Term 3 : Thursday 2 August 2018

Tracking Learning

No doubt the Mid Course Reports for Years 7-11 would have made for interesting reading for parents and sparked some conversations at the dinner table about the progress of their child. There should have been clear suggestions on the areas of improvement that students need to work on for each subject.

In the Term 3 Pastoral Care Program in Weeks 3-6, teachers will be focusing on the progress of your child and assisting them in resetting their goals for Semester Two. In the next week, students in Years 7-10 will complete a WRAP (Wellbeing Report on Academic Progress) survey on their learning and wellbeing with the results being used by their Pastoral Care teacher to start a conversation with them, one on one, to discuss how they can improve throughout Semester Two. It is important that your child learns to monitor their own learning and reflect on their progress in relation to goals they have set. A Learning Action Plan will be developed that includes improvement goals, strategies for improvement and a timeframe for completion. Once completed, parents should be able to see and discuss their child’s plan with them. Any goals students set need to be SMART goals, which I am positive you have heard of before.

SMART goals stand for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-specific. It would be helpful if your child writes their adjusted goals down and sticks them up on their bedroom wall if they don’t do so already. It will regularly remind them of their intended targets especially when they may be lacking motivation to study or complete school work. If their goals are vague or confusing, not written down and don’t really aim to achieve something specific in their learning, then they most likely will achieve what they aimed for, little improvement. It would be like trying to hit a dartboard with a dart in the dark, you might get lucky but in most circumstances you will miss the intended target. The same principles can be applied to any area of their life they are trying to improve. We want every child to succeed in their learning and co-curricular endeavours and achieve their personal best, regardless of where their starting point is. We hope this initiative assists them in their journey of improvement this year.

Parent Teacher Nights

Thank you for all the parents who attended the Years 7-11 Parent Teacher nights at the end of last term and over the last two weeks to discuss their child’s progress. We encourage you to discuss with your child what their goals are for Semester Two so you can gauge how they are progressing as they receive assessment results back. Information sessions on Effective Study Skills were held for Years 7, 9, 10 and 11 with a Subject Selection session for Year 8 for 2019 electives choices. Thank you for all parents who attended the sessions, hopefully you found them informative, engaging and useful to supporting your child.

College Calendar and Upcoming events

Please be reminded that the College Calendar can be accessed through the Parent Portal. It is a live calendar, constantly being updated. There are so many different events on throughout the term including co-curricular, sport, excursions, incursions and assessments. You are able to filter the calendar to find what you are looking for. If you are unable to access the Parent Portal or would like more information on the College Calendar it can be found on pages 68-69 of the Parent and Student Handbook or you can call the Admin Office on 9608 0033 for assistance.

Please pray for the students in Year 12 who will be sitting their HSC Trial Examinations in Weeks 4-5 this term along with the preparation for the South West Festival on Saturday 25 August. The Festival has not been held for a few years due to wet weather and building programs. It is always a great community event and we would love to see all families attend and enjoy the food, stalls and activities organised for the day.

Lines of Communication

If you need to contact the College, we would encourage you to use the following lines of communication that will assist you in speaking with the right person to resolve any enquiry/concern you may have as quickly as possible.

SeniorSchoolChainofContactChart.JPG

I encourage parents to keep the College informed of anything that you feel may impact your child’s performance or behaviour at the College so that we can support and assist them.

“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

Mr Hugh Renshaw
Acting Head of Senior School

Commences at 10am - be sure to come along! 

Planning is in full swing for the South West Festival.  We are expecting numbers in excess of 5,000 visitors which is shaping up to be a great day for the College and local community and beyond.  The countdown is on!  

There will be a variety of food trucks, thrill rides, children’s amusements and activities, petting farm, interactive reptile exhibit, live musical performances, Emergency Services displays, market stalls and of course, the renowned Motor Show, which attracts exhibitors from all over the State.

There are many opportunities for assistance on the day so be sure to watch out for emails and notes coming home outlining where you can help.  

Click the link for more details about the day - South West Festival Website and don't forget to pre-purchase your unlimited ride bands.

Carmen Pasapera
Marketing & Community Relations Manager 

Term 3

The College’s participation in the City2Surf was inaugurated in 2017, and we are thrilled to see the amount of keen students, parents, and community members who are desiring to join the star-studded lineup. The College team will consist of both a 'Runners/Joggers' group, and a 'Walkers/Light Joggers' group, however, there is still a cost involved for each individual registration, the main details and links for which can be found below. All members of the College community are invited to participate as part of the team.

Please feel free to register yourself/your child, your family, and others connected to the College using the links below. If you have already registered for the City2Surf independently but would still like to join the team, please follow the information below as well. We hope that this event is a fantastic opportunity for community-building between staff and students across the entire College and our wider community, as well as raising money for ‘Compassion Australia’, our sponsor charity for this year.

