Congratulations to the following Year 12 students who completed the HSC Advanced Mathematics course in 2021, and achieved 90%+ in their HSC result. They were honoured on the Sydney Morning Herald Distinguished Achievers List for 2021.
Conor Cahill, Jared Garwood, Matis Jos-Rolland, Leonardo Morgan, Tobias Unsworth, Carl Waterson and Mackenzie Flitcroft.
The College is very proud of the effort and commitment of the entire Accelerated Mathematics Class of 2021, and we look forward to seeing their continued success and achievements across 2022.
Mrs Elizabeth Watson
Deputy Principal – Teaching and Learning
E: ewatson@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Read more: mask reminder, Year 12 (2021) Graduation and Valedictory Dinner, GALA for FARA.
As per the NSW Public Health Order, all staff and students are required to wear a mask whilst indoors at the College. This includes to and from school on public transport.
The responsibility for providing students with a mask lies with parents. Unfortunately, due to the College Nurse being inundated with requests from students who fail to bring a mask to school, masks are no longer available from the Health Centre, but instead, can be purchased for $1 from the canteen.
This has already seen a significant drop in masks needing to be distributed by the College, from an average of 100 per day, to now less than 10.
Last Thursday evening, it was wonderful to finally celebrate the Year 12 Graduation and Valedictory Dinner at the Australian Turf Club at Randwick, with over 500 guests.
The event was streamed for students who have already taken the next steps in their life’s journey, a number of them joining us from around Australia and overseas.
Highlights of the night included the liturgy presented by Ms Sue Walsh, and memorable speeches by the College Principal, Mr Graham Leddie, and 2021 College Captain, Peter Stamatelatos. The night concluded with the presentation of the high ATAR awards, Major Award Winners, then announcing the Dux of 2021, Leon Palacio.
Special thanks to Ms Suzi Sucur for her great work organising the event, Heads of House for their support, and Mr Bishoy Wasef and Mr Angus McPherson for filming and streaming the event.
Friedreich Ataxia Research Association (FARA), is a not-for-profit organisation that supports research into treatments and a cure for Friedreich Ataxia. Friedreich Ataxia is a genetic, progressive, neurodegenerative movement disorder, with a typical age of onset between 10 and 15 years.
In March, FARA are holding a fundraising GALA dinner at Doltone House, Hyde Park. It promises to be a fantastic night of culinary delights, special guests, and the chance to dance the night away with fabulous entertainment, all while supporting Friedreich Ataxia Research.
When? Friday, 11 March, 2022, 7pm-midnight
Where? Doltone House, Hyde Park, Level 3, 181 Elizabeth Street, Sydney
How to Book? >>> Click here to book a ticket for the FARA fundraising gala dinner.
Mr Patrick Brennan
Deputy Principal: Staff and Student Wellbeing
E: pbrennan@waverley.nsw.edu.au
TiE Young Entrepreneurs is a global program aimed at fostering our future generation of entrepreneurs. TYE focuses on teaching entrepreneurship to high school students and helping them discover the rewards and challenges of becoming an entrepreneur.
During the program, the students form teams, go through classroom session modules focused on different aspects of business and entrepreneurship, then write their own business plans.
Teams compete at the chapter level Finals first, and the winner of each chapter goes on to the Global Competition, to compete for $10,000 in cash prizes.
Congratulations to Zoltahn Szabo and Cillian Donnelly, who were selected as the Waverley participants this year. They will both participate in a series of structured workshops for high school students, where students learn how to come up with a good business idea and build a plan around it.
Participants are mentored in teams by TiE Charter Members, culminating in a formal presentation of their idea and plan to a panel of experienced entrepreneurs.
Ms Stephanie Boyce
Academic Enrichment Coordinator
E: sboyce@waverley.nsw.edu.au
As you are aware, the Welcome Cocktail Party has been postponed until Term 2, date to be confirmed.
However, we are excited to welcome all Year groups along to a fun, social event in Term 1, that will give you an opportunity to catch up, meet other parents and carers, and enjoy a night out.
Years 5-10 parent Year group social events will be held on separate dates at the Clovelly Hotel, and Years 11 and 12 at the Coogee Pavilion.
Tickets are $20 per person, and include light refreshments and a drink on arrival. We hope that many of you can come along! We have an amazing College community and these events are a great way to stay connected.
We look forward to welcoming you, Waverley College Parents’ Association and Parent Representatives.
Ms Jade Stapleton
President, Parents’ Association
Students who need a School Opal card or travel pass, but have not yet applied, need to apply or update their details as soon as possible.
Students are also required to comply with the Student Code of Conduct when travelling, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and other passengers.
