Wollondilly Anglican College eNewsletter

Message from the Headmaster

Thank you to our parents who have expressed their appreciation of, and alignment with, our strategic themes of Learning, Care and Culture. I often say to parents that student culture is an area that we need to monitor closely, particularly as we grow towards student capacity over the next five years. Many young people in our communities have an overdeveloped sense of entitlement and an underdeveloped understanding of respect and work ethic. We are pleased to be partnering with parents in growing and guiding Wollondilly students. We want our students to develop a strong sense of personal responsibility and self-discipline so that they can make excellent contributions to their communities, to their workplaces and to their families. Yes, this does mean that we have high expectations of our students. But I have found that when students have these high expectations, they rise up to meet them successfully. When students are given clear boundaries for their behaviour, they manage themselves effectively. Some students require a little more training than others, just like some of us did when we were students at school, but consistent guidance supports consistent behaviour. I am proud of our students, the way they present themselves, the way they speak, and they way they are learning. Thank you to all of our parents who support us as we raise this next generation together.

"Maturity is the ability to think, act and speak responsibly. It is not a matter of age, but rather the depth of your understanding." - Ellen J. Barrier

Mr Trevor Norman
College Headmaster

Parent Teacher Interviews K-6

Dates
Tuesday, 21 March: 3.00 pm - 7.30 pm (last interview)
ZOOM interviews. All teachers are available except Mr Hopkins (6F), Mrs Napier (KJ) and Mrs Grant (3F).

Wednesday, 22 March: 3.00 pm - 7.30 pm (last interview)
ZOOM interviews. Mrs Napier (KJ) and Mrs Grant (3F) ONLY

Thursday, 23 March: 3.00 pm - 5.00 pm (last interview)
Face to Face interviews. All teachers except Mr Hopkins (6F)

Please note: Mr Hopkins (6F) will carry out interviews early in Term 2 after his return from Parental Leave (to allow him time to get to know his students). We apologise for any inconvenience this might cause parents of 6F.

Transition Interviews
Transition Interviews will take place later in Term 2. Should you have concerns prior to that please contact your child’s teacher.

BOOKING: an email will be sent to parents with a booking link approximately two weeks before the interviews. To ensure you receive this we ask parents to double-check that email addresses on Edumate are correct.

Length
Interviews are 10 minutes long. The time frames are strictly adhered to. If you feel you need longer to discuss your child’s progress, please email the class teacher to arrange a longer meeting time. If you are late, unfortunately, this will most likely mean that you will have a shorter interview. The class teacher may suggest making another time if it appears this is required.

Children Attending
We do not recommend that children attend the meetings for K-2. For Years 3-6, they are welcome to attend with their parents if parents feel this would be helpful. Teachers may request for them to step out of the meeting for part of the time, we appreciate the support of parents in this.

Zoom or Face-to-Face
The feedback from parents over the last three years has been that they prefer Zoom Interviews, and a small number have requested the ability to meet in person. We have therefore decided to offer the option for both. Zoom Interviews will be held on Tuesday (Wed KJ & 3F) evening and Face-to-Face will be at the College on Thursday afternoon. Please be aware of this when you book.

Tips for a successful interview
Have some questions ready to ask. Listen with an open mind. Respectful, honest interactions are essential. If you have any concerns please raise them.

Reports at Wollondilly
Semester 1: During the July holidays
Semester 2: During the final week of the College year in December

Further interviews
These interviews are the one time in the year we have Parent-Teacher Interviews. Parents are welcome to contact class teachers to make further meeting times if required.

Ms Jacqui Huxtable
Director of Teaching & Learning T-6

T-2 Parent Literacy Information Session

Date: Wednesday, 8 March
Time: 1.00 pm - 2.20 pm
Location: Quarmby building

We are inviting T-2 parents to come along to learn about how we teach Literacy (reading, phonics, writing).

We will address what is essential for children in learning to read and write, with tips for parents at home.

Places are limited, please book through the following link.

