Issue 1 Term III

follow us on

NEWSLETTER Year 3 Excursion - Chinatown

Year 6 Canberra Excursion

Headmaster’s Message Chaplain’s Message Head of Senior School Head of Junior School Issue 1 Term III, 2012

Academic • Christian • Caring

A World Class Education “Students at TIGS receive a world class education following a curriculum that represents best practice.”

It is not surprising to hear a Headmaster make a claim such as this. In fact you would be surprised if a Headmaster claimed anything less. (I am yet to hear a school leader announce that the students struggle to do well, mainly because the teachers don’t really care).

It is with great pleasure therefore that I report that TIGS has had the excellence of its teaching and learning independently recognised by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO). The Illawarra Grammar School is now an IB World School authorised to teach the Primary Years Program (PYP).

World-wide there are 3,461 IB Wold Schools with 145 located in Australia.

Each of these schools has been authorised to teach at least one IBO program. Authorisation is received after a process that usually takes a period of two years and involves IBO representatives visiting the School to assess the teaching and learning strategies used by teachers, evaluate the organisation of the curriculum, review the resources available to support teaching and learning, and understand the level of commitment of the School to ongoing improvement. Only when the School meets the standard set by the IBO does it receive the status of being declared an IB World School.

Stephen Kinsella

Headmaster The School received advice at the end of Term II that it had met the standard of the IBO and is now an IB World School. Achieving this status is not just an end in itself although to receive independent, international recognition is welcomed and affirming. IB World School status also indicates that the School is on a journey of continual improvement and is seeking to identify and implement better ways to meet the needs of students appropriate for the 21st Century. This commitment is described in our statement of Mission and Values which says, in part: “The School sets excellence as its standard when planning and evaluating its academic programs and outcomes.

Excellence is viewed as neither elitist nor exclusive and is accessible to all who aspire to be the best they can be.

The advantages of our culture of academic excellence are not just for the individual but are for the benefit of our whole School community and beyond.”

In the report to the IBO following the authorisation visit conducted by IBO staff in May this year, the authorisation team made these comments: “The visiting team would like to express appreciation to the administration and the entire staff at The Illawarra Grammar School for arranging a very professional and informative visit. We would also like to thank all support staff and significantly, the enthusiastic students who engaged the visiting team in informative dialogue about their learning.

The staffs have genuinely embraced the PYP framework and have worked individually and collectively towards developing curriculum documentation and are beginning to explore inquiry methodology. The school has provided planning and professional development time in recognition that the journey the school is undertaking involves significant paradigm shifts.

It was obvious to the visiting team that the staffs were “living the learner profile” and all members of the school‘s community recognised the changes and positive impacts the PYP is having on the school, its staff, students and families.”

Congratulations to the staff and students on achieving recognition from the IBO that what we take as the normal, everyday experience at TIGS is actually world class and best practice.

Staff are already evaluating, planning and implementing the recommendations received from the IBO as the next ‘visit’ by IBO staff is just four years away.

New Enrolments For 2013 Enrolments for 2013 are approaching capacity for the main intake years of Kindergarten and Year 7. Parents of students not already enrolled for next year should contact the Enrolments Office immediately to avoid the uncertainty of being placed on a waiting list.

Please click here to contact the Enrolments Office via email or phone Ms Nicci Fripp on 4220 0216.

Stephen Kinsella Headmaster

Chaplain’s Message

Assessment in Christian Studies

Parents of students in the Middle School (Years 7-10) will be aware there have been a few changes in Christian Studies in 2012. For one, Christian Studies now contains assessment. This has been well received by the School Community. Even so, I thought it might be good to explain the reason for this particular change.

Educators have always seen assessment as a productive learning strategy. In the case of a test, assessment allows students to consolidate knowledge such that they can begin to synthesise all of the particulars into a meaningful whole. In the case of a research paper, assessment allows students to explore in more detail material which may have only been presented in summary fashion in the classroom. In the case of a more comprehensive project, assessment allows students to draw upon a whole range of educational disciplines to forge a response to the topic at hand. In all of this, assessment tasks enable students to grow in their command of a subject such that they can start to integrate subject matter in meaningful ways.

