Issue 6 Term II 2011

NEWSLETTER Year 9 Camp

Headmaster’s Message School Funding Head of Senior School Head of Junior School

Issue 6 Term II, 2011

Academic • Christian • Caring

School Funding Understanding how schools are funded is not a high priority for most people, until there is a change in government policy and school fees go up.

The Australian Government has commissioned a panel of eminent Australians, led by Mr David Gonski, to conduct a Review of Funding for Schooling. The purpose of the review is to make recommendations on the shape of a new system of funding for schools that is “transparent, fair, sustainable and effective at delivering great educational outcomes for all students in all schools.” (Minister Garrett, 30/5/11) It is difficult to imagine how this might be achieved without an increase in funding for schools. Without an increase in the overall level of funding there must be winners and losers despite the Minister’s statement.

Recurrent grants from the Australian Government are an important source of funds for TIGS. The School’s budget for 2011 estimates total income received from all sources will be $18.8m. Of this amount, the Australian Government is expected to provide $4m in recurrent funding - $4,694 for each secondary student and $3,737 for each primary age student. No recurrent grants are received for students in The Piper Centre.

Under the current system, the level of recurrent funding that the School receives varies depending on the income level of families. This is calculated by matching census information with the addresses of families that attend the School. Each school is assigned a Socio-Economic Status score (SES). Schools are then assigned grants on the basis of their SES score which are calculated as a percentage of the Australian Government School Recurrent Cost (AGSRC) which is the average cost of educating a child in a government school. TIGS has an SES score of 108 which attracts funding at the level of 41.2% of AGSRC.

Stephen Kinsella Headmaster

The higher the income levels of school families, the higher the SES score. SES scores for schools vary between 70 and 130. An SES score of 70 attracts the maximum level of Australian Government funding of $7,975 (Secondary) and $6,349 (Primary) while an SES Score of 130 attracts the minimum level of funding of $1,560 (Secondary) and $1,243 (Primary).

There are some challenges for the Gonski Panel: •

Should schools be Funding Maintained? When the SES system was introduced, 55% of Catholic schools and 17% of Independent schools (not TIGS) were declared as ‘Funding Maintained’. Although these schools should have received less funding under the new SES system, the government at the time granted them their previous level of funding, adjusted for inflation. They are still Funding Maintained after more than a decade of the SES system. This attracts the most criticism of the SES system.

•

What should be included in the calculation of the AGSRC score? If funding is based on a percentage of AGSRC then it is possible to reduce (or increase) funding for schools by varying what is included in AGSRC. There is the potential to reduce funding for schools, without the nasty headlines, by changing AGSRC. The challenge is to find a substitute measure of costs that is transparent and not open to manipulation.

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Is there a better method of calculating the economic need of schools than using SES scores? SES scores are calculated using independently collected census data and reflect economic need. Dissatisfaction with using SES scores is more about some schools being ‘Funding Maintained’ than about the inadequacies of the SES score.

Parents and supporters of the School are encouraged to take an active interest in the work of the Gonski Panel and make submissions when the Final Report is released in October. The Panel’s Emerging Issues Paper can be found at (http://www. deewr.gov.au/Schooling/ReviewofFunding/Pages/EmergingIssuesPaper.aspx) It is also important the statements of our political leaders are monitored and that they are asked to explain and justify their policies. For example: •

Minister Garrett announced on 30 May 2011 that “no student will lose a single dollar per student as a result of this review.”

This statement echoes a similar statement by the Prime Minister. Students of Economics will quickly point out that funding that is not indexed loses value over time.

•

The Coalition has indicated it will support the current system. There is still a need for clarity regarding how they would calculate SES scores and the costs included in AGSRC.

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The Greens (who will soon have the balance of power in the Senate) have made a series of alarming policy statements regarding the funding of Independent Schools, such as “funding for private schools should be frozen at its year 2003 level adjusted from inflation” (a 40% decrease on current funding levels).

The School does not budget for a large surplus and it does not have any reserves of funds. All the income received from governments and families is spent on providing programs for our students. Any reduction in funding from the Australian Government will result in increased fees or a reduction in services - both are undesirable outcomes.

