Waratah Weekly - Term 2, Edition 2 - Friday, 6 May 2022

Message from the Headmaster

Last week I mentioned our focus on re-establishing the high standards that our parents, students and staff expect; high standards of presentation, behaviour and respectful language. I am very pleased with the response of our students to this. As I spend more time in the playground before school or during breaks, I am seeing almost every student well dressed and demonstrating excellent behaviour and language. Students at the Middle and Senior assemblies have been reminded of the great learning environment we have here at Wollondilly. Teachers are working hard to prepare excellent lessons, and students are engaged in their learning. The practice of gratefulness for this is being encouraged and we greatly appreciate it when our students show their appreciation for the work we are doing, a simple thank you during or after class goes a long way. Thank you also to you as parents; I know that many of you have had conversations with your children about these College expectations and it is making a difference. After 12 months in this role, I am so grateful for this opportunity to lead an amazing College and to partner with you as parents as we help our children to grow into the wise, knowledgeable and responsible adults that we know they can become.

Mr Trevor Norman
College Headmaster

From The Deputy

Thank you Mum
What is it that you can be thankful for about your mum this Sunday? I am thankful daily that I have a wonderful mum who has shown her love for me in words and in practice (she still irons my shirts and makes me dinner once a week!). I am thankful that my mum brings joy into my life and into the lives of those around her. I am thankful that she invests in my children and that brings her great joy. I am thankful that right throughout my life she has shown me how to be at peace with my circumstances. She has also been a great peacemaker in our family. I am thankful that my mum is patient and has shown that patience to allow me to grow and learn from my mistakes. I am thankful that I have a mum who shows kindness not only to me but to all those she comes in contact with, she loves serving others. Her goodness is seen so often in her actions. I am thankful that mum is slow to anger and has modelled restraint and self-control in her life.  I have so much to be thankful for, so, thanks mum!

P&F Mothers Day stall
It was a great blessing to watch the Primary students eagerly choose a gift for their mum to wake up to on Sunday morning. A huge thank you to the P&F for the time and effort that was put into finding and organising gifts for the stall. The P&F meet on the first Wednesday evening of the month at 7.00 pm, everyone is welcome!

Mr Paul Burns
Deputy Headmaster

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Secondary News

Setting Learning goals
This week I spoke at our Secondary assembly about the importance of goal setting. Goals are something that we work towards and can be long-term or short-term. Goals may include something very specific, such as having a financial goal of saving for one's first car or a short-term goal may be finishing a set task in a short turnaround time frame. Either way, having a goal to work towards, helps to keep us on track, motivated and striving to do our best.

I encouraged the students to be thinking about a learning goal that they can action this term. A goal aimed towards improving their learning in a certain area or to improve their performance in a certain subject. I suggested that they write their goal in their diary and that they share their goal with a parent, peer or a teacher. Sharing a goal helps to keep us accountable and helps to track our performance. When setting goals, it is helpful for students to use the S.M.A.R.T acronym. 

Setting a goal like I want to ‘get better in English’ is too generalised, generic and not specific. A more realistic goal would be … ‘to improve my essay writing in English during Term 2, I want to submit my draft one week earlier before the due date and action the teacher feedback’. The second example has a clearly defined area of improvement, has a measurable time frame, is realistic, relevant and shows some form of a plan as to how the goal is to be achieved. It states what the student plans to improve in, by when and how they plan to achieve their learning goal.

As a parent, ask your child what learning goal they plan to set this Term, and perhaps ask them how they plan to action their goal. This may take several drafts or some time to finalise a goal to work towards, but it is important that students are thinking about and reflecting on their learning and striving to do their best.

NAPLAN
Secondary students in Year 9 and Year 7 will sit NAPLAN exams next week. These NAPLAN exams will be held during College hours. Students will be using College Chrome books to complete these, and students may bring headphones to the examination but they are not to be wireless.

