2013 Futurum Winter

St Paul’s Grammar School No. 53 WINTER 2013

St Paul’s Celebrates 30 Years Words into action literacy takes centre stage From the Classroom to Career

Contents ISSUE 53 WINTER 2013 St Paul’s Grammar School 52 Taylor Rd, Cranebrook NSW 2749 Locked Bag 8016, Penrith NSW 2751 Australia

Contact St Paul’s T: +61 2 4777 4888 F: +61 2 4777 4841 info@stpauls.nsw.edu.au www.stpauls.nsw.edu.au

2013 Term Dates Term 1

Thursday 31st January to Friday 12th April

Term 2

Wednesday 1st May to Friday 21st June

Term 3

Tuesday 16th July to Friday 20th September

Term 4

Wednesday 9th October to Thursday 5th December

Find St Paul’s online www.facebook.com/stpaulsgrammar www.twitter.com/spgs www.twitter.com/spgsprincipal www.vimeo.com/spgs www.flickr.com/spgs

Editor Ann Gribble

Design Boheem

Contributors Daniel Weatherhead, Paul Kidson, Ann Gribble, Kelly Newton, Veronica Mitchell

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We would love your involvement.

Please send us an email at: futurum@stpauls.nsw.edu.au

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Please email us at: development@stpauls.nsw.edu.au CRICOS 02267A 041265B 041264C 041263D

From the Principal

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At A Glance

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St Paul’S CelebrateS 30 YearS

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St Paul’S. to uS. thirtY YearS and CountinG…

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Words into action

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literaCY taKeS Centre StaGe

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From the ClaSSroom to Career

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international SCienCe SChool ProGram

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Student Profile

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St Paul’s Alumni

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an exCitinG learninG JourneY

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Five minutes with ChriS atwood

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Five minutes with JAMES GradY

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Editor’s comment Anniversaries tend to be a time when we look back and reflect on the past. This edition of Futurum is no exception as we have remembered and celebrated our foundations.

Those men and women who established our School came back and told us their stories, and were able to see how the school has developed over the past 30 years. We were particularly able to celebrate this on Foundation Day with the opening of the Heritage Corridor and Founders’ Garden, and at the 30th Anniversary Ball where interviews with the School’s architects and originators were shown. These can be seen at http://vimeo.com/spgs and are definitely worth a watch.

Anniversaries are also a time to look forward to the future. In this edition, Futurum looks at the possibilities opened up by new initiatives in reading for our Junior School students. Our Senior School captains consider how School has prepared them for what is to come and our Dance students think about how the classroom can lead to career.

But the most important aspect of our celebration is the opportunity we can have to share our stories. St. Paul’s Grammar School has brought us all together as a community of students, staff, parents, families and friends. We hear stories of achievement and enjoyment, failure or sadness, and we can be encouraged or energised, compassionate or caring. Stories of sporting success, stories of science, theatre, dance and film, stories of the joy of learning, stories of opportunities seized, stories of hardship and poverty – our stories are what bind us together, giving us the chance to speak and listen, tell and hear. And this, surely, helps us to understand more clearly what it means to be human.

From the Principal

Mr Kidson (centre) at the opening of our Heritage Corridor, with Mrs Patsy Beckett and Mr Robin McKay (left), and School Captains Susannah Hoffmann & Damien Meduri (right)

I recently had the joy of tracking down two students I had directed in plays last century!

I’d lost track of them for a few years, as is often the case as time ebbs away, but then a mutual connection updated me on what they were doing.

What a joy it was to renew long-standing relationships and to celebrate their achievements in the years since we last talked. Both have gone on to professional careers in theatre; they always seemed destined to, even as adolescents.

It was around the same time I chatted with our Founding Principal, Mr Adrian Lamrock, on his own reflections of the early years of the School. So many students had been profoundly impacted by his leadership, his teaching, his music and theatre interests, and his generosity of spirit. It was a privilege to have two of our foundation students at Foundation Day in April, and then again at the Annual Ball in June. They spoke of Mr Lamrock’s positive manner in dealing with all the challenges of establishing a school on a disused quarry site at the end of a dirt road, classrooms which were housed in metal sheds, of broken sewers and bogged buses. Yet equally remarkable was Mr Lamrock’s reflections of the many students who had come through the School in those early years. He wistfully remembered names of

those pioneering high schoolers who are now themselves parents of high schoolers; such is the incessant march of time.

