Issue 6 Term IV 2017
NEWSLETTER
Senior School Para Meadows Sports Day An International Baccalaureate World School
Academic • Christian • Caring
HEADMASTER
Mr Stephen Kinsella Headmaster “Spare the rod and spoil the child.” This saying is commonly attributed to the Bible and is seen as justification for the corporal punishment of children. In my role as Headmaster I am always alarmed when a parent, usually out of frustration caused by the challenges of parenting, request that stern punishment, including corporal punishment, be given to their child. It is often a surprise when I inform them that the “spare the rod” justification for physically punishing children is actually a line from the poem ‘Hudibras’ written by Samuel Butler in 1662. It is a requirement for all NSW schools that corporal punishment not be used. While the physical punishment of students is thankfully a thing of the past in our schools, there are many who still advocate a ‘crime and punishment’ approach to matters of child discipline. This is not surprising given the ‘adversarial’ philosophy that underpins our legal system today. An adversarial approach to discipline is based on three fundamental questions: • • •
What rule has been broken? Who is to blame? What punishment or sanction is required?
The School follows a different approach built on the teachings of the Christian faith. The School Statement of Mission and Values affirms, in part: “All relationships within the School should be characterised by courtesy, grace and understanding. This forms the basis for the caring community that is The Illawarra Grammar School. When relationships are damaged through poor decision-making, the example of grace and forgiveness set by Christ is used as our model in promoting the restoration of relationships in ways that are just and fair.” (M&V Statement 3.5) The core business of the School is the education of children and the learning that takes place is not limited to the academic disciplines. Growing up seems to pose few problems for some children while others, much to the exasperation of those who care for them, seem to make all the wrong choices. At TIGS, our policies and procedures in matters of discipline are designed to instruct our children on how to make the right choices. When wrong choices are made, the focus is on restoring the relationships that are broken. This does not mean that there are no consequences for the students for their behaviour.
However, the purpose of the disciplinary action is to restore the relationships that have been broken. The ‘restorative’ approach to discipline is built on a very different set of questions: • • •
What happened? Who has been harmed and affected? What needs to happen to repair the harm?
With a restorative approach to discipline, children learn to take responsibility for their actions (including any consequences) and to value and respect others. Our children learn to make good choices when they receive a consistent message at home and at school. Parent/Teacher interviews provide an excellent opportunity for parents and teachers to communicate and to share observations of our children. However, parents should not wait for these formal occasions to raise their concerns with staff. The raising of children brings many challenges and parents and teachers are better equipped to guide our children when effective communication takes place. If parents find themselves is a situation where they are confronting a child about inappropriate behaviour, a good strategy is to start the pathway to restoration by asking the right questions. At TIGS we ask the students: • • • • •
What happened? What were you thinking at the time? Who has been harmed or hurt by your action? How do you feel about what happened now? What do you need to do to put things right?
Such an approach is more likely to result in the restoration of the broken relationships, rather than an adversarial approach which usually starts with the question – “why did you do that?” – which immediately places the child on the defensive. The restorative questions listed above not only allow us to maintain a civil dialogue with our children, they also teach our children how to restore broken relationships when they do the wrong thing – deeper learning that will equip them to face the challenges of adult life. “Start children off on the way they should go and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
CHAPLAIN
Rev. James Rogers Chaplain A Christian Worldview We talk a lot about a Christian worldview at TIGS. By that, we mean the basic truths that orient us in our engagement with the world. A worldview helps us make sense of life. An image that has often been used is a pair of glasses. A worldview is the lens through which we see all things as they truly are. Like glasses, we are not always aware that we have them on, but they allow us to see clearly. We don’t look at glasses but through them. Similarly, we rarely think much about our worldview. However, sometimes it is beneficial to look at the ‘glasses’ themselves – to examine our worldview more explicitly. I was reminded of the necessity of this recently when a member of TIGS community asked me what beliefs we consider to be basic to our Christian worldview. In other words, what exactly do we mean by Christian worldview? What are the central beliefs? TIGS website is a helpful resource. Under the Mission and Values tab there is a helpful outline of the basic beliefs that comprise the Christian worldview we adhere to at TIGS. I thought it might be helpful to present it to you. There are six sections: God is the true and living God, creator of the heavens and the earth, who sustains His creation with all power. •
He made people in His image and to be in relationship with Him, with each other and the environment.
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Sin has destroyed this relationship with God: in desiring to rule their own lives, people reject God’s authority and distrust His loving kindness; and hence they are alienated from God, others and the environment.
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Because of His unfailing love for His people, God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to reconcile all things to himself. In His life, He taught us the ways of God, demonstrating His authority as well as His love and compassion for people. In His death and resurrection He bore the punishment for our sin and offers eternal life to all who accept His authority and trust in His loving kindness.
