Term 1 I The Way Newsletter I Friday 17 March 2023

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From the Principal
Principal Ross Whelan

The end of Term is fast approaching and there are many events taking place at the College.

Our College Open Week will take place next week. This is a wonderful opportunity for our prospective families to take a tour of the College, meet with our leadership team and have their questions answered. Please invite your own family and friends along who may be interested in enrolling in the College.

NAPLAN commenced this week for our students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Many students across the state were impacted by a technical issue on Wednesday. Our students handled themselves very well during the change in circumstances and we are pleased they were able to commence again today. Please continue to pray for these students as they undertake these NAPLAN activities.

Our Movie Night Under the Stars will be held on Friday 31 March. We will be watching the newly released ‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile’. There will be food trucks onsite to purchase dinner and snacks from 6pm, as well as entertainment for the children with some great prizes to be won. The movie will commence at sunset (around 7pm). We hope to see many of you there.

Our Easter events are also set to take place in the last few weeks of Term, including chapel services for all our students to reflect on the meaning of Easter. The much-loved Easter Hat Parade for students in Prep to Year 4 will take place in the last week of Term, as well as the Eggshibition, featuring works of students in Years 5 and 6. Find out more about these events in this edition.

There have been some wonderful achievements across the College in the area of sport. Kryshtof In Year 9 recently represented Australia at International level and returned with Silver medal from Asian Open in Jakarta, Bronze medal from Italy and placed 5th in Germany. Well done Kryshtof.

Enjoy reading this edition.

Mr Ross Whelan
Principal
From the Junior School Director of Operations and Welfare
Kylie

We are all lifelong learners.

This term the Junior School staff has been engaged in Professional Learning about making adjustments for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and those exhibiting challenging behaviours. This learning will continue into next term with staff participating in online modules through the Association of Independent Schools. It is vital that all members of staff have a working knowledge and understanding about adjusting the learning and the environment to cater to the needs of all students at College.

At Thomas Hassall we are an inclusive learning environment; all students are children of God and we value difference, tolerance and acceptance.

We hope to see you at the Easter Hat Parade on Thursday 6 April.

Mrs Kylie Singles
Director of Operations & Wellbeing – Junior School
From the Deputy Principal Head of Senior School Development
Roger Young

“Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,” was the now famous catchcry that was JFK’s challenge to the American people in his inaugural address in 1961.

The United States was at a time in history where there was great promise and opportunity, but there were also complex problems to solve. In 2023 Australia is in a place of unparalleled opportunity and prosperity, but there is undoubtedly complex problems to solve. Our focus on improving performance and gaining a materialistic advantage will not solve the problems we are faced with. On the contrary, if we continue to live for ‘me, myself and I’, we will miss the opportunities and indeed miss the whole point. We are not here to just improve our own personal standing. We are all called to be part of a community. Community could be defined as ‘the footy team’, ‘the neighbourhood’, the church’ or in our case ‘the school community’. As a community we are called to look out for one another: encourage, support, love, rebuke, guide, share, correct, rejoice, laugh and cry… all of it, is part of living in community.

Jesus modelled the way, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) He didn’t come to acquire more stuff or to elevate himself at the expense of others. Jesus came to demonstrate to us the key to successful living, ‘serving and loving one another!’ What does this look like in practice? Well, I think we each need to work this out as individuals. Some days we do it better than others. Corporately, we must be focused on developing a culture where this is just what we do for one another. It is so hard for kids to hear the message because it is lost in the milieu of our self-focused culture, but when they do begin to ‘look out for others’, their world looks so much more positive. This is expressed in so many different ways: a team that works together to solve a problem; a class that hits a sweet spot and breaking through into a new level of understanding; a group of friends that work through conflict to get to a place of peace and forgiveness; the extension of a hand of friendship to those on the outer; the celebration of key moments of victory as a community etc.

When students engage proactively in community they begin to discover who they are; they mature as individuals; they begin to understand what it means to be fully human. There continues to be a wide range of opportunities for students to grow and mature, including: carnivals, camps, excursions, different levels of sport, classroom activities and groups that participating in the extensive co-curricular program. Our encouragement to parents is to help your child to get involved, to resist when a child wants to give up and to talk to someone if there is an issue blocking progress. It will take all of us to build a great community, but that is what we are called to do. God Bless!