We find ourselves in the middle of our 30th anniversary celebrations. It is a time not only to look back with thankfulness, but to look forward with expectation to rich possibilities. Those students who are enrolled at the School in 2013 are able to experience the celebrations which come with such an occasion; many of them have commented how good they feel about being part of this year’s festivities. But what impresses me more is the way they are reflecting on how St Paul’s has prepared them for their life to come beyond their formal schooling, their life yet to come.

There is much in this edition of Futurum which captures the spirit of our 30th anniversary celebrations, and rightly so. Yet I can’t help but think what will become of the faces and names sprinkled through this publication. Who will be the next Professor Richard Petty, as I reflected upon during last year’s Presentation Evening? Who will be the next Firass Dirani, lighting up

our screens, the next Drew Livingstone, performing under lights in theatres around the nation, or James Courtney, taking the chequered flag, or Holly Downes, playing her music across the globe, or doctoral students Emma Magro and Holly Harrison, or the dozen graduates of St Paul’s from the last decade who have now themselves become teachers? These are just a handful of the 6,376 students who have been enrolled at St Paul’s during its 30 years. There are many stories worth telling in the lives of our graduates, as well as celebrating the role the School has played in helping shape their lives.

It is exciting to see how our students achieve, both while at the School and in their lives afterwards. It is a reminder that vibrant and dynamic schools are lively places, places full of promise and potential. Who students are in Year 3, or Year 6, or Year 8, or Year 12 is just a part of their journey through life. Let’s celebrate the time we journey together, both for what it is, and for the potential of what it can become.

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WINTER 2013

at a glance...

In 30 years, there have been

6376 3137 Boys 31

5700 school days 2280 weekly assemblies

students educated at St Paul’s

3239 GIRLS of classes 32175 hours the 79800 times bell has rung

computers & high 3150 junior 2614 school chapels bought by school junior & high school days of 131 sporting carnivals 460 Saturday Sport

30th Anniversary Photos On Thursday 4th April all students at St Paul’s took part in the commemorative 30th Anniversary School Photo, as has been our tradition each decade.

In 2013, technology has enabled a safer and quicker method of taking this photo, with our staff and students photographed in separate sessions and then digitally merged together to create our whole School commemorative photo.

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2003

2013

The Duffy Medal 5pm – 12th September

Valedictory Dinner 7.30pm – 21st September

PYP Exhibition 6pm – 24th October

Hitting a winner! Tennis in 2013

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IBid – Exhibition 7pm – 10th October

Jumping into Tropfest Caitlin McGann has been making movies since she was 13.

To this point she has made three short films, and has been part of the making of “Torn Devotion”, a feature film from Participate Film Academy.

From left: Jesse and Talun Rogers-Fellowes, with Brandon and Harrison Rodrigues

Our ISA Tennis team, consisting of Brandon and Harrison Rodrigues (Year 8), Talun Rogers-Fellowes (Year 9) and Jesse Rogers-Fellowes (Year 7) have been placed in the Division 1 competition this year.

Here they regularly play against teams of older senior boys, many of whom have represented Australia in international competitions. Considering these odds, the boys are acquitting themselves well as the tough competition is sharpening and improving their play. Each week the boys play a doubles match, a reverse doubles match and a singles match.

“It’s great to get in so many games each week” says Harrison. While regularly losing (sometimes only by a point or two) to older and more experienced teams, the boys often win individual matches.

“The competition is really good, and it’s interesting to learn about other school’s tennis programs,” says Harrison. Adds Brandon, “it’s also fun to play in a team with others who enjoy tennis.” All the boys hope that more students will get involved in tennis over the next few years. “It’s such a great sport”.

Competing in the NSW PSSA Tennis State Championships in Albury was a CIS (Combined Independent Schools) team of five boys and five girls, including Isabella Podesta from St Paul’s. Isabella worked hard to achieve her best at this competition against the finest junior players from across NSW, who had all qualified to compete in this important sporting event. The girls came fourth,

while the boys remained undefeated.

Overall, the CIS team came first, winning the Don Moon trophy.

“I thought it was so much fun,” said Isabella, “it was a week away with just me and my Dad – that was great. We stayed with friends and had a fantastic time. I love tennis – it’s basically my life. It was awesome to play in a team against other teams. That was a new experience for me, I really loved it.”