Waverley College is a diverse and vibrant learning community, and in 2021 we had 179 students choose their own path to complete Year 12. A learning path that played to their strengths and engaged their unique passions and gifts. Whether they selected the HSC plus ATAR or HSC plus Vocational pathway, each student experienced personal success, and we had the pleasure of celebrating these achievements with them and their parents last night at their Graduation Ceremony.
At Waverley College we are committed to providing a holistic education for our students, and recognise the importance of acknowledging and celebrating success in all its measures. We want our students to be happy at school as well as flourish post-school. We aim to open doors, not narrow pathways. As educators in the EREA community, it is our ongoing quest to support the formation of our young people, so that they “may have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10). The interests of our students are front and centre, and we educate for the diverse learnings that make the whole person.
Contemporary educational research tells us that, over time, attending to more holistic aspects of achievement (spiritual, cognitive, social, emotional and physical) is more likely to have greater educational and life benefits for individuals (Shannon, 2019). 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. Hattie & Larsen (2020), assert 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.”
We are proud of the diversity of our student body, and congratulate the individual efforts of every student and the personal milestones that have been achieved. Whatever path our Year 12 students chose, it is important to remember that they leave the College with much more than just a number, mark or rank. The journey that brought each student to this point has been far more valuable.
>>> Click here to view the Major Award Recipients and High Achievers of the Class of 2021.
Ms Elizabeth Watson
Deputy Principal – Teaching & Learning
E: ewatson@waverley.nsw.edu.au
The College has partnered with Youth in Union to help aid our neighbour Tonga, as they try to recover from the recent tsunami that has devastated many parts of their nation.
In terms of what’s needed;
The biggest problem they face is the psychological trauma of having lost everything. I think it’s important for us to remember that they are living in a communal space with nothing more than the clothes on their back.
Last night, I attended the Year 12 2021 Graduation, which was celebrated at the Australian Turf Club, Randwick, enabling students and parents to attend this significant event. Thank you to Ms Suzi Sucur, Ms Sue Walsh and Mr Patrick Brennan for organising this fitting and memorable celebration. There was a wonderful ambience in the room, and it was great hearing about the university courses that students had got into and how apprenticeships had started.
There has been a little bit of discussion in our community surrounding the 2021 Band 6 HSC results. If you track our HSC results over the last six years, we have been tracking fairly consistently with 50% of our students achieving a Band 5 or 6 in their HSC results. Last year (2021) was no different; slightly over 50% of students achieved a Band 5 or 6. Where there was a difference to how we have been performing of late, is a 3% drop in our Band 6 results, which dropped us considerably in the SMH ranking of schools. We also saw a significant increase of more than doubling of our early entry offers to universities.
We track our students throughout their time at the College via internal assessment moderation and also utilising Allwell testing and NAPLAN results. We also review our HSC results using the Results Analysis Package data that NESA provides on an annual basis. These various sources of data allow us to identify and address weaknesses and areas of development with targeted strategies. We increased our Year 12 tutorial program in 2021 for this very reason. We track our results and other schools’ results to seek improvement, and monitor how our programs are developing. We also see noticeable fluctuations between cohorts as no two are identical.
I will outline at our upcoming Parents’ Association Meeting, some of the learnings from 2021, and where we will seek improvement.
There were many wonderful results to celebrate from our 2021 cohort including:
There has been a lot of debate both in Parliament and the media this week, in regards to the Federal Government’s proposed Religious Discrimination Act which has now been delayed.
Edmund Rice’s inclusivity was evident in his deliberate actions to ensure that each individual felt valued, respected and accepted, irrespective of their circumstances.
Waverley College and EREA upholds this inclusivity and values the diversity of our school communities, and embraces all students, staff and family members irrespective of their sexual orientation.
Furthermore, EREA Child Safeguarding Standards Framework clearly states that we must be attentive to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, and young people, children and young people with disability, children and young people from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, children and young people who are unable to live at home, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children and young people.
At Waverley we work hard to uphold these standards and pride ourselves on our diversity and inclusive culture.
Should you or your child have any concerns in regards to this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.
I was honoured to attend the 2022 CAS Cadet Conference yesterday, hosted by Waverley College, with proceedings held at St Catherine’s School. In attendance were the Commanding Officers and Senior Rank from the Waverley, St Catherine’s School, St Aloysius’ College, Knox Grammar, Ravenswood, Trinity Grammar School, Meriden School, and Barker College Cadet Units. They took part in activities and engaged in discussions on topics and issues relevant to all units. That evening, the delegation moved to Waverley College for a formal military mess dinner. Well done to our Commanding Officer, Julie-Ann De Kantzow.
Patrick McClure has long-term experience as a leader in the social purpose sector in Australia. Former CEO of Mission Australia, overseeing strategic corporate partnerships, he worked closely with Commonwealth and State Governments, and also as CEO of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, providing leading NSW homelessness services. We are very excited to have Patrick join us as part of our Advisory Council.
