News 189 19a 2017

Class

First Name

Surname

ENG

MATH

SCI

HYGY

GREEK

Most Improved

VOLUME XXXIV No. 19 30th November, 2017

DATES TO REMEMBER

FROM THE HEAD OF COLLEGE DECEMBER MAPLE Excursion iFLY

5th

Yr 6 Graduation Dinner 6.00pm Church Hall Yr 6 Botany Pool excursion

6th

Term ends for students

7th

Academic Excellence and Student Leadership Assembly Years 3 – 12, 9.30am K – 2 at Junior School Staff Development Day

8th

St Spyridon Vespers

11th

St Spyridon Day

12th

HSC results

14th

ATAR

15th

Christmas Day

25th

JANUARY Australia Day, Public Holiday

26th

Staff Development Day

29th

Staff Development Day

30th

Years 1 – 7, 11 & 12 commence

31st

FEBRUARY Kindergarten and Years 8 – 10 commence

1st

In this last Newsletter for 2017: We wish all students, teachers and their families a Merry Christmas, a safe holiday and a Happy New Year.

Mrs E. Stefanou-Haag

1

JUNIOR SCHOOL AWARDS To be presented to students at the Awards Assembly on Thursday, 7th December, 2017, at 9.30am Class

HISTORY ENGLISH MATHS SCIENCE GEOGRAPHY 1 1 1 1 2 2

3

3

2

3

=2

=2

GREEK 1G1

1G2

Academic Endeavour

3 2 1

2G1 3G1 1G3

1 2

3

2 3 1

2G1 3G1

1

2 3

1 3 2

1 2 3

1G1 1G2

3A 3A 3A 3A 3A 3A 3A 3A

First Name Michaela Michael Mitchell Panayiota Christian Jonathan Krystal George

Surname Deftereos Boutsalis Coutts Kranidiotis Billiris Gouveros Preketes Kourgialis

3A 3S 3S 3S 3S 3S 3S 3S 3S

John Zac Bianca Louis Emmanuel Eva George Khrysa Ella

Pascalis Boutsalis Soumilas Degabriele Moros Diamadis Georgantzakos Psiillakis Angelopoulos

1 2 3

2

1 3

2 3 1

3S

4C 4C 4C 4C 4C 4C

Steve

Peter Amali Chrissy Peter Aston Sophia

Petratos

Winnel Roumanous Drakakis Baroutis Roumanous Paparsenos

2 1 3

1

2 3

4C 4T 4T 4T 4T 4T 4T 4T 4T

Irene Ellie Georgia Franklin George Phillip Lara Spyridoula Akis

Primikirios Liaskos Karatasos Skouteris Agiasotis Preketes Stathis Karagiorgos Dimitrakopoulos

2

3

1

4T

Christof

Bieri

2

Class

Name

Surname

ENGLISH

MATHS

SCIENCE

GREEK

1 3

2

HISTORY GEOGRAPHY 2 1 3

=3G1

2G1

Academic Endeavour

5A 5A 5A 5A 5A 5A

Alexandra Andrew Catherine Dimitra Denny Isabella

Bizannes Dalessis Coutts Kasmas Poulos Koutoulogenis

1

2

3

2 1 3

5A

5I 5I 5I 5I 5I 5I 5I 5I 5I

Connor

Angelique Dean Victoria Elizabeth Tara Holly Sophia Maria Ioanna

Kristallis

Drakakis Foundis‐Borrett Stathos Notaras Zinopoulos Durrant Lane Kappatos Panayi

3

1 2

1 3

2

3 1 2

2 1

3

=3G1

1G1

1G2 1G3

5I

6M 6M 6M 6M 6M 6M 6M

Christos

Sophia Jennifer Sienna Nicholas Mia Thomas Anthea

Paraschos

Karatasos Pyliotis Tsoukalas Notaras Paras Pambris Preketes

2 1 3

2 3

1

2 3 1

1 2

=3 =3

2G1

3G1

1G2

6M

6P 6P 6P 6P 6P 6P 6P 6P 6P 6P

Antonios

Nektarios Crystal Anna Katerina Jasmin Alexander Amelia Amanda Anne‐Marie Nicola

Kourliaftis

Kollias Coulits Kakakios Alexandratos Moros Kumar Raptis Carayannis Aroney Chrysostomou

1 2 3

1

2 =3 =3

1 2 =3

=3

1 3

2

1G1

=1G3

=1G3

6P

Anastasija

Mihajlovic

3

SENIOR SCHOOL DIVINE LITURGY GALLERY

4

K

–

12

NEWS

Year 6 (Year 7, 2019) A Year 6 Scholarship for the top Year 6 student applying for St Spyridon College will receive their tuition fees paid for four years from Year 7 to Year 10.

NEW INFANTS SCHOOL PLAN We are pleased to announce that we are in the final stages of preparation to call for tenders for the commencement of our new Infants School buildings.

Year 10 (Year 11, 2019) Two scholarships for the two top Year 10 students will receive their tuition fees paid for two years.

We also wish to inform parents that we are presently working on the following to enhance safety and well-being in the new Infants playground. 

Closing date for application is Monday, 5th February, 2018.

