Congratulations to the students and teachers who worked hard to celebrate Science Week this week. Many thanks to the Science Department who organised a range of activities including: guest speakers to speak about future Science Pathways, a range of exciting Science practical experiences and an incursion inviting students to learn about Hydrogen Fuel cell technologies to name but a few.
Also, we wish the Year 11 Studies of Religion II students and teachers all the best on their excursion to the Sydney Jewish Museum today. Thank you to the Religion Department for organising authentic learning experiences such as these as a part of the Teaching and Learning programs.
As the HSC Trial Examinations conclude on Monday, I would like to congratulate our students for their hard work and focus during this period. Students should take the opportunity to engage with the valuable feedback that will come with the return of examination scripts over the next two weeks.
There are some valuable post HSC Trial Examination resources from Dr Prue Salter that our students can access. The link below offers a complimentary planning grid and videos to show Year 12 AFTER THE TRIALS / MOCKS about how to plan their study time between now and their final exams.
Username: 2024year12
Password: 2024year12
Students in Year 11 will be working towards their yearly examinations which occur at the end of this Term. To assist our students, we will be offering Year 11 HSC subject specific Tutorials which are outlined below.
Ms Mary Ryan will also be offering study sessions on writing for the HSC on Thursdays during Period 6. Please see her article below on signing up for this opportunity.
One of the most important aspects of this is to construct a study timetable and aim to stick to it at least 95% of the time. Students should aim to study on a ratio of 30-40 minutes every time they have a class in a certain subject. Most subjects run on four classes per week so this equates to two-three hours per subject per week.
Students should make sure that they have completed a study timetable such as this one from the Study Skills Website:
Students can use the following steps to build their schedule:
During study times, students should complete activities such as:
We are running a series of workshops designed to enhance English and writing skills as Year 11 students work toward their Preliminary Examinations. All students in Year 11 Standard and Advanced English courses are expected to attend these workshops at least once.
Students must register for these workshops which will be conducted in P6 on Thursday afternoons. Registrations will be capped at 25 students per workshop.
*Students are advised to check their email for notification of registration.
Details of the workshops are as follows:
Effective Academic Writing
Facilitator: Ms Mary Ryan – English Teacher and Head of Literacy
Time: P6 Thursday (Begins Thursday, 22 August, 2024)
Venue: K23
This workshop is relevant to all subjects which require the writing of long answer responses and extended responses.
Focus will be on the following:
Ms Mary Ryan
Literacy Coordinator and English teacher
mryan@waverley.nsw.edu.au
On Wednesday, a group of our Walawaani students had the honour of attending the Qantas Welcome Home Ceremony for our Olympic athletes, including Waverley Old Boy, Noah Havard!
It was such a pleasure to welcome back our esteemed Old Boy and Silver Medallist, Noah Havard. Noah and his crew took out second place in the Men’s K4 500m Canoe Sprint.
The morning was filled with excitement and energy, highlighted by Jessica Mauboy’s incredible singing performance and the moment when our students appeared on Channel 7’s Sunrise!
The boys were also lucky enough to meet a host of impressive athletes, including Australia’s most decorated Olympian, Emma McKeon, rising star Arisa Trew, Noemie Fox, Meg Harris, and Harry Gardside.
Waverley students with the youngest Australian to ever win a Gold Olympic medal, Arisa Trew!
It was a truly memorable experience, leaving all the students feeling inspired!
On Tuesday 13 August, our Year 11 students attended a Mental Health Presentation facilitated by Nic Newling.
Nic Newling is an advocate for mental health, suicide prevention, and sharing personal stories. He has reached millions of people through live talks and media including Australian Story, Conversations on ABC Radio, and NBC’s The TODAY Show in New York.
Since surviving his own mental illnesses but losing his brother to suicide, Nic strives to encourage sharing, listening, and working together for positive change. After developing the world’s first online Positive Psychology intervention for young people at Black Dog Institute, he has since ventured out into sharing with high schools, communities, and workplaces by founding the grassroots organisation The Champions.
You can learn more about The Champions HERE.
On Friday 16 August, our Year 10 students attended a Respectful Relationships presentation facilitated by David Kobler.
In a world where teens seem to be more connected than ever before, many are struggling with real and meaningful connection. This generation can be struggling to find genuine, helpful and satisfactory answers to a growing problem: how do I find, build and navigate healthy and safe relationships?
To help support students in finding answers to this question, David has been a regular feature of our wellbeing program over a number of years at Waverley.
His program delivers an important and engaging workshop to students that equips students to navigate relationships with both themselves and others in a respectful and healthy manner.
On Tuesday, 3 September from 6:30pm-7:30pm, our Year 12 College Leaders are welcoming students from Years 8-10 and their parents/carers to attend an information evening about Alcohol and Addiction, Healthy Habits, Positive Relationships and Technology Usage.
RSVP HERE by Tuesday, 20 August to indicate your attendance.
This week we celebrated the Academic Awards Assembly for Years 7, 8 and 9.
