Issue 7 Term I, 2011

NEWSLETTER

Headmaster’s Message Being Involved Head of Senior School Head of Junior School Issue 7 Term I, 2011

Academic • Christian • Caring

Chaplain

Being Involved Expo Day, the School’s open day, where families thinking of enrolling their children are able to view the campus and speak with staff, students and parents was held in the deluge last Saturday. I wish to express my gratitude to everyone that made the day a success.

I had the opportunity to talk with many of our visitors and a frequent comment was how impressed they were by the willingness of the TIGS community to participate in the day and to go out of their way to make them feel welcome. A great strength of our school is the strong commitment to the School’s values held by those that choose to be a part of TIGS community and this was noticed by our visitors.

There are a number of ways that parents can be involved in a formal way with the School and its community. At the last meeting of the School Council, Mr Glenn Smith (a former parent) was elected to the position of Deputy Chairman and Mrs Sharon I’ons (current parent) was appointed as a member of the School Council.

At the Annual General Meeting of TIGS Foundation, the following parents and former parents were elected to the Board: Chairman Mr David Laing Senior Vice Chairman Mr Michael Devitt Junior Vice Chairman Mr Craig Peden Secretary Mr Craig Osborne Treasurer Mrs Sandra Newhouse Members: Mr Kevin Donald Mrs Olga Early Ms Benita Andrews Mr Simon Kersten

Stephen Kinsella Headmaster

The Parents and Friends Association, and the two associated organisations, Karobran and Orana, always welcome new members to their meetings and activities. In the last week the P & F organised a very successful welcome to new parents at a luncheon. They are also gearing up for the Great Fete which will be held on Saturday, 21 May and are seeking volunteers to help run the many stalls and attractions that make the day such a wonderful event. For more information click here.

Many parents are time poor and find they are unable to commit to these organisations. As a community we understand that each person’s circumstances are different and the degree of involvement will vary. Whether you attend everything or just a few events each year, the students, staff and other parents appreciate your support.

Some coming events worth recording in the diary are: 1 April Music, Dance and Drama Showcase 21 May TIGS Great Fete 22 to 25 June School Production of West-Side Story (tickets sales start on 27 April 2011)

Parents are able to keep track of events by checking on the School calendar which is updated regularly on the Schools website.

Stephen Kinsella Headmaster

Chaplain’s Connection

Many of us will be aware of the “Free Hugs” campaign, begun in 2004 by an Australian man who goes by the pseudonym ‘Juan Mann’.

On the official Free Hugs website [ http://www.freehugscampaign.org ] Juan Mann explains how it began: “I’d been living in London when my world turned upside down and I’d had to come home.

By the time my plane landed back in Sydney, all I had left was a carry on bag full of clothes and a world of troubles. No one to welcome me back, no place to call home. I was a tourist in my hometown.

Standing there in the arrivals terminal, watching other passengers meeting their waiting friends and family, with open arms and smiling faces, hugging and laughing together, I wanted someone out there to be waiting for me. To be happy to see me. To smile at me.

To hug me.

So I got some cardboard and a marker and made a sign ...”

On June 30, 2004, he stood in Pitt Street Mall in central Sydney holding up his “Free Hugs” sign. He had to wait fifteen minutes before an elderly lady, who had been dealing with difficulties of her own, came up to him and gave him a hug. Then came another, and another, and soon the campaign spread around the world.

In the last year two students at Purdue University West Lafayette campus in America have been running a similar “Free Compliments” campaign.

Each Wednesday afternoon, Brett Westcott and Cameron Brown have been standing on a busy walkway holding a large “Free Compliments” sign and saying nice things to everyone who passed by: “I like your red coat”; “Cool snow boots”; “Very nice smile” ...

John Reed Chaplain

Some students say they deliberately walk past “the compliment guys” every Wednesday just to hear a kind word.

I’m sure we all know the power of a kind word, or a compliment; and are equally aware of the impact that negative words can have. The Bible likens the tongue to a bit in a horse’s mouth, a rudder on a ship, or a spark in the forest: it is only a small thing, but can change the direction of, or even destroy, a life (James 3:3-6).

It is important, therefore, that we are mindful of our words. Instead of being like those whose speech is “like a burning fire” (Proverbs 16:27), we should make it our aim to be more like the wise person whose heart ‘teaches his mouth and adds learning to his lips’, for “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” (Proverbs 16:23-24).

You don’t have to hold up a sign saying: “Gracious Words Here Today”. Just practice speaking graciously, and in time your words will have an enormous impact.