Mr Roger Young
Deputy Principal - Senior School Student Development
From the Chaplain
Denis Oliver

There is an election coming and how I wish that the politicians would be open and honest about who they are and what they have to offer so we can choose our leaders well.

I don’t think people want fancy speeches, we just want people who care and will serve us well – people we can put our trust in.

The apostle Paul speaks about this very issue in the bible.

3 We don't want anyone to find fault with our work, and so we try hard not to cause problems. 4 But in everything and in every way we show we truly are God's servants. We have always been patient, though we have had a lot of trouble, suffering, and hard times…

11 O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. 12 We are not holding back on our love for you, but you are holding back on your love for us.  - 2 Corinthians 6

Transparency and honesty are important values in a Christian community. Being open is something Christian leaders should aim for in good times and bad.

We aim to be open-handed – generous and transparent so that people see we are truly serving Jesus through serving them.

We aim to speak openly – we want to speak the truth in love so that people can hear Jesus in our interactions and in our motives.

We aim to keep our hearts open – we want to keep loving people, even when they are not lovely. Jesus did this for us and so we do it for others.

Next week we have our College Open Week. Come and see what we do.  Come and ask questions. We are open for you so that you can be open with us. Our college is not perfect, but we want to be that College that makes Jesus clear to our students, staff, and community.

Reverend Denis Oliver
College Chaplain
From the Director of ICT

Now that we are eight weeks into the new school year, making sure your child is organised digitally is important. Recently all of Year 7 attended a workshop to help equip them with the skills needed to be digitally organised and ready for the year ahead.

Some of the strategies that were shared with Year 7 which are applicable to all Senior School students include:

Setting up folders for each subject using their platform of choice (for example, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive or the Documents folder in either Windows or Apple operating systems)

Organising subject folders by creating folders for each topic or term

Naming each file appropriately (naming files Document1, 2, 3.. will not be helpful when it comes time to revise or complete Assessment Tasks)

Making sure files are saved in the correct folders

Making sure laptops are fully charged each night, ready for the next school day

Regularly backing up important documents such as Assessment Tasks is essential to prevent any loss as a result of technical issues. This is particularly critical if important files are saved to the device. Cloud storage such as Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive provide good options for backing up important files.

Setting up digital checklists and reminders are a helpful way of staying organised. Tools such as Google Keep can be used to keep track of important tasks, for example, the different components that need to be completed as part of an Assessment Task, as well as to set reminders so that upcoming tasks that need to be completed by a certain time aren’t forgotten.

Developing good organisational habits early in the senior years will help to set your child up for success in the later years at school and beyond.

If you or your child have questions or would like assistance with getting organised digitally, please contact Megan Bennett via mbennett@thac.nsw.edu.au

Mrs Megan Bennett
Director of ICT

Upcoming dates

Date Event
Monday 20 March - NAPLAN
- Open Week
Tuesday 21 March - NAPLAN
- Junior School Cross Country
- Year 12 Extension History Excursion
- NASSA Swimming Junior School
Wednesday 22 March - CIS Primary Swimming

Friday 24 March

 - Senior School Cross Country
Saturday 25 March - Open Day
Monday 27 March - NASSA Primary Boys and Girls Touch Football
- Year 12 Mid-Course Exams
Thursday 30 March - IPSSO Trials Years 5 and 6
- AICES Basketball Trials
- Year 10 Extreme History Excursion
Friday 31 March - Movie Night Under the Stars
- CIS Football Gala Day
- IPSSO Trials Years 3 and 4
- NASSA Open Netball Gala Day
Open Week

Our Open Week is coming up at the College from the 19 - 25 March.

This is a great opportunity for prospective families to see the College in action, at a time that suits them. It is an ideal opportunity for future families to glimpse our culture, observe our staff and students, meet our Principal and key staff, tour our fantastic facilities and ask questions whilst enjoying morning tea.

Many families visit the College more than once when making the decision about the best school to meet the educational needs of their son or daughter.  

If you have friends or family who are interested in finding out about the College, we encourage you to invite them to come along and see what sets us apart. Registrations for Open Week are online on our website.

