Term 3 | The Way Newsletter | Friday 22 July 2022

Latest UpdatesBack to Top

From the Acting Principal
Karen Easton

The Term has begun with a suite of events to accompany the return to learning.

In Junior School, it was wonderful to partner with Football Australia and Football NSW to celebrate the FIFA Women’s Football World Cup being held in Australia one year from now. Our Junior School students were put through their paces, taught some football skills and then took part in a mini World Cup of their own, where they represented an adopted country and competed against other nations. A great deal of fun was had and it was a wonderful way for Thomas Hassall students to get active, which is so important. Football Australia generously gifted the College a signed Matildas jersey which we will find a suitable place to display to ensure our students can see it and look forward to the finest women’s footballers across the world descending upon our shores to compete next year.

In the Senior School, we are in the season of subject selection for Year 8 and Year 10 students and it was fantastic to hold our Year 10 into 11 information evening together on Tuesday night. We heard from some of the key staff involved in the process and also received their wisdom about Stage 6 learning habits. This was followed by an information webinar for families of Year 8 students on Thursday evening which was well attended in its virtual format. I must commend our amazing production team for their ability to allow the College to host, record and send out such events with all the professionalism of a television studio.

Subject Selection

I am confident that the Year 8 and 10 Parent Teacher night facilitated some good conversations between families and teachers and that the Year 7 and 9 Parent Teacher night on Thursday next week will do the same. Often the most valuable discussion will be the one you have with your children about their learning after hearing from their teachers. The College wants every student to be giving their best effort in classes and displaying a positive attitude towards their learning as evidenced through the Learning Behaviours on their reports.

Next week will be College Photo Week so no doubt your children will be up nice and early and preparing themselves to look their best. Can I also highlight the extended Study Centre hours for our Year 12 students on the eve of their Trial HSC examinations and ask families of Year 12 students to consider if this will be a valuable resource for them. Many thanks to the staff who have volunteered for the tutoring hours in the afternoon and the supervision in the evenings to assist Year 12 with their preparations.

It is disappointing that we will not be able to hold the South West Festival this year due to the difficulties with weather and its impact upon our fields and building program schedules.

Finally, it was great to be able to reconnect with each other and with God in our chapel services and assemblies this week. It is so valuable to have both our chaplains speaking to students across the College about the gospel message of Jesus.

Mrs Karen Easton
Acting Principal
From the Deputy Principal and Head of Junior School
Sandy Wheeler

Welcome to Term 3!

We have had an exciting start so far and we are looking forward to some special events coming up this term that celebrate family, student learning and the community- please come along and benefit from these special occasions.

We love having parents as part of our day to day College life and giving them an opportunity to connect with other families, some opportunities this term include;

Junior School Assemblies on Fridays at 1.45pm

From 1.30pm, sign in at the front office and make your way to the S block Hall.

K - 2 Assemblies will take place in the odd weeks (Weeks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9)

3 - 6 Assemblies will take place in the even weeks (Week 2, 4, 6, 8, 10)

Different Junior School classes will feature each week to share their learning. Your child will surely love to have you there. Students also receive Principal and College awards and parents will be contacted if this is happening for your child at the week’s assembly.

MRK Café on Fridays from 7.30am

From 7.30 until 9.30am you can enjoy Coffee made by our very own barista Josh who is also part of our College Community as a Year 4 parent.  This is a fun time of connection and delicious foods!  

Our Parent Community Network have also been organising some meet-ups for different Year Groups.  What a lovely way to get together, thank you to our Parent Volunteers for this great initiative!

We are looking forward to the term ahead and welcoming you to our upcoming events.

Mrs Sandy Wheeler
Deputy Principal & Head of Junior School
From the Chaplain
Denis Oliver

POTTERY & CHILDREN

This week I had parent teacher night for some of my classes. I spoke to 36 families and each had very different children.  As I was driving home I was thinking that our concerns, frustrations, and efforts were so similar – just from different places.  While we spoke about marks and effort, I found that the parents were most concerned with their children becoming human beings – adults of the future. We, parents and staff, at Thomas Hassall College are in the business of moulding people! This of course reminded me of a bible passage.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 

2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 

3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.

Jeremiah 18

Did you know that pottery is based on friction? It is the timely applying and releasing of pressure from the potter that moulds the clay. We do that to our children and God does that to us.  You are unique so God gives you unique pressures to mould you into the person he wants you to be. God has many tools as a Potter – circumstances, his Holy Spirit, and the people we encounter.

It is hard being a parent or teacher, we get sick of the friction. But persist, stay gentle, stay consistent for we are in the business of moulding people.  Finally, do not be hard clay, trust God, obey him as he moulds you.

Reverend Denis Oliver
College Chaplain

Upcoming dates

Date Event
Monday 25 July - Friday 29 July College Photo Week
Thursday 28 July Year 7 and 9 Parent Teacher Night
Friday 29 July Bill Turner Cup

Monday 1 - Friday 5 August

Year 12 Trial HSC Exams

Wednesday 3 August CIS Primary Girls Softball Trials
AFL Junior School Cup 
Thursday 4 August NASSA Football Gala Day
Friday 5 August NASSA Football Gala Day
College Photo Week

College photos are taking place next week.