At the assembly I congratulated them on facing their challenges head-on, working through doubts and setbacks, and demonstrating an unwavering commitment to their goals.
Their achievements are not just about the accolades they have received but about the effort, resilience, and courage they have shown along the way.
Congratulations to our academic award winners on your exceptional achievements!
2024 Academic Awards – Semester 1, Years 7-9
Parents of Year 5, 7 and 9 students should have received your son’s NAPLAN results in the post. The results have been set to four new band levels this year: Needs Additional Support, Developing, Strong and Exceeding.
Please see Ms Lynsey Porter’s article with the initial review of our results.
Our Science department has organised two special guest speakers who will be sharing their experiences with students at lunchtime next week.
Please see Ms Emily Pace’s article for more information
The winter period is particularly difficult for those in our society experiencing homelessness. Waverley is having a Winter donation drive during Weeks 3, 4 and 5 from 5-29 August to support the Matthew Talbot Hostel in Woolloomooloo. You can get behind this appeal by donating toiletry items, home starter kit items and warm clothing.
Click HERE to learn more about Waverley’s Winter Appeal.
The Australian Government requires certain information about non-government schools, staff and students to ensure that funding is calculated and managed correctly.
Click here to read the 2024 Census Privacy Collection Notice.
This week we continued our celebration of our high achieving students in our Academic Awards Assembly for students in Years 7-9 who have ranked highly in their courses. Congratulations to all award winners!
We were also privileged to be an audience for performances in Drama and Music. We were treated to a performance from some of our Year 7 Drama students who shared the excellent work that they are currently refining on James and the Giant Peach.
Performing his own arrangement of ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, composed by John Powell on the piano, we congratulate Aidan Murray in Year 12 for his amazing recital.
As students are settling into Term 3, over the next few weeks they will have opportunities across many of their subjects to engage in feedback from formative tasks in their Learning Checkpoints.
The reflection and goal-setting activities in these tasks are designed to assist our students to tighten their Term 3 SMART goals, be aware of their progress and understand where to adjust their approach in future tasks.
We challenge our students to reflect on this feedback and strive to walk across the stage at the end of Semester 2 for their academic growth, performance and effort.
Throughout the year, our teachers work hard to organise and provide real-world excursions and activities to engage our students in authentic learning experiences.
Just in the last two weeks our Year 10 Visual Arts students have had a session on mixed media with Jody Graham, Year 11 Drama students have been to the Roslyn Packer Theatre to watch a production of Dracula, our Year 8 Spanish students had an authentic Spanish food experience, and some of our Year 9 students competed at the Stretch and Challenge competition at Ascham School to name but a few.
Next week sees the launch of Science Week. Please read Ms Emily Pace’s article HERE for further details.
For students in Year 11 who are building up their study notes leading up to their Yearly Examinations at the end of this Term, a representative from Atomi – a valuable online resource to support the HSC across a range of subjects – offered training this week to help our students use the platform well.
Whilst many courses embed Atomi modules in their online content on CANVAS, the platform also offers resources to assist students in building effective study notes, managing work overload and preparing for assessment periods.
For example, the presentation this week drew our students’ attention to an online lesson on how to build effective Cornell Study notes.
As I mentioned in our assembly last week, getting an early start on note-taking as students go, rather than waiting until the last minute, is an effective way to ensure the effective repetition and retrieval of key course material.
Click HERE for Atomi Parent and Carer Support Materials.
For additional study advice, please head to Dr Prue Salter’s Study Skills website, which is constantly updated with relevant resources to support students and parents.
Username: forwaverleycollegeonly
Password: 94results
Waverley College students have been invited to submit an entry to The Sidgwick Prize.
The Sidgwick Prize, Cambridge is an annual essay competition for high-school aged students from around the world. Each year students can choose to respond to an essay question from a list of three questions in eight disciplines: Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Law, Theology, Psychology, and Art History.
Every submission receives substantive feedback from academic specialists, including Faculty at the University of Cambridge.
A prize is awarded for the best essay in each discipline and The Sidgwick Prize is awarded to the best essay in all disciplines.
The Sidgwick Prize supports the work of The Sidgwick Trust, a campaign to expand access to the humanities and social sciences.
For more information, click HERE.
Ms Lynsey Porter
Deputy Principal – Teaching & Learning
lporter@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Last week we posted the Year 5, Year 7 and Year 9 students’ NAPLAN results to parents and carers.
These results provide great information about areas in which the students performed well and those items where additional work is needed.
Feedback to parents and students is an opportunity to reflect on student success.
During this Term, Heads of Department and key staff from the Curriculum Team will be analysing these results in detail to further develop our programming in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy.
Some highlights this year include a trend upwards in Year 5 students’ average scores in Reading, Grammar and Numeracy. The Waverley College Year 9 Inferential Reading Program, focusing on metacognition and self-regulation to strengthen inferential reading, is showing pleasing student growth indicated in the highest average Reading scores in a number of years. Average Reading Scores are sitting above State average: 35 – 36 score points above average in Year 5 and Year 7 and 18 score points above average in Year 9.
