On Thursday 19 May and Friday 20 May our Gawura and Junior School students in Year 2 had their first overnight camp at our school. This is the first of many overnight camps that our Gawura students will get to do as they embark on a wonderful journey of Outdoor Education at our school.

Students in Year 2 spent Thursday out at Bicentennial Park in Homebush and came back to school for dinner and then slept in tents on the Level 7 Open Area at school. On a damp Friday 20th May our students then enjoyed another day outdoors, this time exploring the Botanic Gardens in Sydney. You can see Shane, Yuin and George all having a wonderful time in the photo’s along with the tent set up on Level 7. What a versatile space we have! Thank you to our amazing Outdoor Education and JSGS staff who organised and attended this camp.

The camps continue into Year 3 where students will enjoy the beautiful surrounds of Kirrikee through to Year 8, an amazing snow camp in Year 9 where students sleep in their own dug out snow cave and then have the opportunity to paddle the Murray River or enjoy the unique 20 day hike in Year 10 where our students start their journey from the top of Australia at Mt Kosciuszko and journey by foot, kayak and hike to the coast in Victoria. This wonderful journey all starts with Day Camps in Kindergarten and Year 1 and then overnight camps from Year 2 through to Year 12.

Gawura students also have the opportunity from Year 5 to Year 12 to attend an annual On Country Tour which this year is heading to the Indigenous Homelands of Cape York in far North Qld. We have already had our first pre departure meeting for this trip which takes place from Sunday 17 July and returns on Saturday 23 July. One of the requirements this year is that all travelling staff and students are ‘up to date’ with their covid vaccinations. This is a request directly from the Indigenous communities of Cape York as they have many hundreds of students visit them from all over Vic, SA, NSW and South East QLD during the dry season and they wish to mitigate their risk of covid getting into their community and in particular amongst the Elders and Traditional Owners (TO’s). Any student who is not up to date with their vaccinations will be ineligible to attend. Parents of students still have time to meet these requirements if need be.

We look forward to Reconciliation Week which starts this Friday 27 May and runs through to Friday 3 June. Gawura staff and JS staff will be delivering lessons relating to this year’s theme of Be Brave, Make Change. National Sorry Day will take place this Thursday 26 May.

Preparations and rehearsals are well under way for this year’s NAIDOC Assembly which will be held on Thursday 23 June at 9:30am in our cathedral. There is a special installation of plywood figures taking place in preparation for this event on Friday 3 June. Our NAIDOC Committee including JSGS Art teacher Mrs Daly has secured a corner shop space in the Town Hall Arcade just opposite the Newsagent where members of the public including our own school community can walk through and using their phones can scan a QR code for each figure which represents an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person who has made a significant contribution to Australia. Students have researched information on over 20 such Australian First Nations activists, scientists, poets, sports people and politicians who have made significant contributions to Australia.

We are asking for any parent volunteers who would be happy to help us on the afternoon of Friday 3 June, with this installation to please let me or Mrs Williams know as we would love to seek your assistance. The shop space will be open until the end of term 2 and we hope many of our community will be able to visit the display space once it is officially opened on Monday 6 June.

We trust you all have a wonderful and safe fortnight ahead.

John Ralph
Head of Gawura

Screen Time

For many families, the time of COVID, lock downs and home schooling has resulted in a noticeable shift in the amount of time people spend on screen-based devices. Families are transitioning back to pre-COVID routines but many are still struggling to re-establish the boundaries and rules around screen use. Some continue to deal with digital conflict and tech-tantrums on a daily basis. The latest research found that 77% of teenagers spend more than five hours on screens per day, but it is important to note that not all screen time is considered equal.

Parents play a crucial role in modelling a positive and healthy approach to using screens and assisting children to navigate the content they watch. It is important to model and mentor screen use, rather than just monitoring it. Children tend to do more of what they see us do, and less of what we tell them to do. However, it is still important to outline the risks and highlight the benefits of screen use to ensure you keep a balanced attitude. Encourage discussions around the issues that people experience in monitoring their screen time and be honest about your own difficulties.

