TAS Talks Term 3 Week 3

What a joy it has been to witness so many of our students excelling in the Creative Arts recently; a stellar Twilight Concert last week including performers from Years 1 to 12; Aidan Rosberg and Annabelle Trinder featuring as finalists in Let’s Hang It at NERAM; A Stitch In Time displaying the versatile textiles creations of our HSC students and the funny, poignant and fabulous HSC Drama showcase, Curtain Up. All of our students should be incredibly proud of their works in these areas and we wish our seniors in particular the best of luck with their final results. We also wish all of our Year 12 students the best of luck in their trials next week.

Our sporting and other teams and individuals across the School have experienced mixed success recently, as is par for the course in life. They have, however, held themselves well whatever the outcomes. It is a challenging lesson for young people to learn, that however hard we try, we cannot always come out on top in competition. Others may just be better or more fortunate on the day. Looking to ourselves, controlling the controllables and then showing good character in either eventuality, humility in victory, graciousness in defeat, is most important. “Somewhere in the world there is a defeat for everyone. Some are destroyed by defeat, and some made mean and small by victory. Greatness lives in one who triumphs equally over defeat and victory.” John Steinbeck – The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights.

Dr Rachel Horton
Principal

“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” – C.S. Lewis

Integrity is an essential quality that defines our character and shapes our actions when faced with moral dilemmas. At the first assembly of the term, I congratulated our students on the manner in which they conduct themselves when representing the School in public, whether it be for sport, on a tour or just outside 8.30am-3.30pm. Dr Horton and I enjoy the positive (and regular) feedback from members of the public on how our students dress, the manners they use and how they represent TAS. Our students do understand the expectation on them when wearing the uniform and largely get this right. 

During this assembly, I challenged the students to understand the importance of representing themselves well in all that they do. In the classroom, to avoid distraction, to do their best and value effort over result. To be true to themselves and make the right decisions when no one is watching; to appreciate the words of C.S. Lewis. Why? Doing the right thing in anonymity reflects a person’s internal moral compass. It demonstrates a deep-rooted sense of responsibility and a commitment to their values, regardless of external influences or rewards. In my role, I occasionally have to work with students who have made poor choices in the hope that no one would find out. I like to use this as a learning experience and this is made easier with accountability and honesty; it is very rare that I have a student not be honest about the mistakes they have made. Integrity starts with honesty.

It is my belief that once a person can develop personal integrity they are in a position to make a positive contribution to the world around them. You have to get your own integrity ‘right’ before imposing messages and beliefs on others. While integrity is an expectation, it would be naive to suggest it is automatically instilled in us all.   

Cultivating integrity in young people is a shared responsibility between home and school; ultimately it is developed through both lived and taught experiences. An article from Berkeley University’s Greater Good magazine highlights the role moral courage plays and four key ways to develop integrity in young people.

1. Integrity begins with positive role modelling from the key adults in their lives.
2. Understanding that right and wrong is not always clear cut, focusing on the issue and not the personalities involved in the debate is important.  
3. We need to encourage opportunities for students to have agency and stand up for issues they find important.
4. Encouraging empathy and understanding different points of views is essential. 

This term, students will have the opportunity to learn about injustices and be provided a platform to make a difference. I thank Mr James Pennington for highlighting the issues of homelessness in Armidale and our Student Representative Council for their work in coordinating the ‘awareness campaign’ for this issue. 

Ward-Seidel, A., & Rimm-Kaufman, S. (2022, February 7). Four Ways to Help Students Cultivate Integrity [Review of Four Ways to Help Students Cultivate Integrity]. Greater Good Magazine: Science-Based Insights for a Meaningful Life; Berkeley University. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/four_ways_to_help_students_cultivate_integrity

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Mr Ray Pearson
Deputy Principal

Meeting This Wednesday

The P&F will meet on Wednesday 2 August at 7.00 pm. We will be face to face in Upper Maxwell as well as have a Zoom session running for those wishing to attend remotely.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://as-edu.zoom.us/j/2155172798?pwd=Z1VRMTRrcjZoVStLYlFKOG5CdVovQT09

Meeting ID: 215 517 2798
Password: parents
Dial in phone number:  +61 2 8015 6011

We will kick off the annual Funding Request process at this meeting. Hope you can join the discussion and offer suggestions for projects which give back to the school community.