Senior School One of the features of a TIGS education is to give each child the “opportunity to identify and develop their gifts and talents to the fullest extent.” Last Saturday amidst the deluge of rain and newly-formed water features which where cascading down walls and stairs on the property our Year 10 Student Hosts and many other volunteer students were showing prospective students and their parents around our school on Expo Day. It was so inspiring to see them first take a deep breath and then introduce themselves to these young people whom they had never met before, and their parents, before the hosts stepped out into the unknown on what was a quite a daunting task for many of them. To then hear them at various stages of their tour around the School talk with such pleasure about their school, their school community and the community work that they do both within school and outside the School was an inspiration not just to me and their teachers but also to our PA’s and other Administrative Staff working in Development and Support.

So thank you to:

Monica Watt

Deputy Headmaster and Head of Senior School

Helena Bonham Claire Bonhma Thomas Bolt William Holmes Jake Kuit Grace Crisp Alexander Veljanov Claire Jones Jessica Defreitas

Taryn Newnes Arther Kwok Jane Chang Steven Cortie Timothy Johnson Richard Bujaroski Kate Pearman Lilly Chester-Crowe Blake Kovac

William Harrison James Early Kishan Wijesinghe Isaac Kim Daniel McNamara Nicola Xanthopoules James Yan Cassandra Bujaroska

Hannah Goodhew Laura Sunderland Joy Li Daniel Dutkiewicz Misha Kovac Paige MacKander Xavier Hollis Carna Feldtman Patrick Costabile

The Administrative Staff were impressed by the confidence and pride that our students demonstrated and were in awe of the promotional work that these young people were doing in what appeared to be an effortless way. They commented on the fact that these skills will stand them in great stead in their future lives. I also explained to the non-teaching staff that because of our curriculum and our co-curricular program each and every student will present a speech each year and is expected to stand in front of the school and sing for their House in the Music, Dance and Drama Competition. They were impressed!

Junior School

Children Dealing with Disaster Short of a blanket ban on TV for the past three months, there would be almost no avoiding our children seeing images of flood, earthquake, tsunami and disaster. We need to consider the amount of footage we allow the children to view and we need to talk through with them what they are seeing. I came across an article online recently and felt that the information provided would be helpful to the parents of Junior School aged children in our TIGS community.

“Of course, parents do have a major role to play and many parents will make an informed choice not to try to shelter their children from this material, no matter how disturbing it is.

Many will argue that the news is merely reflecting the world in which we live and we should be preparing our kids to deal with that, not protecting them from it. …But the strategy for children younger than school age is very likely to be different….. Many of these children came from families who would normally stop their young children from viewing graphic material. The kids saw the vision because their parents did not think they were old enough to “get” what was going on or while the children were in the room they did not seem to be “watching” what was on the television.

The take-home message is this. What we have witnessed in the past three months has been horrifying almost beyond comprehension. How our children deal with this will depend in no small part on how we handle it.

Judi Nealy

Try to limit what they see and talk it through with them to help them reach some form of context. If you wouldn’t let your kids watch disaster flicks for hours on end, ask yourself whether it is appropriate to let them see hours of very graphic news material.

Head of Junior School

After all, it would be nonsense to think the footage is less threatening because it is real rather than fiction. Real life doesn’t come with George Clooney or Bruce Willis waiting in the wings to fly to the rescue. The hero in this story has to be you.” Susan Hetherington is a lecturer in media and journalism at the Queensland University of Technology.

This week you will receive notification of Parent teacher Interview times for the end of the term. Parent teacher Interviews are very important for two reasons.

Firstly they allow us to chat before the year gets too far underway. This is important and an intentional reason behind the timing of our interviews. Our feeling is that parents would prefer to know of any concerns earlier rather than later and for this reason the Parent teacher Interviews are scheduled early in the year.

Secondly they send a clear message to the children that we are in partnership together, the School and home to support them in their learning. I do encourage our families to book in a time for a brief Parent teacher Interview before the Easter Holidays and look forward to seeing many of you at the Parent teacher evenings.

Dates for your diary • Wednesday 30 March 9.30am – Coffee and curriculum parent discussion group • Parent teacher Interviews – Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 April • Thanksgiving and Easter Service – Thursday 7 April • JS Cross Country – Thursday 7 April • ANZAC Day Service/Assembly – Thursday 28 April • Junior School Photos – Tuesday 3 May • Mother’s Day Stalls – Tuesday 3 and Friday 6 May • Mother’s Day Garden Party – Thursday 5 May

Junior School Sport South Coast Futsal Championships Congratulations to our winning U/12 girls team who completed an undefeated run last Monday to take out the South Coast Champions title. They will now compete at the State Championships next term.

