TI G S
Newsletter The Illawarra Grammar School
Academic Christian Caring
Issue 6 TERM III 2014
BOOK WEEK CELEBRATIONS
Headmaster GOOD LUCK “Luck? I don’t know anything about luck. I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work - and realising what is opportunity and what isn’t.” Lucille Ball ‘Luck’ is a word that is well entrenched in the common vernacular. It is often used by students who are not prepared for examinations, hoping for ‘good luck in the exam paper’. I was intrigued to read the following list of “Top tips for getting Lucky”. •
“Be open to new experiences and breaking out of your normal routine
•
Spend a few moments each day remembering things that went well
•
Visualise yourself being lucky before an important test or telephone call. Luck is very often a self-fulfilling prophecy.
•
Be nice to everyone you meet. You never know who will be a new friend.
•
Expect things to go well and they often will.”
Two things came to mind when I read this list. First, people tend to make their own luck. Gary Player, the world’s
number one ranked golfer for many years, once said when asked what part luck played in his success: “What I have noticed is the more I practise, the luckier I get.” The successful achievement of our goals is usually the result of hard work and dedication to the task over a long period of time. The TIGS Statement of Mission and Values captures this belief, saying “The School Community supports students in developing their abilities, empowering them to become fulfilled individuals” (1.1) and “The School sets excellence as its standard …which is viewed as neither elitist nor exclusive and is accessible to all who aspire to be the best they can be.” (1.6) From Prep through to Year 12, students have the opportunity to develop skills and talents, have new experiences and to find what it means to be the best they can be. This is a process, not an end in itself, allowing students the freedom to experience success and failure along the way. It is not surprising that we consistently receive advice from employers and Tertiary institutions that they prefer TIGS students because they are well prepared for employment and study. Our students are consistently described as confident and well-rounded and have an understanding that excellence is a result of hard work. Typically 90% of our HSC graduates received an offer
of a place at university before they sit for their HSC Examinations each year. To describe this outcome as ‘luck’ would be to deny the hard work of the students, the skill of our teachers and the sacrifices made by parents and families in supporting their children at TIGS. The second thing that struck me about the list of behaviours is that luck is usually associated with success as measured by wealth, prestige or the avoidance of personal injury or catastrophe. Those that are ‘lucky’ achieve unearned advantage through some form of financial or personal risk taking. At TIGS, we see success as being measured by the quality of our relationships: with God, with each other and with the environment. Our Statement of Mission describes our hope for our students as being that they “are equipped to act with wisdom, compassion and justice as faithful stewards of our world”. There are many advantages that a TIGS education provides. These advantages are the product of the sacrifices of parents and families and the expertise and commitment of staff. How ‘lucky’ our students are depends on how they choose to take up the opportunities available and is measured by the impact that they have on their world. Stephen Kinsella Headmaster
Chaplain’s Message TEACHING PHILOSOPHY AT TIGS
One of the exciting developments in recent years at TIGS has been the introduction of the Philosophy course as an elective option for students in Years 9 and 10. The course exposes our students to some of the key thinkers in human history and the ways they have conceived the world in which we live. More importantly, the Philosophy course teaches our students how to think well and engage in debates over ideas in gracious and respectful ways. Mr Rob Whitton and Mrs Margaret Dubowski teach the Philosophy course. They are doing a remarkable job in shaping our students to be respectful and skillful enquirers. This week I was privileged to visit the Year 9 Philosophy class as a guest. I came away deeply impressed at the way our students are maturing as communicators. I felt respected as a conversation partner and noticed how the students respectfully engaged in reasoned enquiry.
“Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!” Luke 12:48 (The Message)
The topic we discussed this week was whether there is any rational or empirical basis to faith or whether it is just a “leap into the dark”. My contention was that true biblical faith is best understood as ‘warranted trust’ based on a range of corroborating supports. Some of these supports are well known in the philosophical tradition. There are four which have dominated discussion. The Cosmological Argument says that as everything has a cause so the universe must have a first cause – God; the Moral Argument says that our sense of moral values points to the existence of a moral Lawmaker; the Teleological Argument says that the evidence of design and purpose in the universe points to the existence of an intelligent Designer; and the Ontological argument says that our very conception of God is evidence in itself of the reality of God. While there may be some merit in these approaches I think there is a stronger avenue of support for the claim that a faith in God is eminently reasonable. This approach is more in line with standard historical enquiry.
God has always worked out his plan and purpose for the world in the public sphere. God’s plan and purpose finds its fulfillment in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The New Testament contains eyewitness accounts of these extraordinary events. Special weight is given to the eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ resurrection. For example, in 1 Corinthians 15.1-8 we have the testimony of one eyewitness to Jesus’ resurrection. He gives a range of reasons why we should accept his testimony. My purpose here is not to go into each of them. I simply want to make the point that faith in Jesus is not a blind faith. It is warranted trust which has corroborating supports just like any other historical event with which we might be familiar. I thank the Year 9 Philosophy students for their kind invitation to class this week and the way they have stimulated my own thinking on this vital matter.
Rev James Rogers Chaplain
Senior School OUR CREATIVE AND PERFORMING ARTS STUDENTS
In the last few weeks there have been performances here at TIGS which have been outstanding. They have been exciting, diverse and of the highest standard. You would have gladly paid to have seen them. And I have loved them. Thank you to our wonderful performers, their accompanists, the new 2015 Performing Arts Prefects who acted as comperes, the Arts staff and to the parents of each and every one of our students. Your support has been outstanding! The range of work and performances have been great. This week Elise Morton delighted us with her singing and playing Debussy on the harp! Georgia Roberts and Sam DeSanti exhibited Monica Watt their skill and versatility on the violin with works from Gershwin to Tchaikovsky and Elgar. Brandon Head of Senior School Cheng and Jaiden Fullerton-Harvey mesmerized us with their virtuosity and versatility playing Deputy Headmaster challenging modern pieces and beautiful classical works. Henry Hulme who exquisitely sang works by Handel, Zadro and Caccini and Rhoan Edwards who made the flute not only sing but paint the most wonderful scene of ‘Raindrop Impressions’ by Bailey. We also listened to their recorded compositions. Thank you to Bianca Howell, Lydia Irankunda, Kuiam Anu, Bridget Mullany, Zi Ce Gong, Emma Hatton, Michaela Georgiou and Nicole Mealey who sang from an extensive repertoire of Blues, Rock, Pop, Musical Theatre and Opera last week at the Music 1 Concert. And to Kristen Chadrawy, piano, Emma Gardner, flute, and Sam Gibbs, trumpet, who played both classical and modern works, with special mention to Grant Ferry, on guitar, playing a favourite of mine - Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo Child.’ In addition there was also the Extension Music concert which was unbelievable in terms of range and virtuosity and the showcase performances of our Dance students: Zoe Bolt, Zoe Chelin, Bianca Howell, Jessica Kuit, Paleh Moo and Pya Ma and Drama students: Alexandria Adams, Blake Cunio, Travys Carinci, Nicole Mealey, Michaela Georgiou, Henry Hulme who performed exceptionally well at their Performance Evenings as well as the recent ‘Works’ and at school Assembly. We have an exceptional group of Year 12’s whom we have seen grow and develop in the Creative and Performing Arts at TIGS. Well done Year 12 we are so very proud of you and what you have achieved.
Senior Sport NASSA VOLLEYBALL GALA DAY On Friday 22 August, Matthew Bermejo, Mary Bul, Vincent Chauvet, Ethan Dorrian-Nancarrow, Emmanuela Franco, Elliot Hutt, Henry Jenkins, Joanne Karakousis, Alanieta Kennedy, Sarah Jane Kingsman, Benae Kuiper, Charles Lindsay, Amy Logan, Natasha Mullany, Giovanni Nassau, Qiana Nassau, James Seal, Claire Smallhorn, Griffin Spicknall and Jonty Swainson, attended Wollondilly Anglican School for the NASSA Volleyball Gala Day. We were lucky with the weather as the rain held off mostly and both the boys’ team and the girls’ team played spiritedly and enthusiastically against well-coached teams. All were cheerful, polite and splendid ambassadors for the School.
