Issue 5 term iii 2013

NEWSLETTER

Ms Annie Bourke, Winner of the Westpac TIGS Acquisitive Art Prize 2013 with Mr John Dryden (left) and James Dickinson (right) from Westpac Regional Commercial Banking

Academic • Christian • Caring

Issue 5 Term III 2013

A Prep to 12 School A benefit of working in a Prep to 12 school is that we can readily identify the various stages of growing up that our children pass through. This perspective is not always available to parents who are consumed by the immediate challenges their children present.

One of the pleasures of walking down the hill to the Junior School is to stop off at the Kindergarten play lawn and talk to the children. Talk is probably not the right description as they tend to talk at me rather than with me. “I’ve lost a tooth”, “This is my friend X”, “Do you know my brother?”, “My Mum is having a baby” … I never know what to expect and sometimes have no idea what to say in reply. At age five, life is full of wonder and excitement lived at full volume.

Just 40 metres further and I have to run the gauntlet of Year 6 playing handball.

The annual Headmaster’s Handball Challenge against Year 6 is approaching and I am already being subjected to grandiose statements and even sledging about the pending outcome.

Stephen Kinsella Headmaster

Last Friday evening ‘The Works’, an annual presentation of major works prepared for the HSC by Year 12 was held in the IGC. Our year 10 Student Hosts were present, serving canapés to the many guest attending the official opening. Serving as a student host is one of the many opportunities for students to learn and demonstrate leadership and service to the School community. It is hard to believe that these mature young men and women were once running around the kindergarten playground or daring to challenge the Headmaster in handball.

The quality of the Year 12 Major Works were outstanding. Furniture Design, Sculpture, Drawing, Painting, Film, Industrial Design, Printmaking, Photography, Digital Media, Multimedia, Installation, Animation, Web Design, Game Design were on display and those that attended the exhibition were impressed by the talent and maturity of the exhibitors.

The learning on display was just as intriguing as the works themselves with the students given the freedom to explore themes that had captured their interest. The themes they chose included: HSC Stress, Body Image, Beauty, The relationship between genius and insanity, Light, The relationship between man and machine, Cultural Heritage, Nature, Dreams and the sub-conscious, Social media, being a twin, Film noir, Family, Sport, The Twin Towers, Anthropomorphism, Gaming, Tradition and time. The freedom to learn and express their learning using media of their choice showed our students at their best – I doubt whether an essay written on the same topics would have been as impressive.

Last Saturday the School played host to former students of TIGS holding reunions. Grammarians from 2003, 1993 and a large group from 1983 met and marvelled at the changes to the campus. Hair loss and weight gain/ redistribution aside, they had a great time reliving the stories of their time at TIGS and catching up on where life has taken them after the HSC. I met a lawyer, the owner of a video production company, a marketing manager, two teachers, a Minister of Religion and an aged care worker. None of these career pathways were identifiable when they were students at TIGS. A wise educator once told me that he never judges the outcome of a student’s education until they are 40.

The Book of Proverbs provides additional helpful advice: “Point your kids in the right direction—

when they’re old they won’t be lost.” (Proverbs 22:6)

Note that the Proverb does not discount the possibility of unwanted lapses along the way.

The values taught in partnership by parents and teachers through a TIGS education serve our students well in their adult lives. We should take the long view when dealing with the challenges our children present as they grow.

Stephen Kinsella Headmaster

A Courageous Life Last Monday night I attended the first Agora forum at Inaburra Christian School. Agora is an initiative of the Anglican Education Commission. Gillian Davis, a gifted speaker who works for the Anglican Education Commission and Audine Evans, one of our able School Counsellors, spoke to the current popular topic of happiness.

Gillian brought a Biblical perspective to bear on the philosophy of happiness. In its narrowest definition - Happiness as feeling good - the philosophy deprives our children of the full human experience of the broad range of emotions. There is pressure on today’s child to equate being unhappy with failure. However, Gillian pointed out real life doesn’t just involve pleasant feelings for ourselves and satisfying superficial longings. Real life - Flourishing as a human being - is one that also serves others and serves God. Our aim isn’t just being happy, but finding joy in God, and therefore life. As Christian educators we want to encourage students to pursue this sort of courageous life that is worth living. This is a life that sees beyond the material to the God who is the source of all blessings and finds our longings met in him.

