Science Club was a hit in Term 1 with students participating in exciting experiments each week and exploring their passion for Science!
Science Club provides an opportunity for students to be presenting, critically analysing, and applying their understanding of scientific data and related concepts. Students must play an active role in their own learning experiences to increase engagement and academic achievement.
This Program has been created with the focus on student-centred, inquiry-based learning.
In each session, students will have the opportunity to experiment with a focus on deepening their ability to apply the scientific method across all branches of Science.
The scientific skills embedded in this program are woven throughout the Stage 3-6 Science Syllabi and reflect Depth Studies and skills examined in the HSC courses.
In Term 2, Science Club will run on a Thursday from 3:30pm-5pm in K2L3.
The Parent/Carer letter below stresses the importance for all school students to Tap On and Off with a valid Opal card. This is a requirement for all school students.
Transdev John Holland Buses representatives will also be conducting random visits to school bus stops to reinforce this message to students throughout the year.
Click here to view the Parent/Carer letter
Click the button below to view factsheets regarding Road Safety. Pages 9 and 10 specifically relate to safe bus travel.
Click here to view the Factsheets
Transdev John Holland Buses (NSW) Pty Ltd
JHB School Engagement Team
02 7257 2400
www.transdevjohnholland.com.au
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award continues at the College, with many students on track towards completing their Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards respectively.
Compulsory lunchtime meetings are currently being held for all students involved with the Award. Boys in Year 8 are invited to attend these meetings along with any other students who would like to express their interest.
Paramount to the Duke of Edinburgh International Award, is individual ownership and responsibility towards achieving goals in a skill, physical activity and voluntary service. The onus is on these young gentlemen to ensure they are meeting the expectations and demands associated with completing their Award, utilising the many resources available to them through the College.
Bronze Award: Lunchtime meeting held in the Fitzgerald Room, Wednesday Week B. Please arrive promptly at 1pm to have your name marked off.
Silver and Gold Award: Lunchtime meeting held in the Fitzgerald Room, Friday Week A. Please arrive promptly at 1pm to have your name marked off.
For all enquiries please contact: Mr Alon Horry or Ms Laura McLarnon.
Students, teachers, parents and carers, please join our Waverley College team in the City2Surf on 13 August in support of local charity, ‘Running for Premature Babies.’ Funds raised will go to life-saving neonatal equipment, giving sick and premature babies a better chance of survival.
Please join us for what will be a fantastic community day out. All fundraising team members will receive a free running tee shirt or singlet. After the race, our team is invited to join the charity in their finish line tent for refreshments, so we can gather to celebrate our achievement.
All welcome! Walk, run or wheel your way to Bondi, have fun, and help save the lives of sick and premature babies.
To find out more about the charity, visit runningforprematurebabies.com
Thank you to all the students and staff that contributed to a beautiful and impressive Easter Liturgy at our final assembly for the term. It included a First Nation smoking ceremony, some impressive singing by our choir and different Easter perspectives shared with the audience; Ms Martina Cooper (Irish perspective), Year 11 student Joseph Tangi (Tongan perspective), Ms Phoebe Guirguis (Orthodox Church) and College Captain (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective). Hope, love and family were all common Easter themes shared by the speakers.
Congratulations to all students from Years 5-12 on a great Term 1. I would also like to acknowledge both the teaching and support staff for all of their hard work both inside and outside of the classroom. The images captured by student Zac Coonan (Year 11) in the presentation below, gives us all small but colourful insight into the many wonderful experiences and learning opportunities that took place during Term 1.
I encourage both Year 12 and Year 11 to embrace the study programs shared with both year levels from Ms Elizabeth Watson and the Teaching & Learning Team. A few hours a day will still allow opportunities for a break and to refresh, but the cumulative effect of consistent revision will have a positive impact on their final goals and outcomes.
>>> Click here to view the Year 11 Term 1 Study Guide.
>>> Click here to view the Year 12 Term 1 Study Guide.