Parents need to remain firm in their approach to managing screen time. Excessive screen time can be detrimental to a child’s overall wellbeing. Ensuring the correct privacy settings are in place is vital to prevent children from being inadvertently exposed to inappropriate content or online predators. Parents need to also be mindful of the potential impact screen time can have on a child’s social, emotional, educational, behavioural, and even physical domains.

In this edition of SchoolTV, care-givers will be provided with a range of guidelines and strategies to help manage screen time at home. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this month’s edition, and we always welcome your feedback. This term many of our students are learning about e-safety during their lessons and as part of supporting this, one of the SchoolTV experts, Yasmin London, will be visiting St Andrew's, 15 June, to run sessions for our staff and parents. We would love to you to join us!

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to this month's edition https://sacs.nsw.schooltv.me/newsletter/managing-screen-time

Bronwyn Wake
Wellbeing Coordinator

Music and Learning – the benefits of a music ensemble

At St Andrew's, we have an extensive ensemble programme. Students benefit musically from participation in ensembles, but ensembles also help students in many other ways.

Dr Anita Collins quotes that “Possibly the most useful addition neuroscience has made to this field of research is the understanding that music learning activities, and to a lesser degree music listening, activate the brain’s reward network. In the case of music learning, this activation results in a love of learning, a chemically induced desire to learn more, as well as a love of achieving something together in a group, a love of having a shared goal.”

There is no doubt that over the years, I have witnessed on many occasions, our students demonstrating prosocial behaviours not only in Music ensemble rehearsals, but in other areas of their lives. In terms of musical examples, this could be anything from offering to help a student carry an instrument, to taking time out of their day to volunteer to perform at an aged care facility.

Skills such as breathing together at the correct place in a band, learning to listen for who has the melody line in a piece of music and adjusting one’s sound accordingly, learning to be a respectful audience member and the general camaraderie of rehearsing and performing together are all opportunities for students to develop social skills.

It is such a joy to see these characteristics in our students. I encourage all students to participate in our ensemble programme and look forward to hearing some of our groups perform at upcoming events.

For any enquiries about Music, or to discuss your child’s musical education, please feel free to email krobertson@sacs.nsw.edu.au

Congratulations!

We have recently had a number of students perform at evening events. My sincere thanks to the following students and their families for your wonderful performances and your service to the school in this way:

Hiroki Takahashi-Zhong
Hugo Gilmovich
David Kim
Emily Wang
Eddie Eidel
Idelia Cao

Mrs​ Kate Robertson
Head of Music (K-6)

Junior School Book Clubs

Our Junior School Book Clubs are always full of fun, learning, reading and discussion – often every member, all at once! This term, our Stage 2 Book Club has been exploring Humour as a genre and trying to identify the elements of the things that make us laugh. In Stage 3, we have donned robes and picked up our gavels to act as shadow judges for this year’s Shortlisted books from the Younger Readers’ category of the CBCA Awards. We are scoring each book using the same criteria as the official judges. We are thoroughly enjoying reading an amazing selection of the best Australian books from the last year. But you needn’t take my word for it …

“If you read these books, you WILL enjoy them!” (Bridie Hansen, Year 6)

“Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief is a great book about a young boy with dreams and hopes who becomes orphaned when countries are at war. 5 stars … but I wish I could give infinite stars!” (Amy Codrington, Year 5)

“Some books are humorous, and some books keep you on the edge of your seat! That’s why I love Book Club.” (Oscar Xu, Year 4)

“Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief is a raw, emotion fuelled book about a young Red Army soldier in World War II, named Sasha, whose innocence and love brings joy and comfort to those adult soldiers around him. They grow to love him and when tragedy strikes – too bad, you’ll have to join Book Club to find out what happens next!” (Amy Jung, Year 6)

Nicole Cotter
Coordinator Information and Digital Literacy – JS&G

Junior School Rugby

On the 12 May, the Junior School Rugby teams were lucky enough to have the super star, Sonny Bill Williams, attend training. Through an amazing parent of the Junior School, Sonny Bill was able to speak to all of the rugby students in the school before jumping in and training with the Junior School teams. Sonny Bill shared some of his highlights from his career, as well as the reasons why he enjoyed playing rugby for so long. He taught the teams some tackling, passing and running tips throughout the session. It was an afternoon that I’m sure the students (and teachers!) won’t forget for a long time!