>>> Click here to view all members of the College Advisory Council.
Congratulations to the 40 students who competed in the Branch SLS carnival last weekend. Please let Mr O’Donnell, Mr Wilmot or Mr Wachtel know of your results, and whether you are planning on competing at the upcoming State Championships.
Kai Gregory and Raff Toohey (Year 8), in the Sydney Branch Championships, who qualified for State Championships in the prestigious event, Surf Board Rescue, and also took home a Bronze Medal in the Cameron event
Kai also took home a second medal (Bronze) in the Board Relay
I am very happy with how we are addressing the risks associated with the current COVID-19 conditions, and in the table below, you will see a reduction in numbers across all Year levels. However, there is still room for improvement. I am still receiving reports from the public that some of our students are not wearing masks on public transport. Please address this with your son and ensure he has a mask and a ‘back up’ mask when he leaves for school.
When your son is conducting a RAHT, I would like to reiterate that any pink/purple line visible next to “T”, even if faint, is confirmed as a positive and your son must stay at home and isolate for 7 days.
If a student or their sibling has COVID-19, they must isolate for 7 days regardless of the RAHT test result. Both CSNSW and AIS support this policy at present. The only exception to this rule is if they have had COVID-19 in the past 28 days, then they can come to school and test every day.
| COVID Positive | Close contacts | |
| Year 5 | 2 | 3 |
| Year 6 | 3 | 1 |
| Year 7 | 0 | 2 |
| Year 8 | 6 | 1 |
| Year 9 | 0 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 1 | 1 |
| Year 11 | 3 | 0 |
| Year 12 | 1 | 0 |
| Staff | 2 | 2 |
| 18 | 15 |
The NSW Government has launched Parents NSW Vouchers to thank parents, guardians and carers who provided home learning to their school-enrolled children during 2021.
>>> Click here to view further details.
As many Nurrunga readers will know, on 15 January 2022, a volcano erupted in Tonga about 60km north of the main island of Tongatapu. The eruption caused a tsunami that wiped out most parts of the west side of the main island, plus some of the more remote surrounding islands. This left many families without food, clothing, shelter and other basic necessities.
Many Tongan residents and families are still without basic household goods, and are in desperate need. Whilst many world aid organisations, including aid from Australia, have assisted, they have also unfortunately brought COVID-19 positive cases to Tonga for the first time. This has resulted in a lockdown which has hampered many of the aid efforts.
As part of the humanitarian efforts, Youth in Union, an Australian registered non-for profit organisation, are seeking your support. We are currently raising funds and requesting items for a shipping container to go directly to Tonga, to help those who have lost everything in the tsunami.
We appeal to the Waverley College and wider community to donate wrapped household items labelled with their item name, to assist with this very important charity.
By Monday, 28 February, we request these items to be brought in by each Year group. Please leave these wrapped and labelled items at the Senior School Reception.
You are also very welcome to donate any of the items listed below, regardless of your son’s Year group. Please feel free to help where you can. We thank you in advance for your generosity.
YEAR 5 – Toys/books, coloured pencils and crayons
YEAR 6 – School backpacks, healthy snacks
YEAR 7 – Wipes, water bottles (refillable), canned food
YEAR 8 – Sleeping bags, canned food
YEAR 9 – Clothing of all types (boys and girls), water bottles (refillable), towels
YEAR 10 – Shoes and slippers of all sizes, wipes, towels
YEAR 11 – Toothpaste and toothbrushes, sports equipment, towels
YEAR 12 – Sanitary products for girls and women, clothing of all types (men and women), towels
Waverley College student Joseph Tangi (Year 10) was actually in Tonga at the time of the eruption, and was on the phone to his parents when his phone suddenly cut out. Obviously this was a very distressing time, but thankfully Joseph is now safely in Sydney, and attending classes this week.
We will also be raising funds through a wonderful raffle prize of a signed and framed Christchurch Crusaders jersey. The Christchurch Crusaders were the New Zealand Super Rugby premiers in 2021, and one of the most successful provincial Rugby teams in history.
Waverley College has a strong history with many Tongan families previously or currently attending the school.
>>> Click here to buy a raffle ticket to help people in Tonga.
You could win a signed and framed Crusaders jersey!
>>> Click here to donate to the GoFundMe Tonga Tsunami Emergency Fundraiser.
We also want to say a huge thank you to Mr Eddie Ahololei, Mr Darran Rawson and Mr Lachlan McAffrey, for their inspiration and support with this vital initiative.
Mr Stephen O’Donnell – Director of Co-curricular
E: sodonnell@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Ms Sue Walsh – Director of Identity & Student Formation
E: swalsh@waverley.nsw.edu.au
A big thank you to all parents who have generously donated their sons’ outgrown uniforms to the Secondhand Clothing Pool. This provides someone else with the opportunity to purchase a secondhand uniform well below the new price, whilst at the same time, raising funds for the College through the Parents’ Association.