Since 2019, Writing scores at Waverley have increased and the move to the Writer’s Toolbox program has shown students’ writing develop exceptionally well. With the benefit of AI real-time feedback, students’ sentence and paragraph writing is more sophisticated as they have the ability to progress at their own pace. Writing is trending upwards and, this year, each Waverley cohort has performed at 16 score points or more above State average across Years 5, 7 and 9.
Spelling has been identified as an area for development. Students are entering Year 5 with weaker spelling ability than in prior years; a trend that is consistent across the State. To start turning this trend around, streamed spelling lessons and tailored programs, including Spelling Mastery, are timetabled for all Year 7 students to instil a more sophisticated knowledge of word morphology.
Grammar and Punctuation scores are trending upwards in Year 7 and are steady in Year 9, with a healthy 20 score points above average.
Numeracy Scores are 31 score points above average in Year 7 and Year 9. Programs, such as Strength in Numbers and Learning Support in-class assistance help to continue sound results in Numeracy.
Mr David Parnell
Head of Learning Support
dparnell@waverley.nsw.edu.au
On Thursday 1 August, our Walawaani students visited the Waverley Council Library to view their artworks on display at the gallery. This was a wonderful morning for Parents, Carers, our College Leadership Team and Council members to view these incredible artworks.
These artworks displayed the theme of Reconciliation Week ‘Now, More Than Ever’, our students’ Country and our local community & area.
These artworks will still be on display for the weekend and then will be returning to school for display.
The Year 12 Formal will take place on Thursday, 22 August 2024 at The Australian Turf Club, Randwick.
Click HERE to purchase tickets.
You are invited to attend an evening with Digital Resilience Expert, Yasmin London. She will be presenting on the latest online trends, social media dynamics, gaming landscapes, and pertinent research and legislation affecting children and families in the digital world. Yasmin’s insights promise to be both enlightening and essential for understanding the digital environment our children navigate daily.
This is a community event specifically for parents of children in Years 5-9.
Date: Thursday 8 August
Time: 6pm-7pm
Cost: $30.00
Venue: Ascham School, Packer Theatre, 188 New South Head Road, Edgecliff
RSVP HERE
Ask Izzy is an interactive website run by a not-for-profit organisation, Infoxchange.
The website is aimed specifically at providing young people with customised resources if they need help with support/counselling, food, housing, money, domestic/family violence, everyday needs, health, advice/advocacy and work/learning. It is free and anonymous, with thousands of services listed across Australia. And if a young person is on the Telstra or Vodafone mobile networks, they can access Ask Izzy on their phone even if they don’t have credit or access to wifi.
It is regularly updated and seeks to provide access to resources that are local to the young person engaging with their website.
On Tuesday, 3 September from 6:30pm-7:30pm, our Year 12 College Leaders are welcoming students from Years 8-10 and their parents/carers to attend an information evening about Alcohol and Addiction, Healthy Habits, Positive Relationships and Technology Usage.
RSVP HERE by Tuesday, 20 August to indicate your attendance.
Today, instead of sharing content on how to deal with anxiety or discussing some other psychological viewpoints, we’d like to offer a friendly and non-judgmental reminder: spend more quality 1:1 time with your teenage son.
Raising a teenage boy often involves a tug-of-war between their desire for more freedom and your (often justified) concerns about their maturity to handle it. This conflict usually leads to interactions centred around guiding them, setting boundaries, and establishing rules. Over the years, these interactions can overshadow the precious moments spent simply enjoying each other’s company without any agenda.
It’s also challenging with teenage boys, as they often claim they don’t want to spend time with you. Despite their efforts to appear independent, they do appreciate these moments together.
If you’re open to this reminder, consider finding an activity you both might enjoy—whether it’s a dinner, movie, exhibition, sporting event, or something more active. Ask him openly if he would like to join you, explaining that you just want to spend some 1:1 time together with no strings attached. If he says no, don’t take it personally; it’s not a reflection on you. Simply accept it and try again in a week or two. If he agrees, cherish this time together and resist the urge to bring up any concerns when his guard is down. Remember, parenting is a long game. By consistently creating these opportunities for trust and connection, you’ll likely find him more willing to engage with you in the future.
Greg Cameron
School Psychologist
The week started off with the Year 7, 8 & 11 Parent & teacher interviews, we had the final House mass for the year and we celebrated the Year 10-12 Academic Awards Winners at the assembly yesterday.
Congratulations to the following students who were presented with an academic award at this week’s Senior School College assembly.
These students should all be congratulated for their hard work, high skills and the competition that striving for excellence brings and benefits all. I hope other students are inspired by them to strive just a little bit harder in Semester 2.
The full Year 10-12 award winners list can be viewed HERE.
Congratulations to the following students who were presented at yesterday’s Assembly the Perpetual Shields for the OBU Award for Academic Integrity and Fortitude 2023;
Congratulations to James Peate who was recognised in our assembly this week for his tremendous achievements in public speaking. James was invited to the stage to present two perpetual shields to the community for two tremendous achievements.