Audine brought some statistics about children in the Illawarra who have many struggles that they are facing in their personal lives. Many will find it hard to switch these problems off as they sit in our classrooms. She encouraged us to see our role as educators as being to help children become functional adults. To do this we need to help students be more like Christ. While a child’s idea of God’s character will be firstly informed by the child’s parents, the next most fundamental relationship is with the classroom teacher. Our goals for education must be informed by care for our students who will learn better when they are accepted by their teachers for who they are.

As I listened to the speakers and the experiences of some teachers from another school, I was struck by the real privilege it is to help students work through difficult situations and the emotional struggles that go with it. To sit alongside a young adult struggling is very painful. And yet it is beautiful to see a child come through the struggle with such emotions just a bit more resilient than they were before the experience.

We can take encouragement from Jesus who experienced the range of human emotions. He understands what we go through. The Bible describes Jesus’ human experience in Hebrews 4:14-16, and calls us to take heart; “14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Ms Kathryn Stanton English and Christian Studies Teacher

Senior School

Adolescence ………continued Last week I overviewed the concept of Adolescence, outlining the planning that we are doing at school to develop strong, targeted programs in order to help build strong and resilient adults.

I also outlined the changes experienced by teens in the first stage of adolescence and this week my focus is on Middle Adolescence, which usually occurs between Years 9 and 12.

This is an intense time of change in the core development of the brain, something about which we are learning more and more in these days of incredible imaging techniques. As the brain is growing and developing there are changes in the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain, affecting moods and impulsivity. Powerful neural development is enriching the connections between the hemispheres and between the back and later-maturing frontal cortex of the brain. And in the midst of all this, hormone changes are occurring. Sleep, exercise and good nutrition are foundational in ensuring the best environment for healthy growth. And remember Michael Carr-Gregg’s advice: 9 – 10 hours of sleep is needed per night.

Michael Grose http://www.parentingideas.com.au/Home defines this as “a tricky stage all round. Boys take more risks and girls can be downright cruel to each other in times when social success is far more important than academic success.” Your children are exploring their Deputy Headmaster and concept of self and how it is defined for them by peers, the adults in their lives and the media.

Head of Senior School “Friendships are pivotal,” says Audine Evans, our Manager for Counseling Services. Healthy peer relationships are critical. Communication and negotiation skills become important in managing peer pressure, conflict and the multiplicity of relationships, which they now find themselves responsible for managing. In this busy world of constant input it is again important to give your children time: time for them to relax, time off-line and time to talk or just be with you. Down time for reflection and reviewing, for making objective decisions and future oriented choices not guided solely by emotion. Time to listen to them, not to solve their problems for them but to let them work their way through the issues for themselves with some guidance.

Monica Watt

They might not appear to like it, but it is good for them and they will thank you for it. It’s the best gift you can give them.

Monica Watt Deputy Headmaster and Head of Senior School

Junior School Book Week

Each year, many schools and public libraries from all over Australia spend a week celebrating books and Australian authors and illustrators. Classroom teachers, teacher librarians and public librarians develop activities, offer competitions and tell stories relating to a theme to highlight the importance of reading. This year’s theme is ‘Read Across the Universe’ and we celebrated our universe with activities in class and in the Library culminating with our annual Literary Lunch and Dress Up Day. Going by the photos it was another huge success.

HICES Debating

Our successful Junior HICES Debating team has progressed to the Grand Final of the competition at The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney next week.

The team has competed in prepared debates throughout the year and risen to the challenge of one hour preparation debates very well in recent weeks. We wish them well in their most challenging yet on Monday!

Congratulations Francesca Lambert, Corey Read, Min Seo Kang and Griffin Spicknell on this outstanding achievement.

Judi Nealy

Tournament of the Minds

Head of Junior School

On Sunday 25 August, six teams from the Junior School headed to Nowra to compete in Tournament of the Minds (TOM) for 2013. As there were many newcomers to TOM this year, the lead up to the event had been one of laughter, new discoveries and lots of trial and error, especially for our Maths Engineering teams!

In each of the discipline areas (Math Engineering, Language and Literature, Applied Technology and Social Sciences), the students presented their long term challenges and performed with confidence and skill. Each team also participated in a spontaneous challenge on the day, testing their ability to think on the spot and work as a team to formulate a creative solution to a problem.

A huge congratulations goes to all students involved and in particular our Applied Technology and Maths Engineering team four who received honours and our Language and Literature team one, who won their division on the day. This team will now progress on to represent our region at UNSW in Kensington on 8 September. We wish them the best of luck!

Old is Gold!

