Term 3: Thursday 27 July 2017

Welcome back to Term 3, a very important term in consolidating the gains made in the first semester and an opportunity for students to take teachers' feedback on-board and realign ‘thinking and approach’ to learning. I would encourage all parents not to reprimand their child for a report that may have fallen short of their expectations. Instead make a clear, practical plan to address some of the areas of concern raised in the report. If the report was positive then the conversation might take a different tact, however, areas for improvement can still be identified and practical strategies put in place for improvement.  

In the past weeks we have been looking at the Graduate Aims that have been identified by our staff and students. These aims identify what we would like each student to possess as they graduate from the College and move into new opportunities beyond school.

One of our goals is to grow students who are able to apply creative and critical thinking skills with a spirit of curiosity.

Developing the critical thinking and encouraging creativity goes beyond simply seeking to grow students who ‘know a lot of things’ in terms of information or mastering particular skills; whilst this might be important it is more critical that our students can also think and apply their thinking to solve problems. Developing the ability to think is a core skill for all students. We live in a complex world and a wealth of knowledge is now at our finger tips through technology, yet there is a growing number of problems that we need to identify and solve. To this end, I was blessed this week, when I arrived at College there was a colourful array of flags from different nations fluttering along the boulevard.  The School Captains had initiated a new initiative called UNITE. The flags are a representation of our diverse cultural backgrounds. There were problems to resolve… purchasing the flags, hanging full sized flags and making an impression etc, all required a strong vision and some practical problem solving. The result was a stunning visual effect that helps to carry a special message, around unity, to our current student population. Other activities are planned throughout the week including a celebration of international food and interviews with students and staff talking about their cultural heritage. It is a great initiative that I can only thank the student leaders for initiating.

Blind date with a book

Congratulations to Sarah Kanjanakorn (Year 11) for winning the third ‘Blind date with a book’ prize draw! The ‘Blind date with a book’ competition has now finished, a big thank you to all students who entered and congratulations again to the three prize winners!

Can you solve the mystery of the missing Librarian???

Will you follow the clues?

Can you make sense of the evidence?

Are you the one to solve the mystery of the missing Librarian?

Please speak to Mrs Comiskey or Mr Smith for more information.

What’s new on the shelf?

Travel back to the first age of Middle Earth in the Senior IRC.

 ‘The Children of Hurin’ – J. R. R. Tolkien

“Six thousand years before the One Ring is destroyed, Middle-earth lies under the shadow of the Dark Lord Morgoth. The greatest warriors among elves and men have perished, and all is in darkness and despair. But a deadly new leader rises, Turin, son of Hurin, and with his grim band of outlaws begins to turn the tide in the war for Middle-earth -- awaiting the day he confronts his destiny and the deadly curse laid upon him…”

Carefully restored from Tolkien’s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a complete book, ‘The Children of Hurin’ is an epic story from the master of fantasy J.R.R Tolkien. Filled with Elves, Dragons, Dwarves, Orcs and spanning the rich landscape of Middle Earth long before the events of ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’, this is a story that will delight fans of Tolkien’s universe.

Written in a more complex style and with darker themes than Tolkien’s other novels, ‘The Children of Hurin’ is a book more suited for students in Years 11 and 12.

Check out the slideshow to see other great new books in the Senior IRC!

Reader of the Month

Each month a prize is given to the student who borrows and reads the most books. Open to all grades. Due to the school holidays this month prize will be both June and July. Will you be the next prize winner? Borrow a book from the IRC, and start reading today!

Mrs A Comiskey & Mr M Smith
Senior IRC Library Team

We celebrate and rejoice with Nicola and Matt Miller as they recently welcomed their daughter, Isla to their family on Friday 30 June. What a wonderful blessing for this family. Mum, Dad and bub are doing well and we wish their family much joy and happiness as they look forward to many happy memories together. 

The weather was amazing, the decorations splendid, the menu was just like being at a game and of course, having our dads come to serve lunch made this a very special day . . . as well as a visit from two of the Canterbury Bulldogs, Greg Eastwood and Brad Abbey who spent four hours playing sport with the children, signing autographs and smiling for endless selfies - thank you.

Thank you so much to all the dads who came not only to serve lunch but to warm up, set up and pack up:  David Ould, Peter Flanagan, Andrew Wilkinson, Chris Hagipantelis, Deepak Maini, George Khoury, Dom Currao, Jim Strounis, Simon Payet, Robert Sabongi, Jason Mikosic, Brett Goodbun, Alex Garrido, Mark Devine, Khan Groube, Raymond Conrad, Geoff Pollitt, Quinto Pallone, Rony Isaac, Robert Veleski, Simeon Ofidis, Antony Elazzi and Anthony Rumble.  We are sure some new business connections were made on the day too!

 Athletes Foot also came along and set up a 'pass the ball' activity and footwear display for the students and Dads - great to have you involved in this event - thank you Paul.  Our TAP Football Coach, Sonny, also set up some fun balls skills activities which were a bit hit with the Junior School students.

Heartfelt thanks also to the MRK (Mrs Riitano's Kitchen) Team, without whom the day would not have been possible - thank you for all you do to keep us well fed every day but especially for Dads' Day in MRK!