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He has given us a guarantee of this eternal life by sending His Holy Spirit to empower His followers to live as God’s people. He will return to judge all people and have His full authority finally recognised by all.
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As Christians, our lives and all that we do reflect these truths. We live in a world still marred by sin, yet we live as God’s people in that world, seeking by His power, to live Christ-like lives and to intentionally proclaim the Gospel so that others come to a restored relationship with Him.
This is a very helpful summary of the core beliefs that comprise the Christian worldview that we confess at TIGS. It is the lens through which we are attempting to understand our world and our place and tasks in it. It is a worldview that makes sense of the world we live in and guides us in our attempt “to act with wisdom, compassion and justice as faithful stewards of our world.”
JUNIOR SCHOOL
Mrs Judi Nealy Deputy Headmaster, Head of Junior School Finishing Well As we approach the last few weeks of a fantastic year of learning it is important that we finish well. This intention can only be achieved if we as teachers, parents and students are intentional in our actions and behavior over the last few weeks of term. It is important that students continue to wear their correct full School Uniform right up until the end of the year. I have been noticing different coloured sports shoes appearing in the School and remind families that the correct sports shoes are mainly white. I have also noticed that a tidy up of hair for some girls and boys is needed. I direct students and parents to the front of the diary that clearly outlines the uniform and hair requirements at our School. Over the coming weeks, we will have several ‘end of year’ events and it is our shared expectation as a community that our children will look fabulous and support each other and their School by attending School events. The children and teachers have been practicing their items and performances for these events and they will be spectacular. It is crucial to performances that all students play their part and participate on the day, otherwise they let the whole performance group down. Please make sure as a family that you have these dates in your calendars and that the children do not miss out on this element of their School year. This is a very happy time in our calendar and I look forward to celebrating the many end of year events with you all. Stage 2 are away on camp as I write this newsletter and we are hearing reports of happy and very busy children. Our Year 3 students are participating in their first school camp so it is a very exciting time for them. I look forward to sharing some camp stories from Year 3 to Year 6 next week in the newsletter.
Gifted Family Support Group and Games Night Throughout the year, the Junior School hosts many events to support the newly formed Illawarra branch of the Gifted Family Support Group (GFSG). The GFSG seeks to assist students and parents of high potential learners in the Illawarra and beyond. It provides opportunities for like-minded learners to have fun together, go on planned excursions and events. There are many opportunities for parents to get together through informative guest speakers, parent dinners and there is even a growing library of books and resources related to gifted learners for members to borrow. Last Friday, the Junior School held a GEM (Games for Enquiring Minds) evening based on identifying rocks, gems and crystals and welcomed visitors from as far as Bowral. If you are keen to brush up on your Shakespeare, you might be interested in the next family outing and picnic at the Wollongong Botanic Garden on 10 December 2017 between 10.00am – 12.00pm. TIGS is proud to support wonderful community groups like this to enhance learning outcomes for all children. For information on this great initiative and the next outing, please contact the Illawarra branch of the GFSG Inc. - illawarra@gfsg.org.au
JUNIOR SCHOOL AWARDS MERIT CERTIFICATES Academic Tom Armstrong Ashley Brewer Nikhilan J Avinash Kasim Kermali
Rithanya Jeyachandran Class:1R Who are your friends and what do you like to play? Sophie, Clara and Evie. We play sisters.
WEEKLY AWARDS KM
Neeti Boga, Manha Khan
KP
Flynn Bottele, Izabela Noveski
1S
Noah Hotson, Thomas Binks, Addison Keefe, Eva Still, Clara Magambo
1Y
Luca Attorre, Ideen Hashemi
2M
Nikhilan J Avinash, Ashley Parker
2S
Riley Cook, Tahlie Oxman
2T
April Collins, Tobias Knight
3C
Thomas Hughes, Subhaan Ul-Haq, Amaan Vakil
4G
Lilian Bradley
4J
Samuel Gilligan, Myer Matyana
5C
Ishe Chibanda, Jude De Araujo, Chloe Vickery
5M
Jessica Llewellin, Daniel Radojicic
6C
Guoqin Ding, Jay Segar
6H
Angus Kiang
Assembly/Chapel School Captains will be hosting next week’s Chapel in Rees Hall from 12.10pm.
What are you really good at? Reading, spelling and dancing. What do you need to work hard at? Mathematics and sentences. How do you improve? By concentrating and trying hard. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Teacher.
THE PIPER CENTRE
Mrs Taesha Duley-Smith Director of the Piper Centre
The Piper Centre Underpinning our philosophy is an image of a child being competent, full of possibilities and a protagonist in their own learning. Each week, the children have a STEM lesson where they engage in the various active hands-on inquiry based experiences that complement the inquisitive nature of a child. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) projects form one of the cornerstones of our curriculum; we look forward to the continual development of our innovative STEM programme.