Contact P&F Executive

If you have anything you would like to raise with the P&F Executive, please send us an email at pandf@as.edu.au

Mr Paul Gaddes
P&F President

This Semester in year-group Chapels, we are going through a topical series on ‘Wisdom for a Flourishing Life’. The Bible offers a lot of practical Wisdom on living well in this amazing but imperfect world. To complement the series, I signed TAS up to a lifestyle-based wellbeing program called ‘The Lift Project’. The Lift Project gives us access to some excellent scientific research behind common wellbeing principles, which is delivered online through weekly 15 minute-long engaging and helpful videos. In signing TAS up to The Lift Project, it not only gives students and staff access to this program, but also immediate family members of current students.

I am therefore very pleased to invite TAS families to participate in The Lift Project. This program is unique in that it brings together scientifically proven strategies drawn from research in the fields of Neuroscience, Lifestyle Medicine, and Positive Psychology. Many of these wellbeing principles are not unfamiliar to us given that Mr Whalley has been connecting our community with this valuable information over the years. The distinctive feature of The Lift Project is that it helpfully engages its participants with the science behind HOW and WHY these principles work and provides strategies to start implementing them into daily life. Its aim is to set young people up for success and resilience in life as well as support and lift the overall wellbeing of the school community. More information about The Lift Project can be found here https://www.theliftproject.global/

While the content is science based, it is not new. A lot of the scientific research in the Positive Psychology space backs-up Biblical Wisdom about living well. I chose the ‘Christian Edition’ of the Lift Project because, as mentioned above, most of the content is being delivered to students in their year group Chapels. My talks, which introduce the topic, are based on relevant Biblical Wisdom, and then students are engaged with the science from The Lift Project. While TAS is proud of its Christian foundation, we understand that not everyone in our community may personally hold this worldview. When you register for The Lift Project, you get to choose the content to connect with. The videos are the main source of learning, they are incredibly helpful and are about the science and research. There is the additional ‘Discover Biblical Wisdom’ section which you can choose to engage with or not.

TAS has purchased this program with our community in mind. It is free for all our families. I encourage you to take advantage of this valuable opportunity by registering using the QR code below (registration takes about 10 seconds!). All the online information will say that The Lift Project access is available from 24 July – 10 September, however TAS has special access until the end of term 4.

I hope you and your family enjoy this rewarding program.

Any questions, comments or feedback, please let me know jbenham@as.edu.au

Mrs Jo Benham
Assistant Chaplain

Year 11 (2024) Subject Selection

This week, our current Year 10 students will be making their first-round selections for Year 11 subjects. This will allow the academic office to determine which subjects and how many classes of each will be offered based on student interest.

The subject descriptions can be found in the 2024 Stage 6 Academic Handbook. This has been emailed to all students and can be found on the school website.

All Year 10 students need to have selected EIGHT subjects in preferential order and submitted this via Edval by 5pm this coming Friday (4/8). When they log into Edval they will see a button labelled ‘Year 11 Initial Subject Selection Preferences’ – this is the place to make their selections.

Please reach out to Mr Currell, Mr Taylor, Heads of Department or subject teachers if you have any questions about subjects. Once these initial preferences have been submitted, we will begin to work on final subject lines for 2024.

Year 12

With the Trial HSC Examinations starting next week (Week 4 and 5), our Year 12 students are busy completing final preparations. Now is the time to be putting the laptop away and ensuring pen to paper practice is occurring. Past HSC papers are the best tool for this stage of preparation and these can be found online at the NESA website – Find past HSC papers here.

Last weekend saw several Sunday Study Sessions running in Fisher and the Hub with a text -based revision session for Standard English; a general short answer workshop targeting all levels of English; and a ‘Bring your Questions’ offering run for Chemistry. As is always the case, the Hub was open as well for general study.

This Sunday, the program has extended hours to help students prepare for the start of exams on Monday:

I encourage all Year 12 students to take the opportunity to access workshops or sit quietly working on their own revision work. Thank you to the staff for their time.