ACER scholarship examinations will be held on Saturday, 24th February, 2018.

Placing dark shade cloth around the inside of the fence to enhance privacy.



Installing netting over the area to prevent balls flying over the top.



Sourcing bollards to be installed inside the property to forestall risk of freak vehicle accidents.

You may register now online: www.stspyridon.nsw.edu.au follow the links to ACER Online Scholarship Application.

FAREWELL We sadly farewell Dr Veronica Hickie, Curriculum Leader – English/History/Drama.

Dr Hickie joined St Spyridon College in 2002 and has contributed to the School’s pursuit of excellence in the areas for which she was responsible. Since 2002 every HSC class has expressed their particular respect, love and gratitude to this outstanding educator. She is transformative in her thinking, compassionate in her attitude and relentless in her response to the needs not only of her students but also the Teachers in her team.

SAFETY FIRST-CAREFUL DRIVING PLEASE As everyone would appreciate, Kiss and Go has been successfully implemented at the Junior School, enhancing safety and facilitating movement before and after school.

We commend all teachers for their willingness to go the “extra mile” to make this work so smoothly, and we thank parents for their cooperation.

We extend blessing for hope it will stimulating friends.

As we all know, drop-off and pick-up times pose-by far-the greatest risk of accident and tragedy around schools.

to her every good wish and the next phase of her life. We be healthy, leisurely but full of experiences with family and

We remind parents to exercise all care and vigilance when driving around the school perimeter, extending courtesy and care towards our children, neighbours and other parents.

SCHOLARSHIPS Year 7 Applications are now invited from new and continuing students to sit for the following ACER Examination Scholarship: Thank you Dr Hickie.

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JUNIOR SCHOOL REPORT

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND STUDENT LEADERSHIP ASSEMBLY Years 3-12

Another year of learning is drawing to an end and our eyes are lifted upwards with thanks to Our Lord for the many blessings bestowed upon us.

On Thursday, 7th December, 2017 we will be rewarding students for their academic achievements as well as announcing the Student Leaders for 2017.

To each parent and grandparent who cheered from the sidelines, transported children to and from training, applauded loudly at performances and contributed to fundraising, I thank you.

This special assembly will take place in the Sports and Performing Arts Centre and will start promptly at 9.30a.m. and end at approx.

11.30a.m.

K -2 are to arrive at the Junior School at normal time.

Parents to collect Infants children by 12:00pm.

To Mrs Bourdaniotis and her amazing P & F committee we extend our heartfelt thanks for all the new and exciting resources provided through your fundraising.

Please note: There is no After School Care or Canteen on this day.

To the dedicated, committed and, passionate educators, thank you for leaving no stone unturned. Through your engaging and exciting activities, you have inspired every learner in your care to reach for the stars.

Students receiving awards will be notified beforehand.

Senior students are to arrive at School and assemble in the courtyard no later than 8.45a.m. All students are to wear summer uniform and blazer.

To my precious children, may the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ bring you and your family peace, health and happiness.

All parents and family are encouraged to attend. Please be seated by 9.15a.m.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Students will be dismissed at the end of Assembly for the year. Please note all students need to remain for the entire Assembly

UNIFORM SHOP – BACK SCHOOL PURCHASES 2018

FAREWELL We farewell Mrs Papadimatos, as she takes leave to await the birth of her first child and thank her for her contribution to the Kindergarten program.

TO

CONGRATULATIONS JUNIOR SCHOOL LEADERS 2018

Tuesday, 23rd January 2018 9 am to 4 pm Wednesday, 24th January 2018 9am to 4 pm

TO THE STUDENT

CAPTAINS Alexandra Bizzanes and Denny Poulos VICE CAPTAINS Catherine Coutts and Connor Kristallis PREFECTS Chloe Kristallis, Holly Durrant, Angelique Drakakis, Julia Kamaras, Alexandros Pambris, Andrew Dalessis, Peter Bebonis, Stephen Varvaritis.

Back to normal hours every Wednesday (not including school holidays) from Wednesday, 31st January 2018, hours 8.30 am to 10 am and 2.30 pm to 4.00 pm.

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SENIOR SCHOOL REPORT

CORINTHIANS HOUSE CAPTAINS Gabriel Leondaris & Phoebe Economou DELPHIANS HOUSE CAPTAINS George Manos & Dimitra Kasmas NEMEANS HOUSE CAPTAINS Myles O’Reilly & Ioanna Panayi OLYMPIANS HOUSE CAPTAINS Sotiri Demetriou & Julia Costa

CANTEEN THANKS I would like to extend my gratitude to all of the volunteers for 2017: Diane Siagos, Eleni Coroneos and Elizabeth Alsop, Senior School staff and Year 12 students.

Mrs I. Paraskevas Canteen Supervisor

Mrs A. Synesios Principal Junior School

MUSIC AND DRAMA EXCURSION On Tuesday, 29th November, Years 8, 9, 10 & 11 Elective Music and Drama students attended a matinee performance of “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical”.

A wonderful experience for students who received many compliments from other members of the audience.