This leads me to a critical feature of assessment in Christian Studies at TIGS. Assessment is not directed toward examining what students personally believe. At TIGS we inform students about reality from the perspective of a Christian Worldview. We do not coerce students into adopting that view for themselves, nor do we penalise them if they adopt another worldview. Assessment is not related to personal beliefs at all. What we are assessing in Christian Studies is course content.

Indeed, sometimes that content will concern worldviews other than the Christian Worldview.

Rev James Rogers Chaplain

Christian Studies touches on a whole range of disciplines from theology to philosophy to ethics and much else besides. These subject areas are content-heavy; they also have great potential to foster creative thinking. I am convinced that a thorough engagement in these disciplines is essential for the formation of an educated person. Assessment contributes to this formation.

In this sense, assessment in Christian Studies is like assessment in any other subject at TIGS. I hope this brief explanation will help you understand what was behind our shift to incorporate assessment into Christian Studies in 2012. If you would like further clarification about this issue I would be delighted to speak with you at any time.

Rev James Rogers Chaplain

Senior School

As you are probably aware we are reviewing our Years 7–10 Curriculum, in the spirit of our School’s Mission and Values, setting Academic Excellence as our standard. Not only have we been evaluating our programs, assessments, learning environment, IT strategies but we have also been looking at different models for teaching and learning and visiting other schools both here and overseas who have implemented other curriculum programs. We have been involved in extensive professional reading on current educational theories and research on 21st Century learners.

One of the most interesting aspects of recent educational research is the evidence now being provided by the latest brain imaging techniques. In ‘New Scientist’ May 5, 2012 a fascinating article entitled “My Two Minds” explored the benefits of speaking a second language. From studying bilingual children through to adults learning a language later in life the evidence seems to point to many cognitive advantages for those who use ‘the full, plump borders of the language tissue that are available’ in the brain.

Research carried out in 1960 first identified outperformance of bilinguals over monolinguals in both verbal and non-verbal tests, after controlling all other factors which might have affected performance. But it has only been recently that the reasons for this have been identified. Neural imaging has shown that there is greater neural activity in the brains of bilinguals and it seems to stem from the brain’s improved way of managing itself, its ‘executive system’. Its ability to block out irrelevant information and concentrate on the task in hand, the ability to switch between tasks without being confused and the ability to put oneself in other people’s shoes are all skills which are enhanced by learning and speaking another language.

Monica Watt

Deputy Headmaster and Head of Senior School

And why is this the case? The reason seems to be that because the languages compete for attention in the back of the brain, the brain is working-out in a sort of ‘brain training’ activity that extends the brain’s capacity and helps the brain resist the ravages of time. Late language learners also gain an advantage, though it may be less pronounced than for truly bilingual speakers. There are numerous other advantages outlined in the article and the evidence so far gathered suggests that this might just be the tip of the iceberg. Learning another language does extend and enrich the brain in significant ways; what better incentive could there be to encourage and support language learning?

Monica Watt Deputy Headmaster and Head of Senior School

Junior School The children have started back at school well with great enthusiasm for their learning. Provided this week is a brief overview of each Unit of Inquiry. Perhaps this information will be a great conversation starter at your house!

This term Elanora and Marana are focusing on the Trandisciplinary theme ‘How We Express Ourselves’. Prep is going to investigate expressing themselves through the world of stories. Both classes started their journey with the story ‘Alexanders Outing’ by Pamella Allen. This was a lovely introduction and a reminder of the wonderful excursion Prep had to Sydney last term.

The Kindergarten Unit of Inquiry is ‘How We Organise Ourselves’. Their Central Idea is ‘Many products go through a process of change before they are consumed or used’. They will be investigating the process of a variety of products as they go through in order to become consumable. Their key concepts are connection (how are things in our world connected together) and change (what are the processes of change that products undergo). They will be visiting Coles and getting a first hand look at the delivery of products to the supermarket and will have an opportunity to ask lots of questions.