Mr​ James Leedow
JS Teacher, Coordinator of Primary Sport

Young Andrean Artist of the Year 2022

Don’t forget to start planning your Young Andrean Artist 2022 piece! The competition theme is EGYPT – to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s tomb. Consider the ideas of ‘exploration’, ‘discovery’, ‘mystery’, ‘curses’, or ‘adventure’ in either ancient or modern Egypt, or anything else you can imagine in the wonderful land of Egypt! 

Sculpture – Year 3

Using a variety of materials, Year 3 artists are learning sculptural techniques and creating fabulous sculptures to represent the extraordinary beauty and detail of the human form and its ability to move and act with precision.  Recently, these artists created aluminium sculptures to represent the way in the which we can use our human body to wonderfully move and act in sports and in relaxation.

Sam and Benjamin: The Batsmen and The Wicket-Keeper

Vanessa: The Thinker

Annabelle: The Dancer

3V: Celebrating their finished sculptures!

Mrs​ Miriam Daly
Visual Arts Integrator JS&G

Congratulations!

Click here for the latest Heart, Mind, Life & Uniform awards.

A wonderful co-curricular opportunity

Puzzles, Riddles and Codes Club is a wonderful extension co-curricular opportunity for Years K-2 high ability students. In the club the students stretch and exercise their brain by solving a range of difficult problems and questions. These activities are thought-provoking, abstract and complex. Students must think creatively and critically to find solutions.

The problem-solving approach used in the Puzzles, Riddles and Codes Club is based on inquiry methodology. Learning is student-centred and requires high level questioning to find a solution. As students find solutions, they are promoted to analyse the journey of discovery. This encourages students to consider ‘how to think’ rather than ‘what to think’. Across the term students identify patterns in the puzzles, riddles and codes to help formulate solutions.

Below are some reflections from Year 1 student, Tyson Happer about the club:

What are some of the puzzles you’ve had to solve?

We play spot the differences. You have to look at the two pictures and see if there is a difference between the pictures. The differences are tricky to find like a different colour, something is missing or different shapes.

What do you find interesting about riddles?

A riddle is a clue and you don’t know the answer. You have to think of something creative to find the solution. For example, ‘What has to be broken to be used?’ The answer is an egg.

What do you enjoy about writing and solving codes?

I enjoy using the codes. I have to write a secret message using letters or pictures. The message is a secret because the code uses fake letters and then you work out what the real letter and message is. For example, in the reverse alphabet code you have to do a secret message where each letter is the opposite end of the alphabet. For example, the word ‘truck’ would be written in a secret code as ‘gifxp’.

How does our club Puzzles, Riddles and Codes make you stretch your brain?

Working out the puzzles and seeing the answer is hard for your brain. There are lots of differences and solutions to find. In the club the answers can be hard and not easy to find at first.

Below are two examples of codes used in the club this year. See if you can write a secret message using one of these codes and then ask a family member to solve the code.
 

Mrs Emma Clemens
Gifted and Talented Coordinator JS and G

A bit of Light-Hearted Lunacy

Anyone who knows me will tell you I love a good conspiracy! One of my favourites is the effect of a full moon. I was outside last night looking at the beautiful moon shining brightly. It reminded me of this article I wrote some years ago. I thought I would look at the recent research to see if anything has changed and repost the article.

“Since ancient times, full moons have been associated with odd or insane behavior, including sleepwalking, suicide, illegal activity, fits of violence and, of course, transforming into werewolves. Indeed, the words “lunacy” and “lunatic” are in our vocabulary and are used to explain odd behavior!

For thousands of years, doctors and mental health professionals believed in a strong connection between mania and the moon. Hippocrates, considered the father of modern medicine, wrote in the fifth century BC that “one who is seized with terror, fright and madness during the night is being visited by the goddess of the moon.”  Despite studies discrediting the hypothesis, some people think full moons make everyone a little loony.”

