Term 3 : Thursday 6 September 2018

Our Japanese sister school, Fukuroi High School, arrived in Sydney to a warm welcome, a sparkling new building was opened by the Governor General, the HSC Trials were concluded and the South West Festival went off and was one of our best ever. All of these activities went off without too many complications. Thanks to the Thomas Hassall Community for your support and hard work to ensure all these activities were successful.

The opening of the new sports complex, the Rawdon Middleton VC Sports Complex, went off without a hitch. The weather was beautiful and the students responded wonderfully to the formal occasion. The Governor General, David Hurley, challenged the audience with a simple message focusing on ‘duty’ and ‘service’. These themes connected with the life of Rawdon Middleton and was recognized by the Victoria Cross, our most distinguished military award. It is hoped that in the years to come we will have many students who will be able to grow in their understanding of ‘duty’ and put their gifts into action to ‘serve’ our community in various capacities.

We had an army of students serving at the SW Festival in various capacities. This included students performing in bands and ensembles, singing solos or assisting in stalls or across the Festival in different capacities. This was a real assistance and a turning point for our students’ involvement; we are really appreciative of all the students for making the effort to serve. Special thanks to students raising money and awareness for Steptember. This campaign will continue through to the end of the term and will culminate in a special fundraising day across the College.

The biggest thing that I have taken out of the week was the strong sense of community that has developed over the years at Thomas Hassall. With all these events we had people visiting, serving, donating, eating and celebrating in some capacity or other. In all of this there was a real sense of belonging and community. Students, past and present parents, visitors from the community visited the College and it was a real thrill to connect and enjoy the vibe across the week. My prayer is that in the years to come we will continue to grow and nurture this sense of community. This is the kind of thing that helps us to find meaning in a world that is moving so fast that many can easily get lost and become disconnected from what really counts.  

Thomas Hassall - we are so proud of you all! You are a great community. Let us continue to grow in love and mercy as we serve on another in the years ahead. Well done all!

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:11 

As this building is named after an Australian Military Hero Rawdon Middleton VC we also had a Senior Officer from the RAAF, Warrant Officer, Glenn Lyons in attendance as well as some representatives of both the Middleton, Hume and Hassall Families.  You can find out more about Rawdon and his story throughout the displays in the foyer of the building.  

The students from Years 4-12, Staff and College Parents were also a part of the celebration!

-- The Building --
The concept for a Physical Education Complex and Sports Field began back in 2013, construction commenced in March 2017 and completed in July 2018. The combined facility is the largest capital works project so far undertaken by the College and we are excited for the students and the broader community into the future as we use these great facilities.  

The building consists of:
Hall of Fame front entry
Sports Hall with a timber sprung floor for three basketball, two netball and one futsal court
Future Gymnastics apparatus and sports equipment storeroom
Change-rooms, toilets and showers
Servery, laundry and sports uniform storeroom
Upstairs staffroom, 4 x classrooms and viewing gallery

Term 3

Congratulations to Dane & Zhien-U Bakarich who welcomed their new baby girl, Eden on Thursday 23 August 2018.

We rejoice with them and praise God for her safe arrival. 

'Praise God from whom all blessings flow'

Tuesday afternoon saw the students participating in an Auskick workshop with Year 7 girls. The students learned a little bit about AFL, how to kick, how to pass and how to duck and weave. Much fun was had with instructor Adam as he lead them through various games to teach them the skills of AFL. The students each took home an AFL pack, including a ball and bag. Students then went home with their host families.

Wednesday started with a visit to the Leppington Pastoral Company. Students saw baby calves, the milking area and learned about the company's production of milk. One of the highlights was seeing seeing some adolescent cows running towards the group excitedly, as they approached. It was then back to College to experience the opening of the Rawdon Middleton Sports Centre. Students and staff from Fukuroi commented on how much they enjoyed the Thomas Hassall Anglican College bands and their performances. Year 11 Japanese Continuers then hosted our visitors, participating in an interactive activity.

On Thursday, Fukuroi students enjoyed seeing real Australian classes when they went to Periods 1 and 2 with their College buddies. It was then off to Putt Planet in Miranda. Students and staff alike enjoyed a game of putt putt golf and some Aussie pies and sausage rolls.

The Euroka Clearing outing was a big success on Friday. Students began with a quick orienteering activity run by Miss Friel and then tried to complete a big Treasure Hunt. Students worked together in teams figuring out word puzzles, crosswords, find-a-words and anagrams to decode clues leading them to the next clue point. It was an amazing sight seeing the use of English and Japanese to work together toward the end goal. Our visitors also experienced Aussie tucker, trying damper (some brave visitors even tried vegemite), Tim Tams, lamingtons and then a sausage sandwich for lunch. The weather was beautiful, the kangaroos were aplenty and the bird-life was so active, so much so that several sausages were snatched mid-bite by some cheeky kookaburras.

