Welcome back to all of our Gawura families and students who have returned to school for another exciting term full of academic learning, cultural awareness and fun. I trust you all had a relaxing and enjoyable break. Term 3 is another busy term with a number of events happening.

Our Year 5 students will be heading off to Canberra next Monday 6 August for three days and two nights. On Thursday 9 August is the annual Junior School and Gawura School (JSGS) Athletics Carnival. We also have the biannual JSGS musical called Rats which will be held on Friday 24 and Sat 25 August and for the very first time the Gawura School will be holding the inaugural On Country Tour. This year we will be spending 3 days and 2 nights on Wiradjuri land at Dubbo and Bathurst. The itinerary is now complete which is full of indigenous cultural learning. Students from Year 5 -12 will be attending this camp from Tues 18 September to Thurs 20 September. For a full list of dates and events please see the Dates to Remember section in this Message Stick.

Welcome to our new bus driver Bill Russel

Our current bus driver Neal Flatley has asked to reduce his 5 days per week down to 3 so he can help with his ministry with the homeless in Woolloomooloo. After a significant search we welcome our new part time Gawura bus driver Bill Russel. Bill is a proud Gadigal man from Timberi nation and comes to us having driven large commercial transporter vehicles along with various bus tours involving children’s football teams. Bill will be our driver on Thursday’s and Friday’s and will be shadowing Neal for the rest of this week and next. Bill’s mother Esme is an elder of the La Perouse community. He has 4 of his own children and 8 grandchildren! Please make Bill welcome as you see him during the morning and afternoon bus runs.

Sport for this term will be the following starting this Thursday we commence the first round of ASISSA interschool sport with Year 4-6 girls heading to Heffron Park for netball and Year 6 boys to Latham Park for volleyball. Year 4 and 5 boys will be doing Oz Tag drills and games, Year 3 will be continuing with athletics skills and kindy has another gymnastics session.

Also this Thursday 2 August is our usual GPAC meeting which is held in Weeks 2 and 8 of each term. For those wishing to attend please come along to the Gawura open area at 2pm. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

Once again welcome back to another wonderful term ahead and we look forward to teaching the lovely students that Gawura has blessed us with. Have a safe and pleasant fortnight.

Mr John Ralph
Head of Gawura

Come along to the Junior School and Gawura School performance of Rats!

Based on The Pied Piper Of Hamelin by Robert Browning, Rats! retells the story with memorable music and lyrics. The rats who plague Hamelin are punks and the Pied Piper has the charisma of a rock star! The characters are charming, the dialog is witty and the 15 fun-filled songs will entertain the whole family.

Please note: this week an information note is being sent to all of the Junior School and Gawura School with information regarding Rats rehearsals, costuming and makeup. Please check your email and let your child’s class teacher know if you have not received it.

This competition will recognise the top three entries from the Junior School for both writing and art, with the winners announced at the Evening of Celebration and Prize-giving in December.

Australian Bush Stories

Stories must be set in the Australian Bush. Student name and Year level clearly labelled.

Entries can be handwritten or typed and max word limits are as follows:

• Kindergarten – 100 words
• Year 1-2 – 200 words
• Year 3-4 – 400 words
• Year 5-6 – 1000 words

Please hand to or email: Junior School Reception jsreception@sacs.nsw.edu.au with the subject title 'Bush Story'.

Australian Bush Artwork

Entries must be A3 size, no more than 5mm thick, student name and Year level clearly marked.
Painting, textiles, drawing, printmaking, photography, graphic design, etc.

Artwork must be set in the Australian bush.

Please submit Year K-6 entries to Junior School Reception

Competition details and prizes

Winning entries will be judged on creativity, skill, engagement of the audience and originality in exploring the theme. Entries must be composed this year and no group entries are permitted. Plagiarism will result in disqualification.

1st Round:

Junior School and Gawura entries are judged by Mrs Robson (Stories) and Mrs Edwards (Artworks). Finalists will receive certificates.

2nd Round:

The finalists will be judged by Dr Collier

Junior Andrean Writer and Artist of the Year

• Junior Andrean Writer of the Year
  $120 voucher – Announced at Evening of Celebration and Prize-giving.

• Junior Andrean Artist of the Year
  $120 voucher – Announced at Evening of Celebration and Prize-giving.