Book Here

Ms Jacqui Huxtable
Director of Teaching & Learning T-6

NAPLAN

NAPLAN Wednesday, 15 March to Monday, 27 March
NAPLAN assesses the literacy and numeracy skills of all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, in schools across Australia. NAPLAN results will help you understand how your child is progressing throughout their education. The tests will be occurring between Wednesday, 15 March to Monday, 27 March.

Wollondilly Anglican College carries out NAPLAN testing through NAPLAN Online and students will complete the tests online except for Year 3 Writing. A more detailed timetable will be sent out closer to the time. Students who are absent from a testing session will do a catch-up test session. It is better that absences be avoided, other than illness, during the test period.

To help familiarise students with the test and ensure the actual tests run smoothly, students participated in a practice session prior to the testing period.

Some students are entitled to special provisions, such as rest breaks or extra time, and letters will be sent to the parents of those students.

Should you have any concerns regarding NAPLAN and your child, please contact the class teacher or Year Patron. We take the approach of helping students feel relaxed about these tests, at the same time understanding that it is helpful if they do the best they can.

The following link provides information about NAPLAN and has some demonstration tests.

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

Mr Wayne Baulch
Administration Coordinator

NAPLAN Information Brochure

Information For Parents & Carers

Information For Year 7 & Year 9 Students

NAPLAN Timetable

Day	NAPLAN Exams
Wed, 15 March	Year 3 Writing, Year 5 Writing, Year 7 Writing, Year 9 Writing
Thu, 16 March	Year 3 Reading, Year 5 Reading, Year 7 None, Year 9 Reading
Fri, 17 March	Year 3 Conventions of Language, Year 5 Conventions of Language, Year 7 Reading
Mon, 20 March	Year 3 Numeracy, Year 5 Numeracy, Year 7 Conventions of Language
Tues, 21 March	Year 7 Numeracy, Year 9 Conventions of Language
Wed, 22 March	Year 9 Numeracy
Thur, 23 March - Mon 27 March	Catch up exams

Ms Jacqui Huxtable
Director of Teaching & Learning T-6

Primary Sports

Primary Swimming Carnival
Last Friday, Primary students had a great day enjoying the Summer sunshine of the Primary Swimming Carnival. A massive thank you to all our parent helpers - your help and enthusiasm is very much appreciated.

Swimming Age champions
Well done our human torpedoes! The following students were our girl and boy swimming age champions:

8/9s

Harrison Goddard

Maya Cleland

10

Joe Rebelo

Dakota Craig

11

Jackson Barnes

Lily Bartolo

12

Jeremy Frendo

Norah Rebelo

IPSSO
Our next five weeks of IPSSO are below:

1 March: Away against Mt Annan Christian College. Soccer at Nugget Beames Reserve, Cricket and Oztag at Jack Nash and Basketball at Birriwa Courts
8 March: Home against St Peter's Anglican Grammar
15 March: Away against Macarthur Anglican School. Cricket at Cut Hill. All other sports on MAS campus
22 March: Away against St Gregory's College Campbelltown
29 March: Away against St Peter's Anglican Grammar. Cricket, Soccer and Oztag at Campbelltown Showground, Basketball at St Peter’s campus

NASSA Primary Swimming Carnival - Tuesday, 28 February
At 2.00 pm next Tuesday, a group of Primary WAC students will be competing at the NASSA Primary Swimming Carnival at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre. The warm-up begins at 4.00 pm and heats commence at 4.30 pm. It is expected that students travelling back from the Carnival by bus will arrive at the College around 8.30 pm.

Students are required to wear dark coloured swimmers and will be provided with a WAC swimming cap to wear for the evening.

Parents are permitted to transport their child to and from the event, however, please notify Mr Gooden of these travel arrangements.

Gymnastics
On Friday, throughout the remaining weeks of Term 1, students in Years T-2 will be participating in Gymnastics lessons underneath the Shoulder to Shoulder Shelter. The lesson will be run by the coaches from Gymtastic.

