Search icon
Explore icon

A big welcome back to all our Waverley College families. I hope the break gave you a chance to slow down and spend quality time with your family. We are back in full swing and excited for the term ahead.Just a reminder that students no longer require a blazer’s in Term 4 except for special events.

We are extremely excited for our first Junior School Musical partnering with St Catherine’s. Witnessing this whole production from start to finish has been amazing to watch. I’m in awe of Mr Bowden and his ability to have over 320 students involved meaningfully. It is going to be a spectacular day and we hope as many parents and family members can attend. 

Diary Dates

Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 4 events, please refer to the College calendar. 

ICAS Assessments 2024

Congratulations to all the students who participated in the 2024 ICAS Assessments. 

A special congratulations to the following students who received a credit or above in Writing. 

Year 5 

Credit 

Hugo Lehmann 

Spencer Murphy 

Eric Rakoczy 

Year 6

Distinction 

Zac Hughes

Cillian Stankard 

Thomas Taylor 

Credit 

Flynn Roberts 

Year 6 Graduation Celebration 

As they say, ‘The days are long, but the years are short’

Please join us as we celebrate our boys’ final year of Primary school before they head off to High School!

This is an event that is not funded by the school and is organised by the Year 6 parent representatives. 

Your ticket cost will include:

– BBQ dinner (with all the trimmings) being served at 5:30pm

– Photo Booth to capture all the fun

– DJ

– A celebration cake 

Each attendee over 2 years old must hold a ticket. Siblings are welcome to attend.

Soft drinks will be provided in your ticket price whilst alcoholic beverages can be purchased at the bar. 

Adult supervision is required throughout the duration of the event. 

Smart Casual attire will be required 

Date: Mon 2 Dec 2024

Time: 5:PM – 8PM 

Location: Coogee Beach Club, 51 Dolphin Street, Coogee NSW 2034

 

 

My Gaby Bransby

Director of the Junior School

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Junior Sport

Summer Fixtures

Welcome back to Summer Sport at the Junior School! We are picking up right where we left off in Term 1, with Round 7 this Saturday, 19 October. I wish all the boys the best of luck at their respective fixtures, and look forward to hearing their results. 

At Waverley, we know that playing sports in a team and attending training and games build fitness, character, skills and resilience. We look forward to the next six rounds of Saturday sport and appreciate the commitment from students and families. Go Waves! 

Clovelly Eagles Rugby Tour to Fiji

By Sally Mann.

During the School Holidays, a number of Waverley College students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in an unforgettable week of sport, culture, and community on the Coral Coast.

The boys played two rugby matches against St Peter Chanel School and Ratu Filise Memorial School, both located in the region. These games went beyond competition, serving as a chance to build friendships and foster connections with the local students.  

In preparation for the trip, the team collected and donated jerseys, shorts, socks and boots, sharing these resources with the two schools. Parents and students also came together to gift a brand-new set of 23 rugby jerseys in the schools’ colours, complete with their name and logo. The gesture was met with heartfelt appreciation from the local communities.  

The boys also donated 10-12 rugby balls to each school to support their rugby programs. During the week, the group visited another nearby village, where they gifted additional rugby balls to the local children.  

Both matches were played on scenic school grounds complete with bamboo goalposts. The games were lively, filled with running rugby, but the camaraderie off the field was equally remarkable. From singing hymns together in perfect harmony to spending time with new friends, the experience left a lasting impression on all involved.  

This tour was not just about rugby; it was about giving back, building relationships, and creating lasting memories.

Boys included: Jack Mann, Jack Morahan Saliba, Hugo Tonga, Leon Dunkley, Luca and Oliver Robinson, Lachie Anson, Tom Pendleton, Patrick Madden, Winnie Cross and Oliver Stewart. 

coral coast immersion

 

Ms Jade Sparks

Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Junior School)

jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Term 4 Curriculum Overviews

A warm welcome back to Term 4. I am pleased to share with you the Term 4 Curriculum Overviews for Years 5 and 6. These documents are a guide to the learning that your son will be covering in class this Term.

Term 4, Year 5 Curriculum Overview   

Term 4, Year 6 Curriculum Overview

I hope this is a useful document that will help you to support your son and engage him in conversation about his learning experiences at school.

SMART Goals

At the commencement of each term, students are encouraged to set SMART goals for their learning with their classroom teachers. Goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed will set our students up for success. We know that writing meaningful goals down allows students to revisit them throughout the term, encourages focus, and builds strategies to make sure they achieve their goal/s. The goals for Term 4 can be found on Pages 138 and 139 in the College Diary. 

 

Charlotte Stephens

Assistant Director of Curriculum

cstephens@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Home Learning Term 4, Week 2 

We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school for the completion of home learning tasks. The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.

Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3:00 pm until 4:00 pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.   

Procedures

Register your son HERE 

Only register his name once to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots. There will be a roll call to ensure attendance.

Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent’s signature will be required.

Behaviour

As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not cause a disturbance for others.

Teachers

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 

Mrs Natasha Zivanovic

Thursday

Mr Steve Ghattas 

If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

An important note to remember, if afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately, you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached.  

Avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.

Lunchtime Talk

Mike Sager, the father of Leo in Year 5 and Kobey in Year 9 launched our first lunchtime talk for Term 4.

As an entrepreneur, Mike captivated the students with insights into what a startup entails and shared details about the companies PAWSSUM & ANKOR he has founded.

He emphasised the importance of documenting all ideas, which for him have included themes like pets, videos, and superyachts. Mike, discussed the significance of building a successful team of tech experts, hustlers, and financial supporters to help his business ventures.

PAWSSUM started in 2016 is now the biggest pet startup in the Southern Hemisphere, where pet owners can book vets in every major city in Australia and New Zealand.

This is not the only startup Mike founded he and his friend Elliot founded Ankor in 2022 after identifying a significant technological gap in the yacht charter industry, where other luxury travel sectors had already embraced digital solutions.

Through research, they discovered high customer expectations but a lack of advanced technology in yacht chartering, leading them to create a platform that connects brokers, provides real-time availability, and streamlines booking processes.

This inspiring and engaging talk left the boys motivated to dream big!

 

Ms Natasha Zivanovic

Teacher of Literacy & Innovation

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all families for another busy and rewarding term. Some highlights from this term have been the wonderful Year 6 Camp, Father’s Day Mass, City 2 Surf, Athletics Carnival, Book Week and Science Week to name only a few. 

A huge thank you to Ms Jade Sparks for organising the Fun Run this week. A big thank you to all students and families for raising over $54,000 for our four special charities, Educating the Future, Edmund Rice Camps, RUOK and The Indigenous Literacy Foundation. This is a true example of Faith in Action and I am so proud of the efforts and the heart that went into raising this type of money for charity. 

I hope the break provides much needed rest and family time. I look forward to seeing the students return to school in Term 4 renewed and ready to finish the year off strong. 

Lion King Jr Musical

The students have been working hard to pull this production together and we are almost there! We will have two performances of the Lion King Jr in Week 2 of Term 4, both on Wednesday, 23 October. There will be a matinee at 11:30am and an evening show at 7pm. We expect the show itself to run for approximately an hour. Food and drinks will be available for purchase at both shows.

Tickets can be purchased here. As there is limited seating, we have had to restrict the number of tickets to two per show per student. You will have until Wednesday 17th October to purchase your allotted tickets. When purchasing via the link above, you will need to use your son’s username as a password. If you are unsure of your child’s username, please see below…

Child Name : John Smith

Child Email: Jsmit2030@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Child Username : Jsmit2030

[First Initial] [4 Letter of Surname] [Graduating Year]

Lastly, students will need to have their costumes organised by the beginning of Term 4. The boys have been painting masks, shields, etc in class as a part of their costume, but will need to arrange clothing to wear in addition to this. You DO NOT need to spend a lot of money on the costume! In fact, we don’t want people to buy onesies, specially designed costumes, etc. We just need them to wear clothing that matches the animal they are portraying. For example, a child playing a zebra might wear a white shirt with black pants; a child playing a rhino would wear grey clothing. If you can’t find pants that match your animal, black pants are fine. Please avoid clothing with large logos, images, etc and keep it as plain as possible. If you are struggling or are unsure, please don’t hesitate to reach out for clarification.

Activism Day

Last week, we celebrated ‘Activism Day,’ which was a real highlight for all of us. We were lucky enough to have three incredible Indigenous sports stars—Cody Walker, Michael O’Loughlin, and Maurice Longbottom—come in to speak to all of Year 5. The students were captivated as these inspiring figures shared their personal stories and experiences in activism. The boys asked excellent questions, and it was clear they took away valuable lessons on how they, too, can make a difference in their communities.

Activism Day


Barker Mini Showdown Basketball Tournament

The Prep 1st basketball team recently competed in a mini 6-team tournament at Barker College, facing tough competition from the start. In our first two games against Knox and St. Augustine’s, we were outplayed and unfortunately lost both matches. After shaking off the rust from a long winter co-curricular season, the team rallied with a strong performance in our final game against Kings, securing a dominant win. This victory showed the potential and promise of what’s to come as we look ahead to future challenges in Term 4!

FunRun

On Wednesday, the Junior School celebrated their FunRun fundraising efforts in a very colourful, bright, wet and fun Colour Run! We were sprayed by the Fire Department and we are very grateful that they could fit us in amongst their busy schedules being first responders. Once the boys were soaked, they got sprayed with loads of coloured paint powder as they ran laps of the course. We had the best time running, singing, and of course sliming the teachers! 

Thank you to our parent helpers on the day and to all parents who have been supporting their son’s fundraising efforts over the past weeks. We have fundraised almost $54,000 for our four special charities, Educating the Future, Edmund Rice Camps, RUOK and The Indigenous Literacy Foundation. This is a testament to the Waverley spirit in our boys, and the compassionate, generous nature of our community. 


Chess Club Demonstration

Chess Club


NSW Rugby League

Patrick Spencer (6 Gold) played at Leichhardt Oval in the Under 11 Division 1 Rugby League Grand Final the weekend before last. His team, Paddington colts, were undefeated and won the grand final. Patrick was selected by league officials as man of the match. Well done Patrick!

Patrick Spencer Rugby


Home Learning Term 4, Week 1 

We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school for the completion of home learning tasks. The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.

Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3:00 pm until 4:00 pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.   

Procedures

Register your son via the link https://homelearningclub.youcanbook.me 

Only register his name once to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots. There will be a roll call to ensure attendance.

Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent’s signature will be required.

Behaviour

As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not cause a disturbance for others.

Teachers

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday – Mrs Natasha Zivanovic

Thursday – Mr Steve Ghattas 

If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

An important note to remember, if afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately, you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached.  

Avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.


IPSHA Speakers Challenge

IPSHA Speakers’ Challenge 2024

Congratulations to  Toby Pounder (Year 5) and Luke Haddock (Year 6) who were the 2024  Junior School Public Speaking champions. In November, they will be representing Waverley College at the 2024 IPSHA Speakers’ Challenge. We wish them all the best as they prepare for the competition. 


Lunchtime Talks 

I’m thrilled to announce that in Term 4, we will be continuing our Lunchtime Talks! 

This initiative, which began a few years ago, is designed to ignite passion and inspiration in the next generation of learners, leaders, entrepreneurs, athletes, scientists, and professionals across all industries.

Get ready for an incredible lineup of speakers who will share their insights, experiences, and stories that will motivate students to reach new heights. Each talk is an opportunity to engage with thought leaders and visionaries who are shaping the future. I have included Senior Students who are doing incredible work in the community to join this initiative. 


5 Gold in action

In 5 Gold it is all about getting into our routines and making sure we’re improving every single day. Whether it’s reading, writing, or just tackling the day’s challenges, the boys know that even getting 1% better each day adds up to something BIG. We love our writing (IDEAWr) and reading (IDEAR) sessions, where we see daily growth, pushing ourselves to reach new goals and build on what we’ve already learned. It’s great to see how committed the boys are to making progress and really owning their learning journey.

Our focus in English this term has been on activism. The boys have been exploring what it means to stand up for causes they believe in and how they can make a positive impact on the world. From environmental concerns to social justice, we’ve had rich discussions and asked thoughtful questions. It’s been amazing to watch them realise the power of their own voices and how they can contribute to meaningful change. One of our favourite quotes we discovered through our studies was ‘You are never too small to make a difference ‘ by Greta Thunberg.

Year 5 Year 5 Year 5 Year 5

Diary Dates

Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 3 events, please refer to the College calendar. 