Final plans are being prepared for a Year 12 Study Lounge space to be created under the Kenny Building. It will provide a range of seating and standing study variations to cater to different preferences for our Year 12s, and provide a conducive and quiet space for study. We are hoping this space can be up and running by the end of Term 2.
We are also seeking to move the Tevlin Locker space up into the Centenary Quad. This will free up this space to create a microwave room which will allow many more microwaves to be installed, and reduce student waiting time to heat food.
Past staff member Mr Greg Harris (2IC Junior School) has been battling blood cancer for a number of years and he has been fighting the good fight. Please keep Greg and his family in your prayers this Easter, as he is currently struggling with his health.
Mr Greg Elliot (PDHPE teacher) is taking 12 months leave to teach and travel overseas.
I will be attending and representing the College at the EREA International Congress in Ireland, where Edmund Rice our Founder was born, lived, started schools, inspired others and helped those in need. The last EREA Congress was cancelled three years ago due to COVID-19.
At the congress in Ireland, Edmund Rice School Principals from Africa, North America, South America, Oceania, India, and Europe will all be attending. I will also be taking some renewal leave (sabbatical leave) at the end of the congress and spending some time at the United Nations in Geneva, to learn about the work of Edmund Rice International, its engagement with the UN, and how schools might work with Edmund Rice in the promotion of human rights and advocacy.
I will be away for the first seven weeks of Term 2 and Ms Gabby Smith as the EREA-appointed Deputy Principal will be Acting Principal. Mr Stephen O’Donnell will be Acting Deputy Principal – Students, and Mr Patrick Darvill will be Acting Director of Co-curricular. Congratulations to Gabby, Stephen and Patrick.
We wish our 75 Football and Rugby students and staff all the best on their extensive cultural and sporting tour of Japan, along with our Junior School Armidale Rugby tourists, who will compete on the central NSW tablelands in one of the largest and longest running Rugby tournaments.
Cooper recently won the silver medal (under 16s) at the Australian Youth Beach Volleyball Championships. He competed against 22 teams from six states and the ACT at the Nationals.
At the Australian Schools Cup there were 54 schools with over 180 teams from Victoria, NSW, and Queensland from Years 7-12. Cooper won the gold medal and was awarded most valuable player. He also received multiple positive comments from coaches and parents/carers on how good the Waverley Indigenous top looked that he played in.
Membership of the YAC is open to children and young people between 12-24 years of age residing in NSW. Applications are sought from children and young people from diverse backgrounds, life experiences and from different locations around the state. Written or video applications are welcome.
The 12-member YAC provides a direct avenue of communication between young people and the NSW Government. The YAC meets regularly throughout the year to discuss a range of topics and provide feedback on policies, procedures and resources affecting children and young people.
Members also provide feedback to government agencies and decision makers, community organisations and the NSW Advocate for Children and Young People on issues concerning children and young people.
Applications close 21 May 2023.
>>> Click here to view 2024 YAC registration information.
Lord God,
You loved this world so much, that you gave your one and only Son, that we might be called your children too.
Lord, help us to live in the gladness and grace of Easter Sunday, everyday.
Let us have hearts of thankfulness.
For your sacrifice, let us have eyes that look upon your grace and rejoice in our salvation.
Help us to walk in that mighty grace and tell your good news to the world.
All for your glory do we pray, Lord, Amen.
Blessed Edmund Rice – Pray for Us
Mary Mackillop – Pray for Us
Live Jesus in our Hearts – Forever.
Safe travels to those heading abroad, interstate, or driving over the Easter break.
Happy Easter to the Waverley College Community.
As we approach the end of Term 1, I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude and appreciation to all students. This year has begun incredibly well due to their hard work, dedication, and commitment to their studies and responsibilities at Waverley.
I have been impressed by the level of engagement and participation that I have witnessed in our classrooms, on excursions and across all our co-curricular activities.
I also want to acknowledge our teachers for their unwavering dedication and tireless efforts in guiding and inspiring all students. It is through their hard work that they are able to attend a school that offers rich learning experiences inside and outside of the classroom.