Year 1 is looking at ‘How We Organise Ourselves’. Students are developing social skills as they cooperate together in groups and research skills as they formulate questions and collect and Head of Junior School summarise information. Concepts of responsibility and connection drive inquiry into community organisations that help people, how different people in organisations have different roles and how different organisations work together. We’re having a big bang up day where people from different groups (Police, Ambulance, SES, Surf Lifesaving Association etc.) are interviewed by groups of children. They are also visiting the UOW to find out how universities and hospitals work.

Judi Nealy

Year 2 are looking at ‘Sharing the Planet’. They are inquiring about where water comes from and where it goes with the help of their knowledge of the water cycle. They conduct some experiments to develop their understanding of terms such as evaporation, condensation and precipitation. The students will be working in groups to make a terrarium which will provide us with an example of the water cycle in action. They will be investigating the importance of water to all living things and focusing on action that they can engage in as responsible users of this very important resource. An exciting part of their unit is a visit to Warragamba Dam. Year 3 unit is ‘How The World Works’. They look at our universe, what’s in the Solar System and how does it all work together (function). They look at the many ways the Solar System impacts on earth on a daily basis (causation). Students are note taking throughout so they can write a mega awesome report about the Solar System that you’re going to read!

Year 4 is sharing the planet by unpacking the central idea: ‘The Universe Supports Life Forms.’ The conceptual learning the children are presently engaged in follows lines of inquiry that develop a global understanding of responsibility and connection. The children’s research component will enable them to fine tune their time-management, planning, questioning and presentation skills. During this unit of inquiry, the children will learn how to justify their own judgments and as a result, become independent, knowledgeable and balanced learners.

Year 5 are looking at ‘Where we are in Place and Time’. We are going to examine Australian history and our own personal histories to understand more fully how each individual and the society he/she lives in is shaped and formed. They will look through the lens of causation to appreciate that actions have consequences and also appreciate that perspective is different depending on experience and understanding. A very exciting part of this Unit is heading out to Bathurst to learn about life on the gold fields. Their action is working towards understanding what each student in Year 5 stands for.

Under the transdisciplinary theme ‘How The World Works’, Year 6 are currently involved in Murder under the Microscope 2012.

Working in class teams, students collaborate and piece clues together in order to solve an online environmental crime. Clues are released each day and draw the students closer to finding a victim, villan and crime site. Understanding cause and effect relationships (causation) and that humans are responsible for the impact they have on their environment (responsibility), are the keys to success in this educational challenge. Let the games begin!

Merit Certificates

Grace Summerill Ruby Tilden Nicholas Chiaverini Jonty Swainson Alexia Zafiriou Mila Lancaster Michael Marzono Chealsie Hynds Alexander Vartazarian Isaac Saffoury Max Sanzone (Academic and Personal Presentation) Zacariah Ellevsen Lachlon Boardman Taj Quaken Thomas Saffoury Lana Atkinson Sophie McGuire

Weekly Awards KB

Jude De Araujo, Aiden Da Deppo, Emilie Simmons, Cohen Sawyer, Laila Kumar

KD

Alexander Vartazarian, Bhaavya Gupta, Inaaya Kermali

1M

Oscar Ryan

2P

Chealsie Hynds, Isaac Saffoury

3Y

Christina Bock, Jayson Cooper, Lina Lee, Ajay Rindani

4R

Mohammad Saqib, Mila Lancaster

5N

Alysha De Ruyter, Taj Quaken, Kye Gosling, Breanna Saad, Kaitlin Garbo

5R

Constantinos Kyriacou, Corey Read, Thomas Hobeika

6T

Aiden Wingate, Caleb Grace, Daniel Dragutinovich

6W

Ashley Dribbus

Junior School Sport Junior School Athletics Carnival The first day of term was a physically challenging one for our Year 3 to 6 students with our annual carnival at Beaton Park. Everyone was healthy and rested after a good holiday and enthusiastic in all their events. Thank you to our Year 10 Sport Studies class for their capable assistance in running events.