A Kinder Word Experience

This week, the Year 6 students were invited to ‘A Kinder World Experience’, an excursion encouraging everyone to speak and always act with kindness. Here is an insight into the excursion from two of the 6 Gold students:

“My experience at the kinder world excursion was fantastic. We got to hear about Rivkys life and how she dealt with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Listening to her story and what she went through made me realise that everyone is going through their own problems. So we should always be kind to one another. Then we participated in many activities like creating an edible smiley face, playing kindness bingo, working together in ball games, playing in the kindness lounge, and decorating gifts and bags for the Sydney Children’s Hospital.

My favourite activity was decorating bags for children in hospitals. I liked this becuase we could decorate the bag however we wanted to and write kind and encouraging things on the bag. Then we got to put gifts in the bag. Each bag got a Lego set, pencils and pens, a bubble wand, and a book. We also got to write cards to the doctors and nurses who work so hard 24/7. Overall this was a very valuable experience to learn about teamwork and kindness.”

– Hugo Cuschieri

“This week, Year 6 went to the “A Kinder World” experience. After walking down Flood Street we arrived at Yeshiva College. After being greeted by the staff members we went inside where Rivky, the host, welcomed us and split us into three teams correlating with our classes. She then told us an unfortunate story about her life, how a disease a disease called jjuvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis made her have to take medicine, which in turn, made her feel self-conscious about the medicine’s side effects. She told how all the kids made fun of her, and how she began to lie and steal making the biggest mistake of her life, not taking her medicine, which left her fingers bent and crooked. Even though she suffered so much she said that her fingers are a reminder of her struggles and her life. 

After that we split up, the first activity for Team Blue, my team was to make an edible smiley face to support positivity. We then played some fun bingo with positive words. The second activity was the ball pattern game outside.We had to stand in a circle and pass the ball to everyone, but we could only pass to someone who hadn’t had the ball. When we did that we would pass the ball to the leader and continue the cycle, except we added more balls into the mix for an extra challenge.

Everyone’s favourite activity, the kindness lounge, was next. After watching a video on kindness we were allowed to chill out. I played some air hockey with my friend Thomas and then some Super Smash Bros. Returning to the starting area we did the final activity, packing gift bags for sick children. We decorated a bag with stickers and wrote encouraging messages for the kids and then filled the bags with Lego, bubbles, a set of pencils, and a writing book. We also wrote handwritten letters to doctors thanking them for their work. After finishing all the activities we returned to the starting area where Rivky talked to use about kindness.

This was easily one of my favourite excursions and an experience that we will never forget.”

– Joey Oultram

 


Junior Sport

Summer Term 4 Fixtures

Click on the link under ‘Training’ heading for the Term 4 Training Schedule.

Click on the link under ‘Games’ heading for the Term 4 Draw.

Please keep an eye on the weekly fixtures which will be sent out from Week 1 Term 4. 

FunRun

The FunRun ‘Big Show’ event is now less than a week away (Wednesday, 25 September) and we are so excited to have all students at Waverley Park to celebrate the fundraising with our Colour Run.

The Colour Run will be taking place between 10am and 12pm at Waverley Park. It will involve students running around the marked track through colour spraying sections and giant inflatables.

There will be an awards ceremony and staff members will be slimed at the end of the event. Parents are warmly welcome to attend and we look forward to seeing you there.

Once the event concludes, teachers will walk their class back to school for a sausage sizzle lunch catered for by the Junior School. Parents may take their sons home following the lunch by signing out with the students’ classroom teacher.

All other students will be dismissed from the Junior School at 3pm.

Please help your sons prepare for the day by:

We are looking forward to celebrating our incredible efforts in fundraising for our four special charities:

Thank you for all your support thus far!

 

Ms Jade Sparks

Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Junior School)

jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Home Learning 

Home Learning only on Monday 23 September 

We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school for the completion of home learning tasks. The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.

Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3:00 pm until 4:00 pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.   

Procedures

Register your son HERE 

Only register his name once to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots. There will be a roll call to ensure attendance.

Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent’s signature will be required.

Behaviour

As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not cause a disturbance for others.

Teachers

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 

Mrs Natasha Zivanovic

Thursday

Mr Steve Ghattas 

If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

An important note to remember, if afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately, you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached.  

Avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.

Write a Book in a Day 

The Junior School boys participated in the “Write a Book in a Day” competition. 

This engaging event invites teams of students to unleash their creativity and teamwork skills by writing and illustrating a complete book in a day. 

With unique parameters and specific words to incorporate into their stories, the boys collaborated closely, transforming their imaginative ideas into a finished product that will be donated to children in hospitals across Australia. 

This initiative fosters creativity and supports a great cause, as all funds raised will contribute to vital cancer research through The Kids’ Cancer Project.

The Junior School boys learnt valuable lessons in collaboration, problem-solving, and the power of storytelling, all while making a meaningful impact in the lives of others.

A huge shout out to Asher Thomasyu (Year 12) studying Advanced English || and preparing for the HSC who popped in to give the boys some words of wisdom and Mr William Roberts for facilitating the day. 

Year 6 Team L-R Alex O’Brien, Sam Fisher, Sam Garrett, Thomas Taylor, Luke Haddock & Finn Constable. 


Year 5 Team L-R Jack Bird, Leo Petit, Hugo Lehmann, Samuel Loughrey, Toby Pounder, Freddie Saville and Silas Murphy 

 

Ms Natasha Zivanovic

Teacher of Literacy & Innovation

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Science

This term Year 5 and 6 students have been immersed in scientific exploration.

Year 5 students have honed their scientific inquiry skills through hands-on experiments, while also delving into the fascinating world of Mars rovers in their science tech lessons.

 

Meanwhile, Year 6 students have been experimenting with materials and reactions, culminating in the creation of borax crystals. They have also challenged their creativity and problem-solving abilities by designing a sustainable ocean cleanup device in their science tech class. Term 3 has also seen students collaborate in co-educational lessons with St. Catherines students, conducting experiments in the Junior School science lab and attending an upcoming coding competition at St. Catherine’s Junior School.

Finally, Science Week came to a close with a celebration of our young talents, as the winners of the coding and colouring competitions were announced and honoured.

Mr Max Mancinelli

Science Teacher

mmancinelli@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Diary Dates

Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 3 events, please refer to the College calendar. 

ICAS Assessments 2024

Congratulations to all the students who participated in the 2024 ICAS Assessments. 

A special congratulations to the following students who received a credit or above in Mathematics.

Mathematics Year 5

Distinction

Jensen Honey

Sam Jarrett

Leo Murphy 

Credit 

Mark Adamik

Hugo D’Amours 

Jack Guille

Marlon Hair

Hugo Lehmann

Samuel Loughrey

Spencer Murphy 

Nixon Oakes

Thomas Pendleton

Joshua Satya

Rohan 

 

Mathematics Year 6

Credit 

Charles Draper

Oscar Griffin 

Liam Hagley 

Jack Hunter

Marcus Rakoczy

Flynn Roberts 

Parent’s Association – Year 6 End of Year Event 

SAVE THE DATE – MONDAY DECEMBER 2ND

5PM-8:30PM

Please note this is a parent organised function and not a College event

 


Primary School Leadership Forum

Last Friday, Jack Morahan Saliba (5 Orange Class Captain) & Hayden Greenberg (5 Blue Class Captain) were invited to participate in a Leadership Forum with the Federal Member of Parliament, Ms Allegra Spender, to discuss important issues within our local community.  The boys were engaged with student leaders from other schools within the Wentworth Electorate and were given many opportunities to voice their opinions.  I am glad to say that not only did they enjoy the experience, they also represented our school remarkably well.

 

R U OK? DAY – Cake Stall

The R U OK? Day organisation plays an important part of the Waverley College community.  Today we were fortunate enough to hear from Gus Worland, media personality and founder of the Gotcha4Life Foundation in 2017. He talked about the importance of mental fitness as well as social connectedness, and the need to be able to let others know when you are not feeling okay.  

To continue our support of R U OK? Day, a cake stall was held at recess and lunch on Friday in the Junior School. We are pleased to say that we raised $$$$.  Special thanks to all of our families who supported in the donation of cakes and other delicious treats.

 

Mr Steve Ghattas

Assistant Director of the Junior School / Identity & Student Formation

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Learning Support

Our wonderful Learning Support Department of Ms Fitzgerald and Mrs Edwards continue to provide exceptional dedication and expertise to our students. Their commitment to fostering a supportive and inclusive learning environment is truly commendable.

Ethics Olympiad

Congratulations to our Ethics Team who competed in an Olympiad on Tuesday against other schools. Yr 5 received a top 10 finish and yr 6 received wonderful feedback from the judges. Both teams represented the school proudly with intelligent and respectful discourse.

Our team consisted of the following students

Yr 5 

Mark Adamik (5W)

Sam Jarrett (5I)

Koby Leondis (5G)

Eric Rakoczy (5I)

Lachlan Smith (5W)

Yr 6

Arlo Buchanan (6I)

Sam Garratt (6I)

Luke Haddock (6W)

Tom Sheehy (6R)

Thomas Taylor (6G)

Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee

The Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee 2024 was conducted across our classes recently. Congratulations to the students who achieved top placings in the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee, showcasing their dedication and impressive spelling skills!

Nicholson Rufus 6 Orange 1st Place JS
Taylor Thomas 6 Gold 2nd Place JS
Buchanan Arlo 6 Indigo 3rd Place Yr 6
Fisher Samuel 6 Orange 4th Place Yr 6
Hagley Liam 6 Indigo 5th Place Yr 6
Johnson Oliver 6 Indigo 6th Place Yr 6
Sheehy Thomas 6 Red 7th Place Yr 6
Satya Joshua 5 Orange 1st Place Yr 5
Honey Jensen 5 Orange 2nd Place Yr 5
Grantham Henry 5 Blue 3rd Place Yr 5
Guille Jack 5 Indigo 4th Place Yr 5
Murphy Spencer 5 Gold 5th Place Yr 5
Gibbons Billy 5 Blue 6th Place Yr 5

 

Mr Elliott McKimm

Assistant Director of Curriculum

emckimm@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Junior Sport

Training schedule and fixtures

Click on the link under ‘Training’ heading for the Term 4 Training Schedule.

Click on the link under ‘Games’ heading for the Term 4 Draw.

Please keep an eye on the weekly fixtures which will be sent out from Week 1 Term 4. 

Winter Co-curricular Awards Assembly

During Week 9, we will be holding a Junior School Winter Co-curricular Awards Assembly during Period 6 on Tuesday 17th September. This assembly is for students only due to capacity in our Auditorium. Students who missed presentation nights will receive their trophies. We will also acknowledge other co-curricular activities that students have participated in, and announce Athletics Age Champions. 

Around the Grounds

Marley Fuller (Year 5) won the MVP for his state champion U12 Comets team on Friday night. Congratulations Marley!

FunRun

The FunRun ‘Big Show’ event is now less than 2 weeks away (Wednesday, 25 September) and we are so excited to have all students at Waverley Park to celebrate the fundraising with our Colour Run.

The Colour Run will be taking place between 10am and 12pm at Waverley Park. It will involve students running around the marked track through colour spraying sections and giant inflatables. There will be an awards ceremony and staff members will be slimed at the end of the event. Parents are warmly welcome to attend and we look forward to seeing you there. Once the event concludes, teachers will walk their class back to school for a sausage sizzle lunch catered for by the Junior School. Parents may take their sons home following the lunch by signing out with the students’ classroom teacher. All other students will be dismissed from the Junior School at 3pm.

Please help your sons prepare for the day by:

We are looking forward to celebrating our incredible efforts in fundraising for our four special charities:

Thank you for all your support thus far!

 

Ms Jade Sparks

Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Junior School)

jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


SCIENCE WEEK 2024 

The Junior School boys had an absolute blast during Science Week! Participating in a variety of fun and interactive activities, they explored the 2024 theme ‘Species Survival’ while fostering teamwork and creativity. The enthusiasm was visible as students took part in hands-on experiments in class, The Great Big Science Show, lunchtime experiment workshops, a colouring competition and an exciting coding task, making it a memorable week for everyone involved.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

 

Mr Max Mancinelli

Science Teacher

mmancinelli@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Home Learning 

No Home Learning Thursday, 19 September 

We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school for the completion of home learning tasks. The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.

Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3:00 pm until 4:00 pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.   

Procedures

Register your son HERE 

Only register his name once to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots. There will be a roll call to ensure attendance.

Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent’s signature will be required.

Behaviour

As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not cause a disturbance for others.

Teachers

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 

Mrs Natasha Zivanovic

Thursday

Mr Steve Ghattas 

If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

An important note to remember, if afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately, you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached.  

Avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.

 

Ms Natasha Zivanovic

Teacher of Literacy & Innovation

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


5 Orange – Class Item

This term, 5 Orange have been working hard to develop their persuasive writing skills. They have explored a range of techniques that can be utilised to make one’s persuasive writing stronger. 5 Orange have also read and listened to famous activists such as Greta Thunberg and Martin Luther King Jr who put these techniques to great use. Students are looking forward to choosing their own cause to write about and put these persuasive writing techniques into action. In doing so we will utilise the fantastic platform that is Writer’s Toolbox. We absolutely love the feedback that it provides us and we love to watch our writing strength score grow.

In Mathematics, we have been focusing on angles, position, 2D shapes, and fractions. The students have enjoyed participating in hands-on activities to consolidate their understanding of these concepts. 5 Orange has also fallen in love with the website 99Math, which provides fun, interactive, topic-specific math quizzes that help us transfer knowledge from our short-term memory to long-term memory. We understand how important having a growth mindset is in mathematics and we live by this quote from Winston Churchill:

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Our class has also been busy preparing for the upcoming Junior School Fun Run. The students are excited to participate in this event and raise money for four worthy causes: Educating the Future, Indigenous Literacy Foundation, RUOK and Edmund Rice Camps. We are also super excited about the upcoming school musical Lion King Jr and we loved the process of recording our song with Mr Bowden. 

 

Mr Elliott McKimm

5 Orange teacher

emckimm@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Diary Dates

Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 3 events, please refer to the College calendar. 

ICAS Assessments 2024

Congratulations to all the students who participated in the 2024 ICAS Assessments. 

A special congratulations to the following students who received a credit or above in Science. 

Science Year 5

Distinction

Credit 

Science Year 6

Distinction

Credit 

Ms Gaby Bransby
Director of the Junior School
gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au


Year 6 Retreat Day

Today our Year 6 students were involved in their annual retreat day. The day began with the students attending the morning Mass at Mary Immaculate Church allowing them to reflect on their own lives and bring them closer to God. The rest of the day focused on themes of friendship, community and leadership.  All activities were led by our Year 11 students including defining qualities that make good leaders, delving deeper into the history of our Houses and activities that asked students to step outside their comfort zone and step up to the challenge.  

To conclude the day, they participated in some House team-building games, including Kick Tennis, allowing for some friendly competition and a whole lot of enjoyment.

Year 6 Retreat

Year 6 retreat

Mr Steve Ghattas
Assistant Director of Junior School / Identity & Student Formation
sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au


Fitness Club 

Toiling away on a Tuesday and Thursday afternoon whilst working up a sweat, our students at the Junior School have been thriving in our new Fitness Club. The boys have been participating in a variety of exercises across four separate groups on both days.

The boys are all relishing the opportunity to stay fit in the weeks after the Winter Sports Season, getting their heart rates going and enjoying quality time with their peers with some lovely spring weather.

Continually growing from strength to strength, with fitness goals both personal and shared, we are proud of the enormous efforts being put in by all the students and staff members involved.

 Mr Alon Horry – Fitness Club Coach

Fitness Club

Fitness Club

Winter Co-Curricular Awards Assembly

During Week 9, we will be holding a Junior School Winter Co-curricular Awards Assembly (date & time to be confirmed). Here students who missed presentation nights will receive their trophies. We will also acknowledge other co-curricular activities that students have participated in, and announce Athletics Age Champions. 

Around the Grounds

Kai Freeman and Teddy Walker, both from Year 6, were selected by Hoops Capital to represent their Sydney Kings and Flames Youth League teams in a special halftime activation during the pre-season game between the Sydney Kings and the NZ Breakers at the Quay Centre, Sydney Olympic Park. They had an incredible experience playing on the court in front of a packed crowd and enjoyed the unique opportunity to interact closely with the Sydney Kings players.

Uncle Dean’s Learning on Country Workshop

On Thursday, Uncle Dean led a Learning on Country workshop at the Junior School, for students and teachers to connect to Country through artefacts, story telling, knowledge sharing and cultural mentoring from a local Aboriginal elder, Uncle Dean. In Aboriginal culture, Country is not only the land, the waterways and the skies, but all living things. Connecting to and caring for Country fosters a sense of belonging by connecting us to where we are, the people, animals and plants around us.

During this workshop we got to pass around boomerangs, digging sticks, spears, clap sticks, didgeridoos, message sticks, possum skins and model canoes and hand-woven ropes made from stringy bark trees. All the boys enjoyed touching, hearing and looking at these cultural artefacts while listening to stories. 

“NSW schools can ensure successful and sustainable learning outcomes for all students by working in partnership with their local Aboriginal community… Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures is a Learning across the curriculum priority.” (New South Wales Education Standards Authority)

We are grateful for the wisdom, knowledge sharing and storytelling that Uncle Dean has offered us, helping us engage with community and deepen our understanding of Aboriginal culture.

Uncle Dean

Uncle Dean

FunRun

The FunRun ‘Big Show’ event is now less than 3 weeks away (Wednesday, 25 September) and we are so excited to have all students at Waverley Park to celebrate the fundraising with our Colour Run.

The Colour Run will be taking place between 10am and 12pm at Waverley Park. It will involve students running around the marked track through colour spraying sections and giant inflatables. There will be an awards ceremony and staff members will be slimed at the end of the event. Parents are warmly welcome to attend and we look forward to seeing you there. Once the event concludes, teachers will walk their class back to school for a sausage sizzle lunch catered for by the Junior School. Dismissal information will be sent out in next week’s Nurrunga.

Please help your sons prepare for the day by:

We are looking forward to celebrating our incredible efforts in fundraising for our four special charities:

Thank you for all your support thus far!

Ms Jade Sparks
Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Junior School)
jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au


Home Learning 

We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school for the completion of home learning tasks. The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.

Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3:00 pm until 4:00 pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.   

Procedures

Register your son via the link https://homelearningclub.youcanbook.me 

Only register his name once to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots. There will be a roll call to ensure attendance.

Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent’s signature will be required.

Behaviour

As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not disturb others.

Teachers

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 

Mrs Natasha Zivanovic

Thursday

Mr Steve Ghattas 

If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

An important note to remember, if afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately, you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached.  

Avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.

Year 5 Public Speaking Finals 2024 

This week, we had the Year 5 Public Speaking Competition. All the boys put in an incredible amount of effort, with one stand-out student taking home the trophy! 

Well done to all the finalists, and thank you to Ms Alice Curtis, Mr Jack Wachtel, and James Peate for adjudicating the finals.   

Congratulations to our finalists Harry Maley, Spencer Murphy, Cooper Green, Jensen Honey, Tristan Francis and our Public Speaking Champion 2024 Toby Pounder.  


Class Item – 6 Orange 

In Year 6, our students are diving into the unit “Make Yourself Heard,” where they are encouraged to take a stand on issues that matter to them and communicate their thoughts effectively to a wider audience. Our focus this term has been on social justice issues, particularly those affecting marginalised communities, such as refugees and asylum seekers.

In 6 Orange, we have been deeply engaged with the graphic novel “Illegal”, written by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin and illustrated by Giovanni Rigano. This powerful story follows a young boy from Ghana named Ebo, who embarks on a perilous journey across the Sahara, through the dangerous streets of Tripoli, and across the sea in search of a safer, more hopeful life in Italy. Our students have been creating reflective journals that not only capture their emotional responses to Ebo’s journey but also explore the unique techniques used in graphic novels. Through this work, the boys are gaining a deeper understanding of empathy and are recognising just how fortunate we are to live where we do.

Here are some fantastic examples of the front covers of their journals!

Front Cover “Illegal”

 

Rufus Nicholson

 

Max Roberts

 

James Morgan

Mr Tom Olds – 6 Orange Teacher

 

 

 

Diary Dates

Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 3 events, please refer to the College calendar. 

Father’s Day Mass 

Thank you to the fathers, grandfathers and anyone who is like a father for attending our special Mass today. We were blessed with a warm day as we start our transition towards Spring. These events are so important to our students as they get a chance to spend quality time with their loved ones. 

Thank you to Mr Ghattas for organising our special day and to Gene Ross for speaking about his experience of being a dad. 

I wish every father or male figure a very special Father’s Day this Sunday.

  Father’s Day Stall 

A huge thank you to the Parents’ Association for organising the opportunity for our students to buy gifts for Father’s Day this year on campus. There was so much joy in the room as students were able to select a special gift for their dads or male figures in their lives. 

Lion King Musical – 23 October 

We are excited to announce the date for our Lion King Musical which will be on 23 October. The musical itself will be performed twice on October 23, with a matinee and evening performance confirmed. Rehearsals for our production of the Lion King Jr are well underway, with the girls from St Catherine’s joining us regularly on Fridays. There will be more information on tickets available soon.

ICAS Assessments 2024

Congratulations to all the students who participated in the 2024 ICAS Assessments. 

A special congratulations to the following students who received a credit or above in Digital Technologies and English. 

 

Digital Technologies Year 5

Distinction

Nixon Oakes 

Credit 

Cooper Green 

Jensen Honey

 

English Year 5

Credit 

Spencer Murphy 

Eric Rakoczy

 

Digital Technologies Year 6 

Credit 

Liam Hagley

Liam Jackson 

Rufus Nicholson

Cillian Stankard

 

English Year 6

Distinction

Cillian Stankard

Credit 

Charles Draper 

Marcus Rakoczy 

Thomas Taylor 

 

My Gaby Bransby

Director of the Junior School

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Night Patrol Donations

Once a month, as part of the Social Justice program, our Year 11 students will hit the streets to feed the homeless men and women of Sydney.  This initiative is run by the St Vincent de Paul Society and gives the students an insight into the vast array of people (children, teens & adults from varying backgrounds) who are homeless and the journey that each of them are on. As this face to face experience is not suitable for our Junior School students, we are asking assistance in the form of donations  We are asking 5 Orange & 6 Orange  students for the following donations for the next Night Patrol on Monday 2nd September:

Fresh Fruit – Banana, Apples, Oranges (to be brought in on Monday, 2 September)

Packet noodles, Packets of chips, Poppers (to be brought in on or before Monday, 2 September)

 

Mr Steve Ghattas

Assistant Director of Junior School / Identity & Student Formation

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Athletics Invitationals and IPSHA Carnival

Congratulations to our Athletics Squad who have attended a number of Athletics events over the past week. Last Friday, boys attended Riverview to compete in the BPSSA Athletics Invitational, winning Waverley 2nd place at shot put and taking home many other impressive results!

Tom Pendleton at BPSSA Athletics Invitational – 2nd place in Shot Put

The squad then attended Sydney Olympic Park Athletics Centre on Saturday, the following day, and won 2nd place in the Junior Relay and 3rd place in the Senior relay. Congratulations to the entire squad who did really well on the day.

The IPSHA Athletics Carnival took place this Wednesday, with our boys representing Waverley extremely well, unphased by the heat. We competed against 56 schools at the carnival. There were a total of 1589 individual competitors in a total of 2768 starts. Our Waverley boys should be very proud of themselves. A special congratulations to the boys who have been selected to represent IPSHA at CIS Athletics, and we wish them all the best.

Billy Kehoe 3rd in High Jump

CIS Rugby

Congratulations to our Year 6 Waverley boys who competed in the CIS team at the NSWPSSA Championship for Rugby Union. Taj Cooke, Harry Minards and Fergus Samba Hoare represented the College with pride at Wagga Wagga last week. They won 3 out of 3 games on the first day, made it to the semi finals on the second day, and finished the tour by winning Bronze. Amazing work – go Waves!

CIS Rugby Union – Harry Minards, Taj Cooke, Fergus Samba Hoare

Clubs

We have launched our OzTag Competition this week, with a round robin of over 100 boys teamed up to play in a friendly competition during lunch times until the end of term. 

We have also begun our Fitness Club after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, keeping our staff and students busy and active!

Thank you to all the staff supporting these extra-curricular experiences for the boys.

 

Ms Jade Sparks

Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Junior School)

jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Home Learning 

No Home Learning on Wednesday, 4 September

We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school for the completion of home learning tasks. The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.

Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3:00 pm until 4:00 pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.   

Procedures

Register your son via the link https://homelearningclub.youcanbook.me 

Only register his name once to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots. There will be a roll call to ensure attendance.

Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent’s signature will be required.

Behaviour

As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not cause a disturbance for others.

Teachers

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 

Mrs Natasha Zivanovic

Thursday

Mr Steve Ghattas 

If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

An important note to remember, if afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately, you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached.  

Avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.