Year 12 Parent-Teacher Interviews

All parents with students in Year 12 wishing to participate in the online Parent-Teacher Interviews should have now booked appointments and received their schedules. If you haven’t made a booking and still wish to, you can still go online and make manual bookings for any time slots that are still available. Changes to the bookings can be made up until 8.00 am on Monday, 27 February and then Zoom links for these meetings will be sent out later in the day. If you have not received an email or have questions about booking Parent-Tacher Interviews, you can contact me at w.baulch@wac.nsw.edu.au or at (02) 46230264.

Mr Wayne Baulch
Administration Coordinator

Performing Arts News

Performing Arts Groups
Throughout the start of this year, our Groups have landed right into rehearsal mode and we have seen a huge influx in the number of students keen to join our Performing Arts Groups across the College. In past years, a couple of these Groups have had restrictions imposed such as requiring an audition which was the case of Dance Company under the direction of Miss Valente and by invitation only such as in the case of the Primary Strings Group under the direction of Ms Bridge.

We want as many students to partake in the wonderful opportunities that our Performing Arts groups provide as well as the skills they can develop and friendships that are formed within these Groups. In the past few weeks, we have had to look to set further restrictions on some of these groups to manage any risks involved in allowing these Groups to continue to run, such as capping the number of students that can participate. By this week, we have reached capacity in our College Cheer, Primary Dance Stage 2 Group and our Primary Drama Group. As such, the staff that lead these groups may have had a conversation or sent a letter home to explain this situation, and some students may be encouraged to participate in one of the other groups we have to offer. I’d be more than happy to talk this through with any parents around the decisions made with regards to these groups.

Thirlmere Festival of Steam - Performing Arts Groups
The Thirlmere Festival of Steam scheduled for Sunday, 19 March is fast approaching and we are fortunate to have some of our groups partaking in this great community event. Our College Strings Ensemble will be performing between 10.15 am - 10.35 am on the Main Stage.

Our College Cheer Group will be partaking in the Street Parade that is anticipated to commence at 11.00 am - this group are the reigning champions of the parade!

Parents of students involved will receive communication via the College App in the coming weeks.

Singapore Collaboration - Performing Arts Students
The Performing Arts students selected to partake in the Singapore Collaboration Trip scheduled for later in Term 2 commenced rehearsing last week. A schedule of rehearsals and meeting times has been sent directly to those students involved. It is imperative that students provide as much notice to Miss Valente or me if they are aware that they are unable to attend any of these rehearsals.

HICES Music Festival
After much disruption with the global pandemic, the HICES Music Festival which has not gone ahead for a few years is, fortunately, going ahead this year. The HICES Music Festival this year is open to students in Years 7-12.

The HICES Music Festival brings together over 400 musicians from across HICES schools in New South Wales. Students will work with experienced conductors at The Tops Conference Centre in Stanwell Tops. All camp participants will be transported to Sydney Town Hall for final rehearsals, and the event will culminate with the Festival Concert on the evening of Wednesday, 16 August 2023.

There is a $595 cost involved in the festival, but it is a fantastic opportunity for students to partake in a joint effort of schools across the Sydney and greater Sydney area that share the same passion for music making and performance in a range of ensemble contexts.

I am encouraging all students who play an instrument in an ensemble or sing in our College Choir to consider applying. Please see Mr Law (Secondary Music Teacher) or myself for more information including an application link.

Mr Lloyd Grant
Performing Arts Coordinator T-12

Year 7 Camp

Last week the students from Year 7 went to the Youthworks site at Port Hacking for a 3-day camp. This campsite's pristine location was the perfect setting for the outdoor challenges. Some of these activities included canoeing, archery, water slides and tasks that focused on teamwork and communication.

These activities were loads of fun and enabled students to step outside of their comfort zone. The Camp provided students with opportunities to push themselves, set personal goals and persevere. New positive relationships were formed as all of the students embraced the challenges they faced, learned from their mistakes and demonstrated resilience.

