting everyone’s personal space.
This presentation supports the Youth Anti-Violence Education Campaign that was launched by the Commissioner of Police in 2022. The presentation included an interactive presentation and Q&A with two senior police officers.
Students were also shown a 12-minute anti-violence video which was produced by the NSW Police Force and co-funded by the Department of Education and the Advocate for Children and Young People. It featured high-profile players from various sporting codes, such as Sonny Bill Williams, who shared their personal experiences and stance against violence.
The students were very engaged and respectful during the presentation and should be commended on the way they conducted themselves.
On Tuesday, Year 11 Lacey boys welcomed businesswoman Eleni Mitakos (2023 winner Barbara Cox Woman of the Year!) and the Galmatic Car Workshops back to Waverley. Our senior students have been actively participating in these very practical car maintenance workshops for the past four years.
In one-to-one and group scenarios, students learned both theory and hands-on training, improving their knowledge, skills, confidence and safety awareness in a one-hour, outdoor session in the Kenny Quad.
Eleni’s warmth and encouragement created an environment where our students felt comfortable asking questions, and she made use of real-life scenarios to teach new skills.
She believes these interactive Galmatic workshops remain indispensable:
“We have a misconception that dads are helping their kids to fix cars and that because many of us have new cars, that we don’t need to know anything about how they run. These workshops are important because they empower teenagers to feel confident about fixing a car – safely, quickly and easily.”
Eleni Mitakos, Director Of Training And Development at Galmatic – Eleni established Galmatic in 2007 with the launch of the Galmatic Car Care Handbook for Girls and the Galmatic Car Care Workshops for Women
Year 11 student, Tom Park, found the workshop really worthwhile:
“Today we learnt how to change the tyre if we have a flat and where to put the jack. We learned the important parts of the engine, incase we need to change the oil, wiper fluid or coolant. The new thing I learned today was how to check the dipstick – with too much oil, you’ll get spits out the back, too little oil and the pistons will run against the engine and break the motor.”
These unique Galmatic Workshops ran this week for all Year 11 students. Thanks Eleni, for sharing your expertise and passion, in a fun, authentic and non-judgemental environment.
Teaching Year 9 boys the skills of creative writing presents a number of challenges. As we know, by the time students reach Stage 5, their interest in reading has noticeably waned. Gone are the days when the teacher can ask their students to compose a ‘story’ and the power of the imagination clicks into action. Instead, we are generally met with the fear of the blank page and a newfound understanding of ‘Writer’s Block.’ More often than not, we must go right back to basics and break down the components of a short story, a paragraph, and a sentence. Thankfully, this year I had the assistance of Writer’s Toolbox, as well as two Ray Bradbury short stories, to help with some of the heavy lifting.
Our students always like to know how they can access those ‘extra’ marks. Recently, Writer’s Toolbox consultant, Mr Robert Tall, told the Year 7 boys that the student who gets the top grade will cast six to eight different sentence styles by the bottom of the first page they write. With this in mind, the ‘Sentence Builder’ feature seemed like the perfect place to start. This skill would be my main focus throughout the unit. While some sentence styles proved easier to master than others, students quickly got used to labels such as ‘Explore the subject’ and the ‘W start’ as a way of avoiding the much overused ‘simple’ sentence.
Writer’s Toolbox sentence graph
The most popular feature among the students was, without doubt, the ‘Feedback’ function. An analysis of the data reveals that collectively, the class sought feedback 1,388 times. More pleasing is the fact that 1,073 improvements were made. Revision is an integral part of the writing process. It is not always easy for our busy students to grasp the importance of editing their work. In response to the feedback suggestions in Writer’s Toolbox, the boys were all very keen to make the changes in an attempt to achieve 90% plus in their writing strength. Personally, my own favourite feedback feature is the ‘easy-to-read-for-English-Teachers’ sentence style graph.
Reflecting on what worked well and what didn’t, I have made some observations on how my Year 9 class have responded.
Writer’s Toolbox removes the fear of the blank page. It supports students throughout the writing process and our students love that support. When the fateful moment came to leave Writer’s Toolbox and export stories to PDF form, I was reminded of the experience of removing bike stabilisers for the first time.
A quick glance at the students’ work reveals a noticeable improvement in sentence structure. While there are still some issues, I have spotted (among other styles) a number of ‘W’ start sentences to reveal thought and knowledge.
On a side note: The most interesting piece of feedback I received for this article was: “Time to toughen up what’s in your paragraphs and aim for 100-120 words.”
Expect better next time!
This week saw the second session of our Big Brother Little Brother program, involving Year 10 and Year 5 students. Boys took part in an introduction session to the Rock and Water Program delivered by their Heads of House.
The Rock and Water Program is designed around activities that focus on self regulation, emotional awareness, risk taking and behaviour management. Students were led through a series of activities taken from the ‘I Can Stand Up For Myself’ module including; how to stand strong and how to make a Rock and Water greeting.
The Big Brother Little Brother Program matches our Junior School students in Year 5 with our Senior School boys in Year 10, to provide guidance and friendship with the aim of becoming a long-term positive role model. Boys connect with their brothers throughout the year to help develop trust, responsibility and grow healthy relationships.
Last Wednesday, 20 Year 10 students competed against other schools in the 2023 Science and Engineering Challenge run by the University of Newcastle.
Students worked in small teams to solve problems that aligned with careers in science and engineering. From building mars rovers, earthquake-proof buildings, and small planes, to communicating via code, designing electrical pathways for cities, and planning efficient road maps, students were challenged to think ‘outside the box’ and communicate effectively to complete tasks under pressure.
The day concluded with a showcase of the bridges built by each school. Waverley’s bridge, designed by Yannick, Kayden, and James, weighed in at 87g, and was able to withstand a whopping 1.5kg trolley travelling across it, before breaking.
The room was buzzing with energy and excitement the entire day. The students who represented the College should be commended on their collaboration, critical thinking skills, and consistent effort throughout the day.
Yannick Hott; James Peate; Luca Cornelius; Harrison Thorpe; Kayden Baker; Thomas Jackson-Whitlock; Nicholas Zanapalis; Mark Rede; Fox Stapleton; Max Sheehy; Tamen Peralta; Hugo Perks; George Alexandratos; Tomas Crosson; Lachlan Marzol; Benjamin Pelikan; Axl Igra; Lachlan Isaac; Montgomery Armstrong; Giles Strachan; Sam Vlack.
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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