Debating 

Waverley v St Catherine’s 

Topic: ‘All schools should be co-educational’

Last week the debaters had tough competition and a tough topic. Both Waverley teams put forward strong arguments and presented their cases clearly and firmly rebutting the St Catherine’s team’s cases. The boys did themselves and Waverley very proud. Both teams won their debate! 

I would like to thank our Year 10 mentor Dante Fearn for his continued support at home debates and training sessions. 

Every training session was packed with tips and activities to help the junior team develop their debating skills. 

Book Week Guest Author REECE CARTER 

Screenshot

As part of our Book Week celebrations, we welcomed author Reece Carter. An emerging talent in children’s literature, Reece inspired students with his passion for storytelling and creativity.

Reece shared his journey as a writer, highlighting the importance of imagination in crafting unique characters and stories. His presentation encouraged the boys to explore their creativity and consider writing as a means of expression and never to give up. 

Reece’s visit was a wonderful reminder of the magic of reading and the power of storytelling in shaping young minds.

Book Week Competition Winners – Reading is Magic

Thank you to all the Junior School students who entered one or both, Book Week competitions.

This year, I received an impressive array of over 60 entries, showcasing the writing styles of Year 5 & 6 students. Mr William Roberts Head of Library Services & Applied Philosophy had a tough job judging the writing submissions, see the winners below.

Congratulations to the following students who were awarded Outstanding Achievement in Poetry Writing. 

Reading is Magic 

Jack Mann

In pages of stories, I find my escape,

To a world full of wonders my dreams take shape.

With every new chapter, my heart takes flight.

Exploring new realms in the middle of the night.

Books are my portal, my key to delight.

They change dark days and make worries take flight.

So here’s to the magic that reading can bring,

A treasure of stories where my spirit can sing.

As we close the book and turn the last page,

We’ve danced through the rhythms of each crafted stage.

Turning each page like a magical cage,

Where dragons and heroes on adventures engage,

In the land of books, where dreams come alive,

Every chapter we read makes our spirit thrive.

With every new tale, our imaginations dive,

In the magic of books, we forever survive.

 

A Thousand Worlds

Thomas Taylor

I open the book

Turn to a new page

In truth, to let go of this world

Is not that hard

For in front of me now

Is the wizard

A tingling sensation

Fills my veins

As I assume the young apprentice’s role

All his thoughts, and all his pains

But in the end, it comes to a close

The wizard’s magic it was a hoax

Sitting in awe

For a moment I ponder

Before I scramble off

Eager to be filled with wonder

Now I head off toward the town

Excited for my cap to become a sombrero

Or maybe a crown

Now I see the library

A sanctuary

A haven

A place of wonder

But most of all it’s a magical portal

To a thousand worlds

 

A Magical Place

Samuel Loughrey 

What could you not love about books,

They’re always such exciting hooks,

Reading late at night,

Hiding with a light,

The wonders and magic inside,

You never know which book to decide,

The amazing places you can discover,

Just on the books cover,

A story about a bear,

That becomes friends with a hare,

Or a book about wizards,

Who befriend slimy lizards,

No matter what you pick,

You will read it just as quick,

But when you go to sleep,

You’re begging yourself for another peep,

And when you fall asleep with a book on your head,

It prepares you for the magic journeys ahead.

Woken up by an upcoming train horn,

Thinking where am I on this lush green lawn,

Starting to feel alone,

I really wanted to go home,

Looking into the distance ahead,

Made me feel like I was half dead,

Just as it started to rain,

I questioned my throbbing brain,

A big red sign read HOGWART EXPRESS!!,

My body was now covered in distress,

How did I get here,

Standing in the path of the train is now my biggest fear,

Struggling to stand up on the ground,

I heard my heart pound,

Just as the train was about to go over me,

I felt the sudden sensation of being free,

I screamed in success,

But then my body started to compress.

Surrounded by weeping souls,

I saw various torture device poles,

I was in the Underworld,

This place was clearly not a wonderworld,

With a palace coloured in bronze and black,

Reaching into my brand-new pack,

I felt a tiny sphere,

But this sphere wasn’t anywhere near what it might appear,

PERCY boomed a familiar voice,

My body froze having no choice,

I turned to look at the one and only Hades

Who reminded me of the meanest bullies,

Demanding that I give the thunderbolt back,

I stood still not knowing how to attack,

Without realising Cerberus the three-headed dog was charging straight at me,

I knew I couldn’t flee,

Smashing the pearl at my feet,

I could feel a sudden warm and nice heat,

Enclosed in a white pearl,

I ascended from the building about to hurl.

Rising above the ground I started to see an old town,

My face was now turning into a frown,

Looking around I saw circuses and magician shows going on,

Until one place stood out in the light of dawn,

VERNONS MAGIC SHOP,

This name made my thoughts stop,

Inside I picked up eight small boxes,

Each covered in several white foxes,

I tried to figure out what I was in for,

My mouth dropped all the way down to the floor,

I was in the Magic Misfits,

It’s a place not many people dare to visit,

Stepping back out of the shop,

My brain was about to pop,

Dreamily watching the Magic Misfits perform

One pulling out of his mouth a rabbit on a platform,

At that moment the Magic Misfits pointed at me,

And my body started to fill with glee,

They put me into a comfy-looking bed,

Drifting away they covered up my head.

Wondering what their trick was,

I started to hear a small little buzz,

Looking around I saw my phone,

Realising it was my own,

Nothing here was exciting magic,

Nor something overdramatic,

Instead, I was rugged up in my sheets,

Not out in the Magic Misfit streets,

Then I heard scratching on my door,

Weakly standing up on the floor,

It was my dog checking up on me,

As it was already nine O’three,

Getting out the door,

I said to myself “Magic – I wish there was some more”

 

Once You Know It’s Magic, It Will Always Be Magic

Rufus Nicholson 

Reading

Giving knowledge

So many unread words

Diving into another world

Magic

 

Highly Commended 

READING IS MAGIC 

Atticus Boyle 

Most of the world’s knowledge has been captured in text for future generations to unlock through reading

All ages have the ability to engage with the writer through text and experience the magic of their world

Giants, dragons and even the occasional wizard can take the reader to places without limits and let all of our senses run wild

I read, I dream and I can escape to other worlds through the magical stories

Can you imagine how peaceful and great the world could be if everyone had the chance to read and dream.

 

Reading Is For Everyone 

Jack Morahan Saliba 

Reading is magic, reading is fun, reading is loved by everyone.

Flip the page here, flip the page there, you’ll find this magic is everywhere.

I picked up a book and perched on a chair and felt the magic in the air.

Action, adventure, fantasy or fact I could rest here all day and read books to back.

Murder or mystery, thrillers or history, I could sit in a nook devouring a book.

Chapter books or picture books, comics galore you can always read a book whether rich or poor.

You can escape in a book where rather you would be the magic in books is for you and me.

Reading is magic reading is fun reading is loved by everyone.

 

Visual Arts Winners 

Thank you to Mrs Jenna Turnbull Innovation Coordinator & Visual Arts Teacher & Mrs Natalie Oates Head of Visual Arts for judging the Visual Arts competition. 

See the winners below. 

Outstanding Creative Achievement 

Henry Avenell

The judges said:

Outstanding use of pencil. The colour layering and tonal control in the portrait is sophisticated. Being able to capture the emotion and engagement in the facial expression that books bring us all is wonderful. A very well-planned and executed work. 

 

Blake Collins

The judges said:

A Surreal composition with all elements of the drawing so well planned and considered. Outstanding use of colour and detail throughout the work. 

 

Leo Sager

The judges said:
Great use of colour and blending in the background of the work. Creative use of the book in the foreground and all the imaginative creatures coming from literature.

 

Samuel Loughrey

The judges said:
Unique response to the ‘Reading is Magic’ theme. An incredible amount of skill and precision in the embossed text and pattern making. A very special book mark for any lover of reading.

Highly Commended 

Cameron Rafferty 

The judges said:

Clever response to the theme of ‘Reading is Magic’ and this work does have a little bit of Magic embedded. 

Dexter Billington

The judges said:

Well-balanced composition of colour and imagery throughout. Dexter has considered and drawn each object well with a clear link to the theme. 

 

Alon – 5 Red Class Item 

This Term in 5 Red there has been an immense presence of strength and commitment on multiple fronts. The boys have all been toiling hard, putting their best foot forward and reaping the benefits of the strong foundations laid out from the early stages of the year. 

Each learner has shown tremendous accountability towards achieving goals and entering the classroom with purpose. The boys are thriving and flourishing inside and outside of the classroom with a whole heap of positive contributions being made to our immediate and broader communities. 

Continually building relationships, the start of lifelong friendships, we are very proud of all that we have accomplished so far. Join us by viewing a small snapshot of what we have been up to this Term. A video presentation put together by 5 Red’s very own Ollie Forde. 

5 Red Video

 

Ms Natasha Zivanovic

Teacher of Literacy & Innovation

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Diary Dates

Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 3 events, please refer to the College calendar. 

 

Father’s Day Stall – Parents Association

Next Wednesday, 28 August (Year 5) and Thursday, 29 August (Year 6) the boys will have the opportunity to choose a special gift for a remarkable man in their life from a range of gifts.

The boys will enjoy a shopping experience at the Father’s Day stall this year instead of an online event. They will select a gift sourced from our Waverley and local community. Gifts such as, water bottles, insulated cups, glasses, socks, mugs, hats, cookie boxes and more will be available to purchase.

Gifts will range from $10 to $40 and boys will be able to pay with cash or card on the day and take their purchase home with them that day.

Boys will be able to purchase just one gift to begin with and if numbers of gifts permit, they will be invited back if they wish to purchase a second gift.

Happy shopping to the boys!


Father’s Day Mass & BBQ – Final Reminder

Fathers, step-dads, uncles, grandfathers and special men who are like fathers in the lives of Waverley College students, are invited to accompany their boys to a special Father’s Day Mass in honour of fathers everywhere.  

This will be held on Friday 30th August, beginning at 12:00pm.  A BBQ Lunch will follow, which will be held in the Junior School.

Please click on the invitation below to RSVP for this wonderful occasion .If you have not yet done so, could you please RSVP HERE as soon as possible. 

Fathers Day Mass – Request for Photos – Final Reminder

Part of the Father’s Day 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 than Monday, 26 August. Please send through all photos to liturgy@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

Matthew Talbot Winter Appeal

Matthew Talbot Hostel helps over 40,000 Sydney men each year in providing accommodation, health, counselling and employment assistance. Waverley has had a long history of boys volunteering in their kiosk in Woolloomooloo.

Donation item list:

Toiletry pack Items  – small traveller size for items is best

Home Starter Kit Items: these are prepared and distributed to the men when they move out of the Hostel into more settled accommodation. New items are ideal, but used/clean items in good condition are also fine.

Clothing 

Items desired as new, or very good condition: Warm Winter Jackets, Mens Tracksuit Pants, Long Sleeve Polo shirts or Long Sleeve T-shirts;

Items required to be new:  Gloves , Underpants (Large or XL size), Socks (calf / mid-length in white sports or any colour)

All items can be brought to either the Senior School Wellbeing Centre or Junior school reception in weeks 3-6 between August 5-29.

Night Patrol Donations

Once a month, as part of the Social Justice program, our Year 11 students will hit the streets to feed the homeless men and women of Sydney.  This initiative is run by the St Vincent de Paul Society and gives the students an insight into the vast array of people (children, teens & adults from varying backgrounds) who are homeless and the journey that each of them are on. As this face to face experience is not suitable for our Junior School students, we are asking assistance in the form of donations  We are asking 5 Orange & 6 Orange  students for the following donations for the next Night Patrol on Monday 2nd September:

Fresh Fruit – Banana, Apples, Oranges (to be brought in on Monday 2nd September)

Packet noodles, Packets of chips, Poppers (to be brought in on or before Monday 2nd September)

 

Mr Steve Ghattas

Assistant Director of Junior School / Identity & Student Formation

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au


Junior Sport Fixtures, Training Schedules, Maps and Venues

Click HERE.

Athletics Carnival

Last Friday the Junior School held its own Athletics Carnival at Sylvania Waters Athletics Track and we had a blast! The boys got so involved in all the track and field events, and the house spirit was high. Congratulations to all who participated and made it such a special day. A special mention to the 26 students who were selected as the Junior School Athletics Squad and good luck to their next events at the two Invitational Carnivals this Friday and Saturday and the IPSHA Athletics Carnival next week. Final House Points from the day were as follows:

Aungier: 115

Brennan: 105

Conlon: 101

Green: 76

Lacey: 121

O’Connor: 90

Quinn: 76

Tevlin: 68

Term 3 Clubs

We are offering a range of extra clubs this term to help keep students occupied between Winter and Summer Sport. I am excited to share each club’s convenor details below, should you require further information.

