Issue 1 Term I, 2011

NEWSLETTER

Headmaster’s Message Welcome Head of Senior School Issue 1 Term I, 2011

Academic • Christian • Caring

Head of Junior School Chaplain

Welcome Greetings to all members and friends of The Illawarra Grammar School as we commence a new academic year. I was going to offer a warm welcome but, given the heat of last week, it seemed a little unnecessary.

Thank you to all students, parents and staff for your cooperation and understanding during the extreme heat.

Welcome to new students and families and we hope that they will quickly settle and feel part of the TIGS community. Most new students spent time at TIGS at the end of 2010 getting to know the campus and making new friends. Each new student is allocated a ‘buddy’ who will help them settle into the routines of school life at TIGS. New parents will soon receive an invitation to a special evening at which they will be welcomed into the TIGS community and have the opportunity to meet other parents, old (as in long term) and new, and staff. The ‘Welcome to New Parents’ will be held on Saturday 19 February starting at 6.30pm.

The TIGS Newsletter is distributed electronically each Friday, reflecting our commitment to keeping our school families informed in a timely and convenient way as well as reducing our consumption of paper. Parents who would like to receive a hard copy should contact the School Office.

This year we welcome the following new members of staff to our school: • • • • • • • •

Ms Melina Sangster – Special Education Coordinator Ms Kelly Baxter – Junior School Teacher Mrs Kylie Dribbus – Junior School PE Specialist (part-time) Mrs Alison Rout – Teacher/Librarian (part-time) Ms Cassie James – Teacher of Dance (part-time) Mrs Audine Evans – Junior and Senior School Counsellor and Case Manager (part-time) Mrs Tara Skipp – Senior School Counsellor (part-time) Mrs Susan Cooper – Foundation Administration Assistant (part-time)

Stephen Kinsella Headmaster

We are privileged to have such qualified and capable staff joining our school and look forward to celebrating their achievements with our students.

The 2010 academic year produced some wonderful results by our students in public examinations. Results in NAPLAN tests and the School Certificate were all well above state average and reflect the hard work of our students and the expertise of our staff.

We are particularly thrilled with the results of our HSC students who, across all ability levels, consistently impressed us with outstanding results. A summary of our HSC achievements is provided on the website.

The extent of the success of Year 12 2010 is represented by two statistics: • •

87% of the cohort gained a first round offer of a course of their choice at university.

Over 60% of the cohort were offered a place at university PRIOR to sitting for the HSC examinations (we believe the figure is closer to 80% but we have not received advice from all students yet).

Parents with children starting their schooling at TIGS should be encouraged by these results and the value placed on a TIGS education by the universities.

Academic success is just one dimension of a TIGS education and we reject the attempts by some to rank schools by academic performance alone even though TIGS continues to be ranked highly in such tables.

At TIGS we are concerned about the development of the whole child and this is captured in our Statement of Mission which shapes all that we do as a school: “The achievement of academic excellence in a caring environment that is founded on Christian belief and behaviour, so that students are equipped to act with wisdom, compassion and justice as faithful stewards of our world.”

I wish all members of the TIGS community a successful 2011, one in which we will celebrate the achievements of our students across the whole spectrum of their development.

Congratulations to Georgia Kollaras (Year 12, 2010) on a wonderful performance at the Encore Concert at the Sydney Opera House on Monday, 7 February. Georgia was chosen to perform by the HSC Examiners. She was wonderfully supported by past and present students and staff: Ms Zink, Ms Ryan, Mrs Hollander, Mrs Bonaccorso, Jessica Hort, Sefora Bud, Callum Bizimovski and Zoe Barker. Ms Zink arranged the performance piece which was the song ‘Home’ from the musical ‘The Wiz’. It was a great performance and a night to be proud to be a part of the TIGS community.

Stephen Kinsella Headmaster

Chaplain’s Connection

What new and wonderful things will we learn and discover in the year ahead?

For that matter, what old and wonderful things will we re-discover and pass on?

There was a news story a couple of weeks ago about a school teacher in America who made a remarkable discovery while searching for documents to show her students.