The students enjoyed fun filled weekends with their host families exploring our great city. Some were even seen wandering around the South West Festival on Saturday too.

While it was a quick trip, much fun, laughter and extended language learning was had by all. Thank you to all the host families for opening up their homes and hearts. The connection is always amazing and several tears were shed upon the farewells on Monday.

Mrs Fiona Byrne
LOTE Coordinator

It was a great day, and even though performances were inside as a weather precaution, all items were well attended with healthy and appreciative audiences. Mr Clisdell and Mr Ford did a great job with their tech crew, and all groups sounded fantastic in the space. It was an excellent chance for all our students to showcase all of their hard work and music practice, and thank you to all the parents for their support and encouraging them to continue along with their music journey.

Mr Robinson and Mrs Ford also looked after the solo/small ensemble stage outside of N-Block, and there were many great performances taking place there too.

Well done to all performers, tutors and conductors for supporting our students on this day.

Mr Byron Mark
Manager of Ensembles

If they should they will compete against St Francis Catholic College on Tuesday 11 September 2018.

The Year 7 MISA Debating Team will also have the final round of their limited-round competition against St Francis Catholic College, concurrently. They, too, could advance, depending on results across the MISA Northern Region.

Please consider commending and encouraging the following worthy debaters, should you have the opportunity to do so leading up to the finale of the 2018 debating season:

Year 7

Joshua C, Jacqueline F, Brendan F, Beatriz G, Charlotte S

Year 8

Reena A, Deborah A, Evan B, Brielle L, Panagiota M

Mr David Gawthorne
Secondary Teacher - Englsh

Congratulations to Michael Ruhs (Year 10) who was appointed a position in the All Schools U/16’s Boys Football Competition held in Shepparton, Victoria last week. The opening ceremony occurred on Sunday with NSW’s first game at 10.30am against Western Australia. The boys started off to a great start considering the pitch was quite slippery which impacted the game initially for both teams. Western Australia came out strong and were putting on the pressure on the defending champions for the first 20 minutes until Michael claimed the first goal for NSW and also for the competition. A second goal then followed 10 mins later and by half time NSW was up 3-0. This gave the boys momentum for the second half in which another 2 goals were scored. At this stage Western Australia could not get back into the game with NSW claiming a 5-0 victory.

Day 2 consisted of play against the ACT in which the boys had a very unsettled start to the game. In saying that a goal was scored in the 4^th minute in which Michael had assisted in putting NSW in the lead. The boys still struggled to play the ball and put passes together and then just before half time NSW had scored their 2^nd goal with once again Michael assisting in this goal.  For most of the second half, they were put under pressure by the ACT  and were lucky to not have conceded any goals with NSW claiming a second victory defeating Western Australia 2-0. 

Day 3 consisted of play against one of the biggest rivals of the competition being the Queensland team who came out in full force ready to knock NSW off their winning streak. It was quite a physical start to the game with the whistle being blown consistently against both teams. The boys then settled and started to play their game and had great control over the ball as well as great teamwork with one another which lead to NSW scoring their first goal in the first 15 minutes of the game. By half time they had scored 4 goals with one of those goals being scored by Michael. Coming into second half, Queensland found it very hard to get focused and due to their lack of concentration it resulted in another 3 goals scored by NSW claiming their 3^rd consecutive victory beating Queensland 7-0. The last game was against the host state VIC and the boys won 6-1.

With this victory the NSW team won the overall competition with Michael scoring 4 goals and assisting 6 across the week.

Michael was named player of the tournament and selected in the Australian team to compete overseas. 

This is an EXCEPTIONAL performance and we congratulate Michael and wish him all the best with his bright future in football.

Miss Lisa Close
Secondary Sports Coordinator 

The TAP Swimming program is designed to identify talented students from Years 3 – 12 and offers an extensive training program to students who have represented Thomas Hassall Anglican College at the NASSA carnival level or above.

In 2018 we extended the program to include an extra day for students to train. 

Days: Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the College term (except public holidays)
Time:  5.45am - 7.15am
Venue: Whitlam Leisure Centre - 90A Memorial Avenue, Liverpool
Cost: Fees will be charged per term
Transport: Parents are to make their own arrangements to get children to the pool for a 5.45am start. Students will be transported by mini bus to College at the conclusion of the session.

The squad-based sessions will be structured to adopt best practices and will focus on stroke development and correction, developing strength and endurance. 

Sessions will include race preparation, dives and turns.

Eligibility
The TAP Swimming program is offered to all students who competed at the NASSA Junior or NASSA Senior Swimming Carnival. However, if there is a talented swimmer who did not attend the College Swimming Carnival they may be assessed to be part of the program.

If you would like more information about the TAP Swimming program, please contact Mrs Evans [email protected]

Brochures are available at the College Office.

THAC TAP Swimming 2018 v1.pdf

THAC TAP Swimming 2018 v1.pdf