College Photos have been scheduled to take place from Monday 25 until Friday 29 July 2022. Don Wood Photography will be taking individual, cohort and sibling group photos at various times throughout the week. All students will have their photograph taken, however, the purchase of photographs is optional.

If you wish to purchase a photograph package, this can be done via credit card by visiting www.donwoodphotography.com.au and entering the password emailed to you. Individual online photo orders will close on Wednesday 3 August, if you wish to order after this date please contact Don Wood.

Full College Winter uniform is to be worn by students rather than the Sports uniform. Students will be photographed with their bomber jacket as the outer layer and the College jumper will not be worn underneath the bomber jacket.

If your child is absent on the day of their class photo, yet returns to school while Don Wood Photography are still at the College, then they may be able to have an individual photo taken if it can be arranged. Please ask them to report to the Student Reception to make arrangements.

LearningBack to Top

Golden Ticket

Our Junior School Golden Ticket competition has been taking place. There are several golden tickets in the library books for students to find.

There were some very excited recipients this week! Here is what they had to say.

“I was so excited because I was the first one to find it!” said Liam from 1D, the winner of one of the Golden Tickets in the Junior School Library. “I have already chosen what book I will get with the voucher – The Worst Week Ever.”

“My mum and dad and grandma are really happy that I won a ticket. I love Golden Tickets!” exclaimed Valentina, also from 1D.

Both the students are looking forward to reading their new books at night before bedtime.

Mrs Issa and Mr Smith in the Library have said there are more books with the Golden Tickets in the Library. Borrow lots of books to see what the next winner is.

Worst Week Ever books are by Eva Amores and Matt Cosgrove

Maths in Year 1

Maths in Year 1

We love using ‘hands-on’ materials in Year 1!

Handling and manipulating objects are known to support and enhance students understanding of different mathematical concepts. Concrete materials allow students to visualise and understand the Maths, which allows them to make sense of what is actually happening. Using hands-on materials lets them see why and how the procedure has worked – basically the ‘ah-ha’ moment!

Another reason why concrete maths resources play a key role in learning is that they support the mastery style approach. This means that it helps children develop a deep knowledge and understanding of vital maths concepts and learn how to use what they know, to tackle unfamiliar problems.

This type of learning also provides the opportunity for each teacher to quickly give constructive feedback to students and ask questions to support important mathematical language.

Who doesn’t love working with Playdough to learn how to divide?

year 1 maths

Mrs Wendy Irwin
Year 1 Team Leader- Year 1W

Performing ArtsBack to Top

Music Camp 2022

During the last weekend of the recent school holidays, 50 of our senior music students ventured to Katoomba to participate in our College Music Camp.

It had been many years since holding one of these events, and it was fantastic to see so many students get involved. The students formed a large ensemble where everyone sang and everyone played an instrument. It was a great way to encourage new skills and performance experiences for everyone, whilst forming new friendships. Students were also able to visit Scenic World and witness the spectacular views of the Blue Mountains on all three of their scenic rides, have a fun movie night with popcorn, and enjoy singing songs around a camp fire.

On the final day, students put on a one-hour concert for parents, showcasing all the songs and new skills they had acquired over the weekend, and it was a fantastic concert with lots of variety.

Thanks to all the parents for supporting their child with this initiative, and to all the Creative Arts staff team for organising the event and extending the learning opportunities for all our music students.

Mr Byron Mark
Director of Ensembles

BandCamp

Hockey state representative

After a rigorous selection process, Saxon C has been selected as a member of the New South Wales 13 and under Ice Hockey Team to compete in the 2022 Phil Ginsberg National Championship.

The Phil Ginsberg National Championship is conducted annually by Ice Hockey Australia and provides an opportunity for players from all over Australia to compete in their chosen sport at a representative level. The players in the Team are accomplished sportspeople who will be representing the State of NSW.

He will be representing NSW in Adelaide from the 11-14 of August. Saxon was also selected for the reserve bench for the Under 15 State team. 

Congratulations Saxon on this outstanding achievement. 

Football Mini Games

On Wednesday, our Junior School students enjoyed a special day of mini-games run by Football Australia and Football NSW to celebrate the 1-year countdown to the FIFA Women's World Cup.

The College was also presented with a jersey signed by the Commonwealth Bank Matildas. Thank you for making it such a memorable day for our students!

Football NSW Visit

CommunityBack to Top

Come along to Cafe MRK

It was great to see so many parents at Cafe MRK today!

We are open from 7.30-9.30am at Mrs Riitanos Kitchen, so come along and enjoy a coffee with other parents or your children before class starts.

This morning, our Parent Community Network invited along parents of Year 1 to come and meet with each other. It was a great success with many connections made. 

