Term 1 I The Way Newsletter I Friday 17 February 2023

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From the Principal
Principal Ross Whelan

Term One is well underway, with lots of events already taking place.

The 2022 HSC High Achievers assembly was held on Monday this week for our Senior School. We welcomed back 20 of our highest-achieving students from the graduating Class of 2022. A special thank you to these students who gave up their time and spoke to students about making the most of their time and not missing opportunities. The College Council Chair Mr Craig Moore also attended and was able to pray for the students and the year ahead. 

Last week we held the first of our Meet the Teacher event for the Junior School. Thank you to all the families who came along to talk with classroom teachers. We have our Year 7 Meet the Teacher night next week, too. We hope to see all of our Year 7 families and students at this event to get to know the College and navigate their way around Senior School.

Our Junior School swimming carnival took place yesterday at Prairiewood Leisure Centre. The house spirit and competition was fierce as students gave their best both in and out of the pool, competing and cheering on their house team mates. Congratulations to those students who progress on to the next round at NASSA. We look forward to our Senior School Swimming Carnival taking place next Wednesday.

Another key event coming up on the College Calendar is the Open Week event taking place from 19-25 March. This provides prospective families with a chance to catch a glimpse of College life; see the facilities and meet our leaders. Do you know a family who might be interested in joining the Thomas Hassall Community? Please share the details with them.

Our Annual Movie Night Under the Stars will also take place towards the end of the Term on Friday 31 March. This year we are watching the newly released ‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile’. This is a free event for everyone to attend, with food trucks and entertainment available before the movie commences. Find out more in this Edition.

Many of us will know of the terrible accident at Macarthur Anglican School this week, causing the unfortunate death of a high school student.  We are very sad for their community, and have been able to send our counsellors out to assist. Please pray for the family and the school community at Macarthur at this time.

Can I take this opportunity to thank you and your family for your support in making this a great start to 2023. We hope to see you at one of our upcoming events.

‘Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you …’ - 1 Peter 5:7

Mr Ross Whelan
Principal
From the Junior School Director of Teaching and Learning
lisa

“Focusing on student growth matters because it enables every student to progress regardless of starting point or capabilities”. (Gonski Report 2018)

Next week, parents of Junior School students will have the opportunity to speak to the class teacher during Parent-Teacher Interviews. We want to hear about your child – goals for their learning and wellbeing, behaviours they display at home, information that help form a picture of your child – so that we can provide instruction that supports all the learners in our classrooms.

Teachers will be listening, asking questions and giving an overview of the learning behaviours observed so far in 2023.

These interviews will help set up a strong year of growth.

NAPLAN is one way we can measure student learning growth. From 2023, NAPLAN will now be undertaken in Term 1 and will take place from Wednesday 15 March to Monday 27 March. The reason for this change is so that results can be returned to schools earlier in the year which will support teachers to understand the learning needs of their students and plan accordingly.

We look forward to a year of learning for all our students. This will be done most effectively with positive partnerships built between teachers, students and parents, with open communication the key.

Ms Lisa Hansford
Director of Teaching and Learning - Junior School
From the Assistant Chaplain

Oh the busyness of life! If you’re like me, you may have felt that the start of year and term has swallowed you up whole and you find yourself tossing and turning, lying awake in the middle of night and struggling to switch the gazillion thoughts spinning around in your head.

The year of 2023 has been the year of all things new for me, beginning a brand-new role as the Junior School Chaplain here at Thomas Hassall. These feelings of being overwhelmed have most definitely been familiar over the last few weeks, wrapping my head around all of things that keep me busy here at college. As much as it’s been a massive leap into the deep end, I’m very thankful that we have God’s Word to turn to in times of anxiety and the unknown.

When I feel like this, I tend to find myself flicking back to the Book of Psalms to be reminded of the peace we can find in the Lord, God in His great sovereignty and unfailing love.

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Psalm 121:1-4

This passage of Psalm 121 gives me great comfort that God is in control. It amazes me every time I re-read and am humbly reminded that we have a God who doesn’t need rest or sleep and watches over us, always. I find it so reassuring that God is right there with us, every step of the way.

It has only been a few weeks, but I’ve already thoroughly enjoyed getting to know my students, families and fellow staff. It’s been very easy to see the wonderful culture the school community brings and I'm loving every minute of it! I’m really looking forward to what God has in store for us for the rest of the year! 

Can I encourage you to seek Him and find peace in our great God in the busyness of life and throughout our first term.

In Christ,

Miss Georgia Beikoff
Assistant Chaplain - Junior School

Upcoming dates

Date Event
Monday 20 February - Year 4 Excursion (4K and 4F)
- NASSA Open Basketball Trials
Tuesday 21 February - P-6 Parent Teacher Interviews
- Year 7 Vaccinations
Wednesday 22 February Senior School Swimming Carnival

Thursday 23 February

 - P-6 Parent-Teacher Interviews
- Year 7 Meet The Teacher Night
Monday 27 February Year 4 Excursion (4B and 4R)
Tuesday 28 February NASSA Junior Swimming Carnival
Wednesday 1 March Faculty Fusion Fundraiser Concert
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
Faculty Concert

Tickets! Tickets! Tickets!

