Term 2 : Friday 11 May 2018

From the Principal
Principal Ross Whelan

The days are crisp and clear and the winter uniform is necessary to stay warm.  Students are drawn to the comfort of the inside rooms and Term 2 becomes the reporting term.  Every student will receive that formal feedback about progress.

In the recent release of the future plan for school education at the national level, the Gonski 2.0. plan, the design team is keen for the reality of student learning to match the rhetoric of what all schools say – student learning needs to indicate 12 months of schooling.  No doubt you will be interested in the discussion about our nations progress compared to the rest of the world.  At Thomas Hassall, we are working hard towards the goals of the plan.  Please find the summary of the plan at the end of this article.

Our ‘Leader of the Pack’ Musical concludes this week after a 6-night performance season across 2 weeks.  Did you take the opportunity to see the show; enjoy the wonderful songs; the fabulous set and the outstanding efforts from all the cast and crew; the staff, students and parents behind the scenes, and the brilliant expertise of our orchestra; our sound and lighting team – all directed by the master direction of Justin Fitzgerald. 

The superlatives are justified, and importantly, after nearly 6 months of preparations, the learning that takes place in such a project is never forgotten.   So much of what the students gain from the Musical (and indeed every significant project) is transferable into academic learning and future opportunities.  We are very keen to encourage the arts and public performances; to encourage the best pursuits in sport and outdoor education; the study of languages and technology.  Contemporary education offers much for our future adults. 

Thanks for your continued support of the College and our programs.  Our 20th year is celebrated in 2019 and as the new Physical Education Centre and Oval nears completion, we are looking to promote a 20th year project. The College Council is working hard on future plans and we will be looking for the ongoing support of our families – our students and parents in the next exciting phase for the College. 

'...Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?..' Romans 8:34,35

 

Mr Ross Whelan
Principal
From the Deputy Principal
Roger Young

It has been a very busy time at Thomas Hassall with a flourish of activity across a broad range of areas; this includes multiple sport events, a wonderful creative and performing arts presentation and of course the weekly academic program. Congratulations to all the teachers and students that have been keen participants in whatever you are choosing to put your energy into, be that the classroom, the sports track, the stage or at home tackling the homework or study. Well done for having a go and putting effort and sacrifice into something that may have been challenging and requiring some ‘blood, sweat and tears’. Your sacrifices in this area will be rewarded.

I asked one of our students performing in ‘Leader of the Pack’, how he was enjoying the experience. He enthusiastically gushed, “I love performing each night, I never want the musical to end”. This passionate response took me back; it had been a while since I had heard such a heartfelt love expressed for what essentially is an excellent life ‘learning experience’. Consider for a moment that this student has been at College rehearsing on weekends for most of Term One and has given up time over the holiday break and after school. During these months performers were being really stretched and coming against personal challenges that might not have been easy. It would be tempting to opt out and give up at these times and I guess some students do this, but thankfully for most of our students this is not the  case. When we push through challenges, overcome obstacles and pay the cost then the rewards do follow. In addition, the positive outcomes can build momentum across all areas of learning for each student.

We had a beautiful day for our Senior Athletics Carnival. Despite the headwind that blew most of the day there were a list of College records that were broken by a range of talented athletes. This bodes well for the up and coming NASA Athletics Carnival. These impressive outcomes capped off a wonderful day of colour, excitement and comradery. Teams came together to support one another and the competition was very fierce throughout the day.

The NAPLAN/ Mid-Course Examinations and Major Assessments are upon us; teachers have been preparing their classes for these challenges. The final outcomes will assist students, parents and teachers better understand the skills and understanding each student has acquired and what might need to happen to improve. It is important that all students take the time and effort to prepare for these challenges. There is assistance at College via teachers, study centre tutors and via other students, however, students must be prepared to ask for assistance and where required they need to be ready to put effort into preparing for all of their tasks.