The Year 7 cohort are to be commended for their eagerness to give the activities a go and for the way that they represented the College over the Camp. The students consistently exceeded the College expectations and on multiple occasions, the Youthworks leaders spoke about the respect that students demonstrated and the care they showed for each other.

Thank you to Mrs McCann, Mrs Bethune, Miss Rientis, Miss Hampden, Ms Webb, Mr Law, Mr Russell and Mr Stark for coming to Camp. Your care and support for the students is greatly appreciated and without your tremendous effort opportunities like this are not possible.

Mr Stuart Houweling
Leader of Care & Culture - Stage 4

On Monday, 6 March, the minimum standards testing will be conducted for Year 10 for reading, writing and numeracy. This will require students to have a fully charged and functional laptop for the online testing.

Part of the testing process requires students to lock down their browsers. This is so they cannot access the internet and other functions to search for ideas or solutions.

All Year 10 students have been instructed to install the NESA locked-down browser. This can be found on the MyTech page under the software tab. https://mytech.wac.nsw.edu.au/

(Please note that this is a different lockdown browser to the Canvas and Naplan versions.)

Parents wishing to find out more about the minimum standards testing can visit this site https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/hsc-minimum-standard/online-tests

If you have any questions about the MyTech program in the College please email mytech@wac.nsw.edu.au

Mr Craig Russell
Secondary Learning Innovations Coordinator

Year 12 Advanced English Excursion

On Wednesday, 22 February, Year 12 Advanced English travelled to Surry Hills to watch a symposium performance of Shakespeare’s play King Henry IV Part 1, performed by the theatre group Sport for Jove. The performance took place as a theatre in the round, where the audience surrounded the performance space. Our students were lucky enough to have front-row seats for the performance. Before the performance began, the audience were given an overview of the context of the play and of Shakespeare’s purpose in writing the play. Afterwards, our students were able to ask questions of the actors about the characters they played, and of the director and his choices in putting on the play. Our students also had the opportunity to have photos with the cast after the performance.

Some of the feedback from the students included:

“Being able to sit so close to what was actually happening within the play was a very immersive experience. Being able to actually see a large part of the play in person made it easy to tell characters' motivations, thoughts and the feelings they experienced.”

“IT WAS SO GOOD!!!! I LOVED IT AND I WANT TO GO AGAIN! LIVE THEATRE IS JUST FANTASTIC!”

“It was really fun and really valuable and got me excited to study the text which doesn't usually happen.”

“IT WAS SOOOO AMAZING. The highlight of my year so far.”

Mrs Sarah Wellington
Leader of Learning - English

Stage 4 Music

Students in Stage 4 Music have launched into a new year of exploring a variety of aspects of music, particularly performance and composition.

Year 7 have come to us with a variety of musical experiences, some building on the skills developed in the excellent Primary Years programs they have been part of and some having little to no experience at all. Despite the range of abilities and knowledge, our students have already developed new skills in reading and interpreting increasingly complex rhythms and learning correct drum stick technique. They will continue to build their capacity as musicians in the coming terms, participating in regular practical sessions as soloists and ensemble members and constructing their own musical compositions.

Year 8 are building on the skills and knowledge developed during 2022. They are currently exploring Electronic Music and have already begun work arranging and composing their own material using the online sequencing software BandLab. Students have learnt how to arrange audio samples and loops and how to create drum patterns to suit different styles and genres. By the end of the unit, each student will have developed a significant composition repertoire using a variety of audio loops, live instruments, drum sequences and audio samples that they will record. They will use a variety of effects to manipulate these sounds and create their own unique piece, ready for the ARIA charts!

Mr Chris Law
Year 7 Patron

Welcome Nurse Emma!

It has been great having Nurse Emma join our team. Emma is a Registered Nurse who previously worked at Westmead Children's Hospital and has specialised in Cardiology. Emma will be an asset in supporting the health and needs of students here at Wollondilly alongside the wonderful ladies in Student Reception. Welcome Nurse Emma!

