Music Music Camp

It was with glad hearts that staff and students of Barker’s ensemble program were able to descend on the idyllic surroundings of the Tops Conference Centre, overlooking the ocean from atop the Illawarra Escarpment.

The first two days were given over to choir camp, and after nine months of enforced silence the 137 singers were especially grateful to meet outside under canvas awnings, able to sing together once again. Two days of glorious rehearsal were enough to reignite the passion for chorus singing, and we had the added bonus of a visit and workshop with Hollywood film composer Ken Lampl, who is writing a work for our choirs. With a mix of fresh repertoire and unperformed favourites from 2020, Senior Choir were able to welcome new Year 10 students into our singing culture. Middle School Choir meanwhile continues to grow in size and quality as it reaches the point of two thirds coeducational. By day two the additional 241 instrumentalists had arrived, the singers went to activities, and orchestras and bands were in full swing. Visitors were not allowed onto the site, but a fly on the wall would have been overwhelmed by the listening choices on offer. The enthusiasm of Middle School ensembles was positively infectious (in a good way), whilst Senior students were back to their best in no time at all. As an ensemble director it is a joy to get quality time with an ensemble that is finding enjoyment in hard work and achievement. Music Camp of course is not all work. The usual student concerts allowed students from all years the opportunity to perform, to the acclaim of the entire camp. Trivia night is a highlight, ably organised by the Music Captains once again, and a particular favourite was guessing the teacher from their baby photograph. Activities as diverse as kart racing, leap of faith, survivor, giant swing, high ropes, archery and the ever-popular private study focused the mind and the body on a searing day. There was no time for tiredness. We’re always very aware that for a significant number of students, Music Camp is their first ever Barker experience. It’s always heartening to see new students grow into their first days at Barker, and we are honoured to have that part to play in their journey. It is our hope that 2021 allows them to demonstrate to the wider Barker Community their immeasurable talents. We look forward to seeing you at a Barker event soon.

Peter Ellis Director of Choral Programs

Barker College has been invited to partner with the NSW Association of Independent Schools to participate in the Compass: Navigating Whole School Wellbeing project over the next 12-18 months.

This is an exciting initiative and Barker joins 12 other schools in the project, including SHORE, Abbotsleigh, Blue Mountains Grammar School, Kinross Wolaroi and Macquarie Anglican. The Compass: Navigating Whole-School Wellbeing initiative will support Barker to identify and implement evidence-based, whole-school, proactive wellbeing approaches that foster safe, supportive and respectful environments so that wellbeing outcomes are enhanced for students now and in the future (AIS 2020). The main outcome of the project is to seek input from the whole Barker Community to develop a bespoke wellbeing framework for Barker that will sustain the School and its students well into the future. This is an exciting initiative for Barker, especially as the School moves to become a fully coeducational school by 2022. The outcomes of the Compass project are outlined in the diagram below. An integral part of the project is to hear from stakeholders across the Barker community, including parents, students and staff. Focus groups and interviews will commence in Term 1. The Compass project team consists of senior executive and other senior members of staff. All Barker staff will be involved in the development of any new wellbeing frameworks that emerge from this important piece of work. For more details about the Compass project visit the AIS Compass page where you will be able to view a short film clip and access other information about Compass.

Rowena Dudgeon Director of Wellbeing

A clearly articulated wellbeing vision, approach and framework that is unique to your school’s community and can be celebrated and showcased Improved access to evidence-based wellbeing resources for sta , students and families

Increased capacity to develop and lead a strengthened whole-school approach to wellbeing

Developed a stronger understanding and support of wellbeing protective factors across your school community

Embedded processes for review and evaluation to ensure ongoing relevance and sustainability Established supportive relationships with AISNSW wellbeing consultants and other independent schools

Graph from www.aisnsw.edu.au/teachers-and-staff/supporting-students/compass-navigating-whole-school-wellbeing

In 2019-2020 Matthew Dunstan and Andrew Mallam taught the Mathematics Extension 2 course to a combined candidature of 36 students at Barker.

Photo two finalists in the Integration Bee, Kai Wong and Myles Fowlds, between the diabolical quizmasters, Declan and Rhys.

64% of the candidature gained the top performance band in Extension 1 and 50% gained the top band in Extension 2 which was a very pleasing outcome. Matthew Dunstan recalls: “Over the last two years, I have been blessed with a wonderful senior class for which I am so thankful. To finish teaching my final Year 12 class on such a happy and fulfilling note will stay with me for the rest of my days.” One of the central themes of the Mathematics Extension 2 course is integral calculus. Both Declan Zammit and Rhys Macintosh excelled in the art and science of integration. In their search for knowledge they went well above and beyond the syllabus. Their efforts culminated in them putting the rest of the class to the test in an Integration Bee during their very last lesson prior to the HSC. A spirit of enquiry was certainly a characteristic of the 2020 Barker Extension 2 students and undoubtedly contributed to their success in the HSC. Not surprisingly, both Declan and Rhys did brilliantly in both the Extension 1 and Extension 2 HSC Mathematics exams with Declan coming 9th in the state in Extension 1 and 10th in the state in Extension 2.