As a part of a suite of initiatives, the Australian Government is investing in the foundation of STEM skills to promote positive learning experiences for children aged three to five years. This includes the development of early learning STEM resources and training for educators, as well as more opportunities for families and children to engage with fun and exciting STEM activities. The Piper Centre has been selected, as one of 100 preschools across Australia, to be part of the ELSA (Early Learning STEM Australia) Pilot programme being designed and developed by the University of Canberra to inspire curiosity and engagement in STEM concepts for preschool children. There will be six apps developed and implemented as part of the 2018 ELSA Pilot.
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Four new apps for children provide playbased, digital learning experiences rich in STEM practices. Learning engagements include exploring locations, patterns, problem solving, designing and making and spatial reasoning. The children’s apps are aligned with the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and will be supported by a range of hands-on experiences that encourage active play.
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The “Educator app” is designed to help with the implementation of the ELSA Pilot Programme. Educators are also encouraged to share ideas nationally between the other preschools that have been chosen to implement the programme.
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A “Families app” is also being developed to assist families in supporting their child’s STEM learning at home.
This is an exciting time for The Piper Centre! We have a wonderful opportunity to build on the STEM experiences that occur every day in our classrooms and in our specialist STEM lessons each week. Please see this short video link, explaining more about the first ELSA App for children, ‘Patterns and Relationships’.
SCHOOL SUMMER CODE CAMP Little League, Spark and Ignite 22 January to 24 January 2018 Students currently in Kindergarten to Year 6 (beginners, intermediate, advanced) Fun, engaging and challenging – Code Camp is a popular course that over 27,000 students have completed. Code Camp is offering three courses these coming summer school holidays to help your child become a coding super-star! These summer courses are Little League – For Kinder to Year 1, Spark – For Year 2 to Year 6, and Ignite for Year 2 to Year 6 returning students.
Build your own iPhone app these school holidays! More than 27,000 Australian Kids have loved Code Camp. Sponsored by
22-24 January 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Powered by
$349 For 3 days
The Illawarra Grammar School
www.codecamp.com.au/TIGS Alternate dates and locations available
Computers Provided
SENIOR SCHOOL
Mrs Naomi Sullivan Acting Head of Senior School Our Year 9 students have been incredibly busy recently, with participation in community service activities, lunchtime concerts and drama performances. Amongst all the activity, they have demonstrated hard work, compassion, enthusiasm and team work. The following provides a little insight into what Year 9 have been up to:
The third opportunity for service was to assist with the setup of the KidzWish Charity Ball, with another 50 students volunteering to help do this on Friday. The Charity Ball is a formal event, which draws on members of the community to raise funds, contributing to much needed programmes assisting disadvantaged children and their carers in the region.
Kidzwish - KidzWish is an organisation supporting children in the Illawarra who are sick, disadvantaged or have a disability. Every year, students from our Year 9 cohort, volunteer their time to assist in the preparation and production at the KidzWish Children’s Christmas Party, held at the WIN Entertainment Centre. This major event aims to provide children with the opportunity to experience some early Christmas fun and festivity, and is reliant on volunteers for its success.
Para Meadows Sports Day - The Para Meadows Sports day that Year 9 helped to run last term follows their 2016 involvement in the Para Meadows ‘Mini Olympics’. The two-year relationship that this cohort has maintained with the Para Meadows School has fostered positive relationships and has resulted in some really rewarding experiences for all involved.
This week, our Year 9 students were involved in a number of different voluntary activities supporting KidzWish as an integral part of the Community Service Programme at TIGS. The strong emphasis on serving others as opposed to simply giving money is an important component of our Community Service Programme. It demonstrates a commitment to the cause beyond monetary contributions and, through active involvement, has shared benefits for all. The way in which students keenly contribute their time and energy to a cause such as this, not only benefits others, but also plays a vital role in their personal development and feeling of connectedness within the community. On Tuesday 21 November, each Year 9 House Group was involved in packing and preparing over 4000 gift bags, ready to be given to the children attending the Christmas Party. Each bag contained treats, vouchers and mementos, and were lovingly packed, ready to be received by the children at the party on Thursday. On Thursday, 50 students played hosts at the Christmas Party, greeting the children as they arrived, showing them to their seats, and serving them lunch as they watched the performance. Students were encouraged to dress up in keeping with the theme of ‘Under the Sea’ to promote the fun and festive nature of the event.
