Newsletter
ST GEORGE’S ANGLICAN GRAMMAR SCHOOL Edition Sixteen
06 November 2020
St George’s Anglican Grammar School Foundation Students 2015 - 2020
Contents From the Principal ........................................................................................................ 1 From the Head of Curriculum ................................................................................... 3 From the Head of Pastoral ......................................................................................... 5 From the Head of Music ............................................................................................. 7 From the School Chaplain .......................................................................................... 9 From the Head of Health and Physical Education.................................................. 10 School News ................................................................................................................. 11
St George’s Anglican Grammar School; an exciting, innovative co-educational secondary school based in a high-rise building in the Perth CBD. The School caters for local and international students in Years 7-12, and is a proud member of the Anglican Schools Commission network of schools in Western Australia. We are committed to child safety and protection, and expect all staff, volunteers, visitors to the School and contractors to respect and abide by all policies, procedures and practices developed and put in place by the Anglican Schools Commission (ASC) and/or the School in this regard.
From the Principal Mr Gary Racey
Our graduating class of 2020 will go down in history, for their adaptability, flexibility, grace, values and skills that will place them in good stead as they take on the next stage of their lives. This cohort has been challenged and have demonstrated one of the most precious qualities one can have – resilience! On Thursday 22 October we were able to celebrate our Year 12s as they reached the end of their secondary school journey. Borrowing from the words of our 2020 Valedictorian, Alice Conroy, this is not the end, it is just the beginning and you will keep going and keep growing. As a community, we are so proud of each one of you, as you should be in yourselves, and, we miss you already! Blessings
Gary Racey Principal
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Edition 16 2020
From the Head of Curriculum Ms Victoria Kelleher
On Friday 30 October, Australia celebrated and thanked the teaching profession on World Teacher’s Day and the students at St. George’s said a big thank you to their teachers by taking the time to make cards with heart-warming messages included. At the end of a busy day, I couldn’t help but smile as I read through each of the cards. Based on the musings of my students, here is what I now know about myself as their teacher…I am the best (although I suspect that’s subjective), I am really nice and kind, I make Humanities interesting but only sometimes, I have a huge shoe collection, one student aspires to be me when she grows up…but only for my shoe collection!
Human beings are the only species that laugh. Research has shown that humour has the ability to influence creative and divergent thinking in students. More importantly though, humour plays a significant role in building harmonious relationships between teachers and students. Humour creates an environment where students and teachers mutually share a common feeling, which in turn creates a psychological bond between both. I take teaching very seriously and I am very aware that the work we do as educators is so important, however, teaching and leading in schools without a sense of humour is futile. A sense of humour helps you keep things in perspective, after all, we work with children every day so we should try to adapt some of their carefree and amusing attitudes.
“I realise that I am a highly educated professional with an expansive vocabulary, but sometimes, the best and only thing to say is I admire our students for being able to integrate OMG!” A lot of us teachers can relate to this quote. so much humour in their messages and I wish From Year 7 to Year 12, we have seen it all. I more of what we do wasn’t so humourless because, after all, schools and classrooms are rife would like to share some of my own stories with absurdity. A teacher might work with over about the hilarious, sweet, and occasionally clueless things my students have done or said. 100 students in one day, but they will know the name of each one, know how to individually teach each one of them and know how to cater Talking Birds While teaching a history lesson on the Irish to each one of their different learning needs. Rebellion of 1798 and the formation of secret Teachers function in surreal Lewis Carroll-like societies of Irish peasants, I noticed one student scenarios where they are expected to be looking at me in astonishment. When I asked experts in subject content, as well as psychologists, detectives, nurses, mediators, and why, she admitted to being shocked at a peasant’s ability to speak, but more than that, mentors. Being able to thrive in these contexts form secret societies. Curious, I asked her to depends on the ability to see the absurdity, not explain why she thought they couldn’t speak or take ones self too seriously, and as much as rally together. As it turns out, I was talking about possible, laugh with abandon. The place of poor Irish small holders known as peasants, she humour as a social phenomenon in teaching was imagining feathered fowls, pheasants! should not be underestimated. 3
St George’s Anglican Grammar School Newsletter
Mother Issues “You remind me of my mum, she’s a little weird too”.
Year 11 Examinations The Year 11 Exam Timetable has now been provided to all Year 11 students and the exams will run from Thursday 12 November to Friday 20 November. On the day, student must arrive 20 minutes prior to the start of the exam and must be in full uniform. Students are permitted to go home once their exam is finished.