Last Wednesday and Thursday Year 5 embarked on a thrilling journey into the past in keeping with the current Unit of Inquiry ‘Where we are in time and place’. We packed our swags ready for the overnight trip, jumped onto the bus and shouted a ‘hoo roo’ as we headed bush. On our way we dropped in to say ‘g’day’ to the gorgeous Three Sisters and have a ‘cuppa’ at the breathtaking Echo Point, Katoomba.

Further along into our journey we stepped back in time as we visited the historic Hartley Village situated on the western edge of the beautiful Blue Mountains. Boasting fine colonial architecture the Hartley Courthouse and St. Bernard’s Church brought to life past experiences of those who ventured these fields looking for greener pastures. Walking in the footsteps of convicts and workers was an awe-inspiring yet saddening experience. As we head further outback, we reminisce at the sound of the old pump organ, the understanding of unfair courtroom convictions, the exciting encounter with the cat-o-nine tails, and the dark, dingy, smelly holding cell.

Soon we find ourselves at Bathurst Goldfields - prospectors in search of the precious find. Here we are welcomed into the humble abode of the lovely Karen and Rob. They show us around their home and give us a working understanding of life in the goldfields. Karen teaches us how to cook damper and Rob guides us while we make the flawless mud bricks. While we play old bush games (like all children should) we spot many a ‘roos’ and horses in the back paddock. Later that night in freezing temperatures we sat around the campfire, sang songs and line danced with our mates.

As we awoke to a golden dawn we delved further into the workings of a goldfield and life of a prospector. Armed with vital information and understanding about the metal we bravely headed out fossicking in the bitterly cold winds and icy waters.

Gold! Gold! Gold! Everyone got some to hold.

Junior School Sport Junior School Athletics Carnival Results House Championship Coligan – 645 Wolgal – 593

Aranda – 620 Kogara – 573

Age Championship

10 Years 1 Thomas Peden 2 Dean Borbilas

1 Annie McLearie 2 Selene Chadrawy 1 Margaux Chauvet 2 Cartia Taranto 1 Emma Franco 2 Sophie Correa

8 Years Zac Birch

Clara Swainson

11 Years 1 Aaron Ylias 2. James Gorham

9 Years 1 Joshua Franco 2 Anthony Damcevski

1 Emma Black 2 Olivia Barber

12 Years 1 Nick Peros 2 Zac Winter

Junior School Awards Daniel Aghmesheh 3R Temira Cowie 3R Kyah Dema 3R Ben Giason 3R Bowen Kimberley-Mastalir 3R Sophie McGuire 3R Faisal Syed 3R Adelaide Thompson 3R Charlotte Atkinson 3W Alison Guo 3W Cooper Kerridge 3W Elizabeth Michelmore 3W Nadia Nagaratnam 3W Clara Swainson 3W Isabella Atkinson 3WJ Eloise Malouf 3WJ Jessica Hall 4R Daniel Michelmore 4R Ajay Rindani 4R Ella Scott 4R Rory Swainson 4R Oscar Tilden 4R Xia Lian Wilson 4R Ruby D’rozario 4S Alexandria Gunther 4S James Kirby 4S Tamara Matar 4S Soraya Mccann 4S Lauren O’Hanlon 4S Thomas Peden 4S Zipporah Corser-Anu 5A James Gorham 5A Aiden McGoldrick 5A Alexia Zafiriou 5A

Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit

Josh Agarwal Farrah Al-salih Niamh Christopher Nicholas Makdessi William Brown Kassee Dennis Belle Kolodziej Alysha De Ruyter Hallam Roberts Nicole Russo Archita Sitharthan Shahla Green Michael Marzano Zoe Turner Mary Albert Lachlan Boardman Jasper Bambrick Nicholas Chiaverini Alexia Loeser Paige Jenkins Elliot Winn Olivia Barber Emma Black Ella Vartazarian Lucy Cross Lily Galbraith

Thomas Main Aaron Avenido Connor Harvey Megan Ashford Aria Bacic-Johnston

5Y 5Y 5Y 5Y 6S 6S 6S 6W 6W 6Y 6Y 3R 3R 3R 3W 3W 3WJ 3WJ 3WJ 4R 4R 4S 4S 4S 5A 5A 5A 5Y 5Y 4S 4S

Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Credit Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction Distinction High Distinction High Distinction

Junior School Awards Weekly Awards

Merit Certificates Academic

KB KD KM KP KP 1C 1M 1T 2H 2M 3W 4R 4S 5Y 6S

Mathilda Hoy Isabella Mitic Emily Sutherland Kye Gosling Katie Gorham Katherine Binks