We are slowly rebuilding stock levels, and are so pleased to be able to offer some more items for sale. Email us to check on stock and for the next opening time (see email details at bottom of this page).
The Secondhand Clothing Pool will gladly accept the donation of all clean and wearable current uniform items for resale. There is a $30 ‘buy back scheme’ for the donation of Blazers and All Weather Jackets in excellent condition.
Due to current restrictions for parents, we are still working mostly through email contact (see email details at bottom of this page), and over the phone.
We have a variety of House Polo sizes in each House colour, $10 each, ready for the College swimming carnival.
In addition, we have for sale:
For more information on stock availability or to make an appointment, you can contact the Secondhand Clothing Pool.
E: clothingpool@waverley.nsw.edu.au
P: (02) 9369 0703 — please leave a voicemail, and one of our volunteers will get back to you.
Location
You will find us in the main building on Birrell Street. Enter via the Senior School Reception, and take the lift to Level 3. The Secondhand Clothing Pool is next door to the Uniform Shop.
Secondhand clothing pool donation box in Senior School Reception
Sibling photos that were due to be taken on Wednesday, 2 February, have been postponed to Term 2. This is to avoid mixing Year groups.
Sibling photos will now be taken on Tuesday, 3 May.
>>> Click here to book to have a sibling photo on Tuesday, 3 May 2022.
Waverley College 2020 Year Books are hot off the press and ready for collection.
Our annual, glossy, hard-copy Year Books record, highlight and commemorate our College, and are a beloved tradition at Waverley.
A wonderful memento of your son’s year at the College, we encourage all families to obtain one copy of this special keepsake, so that together they may reminisce over what happened in this incredible year, and recall forgotten moments through inspiring images and reports.
Should you wish to obtain a copy of the 2020 Year Book, please collect your free, 295-page edition from the Senior School Reception on Birrell Street.
You can also read the 2020 Year Book online, HERE
Warm regards,
Waverley College Marketing Team
I have been liaising with Ms Jade Stapleton (President Parents’ Association) and the parent Cocktail Party will be postponed to later in the year (probably in Term 2). However, Year level parent gatherings will proceed. Dates and venues are being finalised for individual year group gatherings, and will be sent out by the end of Week 3.
Please ensure your son has a mask when he leaves home and a back up mask in case it breaks during the day. Whilst our Health Centre has back up masks, we can not maintain the rate of providing masks for students that is currently occuring.
There has been a delay in us receiving RAHT tests from the NSW Government, and Years 8, 9 and 10 are currently one short. RAHT tests will be distributed on Monday to these Year levels.
Please see below the current number of students across each Year level and also staff who currently have COVID-19, or who have been a close contact. We are travelling well at present, but I encourage all community members to continue to embrace preventative measures:
COVID-19 positive cases = 48
Household/Close contacts = 33
COVID-19 has definitely had an impact on transport to and from school, with buses and car traffic being most affected. Despite these difficulties, we encourage parents to ensure that their son is at school well before the starting time of 8:40am, and to allow for delays in their son’s journey.
It makes such a difference being able to start the first lesson of the day with every student in attendance and ready to learn. Getting into good habits and routines early in the year sets your son up well for a successful year ahead. How he wears his uniform, his appearance, manners, organisational skills, and demeanour, all have an impact on every aspect of his life.
Research overwhelmingly concludes that a student’s home environment is one of the biggest factors influencing the success of a student. There are specific parent behaviours that are most influential:
The Drama Departments of St Clare’s School and Waverley College are very excited to announce that we are staging a classic Australian play this year called Cosi by Louis Nowra in June in the Performing Arts Centre (PAC). Set in a psychiatric facility, Cosi is a play about friendship, romance, community and difference. Mr Peter Lamb is directing and Ms Alison Jinga is producing the show. Rehearsals will be held outdoors and are on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.
Congratulations to Luke White (Year 11) who took out First Prize in the Senior Mayor’s Choice Award for his photograph Street Mirror in the Youth Photographic Award and Short Film Prize, Woollahra Council’s annual competition.
Congratulations to Joshua Tsoukalas (Year 9) who took out the Winner of the People’s Choice Award for his photography landscape My Happy Place in the Youth Photographic Award and Short Film Prize, Woollahra Council’s annual competition.
Congratulations to Marko Rangan (Year 11) on his selection in the U18 NSW metropolitan basketball team.
Welcome to the following new staff to the College;
Philip Shepherd, Cadet Admin Officer
Rita Roshni, Science Technician
James Listberger, Science Technician
Alice Green, Canteen Team
We would like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation who are the traditional Custodians of the land on which Waverley College is located. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We are committed to honouring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual connections to the land, waters, seas and sky and their rich contribution to society.
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