Allison Davis Assistant Coordinator Mathematics and Mathematics Teacher

The weekend is a program that has been running at Barker for more than 40 years and is designed as an opportunity for our incoming Year 10 cohort to meet one another, to learn more about Barker and to introduce them to some of the staff members who will be assisting them in their Senior School journey. Joining our Year 10 students were an outstanding team of Year 11 and 12 student leaders who committed to planning, preparing and running the events across the weekend. The leadership of this fantastic team of students allowed for the weekend to run smoothly, for students to be welcomed enthusiastically and provided a space for the Year 10 cohort to ask questions of their peers. This year, the Chaplaincy department also welcomed three incredible staff members, Mitch Derbyshire, Sarah Speechley and Joanna Yuen, who willingly and enthusiastically joined the team of Barker staff members at Galston. Whilst it is a busy way to end the first week of term the staff and students that attended the Senior Weekend Away responded to the weekend with positivity and excitement. For the first time, the camp was run on two separate days, allowing for the greatest number of students to attend the Senior Weekend Away in Barker history. Despite the overcast and rainy weather, students loved participating in the ‘Paint War’, scavenger hunt and ‘Get-To-Know-You’ groups that occurred between welcome sessions, talks from our chaplains and Barker College Trivia. The Chaplaincy department hope and pray the Senior Weekend Away provided students with the opportunity to develop new friendships, a greater understanding of the Barker community and instilled in them a willingness to explore perspectives on faith.

Caitlin Rossler Christian Studies Teacher

Staff members Sally Filtness and Erin Foster have recently assisted over 100 Bronze Awardees, with many eager to continue with their Award plans. Lisa Jellis and Mark Fitzgerald support our Senior students and were delighted by the way our participants were able to continue throughout 2020. Late last year our Silver program traversed the famous canyons of the Wollemi National Park, and our Gold participants completed a challenging Adventurous Project – both memorable and inspiring programs delivered by The Grange team. Finally, our congratulations and warmest farewell to all our Year 12 recipients of the Gold Award in 2020. We know our paths will cross again.

Graeme Dawes Grange Teacher & Duke of Edinburgh Award Coordinator “We have all had our ups and downs, but through 2020 we have become so much closer with everyone. When you need support the most, you realise who is there for you and who really cares about you. Even in these uncertain times I continued The Award, although at times I did start to doubt myself. The students that I volunteer with really helped me. Their smiles, laughter and positivity really pushed me. It made me realise how important they were to me and reminded me why I chose to volunteer through Dukes in the first place.”

Sena Kobayashi Year 11 Silver Participant

The Duke of Edinburgh Award with Barker is designed to take participants out of their comfort zone. It allows students to explore their full potential and find their place in the world regardless of location or circumstance. Thanks to the resourcefulness of Dukes staff, equally challenging and inspiring journeys were designed and delivered in 2020. Our Adventurous Project used The Grange as our base and the Blue Mountains provided plentiful memorable experiences worthy of Gold level. At the end of an amazing week, we came together as a group, challenged our thinking, and conquered our fears - including my own; abseiling down a waterfall.

Juliet Iraninejad Year 12 Gold Participant

For our lucky Year 7 students that meant a quick trip up to the lofty Blue Mountains for their very first Grange experience. Ensuring each and every student experienced their expedition into the wilderness, all 16 House groups visited in just four weeks and the outdoor education team did not fail to deliver. Our students achieved both a night in bunk beds in Lord Piddington’s fabulous old historic residence ‘The Grange’, and a night under canvas in their very own Barker tent at the Cathedral of Ferns campsite, Mt Wilson. Each House group hiked the majestic Grand Canyon circuit under waterfalls and through narrow gorges looking for freshwater yabbies, spying the shy water dragons and learning to read a map. They trekked the edges of the Wollangambe Wilderness in the footsteps of the Waradjuri ancestors practising their compass skills and learning about each other and the natural environment around them. A particular flower of beauty, the Waratah, grows only on the sandstone plateau in and around the Sydney region. The Latin name for the Waratah, Telopea Speciosissima means ‘seen from a distance‘. They are an uncommon yet strikingly beautiful sight in the Blue Mountains bush. The Waratah, or ‘warada’ as it's spoken in Darug language and meaning beautiful, symbolises a strong, powerful and unique young woman in various Indigenous stories where an elder has turned his daughter into a beautiful vibrantly red Waratah to protect her from the men in neighbouring clans. It then takes a particular strong and intelligent, honourable young man to impress the elder and be allowed to steal the young woman away for himself.