A hung parliament means that our political leaders and policy makers are sensitive to swings in the mood of the electorate.

It is important that the voice of Independent School parents be heard by our politicians.

Stephen Kinsella Headmaster

The Language of God

This week’s article comes from The Most Reverend Harry Goodhew who is also a TIGS Grandparent.

Do They Speak Hebrew In Heaven?

One might imagine a frustrated teacher of Hebrew making such a suggestion to flagging theological students lest they might arrive there and find themselves embarrassingly speechless. However, that was not why Francis Collins chose “The Language of God” for the title of his book published in 2006.

Francis Sellers Collins is an American physician-geneticist, noted for his landmark discoveries of disease genes and his leadership of the Human Genome Project (HGP). He is described by the Endocrine Society as “one of the most accomplished scientists of our time”. He currently serves as Director of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

In telling how he moved from Atheism to Faith he says, “My early life was unconventional in many ways but as the son of freethinkers, I had an upbringing that was quite conventionally modern in its attitude towards faith – it just wasn’t very important”. At University he moved from being agnostic to Atheism. However, his experience with patients facing life threatening conditions, and in particular the question of one patient who asked him what he believed, led him to research seriously issues of religion It was while reading C.S Lewis’ Mere Christianity that he was challenged by the chapter “Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe”. As he pursued the implications of what he was reading and thinking he came, while hiking in the Cascade Mountains to a magnificent frozen waterfall. As he looked, he realized that his search was over. He writes: The next morning, I knelt in the dewy grass as the sun rose and surrendered to Jesus Christ.

Collins’ stellar career as a scientist and a benefactor of humanity is founded on the conviction that wisdom consists in holding together a living faith in God and a commitment to the benefits and practice of Science. God, he says, “… can be worshipped in the cathedral or in the laboratory” for the language of God can be heard in both.

The Most Reverend Harry Goodhew

Senior School Community, Caring and Senior Leadership Last Friday night was another of those times when the School’s Mission and Values were living and breathing and real and in two different locations within the School: Rees Hall and the IGC. The Core Value was ‘Caring.’

As the School Community cares for each of its members, so it seeks for its students to be caring of others in the wider community. Through the knowledge and understanding of Christian love, compassion and justice, students will be supported to become active participants in society and wise architects of the future.

In Rees Hall, Year 11 students were running a Disco for our friends from the Disability Trust.

It was a wild, exuberant and lively evening of fun where Year 11 were so caring and supportive that is was inspiring. They really were active participants in making a difference in the lives of others .......... and they had HEAPS of FUN!

Monica Watt

In the IGC, our School Captains and a large number of Year 12’s worked very hard to support their chosen charity ‘Express Yourself’ - the Salvation Army’s program of art, music and drama developed in consultation with ‘Headspace Illawarra’ for children whose families are affected by addiction. It’s a fabulous program and our students are committed to both financial support and hands-on support.

The night was a wonderful celebration of leadership by the Captains, service by Year 12s and support from the extended TIGS Community. There were tables of ex-students from last year, the year before and on various tables ex-students from all years up to and including the first years of TIGS, there were staff from ‘Headspace Illawarra’ (who are also ex-students) and the Salvation Army. There were tables of Junior School parents, Senior School parents, of Academic and Support Staff and a number of ex-members of staff. It really was a celebration of the TIGS Community in its widest sense.

Deputy Headmaster and Head of Senior School

First Place went to a formidable team of teachers, closely followed in second place by a team (which seemed larger than average to me!!) of ex-students, but in such an environment everyone was a winner.

Junior School

What Makes a Great School?

This is a question that we reflect on frequently in the Junior School. Our PYP (Primary Years Program) journey actually mandates that time for reflection and evaluation is a part of everyday activities for teachers and students alike. Last week we had the privilege of having Mr Mario Gauci, the PYP School Services Associate Manager Asia Pacific, visit our school for two days as part of the authorisation process for our school to become an IB World School.

