Last week, our Year 11 SLR students were lucky enough to go on a hike through the heritage-listed Royal National Park.
This delightful trail offered options for picnicking and waterfall views along with treating students to a nature fix.
Students pushed through the damp conditions enjoying the exceptional natural environment, a well-earned brief break from a busy term.
Last week the Year 11 Food Technology students looked at how food changes from paddock to plate. In line with this and food product development, it’s an important element when looking at where their food comes from, and why hygiene is taken so seriously in the Australian Food Industry.
They donned their most stylish blue gloves and got to work emaciating some fresh beef and pork cuts. Following this seemingly easy task, they weren’t prepared for what was next.
I had pre-loaded the sausage attachment and the hog casings were there ready to both show to them and test out. A little put off at first, they hesitantly had turns understanding the logistics of the speed and support needed for the skin as the meat comes out; but they were expert sausage handlers within no time at all.
The sausages were cooked a few days later on the barbecue grill, and the boys found a much more interesting appreciation for the work that goes into sausages, as well as noticing the taste differences when made with ingredients you know and understand are being put in.
As the world of food gets more and more processed, it is hoped that these small activities exploring household methods to replicate processed/industrialised food can help students understand what does go into their food, and maybe more price-efficient ways to prepare meals at home as they grow up and move out on their own.
Student Representative Council members: Archie Godby (Year 10), Oliver Stewart (Year 9) and Stirling Quinn (Year 8) represented Waverley College on Friday, 17 March at the annual St Patrick’s Day Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral.
Schools in the Sydney Archdiocese, founded by Irish orders of nuns and brothers, were present and the Mass was celebrated by Bishop Terence Brady. The order of Christian Brothers founded many schools, including Waverley College 120 years ago in 1903, to provide Catholic education for young men. The Mass included a strong focus on the need for prayer for peace in the world.
The wearing of green on St Patrick’s Day represents the Irish landscape and the significance of the shamrock. St Patrick used the shamrock, with three petals in one leaf, to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity based on the Christian belief of three parts to one God.
Last Friday night, some of our Pasifika Brothers and Walawaani Indigenous group were invited to attend the Multicultural Round of the National Rugby League. They were lucky to attend the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Eastern Suburbs Roosters game at Moore Park.
One of our students, Tyden Hennessey, was excited to attend this rugby league game. He writes:
“Although I supported the Bunnies and they lost, it was a great experience with all my mates. It was a great game of footy. Both teams played well, the other boys and I even made it onto the big screen. I have never experienced anything like this before. The whole crowd saw us and we got to clap the players on. I was lucky enough to meet Jonathan Thurston and Cameron Smith, which was a once in a lifetime experience. It was such a great night and I hope it can happen again. Thank you to all who organised this wonderful opportunity for us.”
Many thanks to Ms Alicia Romijn for accompanying the students. A wonderful time was had by all.
On Friday, 10 March, we were delighted to welcome back Mr Robert Tall to Waverley College. Robert, who left Waverley last year to take up a role as consultant at Writer’s Toolbox, continues to be a wonderful coach to staff and students. In a seminar entitled ‘Waverley College – Going for Gold’, Robert provided the Year 7 students with invaluable tips on how to best present themselves in their NAPLAN writing exam.
The students learned about the ‘Family of Five’ – five specific sentence styles to ensure fluency and precision in both Persuasive and Creative tasks. The Year 7 students also demonstrated their own knowledge of a number of other sentence styles and paragraphs which greatly impressed Robert, as well as the teachers present at the seminars.
It was great to hear many students tell me about how they integrated the ‘Family of Five’ into their narratives after their NAPLAN exam on Wednesday.
Thank you to Robert for providing his support and expertise at such a busy time, and to Ms Attard for making it all happen. Thank you also to Ms Tanner for taking the photographs.
We wish all Year 7 and Year 9 students well in the remaining NAPLAN tests (Reading, Language Conventions and Numeracy) next week.
On Wednesday, 8 March 2023, Aungier held its House Mass in the Chapel. It was an extremely well-attended evening for students and families in Aungier.
The theme of the Mass tied in with International Women’s Day, with readings selected by our House Student Leaders. An extremely special moment of the service was certainly the presentation of House Candles as a gift of support to our Year 12 students, as they commence the final stage of their journey at Waverley College.