Mrs Kelly Evans
Secondary Teaching & Learning Coordinator

Secondary Sports News

MISA Round 1
It was great to finally get MISA matches underway with the sun shining this week and the grounds being open. It was a strong start to the season for our two Soccer sides. The Senior Girls' team had a convincing 7-0 win over Oran Park Anglican whilst the Boys' team secured a 4-3 win after scoring twice in the final minutes of the match. The Senior Girls' Indoor Cricket side saw Claire Allen and Madyson Keaney score a valuable 20 run partnership, however, it wasn’t enough to overcome Broughton’s total of 73 runs. The Open Boys' Rugby League side missed their chance to play after the opposition forfeited this week.

Our Junior teams also enjoyed getting back into MISA Sport. The 7-9 Ultimate Frisbee side had a nailing biting first game against Mount Annan Christain College which ended in a draw. The 'catch of the match' was made by Holley Dvorak in the end zone whilst Jessalyn Smiltnieks, Laura Jefferys and Alexander White were outstanding in defence. Both our Junior Basketball sides were competitive in their matches. Unfortunately, the Girls' side lost by 6 points whilst the Boys went down by 12. The 7-9 Boys' Hockey side had a close 1-2 loss this week but will look to get back on the winner's list next week. 

Secondary Cross Country
A reminder that the Cross Country Carnival has been postponed for the second time. The track and WACA have been assessed and due to the recent rain, it would be unsafe to have students competing in the current conditions. The Carnival will now be rescheduled to Friday, Week 3 (13 May) before Recess. Year 11 students will be on camp at this time, so Year 11 students will have the opportunity to compete at another time for those wishing to progress through to NASSA. Further information will be communicated around this shortly.  

Year 11 Cross Country Runners
Due to the clash with Year 11 Camp, all students are required to complete the Cross Country survey (sent out via email), indicating whether they will be running or not. Depending on the number of interested competitors, we will look to run the event earlier next week. A decision will be communicated asap.

CIS Swim
Congratulations to the five students who competed at the NSW CIS Swimming Championships earlier this week. Denise Grabe secured two medals - one gold and one bronze, as well as a fourth and fifth-place finish. Heidi Jones also had several great performances coming away from the Championships with three medals - two silver, one bronze, as well as a fourth and fifth place finish in her individual events. Both girls also competed as members of our 12-14 Girls' Relay alongside Sofia Novak and Olivia Smith who came 5th.

Football Trials
On Wednesday we sent seven students to trial for the NASSA Football (soccer) sides. Congratulations to Dominic Guido, Cydney Todd, Rebecca Mills and Madeline Noble who all were selected with Calvin Carter being named as a shadow. These students will now compete at the AICES Championships next week. 

Upcoming Events:
WAC Cross Country NEW DATE - 13 May 
AICES Football - 12/13 May
CIS Rugby League Trials - 18 May
WAC Athletics - 20 May

Mr Mark Goldsbrough
Secondary Sports Coordinator

NAPLAN

NAPLAN

NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills of all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, in schools across Australia. The results will help you understand how your child is progressing through school. NAPLAN testing starts next week and the testing schedule is below. 

All students will be using the College Chromebooks to do these tests. Part of some tests will require students to have headphones and therefore they will need to bring the headphones they got in their book packs or other suitable headphones to every test session. Please note that wireless earbuds like AirPods will not work on the College Chromebooks. We will have a limited number of headphones available for loan. Please note that if a student is away they will need to do catch up tests on their return. The final day for all testing is Friday, 20 May. It is better that absences be avoided, other than illness, during the test period.

The following links provide information about NAPLAN and has some demonstration tests

https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site

Mr Wayne Baulch 
Administration Coordinator

Years 11 & 12 Parent Teacher Evening

Parent-teacher interviews are a great chance to meet your child's teachers and find out how they are progressing this year. Interviews for students in Year 11 and Year 12 will be occurring in week 6 via Zoom. On Tuesday, 31 May they will occur between 3.00 pm - 8.00 pm and on Thursday, 2 June they will occur between 3.00 pm - 5.30 pm. Please put these dates in your diary and you will be sent details of how to book these interviews in Week 4.