Mackenzie Pead, Joanne Park, Ayaan Chabungbam Isabelle Bush Olive Windsor, Kasim Kermali Alizeh Syed Samuel Robinson Jai Hemsley-Oades Lachlan Neal Athina Pates, Samuel Stevenson Angus Kiang, Rebecca Winn, Jacobus Newhouse Artan Karwarz Mary Albert, Jack Worthington Alana Newhouse James Kirby Jett Norris, Joseph Rossi, Kye Gosling

Service Niamh Christopher Kya Dema Euan Christopher Evan Glover

Senior School Sports Student Success:

Basketball: Congratulations to Blake McDougall(Year 7) as his Illawarra basketball team won the NSW premier country league title several weeks ago and then went on to win the NSW State league title.

Blake’s under 14 boy’s team will now be travelling to Darwin in the October school holidays to represent NSW at the Nationals.

This is a very high achievement and we wish the team all the best for the event.

Swimming: Well done to Aaron Cannon (Year 12) who represented Australia at the INAS Swimming Championships in Noumea. He clocked a number of personal best times and should be proud of these achievements.

NSW Combined Independent School Rugby League Sevens Championships

On Monday August 26, TIGS entered two teams (Under 15’s and 13’s) in the CIS 7-a-side Rugby League Gala Day. The Under 15’s played four games during the day, winning two and loosing two. Up against much bigger opposition in all four games, the TIGS team played admirably. The team was led by Evan Jenkins who was solid in attack and was the best defender. Angus Pryde scored six tries on the day and was undoubtedly the team’s best attacker. Other members of the under 15’s team were Noah Gibbs, Jonty Negus, Dylan Lees, Matthew Galanti, Thomas Chadrawy, Christian Kyriacou, Louis Parsons-O’Malley and Oscar Edwards.

The Under 13’s team also played four games during the day. After a narrow loss in the first game the team fought back to defeat one of the favourites for the competition in round 2. The team went on the have a win and a draw in the next two games and were unlucky not to advance to the plate final. All the boys put in solid efforts against much bigger opposition.

Elliot Hutt and Blake McDougall were standouts for the day with Aaron Bell making an inspiring run at the start of the 3rd match.

Well done to both teams.

NSW Snowsports Championships

During week 5, 11 TIGS students represented the school in the Northern Regional Qualifying and NSW State Snowsports Championships.

In the state qualifying event for Skier X, the Division 5 team of Harrison Webb (Year 4), Zane Taylor (Year 3) and Ashton Tregonning (Kindergarten) finished 16th as a team; the Division 4 girls team of Georgia Webb (Year 6) and Charlotte Tregonning (Year 4) finished 7th; the Division 3 team of Year 7 boys Ethan Jackson, Mackenzie Smith and Aiden Wingate finished 5th and qualified for state with Ethan finishing 3rd as an individual; the Division 2 Girls team consisting of Tahlia Jackson (Year 10) and Charli Morelli (Year 8) finished 2nd; and Bryce Prior finished a very respectable 17th as an individual.

In the State competition, the Division 3 boys team of Ethan, Aiden and Mackenzie finished 13th in the Alpine and 15th in the Skier X (where Ethan finished 10th); The Division 2 Girls team of Tahlia and Charli finished 7th in the Skier X and Tahlia finished 8th in the Alpine; and Harrison Webb finished 25th in the Moguls and 26th in the Alpine.

The School congratulates the Snowsports team on their achievements, especially Ethan and Tahlia Jackson who qualified to compeet at Buller in the Australian Championships during week 7.

The school would also like thank Mr Tregonning for managing the team and Jack Millar (alumni 2012) who once again mentored and coached our students to ensure they were prepared for the ski challenges.

NASSA Athletics Carnival

On Wednesday 21 August, almost 90 TIGS students travelled to Campbelltown Sports Ground to compete at the NASSA Athletics Carnival. In very windy conditions all of our students performed extremely well and at the end of the day TIGS was named as the winning school, leading the next school by more than 200 points and retaining the shield for another year. TIGS also won the shield in the Junior and Intermediate divisions, an outstanding achievement.

There were a number of impressive individual performances during the day, with a many of our students breaking records and TIGS students being named as age champions.