FunRun

Another amazing FunRun update: the Junior School has raised well over $26,000 for our four amazing charities! This is an incredible achievement and I am so excited to smash our goal of $50,000 over the remaining five weeks:

Educating the Future

Indigenous Literacy Foundation

RUOK

Edmund Rice Camps

More information regarding the Colour Run will come out prior to the event. Save the date of Wednesday 25th September, when we will be hosting our FunRun Colour Run at Waverley Park during school hours. Keep up the amazing fundraising efforts, boys!

Year 6 Camp

The Year 6 camp at The Collaroy Centre was an unforgettable experience for the students, filled with laughter, adventure, and camaraderie. From the moment they arrived, excitement was in the air as they explored the beautiful surroundings and participated in a wide range of activities.  Thank you to everyone who made the Camp such a success!

Kendall Robinson 

The Year Six Camp to The Collaroy Centre was a great success, with students and staff enjoying the time away from the formal school environment. A big thank you to Ms Sparks and the fantastic teachers for looking after the students so well. The weather was perfect and the students were able to have experiences that will last a lifetime. 

Ellis Cario

Overall a great experience there were a variety of things we got to do, everything was incredible including the food, beverages, as well as night and beach games. 

Billy Irvine

My favourite thing about the camp was the activities such as high ropes, the giant swing and laser tag. I think the scariest thing was abseiling because you had to completely lean back over a cliff from ten meters up.

 

Ms Jade Sparks

Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Junior School)

jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Home Learning 

No Home Learning Wednesday 28 August 

We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school for the completion of home learning tasks. The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.

Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3:00 pm until 4:00 pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.   

Procedures

Register your son via the link https://homelearningclub.youcanbook.me 

Only register his name once to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots. There will be a roll call to ensure attendance.

Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent’s signature will be required.

Behaviour

As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not cause a disturbance for others.

Teachers

Monday

Mrs Natasha Zivanovic

Tuesday & Wednesday 

Ms Gaby Bransby 

Thursday

Mr Steve Ghattas 

If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

An important note to remember, if afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately, you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached.  

Avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.

EXAM TIMETABLE TERM 3 

All ICAS exams will be sat before school in the Learning Hub. Please ensure that your son has a charged laptop and he is on time for each ICAS exam. 

WEEK  START TIME DATE ICAS EXAM 
6B  8:00 am  Wednesday 28  August Mathematics 

Pre-loved, Pop-up  Bookshop 

A huge thank you to all the families who donated books for the pre-loved, pop-up bookshop. 

It was a very busy & successful initiative, with many happy customers! 

There will be another opportunity for the students to purchase books in Week 6. The date will be confirmed and communicated to the boys. 

Writing Workshop Year 5 & 6

Writing a story continuously is a fun way to work collaboratively, constructively, critically and creatively. The students in Year 5 and Year 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. 

 

Ms Natasha Zivanovic

Teacher of Literacy & Innovation

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Diary Dates

Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 3 events, please refer to the College calendar. 

 


Matthew Talbot Appeal 

Matthew Talbot Hostel helps over 40,000 Sydney men each year in providing accommodation, health, counselling and employment assistance. Waverley has had a long history of boys volunteering in their kiosk in Woolloomooloo.

Matthew Talbot Winter Appeal – Donation item list:

Toiletry pack Items  – small traveller size for items is best

Home Starter Kit Items: these are prepared and distributed to the men when they move out of the Hostel into more settled accommodation. New items are ideal, but used/clean items in good condition are also fine.

Clothing 

Items desired as new, or very good condition: Warm Winter Jackets, Mens Tracksuit Pants, Long Sleeve Polo shirts or Long Sleeve T-shirts;

Items required to be new:  Gloves , Underpants (Large or XL size), Socks (calf / mid-length in white sports or any colour)

All items can be brought to either the Senior School Wellbeing Centre or Junior school reception in weeks 3-6 between August 5-29.

Father’s Day Mass & BBQ

Fathers, step-dads, uncles, grandfathers and special men who are like fathers in the lives of Waverley College students, are invited to accompany their boys to a special Father’s Day Mass in honour of fathers everywhere.

This will be held on Friday 30th August, beginning at 12:00pm.  A BBQ Lunch will follow, which will be held in the Junior School.

Please click HERE to RSVP or for more information click HERE.

Fathers Day Mass – Friday 30 August 2024 – Mary Immaculate Church – Request for Photos

Part of the Father’s Day 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 than Monday 26th August. Please send through all photos to liturgy@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 

Mr Steve Ghattas

Assistant Director of Junior School / Identity & Student Formation

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Junior Sport Fixtures, Training Schedules, Maps and Venues

Click HERE.

Winter Sport Wrap

Well done to every Junior School student on their efforts over the weather-interrupted winter season.

The boys managed to get 6/10 rounds in (AFL squeezing in 7) despite rain showing up with the worst timing after a teaser of a sunny Friday.

Players showed grit and determination to do their best each game, making our Waves community proud.

Our amazing coaches have done a wonderful job at developing the skills and character of each player, and we are grateful to them.

Thank you to all the families for helping your sons make the most of the season, driving in the rain, braving the cold and managing the early morning cancellations. And especially for sharing beautiful team photos with me each week. Keep them coming!

The Mighty U11C Rugby Team

The Mighty U11C Rugby Team

I look forward to Summer Sport recommencing in Term 4, where we pick up where we left off in Term 1, beginning with Round 7 on Saturday, 19 October. 

FunRun

Congratulations to the entire Junior School, who have raised well over $20,000 in the first week of launching our FunRun! This is a phenomenal achievement and I am so excited to smash our goal over the remaining six weeks for our four special charities:

Educating the Future

Indigenous Literacy Foundation

RUOK

Edmund Rice Camps

All of the boys have been lit up by this initiative and have taken it upon themselves to raise as many funds as possible for our charities. Keep it up boys!

Rosario Squadrito and Aleks Peric (Year 5) set up a lemonade stand raising money for their FunRun. They raised $150 each which is amazing!

 

Year 6 Camp

We are fast approaching our exciting Year 6 Camp! Please read through the attachment sent on the App for all the details. Boys will be told their cabin and activity groups on their bus on Monday. We have planned a wonderful 3 days and look forward to spending some quality time with the students outside of the classroom.

A friendly reminder to drop off any medication to Ms Sanchez at Reception as soon as possible, clearly labelled with your son’s name and dosage.

Please let your son’s classroom teacher know if you have any questions or concerns.

 

Ms Jade Sparks

Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Junior School)

jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Home Learning 

We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school for the completion of home learning tasks. The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.

Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3pm until 4pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.   

Procedures

Register your son via the link https://homelearningclub.youcanbook.me 

Only register his name once to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots. There will be a roll call to ensure attendance.

Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent’s signature will be required.

Behaviour

As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not cause a disturbance for others.

Teachers

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday

Mrs Natasha Zivanovic

Thursday

Mr Steve Ghattas 

If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

An important note to remember, if afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately, you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached.  

Avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.

EXAM TIMETABLE TERM 3 

All ICAS exams will be sat before school in the Learning Hub. Please ensure that your son has a charged laptop and he is on time for each ICAS exam. 

WEEK  START TIME DATE ICAS EXAM 
5A  7:30 am Thursday 22 August  Science 
6B  8:00 am  Wednesday 28  August Mathematics 

Book Week Guest Author – Reece Carter 

Reece Carter will be Waverley’s guest author for Book Week on Friday, 23 August.

Reece is an up-and-coming author who fell in love with writing stories when he was a young reader himself, Reece wants to help the next generation of storytellers reach into the quirkiest corners of their imaginations, so they might dream up characters and larger-than-life stories of their own.

Reece’s visit aims to inspire students to grow their imaginations – and to think big!

Debating Kambala v Waverley

Both Waverley teams put forward strong arguments and presented their cases clearly and firmly rebutting the Kambala team’s cases on the topic ‘That we should ban takeaway food.’

Debating develops essential skills that are transferable to other areas: exploring ideas, developing arguments, articulating opinions, building confidence, being able to think on one’s feet, collaborating, critical thinking, connecting and communicating 

I would like to express my gratitude to the parents for their support in transporting the boys to and from their debates and for their encouragement throughout the season. Special thanks to Dante Fearn for his ongoing mentorship of the boys. The boys and I feel very fortunate to have this support. 

Book Week Competitions 

Thank you to all students who entered the Book Week competitions.

Mr. William Roberts, Head of Library Services and Applied Philosophy Teacher, will face a challenging task in judging the Poetry submissions, While, Ms. Jenna Turnbull, Innovation Coordinator and Visual Arts Teacher, along with Mrs. Natalie Oats, Head of Visual Arts, will also have a tough role in judging the creative art pieces that interpret  the theme ‘Reading Is Magic.’

Winners will be announced in Week 6. Good luck to all the students who entered. 

 

Pre-loved, Pop-up Bookshop 

A huge thank you to all the families who donated books for the pre-loved, pop-up bookshop. 

It was a very busy & successful initiative, with many happy customers! 

 

Ms Natasha Zivanovic

Teacher of Literacy & Innovation

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


6 Gold

The students in 6 Gold have had an amazing start to Term 3. They have settled into their learning routines and are thoroughly enjoying the subject content across the different Key Learning Areas.

Our focus in English is, ‘Make Yourself Heard’. Students have been reading various stories of refugees and asylum seekers that have sought a safer place, after conditions in their home country have become unliveable. In one of the tasks, students were asked to put themselves in the shoes of one of the characters and describe what the journey would have been like.  Here are a couple of examples:

“We waited in suspense for the next few minutes. Mom’s eyes were watering with tears and I could see the struggle in her. She had lived in Afghanistan for over 50 years and now she had to make a decision; whether to leave all her loved ones and precious belongings behind to go to Australia, or to stay but possibly die. Eventually, Mom spoke. “We’ll go.”

“Welcome aboard,” said the captain as he stuck a hand out pointing to the boat. Slowly but surely, we trudged over to the boat still unsure if this was the right decision. The boat looked far from safe with paint and wood falling off the sides. On board another crew member greeted us and showed us to our quarters below deck. It was a small, cramped space crowded with people all the way from babies to seniors. My mind still couldn’t get around how we were doing this. The boat reeked of vomit and stinky, unshowered people. I wandered my way around the boat, weaving in and out of many other refugees, and eventually I found the sleeping quarters. I lay down on my hammock and let my heavy eyelids close.

When I awoke I could heard the soft sound of rain pattering on the walls outside. I clambered out of the ripped, soggy hammock and made my way upstairs. I was stilled amazed at the mass of refugees onboard. “Mom?!” I cried out. She was nowhere to be seen. “MOM!!!” This time I said it with a tinge of anger in my voice. my head started spinning. My senses overloaded. The rocking boat was making me sick and even worse was the smell of baby vomit in the air. This boat was quite literally a living hell. Had we made the right choice?”

Finn Constable – 6 Gold

 

Mum sat on the beach while the captain was waiting, she had a drop of sweat roll down her cheek. We all waited silently. I started to think about what would happen if we stayed, we might get hurt or trapped somewhere. I also thought about what would happen if we got on the boat, it could sink, we could get hijacked or we could even make it to the country that dad made sound so good. The captain was about to leave when mum stood up and said “said we are going”. We all got up and got onto the creaky boat, I was scared but I knew my mum would always make the right decision. Crowded, hungry and hopeful, mum looked like she was making friends as me and Hussien hid under her dress waiting for some sort of food to end up in front of us.

Mum was talking to another woman who looked about the same age as her, she had brown eyes and black hair, she was quite tall. We were about two days into the long journey. I hadn’t eaten and Mum had made good friends with a lady. Her name is Arwa and she is from a place near where i’m from. She is really nice and brought some bread with her that she shared between our empty stomachs. “Land ahead!” A man shouted, waking up almost everyone. I stood up and over the edge of the boat I could see land and a dock in the distance. With the smell of of a welcoming home I knew we had made it.

Ted Jones – 6 Gold

 

Mr Steve Ghattas

Assistant Director of the Junior School / Identity & Student Formation

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Diary Dates

Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 3 events, please refer to the College calendar. 

St Catherine’s Muscial Moana

On Tuesday, we were invited to watch St Catherine’s Musical Moana.

The students were absolutely outstanding and performed at a high level. It was a wonderful co-educational experience for our students as well as preparing them for our own musical.