Firstly, James was presented with the perpetual shield for our Waverley College Edmund Ignatius Rice Essay and Speech competition that he won earlier this year. Also, James was presented with the perpetual shield for the prestigious NSW Rostrum Voice of Youth Public Speaking Competition where he competed with 900 students in NSW to win the title.
James competed against the other state winners in the national finals over the weekend in Hobart and was a very commanding runner up. A massive thank you to Ms Alice Curtis who has supported this student in this very impressive journey.
HSC Study Guides were distributed this week to all Year 12 students sitting the HSC this year. The Study Guides include exam advice from teachers and past students along with tips on looking after students’ mental health and wellbeing, in the lead up to exams.
CLICK HERE FOR THIS YEAR’S GUIDE
Senior Teaching & Learning staff also went through the Trial HSC protocols this week, in preparation for the Trials which begin on Monday 5 August and conclude on Monday 19 August 2024. We wish all Year 12’s the best of luck with their Trials.
Wednesday, 7 August 2024 – 5.30pm-7.30pm
Senior Campus in the Grange Boardroom – All Welcome RSVP here
All parents/carers are warmly invited to attend the Waverley College Parent Association (WCPA) meeting which are normally held once per Term.
Cadets has been developing youth in resilience, citizenship and leadership at Waverley College since 1911. In order to support the Waverley College Strategic Plan in holistic education, we are extending this opportunity in 2025 to include Year 7 students.
All Year 7 students will commence Cadets in Term 3 2025 and continue until end Term 1 2026. This exciting initiative enables greater opportunities in the development of character, professional relationships in a coeducational setting, and servant leadership as students from Waverley College and St Catherine’s School progress through the Waverley College Cadet Unit across a 5 year program.
Students currently in Year 6 2024 will participate in a special Cadet Orientation Afternoon with our senior cadets in Term 4 this year, where they will get a taste of this engaging outdoor education program. Once in Year 7, they will be issued with their uniform and equipment in Term 2 2025, ready to begin Cadets in Term 3 2025.
Students currently in Year 7 2024 will be given the opportunity to join the Cadet Unit in a voluntary accelerated Recruit Induction Program in Term 2 2025. This one-off opportunity is a great way to commence the program as part of this exciting new program and forge the way for a new Senior Recruit Company in Term 3 2025 where they will continue their training at an elevated level.
As we look to promote excellent citizenship across our schools, the Waverley College Cadet Unit is integral in fostering collaborative and respectful relationships, fellowship and leadership, in our students from the beginning of their secondary Education.
The College will officially unveil a memorial plaque to commemorate the talents and dedication of our builder and architect Old Boys who together constructed the T&M Hayes Pavilion in Queens Park. This will occur on Saturday, 10 August at 2.30pm – 3pm, Queens Park Pavilion.
Read about the Green Gables and Queens Park Pavilion History
“My father certainly gave a lot back to the school – he loved the school. How cool in hindsight that a building designed by your Dad is opened by the Prime Minister of Australia (John Gorton). A very proud moment.” – Mr Peter Anderson (Class of 1973-74) about his father Professor Neville Anderson (Class of 1936).
This week in our Academic Awards Assembly, we celebrated our high achievers who ranked first in their courses during Semester. In the assembly I spoke about why we celebrate these students at the half-way point. Of course, the main reason is to celebrate their wonderful achievements but, as we know, topping a course is no easy feat.
We also celebrated the strength of character that these students have demonstrated. These students have grafted. They have gone beyond the set work and have pushed for more. Whether it’s sticking to their study timetable, even when motivation is waning or taking the time to summarise their class notes as they go so that revision later on in the course is that bit easier, the Semester 1 academic first in course awards not only speak of a top ranking in a subject, they speak to character. To grit, tenacity, perseverance and resilience.
In class, many of our students, particularly in the younger years, will have started to practise measuring their own capacity to demonstrate character in the Deep Learning activities that we have embedded into Teaching and Learning programs. Our Deep Learning work with the Association of Independent Schools provides the tools for teachers to mentor our students to reflect on their own strength of character, measure their own tenacity, perseverance and resilience and set goals to develop that competency.
So why are we pushing this so much? Earlier in the year I wrote about NESA Curriculum Reform. One of the key changes is that – our students not just in Waverley College but all across NSW – will have experiences in the new courses where they actively learn about key life skills that employers are looking for. One of these is certainly strength of character. I challenged our students in the assembly to picture themselves in a future job interview or leading team building session with younger employees where they might be able to use examples of when they have demonstrated strength of character.
At Waverley College we celebrate the strength of character that it takes to drive academic growth and effort. To this end, we also celebrated the students who received the Old Boys’ Union Award for Academic Integrity and Fortitude 2023 at the start of this year by presenting them with the Perpetual Shield that will write their achievements into the history of the College for many years to come. The timing of this was crucial as the second challenge I gave to our students in the assembly was about whether they might contend for the 2024 awards. We will be monitoring academic growth from Semester 1 to Semester 2 to determine these awards so this week, at the halfway point of the year, was the opportune time to set this challenge.