TIGS NETBALL CLUB
The TIGS Netball Club have had an enjoyable season with four teams participating in the Illawarra District Netball Association winter competition. This weekend the TIGS 10B Crystals have progressed to the preliminary finals Saturday 6 September at Fred Finch Park, Berkeley. The game starts at 9.45 am on Court 27. We would like to wish the team the best of luck. Netball Presentation Night is Wednesday 10 September in Rees Hall.
STUDENT SUCCESS Congratulations to both Daniel Cannon (Year 9) and Aaron Cannon (Alumni 2013) who have been selected in the NSW Special Olympics Team for swimming to compete at the Nationals in October. We wish them the best of luck.
2014 ACT MOUNTAIN BIKE CHAMPIONSHIPS
This year’s event saw three TIGS teams travel to Canberra to take part in the 2014 ACT Mountain Bike Championships. Stromlo Forest Park was the venue for this event and provided a perfect backdrop for some exciting racing. Nine students represented TIGS bravely and they continued to race even after a student was unfortunately injured. The event is a relay race that allows students of all ability levels to complete as many laps of the 5.11km course as possible within the time limit of four hours with only one rider from each team on course at a time. Teams have three or four members. This year 512 riders from the ACT and NSW participated with some divisions having over 40 teams. Congratulations to the students, parents and Jake Latham who helped manage the teams. Our teams are as follows: Senior Male Division (TIGS Blue) Domenic Esposito, Giancarlo Esposito and Lucas Heidrich Senior Mixed Division (TIGS Red) Sarah I’ons, Lucinda Paine and Luke Serio Junior Male (TIGS White) Matthew Logan, Samuel Moore and Sebastian Playford
NSW SNOWSPORTS CHAMPIONSHIPS
TIGS was represented by eight students at the recent NSW State Snowsports Championships. Harrison Webb (Year 5), Hunter Danckwardt-Bruce (Year 6), Rory Hanrahan (Year 6), Ethan Jackson (Year 8) Aiden Wingate (Year 8), Mackenzie Smith (Year 8), Charli Morelli (Year 9) and Tahlia Jackson (Year 11) competed in a variety of events, representing their school enthusiastically.
Div 4 Snowboard - Hunter Danckwardt-Bruce (8th) Rory Hanrahan (10th) (3rd as a team) Div 4 Snowboard X - Hunter Danckwardt-Bruce (15th), Rory Hanrahan (20th) (7th as a team) Div 4 Alpine – Harrison Webb (38th) Div 3 Alipine – Ethan Jackson (9th) Div 3 Skier X – Ethan Jackson (8th) Aiden Wingate (38th) Mackenzie Smith (11th as a team) Div 2 Alpine – Charli Morelli (16th) Div 1 Skier X – Tahlia Jackson (5th), Charli Morelli (27th) (8th as a team). Congratulations to all competitors especially Tahlia, Ethan, Rory and Hunter on qualifying for the Australian Championships to be held 11 to 14 September at Perisher.