Thank you for your support.
Movie Night

Join us for a movie night as we watch Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile!

Friday 31 March | 6pm

This is a free event and everyone is welcome. Gates open at 6pm with food trucks and entertainment. The movie will begin at 7pm.

Bring your picnic rug and blanket and join us on the oval. In the event of wet weather, the event will move indoors.

Please register online

View the flyer

Gift Donation
If you have a business that would like to donate to our pre-movie activities, please contact us community@thac.nsw.edu.au

Your company name and logo will be displayed on the big screen before the movie commences.
Easter Events

Students in Prep to Year 4 are invited to bring an Easter hat to be worn in the Easter Hat Parade.

It will take place on Thursday 6 April from 11am in the Junior School Amphitheatre. Prep 3 Day program will have an Easter Hat Parade on Wednesday 5 April in the Prep Building at 1.30pm.

Students in Years 5 and 6 will take part in an eggshibition, which will be open for viewing from 10-11.30am in the classrooms on Thursday 6 April.

Please register to come along to either event www.thac.nsw.edu.au/book

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Years 5 and 6 Camp

Recently our Years 5 and 6 attended camp. Year 6 enjoyed visiting sites in Canberra and our Year 5 students enjoyed a range of activities at Wedderburn Christian Campsite.

Here are some photos of what they got up to.
CRUFIT Training

Recently some of our students in Years 5 and 6 were part of a CRU Followers in Training (CRUFIT) session at the College.

This session focused on teaching foundational Christian leadership skills that can be used in our Jesus and Me (JAM) lunchtime group and their lives. They heard bible talks, played games, and met with students from other local schools.

Crufit
Year 7 Cooking

Our Year 7 classes are participating in the Agriculture and Food Technology Mandatory course.

They have been learning how to safely and hygienically prepare and present food. They have also been learning about the 6 food nutrients and focusing on the nutritional requirements of adolescents. 7.6 did an excellent job of creating healthy savoury mini muffins. Congratulations Year 7.

mini muffins
Year 10 French Excursion

Today our Year 10 French Students went on an excursion to the French Film Festival at Palace Cinema Norton.

They saw “À la Belle Étoile” (Sugar and Stars) at a private screening. Here are some photos of them enjoying their French language experience. 

year 10 film

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Open Rehearsals

A reminder that ‘Open Rehearsals Week’ takes place next week.

If you are a parent that plays a musical instrument/sings or are an ex-student previously involved in our music ensembles program, you are invited to attend the rehearsal of the ensemble your child is a part of. For alumni, you are welcome to participate in the rehearsal of the ensemble/s you used to be a part of at THAC.

Our aim is to build the community around Creative Arts at the College, and invite you to participate in one rehearsal each term together with your child, and enjoy playing alongside your child. For alumni, it is a fun way to reconnect with current students and enjoy the opportunity to once again play in a large ensemble. Rehearsals will be conducted as normal, with the addition of a few more community members to add to the sound and help make it extra special for all involved.

Our ensembles schedule is below. You are invited to attend any of the rehearsals that take place, during the week commencing Monday 20th March – Thursday 23rd March. Please complete the Google form below to indicate if you are attending. Only those who have filled in this form will be able to participate as we need to have a record of who is on-site.

We are excited about this new initiative, and look forward to seeing many of you sitting in among our student ensembles to experience and share their learning journey.  Please contact musicadmin@thac.nsw.edu.au if you have any further questions.

Mr Byron Mark
Director of Ensembles
 
The Groove

Today our Year 10 Music students performed at The Groove.

This is a lunchtime session to provide entertainment for our Senior School Students. 

Well done to our talented musicians. 

Senior School Sport Update

MISA Sport Update

MISA volleyball

6 MISA Teams through to the Finals!

This term, our MISA teams have been competing each week against various schools and it has been  a joy to see them thrive in this competitive capacity. Under the guidance of their coaches and student leaders who have been volunteering as assistant coaches, each week the players have put their best foot forward!

We are now in the finals season of MISA and with 6 of our teams finishing in the top 3, we are very excited to see how they will perform next week. We wish these teams all the best and thank them for positively contributing to our College.

