Newsletter Academic Christian Caring
TIGS congratulates our former students and Olympians David McKeon, Alumni 2010 Emma McKeon, Alumni 2012 Jarrod Poort, Alumni 2012
ISSUE 5
TERM III 2016
Headmaster •
The School Crest, which features: •
Word of God, central to all learning and understanding
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Cedar tree – strength of character and uprightness
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Golden ox head (or Illawarra Short Horn) symbolic of service
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The House system, central to the care of students and an encouragement for students to have a holistic view of learning and life
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A Strong Partnership with parents
Working with this framework, Jock Mackinnon (1966 to 1971) proceeded to build on the Bosanquet legacy to establish a school that was financially viable and had solid educational integrity. What we now identify as TIGS values began to emerge and the School experienced a significant increase in enrolments by parents wanting these values for their children. The co-curricular programme flourished in the Mackinnon years, including:
Stephen Kinsella Headmaster This week I represented the School at the Memorial Service for Mr Jock Alexander Mackinnon AM, the second Headmaster of The Illawarra Grammar School. It has been a sad year for TIGS as we also mourned the passing of our Foundation Headmaster, Rev Richard Bosanquet. Both men guided the School in its early, vulnerable years and laid the foundation on which TIGS is now firmly established. Having attended both memorial services and trawled through the School archives, I could not help but notice how the values that define a TIGS education in 2016 are linked by a continuous thread back to 1959, the year when the first lessons were held at TIGS. During the tenure of Rev Bosanquet (1958 to 1965) the framework of a TIGS education was established: •
The School Motto based on Psalm 84:7 de virtute in virtutem (From Strength to Strength)
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The School Hymn - Soldiers of Christ
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Crusaders (a precursor to Lifesavers Year 3 to Year 6, Fish Year 7 to Year 9 and Xplore Year 10 to Year 12)
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Community service (all TIGS students, as they pass through the School, are now required to participate in the active service of others)
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Programmes of physical activity, including team sports (students at TIGS participate in a comprehensive sport programme that caters for beginners through to elite athletes)
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Music (TIGS has an Arts Department that caters for all levels of HSC and DP music)
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Explorers’ Club (there are currently 144 students involved in the TIGS Duke of Edinburgh programme)
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Interest clubs in model making, chess, debating and hobbies (there are currently over 80 cocurricular activities available to TIGS students)
It was during the tenure of Rev Peter Smart, the fourth Headmaster of TIGS, from 1989 to 1996 that the values that underpin a TIGS education were first described as Academic, Christian and Caring. These core values were further developed by Mr John Weeks, the fifth
Headmaster of TIGS (1997 to 2004) and was the basis of a period of significant growth by the School, both physically and academically. In 2006 the School Council adopted the Statement of Mission and Values that we have today. The Statement of Mission describes the purpose of a TIGS education and incorporates the three core values described by Peter Smart. 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. The Council also adopted 18 statements that clarify what is meant by the terms ‘Academic’, ‘Christian’ and ‘Caring’. This informs all those that choose to be associated with the School so they understand what the School’s values are and what to expect the end product of a TIGS education to be. It is because of this clear sense of purpose that those that choose to be members of our School, be they parents, students or staff, have a common understanding of what it means to be at TIGS and what binds us together as a community. This is what makes our School community strong - we share the values that have underpinned a TIGS education for 57 years and we work in partnership, parents and staff, to achieve these outcomes for our students.
Stephen Kinsella Headmaster
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” Søren Kierkegaard
Chaplain’s Message RIDE AROUND THE LAKE A few months back I joined a team from TIGS in the annual Ride Around the Lake fundraiser. While I was riding I started to make some connections between what I was experiencing and the Christian life. They weren’t terribly profound but I jotted some of my thoughts down after the race and thought I might share them with you over the next couple of weeks. The first thought I had hit me fairly early on: The Ride Around the Lake is no sprint. It is more of a marathon (at least for amateurs like me). The Bible talks about the Christian life as more of a marathon than a sprint. In Hebrews 12.1 we are told to run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Sprinters need quick reaction times and brute strength; marathon runners need perseverance. The Christian life is more a marathon than a sprint. Next, as I make the trek around the lake and observed the diversity of the participants – both seasoned riders and children alike - I was reminded of the extraordinary accessibility of the Christian faith. The Christian faith is so deep the greatest minds can enjoy plumbing its depths and so accessible that the simplest child can embrace and enjoy a living relationship with God through Jesus. Jesus accommodates both the professor and the preschooler (and all in between).