Some theorists believe that because the Moon affects the tides, the effect is real on humans because we are made up mainly of water. However, it seems that the Moon only affects open bodies of water such as oceans and rivers. Closed bodies of water such as dams and lakes are unaffected. The water in our bodies is closed, so therefore it does not affect us.

Studies have been done across the globe within law enforcement agencies and there is some evidence for and against the theory. “Senior police officers in Brighton, UK, were planning to deploy more officers over the summer to counter trouble they believe is linked to the lunar cycle. This followed research by the Sussex Police force that concluded there was a rise in violent crime when the Moon was full.”

“Police in Ohio and Kentucky have blamed temporary rises in crime on the full Moon. In January 2008, New Zealand's Justice Minister Annette King suggested that a spate of stabbings in the country could have been caused by the lunar cycle”.

However, a reported correlation between Moon phase and the number of homicides in Dade County was found, through later analysis, not to be supported by the data and to have been the result of inappropriate and misleading statistical procedures.”  -  Readers Digest

In the medical world, a study reported in the Full Moon and Hospitals article by Jess White,  the American Journal of Emergency Medicine found, when analyzing admissions over a four-year period, there were no significant increases on nights where there was a full moon. And a paper published in the Nursing Research journal also showed that there was no real relationship between moon phases, hospital admissions and birth rates.”

Recent research again suggests that there is zero or little effect of a full moon on us humans. 

So, I guess my theory is just that – a theory.  However, there are two groups of people that haven’t really been surveyed or asked what their experiences are – teachers and parents!
Ask any teacher, we know without looking into the night sky, when a full moon is occurring!

So be prepared – 14 June a full super moon is happening!

Joy Rohrlach
Year 5 Leader

SACS students giving back

Two of our fine Year 4 students, Berlin and Jamie, have demonstrated a thoughtful and generous spirit and volunteered their time and effort to support a program called Kids Giving Back. During the most recent school break the two students joined together with students from other schools to prepare meals and care packages for 8000 vulnerable people in our community including those experiencing challenge from the recent floods. Berlin was encouraged by the experience knowing that the time she put in to assemble the meals and pack them carefully with messages of care and concern was a great use of her holiday time and energy. Jamie enjoyed the volunteer experience and seeing people from all over the community come together to serve others. Both students would happily repeat the experience and will encourage their friends and other students from SACS to join them.

Well done to you both for upholding many of SACS’ Character Strengths through your work with Kids Giving Back – we’re proud of you!

Should you be interested in finding out more, please take the time to look at:  www.kidsgivingback.org

Mr​ Selwyn Wu
Deputy Head of Junior School (Pastoral Care & Educational Admin)

Year 2 had a wonderful time on our first overnight school camp. We spent a sunny Thursday out at Bicentennial Park exploring the mangroves, building imaginative worlds and had plenty of time for free play. Back at school we set up tents on Level 7 and enjoyed chicken burgers and gelato on the roof for dinner. We went for a rainy walk through the Botanic Gardens on Friday.

Year 2 should be proud of showing courage with their willingness to step out of their comfort zone and it has been encouraging to hear students reflect on how they overcame individual challenges. They are already looking forward to a night at Kirrikee in Year 3!

Miss​ Melanie Sharp
Acting Grade Leader JS and GS/Teacher

This term, the Student Representative Council organised for our Junior and Gawura School students to participate in our very own Take Love Campaign. Take Love is an initiative run by Anglicare. For over 160 years, Anglicare has been serving people and communities in need- providing care and services to the vulnerable. Further information about how you can continue to support Take Love can be found here; takelove.org.au

We are so thankful for the generous and servant-hearted families in our school community for supporting this initiative.

Thank you for your donations over the last two weeks, there were too many to count!

A special thank you and congratulations to the Beck family (Zach Year 3 and Freddy Year 5) who raised and donated $180 over the weekend, selling lemonade out the front of their house!

Michaela Munden (on behalf of the JSGS SRC)
JS Teacher

P&F Presents Performing Arts recording

Dr Christian Watson, Mr Ryan Desaulnier and Ms Kate Robertson provided a wonderful window into the world of Performing Arts at SACS.

We thank them for their generosity with their time at this very busy time of year and for answering a plethora of questions from a very interested audience! 