Senior Sport
AICES ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
On Monday 1 September, almost 30 TIGS students travelled to Sydney Olympic Park to compete in the AICES Athletics Championships. The weather was warm and sunny for the first day of spring, which was a nice change from the days on either side of the carnival. TIGS was extremely well represented on the day and finished the day with a number of accolades: • • •
Winner of the overall medal count Winner of the girls medal count Winner of the girls point score
There were numerous outstanding individual performances from TIGS students on the day with some students breaking records. Maudie Skyring broke two records in the 17G 3000m and 1500m and Azalea Nassau broke the record in the 16G Javelin. Ashley Dribbus was named as the 13G Age Champion, while Denali Hutt and Maudie Skyring were both third place Age Champion in the 16G and 17G respectively. Another highlight of the day was the Senior Girls Relay Team, once again blitzing the field to take out the victory in the 4x100m Relay. Every TIGS student who competed gave their very best and were wonderful ambassadors for the School. By the end of the day, 19 students from TIGS had qualified to compete at the NSWCIS Championships to be held on Wednesday 17 September. We would like to wish the following students all the very best as they compete at these championships: James Seal, Alex Seal, Elizabeth Martin, Maudie Skyring, Charlotte Gaynor, Elizabeth Dominis, Ashley Dribbus, Caitlyn Chadrawy, Denali Hutt, Claire Smallhorn, Alexandra Lavalle, Kate Read, Madeline Negus, Azalea Nassau, Rebekah Hutton, Natasha Mullany, Roisin Concannon, Angus Pryde and Kristen Chadrawy.
Language News CHARITY OBENTO DAY!
The Language Department is happy to announce that there will be another Japanese Charity Obento Day! This is to raise money for the Year 12 Charity ‘Street Swags’ and $2 from each order will go towards providing comfortable bedding to those in need. Students from Years 5 -12 will be able to purchase two types of lunches; meat or vegetarian which will cost $12 each. This year, ordering and payment is to be completed online via FlexiSchools at www.flexischools.com.au The closing date for orders is Friday 5 September, with orders arriving on Friday 12 September. Thank you for supporting our event!
Canteen
VOLUNTEERS WELCOME
The TIGS Canteen is welcoming any new volunteers. If you could spare a few hours of your time in the Canteen, we would love to have your help. Mums, Dads, Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles and friends are all welcome.
Parent Portal CONTACT DETAILS
Please remember to update addresses, phone numbers (work, home and mobile) and emergency contact details when changes occur. This includes any medical conditions, operations and illnesses. This can be updated via the Parent Portal. If you have difficulty logging on to the Parent Portal please contact Mrs Regina Buckley on To join the friendly team please phone Debbie in the Canteen on 4220 0200. 4220 0241 or email canteen@tigs.nsw.edu.au
Careers
WOMEN IN ENGINEERING SUMMIT 2015
At the Women in Engineering Summit, you’ll learn about career opportunities in the engineering industry. You’ll see and experience the world-class engineering facilities at UOW and visit local engineering industry sites. The Summit is your chance to meet industry leaders, academics and other women with similar interests from across NSW and the ACT. Who Should Attend? Young women who have an aptitude for maths and science or with an interest in engineering are encouraged to attend this event. Please note that preference will be given to students commencing Year 11 in 2015. When & Where The Summit runs over five days from Monday January 12 to Friday January 16, 2015. Each day you’ll spend time in our Engineering facilities and also take part in site tours of our industry sponsors. Every activity and tour will be supervised by a UOW staff member. At night, you’ll stay in groups at one of UOW’s on-campus residences. A student leader will ‘live-in’ with you. Each leader is a young female UOW engineering student or recent graduate. Cost The Summit fee is $165 (inc GST). This covers your meals, accommodation and activities. Visit http://eis.uow.edu.au/wie-summit/index.html to register.
UOW SUMMER MASTER CLASS PROGRAMME This summer the University of Wollongong are expanding the Summer Master Class Programme that previously offered the ARTS001 subject ‘Belonging in the Community’ and are now offering five new subjects across all five UOW Faculties. Students starting Year 12 in Term IV of this year, from schools across the Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Highlands and Southern Sydney Regions are invited to apply. The university subject will support their HSC marks, establish connections with Faculty staff and reward students with six unspecified credit points towards their UOW degree and guarantee them an Early Admissions Interview. Over three weeks in January 2015, students will be enrolled as a university student and will take part in lectures, tutorials and master classes. They will be supported by a current university student who will be assigned to a small group of students and will act as their mentor throughout the course. To apply for the Summer Master Class Course students will be required to complete an online application form and applications open on Monday 1 September. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Samantha Morris on smorris@uow.edu.au or visit http://www.uow.edu.au/in2uni/SMC/for further information.