Part Two Having just watched a documentary on the lives of Henry VIII’s six wives from Catherine of Aragon to Katherine Parr, one student declared, “that was so good, do you think they’ll make a sequel?” Year 11 2020 Year 11 students should note the following Geography 101 significant dates: Studying WWII, a student was amazed to learn Wednesday 11 November - Year 11 Study Day that Adolf Hitler was an Australian. I had to Thursday 12 November - Year 11 Examinations explain he was born in Austria, which is an Commence actual country, in Europe, and not one I had Friday 20 November - Year 11 Examinations misspelled! Conclude Monday 23 November - Year 11 Students Rock Me, Amadeus Recommence Classes Playing Mozart in a class while my students *It is an expectation that all students were working on in groups, one disapproving return to school Monday 23 November. student raised his hand and asked, “Ms Kelleher, can we please listen to music from our Victoria Kelleher generation, not yours”.
Head of Curriculum
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From the Head of Pastoral Mr Hilton Hardman
Like adults, kids also struggle with stress. Too many commitments, conflict in their families and problems with peers are all stressors that overwhelm children. The key to helping kids manage stress is teaching them to problem-solve, plan and know when to say yes and no to activities and commitments. In an article written by Margarita Tartakovsky in 2018, it states, “If you don’t teach [your kids] how to manage stress, they will self-medicate with food, drugs and alcohol.” In other words, kids will reach for something to make them feel better right away, and usually, it won’t be something healthy”.
Look at your kids’ schedules over the course of a week and make sure that there’s enough downtime. 2. Make time for play. Emphasise the importance of “play that isn’t pressured.” There’s no lesson, competition or end goal.Younger kids will do this naturally but older kids may forget how to simply play. Combine play with physical activity, which is critical for well-being. Some ideas include: riding your bikes, throwing around the baseball, wrestling and hiking.
From her research, she identified tips on how you can help your child manage stress successfully. 3. Make sleep a priority. Sleep is vital for everything from minimizing stress to boosting mood to improving school performance. If your child isn’t getting enough sleep, that’s another red flag that they’re overscheduled.
1. Stop overscheduling. One of the biggest stressors for kids is being overscheduled. And yet, today, kids are expected to pay attention and perform in school for seven hours, excel at extracurricular activities, come home, finish homework, and go to bed to do it all over again the next day. “Where’s the downtime?” 5
Again, reducing commitments helps. Also helpful is stressing the importance of sleep, and creating an environment that facilitates it. For instance, keep TV – and other electronics – out of your child’s bedroom. (“There’s no research that says TV is good for kids.”) 4. Teach your kids to listen to their bodies. Teach your kids “to understand their own bodies and the physiology of stress,”. Encourage them to listen to what their bodies St George’s Anglican Grammar School Newsletter
are saying. While it’s normal for a child’s stomach to feel jumpy on the first day of school, leaving class because their stomach hurts or waking up repeatedly with a headache is a sign there’s too much going on.
Also, while making good decisions is an important skill to learn, the skill that might be even more important is learning how to recover from a bad decision. R U OK Day 2020 St Georges Anglican Grammar School were acknowledged for their support and contribution during R U OK Day. The students raised over $1200 for the organization.
5. Manage your own stress. “Stress is really contagious,”. “When parents are stressed out, kids are stressed out. If you’re living in an environment with one thing after another, your kid is going to pick up on that.” 6. Make mornings, calmer. A disorganized home is another stressful trigger for kids, and this is especially evident in the mornings. Making mornings smoother, because this “sets the tone for the day.” This piece has specific suggestions.
7. Prepare your kids to deal with mistakes. For kids a lot of stress comes from the fear of making mistakes. Remind them that they’re not supposed to know “how to do everything or do everything right.”
Hilton Hardman Head of Pastoral
From the Head of Music Mr Michael Newton
In The Music Department Term 4 has had a very busy start in the Music Department. Over the first three weeks of term Jazz Ensemble has performed at the Art Exhibition Opening, our Year 7-9 musicians took part in the ASC Middle School Band Day. We’ve run an Electrocity Ensemble recording session, and of course Graduation Chapel, Graduation Assembly and Graduation Ceremony! Last week we held our first ever RocktoberFest featuring lunchtime performances from our rock bands in the Music Department, followed by the ASC Rock Concert on Wednesday at Peter Moyes Anglican Community School. In class VET Music has been working on music technology in performance,Year 9s and 10s on song writing,Year 8s are working on a Florence and The Machine remix project, and Year 7s are working in bands on cover versions. Upcoming Events Thursday 26 November – On The Roof Concert 1 December - 7 December – Electrocity Ensemble FRINGE WORLD writing workshops Tuesday 8 December – Presentation Evening Wednesday 9 December – FreedomFest
Mr Michael Newton Head of Music
From the School Chaplain The Reverend Sarah Stapleton
Last Friday I was extraordinarily proud to be chaplain to St George’s Anglican Grammar. Approximately eighty year 11 students from Anglican schools all over Western Australia gathered at Wollaston Theological College to participate in sessions conducted by The Most Reverend Archbishop Kay Goldsworthy, The Reverend Peter Laurence, Mr Philip Goldsworthy, Mrs Penelope Russell, The Reverend Brett Gibson and myself. SGAGS sent six students. They were Kate van Olden, Meghan Green, Daniel Greenaway, Alan Leung, Cozi Pachioli and Charlie Beck.
