Term 3: Thursday 10 August 2017

There have been many highlights across the College over the past weeks that have been a privilege to attend in Mr Whelan’s absence. One that stood out for me was the presentation of the Year 12 Major Works at Illuminate 2017. The talent on display, as well as the thinking behind the pieces, was exceptional. I was so proud of the students as they presented their work and I saw a level of maturity and understanding that showed how prepared they were for the next phase of their life. Of course I always enjoy seeing those students that I remember as 5 year olds embarking on their schooling growing and developing into the adults that they have now become.

The College is an amazing place with many opportunities for the students to connect with others, to follow their passions and to enjoy all the College has to offer, but the journey for some of our students does not always go smoothly. There are a number of areas that parents and the College need to work together to help our students negotiate their way forward. One of these is the use of social media. A number of our students find themselves in conflict with their peers, reacting to situations inappropriately online and leaving a digital footprint which may affect them in years to come. Parents of younger students in Junior School need to stand firm and not allow their children to be on websites that are designed for an older audience. Parents always need to have access to their children’s accounts so that they can monitor and advise the correct response when the interaction between students is not going well. Many situations that get our students into trouble can be avoided with wise advice from you as parents. It is better to stop the interactions than mop up the fallout later.

Of course all this takes courage. I was discussing with a Principal from another College about the values that they have introduced and one of them was courage. As I thought about this and questioned why that would be important it became clear that courage at school covers so many aspects of our students’ development. It helps each person to make difficult choices about what is right and wrong, it helps develop resilience, determination, confidence to stand up for what they believe in. They need courage to stand up for others and courage to take on new and difficult tasks. It also takes courage to say sorry and to mend relationships, to move on from situations and start afresh. It takes courage to resist peer pressure and make good choices for yourself. Parents, we need to work together to help our students be courageous in all aspects of their schooling, relationships and decision making. This will help each one of our students as they negotiate through from childhood to becoming an adult.

‘Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.’ 1 Corinthians 16:13

Christine Bessant

 

Bookings are now open for our Junior School Creative Arts Triple Bill.

Alice the Musical - Monday 21 August, performed by Prep, Year 5 and Year 6 students - go to trybooking.com/RHJV

Rockin' Through the Ages - Thursday 24 August, performed by Year 3 and 4 students - go to trybooking.com/RHJK

Billabong Bill - Wednesday 30 August, performed by Kindergarten, Year 1 and 2 students - go to trybooking.com/RHKG
 

 

 

Each musical will be performed at 9.30am (Grandparents preview) and 6.30pm (doors open at 6.00pm)

Get in quick as seats are selling fast!  Booking enquiries E: [email protected]

 

Hello Parents and welcome to our article in the eNewsletter.

In this edition we would like to introduce you to the Student Counselling Team, provide you with more insight into what psychologists do within schools and, specifically, what you can gain from reading our articles. The articles will be tailored to address parent needs in supporting their children on their educational and life journey.

Our aims include providing you with more information about the type of 'things' we can support your child with and also how we can support you when your child is experiencing difficulties within this setting.

We have three psychologists which enables us to assist students across the College. We have the Head of Student Counselling, who works with both the psychologist located in Junior School and Senior School and support them as necessary.

In our Junior School we have a Psychologist who works specifically with students and parents from Prep to Year 6. Amongst other concerns, the psychologist can assist parents with resources/advice on how to support their children with the transition into school. Sometimes it can be difficult for parents to have a clear idea of what their child should be able to do at various ages, and what they should be supporting them with. Psychologists are well placed to assist parents to set realistic expectations from their children, whilst supporting them to develop their independence, social skills and resilience.

In Senior School the psychologists work in conjunction with a well-developed Wellbeing Team, to support students with their wellbeing. They support students with a range of topics ranging from their transition into Senior School, to how to survive the HSC.