Ms Lynsey Porter
Deputy Principal – Teaching & Learning
lporter@waverley.nsw.edu.au
Welcome back to Term 3! I hope your son/s had an enjoyable break over the winter holidays.
Congratulations to all students and staff who represented the College very well across a wide range of activities and events over the break including; our Immersion experiences in Cambodia, Timor Leste, and Fiji, our European Music tourists, our Walawaani students who led a NAIDOC ceremony for Dorothy Boyt House, our Cadets who attended the promotional course, our Rugby players at the Australian Schoolboy championships and State Cup, National Surfing competition, Sydney Interschool Snowsport Championships, and a water polo training camp in Crete. Please see Mr O’Donnell’s article for more co-curricular details.
Thank you to our Year 12 teachers who conducted HSC tutorials over the break and well done to our Year 12s who turned up in large numbers in preparation for their upcoming trials. We wish them well in their ongoing preparations.
Thank you to Mr Kevin Heath (Aboriginal Liaison Officer) for organising our NAIDOC week assembly and special guest, Mr Fred Leone. Fred is a well-respected community leader whose family come from Garawa and Butchulla tribes. Fred attended St James College, an EREA school in Brisbane. Fred is one of the Butchulla Songmen, a language custodian, a groundbreaking and award winning artist who works across genres and mediums to bring a distinctly original voice to his performances and recordings. Fred has toured both nationally and internationally and is a member of the Indigenous Advisory Group for the National Indigenous Music Awards. Fred performed at assembly and shared his talents, wisdom and culture with our community for which we were all very appreciative and thankful.
Our next two College assemblies will celebrate our Academic Award winners from Semester 1.
We wish James Peate (Year 11) all the very best as he represents NSW at the National Public Speaking Final being held in Hobart this weekend.
There will be a pupil-free day for Senior School students (Year 7-12) on Monday, 29 July due to the Year 7, 8 & 11 Parent Teacher Student Interviews. There will also be no Senior School cocurricular training next Monday.
On behalf of Mr Sam Hardjono, EREA NSW Board Chair, please click here to read a letter to the school community announcing new Directors and members to the EREA NSW Board and committees.
Ms Gaby Bransby, Director of Junior School will be leaving us at the end of the year to complete her Masters of Educational Neuroscience and pursue an educational business venture. Gaby has worked at the College for 14 years and been a wonderful leader and teacher. We wish her all the very best in her last semester at Waverley. The Director of Junior School position has been advertised as a result and I will update you once the recruitment process has been finalised.
We have also advertised the Deputy Principal – Teaching & Learning position in line with our usual procedures. Ms Lynsey Porter has been acting in this position for 2024.
Mr Stan Lengyel has worked with us for six years in our Finance Team in charge of accounts payable. Stan has been a positive and effective team member and we wish him well in retirement. We welcome to the College, Ms Angela Chu who joined us this week and is a qualified Certified Practising Accountant (CPA).
The new Cadet Year commences this term with a Rank Induction Parade for all newly promoted rank on Friday 26 July. All Year 8 Waverley boys, in addition to 29 Year 8 St Catherine’s girls, start their Cadet training at the Commanding Officer’s Parade on Friday 2 August.
Congratulations to Lachlan Isaac (Year 11) who has been appointed SUO (Student Under Officer) for 2024/2025. And congratulations to the rest of the Cadet Leadership positions that have been appointed:
2IC – CUO Amelie Salem
OPSO – CUO Rohan Baker
TRGO – CUO Yannick Hott
ADJT – CUO Taj Lynn
LOGSO – CUO Daniela Comino
RSM – WO1 Renato Rovacchi
A COY COMD – CUO Abigail Salem
B COY COMD – CUO Fox Stapleton
C COY COMD – CUO Natalie Ha
D COY COMD – CUO Cameron Vincent-Hull
E COY COMD – CUO Alexandra Coffey
SPT COY COMD – CUO Harry Ballesty
A COY CSM – WO2 Chiara Marshall
B COY CSM – WO2 Nicholas Scerri
C COY CSM – WO2 Luke Nezval
D COY CSM – WO2 Oliver Bracic
E COY CSM – WO2 Ben Darcy
SPT COY CSM – WO2 Finn McCarthy
Congratulations to Ms Deb Magillwill who has just recently been announced as the New Principal for St Catherine’s School. Ms Deb Magillwill is the current principal at Roseville College and will commence in 2025.
In their 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis into the characteristics of effective teacher professional development, Sim, Fletcher-Wood, O’Mara-Eves, Cottingham, Stansfield, Van Herwegen and Anders posited that, “In the last two decades, a large number of experimental evaluations have tested the impact of different approaches to teacher PD. Evidence has accumulated showing that PD does indeed improve teaching and pupil learning.” (1)
With this in mind, at the end of Term 2 and the start of Term 3, we conducted a program of staff professional learning with the aim to improve student learning outcomes shaped by our NESA-informed Teaching and Learning vision and mission: To build an inclusive community of mutual trust and respect that values liberating teaching and learning, celebrates curiosity, critical thinking and nurtures globally-minded citizens.
