Term 1 I The Way Newsletter I Friday 22 March 2024

Thomas Hassall encourages families to take holidays within the school holiday season. Missed school can have a negative impact upon student learning. Nevertheless, for many of our Thomas Hassall community overseas family connections are important. Often this means travel to attend special events or visits with extended family during Term time.

When parents need to take their child out of school during term time, it's important to support the child's learning to minimise the impact of their absence. Here are some tips to help parents support their child's education while on extended leave:

Communicate with the School: Inform the school about the planned absence in advance and discuss with teachers the work that will be missed. Ask for any resources or materials that can help your child stay on track. Teachers will not produce individual resources for absent students, however, much of the work done in class is also accessible on CANVAS.

Use Online Resources: Thomas Hassall provides online resources via the CANVAS learning platform. Encourage your child to use these resources regularly. However, ensure YOU;

• Apply to Access CANVAS: To ensure you have access to CANVAS while overseas you will need to contact the College IT Department. They can provide you with special access while overseas. If you fail to do this, you will be blocked from this valuable resource.
• Create a Learning Plan: Work with your child's teachers to create a learning plan for the time they will be away. This should include specific topics or assignments to focus on during the absence.
• Set a Routine: Establish a daily routine for learning activities during the absence. This can help your child stay motivated and focused on their studies.
• Review and Practice: Encourage your child to review and practice what they have learned before the absence. This can help reinforce their understanding of key concepts.
• Stay in Touch with Teachers: Encourage your child to stay in touch with their teachers via email, asking questions and seeking clarification on upcoming assignments.
• Encourage Reading: Reading can be a great way to continue learning while on holiday. Encourage your child to read books related to their school subjects or topics of interest.
• Use Travel as an Educational Opportunity: If possible, incorporate educational activities into your travel plans. Visit museums, historical sites, or cultural attractions related to what your child is learning in school.
• Keep a Journal: Encourage your child to keep a journal during the absence, documenting their experiences and reflections. This can help them stay engaged with their learning.
• Review and Reflect: When your child returns to school, take some time to review any work they missed. Reflect on what they did learn when they were away. This can help reinforce their learning and identify any areas that may need further attention.

By taking these kind of steps, parents can help ensure that their child continues to learn and progress academically even during extended absences from school.

“Art is a place for children to learn to trust their ideas, themselves and to explore what is possible”. (Maryann Kohl)

2024 saw two new art teachers coming to THAC Junior School to work with all our students. Mrs Ann McDermott and Mrs Kathryn Kurilowich are helping our students engage their brains in a form of learning that will encourage creativity and imagination, important qualities across all Key Learning Areas.

The benefits of Visual Art are many. Children develop confidence in their ideas, and learn how to reflect creativity and critically to the world around them through observation of artworks. Specific skills such as hand-eye co-ordination, fine motor dexterities and social abilities are all practised through instruction.

As we move towards celebrating God’s great gift to us over Easter, all the students from Prep to Year 6 have brought home a coloured circle or square. Please encourage your children to draw or paint something that represents this gift. They are due back to their teachers on Monday 25 March. All the artworks will be displayed in the Auditorium next Wednesday 27 March.

To receive an award is a recognition to your hard work, excellence and service in the College. 

Congratulations to the following Junior School assembly merit award recipients:

Congratulations to the following Junior School Principal's and College award recipients:

Congratulations to the following Senior School Bronze & Silver SRS award recipients:

Debating at Thomas Hassall is well and truly underway for the term. 

As the new co-ordinator for debating and public speaking in the Senior School, it has been a crazy start to the year. However, I have been so encouraged. While the large percentage of debaters on the Year 9 and 10 MISA teams this year have never debated before, every student has risen to the challenge and worked hard both during the prep time and at home. 

Round 1: Thomas Hassall vs St Carmel Catholic College. Both teams lost, but did brilliantly for their first debates.
Round 2: Year 9 vs Oran Park Anglican College, with a win and Year 10 vs St Benedict’s Catholic College, with a forfeit from the other team (win by technicality). 

Next week will be Round 3, with both teams competing against St Francis’ Catholic College, our Year 9s on the topic of sport, while Year 10 discusses the pros and cons of the ATAR system.

Our HISCES Competition also begins next week. 

The competition provides a bit more pressure, with often harder or more complex topics, and no prep time for the Year 11 team. Students are given one hour on the day to write their speeches with no access to the internet or computers, testing their general knowledge, teamwork and persuasive writing skills. 
Our Year 7 and 8 team will compete against Shire Christian School, while Year 11 debates All Saints Christian College. We wish them all the best! 

Finally, the public speaking competitions have started for the year, headed by our Year 8’s. Congratulations to India Wheatley, the female representative for Thomas Hassall, and Luke Logozzo, our male representative. 
Further updates to come next term, along with other competitions for the older grades.

