TI G S
Newsletter Academic Christian Caring
The Illawarra Grammar School
ISSUE 7
TERM III 2014
FATHER’S DAY BREAKFAST
Headmaster MEASURING RESULTS Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are currently receiving official notification of their NAPLAN results. These results are intended to be ‘diagnostic’ in nature and not a cause of worry or stress. The truth is that, intentionally or inadvertently, great significance is placed on how students perform in these tests. League tables are created by the media and judgements are made about students, teachers and schools. It is disturbing that an entire industry has developed to ‘prepare’ students for NAPLAN tests and that some schools make NAPLAN testing the key indicator in selecting students for special programs. NAPLAN was only ever intended to be a diagnostic tool for teachers to assess the individual needs of students and to inform whole school improvement. As a school we look forward to receiving this information for these constructive purposes. We do not look forward to seeing the impact of the information on some of our children. Too often the excellent
progress that is being made in a child’s learning and the growing confidence that comes with this progress is all undone by the comparisons made in the NAPLAN results sheet.
“Please find enclosed your [NAPLAN/HSC/ATAR] results. We are very proud of you as you demonstrated huge amounts of commitment and tried your very best…
Similarly, ATAR results that cruelly rank Year 12 students on the basis of ‘scaled’ HSC results (not their actual HSC results) are a grossly inadequate summary of the achievements of 13 years of formal schooling. It is despairing for educators to see such weight given to an ATAR which serves the purpose of ranking students so they can be allocated to university undergraduate courses. Judging by their behaviour, universities don’t even believe an ATAR is a reliable indicator for tertiary placement given the number of interviews, portfolios and additional testing required before university placement is made and the number of offers of early entry made prior to the students even sitting for HSC exams.
However, we are concerned that these test results do not always assess all of what it is that make each of you special and unique. The people who create these tests and score them do not know each of you the way your teachers do and certainly not the way your families do. They do not know that many of you speak two languages. They do not know that you can play a musical instrument or that you can dance or paint. They do not know that your friends count on you to be there for them or that your laughter can brighten the dreariest day. They do not know that you write poetry or songs, play or participate in sports, wonder about the future, or that sometimes you take care of your little brother or sister after school. They do not know that you have travelled or that you know how to tell a great story or that you really love spending time with special family members and friends. They do not know that you can be trustworthy, kind
The following letter (written by a teacher in the UK to her students) captures the frustration felt by teachers when they observe their students being ‘ranked’ by external authorities and the impact such ranking has on student wellbeing.
Chaplain’s Message CENTRE FOR PUBLIC CHRISTIANITY
or thoughtful and that you try every day, to be your very best… the scores you get will tell you something but they will not tell you everything. So enjoy your results and be very proud of these but remember there are many ways of being smart.” (Source) We are proud of the NAPLAN, HSC and ATAR results that our children achieve. Our focus, however, is educating the whole child - no HSC result, ATAR or NAPLAN ranking gives anywhere near a complete picture of our students, their learning and their achievements. This week we farewell our Year 12 students. We thank them for the contribution they have made to our school. We will remember with great affection the many milestones passed as they became the fine young adults we will see at graduation. We wish them well in the future, hoping that their HSC results and ATAR will open the right doors for them, and hoping even more that they will be proud of who they are and not be defined by the ATAR label they are given. Stephen Kinsella Headmaster
I am sure by now you are aware that one of our primary aims at TIGS is to bring a Christian perspective to all learning. I report quite often on the exciting progress being made in this area of our School. It has often occurred to me that this is a discipline relevant to our whole School community. There are at least two reasons for this. First, if Christian perspective leads to deeplevel learning (as we believe at TIGS it does) then it is as relevant to parents as to children. Second, some training in Christian perspective will bring parents and children a little closer together - parents will be just that more familiar with and aware of what their children are learning at school and the methods they are employing in their enquiry. This will give parents and children a common language to discuss the school