Ms C. Savva Music Department

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YEAR 10 PREPARING FOR THE PRELIMINARY & HSC COURSES 2018-2019 Over the last 10 days Year 10 have been participating in activities to prepare for their Preliminary and HSC Courses.

These included a visit to Holy Cross Monastery, Central Mangrove, guest speakers, introduction to Electives and a First Aid Course.

Next week they will go Paddle Boarding and visit St Basil’s Nursing Homes.

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REMEMBRANCE GARDEN Year 8 students have been learning about Agriculture towards the end of term in the mandatory Technology course. As part of this unit, students collaborated with the Year 12 Prefect Body, who generously purchased a beautiful garden urn as a departing/graduating gift to the school. The garden outside the administration building, known as the Remembrance Garden, was created by the Year 12 students of 2005 in memory of their beloved friend and peer Peta Petrides, who passed away in 2004. A fire wheel tree next to the garden, commemorates the loss of Steven Firulovic who passed away in 2005.

After hearing how the loss impacted our students, school and community, the Year 8 students with the assistance and guidance of their teachers Mrs Hatzopoulos and Ms Zervos along with College Captain Constantinos Kollias were eager to dig up the garden and replace the overgrown plants with new flowers, adding life and colour back into it, using lavender and flowering succulents.

Students learned about different plant landscapes that centred around the urn which will be placed in the middle of the garden.

Well done to the Year 8 students for creating a beautiful remembrance garden and to Year 12 Prefect body for initiating the project.

Mrs V. Grillakis Team Leader - TAS Mrs A. Katsogiannis Principal Senior School

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MIDDLE REPORT

SCHOOL

demotivating. So we have to be REALISTIC. Small steps forward are important steps because they encourage and propel us in a direction that enables progress. From there we can build further momentum and just keep going.

The journey to somewhere great or better can be long, and it can also be filled with potential setbacks. This cannot be a surprise, so we need to know this and plan for it! To achieve anything worthwhile, we need to be persistent and consistent, making progress daily even if it results in only a small improvement. Over the long haul, self-belief, confidence and goals, YES GOALS, will be achieved. Even though the year is now ending, everyone needs to come back in 2018 with renewed strength and clear vision… remembering to aim high, set goals, start small, and keep going!! 

THE SECRET TO SUCCESS: AIM HIGH, START SMALL, AND KEEP GOING All students will have received their Yearly Examination results by now and be waiting in anticipation for their final end of year report.

This may be accompanied by a mix of emotions as certain realisations come to the forefront…hopefully most are good, but of course there may also be others that perhaps are not so good. Whatever the result, acknowledging and taking responsibility for the outcome is critical to enabling further improvement in the future.

Year 7 2018 PARENT FORUM The recent Parent Forum saw our new cohort of Year 7 come together for the first time to meet and go through some important organizational material that will prepare them for their first days as senior school students.

They also listened to the recollections of Year 9 Peer Support Leaders, who just three years prior had also under gone a similar process.

The difference that just three years short years can make may seem quite remarkable. But this is what defines the nurturing and caring environment that is St Spyridon Senior School.

Through our strong Transition Program and Pastoral Care focus we are able to develop our students into being their best selves, strong in mind, body, and soul, and able to stand before a large audience to speak with clarity and confidence. The once shy and unsure 11 and 12 year olds will eventually blossom and find their place as they come to feel the safety and support of their new environment. We proudly say that our student’s days at school are happy ones …most of the time. We welcome the Year 7 class of 2018 to our St Spyridon family.

In a recent study of the success that students experience, a common pattern was identified.

It appears that “aiming high and setting goals” plays a role. To get anywhere worthwhile you need to have a plan, a map, an idea, be on a road to somewhere… in short have a GOAL. Why is this important?

The answer is quite simple, goals inspire us to take action….minimise time wasting that results from travelling in never diminishing circles. Sometimes the task of aiming high and setting goals can be daunting, even intimidating. In many cases, students can become overwhelmed, but feeling overwhelmed is just a product of not knowing where to start.

So what is the solution? Start small When we start small, we can plan early successes that will inspire us and motivate and encourage us to keep going. If we try to achieve too much at the start and fail it can be

10

11

Year 7 2018 ORIENTATION DAY Last Friday in spite of the warm and windy weather, a very enjoyable day was experienced by all of the 70 new Year 7 students as they enthusiastically acquainted themselves with the Senior School campus. Students began the day with a guided tour, followed by “Getting to Know You” group work led by Year 9 Peer Support Leaders. The aim of the interactive activities was to help break the ice and encourage the beginning of new friendships.

After recess, students enjoyed a series of taster lessons in Mathematics, Technology, History and Outdoor Education. Following lunch, they evaluated the day, and received their ‘Passport to Senior School’. Even though the day began with some trepidation, especially for the very new, everyone’s faces were clearly more relaxed by the afternoon. Peer Support Leaders must be congratulated on the very fine job they did in welcoming, guiding, facilitating group activities and making Year 7’s feel welcome.

Well done everyone!!