Week 4 – Trial HSC class arrangements

All Year 12 students and families have been sent an email about the daily arrangements for Week 4 during the first five days of the Trial HSC.

To summarise, students will attend their regular classes as per the usual timetable in between exams in Week 4. No lessons will be taught but rather, silent supervised study will occur in these rooms for each 45 minute lesson. The reason for this is that students will be supported to have structured, timed, and quiet revision space. All of these elements are vital is supporting good habits and essential structure in between each examination. Our Year 12 teachers are the best people to offer this supervision in known, smaller groupings. Students can arrange to meet with Year 12 teachers during this time if required.

As of 2pm, Friday (11/8), the boarding houses will be open and supervised. As such, boarding students may choose to work from the boarding house on Friday afternoon if they do not have an exam. This will then be the case of all of Week 5. However, the Year 12 Study Centre will be open and supervised in Week 5 for this boarding students and day students who would like to work from there.

Please read over the email sent for finer details.

ICAS

Next week, the first ICAS tests will begin. All students enrolled will be contacted by email (or JS by their class teachers) to let them know when and where they need to go to complete these.

Mrs Gill Downes
Director of  Teaching and Learning

International Literacy Day
( Inaugural TAS Creative Writing Competition)

This year International Literacy Day is on 8 September. Since 1967, UNESCO has annually promoted International Literacy Day celebrations around the world to remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and a human right, and to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society.

Despite steady progress made across the world, literacy challenges persist with at least 763 million young people and adults lacking basic literacy skills in 2020. The recent COVID-19 crisis and other crises, such as climate change and conflicts, have been exacerbating the challenges. In low and middle-income countries, the share of 10-year-old children who could not read and understand a simple text with comprehension has increased from 57 per cent in 2019 to an estimated 70 per cent in 2022.

As such, this year’s International Literacy Day will be celebrated worldwide under the theme, ‘Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies’.

This year at TAS we will be celebrating this day through the Inaugural TAS Creative Writing Competition and we would encour-age anyone in our community who is interested to participate. We hope that this will be the beginning of a Creative Writing Competition that continues for many decades to come. The competition will have eight different divisions based around age. Each division will have slightly different rules that must be followed. There will be a winner from each division and then an overall winner. Please see below for the specific details regarding the competition.

Task

Use this image as inspiration to write an original piece of creative writing (Year 1 to Year 12 and Community) or illustrate an original visual story (Pre-K and Kindergarten). Please see below for the various divisions and their specific rules.

Pre-K and Kindergarten: Use the image above as inspiration to illustrate an original sto- ry. You may use one side of an A3 piece of paper. You can have an adult scribe a descrip- tion for your story, but it needs to be your own words.

Stage 1 (Year 1 and 2): Use the above image as inspiration to write an original piece of creative writing. Maximum word count is 200 words.

Stage 2 (Year 3 and 4): Use the above image as inspiration to write an original piece of creative writing. Maximum word count is 350 words.

Stage 3 (Year 5 and 6): Use the above image as inspiration to write an original creative piece of writing. Maximum word count is 500 words.

Stage 4 (Year 7 and 8): Use the above image as inspiration to write an original creative piece of writing. Maximum word count is 650 words.

Stage 5 (Year 9 and 10): Use the above image as inspiration to write an original creative piece of writing. Maximum word count is 800 words.

Stage 6 (Year 11 and 12): Use the above image as inspiration to write an original creative piece of writing. Maximum word count is 1000 words.

Parents/Staff/TAS Community: Use the above image as inspiration to write an original creative piece of writing. Maximum word count is 1000 words.

Due Date

3:30pm, Friday 8 September (Week 8. Term 3).

Submission

Pre-K, K, Yr 1, Yr 2, Yr 3 and Yr 4 are to submit a hard copy of their work to Mrs Lasker by 3:30 pm on the due date. Please include your name and the division that you have entered on the hard copy of your work.

Yr 5, Yr 6, Yr 7, Yr 8, Yr 9, Yr 10, Yr 11, Yr 12, Parents, Staff and Community are to email their piece of creative writing to Mrs Murray at amurray1@as.edu.au by 3:30 pm on the due date. Please include your name and the division that you have entered in the email. 