Team members: Emilia Bujaroska, Ruby Pallone, Natasha Pather, Ashley Dribbus, Sarah Hanlon, Jesse Pupovac, Meg Kunkler.

NSWCIS Primary Swimming Twenty TIGS students competed at Homebush on Tuesday as members of the NASSA Swim Team.

There were some excellent performances all round, particularly from our relay teams with three of the four teams making the finals.

Aria Bacic-Johnston , Justus Bacic-Johnston, Hailey Van Vreumingen and Hugo Mackenzie- Wood all made finals with Hugo placing 4th in the Breaststroke.

Congratulations to Daniel Cannon who placed 1st in Breaststroke and Backstroke SWD and 2nd in the Freestyle SWD. He will now compete in the PSSA Carnival later this Term.

AWARDS

KA

Cody Maynes-Rutty, Jessy Harman,

KM

Mackayla Hutchinson, James Burgess

1D

Isaac Saffoury

1B

Nicholas Chiaverini, Chloe Loca

1W

Ben Giason, Amelia Druett

2D

Nikala Bricevski, Ajay Rindani

2A

Olivia Barber, Alexandria Gunther

2P

Thomas Peden

3M

James Gorham

3Y

Lincoln Tut, Aaron Ylias, Maya Middleton

4M

Sarah Jansen, Riley Hanlon

5N

Aaron Doherty, Aaron Bell

6W

Lina Steinke, Vanessa Winterbottom

6C

Jacob Fraser, Julia Devitt

6Y

Lucinda Paine

Weekly Certificates Jacob Fraser Taylan Arapali Patrick Li

Canteen News

Week 9, Term I Monday 28

Tuesday 29

Wednesday 30

Thursday 31

Friday 1

Sonja Forte Julie Chiaverini

Clare Barber Meagan Milic

Zina Ainsworth Wendy Gray Spence

Kerryn Mura Help Needed PIZZA DAY

Yolanda Makotsvana Maureen Whitton

New Product

Online Ordering

Grain Waves (Sweet chilli or sour cream & chives) $1.20

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.

Rice Biscuits 40c

We would welcome any new helpers for 2011 at the canteen. If you could spare a few hours once a month, we would love to have you on board our team of dedicated Volunteers.

Deleted Product

New Menu coming for TERM II

Uniform Shop Year 7 2011 Information

Please note that Year 7 students who require a winter uniform should visit the Uniform Shop for fittings from Week 8 until the end of Term.

Uniform Shop School Holiday Opening Hours

9.00am to 2.00pm Friday 15 April and Saturday 16 April. Appointments necessary, please phone 4220 0230

T

e r a t G F S e Saturday te G I 21 May 2011

Senior School Sport Australian Youth Athletics Championships

Congratulations to the following students on their recent results in Athletics: James Belcher 18 Boys Pole Vault – 4th 18 Boys Hammer – 6th 18 Boys 400m Hurdles – 11th Emily Debrot Under 20 Girls Javelin – 4th Fitness Five Fun Run – Kembla Joggers This event is a 5km event and will commence at 8.30am on Sunday 3 April. For more information visit race website www.f5.kemblajoggers.org. au or call Marry Smith on 0408423823.

Regional Futsal Competition Open Girls Team The Open girls Futsal team competed at the South Coast Regional Futsal Championships on Wednesday 16 March.

The girls were placed in a very tough pool of some extremely strong teams. The TIGS girls performed valiantly and improved throughout the day but were not strong enough to make it through to the final rounds. The team was: Phoebe Fraser, Katrina Christian, Hannah Muirhead, Bijanka Veljanovski, Elizabeth Dominis, Peita Kallinikos, Bronte Osborne, Emily Beck, Lucy Donovan Coach: Mr Deck Under 16 Boys Team The Under 16 boys team began the competition in great form by defeating both Holy Spirit College and Figtree High School in two close games. The third group-stage game was a very physical match which Bulli High School eventually won. TIGS won the group stage in 1st place.

The quarter final again against Holly Spirit College which saw TIGS defeated 4-2. Thankyou to the following students for representing the school: Luke Bussoletti, Joshua Chapple, Kieran Devitt, Damian Galanti, Benjamin Goodhew, Robert Gyngell, Anthony Keating, Michael Ledwidge, Kalen Pupovac.

Coach: Mr Wall Under 14 Girls Team On Tuesday 15 March, The Illawarra Grammar School entered an Under 14 girls team into this competition.

Ten schools from around the region entered this exciting event. The girls won their division stage, winning all 4 games in their group. After defeating Keira High School 2 - 1 in the semi-final, TIGS went on to a highly contested final in which they lost 0 - 1 to Kiama High School. Both finalists now go forward to compete in the State Futsal Tournament in August.