At the end of Term 2, we conducted a range of in-house professional learning sessions to address our strategic priorities for 2024-2025 from our Teaching & Learning Framework.
Session 1 targeted our continued work on supporting student mastery of foundational skills. Using their own learning from a range of external conferences and workshops, our Head of Academic Enrichment, Ms Helen Barrie, and Literacy Coordinator, Ms Mary Ryan, developed a workshop on Elevating Literacy and Writing Across the Curriculum.
Capturing the research and planning from our Data Focus Working Group meetings this year, Session 2 continued our learning series on using student performance data to know our students and inform our practice. The team conducted a range of targeted workshops to empower our teachers to use our data analytics program, Track One, to reflect on Semester 1 student progress and plan for Semester 2 teaching and learning programs.
Session 3 grappled with the issue of the use and management of AI in Education. After attending a network conference, our Head of English, Dr Michael Couani, Head of Library, Mr William Roberts and (Acting) Head of History for Term 1, Mr Nicholas Brophy, researched, prepared and facilitated a workshop on the pitfalls and opportunities of AI in the Education landscape.
With the pressing issue of cybersafety, our final session aimed to educate our teachers and support staff on how to mitigate the risks in the cyber security space. Our Director of Campus and ICT, Mr Simon Potter, went through the threat landscape including information on ransomware, password safety and AI threats.
At the start of this week, Waverley College hosted the seven EREA NSW schools – St Dominic’s College, St Pius College, Edmund Rice College, St Patrick’s College, Christian Brothers College, St Edward’s College and Waverley College – for a combined professional learning conference. The conference was framed as an ‘Invitation to Collaborate as a connected community in order to grow excellence in practice.’ The purpose of the day was to leverage our EREA NSW network to improve learning outcomes for students and staff in the Edmund Rice tradition.
This conference was a result of over six months of planning with the Teaching and Learning leaders at each of the seven EREA schools meeting with Heads of Departments in each Key Learning Area to determine the teaching and learning priorities in their faculties that merit further collaboration. The predominant themes centred around: NESA curriculum reform, boys’ education, engaging assessments, boys’ literacy, AI in education and catering for our diverse learners to name but a few.
Our EREA community embraced the expertise of our Heads of Department and their teams who worked tremendously hard to construct and facilitate a range of targeted professional learning workshops that addressed our identified key priorities.
We also welcomed a range of external presenters including:
Many thanks to Ms Maura Manning, Director of EREA NSW Colleges and CEO and her team for her tireless work with the Teaching and Learning leaders across the schools; Ms Sue Walsh and the Mission and Identity directorates across the seven schools for the tremendous work with the Mass; Mr Kevin Heath for his Welcome to and Acknowledgement of Country; Ms Robin Ball and her team of support staff whose endless energy and care on the day was second to none; to our Heads of Department and teachers who presented on the day; and to all who attended and contributed to the sessions.
Reference
Sims, S., Fletcher-Wood, H., O’Mara-Eves, A., Cottingham, S., Stansfield, C., Van Herwegen, J., Anders, J. (2021). What are the Characteristics of Teacher Professional Development that Increase Pupil Achievement? A systematic review and meta-analysis. London: Education Endowment Foundation. The report is available here.
During Weeks 1 and 2, our HSC plus ATAR students will be fervently preparing for their HSC Trial Examinations which commence in Week 3. As well as the Pre-Trial planning session with Dr Prue Salter which students attended at the end of last term and the online platforms to which we subscribe such as Atomi and Edrolo, there is also a really useful HSC Study Guide released by the Sydney Morning Herald as outlined below.
The HSC Study Guide is online now, packed with everything HSC students need to kick their exam goals!
Students can:
There’s also practical mental health and wellbeing advice from the experts at ReachOut – with tailored tips for parents and carers on supporting their children in the lead up to exams.
Click here to access the HSC Study Guide 2024.
Elevate Education will be hosting a free webinar for our parents on motivation on Wednesday, 7 August.
Elevate works with our students, delivering high-impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation.
By tuning into their webinar series, you’ll learn how you can help support your child at home by reinforcing the skills they’re learning at school.
The upcoming webinar on motivation will give you a simple, realistic action plan to help keep your child motivated right up until the day of their last exam.
Live Parent Webinar: How to Get (and Keep!) Your Child Motivated
Wednesday, 7 August 6:30-7:30pm (AEST)
Click HERE to register.
Here’s what Elevate will be covering on the night:
Ms Lynsey Porter
Deputy Principal – Teaching & Learning
lporter@waverley.nsw.edu.au
We are delighted to announce that ICAS will return to Waverley College this year for English and Science. We encourage you to consider entering your child for either ICAS assessment. This fantastic assessment program allows students to challenge themselves and be recognised for their academic efforts. The assessment is now fully online and sitting dates will commence in Term 3.
