Issue 4 Term II 2012

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NEWSLETTER

Headmaster’s Message Chaplain’s Message Head of Senior School Head of Junior School Issue 4 Term II, 2012

Academic • Christian • Caring

Year 6 Canberra Excursion

Mastery and Flow I was delighted to receive the following advice from the parents of Ethan Butson, Year 10, last Sunday: “Amazing news and results. Ethan has just won second place grand prize award at the world ISEF competition in the bioengineering and materials section, placing him in the top six in the world. He has won the right to have a minor planet named after him.”

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF) is the world’s largest international school age science competition and was held May 13 -18 in Pittsburgh, USA. It is the premier global science competition for students in grades 9–12. Each year more than 1,500 high school students from about 70 countries, regions, and territories display their independent research and compete for over $3 million in awards.

Ethan was eligible to attend Intel ISEF because he was named Australian Young Scientist of the Year. He actually won this event last year as well but was too young to attend the competition in the USA. Video coverage of Intel ISEF that features Ethan can be found at the following sites: Ethan receiving an award http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYSgklFzkw0 Ethan’s project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7kPWCQqnlE

Stephen Kinsella Headmaster

We are thrilled with Ethan’s achievement and look forward to his return to give a personal account of the experience.

Public acknowledgement of the achievements of our scholars, athletes, artists and musicians is always exciting and encouraging for students and staff. It affirms the excellence of our programs and the sacrifice of parents and inspires our students to use their enthusiasm and talent to achieve at the highest levels.

Shane Gould, Olympic Gold Medalist (1972) in Swimming has described what now motivates her as she continues to swim.

She seeks to achieve the ‘mastery’ of the skills of swimming and strives to achieve ‘flow’, that moment when it all comes together in the pool (some describe this as being in the zone). She says she is swimming nearly as fast now as when she was an Olympian.

When we achieve ‘flow’ in the things we do, we experience the wonderful feeling of achieving beyond what we thought possible. The excitement displayed by Ethan in the YouTube clips is wonderful to see and an example of the thrill of achieving ‘flow’. Ethan has received this award after many hours of study and experimenting over several years to achieve the ‘mastery’ of his interest and passion for Science. Such an experience is seen as normal in the field of sport but is equally applicable to other fields of endeavour such as Academic Studies and the Performing Arts.

There is a lesson here for us all. If we seek the thrill of being in the zone or ‘flow’ then we need to spend the time necessary in mastering the skill and knowledge that enables such a result.

If our goal is to win a prize at an international competition or to be selected to represent Australia at the Olympic Games then most of us will be disappointed. However, if our goal is to master the skills and knowledge of our endeavors, whatever they may be, then we can all experience the excitement that comes when we exceed our expectations.

This philosophy is expressed in our Statement of Mission and Values as: “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.”

Congratulations Ethan.

“Congratulations to everyone involved in the TIGS Great Fete last weekend. It was a great day because so many people pitched in to make it a success. As we sit back and enjoy our Butter Chicken and Sticky Date Puddings or one of the preserves from the Country Fare, we thank Sheridon Tregonning and her team for putting on such a great day”

Stephen Kinsella Headmaster

Chaplain’s Message

The Grandeur of God’s Word

During Senior School staff devotions last week Moira Jefferson shared some reflections on the grandeur of God’s Word. I found there was much that stirred the soul and asked her permission to share it with you in this week’s newsletter article. The article first appeared in the ‘Word for Today’ daily devotions.

‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.’ (Matthew 24:35) One of the first books to come off the printing press when it was invented was the Bible. And it’s still the world’s best-selling book.

An anonymous author has written: ‘It contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the fate of sinners, and the happiness of believers. It is a light to direct you, food to nourish you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveller’s road map, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s weapon, and the player’s game plan. It’s a mine of incredible wealth, and a river of genuine joy. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Christ is its grand subject, your good its design, and the glory of God its end. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be spiritually healthy. Read it slowly, frequently and prayerfully. Let it fill your memory, rule your heart, and guide your steps. It is given to you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and be remembered for ever.

It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labour, and judge those who trifle with its sacred contents. The Bible is ‘The Word of our God [which] stands forever...’ (1 Peter 1:25)

Rev James Rogers Chaplain

Most of us respect the Bible; the trouble is we don’t read it daily and put it into practice. After hearing a discussion on various translations of the Bible, one man said: ‘I prefer my mother’s translation, because she translated it into everyday life.’ Are you doing that?

These are wonderful observations about the Word of God. The concluding challenge is appropriate given the subject matter – we as a School Community and as individuals will do well to heed the call to feed on God’s life-giving word every day. Let’s encourage one another to do that.

Rev James Rogers Chaplain

Senior School

Awards

This week a number of Senior School students received Head of School Awards in recognition of achievement in Academic pursuits, Competitions, House and School representation and Community Service. For many students this Award has been hard won. It has been secured after two years of positive contribution, acknowledged not by glittering prizes but by the steady recording of ‘commitment to study’, ‘involvement in co-curricular activities,’ ‘great contribution to House, ’involvement and contribution to Year Group service activity.’ These Recognition Certificates accumulate over the years, resulting in those students who are involved and committed, but not necessarily always at the forefront, being acknowledged and rewarded for the wonderful way they contribute to our school ethos; to our heart and soul.