When we return to school next term, we will hold Horizontal meetings as we did this term. During these meetings, we will provide students with key information for the Term ahead and ensure our high standards continue to be met. Our expectations as we move into Term 2 are outlined below:
Waverley College has a strict haircut policy, which all students are required to adhere to. Please support the College in its implementation.
Hair should be neatly cut, combed and maintained. Hair should be shorter than the collar.
Long hair or outlandish styles are not acceptable.
Undercut styles, dramatic layering, tracks, mohawks, mullets, overuse of product, tinting, colouring, dreadlocks, strands of hair, buns, braids or lines are not acceptable.
A number 2 cut is the shortest acceptable cut.
If students do not comply with a request by their Head of House to address any breaches, they will then have two options:
If your son arrives at the College at the commencement of Term 2 with a haircut that is not in line with College policy, he will either be sent home on his first day or we will have a hairdresser on site where he can receive a haircut at the cost of $20, charged to his school fees account. Your son will be given a choice on this day and a note will be logged on his file. There will be no phone calls home.
Mobile phones continue to be a distraction to students in school. During school hours, students should be focussing on learning and their relationships with the people around them.
For the safety and wellbeing of students, our mobile phone policy is as follows:
Devices are to be stored in lockers, and preferably placed on silent or flight mode to eliminate loud ringtones. They can only be used next to one’s locker before school, recess, lunch or after school for short periods of time.
The only exception to this is when students are instructed to contact their parent/carer regarding variations to scheduled events or, under direct teacher supervision, they may use their device.
Devices cannot be taken to class (every student has a laptop in class).
If a mobile phone is brought to any class, a student will receive a one-hour detention. If they continue to bring their phone to class, they will receive a three-hour detention.
Parents/carers needing to contact their son during class time, should contact the College reception directly.
Students found to have mobile devices switched ‘on’, using devices to ‘hotspot’ laptops to external data sources, bypassing the College’s network, or used in any way deemed inappropriate by College staff, can expect a one-hour detention.
Mobile phones will be confiscated if it becomes a distraction to the learning process, has been a medium for a breach of privacy, or holds information pertaining to a crime. Parents/carers will be notified immediately about any confiscation.
Devices are collected in the classroom at the beginning of the day and placed securely in a locked cupboard. At the end of the school day they are collected and returned to each student.
Wearing a uniform is a badge of pride, it creates an identity for a school, and is an important part of being a school student.
We ask that students wear their uniform with pride, which includes wearing the shirt tucked in at all times. Students who continue to ignore this request will receive a one-hour detention.
As we move into Term 2, blazers are required to and from school.
We also ask that students ensure they are wearing appropriate footwear. Please see our expectations below:
Standard black leather lace-up shoes are the only acceptable footwear, except during sport.
No suede or branded shoes ie: Nike, New Balance, ASICS etc. Shoes must be of a leather type that can be polished to a shine. Shoes with coloured stitching or other embellishments such as buckles, are not acceptable. Boots of any type are not permissible.
Locks are provided for all students at the commencement of their Year 7 Waverley journey. A large number of students do not have locks on their lockers and therefore continue to carry their mobile phones with them, as they can not lock them away. All students will be required to use their allocated Waverley lock from the commencement of Term 2. If they do not have this lock, they will be given a replacement at a charge of $50, which will be charged to their school fee account.
We expect students to report any incidents of bullying, harassment, discrimination, injuries, near-misses or acts of violence. Reporting directly contributes to preventing a future incident happening again. The standard you walk past, is the standard you accept. You can report an incident directly or anonymously – speak with your parents, carers, Wellbeing mentor, teacher, psychologist, College Registered Nurse, Head of House, College Leadership Team member, Deputy Principal, Principal or online via the Incident Report form.
We expect all students to be responsible and respectful to one another, and to the community. We ask that they treat each other with kindness and respect, and that they take responsibility for their actions. We believe that by working together, we can create a positive and inclusive community for everyone.
Ms Gabby Smith
Deputy Principal – Students
gsmith@waverley.nsw.edu.au
On Wednesday, 5 April we celebrated our wonderful Easter liturgy. Congratulations to all our students and teachers who participated beautifully sharing their Easter stories and traditions from a variety of cultures.