Mr Wayne Baulch 
Administration Coordinator

MyTech

Loan Devices
There may be times when your child’s device is damaged or not functioning properly. In order to ensure that they do not miss out on important learning opportunities, the College has a limited number of loan devices that may be borrowed. In order for your child to borrow a loan device, they need to fill out a ‘MyTech’ Student Loan Agreement. A handwritten note from a parent is not sufficient as it is important that you are aware of the terms of the loan before we loan out a device. 

This agreement can be picked up from Student Reception or downloaded from the ‘MyTech’ website at the bottom of the Devices tab http://mytech.wac.nsw.edu.au/devices.php and needs to be signed by both the parent and student. This agreement then needs to be presented at Student Reception where, if available, a device will be loaned for a period of one week. This program has been a great help to many students and it is vital that students take proper care of the devices so that they can be used by other students after them. This means that if a device is damaged while in a student’s possession they will be required to pay for the cost of repairs. Once a student’s device has been repaired, the loan device then needs to be promptly returned to student reception.

If you have any further questions about this or any other ‘MyTech’ issue please do not hesitate to send these to mytech@wac.nsw.edu.au

Headphones for NAPLAN Tests
Students in Years 7 and 9 are encouraged to bring a pair of wired headphones to the upcoming NAPLAN tests in Week 3. They will need to plug into a 3.5mm input on the device they are provided. Wireless headphones or wireless earbuds (such as Airpods) are not permitted as they will not work.

Please see the below images for the types of headphones that are permitted.

Mr Lloyd Grant
Secondary Learning Innovations Coordinator

Musical Update

Cast Information
All students from the Secondary cast met for the first time on Monday this week and worked together on Act 1 Scene 2, learning their first major number in the production. It was great to see character development and hard work learning choreography and lines in the script. Students will continue with their second rehearsal on Monday, 9 May. The plan for this rehearsal is to look at finishing off Act 1 Scene 2 and into Scene 3. Students should work on their lines (including the lyrics from 'Story of my Life'). The Musical Canvas page has been set up and students will begin to see more content added as time goes on including dance choreography, music backing tracks to rehearse with and any crucial information that needs to be sent. If any student in the cast does not have Canvas access, please email me (l.grant@wac.nsw.edu.au) and I will add you to the course. All students will meet again with staff under the Shelter at 2.45 pm for roll marking and then to change into appropriate 'black' attire.

Set Design
Mrs Ware is also happy for any students still interested in assisting with Set Design and development of props to join on a Monday afternoon in Melba 3 from 2.45 pm.

Junior Chorus
Primary students in Years 5 and 6 traditionally can get involved in our Musical productions as part of the Junior Chorus. We will send further information out in due course about how students can sign up and we anticipate students will commence rehearsals with the remainder of the cast in Term 3. Stay tuned!

Mr Lloyd Grant
Performing Arts Coordinator T-12

Equestrian

Harden at State Pony Club ODE Championships.
In a big class of over 30, Eden and her horse “Starwaltz Phoebe” were in 1st place after the Dressage component with a score of 77%, jumped clear in the Show Jumping, coming 5^th and had an amazing Cross Country round, which saw her finish 16th overall. 

Miss Stacey Baker
Equestrian Coordinator

Year 10 Vaccinations

The NSW School Vaccination Program will be onsite at the College for Year 10, Tuesday, 24 May. Students will be given Meningococcal ACWY.
Students are to wear their full College Sports uniform.

All students in Year 10 will have received their vaccination information pamphlet and parental consent form. Consent forms need to be returned to Student Reception. If your child does not return their signed vaccination form, they will not be vaccinated. 

