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

Year 11 & 12 Music classes attended the Encore Concert on Monday 27 February at the Sydney Opera House. This concert showcases some of the top HSC Music performances from 2022.

The students enjoyed dinner together at Circular Quay before walking around to the Opera House. Here are some of their reflections from the evening:

One item that impressed me was…

the clarinet performance from Peter Chen. I enjoyed watching his runs and his incredible tone between different registers. - Matt P

the piano quartet with the double bass, cello and violin. The clarity of the tone, outstanding acoustics, and body expression helped to solidify it as my number one choice. I also enjoyed the oboe and clarinet pieces. - Ethan O

the second singer because she had control over her voice and was able to give dynamics in her performance especially in the higher notes. - Elliana C

the alto saxophone feature, accompanied by the tenor saxophone, double bass and drums because of the different techniques that he used such as breath tone, flutter tongue, growling and a general sophistication in phrasing and technique. - Petar L 

the final singer because she had so much stage presence. I am currently working on my stage presence, specifically with a mic stand as I am not as comfortable using one but would like to for one of my pieces. - Holly F

the first drummer, I enjoyed how he was able to keep that curiosity and high intensity of piece throughout the performance. I could tell that he created a large impact on the massive audience as everyone was cheering and in awe of his musical abilities. - Nicola M

the drum and electric guitar duo. This is because the drummer displayed an extensive ability to manipulate concepts such as dynamics and tone colour, which in turn helped to engage the audience. - Tom S

the composition for the choir because it exemplified a meaningful, skillful, and progressive piece of music that was created for the composer's Grandmother that passed away. - Elroy B

The guitarist… as he showed strong passion and an amazing solo. I also thought the Drummer who reflected on Foo Fighters was amazing too, in the way he showed the tones of the drum kit. - Sergio W

the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Duet because he (Joshua Blythe from Rouse Hill Anglican College) obviously put lots of time and effort into playing the piece and the drums are such a tricky instrument to play and it was very interesting to watch it being performed. - Magdalena C

Hannah Lee's (Knox Grammar School) performance of "Violet's Etude" on the Marimba. This performance had incredible use of dynamics and expressive techniques and was inspiring in using a slightly unconventional instrument for the HSC. - Eliza P

Lilliana Maree Davis from Gosford High School because of her flawless vocal technique and amazing range. - Despina L

I also enjoyed…

watching the crowd as everyone started doing the macarena, using their flashlights and playing scissors paper rock from across the room. - Alyssa M

the great memories made with our class, friends, and teachers. It was also my first time in the Opera House and I can confidently say that I had a great experience due to the people around me. - Keona H

the timing of the night, it never felt like we were in a rush and could enjoy dinner and the concert and then could relax and talk on the bus. - Josh

I enjoyed going to the opera house, it was my first time going. - Micaelah

It was important to go to this concert because…

I learnt how high the bar is for HSC performances. - Tiana P

I learnt what great small ensemble skills were, as well as how to engage yourself with the piece, and gain the audience's engagement also. It was really good to see the level of technical skill, with fingering on string and woodwind instruments, runs on vocals, and the dynamics of each performance. - Eowyn B

I learnt that there is a whole community who are in love with music, and I’d like to commit to that community more. - Oriana O

It was important to go to this concert because it was inspiring to see what other musicians that are in the same boat as us are performing. It was very important to see these performers as we can use it as a goal for us to try and achieve, motivating us to push ourselves harder. - Tahlia K

Mrs Elizabeth Ford & Mr Byron Mark

What a great start to 2023 we have had with sport at our College!

I have been so proud of the way our senior students have jumped straight into the year putting their hand up to not only represent the college in their respective sports but to do it so well!

Below are some of the highlights so far for Term One:

Senior School Swimming Carnival
Although the weather may have been a little gloomy, the Senior School Swimming was definitely not! With the highest rate of attendance and participation we have seen in many years, many records broken and every lane filled for most events, even our very own staff versus students relay, the day was definitely one to remember! Thank you to all staff and students who contributed to this wonderful event!

Congratulations to the below Age Champions!

12 Years - Jonah I and Eva S
13 Years - Aleks M and Elizabeth B
14 Years - Alexander A and Alice C
15 Years - Kryshtof P and Emily A
16 Years - Brodie V and Mia T
17 Years - Connor I and Faith W

NASSA Basketball Trial Day
On the 20th of February, we sent our Open Basketballers to the NASSA Trial Event. This was a very competitive trial with lots of our students being pushed to the limit. It was great to see their level of enthusiasm and perseverance on the day. We had four students selected to represent NASSA at the upcoming AICES Basketball Gala Day which was remarkable! Congratulations to:

Ashleigh K
Ana S
Liana M
Max V

Coming up this term, we have the following sport events so if there is something that interests you, please come and see me or another PDHPE staff member to learn more about how you can get involved.

Mrs Focas
Senior School Sport Coordinator

On Monday 27th of February, our boys and girls football squads competed in the CIS Football Cup which is a knockout competition.

Both teams were victorious with the girls winning 4-0 against Saint Marks College and the Boys winning 6-1 against Northern Beaches Christian School. We wish these squads all the best as they progress to the next round of the CIS Cup.

On the 16th of February, our Open Basketball Teams competed at the AICES school cup.

It was an extremely competitive day. Our Girls team came first in their division and our Boys team came 2nd in their division. This was an outstanding achievement from our students and we are so proud with how they carried themselves throughout the day displaying nothing but determination and great sportsmanship.