Finally, thank you to all the parents for supporting the College in the education of your children. It takes a real effort to ‘drop off’ and ‘pick up’, to commit to parent teacher nights, to buy a ticket to come to the musical, to encourage and assist your child in their study and commit to sacrifice resources (financial and emotional) in order to educate your children. The rewards will be worth it and are on display every day in so many different ways. Thank you and God Bless!

 

Mr Roger Young
Deputy Principal - Senior School Student Development
From the College Chaplain

And with that, the cast in the boys dressing room huddle together and pray. 

Apparently, this is what happens before every performance of 'The Leader of the Pack'. The encouraging thing about this was that the entire cast and crew meet only moments before to pray, but they felt compelled to pray again. 

When I aksed one of the students about this he said, "I think it was Jeremy's idea at first but we all agreed it was a good idea and have done it ever since."

Bill Collyer (Year 11) also said, "God is a creative God and as we're made in his image we are creative too and we want to acknowledge God in our performance." 

They're taking the idea of praying continually (1 Thessalonians 5:14), seriously! 

You can see these student perform in, The Leader of the Pack, on Friday 11 May and Saturday 12 May at the College at 7pm

Stuart Tye
College Chaplain

Term 2 Important Dates
Thurs - Sat 10 - 12 May 2018 Musical 2018 - 'Leader of the Pack.'
Monday  21 May 2018 Cinco De Mayo Festival - Year 1
Wednesday 23 May 2018 Cinco De Mayo Festival - Year 2
Mon - Thur 15 - 22 May 2018 NAPLAN Testing 2018
Monday 28 May 2018 Year 12 Parent Teacher Night
Thursday 31 May 2018 Principal's Twilight Tour & Information Night 
Friday 1 June 2018 Taster Day 2018 
Monday  11 June 2018 Queen's Birthday Public Holiday
Monday  18 June 2018 Junior School Athletics Carnival
Thursday 28 June 2018 Year 11 Parent Teacher Night 
Friday  29 June 2018 Last Day of Term 2

 

Wedding Bells for our Student Receptionist

Congratulations to Alex - our Student Receptionist who married James Smiler on Saturday 24 March 2018.

We wish the happy couple God's richest blessings always as they start their future together.  May their life be filled with happiness and many joyous occasions always.  

Principal's Awards

Well done to all of the recipients.

Musical 2018 - Leader of the Pack

Leader of the Pack is a colourful and very entertaining show with fantastic music.  It's the story of Elle Greenwich who co-wrote the hits of a generation, including the show’s title song, Be My Baby, Baby – I Love You, Then He Kissed Me, Da Doo Ron Ron, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), Do Wah Diddy Diddy, Maybe I Know, Look Of Love, Chapel Of Love, I Can Hear Music, and River Deep-Mountain High. 

As a College we value events that encourage students of all ages to work together and a musical provides one such opportunity. The Performing and Creative Arts help to develop the whole child and bring colour, vibrance and creativity to the wider College Community. The students have learnt an enormous amount while preparing for this show. As part of the process, they build skills in live theatre performance including the elements of acting, singing and movement. Behind the scenes, students control backstage management, lighting and set changes. Each and every role must be carried out with the needs of others in mind, immediately creating a strong sense of team and reinforcing the Biblical principal of serving others. Students grow in confidence, share a common goal and create lifelong memories through productions such as Leader of the Pack.

Well done to all involved, there are still tickets for the Saturday night show so why not come along, you'll thoroughly enjoy the experience!

Follow the link to purchase your tickets https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=362639&

Anzac Day 2018

They made a trek out to the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Cabravale-Diggers Club to represent Thomas Hassall Anglican College to remember the servicemen and women that have served in our defence force over the past century or more. It was an important day because it marks the end of the Centenary Year (100 years since the conclusion of the Great War) where many fallen and wounded soldiers paid a huge sacrifice with many giving up their lives.