YEAR 4 VISIT This week we had the pleasure of hosting Year 4’s first transition program visit to the Senior

12

School. Over a three year period this group will come to the senior campus four times to engage in a total of over 12 different taster lessons, meet some of their future teachers, and experience learning in a variety of specialist learning areas. The aim of all this being to remove fear of the unknown by familiarizing students with future subjects, routines, teachers and the school campus. On Wednesday students put their creativity to the test in Visual Art and in Theatre Sports, while Mrs Mio introduced them to Geography and the world of Commerce. As Outdoor Education is also a big feature of school life at the Senior School, students also had opportunity to test their team skills by playing friendly games of soccer and netball.

Â

Thank you Mrs Hatzopoulos (Visual Art), Mrs Mio (Geography & Commerce), Mrs McCoy (Theatre Sports), Mr Meintanis and Ms Vardas (Outdoor Education) for your efforts in delivering interesting lessons for students to enjoy, and the Year 7 SRC’s: Fay Dimitrios, Sia Manos, Adriana Drakoulis, Stephen Koutoulogenis, Damascus Economou and Dylan Polyzos who assisted Year 4 during the day.

13

The activity involved all Year 10 participating in a highly engrossing interactive learning experience that aimed at developing an understanding of the need for individuals to work together to address complex problems in the world. In this instance, climate change.

Also, the knowledge they gained from the experience provided students with a practical example of the benefits of working collectively as a team, especially now as they prepare to enter the preliminary year.

Each student was assigned the role a delegate to one of 40 countries represented in the United Nations. They drew upon a wide range of interpersonal techniques and approaches to influence others to do the right thing…(balance national self-interest and reduce emissions, while trying to collaborate with others for the greater good) and as such experienced some of the challenges of collective action problems.

GALMATIC Workshop

Car

Maintenance

Recently representatives from “Galmatic” presented a Car Maintenance Workshop to our Year 11 students. This was an interactive practical workshop aimed at helping teach students about some simple key measures to optimize safety and car engine operation at a time when many of them are either learning to drive or are already doing so. Students learnt a lot and also received an information book that provided guiding notes about all that was covered as well as a certificate acknowledging their proficiency in the basics of car maintenance.

YEAR 10 Leadership

Global

Citizens

and

A very appropriate ‘STEPPING UP’ opening activity launched this year’s Preparing for the Preliminaries Program, called “COLLECTIVE ACTION”. It provided yet another example of the ‘lived experience’… of our mission statement… “to educate our students so that they are able to make a conscious and positive contribution to the well-being of the broader community, our nation and our planet”.

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themselves and their peers, because it is right thing to do.

After the Workshop students filled an …” declaring what they aim to work towards next year that will have positive benefits for

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Suzane Peponis-Brisimis Founder and Director | White Pearl Fundraiser Director | Sydney Neuro-Oncology Group (SNOG)

SNOG WHITE PEARL BALL THANK YOU to the St Spyridon School Community and Student Leaders The White Pearl Ball in support of the Sydney Neuro-Oncology Group (SNOG)’s brain cancer research program was held on the 11th November at the Westin Sydney with over 600 supporters attending.

YEAR 7 STUDENT WINS OZ KID IN PRINT AWARD Congratulations and well done to Anastasia Lambrou who recently received a Writing Excellence Certificate of Achievement in recognition of her outstanding accomplishment in having a literary work published in the ‘Oz Kids in Print Magazine’. Entries for this award come from many school nationally and as such, Anastasia’s work is now also automatically entered into the 2017 Young Australian Writer’s Award. We wish Anastasia all the best in her future writing Endeavours.

(Please read her entry on page 24 of this Newsletter)

I and the Board of SNOG and the entire SNOG team, wholeheartedly thank the St Spyridon College community for its ongoing support, particularly this year.

18 hard-working Year 11 students, alongside Ms Gina Kokinelis and the Valmas family, worked tirelessly on the day, some in the afternoon helping with set up and others in the evening with our fundraising program. They worked efficiently and with enormous enthusiasm and courtesy. In the evening, the students proudly wore their school uniform at the Ball whilst helping with our fundraising program. It was an absolute pleasure to have these wonderful young people involved and representing their school with such grace.

Their school and families should be very proud.

Without their support, the event could not have run as smoothly as it did and they were instrumental in raising $193,000 for brain cancer research.

THANK YOU to Bianca Frazis, Christina Hatgis, Anastasia Hatzidis, Margarita Psaras, Joanna Skouteris, Victoria Tzavaras, Lefteri Valamas, Victoria Zois, Nathan Adam, Dean Albanakis, Harris Christofa, Florence Georges, Felicity Ginis, Dayna Kostantakis, Chris Kumar, Eleni Mastroperos, Kalliopi Mentis, Rhea Tsimboukis.

Ms G. Kokinelis Dean of Middle School

GREEK

COLUMN

Αγαπητοί γονείς και φίλοι, Στην τελευταία μας έκδοση θα σας κρατήσουμε συντροφιά με δύο ακόμη εργασίες μαθητριών μας, οι οποίες γράφηκαν κάτω από συνθήκες διαγωνισμών. Η πρώτη από τις δύο έχει να κάνει με την αυστηρότητα των γονιών και η άλλη είναι σχετική με την ενότητα το σπίτι μου. Καλή ανάγνωση, καλές γιορτές και με υγεία ο καινούριος χρόνος.

Thank you to the Valmas family.