Deborah Court, a sixth-grade teacher at St. Paul Lutheran Church and School in Bonduel, Wisconsin, went into the school’s walk-in safe to look for old baptismal records to show her class. As she poked around, she found a dust-covered book on the top shelf which turned out to be a Bible.

The old Bible was passed around from teacher to teacher and used in various classes, before being passed on to the pastor, Rev. Timothy Shoup. It sat in his office for months before he took a closer look at it. When he did, he noticed that there were Roman numerals inside the front cover which read MDCLXX. He sent images of the Bible away to experts, who examined it and confirmed that this was indeed a hand-illustrated copy of Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible, which was printed in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1670. There are only about 40 copies of this Bible known to be in existence in the world.

Just how the Bible came to be where it was, and how it came to be overlooked for so long, nobody is quite sure.

Reading that story, I was reminded of an incident in the Old Testament (2 Kings 22). Josiah, king of Israel, sent his secretary Shaphan to the temple to check on some payments. Whilst he was there, Hilkiah the high priest said to him: “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD.” Shaphan took it to the king, and said: “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” When he read it to the king, he tore his robes and said: “Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the LORD’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book ...”

John Reed Chaplain

The ‘book of the law’ was the Bible, or at least the first part of it. It should have been the defining document for the life of Israel, and yet here it was, sitting forgotten on a shelf!

What a pity it would be if our own Bibles were left forgotten and unread on a shelf, only to be discovered, covered in dust, by a future generation.

And so I reminded myself, as I remind you, that we should be reading our Bibles, because: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Senior School

There have been some changes made to the Students’ Diary and these changes were made based on recommendations from the SRC. Please take some time to look through the Diary with your children when you sign it at the end of each week, because one of the changes we made was including a list of Extra-Curricular and Co-Curricular Activities, Student Clubs and other Additional Activities.

This list is extensive and it also shows the name of the contact teacher as well as the Year Groups who are eligible to be involved. There is no reason for students not to get involved.

Every week on Assembly a representative from one club or activity usually promotes their group but it would be additionally encouraging if you were to support your child embracing the broad program of activities which the School provides. This week on Assembly various Prefects promoted: a Photography Competition (Art Dept), Creative Writing Competitions (English Dept), involvement in Chapel Band, Maths Club and Maths help and that is only a small selection from the activities you will find listed in the Diary.

This week students were reminded that they are to wear their blazers to Assembly. I seek your help in ensuring that our students learn to take responsibility for appropriate dress and behaviour at this weekly formal event within our school community.

Monica Watt

Deputy Headmaster and Head of Senior School

Junior School

A New Beginning

Welcome back and welcome to new families and staff.

The beginning of a school year is an exciting time. A new beginning for our children and for our staff, to create a unique learning environment, a selection of individuals that will create and develop into a group identity. This is powerful stuff and a phenomenon that should not be underrated. At the staff Professional Learning days prior to the term commencing, our Chaplain Rev Reed spoke about resolutions. A particularly powerful quote he shared I would like to share with our Junior School community also: “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves.

The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” – E. L. Pierce This is true of a new school year.

At the beginning of each academic year our teachers develop an Essential Agreement with the children that defines their learning environment for the year. The Essential Agreement is different from “class rules” (which is how I remember my school years beginning) because there is a shared ownership and a commitment from all of the groups members about how their group will function. Please chat with your children about their Class Essential Agreement. It will give you an insight into their classroom and also into their learning for the term.

Why meet the teacher??

Next week we begin our “Meet the Teacher Evenings”. I have noticed that our numbers are very strong in the younger grades but drop off a little as we progress up to the older classes. I encourage our school community to take this opportunity to continue to build Head of Junior School our partnership together in attending this event. One of the most important outcomes for the children of “Meet the Teacher” is that their most significant people, that is their parents and their teachers, are communicating and working together to enhance their learning. It is a powerful message that what happens at school is important and it provides a great opportunity for parents of emerging adolescents to have more information about the school day than the standard: “How was your day?”

“Good” conversation that many parents of Year 5 and above tell me about!