Thanks go to the following students for representing the school: Emiline Cacciaguidi, Maria Kyriakoudes, Hannah Kim, Madeline Laing, Kristen Chadrawy, Stephanie McEwan, Perin Leach, Natalie Shalala.

Coach: Mr Wall AICES Under 16 Girls Hockey The NASSA Under 16 girls hockey team travelled out to Bathurst last Sunday and Monday to play in the AICES Hockey Championships. We escaped the rain during play on Monday but managed to catch up with it again on the long trip back to Wollongong.

The NASSA team marginally went down to Western Association 2-1 and won against Hunter Region 2-1.

This team comprised of the following seven TIGS students: Lilli Bennett, Maudie Skyring, Teagan Johnston, Chloe Johnston, Margot Allison, Zoe Morrell and Rachel Craft.

Congratulations to Lilli Bennett and Maudie Skyring for their selection in the AICES Under 16 Girls Hockey Team.

Thank you to both Mrs. Morrell and Mrs. Skyring for being Selectors, Managers and a wonderful support for the TIGS students and NASSA Association.

TIGS Senior School Tennis Gala Day

The Senior School Gala Day was held at Beaton Park. Students from Years 7-12 played in a healthy competitive environment to aid the selection of the school team.

Congratulations

to

the

following students who have been selected in the school tennis team to represent TIGS next Monday 28 March at the NASSA Tennis Day Campbelltown.

Boys: Fred Newman, Dominic Riordan, Mark Perri, Adrian Haise, Luke Bussoletti Girls: Stella Crick, Hannah Muirhead, Lily Tuivaga, Cassandra Wallace, Hannah Kim.

2011 Australian MTB Interschools Championships

Over the weekend of the 18 to 20 March, five TIGS students travelled to Thredbo with their parents to represent the school in the 2011 MTB Interschools Championships.

Jake Latham, David Manton and Alistair Martin competed in Division 1 (Year 11 & 12) while Lachlan Gray and Hamish Paine competed in Division 2 (Year 9 & 10).

Over the weekend events were held in 4 mountain bike disciplines - 4X (like BMX on mountain bikes), Downhill, Short course XC (sprint) and XC (endurance). The competition started with the exciting 4X races on Friday evening. All 5 boys competed in this event in which there was much excitement due to a dry and dusty track making conditions quite slippery. David was the most successful reaching the final of the Division 1 heats and finished 4th of 47 competitors. Jake and Alistair both successfully got to the third round of heats before being eliminated.

Unfortunately, after winning his first two heats, Lachlan suffered a fall in his third heat, injuring his knee and putting pain to his plans to race in the other events over the weekend.

On Saturday Alistair, Jake and David lined up for the Downhill racing in a field of 73 competitors in fabulous Thredbo weather with David finishing in 28th place, Jake in 32nd place and Alistair in 56th after succombing to a flat tyre half way down the course. This was followed by the entertaining Short Course XC sprint races on Saturday evening. Hamish had a great outing in this event, finishing 7th of the 23 competitors

who qualified. Alistair and David also qualified in the Division 1 race finishing 17th and 9th respectively.

On Sunday morning the final event of the weekend was held when the boys lined up for the XC races. Hamish again did very well finishing 5th in a field of 51 Division 2 competitors while David, Jake and Alistair also did well in the Division 1 race finishing 10th, 21st and 24th respectively in a field of 43 competitors.

Congratulations to all the boys for a great effort, especially Hamish competing in only his second mountain bike competition.

Thanks also to all the parents for their support and involvement and particularly to Tim Manton (David’s dad) for managing the team.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Lachlan who I am sure will be back on his bike before long.

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.

ition t e p m o C Dram IGC d n a e c ic DanMarch 2011 in the • Mus 30 29 and ing m im w S S • JS C1I 011 March 2 3

wcase o h S m a r nd D a e c n a D he IGC • MusAic 011 in t 2 il r p 1 nce a m r o f r st Pe e r o f in a • R April 2011 ws ie v 3 r e t n her I0pm c a e T t n l Pareees Hall. 3.30pm - 8.0 o o h c S r io • Jun & 5 April 2011 in R ws 4 ie v r e t n her I c a - 7.00pm e T m p 0 t .0 n 4 ntre, 2 Parte 1 odhew Ce r o a G e e h Y • 11 in April 20 5

acher, 4.00pm - 7.00pm e T e h t ntre Meet 7 dhew Ce o r o a G e e h Y t • 1 in pril 201 A 6

untry o C ong s s o r C k Wollong r S a S p t & r • JS April 2011 at Stua 7 term f o y a d • LasAtpril 8