Rules

• The piece of creative work must be original and made for the purposes of this competition.
• Applicants must not plagiarise or use AI in preparing their submission.
• Applicants must not get assistance from tutors, teachers, parents or anyone else – it needs to be their own work. 
• Maximum word counts must be adhered to. Note, that there are no minimum word counts. 

Prizes

• Each division winner will be awarded a $50 gift voucher to Reader’s Companion in Armidale.
• The overall winner will be awarded a $150 gift voucher to Reader’s Companion in Armidale.
• All winners will be published in TAS Talks.

Download PDF
 
Mrs Alexandra Murray
Head of English

On Monday night the HSC Drama students took to the stage for CurtainUP, delivering their Group Performances and Individual Performances to an enthusiastic crowd of friends, family, and many Senior Boarders. They did an amazing job and each piece was distinctive and different and highlighted the true depth and breadth of the class. We wish those students the best as they look towards their HSC practical examinations in Week 7. And I again thank Year 11 student Tommy Burnett for learning how to program and operate the lighting to ensure the night was a dazzling success.

Don’t forget the two other HSC showcases this term: In Week 6 we have the HSC Visual Arts Exhibit A from 5pm on Friday 25 August; HSC Music’s Final Note is at 6:30pm on Tuesday 5 September in Week 8.

As the HSC students knuckle down to Trials they hand the space over to Middle School who are in their final rehearsals for Fight With All Your Might the Zombies of Tonight. The cast and team are amped and we hope to see you there at 6pm Friday 11 or 6pm Saturday 12 August. Show those zombies you have brains by booking your ticket here: https://events.humanitix.com/fymzt.

That’s not all for the Middle School this term – in Week 5 on Wednesday 16 and Thursday 17 August we have the Year 8 Arts Immersion. An incredible success last year, we will again bring the students in for two intensive days of Art, Drama, Music and Slam Poetry. Year 8 parents make sure you put 2pm on Thursday 17 August for the showcase so you can see the amazing work the students have achieved.

Mr Andrew O’Connell
Head of Creative Arts

MUSIC MATTERS

Gondwana Voices – Report by Holly Dauparas

From July 7-16 I was a member of Gondwana Voices – the National Children’s Choir of Australia. We sang in residence with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO), becoming the first-ever children’s choir to be their choir in residence. Our days were filled with rehearsals and excursions around the city, which culminated in two performances of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, a piece inspired by Shakespeare’s famous Midsummer Night’s Dream and Atherton’s Shall We Dream, a single line of melody that is arranged by the singers into a unique rendition in every performance, this one is accompanied by tuned wine glasses and tone chimes played by the choir. Despite it only being nine days, it felt like a lifetime of singing with extremely talented singers from all over Australia. It was an extremely positive experience, equal parts learning and fun.

We were conducted by Lyn Williams, the artistic director of Gondwana. Through her incredible singing and conducting expertise, she was able to elevate our musical knowledge and skills to the level required to perform our repertoire, which was originally intended to be sung by an adult women’s choir. We were also looked after by our amazing supervisors – Penny, Felicity, Giulian, and Lachie, who made sure we remained safe and well for the duration of our stay in Melbourne. They also took us to see the city, organising shopping expeditions and scavenger hunts.

It was an overwhelmingly enjoyable experience, I highly recommend it to any who is interested in singing and I hope to return next year.

Gondwana National Choir Auditions

Gondwana Choirs is thrilled to announce the launch of their 2024 season, bringing together choristers from across the country to form exceptional ensembles that undertake a diverse range of choral music. Enthusiastic singers aged 10-25 from all backgrounds and corners of Australia are invited to audition for these upcoming seasons of music-making and fun. For further information and to apply to audition please follow the attached link: https://gondwana.org.au/gondwana-national-choirs/

“If singing is your thing, then the Gondwana National Choirs are for you. Gondwana Choirs are known across the world for the great repertoire they perform and the remarkable quality of their performances. To see one of our choirs perform is to share in the joy and excitement of the singers.”