EVENT DETAILS:

• When: Sunday August 12, 2017 (end of Term 3, Week 3)
• ​Start: Hyde Park, Sydney CBD (specific meeting place before race will be identified closer to the event)
• Finish: Bondi Beach (just past the North Pavilion on Queen Elizabeth Drive), Bondi 

Cost:

• Adult: $87.00 
• Child (15 years of age or under on race day): $62.00 
• Family (2 adults, 1 child OR 1 adult, 2 children): $174.00 

We will be closing registrations for the College Team on Tuesday 7 August, in order to put together the relative safety requirements (meeting points, staff in charge, etc.) in time. Please be aware that race bib collection (unless you have it posted to you) occurs in the Sydney CBD on Thursday 9-Friday 10 August, the two days prior to the event, however Mr. Driscoll will collect all bibs for registered participants from the Sydney CBD on the Thursday and distribute at College on the Friday

HOW TO JOIN THE TEAM:

• ​Adult: $87.00 
• Child (15 years of age or under on race day): $62.00 
• Family (2 adults, 1 child OR 1 adult, 2 children): $174.00 

HOW TO DONATE:

The College will be raising money for ‘Compassion Australia’. There are two ways to donate.

1. Head to the Team Page at https://city2surf2018.everydayhero.com/au/thomas-hassall-anglican-college​ and click the green ‘Give Now’ button.

2. Head to http://city2surf.com.au/raising-money/, click ‘Find a Friend or Team’, search ‘Thomas Hassall Anglican College’ and donate

Please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Driscoll if you have any questions.

Mr Matthew Driscoll
Secondary Teacher - Year 8 Advisor 

With the HSC fast approaching, some of our year 12 music students took the opportunity to practice some of their HSC pieces at this weeks’ HUB. Christine W performed an excellent solo piano piece, Rebecca G sang a song called ‘Gravity’, and Elise T also sang a beautiful piece. Well done to these year 12 performers, and if you would like to perform at the HUB, please see Mr Mark or one of the music staff to register for your performance.

Mr Byron Mark
Manager of Ensembles

The students were Joshua G, Molly K, Madison G, Michael M, Emily F and Sophie H. They were accompanied by parents Roy and Deborah; teachers Anna Mugridge, Lisa Close, Mr Kaye and a student from Oran Park Anglican College Hayden K. The journey challenges the trekkers both physically and emotionally as they follow the path on which Japan engaged in bitter warfare during World War II. They become more connected with our national identity especially the sacrifice and service of young Australians. The experience also immerses the students into the local village lifestyle and demonstrates the vast differences between the PNG culture and our own.

Throughout the trek we were blessed with wonderful weather and all students, parents and staff had a fantastic time. We are ever thankful to the local porters who make the trip so much easier for us. 

Our next trek will be in June 2020 for students who will be in Year 10,11. Stay tuned in Term 4 for meetings that will be called.

Mr Phillip Kaye
Kokoda Trek Coordinator. 

The TAP Swimming program is designed to identify talented students from Years 3 – 12 and offers an extensive training program to students who have represented Thomas Hassall Anglican College at the NASSA carnival level or above.

In 2018 we extended the program to include an extra day for students to train. 

Days: Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the College term (except public holidays)
Time:  5.45am - 7.15am
Venue: Whitlam Leisure Centre - 90A Memorial Avenue, Liverpool
Cost: Fees will be charged per term
Transport: Parents are to make their own arrangements to get children to the pool for a 5.45am start. Students will be transported by mini bus to College at the conclusion of the session.

The squad-based sessions will be structured to adopt best practices and will focus on stroke development and correction, developing strength and endurance. 

Sessions will include race preparation, dives and turns.

Eligibility
The TAP Swimming program is offered to all students who competed at the NASSA Junior or NASSA Senior Swimming Carnival. However, if there is a talented swimmer who did not attend the College Swimming Carnival they may be assessed to be part of the program.

If you would like more information about the TAP Swimming program, please contact Mrs Evans [email protected]

Brochures are available at the College Office.

THAC TAP Swimming 2018 v1.pdf

THAC TAP Swimming 2018 v1.pdf

Over the week, Sonny provided a diverse range of activities and games that the students got involved in that assisted in developing the skill levels of the students as well as advancing their understanding of a football game. There were a variety of students from Kindergarten to Year 9, where they all interacted and helped one another, while Sonny also accommodated for their age and skill level by providing different stations that withheld a certain challenge.

Throughout the week, there was lots of laughs and sportsmanship happening as they got competitive when taking part in the activities such as penalty shoot outs, ‘World Cup tournament games’, the heading machine where many records were broken, tennis soccer and many more fun activities.  

Sharon Evans
P-6 Sport/TAP Coordinator