If your child has recently recovered from COVID and is feeling well, they are able to receive the Meningococcal ACWY vaccine. If you have any concerns relating to this, please contact your local GP or local Public Health Unit to discuss further.

Mrs Sally Lloyd
College Nurse

Bus Changes - Kookaburra - Picton Buslines

Library News

Book Club Orders Due Sunday, 15 May
The Book Club Issue 3 catalogue is now available. Secondary students should select the class ‘Secondary’ when ordering.  Primary select their usual class.  All orders are to be made online or through the LOOP App. Orders are due Sunday,15 May.

Library Lunchtime changes for Term 2
The Johnson and Sturt Libraries will be open for all Years 7-10 students on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Lunch 2.

Quarmby Library will be open to Primary at Lunch 2 on the following days:
Monday: Kindergarten
Tuesday: Years 3 and 4
Wednesday: Years 1 and 2
Thursday: Years 5 and 6
Friday: Years 5 and 6

We look forward to seeing you in the Libraries.

Mrs Justine Colombo
College Librarian

2023 Term Dates

Scholarship News

Scholarship Portfolios and Dance USBs
Scholarship portfolios and USBs are now available for pick up from the Alfred Deakin Administration Building Visitors' Reception.

Mrs Kristy Biddle
Enrolments Officer
Ph: 4684 2722

We're Hiring! Canteen Manager

www.wac.nsw.edu.au/employment

P&F Clothing Pool

We really need some more parents to volunteer at the Clothing Pool!
The P&F Clothing Pool is a great resource for all families and we need more volunteers to keep it open every College morning. Clothing Pool is an easy way to help the College community and meet some lovely parents/grandparents. Make it part of your morning drop off routine. Choose a morning that suits you. Open Monday to Friday 7.45 am to 8.30 am. Please come and see us at White Cottage or call Melissa on 0415 402 013 to ask any questions or to volunteer.

Seeking Donations
With a growing College, we are always in need of uniform donations. Please check your cupboards for any uniform items that have been outgrown and drop them into us at the Clothing Pool or Student Reception. We particularly need Sports tracksuit pants and jackets, small sizes are out of stock at the moment.

New Socks & Ties 
We stock brand new socks and ties for Transition through to Year 10
Years 11 & 12 girls' socks - we have some brand new “seconds” available for $2.00 per pair.

EFTPOS Only
We are only accepting card payments. If you are unable to attend the College, we can process payments over the phone. 

Opening Hours 
Monday to Friday 7.45 am to 8.00 am
White Cottage Windows
Direct Phone 
4623 0286
Payment
EFTPOS

Mrs Melissa Whishaw
P&F Clothing Pool Coordinator
0415 402 013

Church Services

Wollondilly Anglican Church
Currently posting pre-recorded messages and services on their YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1LQDtFMRt1RFZQ8KhRC2kA  
If you are interested in attending a Bible Study, or Youth Group and connecting with the community this way, please visit these links for more information
https://wollondillyanglican.org/grown-ups/  
https://wollondillyanglican.org/youth-ministries/  
We also encourage you to check out their website to stay updated with any new information https://wollondillyanglican.org/
Contact them about any enquiries at
https://wollondillyanglican.org/contact/

C3 Picton and Camden
Live-streaming their services on their YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV-SaFqz0okwO85XQE01CKw.
If you would like to find out more information about C3 connect groups, please visit these links:
https://www.c3picton.church/groups
If you would like to know more information about C3 and keep updated please visit their website:
https://www.c3picton.church/
Facebook page:
https://m.facebook.com/C3Picton/
Contact them at:
https://www.c3picton.church/contact

Campbelltown Christian Community Church (C4) 
Services run on Sundays at 10.00 am. Also currently streaming their services on their YouTube channel:

Wollondilly Presbyterian Church
Sunday Service starts a 9.15 am. 
The Service is also streamed on their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClGGkiM_xP5rCdViW3uo6Xw/featured
They are also holding Church Zoom Calls at 9.15 am on Sundays, if you are interested in connecting to the community in this way, please visit their Facebook page for the links as well as updates, information and to contact about any enquiries.
https://www.facebook.com/WollondillyPC/