In Gulpilil’s dreamtime stories, a female wonga pigeon flew above the tree canopy looking for her lost mate. She was attacked by a hawk but broke free, tearing her breast. She landed on a white Waratah and her flowing blood stained it red. As she flew from flower to flower, the blood from the wounds drenched all the flowers red. In honour of the Waratah, some 240 endemic seeds were collected by Grange staff in collaboration with Blue Mountains Conservation Society and grown meticulously for 12 months in a native plant nursery before being delivered to The Grange for further nurturing. The bushfires of 2020 saw our trays of 240 Waratahs rehomed several times as fires threatened The Grange property and the homes of the staff that work there. Finally, the little plants were ready for our Year 7 cohort to take ownership and together each House group planted their very own patch of Waratahs around The Grange. The Waratah Walk was born! Our students engaged in the warada story and carefully prised each tube stock out of its pot and planted it in the ground. Protecting them from the busybody lyrebirds with a ring of stakes and piling up some native mulch to keep in the moisture over summer, our students did us proud. It may take seven years for one Waratah to flower, but our students can return each year and visit their patch. The striking beauty of this fabulous flower in the bush and the gardens around The Grange will bring joy to many in the coming decades. When the thunderstorms played nicely and gave some respite, many groups were able to take part in some important frog research. The multi award winning “FROG ID” app released by Australian Museum two years ago, identified the Grange property as an important recording site for their research and asked staff to endeavour to capture recordings. What fun many students had in the dark traipsing down to the dam, crouching quietly, and listening and recording the multiple species croaking and chorusing in the edges of the reedy banks. We thank Year 7 of 2020 for their happy dispositions and joyful dedication on camp.

Liz Charlton and Scott Manwaring Co-directors of The Grange

In recent years at Barker we have had the privilege of seeing many students who study Agriculture at School decide to go on and pursue it further through tertiary studies.

The last few years have regularly seen around 30% of our Year 12 Agriculture cohort progress to related university degrees, which has numbered around 20-25 students from Barker undertaking further study in the industry annually. After university, they are pursuing diverse careers, occasionally on-farm but mostly off-farm somewhere along the supply chain. This includes working in robotics, agronomy, management consultancy, product development, veterinary practice, national and international policy development and more. Here are some of the stories of a couple of our former students who are now pursuing careers within the agriculture sector.

Scott Graham Head of Agriculture

What made you decide to choose Ag at School? I came from a school that didn’t offer subjects like Agriculture, so I was really intrigued when I saw it on the subject list in Year 10. I decided to choose it because I knew it was a great subject for field trips and hands-on experiences, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to have fun and make friends. What are your memories of Ag at Barker? There are plenty of great memories from the three years I did Ag at Barker. Ag camps were always the highlight of my year and I remember the food would always be amazing. Learning how to tip a sheep at the Ag plot at School was also an awesome experience, as well as the great BBQs we would have during some Agriculture lessons.

What degree did you do and where? I completed a Bachelor of Food and Agribusiness at the University of Sydney. What is your current role and what does it involve day-to-day/what interesting things have you done/ been involved in? I now have a role at Coles in their 2021 Graduate Program and I have relocated to Melbourne. I work in the Own Brand team as a product technologist. There are plenty of cool things I get to do on a day-to-day basis, one of these is sensory panel with the chefs at Coles, where product developers bring in their new products and we taste them and give feedback. Important parts of my role include responsible sourcing, food safety standards, maintenance and upkeep of the quality of Coles Own Brand products, visiting suppliers and manufacturers and much more. I've only recently started and I've already learnt so much! I’ve also spent some time getting exposure in Coles supermarkets, my favourite part of this has been helping out in the bakery making choc chip cookies and hot cross buns all day! Where do you see yourself heading in the future? I would love to work my way up to management roles at Coles, overseeing different product lines and categories. I also see myself doing more research at some point. During my degree I did my honours thesis on the nutritional properties and flour quality of Indigenous grains for use in food products. I definitely think there is a lot more important research that needs to be done in this area and would love to be a part of that in the future. What do you wish you’d known about a career in Ag while at school? I think the most important thing to know looking back is that Agriculture opens career opportunities all the way through the paddock to plate supply chain, not just farm based roles. I was always a bit worried about starting an Agriculture degree that I might have to end up rural to find a job, but now I work in retail at the complete other end of the supply chain in an urban hub, and I absolutely love my job!

What made you decide to choose Ag at school? I chose Ag at Barker as it covered a variety of topics and had a very practical focus. Ag and perhaps Geography and Biology were the subjects at Barker that covered scientific and commercial aspects of the environment and our communities. What are your memories of Ag at Barker? Ag Camp was certainly a highlight of my time at Barker. We got to apply all our learnings in the field. For me, this was the best form of education. What degree did you do and where? I studied a Bachelor of Food Science and Agribusiness at USYD. What is your current role and what does it involve day-to-day/what interesting things have you done/ been involved in? My current role is business development at Foods Connected, a consulting and software company in the food industry. This involves talking to prospective and current customers about the issues they are dealing with in their food business and designing solutions to help them grow. Where do you see yourself heading in the future? I would love to continue my studies, but I don’t know where…. The beauty of studying Agriculture is the diverse places it will take you and the breadth of things you’ll learn. What do you wish you’d known about a career in Ag while at school? I was very fortunate to have been given some very useful advice when I was at Barker. I was told that a career in Ag would mean that I will be doing jobs that didn’t exist at the time. Studying Ag and a career in Ag is the opposite of bottle-neck, there are so many opportunities.