One of the real joys of the Ride Around the Lake experience was the great team of encouragers who lined the route cheering the riders on and pointing them in the direction they needed to go. They were doing exactly what God calls the Church to do – to encourage one another in order that we might run the race to the end. To ensure we do this, Christians are commanded in Hebrews 10.25 to meet together regularly. I noticed, however, that some were exceptionally good encouragers; they seemed to have a special gift: They clapped as you rode by; they spoke words of deep personal encouragement; they gave hope when there was little hope to be had (speaking personally there!) I was reminded of what is taught in Romans 12 – that God has given each of us unique gifts to be used in love for the good of others. I was reminded how refreshing it is to receive the gifts of others. At one point towards the end of the ride the encouragement came from the written word. It was a message posted to a pole. It read: “Chin up Tiger, push through.” It was such a powerful word. It was just the right word at the right time. I was reminded how powerful God’s written word is. As it says in Hebrews 4.12, it is active and alive. When this word is spoken into our
Rev James Rogers Chaplain lives at just the right time and in just the right way it can have an enormous impact for good. These are just some of the thoughts that occurred to me as I participated in the Ride Around the Lake fundraiser. I look forward to sharing more thoughts with you next week. Rev James Rogers
MEDICAL NOTICE - WHOOPING COUGH We have had 8 cases of Whooping Cough diagnosed in the Senior School this Term. In order to combat further spread of this disease within our School it is important that we work together and remain vigilant in recognising symptoms to facilitate timely diagnosis and treatment. Please see the Whooping Cough Fact Sheet here for further information.
Senior School
Greg Lanyon Head of Senior School Students from Year 5 to Year 12 were lucky enough to meet three returning TIGS alumni this week. At the Senior School assembly on Tuesday, Emma and David McKeon and Jarrod Poort, were very generous with their time to speak to students about their recent experiences in Rio at the XXXI Olympics. At the assembly the current School Captains interviewed each of the swimmers to provide a real insight to their motivation, strategies and achievements at school, post school, at the Olympics and in the future.
Jarrod Poort joined TIGS in 2009 and graduated with Emma McKeon in 2012. He was in Wolgal House and just before his HSC he competed in the London Olympics in the 1500m pool event. He spoke about the discipline required to combine school with Olympic training and the support that he received from TIGS at the time. At the recent Rio Olympics Jarrod competed in the open-water swim, which was a gruelling 10km marathon off Copacabana beach. He spoke to the students about his strategy in the event, which involved leading from the front and hoping that his years of training for the race would allow him to break the opposition. For those who watched the race, this appeared to be a winning strategy up until the final kilometre, where he was overtaken by some of the peloton. Jarrod was philosophical about the race and his future as he starts to prepare for swimming and further study. It was a great message and provided another perspective for students as they grapple with the competing demands on their time while at school. David McKeon joined TIGS in Kindergarten and graduated in 2010, competing in the London Olympics in 2012 as well as Rio 2016, making him, with Jarrod, a dual Olympian. Like
his sisters Emma and Kaitlin, he was a proud member of Kogara House. In his interview with the School Captains, David admitted that he only started to swim seriously later in his school career and was more interested in other sports such as basketball. David has already achieved much in his short swimming career, winning a gold medal in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and competing in the 200m and 400m individual freestyle events and was part of the Australian 200m relay team which just missed a medal in Rio. David is a humble young man who is now looking forward to a break in Hawaii before returning to competitive swimming in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane in 2018. Emma McKeon also commenced at TIGS in Kindergarten and graduated from Year 12 in 2012. Rio was Emma’s first Olympics and she said that she was inspired to compete at this level after watching the Sydney Olympics. She was introduced to competitive swimming from an early age by her parents and has been swimming ever since. Emma took a break from the sport after narrowly missing selection for the London 2012 Games. Thankfully she rediscovered her love of swimming
and went on to make a stunning senior international debut at the 2014 Commonwealth Games where she claimed six medals from six races, four gold and two bronze. At the 2010 inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, Emma took home one gold, one silver and two bronze medals and at last year’s World Championships in Kazan, Russia, Emma finished the meet with a gold and bronze medal. At the Rio Olympics Emma had a really successful meet, competing in five different finals. She won gold in the 100m freestyle relay, silver in both the 200m freestyle relay and the 100m medley relay and bronze in the 200m freestyle, making her one of the most successful Australian athletes at the Rio Olympics. The school community is incredibly proud of these three wonderful ambassadors of our school and the inspiration they provide for all students to strive “to be the best they can be”. We thank them for their generosity in coming to the school to spend time with our students and staff. Greg Lanyon Head of Senior School
Thank you for visiting!