We loved having our dads volunteer at school for the day and we are already planning the next event ... get your Hawaiian shirts and hibiscus ready!  More information to follow shortly.  Enquiries:  Mrs Jo Hutchens, Director of Marketing, Enrolments and Community Relations E: [email protected]

Our Class Parents will be hosting the annual Fathers Day Stalls on Thursday 31 August (Prep Blue & Purple, Senior School at lunchtime) and Friday 1 September 2017 (Prep Red, White, K-12) and we need some helpers to work on the stalls on both days as follows:

Thursday 31 August from 8am-1pm (4 volunteers needed)

Friday 1 September from 7.30am-2pm (8 volunteers needed)

Please email Mrs Jo Hutchens, Director of Marketing, Enrolments and Community Relations E: [email protected] if you can assist.  It is such a lovely event to help with . . . the smile on the children's faces makes it all worthwhile! (no Dads allowed! ha!)

Many thanks to Mrs Laura Khoury and Mrs Suzana Matic who have spent many hours planning the day and arranging purchase of the wonderful array of gifts.

In the upcoming school holidays, our Senior Stage Band will be performing at this inaugural festival for the third year in a row.

School bands need to audition to be accepted onto the ‘Stars of the Future’ stage, so it is a great honour to have been asked to perform there for three consecutive years.

Our students are playing from 5pm – 6pm on Saturday 30 September. Please mark the date in your calendar – we would love to see you at this superb event to support our senior band as they perform at this special festival.

Mr Mark
Manager of Ensembles

On the day, students engaged in a creative activity building catapults, competing against their peers in a mock siege of a castle. They also viewed a performance by James Adams Historic Enterprises, where they had the opportunity to learn more about the weapons and armour of the Middle Ages while also having the chance to dress up and test out some of the equipment (including on each other!). Finally, Year 7 spent the afternoon creating their own personal coat of arms to represent them and their families before using this to create a personalised shield.

Below are two testimonies from students on the day:

The day was an absolutely amazing experience. It helped me and my peers understand more about life in the Middle Ages with weapons, warfare, disease and torture tactics that make me squirm. My class and I started the morning off with the construction of little DIY catapults in teams. It was extremely fun, though my team didn’t win I had an absolute blast making it. After recess the year 7’s and I made our way to the auditorium for a stage show. I wasn’t expecting the show to be quite so entertaining. The presenter told us all the information in a straightforward manner and then demonstrated real props like armour on some of my peers. I believe the show is my favourite experience of the entire day and I’m proud to say I learnt a lot about the Middle Ages. After a delicious, free, sausage sizzle lunch, we learnt about how warriors used family crests to identify each other and what certain colours and symbols on the crest mean. Not only that but we got to make our own family crests too! I made mine to symbolise peace, balance and family. Overall the day was an absolutely incredible experience that I really enjoyed and would highly recommend for future years.
– Ashley Vella

On Monday 19 June we were very lucky to have an incursion about Medieval Day. The day involved a presentation about all sorts of medieval weapons such as the ballista. We also got to see most of the equipment the knights would wear in battle. We also got to see a practical demonstration of medieval punishments like the stocks. We also had a hands on experience by getting to make our own DIY catapult and also our own shield. When we built our own catapult it was really fun trying to get it to shoot into the cardboard castle. At the end of the presentation we were allowed to go and have a feel of the all the weapons and armour. It was a day full of good information and hands on activities that we wouldn’t normally get to experience.
– Isabella Walker

Robert Smith
HSIE Teacher

On Friday 21 July, Michael Ruhs was one of the NSW best cross country runners who battled it out at the State Cross-country Championships contesting of 4km, 6km and 8km.

The event was run at the Eastern Creek Race Track and is the selection trial to represent NSW at the Australian Cross Country Championships, this year to be combined with the school sport Australia Cross Country Championships.

This event provides students the opportunity to take on the best NSW has to offer and claim the honour of being NSW's best cross country runners.

The Cross Country season started in Term 2 with our annual Secondary School Cross Country Carnival. The day included both individual events ranging from 3km to 6km, in which students competed to represent our College at NASSA, and several House events, including the newly designed Cross-country relays.

The 2017 championships have seen an excellent exhibition of individual sporting ability across all four competitions. In order to compete in the All Schools NSW Cross Country Championships, Michael Ruhs had to place in the top 6 at the respective NASSA, AICES and CIS Championships. He did this, despite having to back up and compete at the championships a day after representing the College at the NASSA Athletics Championships.

This year the All Schools NSW Cross Country Championships was raised to a new level, and Michael certainly did not disappoint, as he put in a huge effort in his respective race. Michael placed 31st in his age group.

Congratulations Michael on your outstanding sporting achievements to date. We look forward to your upcoming events at the AICES Athletics Championships.

Throughout the year, there are also NSW CIS trials for some sports which do not have a Gala Day as an entry path.

If your child plays a representative sport outside of school please ensure that you see the PE staff to indicate your expression of interest to be nominated for these sports.

The most current details for sport nominations will be in the Daily Bulletin. Students are also encouraged to let the PE staff know the competitions students partake in local competitions.

We are always happy to report and celebrate the sporting successes of our students.

Upcoming Dates:

• Monday 7 August NASSA Football Gala Day
• Wednesday 30 August AICES Athletics Championships
• Wednesday 7 September National Health and Physical Education Day (HPE Day)
• Wednesday 21 September CIS Athletics Championships