Who will be your inspiration?

May Gibbs, Normal Lindsay, Banjo Patterson, Henry Lawson, Sally Morgan, Albert Namatjira, Mem Fox, Ken Done, Tom Roberts, Sidney Nolan, Fred McCubbin, Grace Cossington-Smith.

Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) 2018

Congratulations to the following students who have completed their challenge:

Jedidiah Sam, Kennedy Evans-Mcphee, Jocelyn Tee, Bronte Critchley, Isabelle King, Bridie Hansen, Hiroki Takahashi-Zhong, Timothy Goddard, Ciara O'Brien, Alexander Smallwood, Darius Hopwood, Alex White, Lily Carvosso, Grace Patching and Elle Hadiprodjo.

68 students have completed the challenge already!

The PRC closes on 31 August. That is just over one month away.  So if you intend to complete the challenge this year and be celebrated at the end of the year as an incredible reader then get reading and entering now!

Parent / Teacher Challenge 2018

Come on teachers and parents. Grab a book and read alongside your child/ren and complete the Parent / Teacher Challenge this year. Congratulations to the following amazing reading role models:

Ms Winston and Miss Sharp (1F)

Requirements for completion:
Read any 6 titles (in any language). Email me spaul@sacs.nsw.edu.au the titles and I’ll add you to our wall of wonderful reading role models.

Book draw

Finished the PRC for 2018? Well don’t stop reading!

The Junior School and Gawura library has a new challenge for you. Pick up an entry form, read any ten books, complete the entry form and return it to Mrs Paul for your chance to win a book of your choice. There’s two draws this term and you can enter as many times as you’d like.

So, the more you read the more chances you have of winning! What are you waiting for? The second draw will happen in week 9, so keep your entries coming in.

Gregg Dreise is coming to SACS!

We have some really exciting news! The amazingly talented author and illustrator Gregg Dreise is making a stop at SACS next Friday (3/8). Students will have the opportunity in their stages to meet him and work with him in an hour long workshop. If you bring $25 on Friday you can purchase and have signed a copy of one of his stories (limited copies available). To find out more about him visit his website http://www.greggdreise.com/

D.E.A.R. in the mornings

This is a wonderful initiative to start the school day off a little slower; take 10 minutes to stop and read. If you’re dropping your children off in the mornings make that 10 minutes a reading time. The library is open Mondays, Thursday and Fridays to read a library book with your child and on the days we aren’t open (or any day of the week really) we’ve made available a box of books to select from. These are available in the Infants open area.

“It is a good rule after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.” – C.S. Lewis

Svetlana Paul
Junior School and Gawura Teacher Librarian

Performing Arts in the Junior School

Welcome back to another busy term. We hope that some of the children did actually get their instruments out during the holidays and do some practice, and not allow it to gather dust. Perhaps they are back into the full swing now that term has started.

MUSICA VIVA: towards the end of last term we had a concert where 3 musicians came to perform in front of K-2, then 3 -6. They used bowls filled with water, pipes, thongs and green colouring! The children all seemed to enjoy listening to how music can be made without having to have a “real” instrument to play. Encourage your child to make different sounds in the pool or bath and see if they can make the pitch change or some new rhythms appear.

Congratulations to Issa Matsouka as he was awarded 2nd place in the Under 9 section of the St George Eisteddfod during the holidays. He worked so hard and had some tough competition, so this is an outstanding achievement.

RATS! The Musical is drawing near. You will receive notifications of costuming, timing, ticket purchasing and the venue over the coming week. Please read through this very carefully and email if you have any questions.

Sarah Turner
Acting Leader of Learning – Music (K-6)

Kundayi Memorial Sports Round

Our annual sports day that honours the life of former student Kundayi Chiundiza is on Saturday 4 August at St Andrew’s Oval, Sydney University, with the first game kicking off at 9.30am and the final game, featuring the 1st XV, at 2.30pm.

Kundayi was a much-loved student who passed away in 2010. His enthusiasm and love of sport, music, friends, family and St Andrew’s was evident to all who knew him. His spirit of SACS Pride is honoured each year at this special day.

We encourage the whole SACS community to come long and support the blue and white.

For more than 20 years, Dr Robinson has been researching and presenting on how to be a better dad.