Age Champions

12 Years 1.

Rubey Williams and Zara Winter 1.

Alex Santos 2.

Lachlan Phillpott

Male • Harrison Webb, Harrison Kiteley, Zane Taylor and Jude McCann 12th in the Skier X & 8th in the Skier X and 8th in the Alpine

House Champions – KOGARA

•

The NASSA team will be posted on the notice board next week.

Years 5 and 6 Female • Georgia Webb, Mika Bliokas and Ashleigh Mill 6th in the Skier X and 5th in the Alpine, Eyrnne Stone and Holly Kiteley - 11th in the Skier X Georgia and Mika – 5th in the Moguls

Snowsports

8 Years 1.

Olivia Barber 2.

Bodie Hemsley- Oades 9 Years 1.

1.

2.

3.

Male • Ethan Jackson, Aaron Doherty and Mackenzie Smith - 6th in the Skier X and 8th in the Alpine, Ethan and Aaron – 2nd in the Moguls

Annie McLearie Thomas Peden Selene Chadrawy Robert McGrath

10 Years 1.

Zoe Dribbus 1.

Aaron Ylias 2.

Annalise Chadrawy 2.

Joseph Druett 11 Years 1.

Ashley Dribbus 1.

Austin Pallone 2.

Taylah Pather 2.

Michael Kyriakoudes

Harrison Webb – 15th in the Moguls

During the July School Holidays 23 students from Year 1 through to Year 12 competed in the Northern NSW Regional Snowsports Championships.

The results were:

Congratulations to all competitors and good luck to those invited to compete at the State Snowsports Championships in August.

They are Georgia Webb (Year 5), Holly Kiteley, Mika Bliokas, Ashleigh Mill, Ethan Jackson, Aaron Doherty (Year 6)

Year 4 and below: Female • Charlotte Tregonning, Soraya McCann and Mia Stone - 11th in the Skier X and 6th in the Alpine

The Works 2012 TIGS are calling all artists and friends of the TIGS community.

The extended TIGS community is invited to participate in ‘The Works 2012’ by submitting Artworks, Film, Design, Furniture, Photography, Sculpture, and Ceramics.

Submissions close Monday 6 August 2012. Please contact grammarians@ tigs.nsw.edu.au for an entry form or more information. This is a great opportunity to exhibit with our 2012 HSC students on Friday 24th August 7.00pm to 9.00pm and Saturday 25 August 10.00am to 4.00pm in the IGC. Come and enjoy ‘The Works Café’ 11.00am to 2.00pm Saturday 25 August whilst viewing.

Invitation

‘The Works’ Exhibition 2012

An inspiring exhibition of the collaboration and artistic endeavours of our HSC students, current and past teachers, students, parents and friends of TIGS. A major fundraiser for TIGS Foundation Scholarships.

Friday 24 August 2012 6.00pm - 7.00pm 7.00pm - 9.00pm

The Works 2012 VIP Preview Official Opening

Saturday 25 August 2012 10.00am - 4.00pm

Senior School Sport Let the Games Begin

Good luck to Jarrod Poort (Year 12) and David McKeon (alumni 2010) at the London Olympics!

If you would like to send the boys a hero message, go to: http://heromessage. telstra.com/olympics The TIGS Community wishes them all the best.

Student Success:

Volleyball - Congratulations to Kieran Ackhurst (Year 10) who was selected in the NSW U/17 Volleyball Team.

Hockey - Congratulations to Ross Sharpe (Year 12) who was selected in the NSW All Schools Open Boys Hockey Merit Team.

Gymnastics - Congratulations to Aydin Serefli (Year 7) who has recently been competing in the Grand Prix Gymnastics series and Country Championships with excellent results.

Elizabeth Martin (Year 7) 9th Siobhan Butler (Year 12) 10th Phoebe Fraser (Year 12) 4th Alexander Seal (Year 10) 3rd Caleb Stamper (Year 9) 2nd All Schools Cross County On Friday 20 July five of our TIGS students competed at the All Schools Cross Country at Eastern Creek. To make this level the top 10 of their age group at school, NASSA, AICES and CIS Cross Country events.