Many thanks to Mrs Lowe for the time and care that she has put in to coordinating these valuable activities and experiences for our Year 9 students. ‘Hating Alison Ashley’ – Year 9 Drama students have been diligently rehearsing the play ‘Hating Alison Ashley’ in preparation for several performances that were delivered to small audience groups this week. As part of the Unit from “Page to Stage” students have been inquiring into what is involved in putting together a performance of a play. Their teacher, Ms McLean, describes the class as a keen and motivated group who committed themselves to the task, with overwhelming interest. This largely student driven project, assesses knowledge, skills, creativity and the ability to self-reflect. Ms McLean also expressed that although students were faced with an extraordinarily short period of time to rehearse a full-length play, the process and inclusiveness of the project has proven to be incredibly valuable and rewarding for our drama students. Many thanks to Ms McLean for facilitating this project. The energetic and ambitious nature of this group has certainly been evident in their approach to this project and showcased in an impressive performance.
‘Hating Alison Ashley’ – Year 9 Drama
Kidzwish
SENIOR SCHOOL
SPORT SENIOR SCHOOL Australia Day Aquathon The Australia Day Aquathon has become an iconic part of Australia Day in Wollongong. In 2018 TIGS will be entering students in the following events across the morning: 6.30am - LONG AQUA (900m Swim + 7K Run) 7.45am - SHORT AQUA (400m Swim + 3K Run) 7.00am - TRY AQUA (200m Swim + 2K Run ages 13 and over) 7.00am - KIDZ AQUA (120m/200m Swim + 2k Run ages 6 to 12) Students can enter individually or in a team of two participants. If you would like to join TIGS team please see Mr Deck in the Sports Office. Date: Friday 26 January 2018 Where: Belmore Basin Wollongong Time: 6.00am – 10.30am (please arrive at least 30 minutes before your designated race time) Training Sessions: Training will continue to be held on Thursdays 3.30pm–4.30pm at Belmore Basin. For more information follow this link to the Aquathon http://ausdayaqua.com.au/ If you have further questions, please contact Mr Adrian Deck on 4220 0200 or email adeck@tigs.nsw.edu.au
PERFORMING ARTS NEWS Term IV Instrumental Concerts Piano Concert 4.00pm, 5.15pm and 6.30pm Wednesday 29 November in the Recital Room
TIGS STRATEGIC VISION Focus Groups
EXTEND @ TIGS Last week at Extend the children enjoyed making their own Find-a-word stencils and creating Cartoon Caricatures. We also played new games Pacman and One-legged Racing where the students created their own rules as they played.
TIGS School Council will be running a number of focus groups over the coming weeks to receive feedback on the draft Strategic Vision before it is published in early 2018.
We also discovered an abundance of blankets and pillows which the children decided would be nice to give away to people in need.
Bookings are essential and places are limited to allow quality discussion. Parents who are interested in taking part can submit an expression of interest at the following link. The School will contact you prior to the event to confirm whether you have secured a place. We will accommodate as many parents as possible but unfortunately places are limited.
In the month of November all Extend schools are participating in the “Share Kindness” project. TIGS Extend children were very excited to add 10 tokens to their community jar towards their chance to win $1,000 for their chosen charity.
There is one remaining focus groups at the following time;
Our Extend Superstar is:
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Parents from any Year group 6.30pm – 7.30pm Thursday 30 November
If you have any questions about the focus groups, please contact the Director of Marketing and Strategy, Helen Bugg, by email at hbugg@tigs.nsw.edu.au.
Henry Chen - for his positive attitude and his wonderful acts of kindness towards teachers and peers.
What’s on next week?
Monday Paper Plate Animals and Pass the Hoop Tuesday Safety Posters and No Bounce Basketball/Soccer Wednesday Sustainability, Painting and Stuck in the Mud Thursday Pop-up Umbrella Car and Baseball games Friday Planting Sugar Snap Peas and Cricket To check out what’s on visit our website at extend. com.au and book via the Parent Portal. Book 14 days in advance to receive the lowest rate.
Monday
27
UPCOMING EVENTS
Nov
Wednesday
29 Nov
Thursday
30 Nov
Saturday
2
Dec Wednesday
6
Dec Thursday
7
Dec Friday Find us on Facebook
8
Dec
Year 7 Immunisation
Piano Concert Prep to Year 12 4.00pm, 5.15pm and 6.30pm in the Recital Room
Year 6 Progression Dinner 5.15pm in the Illawarra Grammar Centre (IGC)
Year 2 Progression and Infants’ Pageant 10.00am in the Illawarra Grammar Centre (IGC)
A Christmas Celebration 5.30pm - Picnic 7.00pm - A Christmas Celebration in Illawarra Grammar Centre (IGC)
Year 10 Formal 6.30pm at the Villa D’oro
Year 3 to Year 6 Presentation Day 1.00pm in the Illawarra Grammar Centre (IGC)