You now pay for ICAS individually online! To confirm your child’s participation, click here and enter our unique school code RXV933 to make a direct payment to ICAS Assessments. You can register for either the English ICAS, Science ICAS or both!
Ms Emily Pace
Assistant Head of Science
epace@waverley.nsw.edu.au
NAIDOC week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is celebrated by all Australians and is a great opportunity to recognise and learn more about the history and culture of indigenous communities.
NAIDOC stands for National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced back to the Aboriginal rights movement, when on Australia Day 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney to highlight the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. Today, it is a week-long celebration held in July that consists of a range of traditional and contemporary activities.
NAIDOC Week is an important event that helps build positive relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. It enables a deeper understanding of our differences and similarities. NAIDOC week is an opportunity for all Australians to eliminate bias and discrimination by reflecting and reconciling the wrongs of the past to facilitate hope and build a fairer future. Families are encouraged to join in and support young people in learning the significance of NAIDOC Week.
This Special Report offers suggestions on how families can celebrate NAIDOC Week together. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the wellbeing of your child, please seek medical or professional help.
Here is the latest report from SchoolTV.
The Year 12 Formal will take place on Thursday, 22 August 2024 at The Australian Turf Club, Randwick from 6pm-10pm, $165 per person.
Waverley students and their partners are invited.
Purchase tickets HERE.
Ticket sales open at 6pm on Friday, 2 August and will close on Thursday, 15 August.
*Please note: Year 12 students will be leaving at the end of Period 4 on 22 August.
You are invited to attend an evening with Digital Resilience Expert, Yasmin London. She will be presenting on the latest online trends, social media dynamics, gaming landscapes, and pertinent research and legislation affecting children and families in the digital world. Yasmin’s insights promise to be both enlightening and essential for understanding the digital environment our children navigate daily.
This is a community event specifically for parents of children in Years 5-9.
Date: Thursday 8 August
Time: 6pm-7pm
Cost: $30.00
Venue: Ascham School, Packer Theatre, 188 New South Head Road, Edgecliff
On Tuesday, 3 September from 6:30pm-7:30pm, our Year 12 College Leaders are welcoming students from Years 8-10 and their parents/carers to attend an information evening about Alcohol and Addiction, Healthy Habits, Positive Relationships and Technology Usage.
RSVP HERE by Tuesday 20 August to indicate your attendance.
As we commence Term 3, it is important that students are reminded about tapping on and off bus services. OPAL data shows that in the months of May and June, school bus services operating to and from our school were carrying less than two students on average each school day.
As you may appreciate, this is a concern as it places our school bus routes at risk of being either modified, or redistributed to an area that has demonstrated a greater need.
We will ensure that our teachers on bus duty are fully aware of the requirement for all school students to Tap On and Off with their School or Child/Youth OPAL Cards and we are seeking the cooperation of our students. It would be appreciated if you could reiterate this message to your son.
Click HERE for the School Bus Information Guide for Parents, Guardians and Students.
As we approach the school holidays, I want to thank you all for a wonderful Term 2. Thank you to all our incredible parents/carers for the support you continue to show the College. We appreciate being able to work in collaboration with you.
I would also like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday period. This time is an opportunity to unwind, recharge, and create wonderful memories with family and friends. Whether you’re travelling or staying close to home, I encourage you to enjoy your time and take care of yourselves.
We look forward to your return in Term 3, refreshed and rejuvenated. Waverley thrives on your energy and enthusiasm, and I look forward to hearing about your adventures and seeing your renewed spirit in the classroom.
Remember to stay safe, make responsible choices, and have fun.
Holidays can be challenging. Without routine, it’s still important to stay healthy and look after yourself.
For some young people, this time of year can be challenging. It can feel as though you’ve been taken away from your usual routine of studies or work and you may not get to see your friends, teachers or workmates as often as you would like to. This can leave you feeling bored, unsupported, upset and sometimes anxious. It’s important to stay healthy and look after yourself. There are a number of ways to help you do this, please take a look at the following Headspace page.
I recently wrote about a new app that has been developed by the Black Dog Institute called ClearlyMe. ClearlyMe is an app designed for teens aged 12-17 who are experiencing depressive symptoms, psychological distress or in other words, going through a tough time.
Depression can be more than just feeling low or sad. It could mean that we are feeling stressed, worried, anxious or overwhelmed. Other times, it could be that we struggle to get out of bed in the morning, and we don’t know why.
It is normal to go through tough times, and usually, they can pass on their own. But sometimes, they stay for a little while longer. And it can be hard to explain this feeling to others, leaving us feeling alone or even unseen.
ClearlyMe can help you to:
As we look towards Term 3, a few reminders around college uniform expectations:
Waverley Council is developing its first strategy to promote walking. We want to make it safer and more pleasant to walk to schools, public transport, shops, parks, and beaches, and to better integrate walking with other modes of transport.