Tahmoor Baptist Church
Sunday Service starts a 9.50 am. 
Also streamed at https://www.tahmoorbaptistchurch.org/
If you are interested in attending a Bible Study, or Youth Group and connecting with the community this way, please visit this link for more information
https://www.tahmoorbaptistchurch.org/activities.html

Picton and Wilton Anglican Church
Picton - Sundays 9.30 am – 10.50 am all welcome.
Also live-streamed on Youtube: http://youtube.com/PWAChurches/
Wilton - Sundays 5 pm – 6.20 pm all welcome.
Also live-streamed on Youtube: http://youtube.com/PWAChurches/

Most importantly, we encourage all to meet with God directly and personally through daily reading of The Bible and prayer. This is the best way to get to know who God is and further trust in him during this time. If you don’t have a Bible or don't know where to start, we encourage you to download “You Version” on your device, this is a great resource to assist you in your journey and relationship with God.

The Oaks Anglican Church
Sunday at 10.00 am. Services will also be streamed online live: toa.church/livestream/

Douglas Park Evangelical Church
10.00 am Sundays at Douglas Park Community Hall or online via Zoom.
Contact David Luxford on 0404754105 or via Facebook.com/DPEChurch

Wollondilly Uniting Church
110 Thirlmere Way, Tahmoor.
Sunday Service 9.15 am
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WollondillyUniting/

Staying connected in the Southern Highlands area.

Highlands Christian Church: 
Sundays at 10.00 am
Online Service:
https://www.facebook.com/highlands.au/videos/highlands-church-online-experience/930979114318498/
Website:
https://www.highlandschristianchurch.org.au/

Highlands Baptist Church
Sundays at 10.30 am
Website:
http://www.highlandsbaptistchurch.org.au/

St Judes (Bowral Anglican)
Traditional Church Building - 8.00 am, 9.30 am & 4.00 pm
Church Auditorium - 9.30 am & 5.30 pm
Website:
https://bowralanglican.org.au/
Online Service:
https://bowralanglican.org.au/online/

Mittagong Anglican
Sundays at 9.30 am & 11.30 am
Website:
https://www.mittang.com.au/
Sermon Archive:
https://www.mittang.com.au/sermons/

C3 
Sundays at 10.30 am
Website:
https://c3destinychurch.com/
Livestream/Video Archive:
https://c3destinychurch.com/sunday-live-stream/

Bowral Baptist
Sundays at 10.00 am
Website:
https://bowralbaptistchurch.net/wordpress/
Video Archive:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCED4wlEz42j6thR9-OsVn4A

Community News

WAC Kids Care
From time to time, families undergo trauma such as severe or terminal illness. There are short term support structures in place at the College to assist families during these times.

We have a collection of beautifully prepared meals that are ready for distribution for any families in need.

The WAC Kids Care Program offers support to families in the way of meals. Please contact Mrs Hay or Mrs Evans at the College. Confidentiality will be respected. If you know of anyone who may need meals at this time, please contact the College office.

Skate workshops at Warragamba skate park
Come out to Warragamba Skate Park on Saturday, 7 May to learn some new skills and have fun.

The team from Skate Now will be there to teach you everything you want to know about skating!  Book in for our new Skate Sessions at- https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/wollondilly-skate-sessions-tickets-321108804077   

Don't forget to sign the waiver- https://skate-now.com.au/waiver/  

MW Physie & Dance
If you or your child is interested in trying out Physie and Dance, your first lesson is free. Please visitmwapda.com.au

Wollondilly Community Relief Program - Local Community Ventures
Criteria - Must be a resident of the Wollondilly LGA and have been financially impacted by COVID-19
Apply at lcventures.org.au/wollondilly-community-relief
Interpreter services available