There results were exceptional: Elizabeth Martin (13 years) 38th Caleb Stamper (15 years) 10th Alexander Seal (16 years) 2nd Siobhan Butler (17 years) 12th Phoebe Fraser (18 years) 19th Alexander Seal has run his way into the NSW All Schools Team to compete at the National Championships, to be held in Adelaide in August.

Grand prix 1 (Level 5) - first overall Grand prix 2 (Level 5) - first overall Country Competition - Placed first on every apparatus and came first overall.

Aydin has been chosen to travel to Shanghai in October and train with the Chinese Gymnastics team.

Cross Country Results CIS Cross Country Over 20 students represented TIGS at the CIS Cross Country held at Eastern Creek at the end of last term. Our School team excelled performing well against all CIS Schools.

Alexander backed up this exceptional result by winning the U/16 section of the Sutherland to Surf on Sunday. Well done! Congratulations to all of these students.

14 year Boys Team - 3rd Place Matthew Galanti Zac McLaren Angus Pryde Adam Galanti

Regional Ski Results

These results demonstrated great depth in our school teams. Congratulations to these runners!

Individually we had 5 students selected in the NSWCIS Cross Country team to compete at the NSW All Schools Cross Country. These students placed in the top 10 in their age group to be selected in this team.

Female : Tahlia Jackson and Charli Morelli- 4th in the Skier X. Tahlia - 5th in the Alpine Male: Samuel Isabella, Bryce Prior and Simon Mill - 10th in the Skier X. Year 11 and 12 Male: Jack Millar, Lachlan Prior & Simon Bussoletti - 5th in the Skier X and 7th in the Alpine. Jack finished 3rd in the Skier X and 1st in the Alpine Congratulations to all competitors and Good Luck to those invited to compete at the State Snowsports Championships in August. They are: Charli Morelli (Year 7), Tahlia Jackson (Year 9), Lachlan Prior & Simon Bussoletti (Year 11), Jack Millar (Year 12)

AICES Netball Cup

On Thursday 19 July, our Opens Girls Netball Team travelled to Hills Stadium, Castle Hill to participate in the first ever annual AICES Netball Cup. Our team, although relatively young, held their own against some very tough and experienced competition. The day started off well with a 34-23 win against Arden Anglican College, followed by a closer game against Hills Grammar School where we came away with a second win 39-30. Our third game against Kinross Wolaroi was extremely hard against a very experienced side who won 39-14. A closer fourth game saw us coming within 3 points of William Clarke College before they gained momentum in the second half to win 3926. Hunter Valley Grammar School was unforgiving in the final game using their experience and physical domination to take out a 45-14 win.

Congratulations to the following players who represented out school: Jacqui Connor, Mackenzie Roberts, Elizabeth Dominis, Kristen Chadrawy, Alexandra Lavalle, Georgia Roberts, Ruby Pallone, Zoe Wulff, Cassandra Wallace, Breanna Anastas

16 year Boys Team - 1st Place Alexander Seal Hamish Paine Angus Cochrane Robert Gyngell 18 year Girls Team - 3rd Place Phoebe Fraser Emma Ramsey Tessa McMillan Timia Osman

Year 9 and 10

CIS Football Cup Boys

TIGS vs William Clarke College

During the July School Holidays 23 students from Year 1 through to Year 12 competed in the Northern NSW Regional Snowsports Championships.

The results were: Year 7 and 8 Female: Alpine

Charli Morelli - 11th in the

On Friday 20 July the TIGS Open Boys Football team travelled to Kellyville to play William Clarke College for the CIS Football Cup. Having not played together before, the TIGS team was a little rusty for the first 10 minutes and was lucky not to concede an early goal.

Things turned around shortly after, however, when Mitchell Neilson scored a great goal from at least thirty metres out from the goal. Soon after that, TIGS scored again after Steven Hristovski headed in a perfect corner from Luke Bussoletti, 2-0 to TIGS.