Junior School This week it was all about the Dads in the Junior School! The students had a lot of fun shopping for their dads, grandads and uncles at the Father’s Day stalls and there was much excitement as the perfect gift was chosen and taken home to be hidden until Sunday morning. Dads and significant males play an important role in the development of children. Men bring a perspective to parenting and childhood that complements that of the mother and research has consistently shown that children who have the love and care of a significant male in their childhood and adolescent years do better academically, emotionally and socially. It was a very exciting Friday morning as our Junior School Dads were hosted to breakfast with the children before school. This event allows our Dads to get on campus and stay connected to the school as well as catch up with other busy dads. Thank you to our group of mums from Year 3 who planned, shopped and set up in the dark to make this event a success.
Judi Nealy Deputy Headmaster, Head of Junior School
ASSEMBLY/CHAPEL
Next week 1M will be hosting Chapel. Chapel begins at 12.10pm in Rees Hall.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES: Thursday 22 September Big Day In (Times TBC)
On Sunday, it is important to recognise and reward dads for being there, and actively teaching important life skills to children. It is important to their children, and meaningful to dads everywhere when we say “Thank you for a job well done.” We wish all of our Dads a fabulous Father’s Day - with ‘breakfast in bed’, crumbs and all!
Co-curricular Club Highlight CREATIVE MINDFULNESS – TUESDAY LUNCHTIME IN 3R CLASSROOM What is mindful colouring? I was keen to introduce the practice of colouring as a relaxing lunchtime activity for our Junior School students. Mindful colouring asks us to focus on how we choose and apply colour in a design to bring our awareness to the present moment. We can let go of any thoughts about tomorrow or yesterday, or what we are going to do when we finish. If we catch ourselves thinking about the past or the future, we can gently bring our awareness back to what we are doing in the present moment by describing what we are doing. We don’t look at whether the colouring is good or bad, amazing or terrible and whether we are good at it or not. There is no right or wrong way to colour in, it is a form of self-expression. Mindfulness can improve our overall sense of wellbeing. We feel more relaxed by paying attention to the present moment. We are also practicing training our minds to focus, which can help the students in their school work and other activities. We hope to display our finished works towards the end of the term. Mrs Narelle McRae
WEEKLY AWARDS
MERIT CERTIFICATES
KP 1M 1S 1Y 2C 2M 2T 3G 3R 3S 4M 4R 4Y 5S 6A 6C 6K
Academic
Evie Rahim, Justine McGuire Tobias Knight, Darby Parrish Jia Tang Ambrose Nicolaou, Muhammad Yasir Yananai Chilbanda, Nicole Choi Riya Bahl, Tom I’Ons, Max Clark, Isla Brown Annaliese Brunskill, Nicholas Radojicic Hamish Lepp, Ryan Molnar Katherine Binks, Lachlan Kiang Odelia Aghmesheh, Noah Sweetland Ella Smith, Ali Matar Megan Adams, Htay Myar, Hannah Makotsvana Anika Rindani, Alex Rix Oscar Ryan, Tobi Sweetland Elizabeth Michelmore Charlotte Atkinson, Ryan Jinks, Lachlan Boardman, Nicholas Chiaverini Clara Swainson, Alexandra Wall, Bowen Kimberley-Mastalir, Isabella Atkinson, Cooper Kerridge, Katie Gorham
Muhammad Yasir Noah Threadgate Thomas Tarrant Tobi Sweetland Lachlan Neal Nathan Molnar Bowen Kimberley-Mastalir Nicole Choi Yananai Chibanda Isabella Atkinson
Service
Daniel Peden Rhea Khanna Scarlett Ford
Personal Presentation Sarah Partland
Junior School Continued BOOK WEEK CELEBRATIONS