Thanks to all members of the Aungier community for joining together to celebrate Mass as well as a delicious supper. Thank you to all families for contributing a plate of food on the night, and to those parents/carers and friends who assisted with the set up and the clean-up.
A special thanks to Fr Sacha who led the service, Ms Walsh who helped with organisation, and Ms Dolso and Mr Balkizas who led the music.
Mr John McCoy
Head of Aungier House
jmccoy@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Last weekend, Year 12 students Jack Preller and Harrison Rimell attended the NSW Youth United Nations State Conference with 200 high school students from across the state, to learn about leadership, diplomacy and advocacy, and to take part in the global conversation about modern conflicts.
Harrison Rimell has written a brief overview of their experience:
“Throughout the three-day event, we partook in workshops, activities and ultimately three separate Model UN summits. Hosted in Collaroy, the conference consisted of discussions on a variety of prevalent issues facing the world and global youth today, ranging from conflict to environmentalism. Jack and I were able to speak with other young people from around NSW to coordinate solutions to these issues, as well as be informed from others; an experience that I would recommend to anyone looking to broaden their perspective and further their understanding of politics.
After a day of workshops and activities, we participated in three separate model UNs; I represented Colombia, and Jack, Finland. Together with the other delegates, we pushed conventions on international cybercrime, the refugee crisis, weapons manufacturing and the rules of engagement. The debates surrounding these issues were nuanced and helped Jack and I to better understand the multi-faceted nature of policy-making.
In addition to simply discussing these issues, we met with the 2023 Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations, as part of her listening tour. The points that we, among ~190 other students, raised to her will be brought up in her statement to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Jack and I both feel honoured to be able to have such a direct impact on the ongoings of world politics, and recommend this program to anyone who wishes to engage with current affairs on a meaningful level.”
Congratulations to the Year 11 Hospitality students who catered for the recent Swimming Carnival, their first mandatory Service Period as part of their course.
These students demonstrated great teamwork, and safe and hygienic practices whilst developing their food preparation and cooking skills.
Teachers were treated to a homemade protein ball and a choice of a wrap (tandoori cauliflower with raita), sandwich (smoked salmon with a lemon and chive cream cheese), or a roll (Swiss cheese with a homemade coleslaw).
Last Monday, our Year 11 students studying Sport, Life and Recreation visited the Off-Piste Skiing and Snowboarding centre at the Entertainment Quarter.
The excursion allowed each student to experience a skiing simulator session, which addressed the key skills and body movements required for this activity.
The day was an enormous success, with all students showing a great level of enthusiasm and skill.
Last Friday, Waverley College hosted the first round of the 2023 CSDA Public Speaking Competition. This event was made even more exciting as it was the first time in three years competitors were back face-to-face.
More than 80 competitors across 13 schools took part in this prestigious competition, with two of our competitors, James Peate (Year 10) and Ewan McDonald (Year 11) moving forward to the Zone Final this week at Marcellin College.
James Peate and Ewan McDonald
James’ topic, ‘Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200’ and Ewan’s topic, ‘When it’s dark enough you can see the stars’, were delivered with poise and confidence in equal measure.
I would like to congratulate all public speaking students for assisting in the organisation and hosting of this round; their maturity and leadership is highly commendable.
The Big Brother Little Brother program matches our Junior School students in Year 5 with our Senior School students in Year 10, to provide guidance and friendship with the aim of becoming a long-term positive role model.
Throughout the year, students connect with their brothers twice per term, to allow for genuine friendships to form, the building of trust, mutual respect and collaboration. By the time our Little Brothers start Year 7, their Big Brothers are in Year 12, and this helps to provide a positive start to their Senior School experience.
The first session of Big Brother Little Brother began last Friday. Teamed into House groups, the boys began with a ‘Getting to Know You’ activity to find out more about each other.
Later activities in the year will include Big Brothers designing their own activities to deliver to their Little Brothers, demonstrating their leadership, creativity and teamwork work skills.
A big thank you to all the Heads of House and Junior School staff who assisted on the day to make the program possible.
Ms Marie-Anne Maakrun
Assistant Director of Student Formation
mmaakrun@waverley.nsw.edu.au
This fortnight, Year 8 Visual Arts students have been enjoying the bright weather, drawing ‘En plein air’. Setting up in different locations around the College, students have been learning one point and two point perspective drawing skills.
These quick sketches outdoors will form the composition for individual landscape artworks referencing artists Jeffery Smart, David Hockney and Howard Arkley.
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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