For your opportunity to hear all about Performing Arts you can follow the link: https://bit.ly/3McTT6R

Get involved and meet other St Andrew's parents!

Please join the P&F for a General Meeting to discuss current school activities, school focuses, upcoming school events and future plans with a senior member of staff and the P&F Executive. Each meeting has a school report and an opportunity for parents to ask questions. You will also hear about P&F fundraising initiatives and ways that parents and friends can support the school. Attending P&F meetings is also a fabulous way to get to know other parents from the school and to get involved in various events and endeavours.

Date: Tuesday 7 June
Time: 6pm-7.30pm
Where: The Community Hub, Level 4 St Andrew's House

Please register to attend

All attendees should be fully vaccinated and wear a mask

If you are unable to attend in person you can still tune in online: TBA

Book your Annie tickets today!

With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone’s hearts in 1930s New York City. She is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of a city orphanage that is run by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan. With the help of the other girls in the orphanage, Annie escapes into the wondrous world of NYC and partners up with a lovable stray called Sandy, but she is caught and returned to the orphanage. Her fortunes change when she is randomly selected to live with billionaire, Oliver Warbucks, who decides to help Annie find her parents. The reward offered attracts the evil machinations of Miss Hannigan. But truth prevails in dramatic circumstances and Annie finds a new home and even befriends President Roosevelt!

Director and Choreographer: Ryan Desaulnier
Musical Director: Kirsten Macaulay
Producer: Christian Watson

Show dates

• Thursday 9 June – 11.30am, 6.30pm
• Friday 10 June – 11.30am, 6.30pm
• Saturday 11 June – 12.30pm, 6.30pm

The Concourse Theatre
409 Victoria Ave Chatswood

BOOK NOW

View or Download the flyer for more information

We are so excited to welcome grandparents of Junior School and Gawura families back for Grandparents’ Day this year. We’ve missed you!

Grandparents of our Junior School and Gawura families are invited to join us for a special assembly in St Andrew’s Cathedral, followed by morning tea and a chance to visit your grandchild at school and accompany them to a book fair.  Each student is welcome to have their grandparents (or a special relative, Godparent, auntie/uncle) to join us for this wonderful morning.

Please note that Grandparents will be required to wear masks. For COVID-19 and catering reasons this is not a parent event.

• Date: Friday 10 June
• Time: 9.15am (Cathedral doors will open at 8.45am)
• Location: St Andrew’s Cathedral followed by morning tea in Chapter House or the Heath Centre and then a visit to the Junior School or Gawura.
• RSVP: To reserve your place for this very special morning please book here

At the conclusion of the morning, grandparents are invited to take their grandchildren out to lunch and either return them to school, or to take them home for the day.

Andrean Writer, Artist, Composer and Designer (new) of the Year Competition

We are proud to announce this year’s K-12 creative competition theme is – EGYPT. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s tomb, this year’s Andrean of the Year theme is Egypt. 

Consider the ideas of ‘exploration’, ‘discovery’, ‘mystery’, ‘curses’, or ‘adventure’ in either ancient or modern Egypt, or anything else you can imagine in the wonderful land of Egypt! 

This year we have a NEW category – Designer of the Year – can you design something about Egypt? Design entries must be no larger than one cubic metre made from either timber, metal, plastic, textiles and/or computer programme with your name and year level clearly marked. All entries to be submitted to Mr Bacewicz in the Design Centre (Year 7-12) or Mr Ryman (Year 5-6) – computer programme entries need to be provided on a USB and need to be able to be run on school laptops without additional/specialist software. All Designer of the Year entries must include a 3-minute video explanation of how your Design represents the theme, addresses a market opportunity and demonstrates your product in use.

Judging and prizes

Entries will be judged on creativity, skill, audience engagement and originality in exploring the theme. Entries must be created in 2022 and no group entries are permitted.

First prize: $200 Secondary; $100 Primary
Runners up: $50 Secondary; $20 Primary

Click here for 2022 entry details and winners from past competitions. Entries close Monday 17 October (Term 4 Week 2).

Mr Brad Swibel
Deputy Head of School (Secondary)