Parents are reminded to annually update and check their Child/ren's medical details on the Parent Portal. Thank you to those families that have already updated the Portal.

Parents are reminded to continue to send in any updated Medical or Health Plans to medical@wac.nsw.edu.au

Mrs Sally Lloyd
College Nurse

National Dance Championships Showcase

Congratulations to Addison & Matilda Metus who both qualified for three dance categories in the National Dance Championships Showcase which will be held in Queensland next January

2023 Key Events & Dates

Click Here

We're Hiring - Enrolments Officer/Manager

Click Here To Apply Online

Year 8 TAS Forensic Science Camp

P&F Clothing Pool

The Clothing Pool sells good quality used uniform items for all Year Groups.

We now have clear contact available for $2 per roll

The Clothing Pool relies on donations from the College community and is run by volunteers. It is a great way to meet other parents and save on College uniform costs.

Please remember that we are cashless and only accept card payments. We can take payment over the phone if you cannot come in.

Thank you for the donations of uniforms that have come in to date, please keep them coming in! Donations can be left at the Clothing Pool during opening hours or at Student Reception.

We have some new volunteers coming on board (THANK YOU!) which means we will be opening every morning this term! Volunteers are still needed for Mondays! If you have a spare 45 minutes in the morning to help, please call or email Melissa at 0415 402 013 or clothingpool@wac.nsw.edu.au

Opening Hours: 7.45 am - 8.30 am
Days: Monday - Friday
Location: White Cottage - side windows adjacent to the rear of the Canteen.
Phone: 0415 402 013
Email: clothingpool@wac.nsw.edu.au

Mrs Melissa Whishaw
Clothing Pool Coordinator

Church Services

Click Here

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 to 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.

MW Physie and Dance

Registrations are open for MW Physie and Dance. Part of the Australian Physie and Dance organistion. (https://www.mwapda.com.au/home/ ). New members are welcome. Come along to have a look. Class times below:

Please note that the above is a service to the Community and items advertised do not necessarily carry the endorsement of the College. The College tries to be selective with what is advertised but cannot take responsibility. Please look into events advertised carefully.

College Sponsors

PLATINUM SPONSORS

SIMEC Mining

Tahmoor Colliery is an underground coal mine producing high-quality coal for steel production. Tahmoor Coal is a proud supporter of local charities, businesses, organisations and schools; and is committed to responsible mining operations, taking care of the community and environment.

Phone: 02 4640 0100 (within office hours) 1800 154 415 (after hours)
Email: tahmoorenquiries@simecgfg.com
Web: www.tahmoorcoal.com.au

Double Gold Sponsors

Little Elves Childcare Centre
T/ Little Elves OOSH
Bargo Public School
Ph: 0487 000 245
Email: littleelvesoosh@gmail.com

Thirlmere Quality Timbers
http://www.thirlmerequalitytimbers.com.au/
60 Oaks Road Thirlmere, NSW, 2572
Phone: Deb 0417 486 522
Office 02 46841 8580
Email: sales@thirlmerequalitytimbers.com.au

About our business:
We supply quality rural hardwood fencing products and quality seasoned firewood sourced from sustainable regrowth forests. We produce 90% of our stock on-site and strive to supply the best timber products in the area to our customers.

The Associates Insurance Broking Services Pty Ltd
Address: PO Box 56, Bowral NSW 2576
ABN: 90 638 881 660
Contact Person Name: Victoria Holt (Company EA)
Email address: victoria.holt@is-insurance.com.au

PRISM Human Capital
Address: PO Box 56, Bowral NSW 2576
ABN: 94 604 594 345
Contact Person Name: Victoria Holt (Company EA)
Email address: Victoria.holt@is-insurance.com.au

About our business:
Insurance Investment Solutions (IIS) opened its doors for business in 2017 and quickly built a reputation as one of Australia’s leading strata insurance specialist underwriting agencies. We provide brokers with market leading insurance solutions.