Thank you to Ms Gina Kokinelis for you work, leadership and support.

Thank you to Ms Stefanou-Haag and Mrs Katsogiannis.

My best wishes to all for Christmas and the New Year.

Κα Μ. Φαλέτα

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Αγαπητή μου φίλη Χριστίνα, Πώς είσαι; Τι κάνει η οικογένειά σου; Είναι όλοι καλά; Στο τελευταίο σου γράμμα, μου ζητούσες να σου περιγράψω το σπίτι μου επειδή θέλεις να μας επισκεφτείς.

Αγαπητό μου ημερολόγιο, Αχ, τι να σου πω; Ήμουνα πάρα πολύ ενθουσιασμένη που η φίλη μου η Φερενίκη με είχε καλέσει στο πάρτι της και λογάριαζα να πάω, αλλά, οι γονείς μου δεν με αφήνανε! Αυτό δεν το καταλαβαίνω!

Λοιπόν, το σπίτι μου βρίσκεται στην περιοχή του Kingsgrove. Είναι μονοκατοικία. Έχει τρία δωμάτια, μια κουζίνα, σαλόνι, τραπεζαρία και ένα μπάνιο. Το πλυσταριό βρίσκεται στην πίσω πλευρά του σπιτιού. Η αυλή του σπιτιού μας είναι αρκετά μεγάλη. Στην αυλή υπάρχει το γκαράζι και μια αποθήκη όπου ο πατέρας μου αποθηκεύει τα εργαλεία του.

Ξέρω ότι οι εξετάσεις μου είναι την επόμενη εβδομάδα, αλλά έχω διαβάσει πάρα πολύ κι έχω κάνει σωστή μελέτη! Δεν ξέρω γιατί κάνουνε τα πράγματα τόσο αυστηρά! Νομίζω ότι ίσως επειδή δεν πήγα καλά στα Μαθηματικά αυτό το τρίμηνο. Αλλά δεν καταλαβαίνουν το άγχος και την πίεση που έχω να πάω καλά σε όλα μου τα μαθήματα, ειδικά στα Μαθηματικά που είμαι αδύνατη… Για τις άλλες μου φιλενάδες, είτε πάνε καλά στα μαθήματά τους, είτε δεν πάνε δεν αλλάζει τίποτα, δεν επηρεάζει αυτό τους γονείς τους που πάντα τις αφήνουν να βγαίνουν έξω και να πηγαίνουν σε πάρτι…

Ευτυχώς, η αδελφή μου κι εγώ έχουμε το δικό μας υπνοδωμάτιο η κάθε μια. Στο δωμάτιό μου έχω το κρεβάτι μου, ένα γραφείο όπου κάνω τις εργασίες του σχολείου μου, καθώς και μια βιβλιοθήκη με πάρα πολλά βιβλία. Όπως ξέρεις, λατρεύω το διάβασμα!!!

Οι γονείς μου δεν καταλαβαίνουν ότι κάνω ό, τι μπορώ σε όλα μου τα μαθήματα και πηγαίνω καλά εκτός από τα Μαθηματικά. Αυτό δεν οφείλεται στο ότι είμαι τεμπέλα, αλλά στο ότι δεν τα αγαπάω και δυστυχώς είναι δύσκολα για μένα, πολύ δύσκολα για να τα καταλάβω και γι’ αυτό δεν τα πάω καλά…

Η γειτονιά μας είναι ήσυχη. Ο δρόμος μας είναι αρκετά μεγάλος και φαρδύς. Οι γείτονές μας είναι πολύ ήσυχοι και καλοί άνθρωποι . Από τη δεξιά πλευρά του σπιτιού μας, μένει μια Αυστραλέζα και από την αριστερή μια Πορτογαλέζα. Στη γειτονιά μας επίσης υπάρχουν και δύο μεγάλα πάρκα όπου μερικές φορές πηγαίνουμε και παίζουμε.

Προσπάθησα να τους εξηγήσω και περίμενα να με καταλάβουν και να με αφήσουν να πάω στο πάρτι, αλλά ξέρεις τι μου είπανε; «Η βάση που πήρες για τα Μαθηματικά αυτό το τρίμηνο μας λέει ότι είσαι τεμπέλα και νοιάζεσαι μόνο για τα πράγματα που σε ενδιαφέρουν, δεν μπορείς να συνεχίσεις έτσι, πρέπει να προσπαθείς και να πετυχαίνεις σε όλα. Αφού δεν πήγες καλά, γιατί να σε ανταμείψουμε δίνοντάς σου την ευκαιρία να πας στο πάρτι;» Δεν ήξερα πια τι να πω! Οι γονείς μου είναι τόσο αυστηροί… Θα προσπαθήσω να μιλήσω στους γονείς της Φερενίκης για το πρόβλημά μου, μήπως μιλήσουν αυτοί στους γονείς μου και τους αλλάξουν γνώμη. Θα σου γράψω πάλι σύντομα. Στέλλα

Είμαστε τυχεροί γιατί στην γειτονιά μας υπάρχουν πολλά καταστήματα, σουπερμάρκετ, σταθμός τρένου και διάφορα σχολεία. Γι’ αυτό μου αρέσει πολύ η γειτονιά μου επειδή βρίσκεται κοντά σε όλα και αυτό μας εξυπηρετεί. Ελπίζω να μας επισκεφτείς σύντομα και να γνωρίσεις από κοντά την όμορφη γειτονιά μας. Θα περιμένω την απάντησή σου. Με αγάπη. Η φίλη σου Έλενα.