Thank you to Alan and Kate for stepping in to help, they represented SGAGS with grace and confidence.
The sessions were informative and inspiring, and I am sure the students had a great day, but it was the behaviour of the students (all of them, but particularly ours) that really impressed me! They were engaged and polite, and it was great to see different schools mixing and getting to know each other. My favourite part of the day was the chapel service, which involved the students coming in from a labyrinth walk in their school, carrying with them a rock that represented their leadership burden. The rocks were surrounded by candles during the liturgy, and it was a beautiful way to depict the light of Christ accompanying us on our journey. There was another highlight to our chapel service, and that was Alan stepping in to play piano, with extremely short notice. It was wonderful to see Alan practicing the hymn at lunchtime ably backed up by Kate, on vocals. 6 Edition 16 2020
From the Head of Physical Education Ms Jodie Scheele
I am pleased to report on another talented St George’s student,Year 9, Katelyn Barr. Katelyn recently competed in the Western Australian Karate Championships at ECU Joondalup Campus. This is an open martial arts Karate event that sees the elite competitors from all martial arts clubs across WA compete in the annual State championships.
referring to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements. The kata are executed as a specified series of approximately 20 to 70 moves, generally with stepping and turning, while attempting to maintain perfect form and memorising all the kicks and punches. The School would like to wish Katelyn all the best in her training and selection to represent WA at the National competition. Archery has proven to be a popular Co-Curricular. The students travel to Riley Oval, UWA to meet the lovely Mary, from Archery-to -Go. Mary’s expertise and guidance is enabling students to hit the target and their Archery skills are progressing nicely.
Katelyn competed in the Cadet (14/15year old) Female Kata Division where she won the silver medal and she is now training with the state squad for state selection in the hope to compete in the Nationals that will be held in 2021. Karate will be an exhibition sport in the upcoming Olympics in Japan next year. Kata is a Japanese word meaning literally “form”
Jodie Scheele Head of Health and Physical Education
School News Student Term Dates - 2020 Term 4 13 October - 9 December
Student Term Dates - 2021 Term 1 29 January - 01 April New Student Orientation, 28 January Students Mid Term Break, Friday 26 February Term 2 21 April - 02 July Students Mid Term Break, Friday 4 June Enrolments The School Enrolment Policy requires one full term’s notice in writing prior to the withdrawal of a student from the School. Where such notice is not received, the School will charge an amount equal to the tuition fees for that current term. To avoid fees in lieu being charged, notice of a student’s withdrawal must be received by the School before the first day of the School Term preceding the Term of the student’s departure. If this does not occur, families will be charged the remainder of the current Term, plus an additional Terms fee in lieu. Upon withdrawal of a student from the School, all fees and charges incurred for that student are payable to the School in full within seven days of exit.
Computer Rental Agreement Computers are not always reliable and will sometimes fail and require repairs. This causes the student to, sometimes, go without a computer for a couple of weeks. The School can now offer free loan computers when required. Parents/guardians, please fill out and sign the agreement form here and allow the IT department 24 hours to prepare a computer for use. Uniform Shop Please be advised that Matrix Uniforms are in the process of moving over to a new web platform which is taking longer than anticipated. Some of the items show that the stocks are out. Rest assured they are fully stocked up and have all the uniforms. Battery Recycling Used batteries are being collected in the IT Manager’s office. Please take advantage of this free facility. What batteries can be collected? Dry cell batteries include AA, AAA (single use or rechargeable), C, D, button batteries, 9V, 6V and cordless power tools. What batteries cannot be collected? Lead acid batteries, such as car batteries, and mobile phone batteries cannot be collected. Please contact your local council for details of how to dispose of these batteries.
If the account has been paid in full and a refund is due, payment will be processed for the full More information can be found here: refund due within seven days of exit. https://www.mrc.wa.gov.au/School-community/ Battery-programs/School SEQTA The St George’s Anglican Grammar School SEQTA account is not a monitored platform. Please contact the staff member directly to ensure prompt action to your message. 11
St George’s Anglican Grammar School Newsletter