Thank you to all the parents who attended our annual Junior School and Gawura Athletics carnival last Thursday 15th August. Our students had a wonderful time fully participating in the various events on the day. It’s always a wonderful day in our calendar and we congratulate everyone’s involvement.

Thank you also to all the parents who attended recent Parent Teacher interviews at our School. Mr Murray will be conducting his on Thursday 22 August. I hope you enjoyed going through your child’s Personal Learning Plan (PLP) with your child’s teacher.

Our next Yarning Session With Parents will take place on Tuesday 20 August, 11am - 1pm, where we will be running an art workshop off site, that could represent the Gawura Strategic Plan. This workshop will run at the USANA Rabbitohs Centre located at 431 Bunnerong Rd, Maroubra. Parents can meet us there at 11am but if you would like to come out on the Gawura bus we will be leaving Bathurst St at 10:30am. Please meet in the School foyer, we would return by 1:30pm. The School will also provide lunch from the café on site.

Our wonderful annual Book Character Parade will be this coming Friday 23 August, which is always a delight for our students.

As you have seen in Dr McGonigle’s letter on Friday and in the newsletter last week, our Big Questions event is considering the question How can we educate against gender-based violence? One of the things that will be covered on the night is the online ‘algorithm of disrespect’ that is subtly and pervasively impacting all of our children’s attitudes. To get some insight into how this is occurring, please follow the link to the new government resource and click on ‘enter James’ phone’. It is vital that we are all aware of these trends so that we can speak truth and light into this online world of disrespect and division. Therefore, I would strongly encourage you to attend the evening on Wednesday 28 August at 6.30pm. Register here.

May grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Mr​​​​ John Ralph
Head of Gawura

Bullying No Way: National week of action

Last week students from Kindergarten to Senior College engaged in lessons and discussions linked to the Bullying No Way: National week of action. This is Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative and connects schools and communities to find workable solutions to prevent bullying. The theme for 2024 was 'Everyone belongs'.

When we all feel like we belong, bullying struggles to find a place. Throughout the week, lessons, year meetings and tutorials emphasised the character strengths of ‘Caring’, ‘Thinking’ and ‘Self-controlled’; highlighting the way in which these characteristics can help us to care well for the people around us and stand together against unkindness. We particularly focussed on the skills of being an “Upstander” instead of a “Bystander” by using the four strategies of:

• Be a Buddy – invite the targeted person to join you in an activity so they are not alone or isolated.
• Interrupt – seek to distract or divert the situation.
• Speak Out – say something to make it clear that you don’t agree with what is happening.
• Tell Someone – report it to a trusted adult.

Belonging means we all have a role in preventing bullying. We're encouraged to speak up and create a safe place where everyone feels supported and respected, and our voices are heard and valued. If students have any concerns about bullying they are encouraged to report it to a trusted adult or via email: bullying@sacs.nsw.edu.au.

Mrs Bronwyn Wake
Head of Character and Wellbeing (K-12)
Junior School and Gawura Wellbeing Coordinator and Psychologist/Counsellor

Premier’s Reading Challenge

The final day for students to log their books on the Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) website was Friday 16 August. It was wonderful to see many of our students come into the library in Week 3 during lunch time for assistance in logging their books and jogging their memories of all the wonderful stories they have read this year.

Special congratulations to our Gawura 5/6 class who have all completed the Challenge in the last week: BJ Carr, Marlon Coulthard, Nyarla Gordon, Djani Haynes, Maya Hughes, Graham Jackson, Anthony Lees, Samara Lyons, Latrell McGrath, Zavier Reid, Kallarah Silva, and Bryden Walker.

Kindergarten
Owen Wiseman

Year 1
Azure Hastings
William Tran

Year 3
Audrey Addabbo
Elianna Cheng
Lara Forbes
Ethan Ratilal
Mia Tan
Kamilla Tescaroli
Oliver Tran
Lilli-Eva Winston
Robert Wood

Year 4
Erik Atkins
John Saulo
Eliana Wong

Year 5
Zachary Beck
Wesley Carrick
Oliver Delmond
Daniel Sadarangani
Annabelle Tee

Year 6
Lola Cassar
Niamh DeAngelis
Henry Dobbs
Matthew Lee
Annie Liang
Tara Loughry
Sam McConnell
Genevieve Williams
Ruby Winchester

Our final PRC figures and class awards will be announced in the next newsletter.

Book Week: Magic is coming!

At the time of writing, we are preparing our questions for this year’s author visit with Tim Harris on Thursday 22 August and finalising the touches on our costumes for our Book Character Parade on Friday 23 August.

We hope to see you there and also that you will join us in Chapter House after our Book Character Parade to explore and purchase books from our Book Fair! There are many bargains to be had!