During the visit Mr Gauci spent time with our staff also reflecting on the learning that they have done as educators in implementing the PYP. They reflected on the great benefits we see for the children in implementing the PYP and also on some of the challenges we still have to overcome.

Mr Gauci also spoke to the children about what they were learning and he was impressed with their grasp of concept based learning and their ability to describe the learning happening in their classrooms. He was very positive about how effectively we have embraced the Learner Profile in the Junior School and could see how these attributes are impacting in our classrooms, in the playground and in your homes!

Judi Nealy

Head of Junior School

As you walk back up the driveway and out of the School you will see the Attitudes which are the next aspect of the PYP for us all to inquire into as a community. Our vision in displaying the Learner Profile as you walk in and the Attitudes as you walk out of the Junior School was to emphasise that the Learner Profile lists the ways in which we want the children to engage as learners both at school and beyond. The Attitudes are what we would like the children and each other to model in our interactions both at school as well as outside. For this reason we have displayed them clearly for each member of our school community to reflect on as they walk out of school and into their homes and the wider community.

The Attitudes are: Empathy/Tolerance

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Commitment

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Appreciation

KH

Sarah Partland, Lili Petreski

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Co-operation

KM

Jamilla Perri

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Creative Curiosity

1D

Nathan Molnar

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Enthusiasm

1W

Hasnain Aly

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Independence

2P

Declan Saad

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Respect

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Integrity

2D

Cambell Cleary, Christina Bock

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Confidence

3M

Ruby Tilden, Harrison Dennis

3Y

Lincoln Tut, Maximilian Sanzone

4R

Kaitlin Garbo

5S

Erynne Stone

5N

Samuel Goodhew, Mika Bliokas

5R

Sarah Hanlon, Aika Hammond

6W

Nathan Troiani, Samuel Garbo, Rebecca Adams

6Y

Angus Day

6C

Julian Tsiamis, Beck Harper

We believe that this combination of Learner Profile and Attitudes along with excellent teaching and the search for individual excellence, puts us in a great position as a Junior School. As we continue to develop in our understanding of international mindedness, the use of ICT, Inquiry Learning and 21st Century Learning we continue to develop as a learning community. It is this attitude towards life long learning that makes a learning community great. I am very proud of the children and how they reflected their learning. I am also very proud of the teaching staff and the Professional Learning that they are continuing to embrace.

The way forward for the Junior School is to now apply to be an Authorised PYP School. We are moving ahead with this and expect to have our authorisation visit mid year in 2012. Part of this process involves parent input, so I look forward to inviting our parent community to participate in due time.

Parent Training Sessions

We have had a few enquiries regarding another Parent Training session. If you would like to help in the classrooms or be a part of an excursion and have not done the full session or you need to do a refresher, please contact Kerrie Tregonning on 42200250 or email ktregonning@tigs.nsw.edu.au

- Weekly AWARDS -

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Changes to TIGS Bus Service

Due to additional students being required to stay at School for the Senior School Production of Westside Story rehearsals, the 5.00pm bus run is experiencing a heavy demand on a Tuesday and Thursday afternoon.

Commencing Tuesday 31 May to Thursday 16 June the buses will be leaving at 5.15pm and not 5.00pm as scheduled. Due to this slight change to the bus run, rehearsal time will be finish at 5.00pm and thus will allow ten minutes packing up time for students to leave the IGC at 5.10pm.

Thank you for your attention and cooperation during this time.

Please contact transport@tigs.nsw.edu.au if you have any questions.

Canteen Corner Online Ordering

To order canteen food online visit www.flexischools.com.au.

The new menu for Term II has commenced. Please ensure you are checking the new menu prior to placing an order as there have been some price changes to existing products.

We need your help!

The Canteen would like to welcome any new helpers for 2011. If you could spare a few hours once a month, we would love to have you on board our team of dedicated volunteers. Please contact Megan in the canteen on 4220 0241.