Lyn Williams AM

Twilight Concert

Congratulations to all our performers at our two Twilight Concerts last Thursday evening in the Hoskins Centre Theatre. The performances were fabulous and provided students with the perfect opportunity to perform for an audience, especially for those students with AMEB examinations and HSC Trial Performance Examinations commencing this week. A wide variety of performance styles and instruments were showcased at the Twilight Concerts. A special mention must go to our Year 12 musicians, who performed at their last Twilight Concert at TAS. Thank you to our fantastic peripatetic teachers who provide excellent tuition and expertly prepare our students for their performances. Thank you to Mr Tom Collett, Miss Jessica Suann and Mrs Veronica Lucas for their wonderful support in the preparation and running of the Twilight Concerts.

Musica Viva Concert – Renowned Pianist Konstantin Shamray

Music Viva’s concert with pianist Konstantin Shamray is being held this Thursday 3 August at 7:00 pm in the Armidale Teachers College Auditorium. Konstantin is a pianist of exceptional skill and dynamism and his programmes often feature repertoire other concert pianists are reluctant to tackle. This concert is no exception with La Valse by Ravel and the rarely performed Sonata No. 8 by Prokofiev on the program.

Ms Leanne Roobol
Director of Music

This week’s assembly provided an opportunity for our sports captains to update our students on their respective sports. It is evident that our students are fully engaged in the winter sports program and there is a general theme that extends from being involved in a team sport. The comradery is real, the opportunity to work as a team is evident, putting others before yourself is valued and having a common goal and working towards it is what makes a team great.

At an open level, many of our teams have had the added pressure of playing against adults who are more experienced and physically stronger. Our hockey players, footballers, netballers and volleyball players have all faced these obstacles and remained competitive. The rugby players have endured extraordinary travel to compete each week, and they have remained steadfast and determined to improve. It is these obstacles that make the experience that much more rewarding. I commend our students for their effort and application and look forward to seeing and hearing continued acts of sportsmanship, comradery and selflessness that embody TAS Sport.

This week we welcome back our Old Armidalians, an opportunity for them to reflect on their time at TAS. There will be competitions between the OAs and current students in Hockey (Friday 5pm at UNE), and on Saturday in Shooting (Meadowfield 8.30am), Chess (Archdall Room 8.30am), Tennis (Belfield Courts 9am), Netball (MS Courts 9.30am) and Tug-o-War (Backfield 11.30am), all vying for the Croft Cup. No doubt there will be many stories recalled with great fondness. For now, it is our student’s chance to create memories, that will no doubt be told in the years to come.

Mr Huon Barrett
Director of Co-curricular

Sleepout for Homelessness

Saturday 26 August, 2023

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,
All Australians should have access to a safe home. But alarmingly, over 116,000 people are without a secure place to sleep every night.

This is our opportunity to help those less fortunate and to try and experience what a single night might feel like.

To find out more please click HERE and to register your interest, please email Mr Jim Pennington at jpenning@as.edu.au

Mr Jim Pennington
Challenge and Service Coordinator

Triple Crown - 19 for Nineteen Challenge

It’s time for Round 3 of the Triple Crown!

On Sunday 15 October (Week 1 Term 4), is the 19 for Nineteen Challenge. A 19km (with a 5km option for the Junior School) adventure for Anya’s Wish in support of the Children’s Cancer Institute.

I’m pleased to be able to offer this experience to all TAS students, staff and parents so please come along, join in the fun!

To find out more and register your interest, please visit the link below. <b>Expressions of interest close on Friday 18 September, 2023.

I offer my thanks and congratulations to our Year 8 da Vinci team who competed at Knox Grammar last week in Sydney. I also offer my thanks Mrs Donella Tutt for her coordination and support of our students in this valuable extension and enrichment opportunity.

This week our students have been offered a number of events that I encourage them to consider participating in. These include the 19 for 19 Challenge; an important initiative and next event in the TAS Triple Crown. Also, the TAS Sleepout, held on August 26, in support of homelessness in our community, is another opportunity for our students to challenge themselves and contribute to a positive cause. Finally, I encourage our students to have a look at the Creative Writing Challenge that has been released this week as part of this year’s Literacy Week activities.