Term Two MISA Sports
Below are the sports that we will be competing in for Term Two. Trials for these teams will be held Tuesday, Week 11. Those wishing to trial, must sign up by filling out the Google form.

7-9 Girls Basketball          7-9 Boys Basketball         7-9 Mixed Frisbee         10-12 Girls Soccer         11-12 Boys Soccer

10-12 Girls Indoor Cricket         10-12 Boys Softball         11-12 Girls Netball         10 -12 Boys Rugby League         Dance         Debating

 

NASSA Football Trial Day

Nassa Tryout

25 students selected to represent NASSA at the AICES Football Gala Day

On Monday 13 March, the top footballers of the College attended the NASSA Football Trial Day. It was a great day where students were able to showcase their talents and be selected to be a part of the NASSA team that will compete at the AICES Football Gala Day. The students from our College were a stand out, with 25 being selected across the 4 divisions. Congratulations to the students below on this wonderful achievement and all the best for the AICES Football Gala day which will be held next term in May.

NASSA Girls Open 2023
Zoe G - Year 11
Madeline G - Year 11
Jessica M - Year 11
Abbie F - Year 11		 NASSA Boys Open 2023
Adrian D - Year 12
Maksim N - Year 12
Diego B - Year 11
Levi G - Year 11
Francesco V - Year 11
Maksim P - Year 11
Connor G - Year 12
NASSA Boys Under 16’s 2023
Stefan R - Year 10
Matias S - Year 9
Anderson C - Year 9
Angelo P - Year 10
Jy K - Year 10
Jonathan F - Year 10
Oliver V - Year 10
Domenic T - Year 11

NASSA Girls  Under 15’s 2023
Sara E - Year 7
Denika R - Year 8
Natasha M - Year 8
Ayla S - Year 8
Angelina C - Year 9

 
 

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Richard Newton (TAP Coordinator) and Mr Sonny Makko (Head Coach of TAP Football) for all their work with these students, it has certainly paid off!

Upcoming Sporting Events
Coming up this term, we have the following sport events so if there is something that interests you, please come and see me or another PDHPE staff member to learn more about how you can get involved.

Week 9 

Tuesday 21 March

NASSA Swimming Carnival

Friday 24 March

Thomas Hassall Cross Country Carnival – All College will attend
Week 10

Tuesday 28 March

MISA Sport Finals

Wednesday 29 March

AICES Swimming Carnival

Thursday 30 March

AICES Boys and Girls Basketball Trials 

Friday 31 March

NASSA U15s and Open Girls Netball Gala Day

Week 11

Tuesday 4 April

Term Two MISA Trials



Mrs Irene Focas
Senior School Sports Co-ordinator
NASSA Junior School Football

On Tuesday 7th March, 8 boys represented the College at the NASSA Junior Boys Football trials.

Congratulations to the 4 boys selected to represent the College at the CIS Primary Boys Football Championships later this month.

Mrs Sharon Evans 
P-6 Sports Coordinator
 
Student Sport Spotlight

 

Kryshtof in Year 9 is a figure current Australian Figure Skating Champion in Advanced Novice Boys division and a member of ISA National Squad.

Kryshtof recently represented Australia at International level and returned with Silver medal from Asian Open in Jakarta,  Bronze medal from Italy and placed 5th in Germany.

This is an outstanding achievement. Well done Kryshtof!

 

Kryshtof

 

NSW CIS Primary Girls Football Trials

Congratulations to Willow S who recently attended the NSW CIS Primary Girls Football trials. Players came from all over the state, with a strong field of over 100 players trial for a position in the team.

Willow played well throughout the day, and although unsuccessful in making the NSW team, she displayed both skill and adaptability when on the field.

A great achievement and as a Year 5 student, we look forward to her trialling again next year. Well done Willow.

NSW CIs

Has your child recently competed in a representative level?
We would love to share these results with our community. Please let us know via email community@thac.nsw.edu.au
Student Sport Spotlight

SportSpotlight.jpg

Sport Spotlight

Congratulations to McKenna who recently competed at The State Aero Championships.

She came 7th and 2nd in her trio with her gym sisters.  Well done!