His early work as a cancer specialist saw him consulting many men whose one regret was not spending more time with their family and children. He saw a great need to help fathers “learn to live richly at the front end so they don’t have regrets at the back end” and to improve their work/life balance.

He established The Fathering Project at the University of Western Australia, where evidence-based research supports their vision for every child in Australia to have an effective father figure. He is the author of bestselling books Daughters and their Dads and Fathering from the Fast Lane and was recognised for his work in 2013, when named the Western Australian of the Year.

For more information on The Fathering Project, go to: http://thefatheringproject.org/about-us/overview/

Event details:

Date: Wednesday 15 August at 6pm
Venue: MC Newth Auditorium, Ground floor BBC, 51 Druit Street

Bookings are essential, please indicate your intention to attend by clicking on the link below.

Winter uniform requirements for Term 2 and Term 3

St Andrew’s Cathedral School is one of the most visible schools in NSW with students moving between buildings throughout the day, seniors visiting the Town Hall Arcade during lunch and over a thousand of our students catching public transport all over Sydney and beyond as they travel to and from school. Parents send their children to St Andrew’s because of its high standards in academic, pastoral care, co-curricular and Christian education. In turn, St Andrew’s has high expectations of students. Literature also shows that good uniform standards lead to reduced discipline problems, an increased sense of belonging and higher academic engagement and standards. It also shows pride in the school.

Winter uniform is to be worn from the beginning of Term 2, students have been reminded of our uniform standards.

Below is an outline of the topics that have been discussed:

• Hair – to be neat and tidy. Hair cuts must be conventional and unlikely to cause comment. No shaved sections, no facial hair. Girls’ hair to be completely tied back; boys’ hair to be cut above the collar and eyebrows.
• Shirts & Ties –shirts must be tucked in, top buttons done up and boys’ ties worn correctly at the neck. Shirt sleeves not to be rolled up.
• Blazers – to be worn to and from School and between buildings. (If it is very hot, I will communicate to students a variation to this rule on the day)
• Jewellery – no rings, bracelets, necklaces. Only one pair of earrings for girls - small sleepers or simple studs only. No other piercings allowed. No earrings for boys.
• Makeup – no makeup or nail polish allowed.
• Sport Uniform – students to wear SACS tracksuit/sports uniform to and from venues.
• Shoes – black leather traditional school shoes. No casual style allowed. Please see student diary for allowable styles.
• Socks – Boys must wear grey or black socks. Girls must wear white plain socks that sit above the ankle. Socklets are not allowed.
• Skirts – skirt hems should be at the knee. Skirts must not be rolled.

Please be aware that these expectations and standards remain applicable to the very last day of the school year. For those who have winter uniform requirements, please contact Mr Ralph or the Uniform Store, on 9286 9547 for a fitting time.

• Please label all new (and old) items of uniform.
• The Uniform store normal Hours of Operation are:
• Monday – Wednesday – Thursday  |  8am to 3.30pm

Wiradjuri Language Nest – Gawura and SACS parent workshop

The parent Wiradjuri workshop has started for 2018. This is an amazing opportunity to support and contribute to the revival of Indigenous languages. I am delighted to say that the program is absolutely free. The weekly workshop is on Tuesday afternoons, 3.15pm-4.15pm and is open to all Gawura/SACS parents and family members.

Please contact Mr Ralph on 0411 040 193 if you are interested in joining the group.

Uniform Store

For those who still have 2018 uniform requirements please contact the Uniform Store, on 92869547 for a fitting time. Remember that students in Kindergarten to Year 6 wear the same uniform so please label all items of uniform.

Mobile phone use

Older students, who travel to and from school on public transport and have a mobile phone, need to ensure that they are switched off during the school day and kept in school bags or handed to your child’s/children’s teacher each morning.

Health Centre

Please send in a note detailing any daily medication needs. Daily medication is to be dispensed by the School Nurse at the Sick Bay. Any medication to be dispensed by the School Nurse must be given to the nurse in its original box (containing the prescription label and your child’s name).

Absences

If your child/children are absent from school, I ask that you text or call Neal on 0439 653 334 or the Reception on 9286 9500 before 9am to notify us. The school requires a note from a parent or guardian explaining any absence from school.