experience. There are a number of ways we could achieve this. We could hold some in-school seminars where we cover some of the basic building blocks of a Christian Worldview. There is much merit in this approach and I look forward to providing this service to the wider School Community in the nottoo-distant future. Another approach is to establish an on-line forum aimed to resource parents in some of the essentials of a Christian Worldview. Again, I have commenced discussions in this area which could soon lead to the establishment of such a facility. While I am excited about some of these possibilities for the future I am also eager to consider what might be done now. For this reason I want to alert you to an excellent website. It is the website for the Centre of Public Christianity: publicchristianity.org The Centre for Public Christianity is a not-for-profit, non-denominational Australian media company that offers a Christian perspective on contemporary life. It seeks to promote the public understanding of the Christian faith by engaging mainstream media and the general public with high quality and well-researched print,
video and audio material about the relevance of Christianity in the 21st Century. The Centre was launched to engage the public with a clear, measured and respectful picture of the Christian faith and the way it can impact all of life for the good. The website acts as a library of resources. It is growing by the day. It is relevant to life in the modern-world and provides a good model of what it means to approach a topic from a Christian perspective. It seems to me this would be a great place to start for us as a School Community to get a better sense of what we are talking about when we say we seek a Christian perspective on life. I believe our approach accords well with the Centre’s approach – respectful dialogue aimed at deep-level learning. I commend the website to you. I hope you might explore some areas of interest to you. I would love to hear your thoughts on the material presented and the approach adopted. Feel free to email me. Rev James Rogers Chaplain
Senior School CO-CURRICULAR OPTIONS
This time last year we were conducting our first review into co-curricular and extracurricular offerings. In my September 2013 Newsletter article I asked three questions for parent response and it was good to receive your feedback, which helped to shape and form the co-curricular programme for 2014. In 2014 we expanded the offerings to include more Sports, Homework Help and Community Service. The full list of all activities, the teacher responsible and an outline of the activity are all on the TIGS website. Go to the Senior School tab and then click on Co-curricular to see what is on offer. This year we have involved the Student Representative Council, the SRC, in the process of review and they have sent out a survey to all Senior School students for their feedback and suggestions. What are some of our observations so far this year?
Monica Watt Head of Senior School Deputy Headmaster
Since 2013 the overall uptake of students into activities has increased. Despite this the North and South bus runs have not increased markedly, mainly because parents seem to find it easier to manage the later pick-up either from school or the co-curricular venue. For many students greater involvement is not possible because of specific commitments outside school. This means that their holistic development is being addressed and it is good for us to know this. So my questions this year as we are starting to make plans for 2015: Are there any gaps in our offerings? Are there activities that we do not currently offer, that you think would benefit your child and would allow them to engage and develop academically, spiritually, physically, aesthetically, culturally and socially?
Senior Sport
YEAR 7 – 10 SPORT TERM IV
THE GREAT RACE
The Co-curricular Sport programme for Term IV will start Week 2 and will return to Summer selection.
The Great Race will be held at Jamberoo Recreation Park on Thursday 18 September.
A reminder that student attendance is compulsory and they are to submit a note for illness or non-attendance to student reception. All 5.00pm sport buses will depart from the IGC car park.
The Great Race is a compulsory school event promoting the development of House Spirit and competitions. On this day points are awarded for a number of novelty events and the well-known House “Haka“ to go towards the famous Shell Shield.
Monday Swimming 7.00am - 8.00am University Pool Surfing 6.30am - 8.00am North Wollongong Beach
Students are not to be driven to or from Jamberoo Recreation Park but are to come to school at the normal time, using the usual modes of transport.
Tuesday Stand Up Paddleboard 6.30am - 7.30am Belmore Basin Girls Strength Conditioning 3.30pm - 4.30pm ReKreate Coniston Hangdog Climbing 3.30pm - 4.30pm Hangdog Racquet Sport 3.30pm - 4.30pm ORB Sporting Complex Figtree Hangtime Trampolining 3.30pm - 4.30pm Hangtime Coniston Street Dance 3.30pm - 4.30pm Begbie Dance Studio
Shuttle buses have been organized to transport all students to and from the Park. Students are not allowed to remain at the park to wait for parents.