Australia Story Country is the theme for this year’s Book Week celebrations. One of the exciting activities planned is the ‘Great Aussie Yarn’, embracing the oral story telling tradition of Australia by sharing stories around the camp fire. Students in the Senior School were challenged to come up with a great story or poem to share with their friends in the spirit of the oral storytelling tradition. Tohby Riddle was our author guest this year. Tohby is an illustrator and author, the work he creates melds his two loves to create engaging works for all ages. During his presentation he shared his creative process for some of his books and shared how he develops the artistic concept and ideas for his books. The students particularly liked his live demonstration of how he can change the personality of his characters by playing with the eye shape and other facial features of his characters. Wollongong Library again entertained our students by performing ‘reader’s theatre’ using the winners of this year’s Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards. They brought to life a variety of books for our students to enjoy.
Charity Obento Day FOR STUDENTS FROM YEAR 7 TO YEAR 12 The Language Department is happy to announce that there will be a Japanese Charity Obento day. This is to raise money for the Year 12 charity. Obento Boxes will be delivered on Tuesday 20 September for the students in Years 7 to Year 12 to collect at lunch from the undercover area in M block. There will be two types of Japanese style lunches available, chicken or vegetarian. If you would like to order one, please visit the flexischools website and place your order by Tuesday 13 September. The cost of obento is $12.00 of which $2.00 will go to the Year 12 charity. Thank you for supporting our event!
2017 Japan Trip INFORMATION NIGHT
The Languages Department will be running a trip to Japan in July Holiday 2017 and the first information session for interested students will be: Date: Thursday 8 September Time: 5.30pm Venue: MG1 Those students who are studying Japanese in Years 8, 9 and 10 this year are welcome to come to this information night to find out about the trip so please join us.
Extend@TIGS WEEK 7 ACTIVITIES
Monday 5 September Science: Engineering Challenge Sport: Soccer
Tuesday 6 September Craft: Straw Roller Coaster Outdoor sport: Basketball Wednesday 7 September Craft: Origami Jumping Frogs Sport: Wembley Thursday 8 September Craft: Recycle Craft Aliens Sport: Run the Gauntlet Friday 9 September Activity: Chess Sport: Handball
SPRING HOLIDAY PROGRAMME BOOKINGS ARE OPEN! Book by the deadline to take advantage of lower rates! NSW/SA/WA booking deadline: Friday 16 September. We have heaps of fun activities planned these school holidays and can’t wait for you to attend! Have fun with science experiments, participate in a bunch of craft activities with access to a plethora of art media, and get active with a variety of sports and team games. Join in on all this and more at Extend’s Spring Holiday Programme. To check out what’s on visit our website at extend.com.au and book via the Parent Portal. Extend@TIGS has a lot of different and exciting upcoming events organised. Last week we had heaps of fun creating paddle-pop stick friends, pancakes, and gravity birds. We also played games including soccer, dodgeball, Wembley, run the gauntlet and French cricket. This week we have a range of exciting science, craft and cooking activities planned so please come along and join in on all the fun. ONLINE BOOKINGS: extend.com.au CALL OUR OFFICE: 1 300 366 437
Senior School Sport ACT MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDING CHAMPIONSHIPS Maxwell Moore, Harry Smith and Samuel Moore competed in the ACT All Schools Mountain Bike Riding Championships last week. This is a team event with over 500 competitors riding for four hours. Samuel stepped up an age group to compete in the College Event and helped our team come 9th place. All boys achieved a PB having completed 14 laps of the 4.5km track in the four hours.