They were able to see the finished product of a musical and all that it entails. Our students represented Waverley so well and were a wonderful audience. 

children watching moana production

Congratulations Oliver Simpkin!

Congratulations to Oliver in 6 Orange who has been named as a finalist in the 2024 Little Sydney Lives exhibition.

Oliver’s work is currently on exhibition on level 2 of Customs House, Circular Quay.

Sunbathers At Wylies by Oliver Simpkin

 

Ms Gaby Bransby

Director of the Junior School

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Matthew Talbot Appeal 

Matthew Talbot Hostel helps over 40,000 Sydney men each year in providing accommodation, health, counselling and employment assistance. Waverley has had a long history of boys volunteering in their kiosk in Woolloomooloo.

Matthew Talbot Winter Appeal – Donation item list:

Toiletry pack Items  – small traveller size for items is best

Home Starter Kit Items: these are prepared and distributed to the men when they move out of the Hostel into more settled accommodation. New items are ideal, but used/clean items in good condition are also fine.

Clothing 

Items desired as new, or very good condition: Warm Winter Jackets, Mens Tracksuit Pants, Long Sleeve Polo shirts or Long Sleeve T-shirts;

Items required to be new:  Gloves , Underpants (Large or XL size), Socks (calf / mid-length in white sports or any colour)

All items can be brought to either the Senior School Wellbeing Centre or Junior school reception in weeks 3-6 between August 5-29.

Father’s Day Mass & BBQ

Fathers, step-dads, uncles, grandfathers and special men who are like fathers in the lives of Waverley College students, are invited to accompany their boys to a special Father’s Day Mass in honour of fathers everywhere.  

This will be held on Friday 30th August, beginning at 12:00pm.  A BBQ Lunch will follow, which will be held in the Junior School.

Please click HERE to RSVP or for more information click HERE.

Fathers Day Mass – Friday 30 August 2024 – Mary Immaculate Church – Request for Photos

Part of the Father’s Day 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 than Monday 26th August. Please send through all photos to liturgy@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

 

Mr Steve Ghattas

Assistant Director of Junior School / Identity & Student Formation

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Junior Sport Fixtures, Training Schedules, Maps and Venues

Click HERE.

Winter Sport

We are looking forward to our final round of Winter Sport tomorrow, and wish all our Waves the best of luck! Enjoy the weekends off before Summer Sport returns in Term 4. Well done on all our Winter teams’ achievements and thank you to our families for your ongoing support.

Please remember we run a number of extra curricular activities. Review the below information and please email the co-ordinator if you have any questions about these activities for Semester 2.

Athletics Track & Field practise – jroff@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

Chess Club – Tuesday lunchtimes – ssanchez@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Hip Hop Club – Wednesday lunchtimes – jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Judo Club – no more Judo Club until Term 4 due to coach absence

Run Club – Monday lunchtimes as per Mr McKimm’s correspondence – emckimm@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Spanish Club – Monday 3.15-4.15pm – jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Around the grounds

The Waverley College Junior School were proudly represented at the Basketball NSW State Championships over the weekend.

Playing for the Sydney Comets, Marley Fuller and Charlie Draper were active members of the team crowned under 12 Boys State Champions.

Well done to Charlie and Marley who can be very proud of this wonderful achievement.

boy with trophy

Marley Fuller

Marley Fuller & Charlie Draper

Marley Fuller & Charlie Draper

Athletics Carnival

Our 2024 Junior School Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday, 16 August. Students will be bussed to and from Sylvania Waters Athletics Track for an exciting day of track and field events.

Parents are welcome to spectate and can take their sons home at the conclusion of the carnival by signing out with his classroom teacher.

Please read all the information in Parent Lounge > Events and Payments > JS: 2024 Athletics Carnival and action the permission slip here too.

We are looking forward to an exciting day of Athletics house spirit, races and field events!

Year 6 Camp

We held a student meeting last Thursday, 1 August to explain the ins and outs of Year 6 Camp 2024 and can see how excited Year 6 is becoming for our camp on Monday, 19 August – Wednesday, 21 August.

While we are so enthusiastic about Camp and all the joys it brings, we understand that there can be some anxiety around it.

Please ensure your sons that we will have a fun, safe Camp where they can enjoy getting to know others in the grade, face challenges in the activities, have fun outdoors, and spend quality time with their Waverley mates.

Year 6 Camp 2023

Year 6 Camp 2023

Year 6 Camp 2023

Year 6 Camp 2023

Please access the Parent Lounge to action the permission slip and remember to respond to the Collaroy Centre email with any dietary requirements (even if there are none for your son, you still need to submit the form).

FunRun

We have launched our Junior School FunRun this week and boy, are our students excited! We are fundraising for 4 special charities: Educating the Future, RUOK?, Indigenous Literacy Foundation and Edmund Rice Camps. In 2022, the Junior School raised over $100,000 for the FunRun and Educating the Future was one of our charities. They have since built their fifth pre-school in Timor Leste with the funds.

Please help your son sign up to the FunRun and set up his fundraising page HERE here.

Please mark your calendars – we will be holding our Big Show Colour Run on Wednesday, 25 September at Waverley Park!

 

Ms Jade Sparks

Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Junior School)

jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Home Learning Week 4

PLEASE NOTE: No Home Learning Monday, 12 August 

We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school for the completion of home learning tasks.

The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.

Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3pm until 4pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.

Procedures

Register your son HERE 

Only register his name once to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots. There will be a roll call to ensure attendance.

Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent’s signature will be required.

Behaviour

As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not cause a disturbance for others.

Teachers

Monday

Mrs Natasha Zivanovic

Tuesday & Wednesday 

Ms Gaby Bransby

Thursday

Mr Steve Ghattas

If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

An important note to remember, if afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached.

Avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.

EXAM TIMETABLE TERM 3 

All ICAS exams will be sat before school in the Learning Hub. Please ensure that your son has a charged laptop and he is on time for each ICAS exam. 

WEEK  START TIME DATE ICAS EXAM 
4B 8:00 am  Wednesday 14 August  English 
5A  7:45 am Thursday 22 August  Science 
6B  8:00 am  Wednesday 28  August Mathematics 

LEGO Club

The LEGO Club’s Olympic-themed session was a success, sparking enthusiasm, critical thinking and creativity among the boys. The boys constructed various Olympic-inspired builds, from miniature stadiums to athlete figures & podiums.

The Olympic theme provided a perfect setting for collaborative building and friendly competition. The boys recreated iconic Olympic sports like diving, soccer, rock climbing, shooting and tennis using LEGO bricks. Some even attempted to build intricate structures like the Olympic rings & Eiffel Tower. 

LEGO club not only fosters collaboration among the boys but also new friendships. The photos speak for themselves!

Book Week 2024

In Week 5  we will be celebrating Book Week at the Junior School. The theme this year is Reading is Magic.

BOOK WEEK

Writing Workshop 

Your son will take part in a fun and engaging writing workshop that will encourage critical and creative thinking while working collaboratively in a small group to produce part of an imaginative text, which in turn will be part of a book.

The final copy will be printed and placed in the Learning Hub for all to enjoy.  

I am looking forward to working with Year 5 on Wednesday, 21 August and Year 6 on Thursday, 22 August

writing workshop

Book Week Guest Author Reece Carter 

Reece Carter will be Waverley’s guest author for Book Week on Friday, 23 August.

Reece is an up-and-coming author who fell in love with writing stories when he was a young reader himself, Reece wants to help the next generation of storytellers reach into the quirkiest corners of their imaginations, so they might dream up characters and larger-than-life stories of their own.

Reece’s visit aims to inspire students to grow their imaginations – and to think big!

Reece Carter Reece carter book

Pre-loved, 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 will be running in Week 4 on Thursday, 15 August and on Monday, 19 August

This year I would like to continue with a sustainable and cost-effective Pop-up Bookshop

If you would like to help with this initiative I would like you to donate pre-loved books that will be sold a very reduced amount. The amounts raised will be donated to one of the Edmund Rice foundations. 

 

Ms Natasha Zivanovic

Teacher of Literacy & Innovation

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Geography Excursion to Chinatown

On Monday, Year 6 went to Chinatown in the city. After walking through the plaza in Dixon Street, we visited The Chinese Garden of Friendship at Darling Harbour.

We learnt a lot on things about Chinese culture, including that green is known as a colour of protection and red is known as a colour of luck. We also learned that the green roofs on buildings protect us from bad spirits.

We all had lots of fun looking at all the trees, buildings, art, and even the Koi fish. We are appreciative of our tour guide George for teaching and engaging with us on the day.

 

Lucas Marin

6 White Class Captain

Diary Dates

Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 3 events, please refer to the College calendar. 

Excursion to St Catherine’s

All Junior school students have been invited to watch the matinee of the Junior School Musical ‘Moana’ at St Catherine’s. This will be next Tuesday, 6 August during school time. This is very timely for our students with our upcoming Musical The Lion King. We are all very excited and we can’t wait to watch the spectacular  performance.  

Permission is required to attend. Please log into the Parent Lounge to action the permission slip. If you have any problems accessing the Parent Lounge please contact iassist@waverley.nsw.edu.au.

SMART Goals 

At the commencement of each term, students are encouraged to set SMART goals for their learning with their classroom teachers. Goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed will set our students up for success. I have been visiting classes this week and I will continue next week  to really motivate and guide them on the importance of goal setting and how to set goals that are meaningful to each individual.

Last term, all students received their Semester One Academic report and had a meeting with their teacher to identify areas for development. I encourage you to sit down and discuss the goals that your son has set for his learning so we can all work together to help him achieve it. We know that writing goals down allows students to revisit them throughout the term, encourages focus, and builds strategies to make sure they achieve their goal/s. The goals for Term 3 can be found on Page 112 and 113 in the College Diary. 

 

Ms Gaby Bransby

Director of the Junior School

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee

A friendly reminder to please complete the Consent Form attached for the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee. We are encouraging all students in the Junior School to participate; however, it is not compulsory. It is a free online competition that we will run in classes during Week 4 this term. More information can be found on the English Canvas page.

The Consent form can be found HERE.

 

Mr Elliott McKimm

Teacher of 5 Orange

emckimm@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Father’s Day Mass & BBQ

Fathers, step-dads, uncles, grandfathers and special men who are like fathers in the lives of Waverley College students, are invited to accompany their boys to a special Father’s Day Mass in honour of fathers everywhere.  

This will be held on Friday, 30 August, at 12pm.  A BBQ Lunch will follow, which will be held in the Junior School.

Please HERE to RSVP or for more information click HERE.

Fathers Day Mass – Friday 30 August 2022 – Mary Immaculate Church – Request for Photos

Part of the Father’s Day 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 than Monday 26th August. Please send through all photos to liturgy@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

Night Patrol Donations

Once a month as part of the Social Justice program, our Year 11 students will hit the streets to feed the homeless men and women of Sydney.  This initiative is run by the St Vincent de Paul Society and gives the students an insight into the vast array of people (children, teens & adults from varying backgrounds) who are homeless and the journey that each of them are on.

As this face to face experience is not suitable for our Junior School students, we are asking assistance in the form of donations.

Students in 5 Indigo  & 6 Indigo are asked to donate the following items for the next Night Patrol on Monday, 5 August:

Fresh Fruit – Banana, Apples, Oranges (to be brought in on Monday, 5 August)

Packet noodles, Packets of chips, Poppers (to be brought in on or before Monday, 5 August)

 

Mr Steve Ghattas

Assistant Director of Junior School / Identity & Student Formation

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Junior Sport Fixtures, Training Schedules, Maps and Venues

Click HERE.

Congratulations swimming superstars, Jack Forde & Kai Hess!

It gives me great pleasure to share the National Swimming achievements of two of our Junior School boys, Jack Forde (5 White) and Kai Hess (5 Gold). They represented NSW PSSA at the School Sports Australia Games on the Gold Coast last week/weekend. This comes after progressing through several tough competitions against swimmers all over Sydney, from making the IPSHA team to the CIS team and then the PSSA team. Needless to say, Jack and Kai also train extremely hard before and after school throughout the year. The boys put a lot of pressure on themselves to succeed and we are so proud of them.

Kai Hess & Jack Forde

Kai Hess & Jack Forde

On Thursday, 25 August, Jack and Kai placed 3rd in their Medley Relay, Kai swimming the back leg and Jack the free leg.

Friday, 26 August, Kai got into the Finals for 50m Backstroke and ranked 7th fastest overall.

On Saturday, Jack touched the wall 4th in his 50m Freestyle heat, and swam a personal best at the competition. 