The theme of our liturgy included readings from the Last Supper, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Our Junior School students presented an intuitive gospel narration and our Walawaani students opened our liturgy with an engaging smoking ceremony and Acknowledgement of Country.
The prayers of intercession written by the students were very meaningful and encouraged our student body to think about the meaning of Easter in their lives.
Special thanks to Zac Coonan (Year 11) who made our reflection video, to our musicians, choir and to all who assisted in the preparation of this celebration.
To conclude our celebration, some lucky students won our Easter egg chair competition and enjoyed their chocolates.
Wishing everyone a happy and blessed Easter.
Ms Sue Walsh
Director of Mission & Identity
swalsh@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Waverley Council celebrates Youth Week in partnership with WAYS Youth & Family, Woollahra Council, and NSW Department of Communities and Justice.
Youth Week is an opportunity for younger community members to express ideas, diversity and views, create and enjoy activities, and celebrate talents and contributions to community.
Bondi Park comes to life with the sounds of young, local bands, DJs and acoustic performers. Enjoy the festival vibe with games and activity stalls, photo booth, face painting, food, and skate competition (with fab prizes) at this all ages, drug and alcohol-free event.
When: Sunday, 30 April, 11am-5pm
Where: Dolphin Court Amphitheatre, Bondi Park, Bondi Beach
Cost: FREE
Extraordinary emerging artist Emmanuel Asante invites young people aged 12-25 years to embark on a creative journey into colour, imagination and image-making in this live mural event exploring the Youth Week theme ‘Connect, Participate, Celebrate!’
When: Sunday, 30 April, 11:30am-4:30pm
Where: WAVES Music Festival, Bondi Park, Bondi Beach
Cost: FREE
Learn from the best at Bondi Skate Park for coaching sessions with sponsored riders Ryan Helm and Lenard Tejada. Workshops are suitable for intermediate and advanced riders. Learn to skate the bowl or street skating/ flow park.
Practice and build your skills with the professionals in preparation for the Skate Comp at Bondi Skate Park on Sunday, 30 April 30 (details forthcoming!). Open to people aged 12-24 years old.
When: Saturday 22 April. Two sessions: 3pm-4pm or 4pm-5pm
Where: Bondi Skate Park, Bondi Beach
Cost: $20* Click here for tix.
*Please contact 9083 8936 if cost is a barrier.
This Youth Week, swap your pre-loved clothes, update your wardrobe, and save money and the planet. Open to people aged 12-24 years old.
When: Sunday 30 April, 12pm-1pm or 3pm-4pm. Clothes drop-off times: 10am-11am (first swap) and 1pm-2pm (second swap)
Where: WAVES Music Festival, Bondi Pavilion Courtyard, Bondi Beach
Cost: FREE – bookings are essential. Click here to register.
Bondi Beats’ music workshop and mentorship programme is hosting a one-off dedicated pop-up at this year’s Youth Week event!
Focusing on contemporary music performance, you’ll get the chance to expand your knowledge in the fields of DJing and MCing, get ‘hands on’ with the equipment, and receive professional guidance from established artists.
Held as a free community platform at the Bondi Pavilion in the Music Studios, the dedicated session will run 2-4pm on Sunday, 30 April. Limited spaces – register now!
When: Sunday, 30 April, 2-4pm
Where: Music Studio 1, Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach (during WAVES Music Festival)
Cost: FREE. Limited places! Reserve your place here
It is with a heavy heart that I inform you of the passing of Dr John McLaughlin AM, KCSG, KGCHS – an Old Boy and ex-member of the Waverley Board. John left the College in 1954 and was a Retired Judge of the Supreme Court of NSW.
John was 10 years on the College Board during Mr Ray Paxton’s tenure. John was a proud Old Boy of Waverley College and we send our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.