Thursday Stand Up Paddleboard 6.30am - 7.30am Belmore Basin Rowing 7.00am - 8.00am - Illawarra Boat Sheds Surfing 6.30am - 8.00am North Wollongong Beach Hangdog Climbing 3.30pm - 4.30pm Hangdog Tennis 3.30pm - 4.30pm Beaton Park Tennis Courts Hangtime Trampolining 3.30pm - 4.30pm Hangtime Coniston Boys Gym 3.30pm - 4.30pm University Recreation Centre Friday Swimming 7.00am - 8.00am University Pool
PARKER’S SCHOOL HOLIDAY TENNIS CLINIC Date: Monday 22 September – Wednesday 24 September Time: 9.00am – 12.00pm Cost: $70.00 Age: 4 - 14 years Where: Wests Illawarra Unanderra Bookings are Essential For more information call: Andrew on 0407 029 731 Email: arparker@bigpond.net.au www.facebook.com/parkerstennis
Students must wear their House Shirts and school sports shorts to this event. They are expected to wear appropriate swimwear/rash shirts, hats and sunscreen. The water will be cold so students may like to wear their wetsuits. Students are encouraged to bring plenty of food and water for the day as there may be limited food outlets open. While at the Park strict safety regulations will be enforced by the attendants and TIGS staff. Students will be required to obey all safety instructions, follow safety signage and not engage in anything considered reckless behaviour. Due to changes in risk management by the Park all students must wear colour-coded wrist bands to identify their level of swimming proficiency. Students are also advised to operate a buddy system within the park, not going alone to rides, shops, cafes or toilets. Also a reminder to students who require asthma medication to have it with you at all times on the day. Permission slips for the Great Race have been mailed out and are to be returned to students Mentor Teachers. If your note is not returned, you will not be able to attend this event. Permission slips and information is also available on OLLE. We are looking forward to a great day. If you have any questions please contact Mrs Sharpe at school.
TIGS NETBALL CLUB Congratulations to the TIGS 10B Crystals netball team who are playing their grand final this Saturday 13 September. The game is scheduled to be played at 9.45am on Court 15 at Berkeley (Fred Finch Park). This is very exciting, we are extremely proud of the girls and their coach. If you are free this Saturday morning, please come along to support and enjoy the game.
Careers
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 (02) 4221 4749 or visit http://www.uow.edu.au/in2uni/SMC/for further information.
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.
Canteen
Parent Portal
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.
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 4220 0200.
VOLUNTEERS WELCOME
To join the friendly team please phone Debbie in the Canteen on 4220 0241 or email canteen@tigs.nsw.edu.au
CONTACT DETAILS
Uniform Shop HOLIDAY OPENING TIMES
Thursday 2 October 9.00am - 2.00pm Friday 3 October 9.00am - 2.00pm No appointments necessary.
Junior School A GOOD BREAKFAST Did you know? Skipping breakfast is associated with: • Poor concentration and memory • Overweight and obese children • Unhealthy snacking It is the most important meal of the day but one in four children in Australia skip breakfast. Children who do not eat a good breakfast become tired in school and have shorter attention spans, especially late in the morning. In one study, test scores of children who did not eat breakfast were generally lower than those who had eaten a wellbalanced morning meal. Another good reason to make sure that children have a balanced breakfast is that four out of five children do not get enough vitamins and minerals from lunch and dinner alone. Also, children who do not eat a good breakfast tend to eat more junk food during the day – snacks that are high in fat and sugar and low in nutritional value. Research and many recent studies tell us that having breakfast helps improve mental performance and concentration. Teachers observe that children who come to school hungry experience more learning difficulties compared to well-nourished children. Studies also show that breakfast eaters perform much better in their schoolwork and show extra energy in sports and other physical activities.
Narelle McRae Acting Head of Junior School
So I encourage everyone to get on board and send your children off to school, and yourselves off to work, with a healthy and nutritious breakfast. Check the web for lots of ideas for tasty and healthy breakfasts for the whole family!