Jack Forde

Jack Forde

Jack and Kai were in separate 4x50m Freestyle relay teams for NSW. Jack’s team came 2nd and Kai’s team were 5th. 

The boys had a lot of fun, met some new friends and idols and made Waverley very proud.

Jack Forde and Kai Hess

Jack Forde & Kai Hess

Year 6 and 7 boys come 3rd overall at u12 State Cup in Camden

Congratulations to the below Year 6 and 7 boys, who were selected to represent Randwick at the U12 NSW Junior Rugby Union State Cup in Camden over the holidays.  This event was scheduled to take place over the King’s Birthday long weekend but was postponed as Camden’s fields were flooded!

The team came 3rd overall in the state out of a total of 23 teams entered. Go Waves!

Jude McDermott (Yr 6), Nathaniel (Junior) Tauheluhelu (Yr 7), Ollie Burke (Yr 7) Thomas Walden (Yr 7), Malakai Toa (Yr 6), Jake Coleman (Yr 6)

Jude McDermott (Yr 6), Nathaniel (Junior) Tauheluhelu (Yr 7), Ollie Burke (Yr 7) Thomas Walden (Yr 7), Malakai Toa (Yr 6), Jake Coleman (Yr 6)

Paul Kelly Cup

Our Year 5 & 6 AFL Paul Kelly Cup squad represented Waverley with grit and sportsmanship on Wednesday at the Paul Kelly Cup Regional Final at Timbrell Park in Five Dock. The weather held out despite being cold, and the boys were not deterred.

Game 1 was a win over Orange Grove Public School, with a score of 20-15.

Game 2 was another convincing win over St Luke’s 52-0.

A third win came for Waves in Game 3, against Cronulla Public School, 15-3.

We then progressed to the semi-finals and unfortunately lost against Lilli Pilli 29-19.

The boys showed tenacity and Waverley pride throughout the day and we are so impressed with their performance, having done so well in the first round last term, and showing up the way they did on Wednesday. Thank you to our amazing coaches Elise Hunt and Cian Foley for leading the boys. Well done Waves.

Athletics Carnival

Our 2024 Junior School Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday, 16 August. Students will be bussed to and from Sylvania Waters Athletics Track for an exciting day of track and field events. Parents are welcome to spectate and can take their sons home at the conclusion of the carnival by signing out with his classroom teacher. Please read all the information in Parent Lounge > Events and Payments > JS: 2024 Athletics Carnival and action the permission slip here too.

We are looking forward to an exciting day of Athletics house spirit, races and field events!

Year 6 Camp 

We held a student meeting on Thursday, 1 August to explain the ins and outs of Year 6 Camp 2024 and can see how excited Year 6 is becoming for our camp on Monday, 19 August – Wednesday, 21 August. While we are so enthusiastic about Camp and all the joys it brings, we understand that there can be some anxiety around it. Please ensure your sons that we will have a fun, safe Camp where they can enjoy getting to know others in the grade, face challenges in the activities, have fun outdoors, and spend quality time with their Waverley mates.

Year 6 Camp 2023

Year 6 Camp 2023

Year 6 Camp 2023

Year 6 Camp 2023

Please access the Parent Lounge to action the permission slip and remember to respond to the Collaroy Centre email with any dietary requirements (even if there are none for your son, you still need to submit the form).

 

Ms Jade Sparks

Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Junior School)

jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Year 6 Man City/PE Take-over

In Term 3 our Year 6 pupils will be taking part in the Manchester City Football School Program, once per class in a double PE lesson throughout the Term. Head football coach Ben Charlton will be delivering the football sessions working alongside the junior school PE staff.

The year 6 pupils will learn to play ‘Beautiful Football’ which is the style of football developed and used by Manchester City Football Club across all age groups, from the academy to the first team.

They will also develop their individual football skills by practicing the ball manipulation skills used by Manchester City’s first team players and they will work on team development through technical and game based practices where they can practice applying their skills in game based training scenarios.

 

Ben Charlton

Manchester City Football School Coach

 


Home Learning Term 3, Week 2

IMPORTANT: No Home Learning Wednesday 31 July 

We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school for the completion of home learning tasks.

The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.

Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3pm until 4pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.

Procedures

Register your son HERE 

Only register his name once to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots. There will be a roll call to ensure attendance.

Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent’s signature will be required.

Behaviour

As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not cause a disturbance for others.

Teachers

Monday

Mrs Natasha Zivanovic

Tuesday & Wednesday 

Ms Gaby Bransby

Thursday

Mr Steve Ghattas

If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

An important note to remember, if afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached.

Avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.

Exam Timetable Term 3

All ICAS exams will be sat before school in the Learning Hub. Please ensure that your son has a charged laptop and he is on time for each ICAS exam. 

WEEK  START TIME DATE ICAS EXAM 
3A 7:30 am  Wednesday 7 August Digital Technologies
8:00 am  Thursday 8 August  Writing
4B 8:00 am  Wednesday 14 August  English 
5A  7:30 am Thursday 22 August  Science 
6B  8:00 am  Wednesday 28  August Mathematics 

Public Speaking Competition Year 5

All Year 5 students will be participating in a school-based Public Speaking Competition this term, aimed at allowing students to develop their speaking skills.

Speaking well in public prepares you for positions of responsibility, visibility and the future. Speak up, speak well, and many opportunities will be open to you.

Year 5 public speaking competition

IPSHA Debating Waverley v Ascham

Debating has kicked off this term with one win and one loss for Waverley. The boys had their first debate for Term 3 against Ascham. The debate topic was ‘ Should we change the National Australian flag.’

Both Waverley teams put forward solid arguments and presented their cases clearly and firmly rebutting the Ascham team’s cases. The boys did themselves and Waverley very proud.

Debating develops essential skills that are transferable to other areas: exploring ideas, developing arguments, articulating opinions, building confidence, being able to think on one’s feet, and becoming a good public speaker. I’m extremely proud of the boys and their commitment to debating.

school boys debating

school boys debating

school boys debating

Book Week 2024

In Week 5  we will be celebrating Book Week at the Junior School. The theme this year is Reading is Magic.

BOOK WEEK

Book Week Competitions 

All students from the Junior campus are encouraged to enter one or both of the competitions running for Book Week. 

reading is magic

Writing Workshop 

Your son will take part in a fun and engaging writing workshop that will encourage critical and creative thinking while working collaboratively in a small group to produce part of an imaginative text, which in turn will be part of a book. The final copy will be printed and placed in the Learning Hub for all to enjoy.

I am looking forward to working with Year 5 on Wednesday, 21 August and Year 6 on Thursday, 22 August.

students during writing workshop

Writing Workshop 2023

Book Week Guest Author – Reece Carter 

Reece Carter will be Waverley’s guest author for Book Week on Friday, 23 August.

Reece is an up-and-coming author who fell in love with writing stories when he was a young reader himself, Reece wants to help the next generation of storytellers reach into the quirkiest corners of their imaginations, so they might dream up characters and larger-than-life stories of their own.

Reece’s visit aims to inspire students to grow their imaginations – and to think big!

Reece CarterReece carter book

Pre-loved, 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 will be running in Week 4 on Thursday, 15 August and on Monday, 19 August.

pop-up bookshop

This year I would like to continue with a sustainable and cost-effective Pop-up Bookshop.

If you would like to help with this initiative I would like you to donate pre-loved books that will be sold at a very reduced amount. The amounts raised will be donated to one of the Edmund Rice foundations.

2023 Pop-up Book Shop

 

Ms Natasha Zivanovic

Teacher of Literacy & Innovation

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

A big welcome back to all our Waverley College families. I hope the 3 week break gave you a chance to slow down and spend quality time with your family. We are back in full swing and excited for the term ahead.

Just a reminder that all students require a blazer in Term 3. I have noticed some haircuts that do not align with the College Haircut policy which can be found on page 28 of the school diary. If your son has been asked to have his hair rectified, please have this done by Monday Week 2. 

Diary Dates

Please find below some reminders about upcoming events. For all of Term 3 events, please refer to the College calendar. 

Attendance

A reminder to please see the below process for reporting your son’s absence. Parents/carers requesting permission for three days or more of leave or extended holiday periods exceeding three school days, must apply for permission from myself. Permission needs to be in writing at least two weeks in advance, and is not automatically granted. Please contact myself for approval by emailing ssanchez@waverley.nsw.edu.au. 

Area Contact  Enquiry Steps Contact Person
Absence Reporting an absence 1st Contact

2nd Contact  

Waverley College App

  attendance@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Absentee line: 02 9369 0632 

 

Ms Gaby Bransby

Director of the Junior School

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Term 3 Curriculum Overviews

I am pleased to share with you the Term 3 Curriculum Overviews for Years 5 and 6. These documents are a guide to the learning that your son will be covering in class this Term.

Term 3, Year 5 Curriculum Overview – CLICK HERE

Term 3, Year 6 Curriculum Overview – CLICK HERE

I hope this is a useful document that will help you to support your son and engage him in conversation about his learning experiences at school.

Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee

The Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee is a free, online competition where students get 30 randomly selected words from their competition level and have 25 seconds to type each answer. The students with the most correct words in the fastest time progress to finals. All Junior School students are invited to participate, however it is not compulsory.

If you would like your son to participate please complete the digital Parental Consent Form by this Wednesday,  31 July.  

For more information, please contact;

Ms Margaret Fitzgerald

mfitzgerald@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

Ms Deanne Edwards

dedwards1@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 

Mr Elliott McKimm

Teacher of 5 Orange

emckimm@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Father’s Day Mass & BBQ

Fathers, step-dads, uncles, grandfathers and special men who are like fathers in the lives of Waverley College students, are invited to accompany their boys to a special Father’s Day Mass in honour of fathers everywhere.  

This will be held on Friday, 30 August, beginning at 12pm.  A BBQ Lunch will follow, which will be held in the Junior School.

Please HERE to RSVP or for more information click HERE

Part of the Father’s Day 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 than Monday, 26 August. Please send through all photos to liturgy@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

Please note: Although it is lovely that we receive quite a number of photos, can you please limit the number of photos that you send to 1 per family member (e.g. dad/son, grandad/son).  This will ensure a more streamlined process in the creation of the slideshow. 

Night Patrol Donations

Once a month as part of the Social Justice program, our Year 11 students will hit the streets to feed the homeless men and women of Sydney.  This initiative is run by the St Vincent de Paul Society and gives the students an insight into the vast array of people (children, teens & adults from varying backgrounds) who are homeless and the journey that each of them are on.

As this face to face experience is not suitable for our Junior School students, we are asking assistance in the form of donations. 

Students in 5 Indigo  & 6 Indigo are asked to donate the following items for the next Night Patrol on Monday, 5 August:

Fresh Fruit – Banana, Apples, Oranges (to be brought in on Monday, 5 August)

Packet noodles, Packets of chips, Poppers (to be brought in on or before Monday, 5 August)

 

Mr Steve Ghattas

Assistant Director of Junior School / Identity & Student Formation

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Holiday Sport Shoutouts

Jack Forde (Year 5) and Kai Hess (Year 5) have been on the Gold Coast representing NSW at the inaugural School Sports Australia Games. Both boys placed 3rd in their race on Thursday 25th July, and are currently swimming in more events today and tomorrow. We congratulate them for all they have achieved so far to get here, and we are cheering them on for the rest of their time at the competition. Go Waves!

Kai Hess (Year 5) and Jack Forde (Year 5)

Kai Hess (Year 5) and Jack Forde (Year 5)

Congratulations to the Waverley boys who represented Randwick in the U10 Boys State Cup with both teams undefeated. 

Hugo Tonga, Harvey Rumble, Lachlan Walden, Liam Morrissey, Leon Dunkley

Hugo Tonga, Harvey Rumble, Lachlan Walden, Liam Morrissey, Leon Dunkley

Well done to the boys who played in the U12 Boys State Cup over the weekend at Narrabeen playing for Randwick. They represented Waverley well, winning all 4 games and only conceding 2 tries (1 v Gordon and 1 v Penrith). I am looking forward to having you back at Queens park for the remainder of the season.

Sam Rogers (Year 7), Arlo Symes (Year 6), Zac Hughes (Year 6), Patrick Mahoney (Year 6), Hugh Rachel (Year 6), Lenny Burgess (Year 6)

Winter Sport

We are excited to commence the final 3 rounds of Winter Sport at the Junior School.  Myself and the coaching staff hold high expectations of each one of our players, and look forward to an enjoyable and successful end to the season. Please keep an eye on the fixtures and Training Schedule. Fixtures are released each Tuesday. You can look ahead at the Draw for future rounds.