In the same way, after observing the great work by parents at the Fete, I wanted to acknowledge great parenting, It’s the ‘involvement’, ‘commitment’ and ‘contribution’ to the community that is so important. Being the parents of adolescents is not easy. It’s a time of growth and change for your children and it’s the accumulation of such acts by parents that contribute to an adolescent’s growth and development in positive and healthy ways, in ways that strengthen their hearts and souls.

The Harvard Parenting Project in their review of research entitled ‘Raising Teens’ http://www.hsph. harvard.edu/chc/parenting/raising.html identified the Ten Tasks of Adolescence and the Five Basics of Parenting Adolescents. I commend the document to you, if not to read in detail at least to scan through for ideas and support. Maybe you can posit a guess at the Ten Tasks of Adolescents?

Monica Watt

Deputy Headmaster and Head of Senior School

And The Five Basics of Parenting Adolescents? They are: Love and Connect; Monitor and Observe; Guide and Limit; Model and Consult; Provide and Advocate.

Working at and attending the Fete definitely ticks some of those boxes and contributes to the overall achievement of great goals. Consider yourself given a Recognition Award.

Monica Watt Deputy Headmaster and Head of Senior School

Junior School Is the fete great?

Last weekend we all had the excitement of spending a day on campus doing lots of exciting and fun things. Our fete now has a significant place in the Illawarra calendar with many people coming each year whether they are affiliated with our School or not. Personally I get to speak with many children and their parents, some who belong to TIGS and some who do not, as I am painting faces. Why do we do this? What is the purpose of this venture and is it important enough to be called great?

Of course there is the fundraising aspect of the fete, but we will hear often that this is not the core purpose of this event. The core purpose is the coming together of our TIGS community along with the wider Illawarra community to celebrate a family day together. Children get to perform, this is great as they are affirmed and encouraged and made to feel special. Parents get to socialise, which is great as we build, develop and maintain relationships with our School and outside of it.

Teachers and staff get to be involved in our families’ lives in a way not directly linked with school and the classroom enriching our relationships and understanding of each other, of course this is great. Our School gets to host visitors and to share the great facilities that we are privileged to use each day. Students get to experience the opportunity of learning in an authentic and practical Judi Nealy way by running stalls, what a great opportunity. School families get to give back or serve our Head of Junior School School community by donating their time and expertise at the fete. It is great for the children to see that their busy parents find the time to give to the School for this event showing them that they value their School and what happens here each day.

So is the fete great? Obviously a resounding yes is the answer! What a wonderful day of community and shared endeavour we host each year. Every student from the Junior School and young visitors that I saw would agree that the fete was great, in size, in connections, in opportunities and in outcome. I am looking forward to next year!

Class Awards KB KM 1C 2P 2R 3Y 4R 4W 5S 5N 6T 6W

Kavya Acharya, Alby Ferguson, Emilie Simmons Daniel Radojicic Michela Cavallarin Tatiana Suscevic Isabella Mitic Evan Glover, Sana Zafar Aiden McGoldrick Piper Kimberley-Mastalir, Chad Jenkins, Connor Harvey Maryam Simon, Austin Pallone, Hallam Roberts Emmanuela Franco, Gianluca Fierravanti Sarah Hanlon, Oscar Malouf Samuel Goodhew, Holly Kiteley

Merit Certificates Dean Borbilas Samuel Goodhew Holly Kiteley Annabel Malouf Arah Mizori Hallam Roberts Georgia Webb Xia Lian Wilson Annalise Chadrawy Isabella Mitic Kye Gosling Isabella Sandy Sana Zafar Chivonne Barrett

Canteen News FlexiSchool App

This app has been created for FlexiSchools by “Iron Tortoise” and can be bought from the iTunes store for $1.99, by searching for “FlexiSchools” or by clicking here: http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/flexischools/id514188579?mt=8 Always update your app, as new functions are always becoming available.

New Flexischools App Flexischools has now released an iPhone and iPad app!

New Menu for Term II 2012

Please click here to download the menu for Term II.

Roster Week 5 Monday 28 May Sonja Forte Julie Chiaverini

Tuesday 29 May Susan Cooper

Wednesday 30 May Zina Ainsworth Wendy Gray Spence

Thursday 31 May HELP NEEDED

Friday 1 June Melanie Smith Lauretta Bussoletti

2012 High School Mooting Competition Congratulation TIGS Mooting Team! Isaac Kim, Hugh Allison and Daniel McNamara.

Isaac, Hugh and Daniel’s team has been selected as one of two teams to represent NSW at the National Mooting Finals held at Bond University at the Gold Coast.

Congratulations on a fantastic result and we wish the team the best of luck in the next round. What a fantastic achievement.

Well done!