This time of remembrance is not intended to elevate war or glorify the deeds but to take some time to consider the sacrifice that has been made so that we may live in security and freedom. We have been attending this service for the past 10 years and I have seen the numbers grow from one hundred, when we first attended, to this year numbering into the  thousands.  Students always enjoy the service and are amazed at the broad range of people from very different cultural backgrounds who are in attendance. It was an honour and privilege to be part of the group. Such is the importance of the event that we will be endeavouring to invite all the Senior students to take the time to join us next year.

Mr Roger Young
Deputy Principal

WellbeingBack to Top

Wellbeing Matters Event

We were fortunate enough to have clinical psychologist Colleen Hirst come and share with us from her wealth of experience in this area.

Over 200 parents and friends attended the event and the feedback has been very positive from many participants.

May I also commend the many parents that have accessed ‘School TV’ – a fantastic Wellbeing and Mental Health resource freely provided by the College.

Please see this link if you haven’t had a chance to access this resource as yet - http://thac.nsw.schooltv.me/category-latest-newsletter

Thank you again for your support and we look forward to the next Wellbeing Matters event in the near future.

Mr Stuart McCormack
Deputy Head of Senior School - Student Wellbeing

LearningBack to Top

News from the Senior IRC

What do your teachers like to read?

Could you guess their all-time favourite book?

How many teachers can you correctly match?

Great prizes to be won!

For more information please speak to Library staff.

Overdue books

Many students still have outstanding books from 2017. Students need to return these resources to the IRC as soon as possible.

Overdue notices will be sent out this week. If any students require a printed list of their loans please speak to Mrs Comiskey or Mr Smith.

Students who do not return their books will be invoiced for a replacement copy.

What's new on the shelf?

The strange and deadly city of Lossy Indica has arrived at the IRC!

Munmun - Jessie Andrews

"In an alternate reality a lot like our world, every person's physical size is directly proportional to their wealth. The poorest of the poor are the size of rats, and billionaires are the size of skyscrapers.

Warner and his sister Prayer are destitute - and tiny. Their size is not just demeaning, but dangerous: day and night they face mortal dangers that bigger richer people don't even have to think about, from being mauled by cats to their house getting stepped on. There are no cars or phones built small enough for them, or schools or hospitals, for that matter - there's no point, when no one that little has any purchasing power, and when salaried doctors and teachers would never fit in buildings so small. Warner and Prayer know their only hope is to scale up, but how can two littlepoors survive in a world built against them?"

Munmun written by New York Times bestselling author Jessie Andrews is a wacky but moving story of two young people trying to survive in a world where the cruel realities of poverty take on strange but deadly consequences. Main protagonists Warner and Prayer take us on an imaginative and unique adventure through the literally uneven city of Lossy Indica, a place where the system is corrupt and the rich get richer (and bigger) and the poor get poorer (and smaller). Warner and Prayer are two great characters, brave and resourceful, determined to overcome the unfair realities of their world and the life they have been dealt.

Author Jessie Andrews through his novel Munmun has created a brilliant parody on the inequalities of wealth, shining a light on the terrible economic reality for many people. It is both hilarious and tragic, fast paced and filled with exciting heart pounding action. This is a unique world that all readers should have a chance to experience.

Many more great new novels have arrived. Please see the new book stand in the IRC for all the latest resources!

Mrs Annette Comiskey & Mr Michael Smith
Senior IRC Library Team

 

Australian Athletics Championship

The 2018 Australian Athletics Championships and nomination trials are the pinnacle event of the Australian Athletics Calendar, with a four-day event commencing on Thursday 15 February on the Gold Coast. This event also boasts as the Commonwealth Games nomination trials.

Christian qualified for both the 100m and 200m and competed against the best in the nation including Para-Olympians and whilst he didn’t get through to the finals he achieved a Personal Best (PB) in his 200m.

In March he competed at the Australian Junior Championships at Sydney Olympic Park.

Australia's 'next generation' of track and field talent was on full display in Sydney as more than 2000 junior athletes descended to compete at the famous Sydney Olympic Park Athletics track.