The Waverley Walking Strategy project kicks off in June with a community survey about where people currently like to walk, where they would like to walk more, and what would encourage them to walk more often. The strategy also applies to community members with limited mobility and those who use mobility aids.
Figures from the 2023 Household Travel Survey show that a higher proportion of all daily trips are on foot in Waverley, compared to the Greater Sydney average. All trips, whether by car, public transport or bicycle, involve walking, which means walking is the foundation of our transport system.
The Walking Strategy project is in line with the objectives of the Council’s People, Movement and Places Strategy and the Disability Inclusion Action Plan.
To complete the survey, CLICK HERE. The survey is open until 21 July, 2024.
You can also join the Have Your Say pop-up stand in Bondi Junction, Oxford Street Mall on 10 July, 11:30AM to 1:30PM.
For further information, please contact Leigh Pitkethly, Engagement Officer at leigh.pitkethly@waverley.nsw.gov.au or 9083 8362.
Thank you to staff, parents, alumni and students who have made Term 2 a both successful and productive one across the boys’ spiritual, cognitive, social, emotional and physical dimensions. School Reports for Year 7-10 should have been received yesterday which provide an opportunity to celebrate successes and review areas of development.
Safe travels to our 46 students and 6 staff members as they embark on the 2024 European Music Tour. They have been practising and working towards this trip for 8 months and over the next 15 days, they will perform and immerse themselves in musical and cultural experiences throughout Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, and Switzerland.
European Music Tour
We also wish safe travels and wonderful learning experiences to three immersion groups who are heading to Fiji, Cambodia and Timor Leste during this break.
Fiji Immersion
Timor-Leste Immersion
Congratulations to James Peate on winning the NSW Speaking competition over the weekend. This is a wonderful achievement for James who is only in Year 11. We will show some of the speech that James’ delivered at College Assembly early next term. James will represent the State at the Nationals being held in Hobart in Term 3.
Congratulations to Jack George in Year 12 who represented Waverley College at the VET Training Awards as a regional finalist, and won the category of ‘VET Student of the Year.’ He will represent Waverley College at state level next month.
Please keep our Year 12’s in your thoughts and prayers at this busy and crucial time of the year, as they continue their preparation for their upcoming trial and then HSC examinations. Thank you to our staff who continue to offer extra tutorials throughout this Term, and through this upcoming holiday period. Please ensure your son maintains good exercise, relaxation time, reduced screen time, good sleep patterns and a healthy diet during this time. Please do not allow your son to change his normal sleep patterns drastically and sleep in. A consistent approach to his day over the next few months is what is required.
Thank you for the support of our community in raising over $4400 for the Hearts 4 Arch charity vision. These funds will provide the Sydney Children’s Hospital Cardiac Unit with the ability to purchase value mobile devices that deliver accurate, personalised heart data to doctors, anytime and anywhere.
On behalf of the College Community, I would like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the following staff who will be leaving us at the end of semester. Ms Carolyn Quirke, Science Teacher, Ms Fiona O’Connor, Maths Teacher, and Ms Alysha Pyne, Science Technician. We also wish Junior School Psychologist, Ms Alex McCredie all the best as she takes leave from the College. We welcome Ms Jacinta Lynch (psychologist) who is replacing Alex. Jacinta comes from us having worked as a school psychologist at Reddam House and Brigidine College. She also works as an Outreach Program Counsellor with Veteran and Families Counselling Service. She will work with us in the Junior School Mondays and Wednesdays from 22 July 2024 until 24 September 2025.
After a well run and well-fought house chess series this week, the semester House results have been updated below. Congratulations to Green House (1st Place), and Brennan and Conlon Houses who are both in equal second place at the halfway point of the year.
| House | Junior chess | Int. chess | Senior chess | House Totals |
| Aungier | 10 | 15 | 15 | 370 |
| Brennan | 10 | 10 | 25 | 445 |
| Conlon | 25 | 10 | 10 | 445 |
| Green | 25 | 25 | 10 | 460 |
| Lacey | 10 | 20 | 15 | 295 |
| O’Connor | 15 | 10 | 10 | 285 |
| Quinn | 10 | 10 | 20 | 360 |
| Tevlin | 15 | 15 | 10 | 400 |
Come and be entertained by the Sydney Male Choir and St Clare’s College when they join to RAISE YOU UP – Singing a mix of Jazz, Pop, Opera, Gospel, and Musicals including Queen | Les Misérables | Non Nobis Domine…and much more!
Where: Mary Immaculate Catholic Church, 45A Victoria Street, Waverley
When: 2pm, Sunday, 4 August
Tickets: $35 ($30 early bird until 28th July) | Children free
Buy tickets online or at the door.
The concert will serve as a fundraiser for the House of Welcome, a service of St Francis Social Services for refugees and asylum seekers.
Our latest copy of our College magazine, Wavelength, has arrived! If you are an Old Boy, you will receive this in the post over the next few days. Otherwise, feel free to collect from reception.
In the meantime, please view the digital copy HERE.
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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