Isabella wasn’t concerned about wins and losses, which is a lovely testament to her devotion to the game itself.

During the Christmas holidays Caitlin did a short course at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS). The course was especially designed around the Trop Jr competition. Based on Tropfest, which is the world’s largest short film festival, Trop Jr is an outdoor film festival for kids aged 15 and under. All entries must be made specifically for the festival and be no longer than 7 minutes.

They must also feature the Trop Jr signature item, which for 2013 was “JUMP”. In small groups students from all over Australia scripted, acted, filmed and edited their entries. Caitlin’s group produced a short film entitled “Aussie Kids at Christmas”, a mockumentary that contrasts the attitudes and values of rich and poor at Christmas.

Although the whole group had input into all aspects of the film, Caitlin’s specific contributions were to set design, props, costume, acting and editing. “Aussie Kids at Christmas” has been chosen as one of the 16 finalists, and was screened at the Domain on 23rd of February. “It was amazing seeing our work on the big screen” says Caitlin. “Aussie Kids at Christmas” can be seen at http:// tropfest.com/tropjr/2013/02/05/ aussie-kids-at-christmas/ – definitely worth a watch!

Caitlin is keen to follow a career in filmmaking and is completing a Certificate III in Media Studies. Her next film will be a part of her portfolio for entry into tertiary studies.

Isabella Podesta blasting a forehand shot

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WINTER 2013

at a glance...

The Beautiful Game at St Paul’s Soccer in 2013 In 2012, St Paul’s fielded one team in the ISA competition for Soccer, who narrowly went down in the ISA Grand final vs Redfield. In 2013, over 150 students are involved in soccer teams from Prep to Year 12, competing in both the Nepean District Football Competition and the ISA Competition.

The School holds training on four afternoons a week, led by many of our Alumni students. We have three fields that run games on the weekend and it isn’t uncommon to have more than 400 people on the grounds of the School eagerly cheering on our enthusiastic footballers.

The River and the Road St Paul’s Artist Concert Series Since 2005 Visual and Performing Arts in conjunction with Service programs run

by St Paul’s has held the Artist Concert Series.

A visit from our Founders; Some of the men and women who established our School reflect on its ongoing legacy On 26th and 27th January some of the founding members of St Paul’s visited the School to participate in the filming of a documentary, reflecting on the early years of the School.

Founding Chair, Dr Michael Barratt, and School Architect, Robin McKay, (pictured above in The Heritage Corridor) along with Mr Adrian Lamrock, Mrs Ruby Holland, Mrs Moira Green, Mrs Terrie Keogh, Mr David Craig, and Mr Ray Vanderheiden recounted their stories and memories of 1983 to 1988 as St Paul’s was established.

This documentary was shown at the 30th Anniversary Ball and can be found online at www.vimeo.com/spgs

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This is a series of evening concerts which showcase musicians associated with the VAPA faculty. The musicians donate their services and money raised from ticket sales is given to Cornwallis House service projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On Wednesday 13th February, we were able to welcome The River and the Road, which features Andrew Phelan, SPGS class of 2005. The band was touring the east coast, and was able to take time to present workshops to students during the day, and stay on to play an evening concert for us. The River and the Road, formed in 2011, is a Jungle Folk band based out of Vancouver, British Columbia. The band has developed a sound which pushes the boundaries of the Folk genre, yet their attentiveness to the roots of Folk and Rock music can be easily recognised through their songwriting and powerful harmonies.

Banjo player Keenan Lawlor draws influence from North Vancouver Island, where he was born and raised. Guitarist

Andrew Phelan writes from his experiences traveling, as well as from growing up in the Blue Mountains in Australia. The band is known for energetic live performances, enhanced by the addition of the dynamic rhythm section of bassist John Hayes and drummer Cole George who joined the group in early 2012.

The concert was a great success.

PA1 filled with enthusiastic music students, their parents and friends, many of whom had heard the band earlier and were keen to come back and hear more. It was inspiring to hear the quality of their work and the way the music reflected the stories and experiences of these young men.

Many students were keen to speak to the band afterwards both to tell them how much they had appreciated the concert and to share their dreams of also writing and playing their own work.

The concert raised over $750 for Congo Aid, and has gone towards projects with the Mutiwanzuki School and the orphanage in Butembo, DRC.