Elena Kaldis Year 7GKH

Stella Ktenas Year 10 (Modern Greek Year 11)

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LISTENING STUDENTS

TO

OUR

“We had such a fun day taking part in various activities that helped our golfing skills.

It was great to meet Jason Day and Ashley Hall who gave us tips on how to improve our game and they even signed our golf caps” Amelia Raptis 6P

MY THOUGHTS ON CAMP 2017 Camp 2017 was a great experience. From the educational activities, to having fun with our friends, our camp at Canberra was a blast. We learnt about how our country is run in parliament, and how we get our electricity in Questacon. I went to camp not knowing much about the history of Canberra and came back knowing a lot more. Years 6 of 2017 were very lucky to have the opportunity to stay at the Australian Institute of Sport. We learnt about the routines of the elite athletes, and were shown the amazing facilities used daily by the athletes. I think the upcoming Year 6 should be very excited for their trip to Canberra in 2018.

Watch St Spyridon’s experience at the Australian Golf Club on Australian Open 2017

Sienna Tsoukalas, 6M I enjoyed my time in Canberra. We did a lot of enjoyable and educational activities such as Questacon, iPlay Australia, AIS, Old and Current Parliament House.

The accommodation was very good; the food was very healthy as they had a variety of fruit and vegetables. Even though I had been to Canberra two times before this camp, I learned so much more from how they chose Canberra to be the capital of Australia. The Australia War Memorial gave us the experience of what it would have felt like for the soldiers. I believe that this was mine and many of my classmates favourite camp ever.

SPORTS

COLUMN

BOYS SPORT Round 5 Boys Basketball Saturday 18th November With all the boys teams in a good form leading into the round 5 clash against Blue Mountains Grammar, there would be no room for complacency and all teams had to make most of the home court advantage.

Charlie Georgas 6M

The day was also made even more special with the inclusion of the girls games integrated into the day to make the day a great success. In fact Saturday the 18th November would be a memorable day for the boys’ basketball teams as all teams were victorious. This marks the second time this season that this has occurred.

For our U13 boys’ team it was a crucial victory given that they had lost two consecutive games before this one and really needed to step up with a win if they wanted to make the semi-finals. It was a very close game with the U13 boys always looking more aggressive in offence and their organisation on the man to man defence is getting much better.

THE EMIRATES AUSTRALIAN GOLF OPEN 2017 Budding golf enthusiasts from the Years 5 and 6 were invited to attend the Australian Open practice day at the Australian Golf Club on Tuesday 21st of November. The lucky students had the opportunity to perfect their golf swing at various workshops and also met the Australian and former world number one golfer, Jason Day.

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on the ladder in order to have a more favourable semi-final fixture in the new year.

Standout performances from Christian James and Dyllon Polyzos helped to steer the team home to a much needed victory.

The day started positively with the U13 Boys really buoyed by last week’s victory the team were off to an early lead 10-2 within the first 5 minutes of the first half and Kosta Kalantzis together with Christian James were clinical in the key winning offence rebounds and converting opportunities at ease. Although the game did tighten a little the boys’ were always in control against St Andrews Cathedral and were comfortable winners. This week Kosta was by far the standout performer but Andrej Jovanovic also pitched in with some very strong rebounding and shooting from the free throw line.

The U17 boys’ team were also comfortable victors on the weekend with the team making exceptional progress with Alexander Alsop joining the team. In offence the team is definitely more organised and their shooting percentages have improved over the last few weeks. No doubt the close win against St Patricks college a couple of weeks ago would have done the world of difference for the morale of the team and the expectations of making this year’s semi-final series and going one better, if not all the way this season.

The Opens game was expected to be a close affair with both schools enjoying a rich history over the last 5 seasons of basketball. In fact the Opens boys have met Blue Mountains Grammar twice in the grand final in years gone by and our boys were victorious on both those days. On this occasion our Opens were determined and they were ready to inflict a psychological advantage over the opponents.

Alexandros Gousetis was once again top scorer for the team, and while his personal offence stats were exemplary what he did off the ball in defence was equally as commanding. That said taking nothing away from the rest of the team who have really turned a corner and are playing very well organised and polished basketball. Particularly pleasing is their relentless approach in all quarters and their desire to succeed.

What was meant to be an easy game for the U14 boys, resulted in a shock loss and their first loss for the season. Although a close game the St Andrews boys were a very different team to the one that lost three weeks ago at Sydney University. Their power forward really outmuscled and outwitted our boys who got into foul trouble early in the game resulting in forced changes to the line-up which altered their style of play. Despite the predicaments the boys rallied until the very end and were unlucky not to get away with the win. That said, the disappointment on the faces of the boys at the end of the game was a clear indication that they are a champion team who have high expectations of themselves and high expectations as a team. I look forward to watching the boys bounce back in the new year in what is becoming the most competitive age group in the division.