TIGS Foundation TIGSFOUNDATION
"Not so secret" Men's Business an innings with adam gilchrist 7.00pm Friday 7 November 2014 WHO: Men (dress: smart casual) WHAT: 3 Course Dinner, Beverages and Entertainment WHERE: Victory Room Western Grandstand, WIN Stadium, Wollongong COST: $150 pp RSVP: Book online at www.tigs.nsw.edu.au or phone 02 4220 0264 A TIGS Foundation Fundraising Event
or (02) 4221 4749
Junior School
KAWASAKI JUNIOR CULTURAL VISIT
The Kawasaki Junior Cultural Prize is an art and essay competition conducted annually for Kawasaki (Japan) School children ages 10 – 12 years. The competition is sponsored by the Kawasaki Shinkin Bank as part of the Wollongong-Kawasaki Sister City relationship. Each year, two prize winners from each category visit Wollongong to present their winning entries to our city. We had the pleasure of hosting these visitors last week in the Junior School. They visited Year 4 and Year 5 classrooms where they spoke with the students and joined in with their lesson. Josh Agarwal and Annabel Malouf our Junior School Captain, accompanied by Mrs Marshall and myself were invited to attend the reception at Wollongong Council Chambers where the Kawasaki students presented their works to the City of Wollongong. Gifts were exchanged between the two groups. It was an interesting cultural event for all those involved.
Narelle McRae Acting Head of Junior School
GIFTED AND TALENTED CAMP Last week eight Year 6 students attended a Gifted and Talented camp at Elonora Heights Conference Centre. There were 140 others students from at least eight other schools who also attended the camp. The students participated in a range of core topics that challenged them to figure out complex problems, allowed them to gain more knowledge about a particular topic and provided them with opportunities to share their learning and new knowledge with others. The students were involved in a wild topic for three hours on either the Tuesday or Wednesday of the camp. This wild topic was challenging, enjoyable, engaging and provided a short break from their core topic. A number of the students participated in cryptology with Mr Agnew for their wild topic and were surprised at how difficult some codes were to break. They were given opportunities to develop some codes of their own using patterns and mathematical operations and presented these to the rest of the group. On Monday night after dinner we had a guest speaker from International Justice Ministries (IJM) to talk about the injustice in many countries around the world and what IJM are doing to address these issues. The students participated in a trivia night with the teachers, a disco night (with teacher supervision) and a talent quest on Thursday night. The whole experience for the students involved was very rewarding and enjoyable.
Dates for your diaries: Friday 5 September Friday 5 September Thursday 18 September Friday 19 September
Father’s Day Stall Kinder - Year 2 Father’s Day Breakfast - 7.00am to 8.00am Rees Hall Big Day In Karobran Disco – 5.30pm to 7.30pm Rees Hall
WEEKLY AWARDS KM Lilly Still, Maddison Tonkin KP Samuel Williams, Nicholas Radojicic 1M Saksham Sirohi, Thomas Partland 1T Victoria Di Martino, Ben Harman 2C Teerth Khanna 2H Gabriella Thornton, Austin Keefe 2M Mia Taylor, Emilie Simmons 3R Euan Christopher, Rebecca Winn, Harry Jenner 4C Jasper Bambrick, Ameesha Gogulan, Bowen Kimberley-Mastalir 4R Eloise Malouf, Sophie McGuire 4Y Elizabeth Michelmore, Ben Giason 5A Daniel Michelmore, Hollander Petersen 5Y Emma Black, Hugo Parrish 6G Micah Sullivan, Winnie Cheng 6W Lucy Cross, Annabel Malouf, Aiden McGoldrick
A REMINDER Parents/Carers please sign your child out at the Junior School Office if you take them out of school for any reason. We need to keep accurate records for our students and we also need to know when students are taken off site. Thank you.