Mrs Rachael Cosentino
Junior School and Gawura School Library Coordinator

K-2 Maths Quest

This semester, various students in Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 will be participating in the Australasian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiads’ (APSMO) Maths Quest sessions as part of our Gifted and Talented programme. Maths Quest is an innovative teaching and learning programme that introduces problem-solving concepts, such as using diagrams and logical reasoning, at a Stage 1 level. Comprising a series of activities that are both interactive and fun, the programme encourages students to work together and learn from each other.

So far this term, the students have commenced the Using Diagrams module, where they have learnt about Venn diagrams and the use of representations to visualise multiplication and division word problems. The students have thoroughly enjoyed acquiring these new concepts and have been able to approach more advanced questions in Mathematics lessons with their new skills.

Below are some reflections from students currently completing the Maths Quest programme:

"I like Maths Quest because I get to try tricky problems. My favourite activity so far was when we learnt to draw pictures to help us solve questions." – Sophia Naidoo.

"I really enjoy the challenge and mystery questions in Maths Quest, particularly the online activities! They help me learn new skills and feel excited in Maths." – Liam Bradley.

"I like how I get to figure out questions in Maths Quest. It is fun to feel challenged and really exciting when I get the answer right." – Eden Choi.

Mrs Rebecca Lord
Gifted and Talented Coordinator Junior School and Gawura

HICES Year 5-8 Music Camp

A number of our students from Years 5-8 have recently been involved in the HICES Music Festival at Stanwell Tops. Students spent two days rehearsing with conductors selected from various schools within the HICES network in various ensembles with other students from HICES schools. This culminated in a spectacular concert at the Town Hall on Wednesday evening where all of our students performed in their combined schools ensembles as well as in a massed finale item written and conducted by Australian composer Paul Jarman. St Andrew's students were brilliant representatives of our School and worked incredibly hard.

Well done to all students involved!

Music exam success

Congratulations to Henry Dethridge who has recently completed first grade Theory of Music with High Distinction! Well done!

Mrs Kate Robertson
Head of Music (K-6)

Crunch-and-sip for a mid-morning recharge

Given the length of time between breakfast and lunch for our students, we encourage families to provide their children with a crunch-and-sip snack for the middle of the school morning. The time to consume this is provided at the teacher’s discretion.

Crunch-and-sip is a valuable sustenance boost for children.
Being intentionally healthy in focus, all food should be fresh, and either fruit or vegetable. Only water is appropriate for the ‘sip’ portion of crunch-and-sip.

Please note it is not a break in teaching or learning. Students work while they are eating. As such, please provide only a small amount of food that doesn’t require a long time to consume, is relatively mess free and preferably doesn’t require many utensils.

A small apple, cut up, is ideal, as is cut-up carrot or celery. Oranges, mangoes and passionfruit are unsuitable for Crunch-and-sip, but are suitable for lunch or afternoon tea, when students have the time to consume them.

Saturday Sport boys – Round 9

Round 9 for our boys teams was one to remember with some fantastic performances from both of our football and mixed rugby teams.

Our U9 football team displayed finesse and teamwork to find themselves victorious against a well-drilled Santa Sabina squad, and our U10’s team (pictured below) found themselves in a tough 2-2 draw locking horns with Tudor House in a phenomenal battle of execution and strategy.

Both our U11 and U12 mixed rugby teams won both of their fixtures with impressive victories over strong outfits – the likes of Trinity, King’s, Scots, and St. Aloysius. It was great to see our U11 team show determination and composure to the final whistle in their first match against Trinity after a slow start to come from behind and  win 20-15.

Saturday Sport boys – Round 10

Round 10 marked the final round for both our Junior School and Gawura boys football and mixed rugby teams. They certainly showcased all their learnings from the season with a clean sweep of victories across all our teams, despite coming up against some quality opposition. Special mentions to our U9 boys football team who had a stella 9-0 win over a strong Mosman Prep side, as well as our U12’s mixed rugby 7’s team who gave us a nail-biting finish to beat St Ignatius by one try in the dying stages of their first match.

As we reflect on the season, we are thankful to both the parents for keeping our players committed, and also our charismatic coaches, Matthew Nicholson, Peter Casement, Oli Millar, Matthew Butler and Edward Foster, who have built unique environments within their respective teams to foster our students' sporting development in both skill and character.

Saturday Sport girls – Round 2

The second round of girls Term 3 Saturday Sport had both Year 5 and Year 6 touch football teams playing against Ascham, with both teams coming away with a win after two highly competitive games. These girls have been training for a whole term in the lead up to this term's competition. Well done girls – your hard work is now paying off.

Saturday Sport girls – Round 3

Round 3 saw strong performances from both of our girls touch football teams as they continued their prowess amongst a developed IPSHA competition.

Our Year 5 team had an impressive 6-3 victory over SCEGGS, and our Year 6 team had a demanding 2-2 draw against Ascham which showcased a high-quality game where both teams couldn’t be split despite some standout efforts from our girls. As the season progresses past the early weeks of competition, we look forward to seeing how our girls continue to build in team cohesion and skill execution with the help of their coaches.