Results from the day: U13 won 28-25 U14 won 29 – 20 U15 won 52-13 U17 won 38-25 Opens 74 - 38

The U 15 boys were also outplayed losing to a spirited St Andrews team, despite the loss the boys did very well to stay in the contest with Jordan Polyzos , John Dalakiaris and Nicholas Tsintominas all performing very well.

Congratulations to all the schools teams and thank you to all families for supporting sport at the College. It was a memorable day for all involved.

Both the U17 boys and Open boys were clinical in their performances and were comfortable winners. The Open Boys maintain their 6-0 winning streak and are the only boys team to yet face defeat in 2017.

Round 6 Boys Basketball Saturday 25th November Round 6 was the last round of the regular basketball competition for 2017, with this year’s competition being so close all our teams need to try and secure wins yet again to ascend

Results from the day: U 13 won 23 – 10 U 14 loss 26-36 U15 loss 14-37

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After losing the toss the St Stanislaus team decided to bat and they occupied the crease for the entire 50 overs accumulating an imposing total of 259 for the boys to chase. In the bowling there were some very strong performers in particular Nicholas Kollias who was very economical conceding only 11 runs off 10 overs. Nicholas gave nothing away and he was unlucky not to take any wickets on the day. Manny was the other impressive performer on the day in the field taking 3 catches for the match, 2 off his own bowling and a total of 3 wickets early bagging a hat trick. Unfortunately too many dropped catches on the weekend proved to be costly, with the Oxley batting line up being dropped and going on to score over 50 runs.

U17 won 36-18 Opens won 61-32 I extend my sincere gratitude to all families for their ongoing support of boys sport, and thank all the parents who attended and helped with scoring, in the canteen on the BBQ and with providing afternoon tea for our Open team.

CRICKET Round 5 Boys Cricket Saturday 18th November – Last Home Game This was the last home game for the team.

Against very strong opposition, Oxley College are without doubt one of the favourite teams to win the competition. After losing the toss the boys were sent into the field and while they bowled well the Oxley team manufactured some excellent strokes.

In the fielding Brendan Borodyansky was a standout taking two wonderful catches and an amazing run out with a direct hit on the stumps from at least 25m out.

Naturally the task of clawing our way back into the game would require more than just patience it would require strong contributions from the top order and this was not forthcoming with many of our top order batsman getting a start but failing to go on with posting a solid score. It was a frustrating day but as always there was a positive lining to the day with George Hatzidis scoring a personal best of 28. George has been making gradual progress and the school will definitely be looking for George and all the boys to bounce back to their best in order to get their season back on track when the Cricket resumes in Term 1 of 2018.

Despite the positive bowling and tremendous effort in the field the Oxley boys posted a very respectable total of 6/252 and one that would test the mental strength of the boys team in batting. It is never easy chasing any total and having to chase a total of this size would be very challenging.

Unfortunately the boys were not up to the task, however there was a bright partnership of 54 between Spiros Zafiropoulos and Nicholas Kollias.

Batting Highlights G. Hatzidis with a high score of 28 Bowling Highlights M. Giokas 3/43 off 6 overs (3 catches for the match) W. Georgas 1/48 off 10 overs

Batting Highlights S. Zafiropoulos 25 N. Kollias 28 Bowling Highlights N. Kollias 2/29 off 10 overs Brendan in fielding took two catches and one run out.

FIRST EVENT IN THE NEW YEAR Training Thursday 25th of January 2018 for all the Boys basketball teams and the First XI Cricket team at the school. Schedule to be provided to students and can be found on the team app.

Round 6 Boys Cricket Saturday 25th November In the last game of the year the boys made the trip to Bathurst for the game against St Stanislaus College. The 3.5 hour trip although enjoyed by all does mean that match preparation on game day is somewhat lacking.

FUTSAL FINALS Congratulations to the Year 10 Politicals team for defeating Besikta 3-2 in the final of Futsal

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on Monday at lunch. Congratulations also to the Year 8 team Spartans for winning the Year 7/8 competition the boys defeated the Year 7 team KSA 5-4 in extra time. Both finals were played with good sportsmanship and the school based tournament was a success.

Congratulations.

Looking continuing this in the future.

forward

All teams played the same opposition as they did earlier in the year. So it was exciting to determine the level of improvement shown from our girls. All teams made vast improvements from their Round 1 performance. Particularly, the Intermediate team. This team in Round 1 lost both their matches against CCGS. However, in our return match at CCGS home courts the girls were able to narrow the loss against the first place position CCGS and win their match against the second CCGS team. Similarly, the Junior C and the Open A teams were able to close the point difference.

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ROUND 5 and 6 ISA GIRLS BASKETBALL RESULTS

Round 6 Results TEAM OPPONENT Open A SPGS Open B Oakhill Intermediate A CCGS Green CCGS Gold Junior B CCGS Junior C CCGS CCGS

ROUND 5 Basketball Both boys and girls played at home for Round 5 ISA Basketball which created a strong sense of school spirit. All students watched and supported their peers throughout the day and it was pleasing to witness the comradery between the students.