BOOK WEEK We all had great fun for Book Week last week, staff and students alike. There are lots of photos on the library website for you to see the amazing, creative costumes worn by our students at the Book Week Parade. Thank you to Mrs Pollum, Mrs Bowmaker, Mrs Armstrong, Robert Martin and Lucinda Paine for their great efforts in making the parade such a success.
LEGO ROBOTICS
Junior Sport NETBALL
Well done to the Under 10’s team, the Emeralds, who played at a recent Gala Day. The girls demonstrated great development as a team winning a few games throughout the day. The Emeralds put on a great year but sadly missed the Semi’s. They all put in a fantastic season and the following students should be congratulated on their efforts and achievements: Chloe Shadler Taylor Merritt Miranda Golding Jade Hyde Katie Gorham Ameesha Gogulan Chloe Loca Rosemary Zaki Isabella Mitic Emily Choi
We also want to wish a huge good luck to the 10 Years Crystal’s Team as they play this Saturday in the Finals. The team is as follows: Elizabeth Michelmore Isabella Atkinson Mathilda Hoy Tamara Matar Charlotte Atkinson Sophie McGuire Olivia Varmedja Amelia Druett Results will be published in next weeks Newsletter.
STATE SNOWSPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP Congratulations to Year 6 students Hunter Danckwardt-Bruce and Rory Hanrahan who finished 3rd as a team last Wednesday in the Division 4 snowboarding event.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD
It is a tradition of the Junior School that we all work together to participate in Operation Christmas Child. This is a Samaritan’s Purse initiative that provides Christmas shoe boxes full of goodies for children around the world. It is particularly relevant for young students as they can easily identify with children their own age missing out on all the fun things they get to enjoy at Christmas themselves. operationchristmaschild.org.au This year we will again have a giving focus for each week, however, donations of shoe boxes and Christmas wrapping paper can be sent in as soon as possible. Items must be new, not pre-loved and fit into a shoe box. Week 8 Monday 8 September SOMETHING TO WEAR T-shirt, shorts, underwear, cap, beanie, socks, sandals, thongs, etc. Week 9 Monday 15 September SOMETHING TO PLAY WITH Tennis balls (these are the best!), cars, skipping rope, marbles, musical instrument that fits in shoebox, yo-yo, slinky, finger puppets, wind up toys, etc. (No battery items). If you would like to help with packing the boxes or can wrap boxes please call Karen Williams on 0407407763 or email kewilliams@ambulance.nsw.gov.au
Extend at TIGS
Spring School Holiday Program bookings NOW OPEN! Monday 22 September to Friday 3 October 2014
We have heaps of jam-packed activities and incursions ranging from Arts & Crafts, Cooking, plenty of games and sports and lots of Spring activities! Visit the Extend website at extend.com.au for program timetables, booking forms and activity descriptions. Bookings close Friday 5 September – book now to avoid disappointment.
P&F
2014 Karobran Disco
Volunteers are needed for various roles including canteen, supervision and BBQ (great job for dads!). Friday 19 September 5.30pm to 7.30pm. If you would like to be part of this fun night please contact Lauren Gadson via email laurenpg80@gmail.com
The Big Day In
A picnic lunch co-ordinator is required for this year’s Big Day In. The Junior School P&F, Karobran, organise the picnic lunches to be purchased for the Big Day In, which is to be held on Thursday 18 September. If you are interested in taking on this role please contact Tanya Edgerton at tanya@tfabrications. com.au It is a great way for someone to contribute to the school community who doesn’t have the time to commit to an ongoing role.
UPCOMING
EVENTS
WEEK 7
Father’s Day Stall (Kinder - Year 2) Friday 5 September
Father’s Day Breakfast 7.00am Friday 5 September
WEEK 8
Elective Drama Evening Tuesday 9 September
WEEK 9
The Great Race Junior School Big Day In Thursday 18 September
Year 12 Graduation Ceremony 9.00am Friday 19 September
Karobran Disco
5.30pm to 7.30pm Friday 19 September, Rees Hall