TIGS NETBALL CLUB
Last weekend TIGS had two teams progress to the semi-finals in the Illawarra District Netball Association Saturday competition. Our TIGS Crystals from Year 6 won their semi-final in a close game against Woonona and will head straight to the grand final in two weeks time. Their game will be played on Saturday 10 September at 9.45am at Berkeley on Court 3.
NSW STATE SNOWSPORTS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Our Year 7 to Year 9 girls, TIGS Sapphires lost their semi-final in a highly competitive game. We will now play off this weekend for a place in the grand final the following week. We wish both teams all the best in their remaining matches.
This year TIGS had nine students competing in the NSW State Snowsports Championships at Thredbo. Charli Morelli, Ethan Jackson, Aiden Wingate, Mackenzie Smith and Michael Lill competed in the Skier Cross and Alpine GS events and Hunter Danckwardt Bruce, Rory Hanrahan, Mackinly Zecevic and Klara Zecevic competed in the Boarder Cross and Snowboard Giant Slalom (GM) events.
Congratulations to all five netball teams who have trained every Friday afternoon and played every Saturday for the past two terms. The presentation evening will be held on Monday 19 September 6.00pm in the O Bar Room at Towradgi Beach for players and their families to come together for a meal to celebrate another great year for the club.
Congratulations to Ethan Jackson who came 7th in Skier Cross and 3rd in Alpine GS and has earned a place at the Australian Championships. As a team Ethan Jackson, Aiden Wingate and Michael Lill came 7th in Skier Cross and 9th in Alpine GS, only just missing out on a place as a team at the Australian Championships next week. Rory Hanrahan came 12th in Boarder Cross and 13th in Snowboard GS and Hunter Danckwardt Bruce came 15th in Boarder Cross. Both these boys are off to Nationals. As a team Rory, Hunter and Macinly Zecevic came 4th overall in the Snowboard GS and the team is now off to the Australian Championships in this event also. We wish our boys all the best next week as they compete in Perisher against the best skiers and boarders in the Australian Schools Championships.
STUDENT SUCCESS Congratulation to James Healey (Year 7) on his results at the NSW Swimming Championships on the weekend: 19th 200m IM 12 years and under, 12th 100m breaststroke, 6th 100m freestyle , 6th 50m freestyle, 26th 100m backstroke, 13th 200m breaststroke, 6th 200m freestyle. Congratulations to Elizabeth Martin (Year 11) who competed at the National Junior Cross Country Championships in Canberra were she came 54th.
COAST RUGBY U/14 CHAMPIONSHIPS On Tuesday 30 August, TIGS Under 14 rugby team participated in the Coast to Country Schools Rugby Championship. The team, led by Giovanni Nassau, participated with enthusiasm throughout their four games narrowly losing to Edmund Rice College, Kiama High and Shellharbour Anglican. A victory in our game against Nowra Anglican was a just reward for the team’s persistence and improvement throughout the day. Congratulations to the following boys who were fantastic representatives of the school on the day. Giovanni Nassau, Luca Gibbs, Daniel Jiang, Isaiah Kennedy, Samuel Aubin, Tayib Muttaqi, Maxwell Okely, Lachlan Mills, Sebastian Di Noro, Harrison Kiteley, Hugo Parrish, Eli Ireland, Daniel Phillips, Max Mason, Tiger Miles, Angus Leadbitter.
UPCOMING
EVENTS
WEEK 7
Music 1 HSC Concert Monday 5 September
WEEK 8
CIS Primary Athletics Championship Wednesday 14 September
Elective Drama Evening Friday 16 September
WEEK 9
Headmaster Vs Year 6 Handball Challenge Tuesday 20 September
CIS Secondary Athletics Championship Wednesday 21 September
Junior School Big day In Thursday 22 September
Senior School Great Race Thursday 22 September
Year 12 Graduation Ceremony
9.00am Friday 23 September in the IGC
Formal
6.00pm Friday 23 September at the Novotel Wollongong
Last Day of Term III Friday 23 September