Canteen Roster Week 6 Term II Monday 13 June PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Tuesday 14 June HELP NEEDED Sunita Rajpal

Merit es at c i f i t r Ce ine Issa Jerma louf Oscar Ma

Merit Certif icates James G Christin orham a Selma Bock Celik

Wednesday 15 June HELP NEEDED Marie Mc Corquodale

Thursday 16 June HELP NEEDED HELP NEEDED

Friday 17 June Joanne Elliott Bronwyn Marvell

School Contact Details Have you changed contact details recently?

Current details of all students including names, addresses, emergency contact information, medical conditions and parent contact details including mobile phone numbers and e-mail addresses need to be kept on file and accurate at all times.

Please ensure that any change of any details during the year are noted on a Notification of Change in Contact Details form and returned to the School office for recording.

TIGS Uniform Shop Opening Hours

The Uniform Shop will be open on Thursday 21 July and Friday 22 July 9.00am – 2.00pm.

No appointments necessary.

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.

2012 Enrolments and Beyond Limited places are available for 2012 with places filling quickly for 2013 onwards.

Students currently in Year 6 are automatically enrolled into Year 7 for 2012. Should your child not be continuing on to Year 7 in 2012, written notification to the Headmaster is required no later than 23 September 2011.

Please contact our Enrolments Secretary, Ms Nicci Fripp, on 4220 0216 or email nfripp@tigs.nsw.edu.au for an Application Form or further information.

Senior School Sport Student Success:

Kuiam Anu (Year 10) NSW Northern CIS/CCC team went undefeated at the NSW All Schools AFL championships in Sydney last week and came out victors in the final defeating Southern NSW CIS/CCC by two goals. Kuiam didn’t make the NSW team but gained a great deal of valuable experience and the School can be very proud of his achievement. This is the first time that a CIS team has progressed through the championship undefeated. Fantastic effort!

Diocesan Netball

On Monday 6 June the TIGS Junior, Intermediate and Senior Netball teams participated in the Diocesan Netball Gala Day at Berkeley.

The results were as follows: • The Junior team were undefeated on the day to finish 1st • The Intermediate team lost one game out of nine to finish 2nd • The Senior team lost one game out of seven to finish 2nd Congratulations to all girls who participated for a successful day.

AICES Cross Country

Congratulations to all of the TIGS students who represented the school at the recent AICES Cross Country at Macarthur Anglican School.

TIGS had outstanding results: 1st TIGS - Medal Tally 1st TIGS Boys Pointscore 3rd TIGS Girls Team Scores 2nd TIGS Overall Score

NASSA Football Year 7 Boys: The Year 7 boys finished the day in second position after winning three games confidently and losing one game narrowly through a penalty.

Year 7 and 8 Girls: Congratulations to our Year 7/8 team who were the winner for the day. All games were close but they were A number of our students able to prevail with two wins achieved podium finishes: and two draws.

13 Year Boys – 1st Julien Smith, Intermediate boys: 2nd Angus Pryde 14 Year Boys – 1st Coleb Two excellent wins coupled with three close loses meant Stamper 15 Year Boys – 1st Hamish that at the end of the day TIGS finished down the table.

Paine, 2nd Alexander Seal 16 Year Girls - 3rd Siobhan Some of the play was well constructed by a combined Butler 17 Year Girls – 3rd Emma Year 8 and 9 team that had not had the opportunity to Ramsey come together before this TIGS will take 26 students to tournament. compete in the CIS Cross Senior Girls: Country Championships on The Senior girls had a tough the 16 June. day with only one draw and

three loses. But they kept their spirits high and stayed focused.

Senior boys: The day ended up being an anticlimax with local Council making the decision to close most of the fields to limit damage following the level of rain that had occurred during the week. Only two games were played with the first ending in a 1 - 0 loss despite TIGS having most of the possession, and the interruption due to a pitch inspection cut the game so short that it was always going to be difficult to turn the result around. The second was a 1 - 0 win, which could have been a lot greater if the multitude of shots had been on target.

To keep up-to-date with the latest news and events that are happening in and around our School, we encourage you to subscribe to the email Newsletter.

Simply visit our website: www.tigs.nsw.edu.au and sign up on the home page.

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