NASSA Age Champions Ashley Dribbus – 1st 12G Isabel Bodey – 2nd 12G Harry Borbilas – 2nd 12B Isabella Burnett – 2nd 13G Elliot Hutt – 1st 13B Elizabeth Martin – 2nd 14G Denali Hutt – 2nd 15G Perin Leach – 3rd 15G Angus Pryde – 3rd 15B Madeline Negus – 2nd 16G Roisin Concannon – 3rd 16G Robert Gyngell – 1st 17B Kuiam Anu – 2nd 17B Alexander Seal – 3rd 17B Harrison Bolton – 2nd 18B Some of these students were also given the extra honour of being named as place getters in the Junior (12-14yrs), Intermediate (15-16yrs) or Senior (17+yrs) divisions.

Division Champions Ashley Dribbus – 1st Junior Girls Division Elliot Hutt – 1st Junior Boys Division Denali Hutt – 3rd Intermediate Girls Division Harrison Bolton – 2nd Senior Boys Division Robert Gyngell – 3rd Senior Boys Division Another highlight of the day was the Intermediate Girls Relay team, who won their race convincingly and beat the record (held since 2008) by more than two seconds. The team was Alexandra Lavalle, Denali Hutt, Madeline Negus and Kate Read.

A big thank you to the Year 12 students who took time out of their Trial HSC Exams to compete for the School: Kuiam Anu, Robert Gyngell, Harrison Bolton and Anthony Keating. Without these students the NASSA shield may have slipped from our clutches.

Next Monday over 40 students will represent the School at the AICES Athletics Carnival at Homebush. Good luck to all students competing in this event.

TIGS Netball Club

Last weekend two TIGS teams played in the semi-finals of the IDNA Winter Competition. The TIGS Diamonds (Years 10/11) unfortunately went down to Wests Vipers in a match displaying great skill and sportsmanship. The TIGS Garnets (Years 8/9) had a convincing win in the semi-final and will now play this Saturday at Fred Finch Park, Berkeley in the Final. They will play at 12pm on court 10 against Helensburgh. All spectators welcome.

Languages Come and see the Japan Trip 2013 Photo Display from Wednesday 4 September for one week in The Goodhew Centre (Library)! Enjoy scenes from our latest cultural trip through our photo competition entrants who have submitted their best snaps to win prizes!

Extend @ TIGS Weekly Recap This week, we welcome Farrah and Zane to our service. We had our “Gardening Gloves Club “ on Wednesday- Ella and Jasper taught Ayaan and Tyler how to pull out the weeds and turn over richer soil.

Micah and Ayaan played Cluedo together and it was inspiring to see the older children interacting with the younger ones.

We also had a mini Basketball game organised this week and made Lebanese Bread Pizzas on Thursday using cheese and tomatoes. The younger children in Year 1 played “School” together where one of them pretended to be the teacher and rapped out the HotWords using the Thrass Rap Song.

Week 7’s Activities:

Monday 2 September: “Bend it like Beckham” with Tom Tuesday 3 September: “Organised Outdoor Sports” with Ms Indy Wednesday 4 September: “Gardening Gloves Club” with Ms Indy Thursday 5 August: “So, You Think You Can Dance?” with Ms B Friday 6 September: “Crazy Craft” with Miss Mac

Our Extend Superstar is… Ryan Jinks for being a good help during “Our Kitchen Rules” session.

ONLINE BOOKINGS: extend.com.au

CALL OUR OFFICE: 1300 366 437

TIGS Literacy Group The TIGS literacy group placed 1st in the regional finals on Sunday 25 August 2013. Well done!

The Team consisted of Alysha De Ruyter (Year 6), Francesca Lambert (Year 6), Benae Kuiper (Year 6), Lola Bond (Year 6), Alexia Zafiriou (Year 5), Zippy Corser-Anu(Year 5) and Lucy Cross (Year 5)

P&F News Term III Karobran Conversation – My Dental Team

We are very privileged to have Shabbir Kermali joining us for our Term III Karobran Conversation to discuss the health of our children’s teeth. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity, Thursday 12 September in The Goodhew Centre (Library) from 7.00pm – 8.00pm. No need to RSVP, just come along. Tea and coffee provided.

2013 Karobran Disco

All Junior School families are invited to the 2013 Karobran Disco ‘Sports dress-up disco” - wear your favourite sports kit and be in line for a sporty prize 5.00pm to 8.00pm Saturday 14 September Dancespace 383, 1st Floor, 137-139 Crown St, Wollongong (in Crown Street Mall, above Rock Factory) $15 per child – includes entry, disco and dinner Tickets to be purchases through Flexischools by 5.00pm Thursday 12 September.

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