I encourage all boys from Years 5 -12 to finish off Term 1 well. It has been a very positive term across both campuses and it is important that boys exhibit self-control right to the end. Self-control promotes delayed gratification and directly influences thoughts, emotions and impulses. The reward of Easter and a holiday are close, but it is important to ‘stay the course’ until the end.
These are good practices to support and encourage as self-control is a critical trait for success in any aspect of life, and a practice that can be worked on. Self-control helps build resilience and assists in achieving goals and priorities. It also promotes good habits such as studying regularly, managing time effectively and avoiding procrastination, which are all essential for success in school and beyond.
It was a pleasure to present at this week’s assembly, the summer co-curricular awards across such a broad array of activities, with many splendid individual and team performances. Congratulations to all award winners.
A new academic award was launched and presented for the first time at assembly called the ‘Growth Awards’ which were presented to students who had achieved the most significant growth across their respective subjects between semesters.
>>> Please click here to find out more about these exciting awards in Ms Elizabeth Watson’s article.
One of my most prized possessions at home is my replica Lewis Chess set. The original pieces are now located between the National Museum of Scotland and the British Museum in London. They were found in 1831 on Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The pieces were carved from walrus ivory and sperm whale tooth and are believed to have been made in Trondheim in western Norway around 1150–1200.
In this newsletter, Ms Helen Barrie our Head of Academic Enrichment, explores the benefits of Chess and cleverly sets up a learning experience where students can transfer their understanding of Chess strategy to inform their deeper understanding of the strategy of language composition.
>>> Click here to explore further.
The Lewis chessmen. Image: courtesy The British Museum
I had the pleasure of attending our Year 11 Drama class assessment this week where they performed very well in front of peers, parents, carers and staff. Drama has always been strong at Waverley under the leadership of both Ms Alison Jinga and Mr Peter Lamb. Drama provides a wonderful opportunity for students to express themselves and showcase their performance skills, which are vital across many aspects of life and future employment areas. A new winter co-curricular Drama Club is starting up.
>>> Please click here for more details.
The Parents’ Association organised a sausage sizzle last Saturday for voters at the NSW State election. The funds raised are to start off our fundraising campaign towards a new Science Centre to be built on the senior campus, parallel to our tennis courts. Thank you to our wonderful parents and carers who volunteered: Daniella Strbac, Leanne Whittingham, Juliette Carter, Wendy Salkeld, Sarah Constable, Sharon Stuart, Simi Seroa, Lil Murphy, Rachel Clarke, Melissa Maclean, Deidre O’Connell Boreland, Sam Bullock, Chantal Hughes, John Dodsworth, Brett Stapleton and Jade Stapleton (President of the Parents’ Association).
We wish all Cadets a safe and enjoyable AFX camp. Ms Judith Poole, Principal of St Catherine’s School, Sir Peter Cosgrove and myself, will be visiting the Cadet Camp next week.
It never ceases to amaze me of the amount of opportunities, events, and activities occurring across both the Senior and Junior Schools at any one time. Make sure you check out in this newsletter the 2nd Big Brother Little Brother program with Rock and Water Program, the Year 11 Galmatic Car Workshop – teaching students how to maintain a car, the Beginning Concert Bands starting Week 1 of Term 2 for Junior and Senior students, holiday volleyball camp, Annual Waverley Youth Art Prize now open for entries, the Elite Football Camp – University of Wollongong and Tottenham Hotspur on campus, reflections on Teaching Creative Writing with Writer’s Toolbox, Year 11 SLR hike through the Royal National Park, the University of Newcastle’s Science and Engineering Challenge, and the Junior School creative writing competition.
It was with great pleasure that the school community came together this week to celebrate a new expression of student academic achievement. This year has seen the introduction of the Academic Growth Award. This award is presented to students who have achieved a significant gain in their Grade Point Average (GPA) across their subjects. They have also demonstrated the dispositions that we value at Waverley College – resilience, determination and curiosity. They set goals and work hard to achieve them with a growth mindset, positive work ethic, sustained application and high expectations of themselves and others.
Contemporary educational research suggests that broadly defined and acknowledged measures of success will enable young people to graduate with confidence and capacity to successfully navigate post-school pathways and life experiences. (Looking to the Future (Shergold) Report, 2020).