Fixtures and Training Schedule 

I would like to remind everyone of the IPSHA Code of Conduct, which you can review here. Thank you for helping Waverley maintain our high standards and supporting the boys in having fun at school sport.

Extra Curricular Activities

Please remember we run a number of extra curricular activities which are additional to Saturday sport commitments. Review the below information and please email the co-ordinator if you have any questions about these activities for Semester 2.

Athletics Carnival

Our 2024 Junior School Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday, 16 August.

Students will be bussed to and from Sylvania Waters Athletics Track for an exciting day of track and field events.

Please read all the information in Parent Lounge > Events and Payments > JS: 2024 Athletics Carnival and action the permission slip here too.

The cost of this excursion will be billed to your school fees.

City2Surf

The City2Surf is now 95% sold out, so anyone wanting to join our Waverley team of over 230 students, teachers and families on 11 August in support of Running for Premature Babies, please don’t delay in registering!

All team members will receive a free charity shirt, and anyone who raises $300 will receive a refund of their race entry fee.

Register for City2Surf

Scan the QR code to register!

 

Ms Jade Sparks

Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Junior School)

jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Home Learning Term 3, Week 2

IMPORTANT: No Home Learning Wednesday 31 July 

We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school for the completion of home learning tasks.

The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.

Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3pm until 4pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.   

Procedures

Register your son HERE 

Only register his name once to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots. There will be a roll call to ensure attendance.

Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent’s signature will be required.

Behaviour

As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not cause a disturbance for others.

Teachers

Monday

Mrs Natasha Zivanovic

Tuesday & Wednesday 

Ms Gaby Bransby 

Thursday

Mr Steve Ghattas 

If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au 

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

An important note to remember, if afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached.  

Avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.

Exam Timetable Term 3

All ICAS exams will be sat before school in the Learning Hub. Please ensure that your son has a charged laptop and he is on time for each ICAS exam. 

WEEK  START TIME DATE ICAS EXAM 
3A 7:45 am  Wednesday 7 August Digital Technologies
8:00 am  Thursday 8 August  Writing
4B 8:00 am  Wednesday 14 August  English 
5A  7:45 am Thursday 22 August  Science 
6B  8:00 am  Wednesday 28  August Mathematics 

Public Speaking Competition Year 5

All Year 5 students will be participating in a school-based Public Speaking Competition this term, aimed at allowing students to develop their speaking skills.

Speaking well in public prepares you for positions of responsibility, visibility and the future. Speak up, speak well, and many opportunities will be open to you. 

Year 5 public speaking competition

Book Week 2024

In Week 5  we will be celebrating Book Week at the Junior School. The theme this year is Reading is Magic.

BOOK WEEK

Book Week Competitions 

All students from the Junior campus are encouraged to enter one or both of the competitions running for Book Week. 

reading is magic

Writing Workshop 

Your son will take part in a fun and engaging writing workshop that will encourage critical and creative thinking while working collaboratively in a small group to produce part of an imaginative text, which in turn will be part of a book. The final copy will be printed and placed in the Learning Hub for all to enjoy. 

I am looking forward to working with Year 5 on Wednesday, 21 August and Year 6 on Thursday, 22 August. 

students during writing workshop

Book Week Guest Author – Reece Carter 

Reece Carter will be Waverley’s guest author for Book Week on Friday, 23 August.

Reece is an up-and-coming author who fell in love with writing stories when he was a young reader himself, Reece wants to help the next generation of storytellers reach into the quirkiest corners of their imaginations, so they might dream up characters and larger-than-life stories of their own.

Reece’s visit aims to inspire students to grow their imaginations – and to think big!

Reece Carter Reece carter book

Pre-loved, 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 will be running in Week 4 on Thursday, 15 August and on Monday, 19 August

pop-up bookshop

This year I would like to continue with a sustainable and cost-effective Pop-up Bookshop

If you would like to help with this initiative I would like you to donate pre-loved books that will be sold at a very reduced amount. The amounts raised will be donated to one of the Edmund Rice foundations. 

 

Ms Natasha Zivanovic

Teacher of Literacy & Innovation

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

Celebrating a wonderful Term 2!

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all families for a wonderful Term 2. Some highlights from this term have been the wonderful Year 5 Camp where the boys connected with nature, pushed themselves out of their comfort zones, and made new friendships. Both the Year 5 and Year 6 History Showcases were outstanding this year. The enthusiasm displayed and the quality of work produced were extremely high. 

It was amazing to see the commitment and team spirit displayed by all students at Saturday sport and training sessions throughout the term, despite the weather. It has been truly impressive to see the sportsmanship among the students and how far they have developed as a team. 

I hope the Parent/Student/Teacher interviews this week were valuable and gave you a chance to connect with your son’s teacher, go through their Semester One Report, and set goals for next term. Knowing where your son is currently academically and socially is vital in order to set new goals and reassess current ones. 

I hope the break provides much-needed rest and family time. I look forward to seeing the students return to school in Term 3 renewed and ready to take on Semester 2.

WriteOn Competition 2024 

Congratulations to Finn Constable. His imaginative writing has been selected as one of the top entries for the WriteOn 2024 competition. This annual contest, open to NSW primary students in Years 1-6, challenges young writers to craft a creative 500-word story inspired by a specific image. Finn’s piece stood out among numerous submissions and will now advance to the final judging round. A selected panel of school sector and NESA representatives judge the WriteOn competition.

Samuel Loughrey, Jack Bird, Silas Murphy and Alex O’Brien were awarded Highly Commended for their writing submissions.

Code Camp 

Code Camp is thrilled to be running Minecraft Engineers at Waverley in Term 3!

Here are the details of your program:

Course: Minecraft Engineers

Day: Wednesday

Dates: Wed 31 Jul to Wed 18 Sep 2024 (8 sessions)

Time: 3:15PM – 4:30PM (75 mins)

Please book using this LINK

Junior School Mini da Vinci Decathlon written by Waverley Students 

On Thursday, 13 June, our Year 9 da Vinci Decathlon team hosted the ‘MiniVinci Decathlon’ for students in Years 5 and 6 at the Junior School.

Due to the popularity of the Decathlon held at Knox Grammar School, the event was held as an internal, student-run initiative, with four teams from the Junior School.

This competition required students to compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: Engineering, Mathematics, Code Breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography and Legacy.

Our Year 9 team took on the responsibility of supervising teams, marking papers, and overseeing the competition. This student-led initiative provided a remarkable opportunity for us to demonstrate leadership skills and quick-thinking abilities.

Overall, witnessing the level of engagement, involvement and active participation among the Junior School students was truly inspiring, demonstrating promise for future success in academic competitions for these students.

 – Alex Avdalis, Year 9 

I worked on English and Engineering, as well as on Creative Producers where a team performs a one-minute performance on a given topic.  This year’s topic was Going Back and Changing a Mistake You Have Made. The team I was in—Team 6.1—won the event. We got a chocolate medal, a merit, and a da Vinci Decathlon award. It was an overall fun experience.

– Ollie Johnson, 6 Indigo

The Year 6 Winning Team (L to R): Thomas Sheehy, Luke Haddock, Xavier Burns, Sam Fisher, Thomas Taylor, Ollie Johnson, Harry Robinson, Zac Bentley.

The event was marvellously put on by some Year 9 students, Ms Barry from the Senior School and our enrichment teachers Ms Fitzgerald and Ms Edwards, and was an incredible day.

– Thomas Taylor (6 Gold)

 

Ms Gaby Bransby

Director of the Junior School

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Junior Sport

We are so proud of the boys who represented Waverley at the AFL Paul Kelly Cup on Tuesday this week at Queens Park. The sun was shining and spirits were high as the boys laced up to take on their rival schools. They played 5 games overall, dominating each match to play the top team in the semi-finals. 

1st game: 30-0 win against  Woollahra PS

2nd game: 70-7 win against St Andrew’s PS

3rd game: 32-15 win against Randwick PS

Semi Final: 32-10 win against St Andrew’s PS

As final teams were announced, to no surprise the Waverley boys were in. With the Waverley chant being heard from across the oval, the boys took on their opponents to win the grand final 41-2. 

Highlights of the day were first goals kicked by Ziggy Sarkozy, Cillian Stankard and Bart Carmody, coach Cian getting saturated by water bottles in celebration after the win and Jordy’s fluoro pink sock and boot combination that could be seen from anywhere sprinting down the field. The boys will play at the Regional Final in Five Dock in the upcoming months. 

I wish everyone a safe and enjoyable winter break, and look forward to Rounds 8 to 10 of Winter Sport continuing next term. Training will resume in the first week of Term 3. 

 

Ms Jade Sparks

Assistant Director of Co-curricular (Junior School)

jsparks@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Home Learning Term 3, Week 1 

We offer all students in Year 5 and Year 6 the opportunity to receive free additional support after school for the completion of home learning tasks. The afternoon sessions also provide a quiet, supervised study space for students who want to complete their assigned tasks.

Home Learning Club operates in the Learning Hub from 3pm until 4pm – Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays – during school term unless there is a scheduled Professional Development meeting and the club will be closed.   

Procedures

Register your son HERE

Only register his name once to allow other students the opportunity to attend. The session is limited to 20 spots. There will be a roll call to ensure attendance.

Students are required to stay for the full session unless there is a message in the student diary requesting early leave, a parent’s signature will be required.

Behaviour

As it is important to respect the rights of others to learn and work, all students are expected to settle to work in the Learning Hub and not cause a disturbance for others.

Teachers

Monday

Mrs Natasha Zivanovic

Tuesday and Wednesday 

Ms Gaby Bransby

Thursday

Mr Steve Ghattas

If you require any further information, feel free to contact us.

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

gbransby@waverley.nsw.edu.au

sghattas@waverley.nsw.edu.au

An important note to remember, if afternoon training sessions are cancelled, unfortunately, you cannot send your son to Home Learning as an alternative plan, students are registered for the afternoon sessions in advance and the capacity is always reached.

Avoid messaging your son during this period, unless it is urgent.

2024 ICAS Competitions | Years 5 and 6 students

What is ICAS?  

ICAS is an online academic competition designed to assess students’  higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing and Digital Technologies.

Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals.

If you would like your son to compete in the 2024 ICAS Competitions, you will be asked to nominate which competitions you would like him to be entered in through the Parent Payment System. At the Junior School, the following ICAS competitions are offered: Writing & Digital Technologies, Science & English and Mathematics.

This year all the competitions will be held in August / September, Term 3 and will be completed online in the Learning Hub before school starts. A timetable will be shared closer to the assessment dates. 

Click HERE to register your son. Through this system, parents can pay for ICAS directly online while tests will still be held at our school. Please use the school’s access code details to register your child no later than July 23, 2024.

Waverley’s School Access Code: YGC063

Please consider carefully before choosing this enrichment opportunity for your son. It is a rigorous competition with many questions set beyond grade level. Participants are required to demonstrate a deeper, integrated and thorough level of learning. If you are unsure of your son’s suitability, please consult with his teacher. More information about the assessments can be found here.

If you require additional support registering your son contact the customer service team on 1800 931 775

EXAM TIMETABLE TERM 3 

All ICAS exams will be sat before school in the Learning Hub. 

WEEK  START TIME DATE ICAS EXAM 
3A 8am Wednesday 7 August Digital Technologies
8am Thursday 8 August Writing
4B 8am Wednesday 14 August English
5A  7:45am Thursday 22 August Science
6B  8am Wednesday 28  August Mathematics

Book Week Competitions 

Term 3 is nearly upon us and in August we will be celebrating Book Week at the Junior School. The theme this year is Reading is Magic.

All students from the Junior campus are encouraged to enter one or both of the competitions running for Book Week. 

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 will be running in Term 3 Week 4. This year I would like to continue with a sustainable and cost-effective Pop-up Bookshop.

If you would like to help with this initiative you can donate pre-loved books that will be sold a very reduced amount. The amounts raised will be donated to one of the Edmund Rice foundations.

Ms Natasha Zivanovic

Teacher of Literacy & Innovation

nzivanovic@waverley.nsw.edu.au

 


Junior School Music

In Music this term, both Year 5 and 6 have been exploring the musical concept of ostinatos; or repeated rhythmic patterns found in music.

Using the viral YouTube video ‘Potter Puppet Pals: The Mysterious Ticking Noise’ as inspiration, students then recorded their own versions into GarageBand using the MIDI keyboard, following the notation of the original.

They could then assign each part an instrument of their own choice. 

Below is an example from one of our Year 6 students; a screenshot of the project and the audio to listen to.

Mr Jonathon Bowden

Music and Drama Teacher

jbowden@waverley.nsw.edu.au