William Clarke managed to peg one goal back before half time after a break away play leaving the score 2-1 at half time.

a valiant effort from the TIGS girls and they can all be very proud of the way that they represented the School.

The score remained 2-1 for the rest of the game as TIGS weathered a barrage of attacking play from the opposition with some strong defence, lead by Samuel Chapple.

Bill Turner Cup

TIGS now go on to play Newington College in the next round on Tuesday 31 July. Good luck!

Open Boys and Girls State Futsal

The U15 Boys Bill Turner Cup was played last Friday at Macedonia Park, Berkeley. It was the School’s first home game as we entered into round 4 and took on Warilla High School. It was a tough game with Warilla almost scoring in the opening 10 seconds. With only 15 minutes to go the scores were locked at 1-1, thanks to a goal scored by Zac McLaren. TIGS broke the deadlock with a great header by Matthew Galanti and sealed the game 10 minutes later with a powerful strike by Kyle Del. A great win that puts us into the final against Holy Spirit.

Illawarra Academy of Sport 2013 Athletics Scholarships

Applications are now being accepted for the following sports: Hockey, Netball and Rugby Union.

Championships

On Monday 23 July fourteen boys and girls travelled to Penrith to represent TIGS at the Open Boys and Girls State Futsal Championships. Amongst high quality opposition, both teams played tremendously and represented the School well.

For program and scholarship information and to apply, visit www.illawarraacademy.org.au and complete online forms. 2012 Scholarship applications close Friday 16 August 2012.

Athletics Age Champions

Please click here to get a list of this years age champions.

The boys team were in a very tough pool and were also missing some key Year 12 players due to study commitments.

They played well, but were unable to win any of their pool matches.

AAP Annual Conference TIGS students get philosophical at the AAP Annual Conference On the 3 July a group of TIGS students had their first contact with Academic Philosophy…. And survived! Brad Savage, Chris Haris, Ali Sawan, Chloe Kuiper, Dom McClernonO’Donnell, Cameron McMillan of Year 8 and Florencia Di Martino and Ben Woodard of Year 7 accepted the invitation to participate in The Australasian Association of Philosophers Annual Conference at Wollongong University.

They participated in a workshop demonstrating the techniques of The Community of Enquiry, a discussion system based on Socratic questioning to investigate an idea or issue raised in a text. The workshop was attended by some leading academic philosophers from around the world and the students acquitted themselves exceptionally well in the discussion. They drew very favourable comments from the academics in regards to their intelligent contributions to the discussion and to their impeccable behaviour. They were a credit to themselves, their families and the School.

Several parents participated in the discussion session which took place after the workshop and they had an opportunity to make some valuable contributions to the day. See below image.

The girls team started the day with a very close game, with the lead changing a number of times. They were just beaten 5-3 at the end. In their next two pool games the girls were dominant over their opposition, winning 3-2 and 6-0.

The girls then qualified to play in the quarter-finals against Bossley Park High School, who had not conceded a goal all day. TIGS played extremely well and although they were able to score one goal, they conceded four, leaving the final score at 4-1 to Bossley Park. It was

Canteen News Thank you

Thank you to all the families that have joined Flexi Schools. This is a wonderful system for both families and the Canteen, if you have not already joined please go to www.flexischools.com.au and have a look.

Roster Week 3 Term III Monday 30 July Sandra Knight

Tuesday 31 July Help Needed

Wednesday 1 August Help Needed

Thursday 2 August Help Needed

Friday 3 August Melanie Smith Lauretta Bussoletti

) e details r o m r o ef (click her 012 August 2 4 y a d Satur

Ball il d o f f a D

ing n e v E a m • HSC 6DArugaust 2012

Day g in n r a e ional L s s e f o r Day/P e e r F il p • Pu 20 August 2012 Monday nival r a C s ic t Athle l o o h c S r Seniost 2012 • NASsSdA gu ay 22 Au

Monday

Wedne

012 2 - Official Opening 2 s k r o • TheFrWiday 24 August 2a0y 125 August 2012 d 7.00pm pm Satur 0 .0 4 10.00am