Touch football champion

Last week from 6-8 August, our Year 6 Gawura superstar Maya Hughes (6GM) competed for CIS at the NSWPSSA Primary Girls Touch Football Championships in Wollongong (pictured left).

Her CIS team showed class coming 10th overall with one win and a draw amongst some very strong talent from other regions across NSW. This is a fantastic achievement for Maya, to which the Junior School were sending all of our support, and we are excited for what is to come for such a talent.

We praise Maya for her continual strive to reach her sporting goals and we are looking forward to seeing Maya lace the boots back up with fellow Gawura classmate Nyarla Gordon (6GM) as they take to field for CIS at the upcoming NSWPSSA Primary Girls Rugby 7’s Championships in late September.

Individual achievement - Maya Hughes

Last week from the 6th-8th of August our Year 6 Gawura superstar Maya Hughes (6GM) competed for CIS at the NSWPSSA Primary Girls Touch Football Championships in Wollongong (pictured below).

Her CIS team showed class coming 10th overall with 1 win and a draw amongst some very strong talent from other regions across NSW. This is a fantastic achievement for Maya, to which the Junior School were sending all of our support, and we are excited for what is to come for such a talent.

We praise Maya for her continual strive to reach her sporting goals and we are looking forward to seeing Maya lace the boots back up with fellow Gawura classmate Nyarla Gordon (6GM) as they take to field for CIS at the upcoming NSWPSSA Primary Girls Rugby 7’s Championships in late September.

Mr Oliver Denny
Head of Sport Junior School

Get excited for Book Week!

This year’s Book Week theme is ‘Reading is Magic’ and we are exploring magical stories and characters throughout the term.

Our official celebrations begin on Monday 19 August with a week of magical storytelling before school and during Lunch in the Library. On Thursday 22 August all of our Junior School students will be visited by author Tim Harris. Tim is the best-selling author of several laugh-out-loud series for children including Toffle Towers, Mr Bambuckle's Remarkables and Exploding Endings. Tim will share his tips for creating ideas for stories and his approach to writing and refining stories.

Book Week 2024 culminates in our Book Character Parade on Friday 23 August starting at 9am in the Cathedral.

Parents are most welcome to attend this event, along with the Book Fair that will follow in Chapter House.

We look forward to seeing you at these events and can’t wait to see the wonderful costumes!

Friday 23 August, 9am
St Andrew's Cathedral

We strongly encourage all parents to join us

Guest speaker - Amber Hawkes

Our next Big Questions evening will discuss the question: How do we educate against gender-based violence? This event will only be open to parents and carers, and we hope to see as many of you as possible on the night. Given the subject matter, it is of particular importance that fathers and male care givers attend this event.

Last year we began our Respectful Relationships Project, as outlined in a previous newsletter, engaging consultant Amber Hawkes to conduct research on this challenging issue. Amber has been a criminal prosecutor, a founding Chief Executive of an NGO working to protect the vulnerable from violence, and more recently was Asia-Pacific Head of Safety for Meta engaging with civil society, policymakers and product engineers trying to better protect women and young people online. She is also a parent at our School.

Violence against women and girls is a problem of epidemic proportions: it occurs across every demographic in our country. During the evening Amber will present her initial research findings which will include sharing practical tips for parents to engage effectively with teens, given the critical role both male and female parents and carers play.

Wednesday 28 August, 6.30pm
Chapter House

Introductory offer ends in 2 weeks!

Just a reminder that our introductory offer for the month of August – spend $200 or more on the Supporter wear range and get a cap for free – ends in 2 weeks (ends 31 August)!

All items are available through the Uniform Shop online via the Parent Portal, or come in store to see the range Mon/Wed/Fri 8am-3.30pm.

Visit the Uniform Shop today!

Junior School and Gawura Stage 3 Drama: The Thirty-Three Little Pigs

Join us for this joy filled and hilarious production. It’s a fast-paced predator-vs-prey send-up! Get ready to squeal with delight as the 33 pigs in the meadow continuously outsmart the hungry wolf. From Straw, Stick, and Brick pigs to Pirate, Chef and Ninja pigs (plus 27 endearing others!), they each have their chance to misdirect, heckle, and hound the bumbling Big Bad Wolf, who only finds himself further and further from getting his fill of little piggies!

Thursday 12 September 4pm and 6pm shows
Black Box Theatre, BBC

Community Yarn Art Installation

Join us in our 140 Year Celebration of St Andrew’s Cathedral School with colour and creativity! Help yarn wrap the pillar at the front of our School by knitting or crocheting 20cm x 20cm squares in blue, white, and gold. We would love students, staff, Old Andreans, parents, grandparents, our entire community, to get involved. Let's make this a community project – we welcome all skill levels! For details and drop-off locations, visit www.sacs.nsw.edu.au