TIGS Charity Trivia Night It’s that time of year again, as we are fast approaching the TIGS Charity Trivia Night to be held on Friday 25 May. Please follow this link to place a booking and find details for this wonderful night. All funds raised will be contributed to the 2012 Year 12 Charity, the Friends of the Disability Trust.

Teams will be made up of eight people each, and you may come dressed according to the theme of the letter “D” if you wish. Keep in mind that there will be a prize for the best dressed table as chosen by a highly qualified panel of judges.

So for those of you who have come before, and to anyone who is yet to participate, we hope to see you there!

The 2012 TIGS School Captains Isaac Kim, Lisa Fernandez, Hugh Allison and Rosemary Davis

2013 Enrolments We would like to remind existing families that Enrolments for 2013 and beyond are now being taken, with limited positions in several Year groups available. All new students interested in attending The Illawarra Grammar School are required to complete an Application for Enrolment form.

For further information please visit the our website and click on ENROLMENTS or contact Ms Nicci Fripp on 4220 0216 or email: nfripp@tigs.nsw.edu.au

Short Term Homestay Required 28 July 2012 – 8 August 2012

Students from Shonan Koka Daigaku Fuzoku High School in Kanagawa, Japan will visit TIGS for a study tour in July this year.

Our Homestay Coordinator would like to invite TIGS families to participate in this study tour. Any families interested in providing homestay for payment are invited to contact Sally Ann Gail at the School on 42200269 or via email sgail@tigs.nsw.edu.au

The Illawarra Grammar School proudly presents

The

Boyfriend

Show Times 7.30pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 2.00pm 7.30pm

Wednesday June Thursday June Friday June Saturday June Saturday June

13 14 15 16 16

TICKETS $10

School Aged Students

$20 Adult

Tickets available for purchase online via the TIGS Website

www.tigs.nsw.edu.au

Senior School Sport Wheelchair Basketball On Monday 21 May, Year 10 as part of their Driver Education unit in PDHPE had a visit from Wheelchair Sports NSW. The program aims to raise awareness of wheelchair sport, encourage safe driving habits and create a greater understanding of people with disabilities.

Students were alerted to the high risk of driving as a new road user and the consequences of poor choices when risk taking as a teenager and young adult.

They also had the opportunity to participate in the game of Wheelchair Basketball and gain insight into the difficulty people have in everyday life dealing with disabilities.

Student Success: Congratulations to the following students on their outstanding achievements: Ross Sharpe (Year 12), Mungo Skyring (Year 11) selected in NSW CIS Open Boys Hockey Team.

Phoebe Fraser (Year 12) selected in AICES Football Team.

Bailey White (Year 9) selected in 15 Boys NSWCIS Rugby League Team.

Kieran Ackhurst (Year 10) selected in the U17 State Volleyball Team and the All Schools U16 Boys Volleyball team. Outstanding!

Year 7 and 9 Students Macquarie University Student Survey on “The Influence of Cyberbullying on Adolescent Development” Children in Years 7 and 9 will be participating in a longitudinal research project entitled “The Influence of Cyber Bullying on Adolescent Development”. The study has been approved by the Headmaster, Mr Kinsella and will be conducted at school.

Children will complete a 50 minute questionnaire at school in Term II 2012 and 2013. During the testing session, the questionnaire will be completed in a group setting and will be completely confidential. Each child who participates will be asked to answer questions about their experiences of cyber bullying, their self-efficacy to respond to cyber-bullying, and the psychological effects that cyber-bullying has on them. The Headmaster has been given a copy of the questionnaire for his approval prior to the commencement of the research.

The study will be conducted at school during school hours in a location directed by the Headmaster. If a student shows any signs of not wishing to participate, he/she can stop at any time, and can speak to the school counsellor if they wish. The Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee has stipulated the use of active consent in this project. Parents will be asked to reply to an email consent form prior to their child’s involvement in the project. Parents can withdraw their consent for their child’s participation at any time without giving a reason. Consent will also be obtained from students before they begin the questionnaire. A summary of the results of this study will be forwarded to your school.

All data gathered is strictly confidential and identified only by numerical code. The data is held in a secured area and only accessible to the project’s researchers. No participant will be identified in any publication or presentation of results. Approval to conduct the study has been granted by the Macquarie University Ethics Committee. The research is being conducted for postgraduate theses, under the supervision of Dr Kay Bussey (Associate Professor in Psychology at Macquarie University, phone 9850 8085).

The ethical aspects of this study have been approved by the Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee. If you have any complaints or reservations about any ethical aspect of your participation in this research, you may contact the Committee through the Director, Research Ethics (telephone (02) 9850 7854; email: ethics@mq.edu.au). Any complaint you make will be treated in confidence and investigated, and you will be informed of the outcome.

Holiday Study Blitz Study courses are being held at the School during the Winter school holidays for any student from Years 7 - 12.

The courses being run are: Study Skills and Strategies - Years 7 - 9 Senior Study Skills and Strategies - Years 10 - 12 Essay Skills - Years 10 - 12 Advanced Reading Skills - Years 10 - 12 Please click HERE for more information and to download your enrolment form.

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