BIG DAY IN ‘WHERE WE ARE IN PLACE & TIME’ THURSDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2014
Classroom visits will be held from 10.30am – 11.20am followed by Assembly in the IGC from 11.40am – 12.30pm featuring ‘Where We Are In Place & Time’. Lunch will be from 12.30pm – 1.30pm followed by the finals of the 4 vs 4 Lunchtime Football (Soccer) competition for Years 4 to 6. Children are to wear full school uniform. Those children participating in the football game will need to change into their sports uniform at lunchtime. Lunch will be picnic style on the Junior School oval and surrounding areas from 12.30pm -1.30pm. Hampers will be available to order through Flexischools/Big Day In at www.flexischools.com.au OPTION A: Chicken Salad 6 inch Sub Apple Choc Chip Cookie Bottle of Water or Apple Popper COST: $10.00
OPTION B: Ham Salad 6 inch Sub Apple Choc Chip Cookie Bottle of Water or Apple Popper Cost: $10.00
OPTION C: Vegetarian 6 inch Sub Apple Choc Chip Cookie Bottle of Water or Apple Popper COST: $10.00
OPTION D: Cheese only 6 inch Sub Apple Choc Chip Cookie Bottle of Water or Apple Popper COST: $10.00
Please order your hampers through Flexischools as above. Ordering will close at 5.00pm Monday 15 September. No orders will be taken after this time. Hampers will be put into family packs and delivered to the classroom of the eldest child in the family for collection. When completing your Flexischools order, please make sure all details are completed. The Library’s ‘Big Day In’ Book Sale will also be held in the After School Care Room from 11.00am - 12.00pm. You can purchase a book for your child, yourself or the Library. We are looking forward to seeing lots of families joining us for this wonderful day.
Junior Sport NETBALL
Congratulations to the Crystal’s team who played exceptionally well in the Finals last Saturday at the Illawarra Netball Competition. The girls will now go to represent TIGS in the Grand Final, which will be held this coming weekend.
CAMDEN INTERSCHOOLS Congratulations to Kyah Dema who recently competed at the Camden interschools. Her results are as follows: 1st Best Presented 1st Best Educated 1st Pleasure Pony 2nd Year 4 Rider 4th Pony Hack 5th Handy Pony Reserve Champion overall Year 4 Such an outstanding achievement and great results Kyah, Well done!
CIS ATHLETICS Good luck to the following students who went on to compete at the CIS Athletics Carnival held in Homebush on Wednesday of this week. Charlotte Atkinson Aria Bacic-Johnston Emma Black Selene Chadrawy Margaux Chauvet Allegra Fock Ben Giason James Gorham Shay Harper James Healey Bodhi Hemsley-Oades Isobel Kinnear Thomas Main Annie McLearie Victoria Summerill John Taiwo Cartia Taranto Christian Vujic The final results will be published in the Newsletter next term.
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.
WEEKLY AWARDS
MERIT CERTIFICATES
KD KM KP 1T 2C 2H 2M 4R 4Y 5S
Thomas Main X 2 Micah Sullivan Victoria Di Martino Hugo Parrish Jacobus Newhouse Hollander Petersen Grace Hobeika Odelia Aghmesheh Ben Harman Teerth Khanna Ameesha Gogulan
Subodh Parab, Summer Thomas Leonardo Attorre, Saxon Gerovasilis Rhys Chieng, Miriam Al-Khalidy William MacKay, Harley Adams Kain Corrigan, Lillian Glover Bhargav Jagarlamudi Daniel Peden, Athina Pates Isabella Mitic, Mia Mitchell, Jordan McRae Ah-Young Choi, Grace Hobeika, Michael Marzano Alana Newhouse, Alexander Stevenson, Rory Swainson, Aydin Arapali
Academic
Daniel Michelmore Lachlan Taylor Gabriella Thornton Deepika Parajuli David Abdukeyum Leonardo Attorre Athina Pates Lillian Glover Saxon Gerovasilis Rhys Chieng Daniel Aghmesheh Kiarna McIlwraith
Service
Evan Glover Lachlan Boardman Grace Hobeika Niamh Christopher Nadia Nagaratnam Alexia Loeser Ryan Molnar Lexi Mitchell Rhea Boga Samantha Gadsdon
Dates for your diaries:
Thursday 18 September Big Day In Friday 19 September Karobran Disco – 5.30pm to 7.30pm Rees Hall
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 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
LEGO ROBOTICS
FATHER’S DAY BREAKFAST
FATHER’S DAY STALL
Extend @ 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.
WEEK 9 ACTIVITIES Monday 15 September Organised Sports Soccer on the Oval Crazy Craft: Paper Bag Puppets Tuesday 15 September Extend@Library Organised Play @ Playlawn Wednesday 16 September Organised Sports Futsal in Rees Hall Crazy Craft: Paper Bag Puppets Thursday 17 September “Our Kitchen Rules” Rainbow Cookies Crazy Craft - Chatterboxes Friday 18 September Crazy Craft - Chatterboxes
UPCOMING
EVENTS
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
Last Day of Term Friday 19 September