They would like to invite all families to join them this Term:
Week 2 - Year 2
Week 3 - Prep
Week 4 - Years 3 and 4
Week 5 - Years 5 and 6

Please note that all parents are welcome each week, regardless of year groups. This is just an additional option if you wish to come and meet parents of that grade.

We hope to enjoy a cuppa with you soon.

View the menu
Cafe Mrk

Commonwealth School Data Collection Notice

The Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment (the department) would like to advise all parents and guardians that it collects certain information about your child’s school, its staff, and student body.

 

Why is this information collected?
This information is collected by the department in accordance with the Australian Education Act 2013 (the Act) and the Australian Education Regulation 2013 (the Regulation). The Act and the Regulation require the legal entity responsible for the administration of the school (the approved authority) to provide certain information to the department. The department collects this information to:
• Ensure the provision of Australian Government funding to schools is properly calculated and appropriately managed.
• Conduct research, statistical analysis and develop school education policy for the Australian Government.
• Meet national and international reporting obligations on school students in Australia.
• Publish and provide information about schools to the public.

How is information collected?
Information is provided to the department by a school or their approved authority via various data collections on the SchoolsHUB website.

What information is collected?
Each data collection fulfils a separate reporting requirement. The data collections conducted through SchoolsHUB are:
• The Student Residential Address and Other Information Collection (Address Collection) provides student residential addresses (excluding student names), and the names and addresses of parents/guardians of students for eligible full or part-time primary and secondary students enrolled at most non-government schools.
• The Financial Accountability (FA) assurance activity is done to certify that the financial assistance provided by the Australian Government for schools has been spent or committed to be spent to provide school education.
• The Financial Questionnaire (FQ) reports the income, expenditure, assets and liabilities from all non-government Australian schools receiving Australian Government recurrent grant funding.
• Student Attendance (STATS) provides a school’s student attendance rate data by grade, gender and Indigeneity from non-government schools for full-time students in Years 1 to 10 attending regular and special schools.
• The Non-Government Schools Census (Census) provides information about the number and characteristics of the school’s staff and student body during a specific reference period. Characteristics include student year level and workload, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and students, students with disability, students receiving distance education, boarding students, and overseas students. The names of students and staff are not collected, apart from the name, position and contact details of the staff member nominated as the primary contact for the annual Census.
• Census Special Circumstances Applications may also be made by schools to include a student/s who did not attend during the Census reference period but otherwise meets Census eligibility requirements. Schools will provide the department with information and documents about the student demonstrating their eligibility. The department does not require information that personally identifies a student and asks schools to de-identify any documents before providing them.

How will the information be used and disclosed?
Some of the information collected by the department from schools in accordance with the Act and the Regulation, may be ‘personal information’ for the purposes of the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act). Personal information is protected by law, including under the Privacy Act. Any use or disclosure of your personal information must occur in accordance with the Regulation. Personal information is information or an opinion about an identifiable individual. Personal information includes an individual’s name and contact details.

Personal information collected by the department may be used or disclosed for the following:
• Used by the department to review school funding calculations and develop school education policy.
• Used or disclosed where it is otherwise required or authorised by law, including under the Act or Regulation, or otherwise permitted under the Privacy Act.
• Disclosed to the Australian Bureau of Statistics to calculate your non-government school community’s capacity to contribute to the costs of schooling (Address Collection only).
• Disclosed to the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) to publish on the My School website and include as high-level data for ACARA's National Report on Schooling in Australia and the Productivity Commission Report on Government Services (Census and STATS only).
• Disclosed to State and Territory education departments and authorities in accordance with the Act.
• Disclosed to a contracted auditor where the department decides to audit or verify the information provided by an approved authority about a school. The contracted auditor may use previously collected information or request access to individual student records for comparison purposes. The contractors may pass this information onto officers within the department, if there is a discrepancy in the data provided by the school and the school’s records and further investigation is required. The contracted auditor must handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act.
• Disclosed to its service providers for the purposes of the provision of information and communications technology (ICT) support services to the department.
• Other than in exceptional circumstances (for example, investigation of fraud relating to overseas students), the department does not disclose any of the personal information collected to overseas recipients.
 

For more information about how the department handles personal information, please review the department’s privacy policy.

Protecting your child’s privacy
When student information is provided to the department by schools or approved authorities, the department requests that the information must not explicitly identify any student. For example, student names or student identifiers are not provided. To help protect your child’s privacy, we support schools to submit their reporting requirements using de-identified records.

In limited cases, even without student names or identifiers, a student may be reasonably identifiable from the information provided (for example, because of the small size of a particular school). In this event, the disclosure of such personal information to the department by a school, and the collection of that personal information by the department, are both required and authorised by law for the purposes of the Privacy Act.

What do you need to do?
You do not need to do anything. Your school is responsible for providing the requested information to the department.

Want more information?
Your school can provide information about data provided for your child. To find out more about school data collections and reporting, visit SchoolsHUB.