Mrs Patricia Guthrie 
Senior School Teacher – English

As the Year 9 Advisors it has been wonderful to see our cohort embracing new challenges throughout Term 1. Back in Week 2, they enjoyed an outdoor camp experience, camping in tents, hiking and preparing for The Duke of Edinburgh Program, which they can sign up for this year. We were very impressed with Year 9’s positive attitude towards all activities on camp and their responsible and respectful behaviour throughout.

The students have just completed The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), over Weeks 8 and 7. NAPLAN is made up of tests in the 4 areas of: reading, writing, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy. The results allow parents/carers and educators to see how students are progressing in literacy and numeracy over time; individually, as part of the College community, and against national standards. Well done on making it to the end of NAPLAN.

Year 9 are now eight weeks into their Stage 5 course and undertaking their new elective classes. We hope they are engaged and interested in the subject areas they chose and making the most of their new learning challenges. We encourage students to be active in their learning and study, to be aware of upcoming assessments and manage their time well to complete all necessary tasks and homework.

In our Wellbeing program, Year 9 is focusing on responding to challenges and dealing with change. They have undertaken two lessons during Pastoral Care, completing activities based on overcoming challenges using a strengths based approach and the importance of gratitude. They have also worked on goal setting for the year.

We are looking forward to Easter Chapel on Monday, and pray that you may have a time of peace and joy over the Easter period with loved ones.

Ms Michelle Raft and Mr Joel Garlato
Year 9 Advisors 

This year has seen the introduction of a new NSW K-10 Modern Languages Syllabus.  The aim of Modern Languages K–10 Syllabus is to empower students to become effective communicators in the target language by developing linguistic competence and intercultural capability.

Students:

- learn to interact, understand and create texts in the target language

- reflect on and understand their own and others’ languages, cultures and identity

- develop an interest in and enjoyment of language learning.

The Modern Languages K–10 Syllabus invites students to consider the perspectives of others and the world beyond themselves, contributing to their own social and emotional development. Learning a language provides students with opportunities to engage socially, culturally and economically in the community. They develop a deeper understanding of their place in the world and the importance of global citizenship.

"Learning a language improves literacy outcomes in first and additional languages and it also increases metalinguistic awareness. Learning languages strengthens collaborative and problem-solving skills, and enhances reflective, critical and creative thinking…” Excerpt taken from the Modern Languages K–10 Syllabus

At Thomas Hassall, from Prep to Year 6, every student has been introduced to a new language or has further developed their language learning. Through a combination of interactive activities and engaging lessons students have been developing their language skills, cultural understanding and self-expression.

Prep 

Our prep students have been learning how to say "hello" in different languages and recognizing that different cultures have different ways of saying "hello."

Kindy

Students have been learning different Indigenous languages through songs.  They are currently learning the song “Warami Ngalowah Mittigar” in Dharug language, which is thetraditional language of the Aboriginal people in the inland areas of greater Sydney, including Liverpool.

Year 1 Spanish

Students have been learning to greet each other and introduce themselves in Spanish. They are developing an understanding of the influence of the Spanish language throughout the world.

Year 2 Spanish

Students have been learning  to describe how they are feeling and further develop their knowledge of the language they need to talk about themselves.

Year 3 Spanish

Students have been learning to describe where they live whilst further developing their knowledge of Australia and its States and Territories.

Year 4 French

Students have been learning to greet each other and introduce themselves in French. They have been developing an understanding of the influence of the French language throughout the world.

Year 5 French

Students have been learning colours in French and will be able to identify and use them in everyday conversation and to describe themselves.

Mrs Viviana Morris
Junior School Teacher (Languages)

The CASA Junior Swimming Carnival was held at Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Homebush.  Our Junior School swim team had 34 students represent the College at the very first CASA Carnival.  

There were some wonderful individual performances and our Junior Boys relay team placed 3rd.  

All swimmers should be proud of their efforts as they represented the College with great commitment and sportsmanship.  Thomas Hassall placed 6th overall at the carnival.

Congratulations to the students who will represent the College and CASA at the NSW Combined Independent Schools Swimming Carnival at the end of the month.

Boys 10 years 50 LC Meter Freestyle​​ Coby O

Boys 8-10 years 50 LC Meter Breaststroke​ Coby O

Boys 8-10 Freestyle Junior Relay ​​Levi M, Tomas C, Liam H, Coby O

Mrs Sharon Evans 
P-6 Sports Coordinator

Our Open Boys Football Team faced off against last year's CIS Cup Champions, William Clarke College, in the second round of the CIS Football Cup. Putting their best foot forward in true Thomas Hassall style, they led with a 2-1 score at halftime, securing a final victory of 6-2.

They now advance to Round 3 - congratulations to all of the boys in the team! Goodluck in the next round.

 Mrs Irene Focas
Senior School Sports Co-ordinator