McKenna

Has your child recently competed in a representative level?
We would love to share these results with our community. Please let us know via email community@thac.nsw.edu.au

CommunityBack to Top

Uniform Shop Trading Hours

The winter uniform changeover is the week after mother’s day (Monday 15th May), however, for junior school winter uniform is optional for the first three weeks of Term if it is cold.

Uniforms can be purchased in person or online. We recommend booking a fitting appointment online if you are a Year 7 student requiring a blazer.

The store is still accepting the Premiers Back to School Vouchers.

Term 2 Extended Trading Hours:
Monday 17 April: 9.00 am to 4.00 pm
Wednesday 19 April: 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Friday 21 April: 9.00 am to 4.00 pm
Monday 24 April: 9.00 am to 4.00 pm
Tuesday 25 April ANZAC DAY Public Holiday: Closed

The uniform shop will return to normal hours on Wednesday 26 April 2023
Holiday Programs
Football Holiday Program

Running from 17-21 April from 8.30 - 2.30pm, this is an all-weather program that will take place at the College.

It is open to boys and girls aged 5-13 of all skill levels.

Students will participate in fun activities, game development and learn soccer skills from accredited coaches.

$65 per day or $290 for the week.

Book online now


CodeCamp

Join CodeCamp these School holidays where kids design, code, problem solve and become storytellers and creators of technology, by creating games, websites, music and videos or flying drones - in just 2-3 days! 

Roblox Legends, ages 7-10, $390
At Roblox Legends kids aged 7-10 years will work in groups to create "choose your own adventure” games, using digital storytelling, AI and game design to bring their dream games to life in 2D and 3D. Kids will walk away with the coolest playable Roblox games to share with their friends!

Spark, ages 7-12, $390
Fun, engaging and challenging… and our most popular Code Camp that over 100,000 students have completed. Spark is where every student in years 2-6 should start their Code Camp journey. Your child will design an engaging platformer game (similar to Mario Bros.), and then bring it to life with intuitive, yet powerful, drag and drop code. Learning the fundamentals of coding gives children the confidence and knowledge to be in control with technology – not just as a passive consumer, but as a creator, problem solver, and digital storyteller

Little Coders, ages 5-7, $275 
Your child will love the fun and interactive way we teach kids to code at Little Coders. It’s so much fun, they won’t realise they’re learning! Over 2 days our youngest campers discover the basics of coding and take their first steps to becoming a coding superstar. Kids will learn drag & drop coding with if statements, algorithms and logic, and more within our bespoke learning platform, Code Camp World!

Book now using discount code ‘EARLY25’ to take advantage of our $25 Early Bird Discount running until Sunday 12 March. Book now


Motiv8 Sports

Held only once each year Super Camp is a sports festival designed just for kids. Way more than a sports dreamland, Super Camp is an energetic mix of sport, music, street culture, art and dance mashed up to create the ultimate atmosphere for kids who love having fun. Campers will be treated to an incredible array of our trademark team sports in an environment full of energy, motiv8tion and unbelievable guidance from our professional team of coaches.

For Kindy to Year 6, 8.30am to 3.30pm 

Book online
Junior Library Book Club

Mrs Issa and Mr Smith are excited to announce that starting next term will be a wonderful new book club for students in Years 4 to 6.

Book Clubs are a great place to celebrate all things books and reading, we will play games, do crafts and talk about all the books we love to read. We will also be reading a book together as a group, the first will have something to do with Dragons.... Meetings will be held Friday lunchtime every two weeks. If you would like more information or to join, please speak to Mrs Issa or Mr Smith in the Library.

Mrs Arabella Issa & Mr Michael Smith
Junior IRC Library Team 
Alumni Student

My name is Danica Harkness and I am a former Thomas Hassall Anglican College student.

I have been fortunate enough to have been selected as a Miss Universe Australia State Finalist! With this opportunity I am raising money and awareness to support Toybox Australia in conjunction with Camp Quality and Ronald McDonald House through fundraisers.

These charities assist families and children who are unwell and are in hardship. I would appreciate your kindness in either helping spread awareness about this campaign or providing a donation, no matter how big or small, to the link provided in this article. I would also like to thank Thomas Hassall in supporting me through both my schooling years and current stage of life. Without the help of Thomas Hassall I wouldn’t be where I am today. 

Please help donate