Term 1 I The Way Newsletter I Friday 3 March 2023

Let me tell you about what was happening in Senior School on Monday of this week…

Our Senior Girls and Senior boys Football teams matched up against two visiting teams and performed wonderfully! You can read more in this Edition, but I would like to commend them on their conduct and their enterprising play. Our field was in beautiful condition thanks to our wonderful maintenance staff who prepared it to a professional grade pitch for the occasion as they always do!

While the boys match was playing their second half, the Senior School attended different seminars depending on their Year Group:

Year 11 and 12 attended a Christian Studies session run by our new Head of Christian Studies, Richard Newton. Mr Newton unpacked the theme of ‘Religion being the cause of war’, and critiqued the Christian faith throughout history to see if this claim could be levelled at Christianity. A thoroughly robust topic for the most mature students of our College to be considering.

Year 10 held a Work Experience session with Careers Advisor, Michael Roper. Mr Roper encouraged the students to be thoughtful and aspirational when considering their chosen vocation to experience for a week. Such impressions could be crucial in determining the course of their lives or at the very least aide them in decision making for the years ahead. Getting a sense of the workplace has been a really useful tool in subject selection for Stage 6 study. May I also add that his ability to answer the many questions which came his way was very impressive.

Year 9 heard about the College’s Duke of Edinburgh program from Dany Yako and a carefully selected group of Year 12 students who had engaged with the program in different ways over the last few years. These Year 12 students unpacked their different experiences on the hikes and in the service aspects of the program which gave students a real sense of the fun and challenges of the program.

Year 8 students attended a learning skills seminar with Douglas Broadbent, our Director of Teaching and Learning. Mr Broadbent explained some habits  that would assist students with their organisation and unpacked some helpful techniques to aid them in furthering their learning.

Year 7 attended an English workshop run by the Leader of Learning in English, David Gawthorne and the entire faculty, who explained to the students how to approach their first English Assessment task. From the drafting process through to the process for submission via Canvas, Year 7 students are now well equipped with the ‘how’ and ‘what’ to do to ensure that they submit their best work for this upcoming assessment.

I wanted to share this snapshot of a single moment in time on a given day at the College, so that you would have a sense of the wide variety of activities provided for students and also to get a sense of the high level of expertise that we are lucky enough to have on staff. We are truly blessed to have such passionate and professional staff at a time when many schools are finding it hard to fill roles with qualified teachers. The support of the parent community for our staff continue to make Thomas Hassall an attractive proposition for prospective teachers.

For those of you who attended the Meet the Teacher and Faculty Fusion events, I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did. I loved seeing our Year 7 guides proudly showing off their school to their parents and I was blown away by the performances of our talented Music staff and the support they received, to raise some money for the much-needed musical equipment for the upcoming Cherry Blossom Musical Tour to Japan.

Make sure you have booked in for the Year 12 Parent teacher night coming up on Thursday. See you there!

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.

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

Bunnings BBQ Music Tour Fundraiser

This Saturday 4 March there will be a fundraiser BBQ at Bunnings Hoxton Park from 9am - 4pm.  Students will be performing between 12pm - 2pm to entertain the customers and we would appreciate your support in buying a sausage on the day.  We will be using this opportunity to raise final funds for the Cherry Blossom Tour for the hire of music equipment while in Japan.

Thank you for your support of the music students as they work towards this goal and we look forward to serving you this Saturday.

Mr Byron Mark
Director of Ensembles

Year 4 classes participated in an informative and practical excursion to Elizabeth farm. Students were involved in a range of experiences to learn about the past and how people lived. 

Natalia – My favourite part was when we got to build with the bricks, a job the convicts were made to do.

Peaario – My favourite part was when we got to write our names with the quill.

Marcus – I loved washing the clothes.

Michael – My favourite part was sitting on the old couches in the living room.

Oliver – My favourite part was when we did the washing. I also enjoyed learning that there were three mattresses and each had a different meaning.

Bentley – My favourite part was when we got to feel the extremely soft bed in Mrs Macarthur’s room.

Pamela Broadstock
Junior School Teacher - Stage 2- Year 4R

We had a group of students represent our college at the NASSA Tennis Gala Day on the 24th February at Wests Tennis Centre.

Amongst all the NASSA schools competing, our Girls Team came first in their pool and 2nd overall and our Boys Team came 2nd in their pool and 4th overall. Prior to this tournament we were ranked 6th overall so this is a big step up for our College. Well done to the following students who representing our College on the day!

On Monday 27 February, Alexander L competed at the NSW CIS Primary Tennis Trials at The Kings School. 

There were over 30 players from schools in the NSW Combined Independent schools system who competed for selection into the NSW CIS team.

The tournament started with 5 pools of players and Alexander had 7 players in his pool.  He played 6 round matches and finished in the top 2 positions in his pool, earning a place in the Round Two matches.  The 10 students in Round Two competed for the final 5 positions in the State team.

Congratulations to Alexander in qualifying for the NSW CIS Primary Tennis team. 

He will travel to Albury in May to play in the NSWPSSA Tennis Championships.

Well done Alexander, we are very proud of you.

Mrs Sharon Evans
P-6 Sports Coordinator