Christian qualified for both the 100m and 200m and competed against up and coming athletes in his para-athlete class and whilst he didn’t get through to the finals he achieved a PB in his 100m.

This is an outstanding achievement and we congratulate Christian on this. His goal is to qualify for the International Junior Athletics Championships next year.

National Women's Baseball Tournament

She stepped up after 5 consecutive years in the Junior U16 division. Playing as the opening catcher, she started in 7 of the 10 games for NSW.

During the tournament Maddi fielded 1.000, meaning she made no errors throughout the tournament.

She was given the honour of catching during the gold medal match, which was both mentally and physically hard. After 3 innings it was 0/0

Vic Blue in the 4th scored 4 runs, which NSW fought back to equal and bring back to 6/4 in the 6th.

The final innings saw NSW score another run which they then had to defend.

With 2 out, runners at 2nd and 3rd base, Maddi completed the 3rd out to give NSW the victory in a nail biting match.

Congratulations to Maddi and NSW for this great achievement.

Miss Lisa Close
Senior School Sports Coordinator 

MS 24 Hour Swim
I encourage you to join the team and donate to help this worthy cause.
 
We need to have a representative from the College in the water at all times.
 
Please use the link below to register or donate – the more the better https://www.msmegaswim.org.au/team/5639
 
What is MS 24 Hour Mega Swim?
It is a fun team relay where teams have a swimmer in the water for the entire 24 hours and compete for laps swum and money raised, in support for people living with multiple sclerosis.
 
Why are we taking part in this event?
Aside from looking forward to joining others in the fun and atmosphere on the day, we are taking part to raise funds to support people living with multiple sclerosis.
 
It’s quite staggering to think that every working day 4 people are newly diagnosed with this chronic disease. It can strike anyone at any time and the symptoms vary so widely.
 
For instance, can you imagine waking up one day unable to do the everyday things you would usually take for granted? Like not being able to see properly (or at all), you physically can’t get out of bed, can’t walk to the phone to call someone – anyone, or live a life without pain? All of a sudden your world has changed.
 
Miss Lisa Close
Senior School Sports Coordinator 
Talented Athletes Program - Swimming

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 sevans@thac.nsw.edu.au

Brochures are available at the College Office.

 

Bill Turner Cup 2018

The APP 15 years and under Boys Football Program travelled to Blacktown International Sportspark to play in the first round of the Bill Turner Cup on Thursday 3 May. 

The boys have been training hard in their morning sessions with Sonny and although the squad had a few players sidelined due to injury, they came away with a 3-0 win over Fairfield High School.

They now progress to the next round and face Fairfield Patrician Brothers.

Well done boys!

 

CommunityBack to Top

Japanese Sister School Visits

We are seeking families who are interested in hosting students from these schools. Hosting students will provide your family with an amazing intercultural experience. We have always had such positive feedback from College families who have hosted and it is a vital part of our Japanese language program within the College community. The Japanese students are here to experience Australian culture and our style of family life, as well as expand their grasp of the English language.

Visit 1

The first visit will be Takayamamura Junior High School who will stay with us from Friday 3 August to Tuesday 7 August. As the students are of a younger age (Years 7 – 9), we are asking for two students to be hosted by each family.

Visit 2

The second visit will be Fukuroi Senior High School who will stay with us from Tuesday 21 August to Monday 27 August. As the students are of an older age (Years 10 – 12), we are asking for one student to be hosted by each family.

Anyone who is interested can come and pick up a form from Mrs Byrne or Miss Raft in the P Block Staffroom or from the front office and join in the fun. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs Byrne at fbyrne@thac.nsw.edu.au

Mother's Day Stall

A big thank you to Laura Khoury and all the parents who helped source and sell items for the students at our Mother's Day Stall.

We also take this opportunity to wish all our Mums and the special women in our lives, both staff and parents a wonderful day of celebration and time with your family and friends. 

We certainly do cherish you and especially all you do in our community here at Thomas Hassall.