Teachers are viewed as experts in learning, and school psychologists support children to identify the barriers to learning and support their mental health and wellbeing. Parents can feel overwhelmed when their children are struggling and school psychologists are available to support them during these times.

This link will take you to a 3 minute video that will provide you with more insight into how you can benefit from our services - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpSJYSiDQdw

Mrs Jacoline Petersen
Head of Student Counselling

Next Edition . . . Would you like to know what the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist is? Watch this space!

Each week Year 4 participate in a Music theory lesson as part of the Compulsory Band Program. Recently the classes played rhythm games based on a traditional Caribbean Folk Tune called Four White Horses. This activity required students to sing while performing a clapping game. They then created a variation of the clapping game and performed this for the class. We learnt that this piece was based on the pentatonic scale. Students notated this scale on the white board and then transposed it into a different key. We also learnt that this scale is used for many of the jingles we hear on TV like McDonalds, Telstra, Toyota and AAMI. We love performing music and learning more about it each week.

Watch our lesson here.

Code Camp held a highly successful inaugural camp at Thomas Hassall Anglican College during the July holidays. This camp saw 65 primary aged students from both Thomas Hassall and surrounding schools spend three days learning the foundations of coding. Students used the Javascript language to create fun and interactive games which they could take home to continue playing. Students loved the opportunity to learn coding skills with the help of the experienced tutors. In addition to the coding activities during the sessions, fun lunchtime activities also took place, including a silent dance party. Some of the feedback from the students included:

"This place was the best. I wish I could come here everyday. I can't believe I made my own game."

"This was the best three days of my life. I can't wait to play my game."

"It was so cool and we learnt so much. Can't wait to come back!"

The College is hoping to host more Code Camps in future. To learn more about Code Camp and to register your interest for future camps, please visit http://codecamp.com.au/

 

Term 3 Sport - for Years 3 - 6

The Winter IPSSO competition continues into Term Three.   Training occurs each Wednesday 7.30 – 8.15am. 

Boys Soccer train 7.15 – 8.15am.

Term 3	Team	Game Time	Netball	Soccer	AFL and Softball	Newcombe Ball
16-Aug	William Carey CS	12.30 - 2.20	THAC	Hoxton Park Res	Greenway Park	THAC
23-Aug	St Mary's	12.20 - 2.10	THAC	Hoxton Park Res	Greenway Park	THAC
30-Aug	Wet Weather/Training		THAC	Hoxton Park Res	Greenway Park	THAC
6-Sep	Semi & Grand Final		Depending	if teams make it	to Finals
13-Sep	CIS Athletics		THAC	THAC	THAC	THAC
20-Sep	Back up Finals Day		Depending	if teams make it	to Finals

 

Important Junior School Sport Dates for Term Three…

Week 4 -             Thursday 10 August – NASSA Boys Cricket Gala Day – Senior Boys IPSSO team – Onslow Oval, Camden

Week 6 -             Monday 21 August– NASSA Junior Athletics Carnival - Campbelltown

Week 7 -             Thursday 31 August – TIGS Trophy Soccer Gala Day (Yr 5 & 6 Boys and Girls IPSSO team)

Week 8 -             Wednesday 6 September – IPSSO Winter Finals

Week 9 -             Wednesday 13 September – NSWCIS Athletics Carnival – Homebush

Week 9 -             Friday 15 September – THAC Prep and Kinder Tabloid Carnival

Week 10 -           Thursday 21 September – THAC Prep, Year 1 and Year 2 Tabloid Carnival

 

PE and Sport Reminder

It is advisable that your child has a refillable drink bottle on Sport and PE days to ensure that they are able to re-hydrate after exercise.  All children are required to wear the PE cap or College hat for sporting activities.

Congratulations to Vansh Maini who won the International Sport Karate Association Winter Challenge tournament recently. Vansh gained four gold medals in Traditional Forms, Traditional Weapons, Extreme Forms/Weapons and Sparring. 

Well done!