As part of our commitment to ongoing improvement, I have been speaking to our staff and Heads of Department this week about the academic program in Middle School. This has included looking at what we do well, what skills we want our Year 8 students to have upon finishing their time in Middle School and suggestions that they have, including with the IB Middle Years Programme. As parents, you are key stakeholders in your child’s education and I encourage you to contact me directly (lpolson@as.edu.au) if there is any feedback you would like to provide if you wish.

Mr Luke Polson
Head of Middle School

A sincere thanks to our community for your support in ensuring our students were presented impeccably for the photographs taken during the day on Wednesday last week. All students were included in the large photograph of all Junior School students and staff, with several also posing in other photographs throughout the day.

Eight Year 5 students, accompanied by two staff, travelled to Sydney on an academic enrichment trip that centred around their participation in the state finals of the da Vinci Decathlon. By all accounts the students represented themselves and the school incredibly well throughout the trip, returning exhausted but full of stories to share of their learning and adventures.

Preparations for the Junior School musical performance of Finding Nemo are well underway. Students in Years 4 and 5 have this week had the opportunity to audition for the more prominent roles with the cast expected to be confirmed in the coming days. Congratulations to all who have put themselves forward for consideration.

Over the first few weeks of term, all Junior School students have been learning about ‘core values’ within our Social and Emotional Learning program. Next week the focus will shift to the concept of safety in the leadup to the National Day of Action Against Bullying on Friday 18 August. More information about this annual event, and key messages for families, is available at https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/support-and-advice/for-families. Key learning in the safety unit link closely to this initiative, namely what bullying is, and what it is not; why bullying is never okay; and how to deal with bullying.

There are several upcoming events in the latter stages of this term that we suggest you note the following in your diaries. Further details regarding the individual events will be communicated in the coming weeks:

• Friday 1 September – Father’s Day celebration
• Friday 15 September – Student led reflection.

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday to Ethan Downes, Jack Cadzow, Mishkah Alrdadi and Liam Hoad for your special days this week.

Mr Scott Chittenden
Head of Junior School

Year 5 da Vinci Decathlon Student Report

A group of eight Year 5 students travelled to Sydney for three days to Sydney to compete in the state final of the da Vinci Decathlon. A three-day trip is a lot of time to compete in one competition, so we thought we would share what else we did on their trip.

On our first full day in Sydney we spent much of the day competing at Knox Grammar School in the da Vinci Decathlon competition. There were 73 Year 5 teams and over 100 Year 6 teams in the event, so it was certainly bigger and busier than we were expecting. We competed in ten separate competitions throughout three sessions between 8.00am and 3.00pm, working in small teams to answer set questions or solve open-ended problems. While we did not place in the top three teams in any of the events, we enjoyed ourselves immensely and learned a lot in the process, about both academic pursuits and how to work even more effectively within a team.

On our second evening in Sydney we were lucky enough to visit the Powerhouse Museum after hours. The museum has many exhibits, some of which were not appropriate for children to view. Our da Vinci team only had time to visit the bottom two floors. Highlights of our visit were seeing a Catalina PBY-5 Frigate Bird II (below), a theremin (an instrument played by not touching it), a pedal-powered fire engine, a marble run, a tug of war with a human being tugged, and a brain-numbing kaleidoscope among many more wonders. They also saw a space exhibit with a ‘zero-gravity’ space lab, a moon landing simulator, a can of space-coke, a zero-gravity toilet and a locomotive. Some members of the da Vinci team were intrigued by a mysterious tunnel that led from the Catalina to the space area.

On our second morning in Sydney we experienced a stunning ferry ride! Not only were the sights of Sydney beautiful from the water, but we learnt a lot as well. Mr Chittenden told us the history of some of the buildings we saw and we learned about submarines in the Sydney harbour during World War II. We even saw some large navy ships entering the harbour.

We visited the Sydney Museum after the ferry ride and enjoyed some of their exhibits about Sydney. One exhibit was of the First Fleet, with small replicas of all the ships, such as the Charlotte, Alexander, etc. There were also few models of the Sydney Opera House and we learned about the history of its construction. There were exhibits showing the history of Sydney and a little about how the convicts constructed the buildings in the early stages of Sydney.