The Faculty Fusion Fundraiser concert is fast approaching and the ticket link is now live.  Tickets can be purchased via www.thac.nsw.edu.au/book. 

Come and have the Creative Arts team entertain you with a variety of musical genres and performance styles in order to fundraise towards the hire of music equipment needed for the Cherry Blossom Tour.

The concert is on Wednesday 1 March 2023 at 6pm.  We hope to see many of you at this musical evening.

Mr Byron Mark
Director of Ensembles
Bunnings BBQ

Bunnings BBQ Music Tour Fundraiser

On Saturday 4 March there will be a fundraiser BBQ at Bunnings Hoxton Park from 9am - 4pm.  We will be raising funds for the Cherry Blossom Tour for the hire of music equipment while in Japan.

Please consider supporting the fundraiser by buying a sausage on the day.

Thank you for your support of the music students as they work towards this goal.

Mr Byron Mark
Director of Ensembles

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Fun in Prep

Prep has begun at Thomas Hassall Anglican College!

Our youngest students have settled in exceptionally well and have been busy making new friends and learning new routines.

The Prep students have enjoyed engaging in literacy, creative arts and maths rotation activities.

We have enjoyed learning and singing songs such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Incy Wincy Spider.

We can’t wait to see how our Prep Students learn and grow during the year!

prep

Mrs Erin Johnson
Prep Team Leader
Kindy experience

Last week, Hunter from KP and the Lion Dance Team performed for Kindergarten and Year 1 and is considered one of the most important traditions at Chinese New Year. 

Lions are symbolic of wisdom and power in Chinese culture, and the purpose of the lion dance is to bring good fortune. It was accompanied by the music of beating of tanggu (drum), cymbal, and gong. These instruments synchronise to the lion dance movements and actions. 

Well done Hunter – everyone enjoyed your performance!

Kindy

Mrs Wendy Irwin
Kindergarten Team Leader
Year 9 Camp

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Year 9 camp

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Year 9 camp

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Year 9 camp

Last week, our Year 9 Students attended their camp. We asked some students what they thought about their time:

What I really liked about Camp was having the opportunity to be in an outdoor environment with my peers as this allowed us to work as a team through challenging activities. It also helped us socialise with people in our grade that we may have never spoken to before plus make lots of fun memories. Another thing I liked was the River Run activity. It was a very competitive and exciting activity that consisted of mini water activities such as obstacle courses and an enjoyable ride back to shore by floating across the river on a donut floaty. I will never forget that my group of girls and my PC teacher (Mrs Ellerman) won that activity. 

The most important thing I learnt was how to pack light as we had to hike to our campsite with only a rucksack on our backs. We had to prioritise packing only essential items. Hiking in the extreme heat and walking such long distances was challenging but doing it with my friends made it much more enjoyable. 

Written by Hannah
Year9camp

When I think about my camp I think of good and bad memories and how I learnt a little bit about the wildlife and working my way around a map and compass by shooting bearings. Yet some of the best memories I have of the camp were the free time I got with my group, definitely swimming and floating down the river. The food was probably the best camp food I’ve ever had and the many other things we did. But all and all camp was pretty cool being able to have three days outside of school with my friends.

Written by Joel
High Achievers Assembly

On Monday, we had the privilege to welcome back our High Achievers of the 2022 HSC to acknowledge their accomplishments.

Congratulations to all of our students on their outstanding results, as well as to our 2022 College Dux, Tristan.

The assembly was followed by a question and answer session where our current Year 12 students had the opportunity to ask questions. Thank you for your inspiring words of encouragement to our Class of 2023 cohort. We wish all of you the best as you pursue the next stage in your journey.

High Achievers

Junior School Swimming Carnival

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Junior School Swimming Carnival

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Junior Swimming Carnival

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Junior Swimming Carnival

Our Junior School Swimming Carnival took place yesterday, Thursday 16 February at Prairiewood Leisure Centre.

It was a fantastic day with tough competition in the pools and in the grandstands.

Congratulations to all of our students who participated in the events, as well as to those who made it on to the next round. These names will be shared soon!

Swimming Carnival
NASSA Junior Basketball

On Thursday 9 February our Year 5 and 6 Boys and Girls Basketball teams travelled to Hills Basketball stadium for the NASSA Junior Basketball Gala Day. 

The teams played 6 games each throughout the day and improved steadily as they day progressed.  It was wonderful to have our Wildfire Basketball coaches, Coach Sagar and Coach Aeden work with the teams and develop their skills and teamwork and encourage the teams as they played.

Final results:      Girls team = equal 5th     Boys team = equal 3rd.

Congratulations to all players on a great effort!!

NASSA basketball


Mrs Sharon Evans 
P-6 Sports Coordinator

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Uniform Shop Trading Hours

Please be reminded of the College Uniform Shop trading hours

Monday – 7:30am to 3:30pm
Wednesday – 12:00pm to 6:00pm
Friday – 7:30am to 3:30pm

To deliver a personalised service all uniform fittings are strictly by appointment only. Appointments can be scheduled through the Midford online appointment link

You are welcome to purchase from the online uniform shop at your convenience and your order will be filled when the store is next open.

www.Midford.com.au School Passphrase: Thomas1997