Judi Nealy

I look forward to seeing many parents at the Meet the Teacher evenings and remind you of the Parent Training sessions that are occurring over the next few weeks also.

Upcoming dates for your diary: • Tuesday 15 February – Early Stage 1 Meet the Teacher • Tuesday 15 February – Full Parent Training Session 5.00pm-6.00pm • Wednesday 16 February – Stage 1 Meet the Teacher including update Parent Training session • Thursday 17 February – Junior School Captains Induction

Cer Merit ti Meg fica tes Kunk ler Flyn Kilby Harr y Bor bilas Jame s Ori el

School Contact Details Have you changed contact details recently?

Current details of all students including names, addresses, emergency contact information, medical conditions and parent contact details including mobile phone numbers and email addresses need to be kept on file and accurate at all times.

Please ensure that any change of any details during the year are noted on a Notification of Change in Contact Details form and returned to the School office for recording.

Canteen News

Week 3, Term I Monday 14 Feb Leilani Donovan Janene Sunderland Lauretta Bussoletti

Tuesday 15 Feb Barbara Mandelson Jacey Dema The Term I 2011 Canteen Menu and the current volunteer roster can both be accessed via our School website.

If you could spare a few hours of your time we would love to have you as part of our team of dedicated Volunteers. Mums, Dads, Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles and friends are all invited.

To join our friendly team please phone Meagan in the Canteen on 4220 0241 or email canteen@tigs.nsw.edu.au

Wednesday 16 Feb Alison Mc Kenzie Marie McCorquodale

Thursday 17 Feb Alice Martin Jan Scott

Don’t forget our online ordering system, please go to www.flexischools.com.au OR alternatively you are still able to leave your order at the far Canteen window before School starts. This is an easy to use, time saving way to order healthy food for your children.

Friday 18 Feb

So far we have over 160 families registered.

HELP NEEDED

Senior School Sport Athletics Success Congratulations to Emily Debrot (Year 12) on her fantastic results in the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships in Melbourne last December.

2nd – Javelin (throwing a distance of 43.64 a new PB).

A great result from our Senior sportswoman of the year for 2010.

AFL Success Congratulations to Mark Mura (Year 12) on his selection in the U/18 NSW/ACT AFL Rams State Squad. Mark will travel to Albury for trial games in early March and to Melbourne and Albury for final selections in April. We wish him luck in both these selections.

Year 9/10 Sports These Summer Sports for Years 9/10 have began for Term I. Badminton Monday - IGC - 3.30pm to 4.30pm

Golf Tuesday - TIGS Oval - 3.30pm to 4.30pm Rock Climbing Wednesday - 3.30pm to 4.30pm Swimming Wednesday & Friday - University Pool - 7.00am

Registration Days: Two registration days will be held in the senior school room MG3 which is located next to the IGC. Friday 11 February 2.30pm to 4.30pm Saturday 1.00pm

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Table Tennis Monday - IGC - 3.30pm to 4.30pm

Birth Certificates (photocopy) will be needed for new club members.

Swimming training is available to all students please collect a permission note from Student Reception.

Registration Fees – Netta (8-10 years) $125 Juniors (11-17 years) $135.

TIGS Netball Club- Teams for 2011 Last year TIGS entered six teams in the Illawarra District Netball Association Saturday competition. It was an exciting year with over 55 girls from TIGS playing netball in the club and three teams being grand final winners.

This year we are looking forward to the continued growth of the club. We invite any girl’s turning 8 and above in 2011 to come and play for the School.

Basketball Wednesday - IGC 3.30pm to 4.30pm

These fees will cover NSW and IDNA Netball Association fees and insurance levy, presentation night and the Illawarra Netball gala day entry fees.

We look forward to seeing you at registration for 2011.

TIGS/Uni Junior Rugby Club Inc The TIGS/Uni Junior Rugby Club Inc is inviting you to be a part of the 2011 Rugby Season.

To download the information flyer please click here.

Boardriders Monday - North Beach - 6.30am

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To keep up-to-date with the latest news and events that are happening in and around our School, we encourage you to subscribe to the email Newsletter.

Simply visit our website: www.tigs.nsw.edu.au and sign up on the home page.

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