After a quick walk up the hill we then visited the Hyde Park Barracks. Unfortunately we did not have time to listen to all of the fascinating information through the audio guides as we walked through this heritage-listed former barracks, hospital, convict accommodation mint and courthouse. The experience certainly gave us an excellent understanding of early life for the convicts and free people of early Sydney and is a place many of us would like to visit again.

The final thing we did in Sydney was go on a guided walking tour of The Rocks. It was very interesting to see all the old buildings and learn about what they were used for. We even got to see the oldest house in Australia, and we learned that the Sydney harbour used to have a shoreline further away from the water.

For many of us one of the highlights was using the public transport network in Sydney. The seats on the trains could flip over so that we could all sit together with no strangers in our midst. We did have a couple of issues with our use of public transport while in Sydney – from getting on the wrong train (an express train service that skipped our intended station) to someone losing their wallet that had their Opal card inside.  And can I say, Central Station is HUGE, with so many different platforms. We kept our eyes peeled for platform nine so we could run into a wall and catch the Hogwarts Express, but either it was at a different train station or Harry Potter is a fictional story (we think the second option seems more likely).

Written by Darya, Eli, Luke, Maya, and Sarah

Upcoming Events

English K-2

Junior School staff spent considerable time throughout last year planning for the implementation of the new K-2 English syllabus document.

The new syllabus highlights the connection that Understanding Texts and Creating texts have across all areas of English. The focus area for Early Stage 1 and Stage 1 support students’ growing knowledge and understanding in the areas of:

• Oral language and communication
• Vocabulary
• Phonological awareness
• Print conventions
• Phonic knowledge
• Reading fluency
• Reading comprehension
• Creating written texts
• Spelling
• Handwriting
• Understanding and responding to literature

Our Pre-K- Year 2 classes commence each day with literacy groups which involve daily reading and writing, explicit spelling instruction and opportunities to understand and respond to literature using oral language and communication skills. Teachers provide explicit small, group instruction to enable students to understand and use language effectively. Our classes use the ‘Sound Waves’ spelling programme to teach phonological awareness and ‘Reading Eggs’ is used as a tool for developing reading skills such as fluency and comprehension.

Mrs Veronica Waters
PYP Coordinator

Gymnastics

The gymnastics group certainly had a wonderful time this week. They were so enthusiastic about all of the activities on offer.

• Activity 1 – Involved the group using the springboard to learn the mechanics of a cartwheel.
• Activity 2 – Learning to do a high jump on the trampoline and turn.
• Activity 3 – Low bars swing, glide and land.

A highlight to conclude the session was to jump off a mini trampoline and land in the pit.

Mrs Veronica Waters and Mrs Tania Hardin

Netball

TAS Primary had another fantastic game on Saturday. The girls played so well as a team which was reflected in their win; 23-3. The TAS Primary team are going from strength to strength and are improving each week not only in their individual skills but in their ability to be one as a team on the court. All players should be very proud of themselves. Well done!

Mrs Kate Moloney

Hockey

TAS Blue Vs 11’s Hunts

It is not what the score ends up being in the end, it is if you played an amazing game and pushed your efforts to another level, building on your skills and passion for the game. We started the game with two players down.

First half we saw Duncan Klabe playing mid-striker with Tim Blake and James Taylor left and right strikers. Goalie was Elliott Schaeffer and our two defenders were Xander Dubois and Eli Williams.

The second half was James and Duncan playing left and right strikers with three defenders being Xander Dubois, Eli Williams and Tim Blake. The Hunts team displayed their many years of playing together and were strong in defeating us. However, I was incredibly impressed with Elliott’s impressive goal saves (first time as a goalie), Xander’s tenacious attacking, the incredible length of field that James and Duncan covered and Eli and Tim’s improved defending skills. Although defeated, you can’t take the spirit out of these boys.

Mrs Lana Hawksford

Football

TAS Triceratops

The TAS Triceratops soccer team (or “Triers” for short), consisting entirely of Kindergarten students, have enjoyed a wonderful few weeks of friendly competition since the start of Term 3. In the space of only a few short weeks the team are working more cohesively together and showing much better ball skill and positioning in both attack and defence. We are confident of replicating the Matilda’s recent performance against Canada in our upcoming matches and no doubt will enjoy the opportunity to represent our school regardless of their outcome.

Mr Scott Chittenden