I am proud that Waverley has always been proactive and courageous in supporting this sentiment. For many years we have committed to a holistic education for our students, recognising the importance of acknowledging and celebrating success in all its measures. We want our young people to be happy at school as well as flourish post-school. We want to open doors, not narrow pathways. The interests of our students are front and centre and we educate for the diverse learnings that make the whole person.
It is encouraging that our governing body, Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA) supports this paradigm shift of what success looks like. They acknowledge ‘that excellence and improvement can be viewed in a variety of ways and that evidence of success is gathered, interpreted and celebrated holistically.’ (EREA Strategic Directions, 2020-2024).
Leading educational researchers, Hattie and Larsen (2020), recently commented that “the purpose of schooling is to help young people to uncover and recognise their particular talents that, appropriately nurtured through the school experience, will influence their future happiness.” This continues to be a priority area of the College.
I look forward to presenting further Academic Growth Awards at future assemblies.
Please click here to view the recipients of the Academic Growth Awards
According to Google Trends, Chess is reaching peak popularity via the search engine in 2023, so far. An unprecedented explosion of interest in the game is nowhere more apparent than in our own College community, where talk of Chess, and the playing of games against fellow students, teachers and, even AI, is booming.
Fads, or, as our students now know them, TikTok trends, come and go, but historical sources demonstrate that versions of Chess have been played for roughly 1,400 years. It’s one of the oldest and most widely played games in the world, and has attained a cultural and intellectual significance that few other activities can match.
Chess, of course, is a game of strategy. And although tactics can indeed define a game’s outcome, good strategic play creates the opportunity for tactical shots in the first place. Chess has a long and celebrated history at Waverley College, as our students have engaged in both inter school and Sydney-wide competitions for decades, so how can we take this burgeoning interest and apply it to increase student engagement in the classroom?
Chess display in the Senior School Library
Students learn best when they have control over aspects of their learning. At Waverley, our teaching philosophy is underpinned by Françoys Gagné’s model of giftedness, which supports teachers to identify outstanding natural ability and nurture talent through the design of high quality teaching and learning opportunities to ensure natural talent can inform high performance.
As educators, we know that motivation can be the discriminating factor that assists students to reach their full potential. With that in mind, I decided to tap into our students’ love of Chess to support their engagement with poetic technique revision in the English classroom. To harness their unique knowledge, students brainstormed the function of each Chess piece on the board and then, through the revision of their poetry techniques, they made connections between the function of each Chess piece and the function of different language techniques. This approach enabled students to transfer their understanding of Chess strategy to inform their deeper understanding of the strategy of language composition.
Chess in the Senior Library
Needless to say, because the students co-created the activity within their strong collegial environment, their responses were insightful and clever:
“The knight is like enjambment, it can jump over pieces and set up attacks and defences, and that’s what enjambment does, it can keep an idea going and disregard the need for full stops or punctuation.”
“The Pawn is like a simile, easy to identify. It achieves a lot but it can feel cliché and bore the reader if overused.”
“The King is like Rhyme, it’s powerful but in modern free verse poetry it is not as dominant you need to use stronger techniques like sibilance, alliteration and assonance.”
Our focus on designing for deep student learning ensures that we strive to meet the unique interests of learners, giving students multiple options for taking in information, making sense of ideas and expressing what they learn. In this case, 7.09 demonstrated their ability to lead their learning and move from surface knowledge to embrace a deeper conceptual understanding by connecting two differing frameworks through their shared functions.
Dear Mothers, grandmothers and significant women in the lives of Waverley College students
Please join us to celebrate Mother’s Day where you can enjoy a light breakfast with your Senior School sons.
Any Junior School siblings are most welcome to attend and can be taken to school at the conclusion of the breakfast.
*Please RSVP by Monday, 1 May.
We would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation who are the traditional Custodians of the land on which Waverley College is located. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We are committed to honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual connections to the land, waters, seas and sky and their rich contribution to society.
Watch our video