The ISA Basketball season will continue in Term 1 2018. I encourage all girls to continue to practice in the holiday break as it is important to finish the back season well to secure positions in the finals. Holiday training sessions will be confirmed through the email and Team app.

Round 5 Results TEAM OPPONENT Open A BMGS Open B BYE Intermediate A BMGS Junior B BMGS Junior C BMGS

Thank you to all parents and students for involvement in ISA sport this year. I forward to continuing to watch the develop their skills further and represent St Spyridon College in 2018.

GIRLS

SCORE Won 30-17 Won 49-11 Loss 26-14 Won 29-12

Ms K. O’Shea – Girls Sport Mr F. Kaldis – Boys Sport

ROUND 6 Basketball

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SCORE Loss 33-31 Loss 16-10 Loss 34-14 Won 34-26 Loss 31- 6 Loss 28-21 Won 30-11

their look girls their

Online Ordering will be Available Term 1 2018!

The Senior School will be introducing an online ordering system for our Excursions and Main Events called FlexiSchools. This system allows parents, students and staff to place orders from home, work or school at any time. The payment is also done online, so less paper bags, cash, cheques, and envelopes are sent via your student to school. As well as being convenient for parents, the online orders are much faster and easier for the school coordinator to process - so it makes everyone’s life a little easier. FlexiSchools is well established and tested, operating in hundreds of schools across Australia.

Getting online is easy and only takes a few minutes to register. Simply go to www.flexischools.com.au and click “Register Now”. You will be sent an email with further instructions on how to complete the registration. Once registered, you can start placing orders immediately. If you have any questions, FlexiSchools provide a great help desk on 1300 361 769, or you can contact them via their website.

There are a variety of payment options supported, including Visa, Mastercard (credit and debit) and Bank Transfer. The system operates via a pre-paid account, so you no longer have to worry about the manual process of sending payments into school.

The system will be available in Term 1 2018, so it would be greatly appreciated if you could register before Term 1 begins so that your child doesn’t miss out on any upcoming events, as there will be no more cash payments available. Currently our Junior School is using Flexischools for Excursions, Main Events and the Canteen. Please keep in mind the services for the canteen are only available for the Junior School and not for the Senior School.

If you have any questions about the online service we are introducing, please ask for Chris Alexandratos at the school office for more information.

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Information Sheet New Cashless System will be Available Term 1 2018!

We are constantly on the lookout for new ways to make your interactions with school more convenient. That’s why we’ve engaged with Flexischools, Australia’s leading school payment system, to provide a new cashless way for you to pay for school services.

Order and pay for a range of school services online with Flexischools online ordering…

Flexischools is the fast, convenient and secure way to order and pay for your Excursions and Main Events with Flexischools from home or on your mobile. Flexischools makes our school services available to you 24/7   

Parents set up a Flexischools account online and pre-load the account with funds.

Parent can use the funds in their account to order and pay for a range of services online.

Parents can view their orders online.

Get Started with Flexischools…

Set up an account for online ordering…

You can set up an account online – it only takes a minute.

1. Register for Flexischools by visiting www.flexischools.com.au. Add your student, their school and form class to get started.

2. Top-Up your account via Visa, Mastercard, PayPal or direct deposit.

3. Make an order by selecting from the range of options made available by your school and proceed to make payment for the order listed in your order pad.

4. Review Orders by logging back in to your Flexischools account. You can set recurring orders, view transaction history or cancel orders via your Flexischools login.

What does it cost?

Online Ordering Fees Account Top-Up Fees -

$0.29 per order Direct Deposit FREE Credit card (visa/mastercard) 15c + 1% PayPal 15c + 1%

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ST SPYRIDON COLLEGE

TERM 1 Friday 26th January 2018 th

2018 DATES

Australia Day, Public Holiday

Monday 29 January 2018

Staff Development Day

Tuesday 30th January 2018

Staff Development Day

Wednesday 31st January 2018

Years 1 to 7, 11 & 12 commence

Thursday 1st February 2018

Kindergarten and Years 8 – 10 commence

Friday 30th March 2018

Western Good Friday, Public Holiday

nd

Monday 2 April 2018

Western Easter Monday, Public Holiday

Thursday 5th April 2018

Holy Thursday, school closed

th

Friday 6 April 2018

Good Friday, school closed

Sunday 8th April 2018

Orthodox Easter

th

Monday 9 April 2018

Easter Monday, school closed

Friday 13th April 2018

Term ends

TERM 2

Monday 30th April 2018

Staff Development Day

Tuesday 1st May 2018

Students return

Monday 11th June 2018

Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday

th

Friday 29 June 2018

Term ends for Staff and students

TERM 3

Monday 23rd July 2018

Staff Development Day

Tuesday 24th July 2018

Students return

Wednesday 15th August 2018

The Dormition of the Theotokos – School Closed

Friday 28th September 2018

Term ends for Staff and students

TERM 4

Monday 15th October 2018

Staff and students return

Tuesday 11th December 2018 Wednesday 12th December 2018

Academic and Student Leadership Assembly Term ends for students St Spyridon Day, School closed

Thursday 13th December 2018

Staff Development Day

Friday 14th December 2018

Staff Development Day 25