Sojourn Dance Showcase 7.30pm – 8th November

Infants Christmas Concert 6pm – 26th November

P to 6 and 7 to 12 Christmas Chapel 9.30am – 29th November

Presentation Evening 7pm – 5th December

Karaoke for the Congo Tuesday 26th March saw the first Cornwallis House Day of 2013 where money was raised for the House charity CongoAid. Breaking the mould of previous House days, Cornwallis organised a Karaoke for the Congo competition, an event that was more of a saga than a single happening. The official House day was preceded by a series of lunchtime karaoke sessions, where the High School hall was filled by enthusiastic participants and audience members who donated $2 to join in the fun. It was just like inter-house debating, but with more razzle-dazzle. The event was a showcase of St Paul’s talent that allowed for all the SingStar and shower singing champions across year groups to gather together for an appreciation of great (or not so great) singing, while raising money for a great cause.

Special mentions go out to Christine Zhu, Yueqi Chen and Vicky Cai whose special performance I believe sparked a new interest in Chinese pop for many of the spectators as well as Year 12

students Sarah Jones and Sarah SmithWade who took out the competition with their rendition of the ABBA classic Dancing Queen (although I hear an equally fantastic ABBA cover was done by fellow year 12 students Annabelle Hoang and Veronica Mitchell)!

Amidst the joviality of the day, one cannot fail to acknowledge the underlying significance of such initiatives. These fundraisers are an opportunity for students from Prep to Year 12 to be actively involved in a wider world issue. Children not too different from us are exposed to conditions people as fortunate as ourselves struggle to fathom. Approximately $1500 was raised across the entire School and all proceeds contributed directly to the support of CongoAid, a small non-profit organisation that SPGS has had a strong association with since the mid-2000s. Over the years, money has been raised to support the

orphans who attend the Mutiwanzuki School, to pay teachers, buy school books and vocational tools such as sewing machines. These funds allow the children to hope for a better future in the midst of existing in a third world, war-torn country.

I encourage the St Paul’s community take an active interest in the issue and continue supporting CongoAid. For any information regarding support for the Mutiwanzuki School please visit: http://www.congoaid.org Veronica Mitchell – Captain of Cornwallis – Year 12

Anzac Day 2013 Wednesday May 1st was our 2013 ANZAC Day Remembrance Service. Courtney Gracie (Year 10) and Lachlan Gracie (Year 8) led us, addressing us on the importance of ANZAC Day and their involvement in the Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC).

Courtney and Lachlan are both members of the Air Force Cadets in Squadron 323 of Glenbrook Air Force Base. They answered some questions about their involvement in the Cadets and how this gives them a better understanding of service.

What have you learnt as a cadet?

The most important things we have learnt as cadets would be discipline, leadership and management. We learn self-discipline on the parade ground, with uniform expectations and many other aspects of the AAFC. One of the visions of the AAFC is to develop qualities of leadership, self-reliance and initiative. The AAFC has developed both of us as leaders, and this gives us the opportunity to move up in

the ranks in the future. We are gaining the management skills through the expectation of uniform upkeep and class studies.

What does ANZAC Day mean to you?

We both hold our heads high when representing the Air Force Cadets and the youth of Australia. Our great grandfather was involved in war. He served in Darwin and was left with a permanent disability. Being involved in a defence program means that we know personnel who have been involved in various current conflicts and fought for Australia. So ANZAC Day is a very important day for us to remember everyone who fought in the past or who is fighting now.

ANZAC Day is also especially important for us knowing that people went to war at such a young age. In the AAFC, we can relate to these people very well as it would have been at the age we are now that people that were faced with the harsh reality or war.

Final words?

“I strongly encourage everyone to take time out of their life to be part of an ANZAC day service or march and reflect on what has happened in wartime and what is happening overseas now,” suggests Lachlan.

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St Paul’s Celebrates Inviting the community in to 30 Years celebrate our foundation 30 years ago On the first Friday of Term 1, over 350 parents, friends and staff kicked off the 2013 school year with the Sunset Soiree – a social event where families could meet the teachers of St Paul’s.

Although the heavens opened, denying us the sunset views over the Junior School, it was a wonderful evening of conversation, music courtesy of the Ceili Band, and food, with a selection of canapés and a range of locally sourced cheeses and produce from Hawkesbury Harvest.

Foundation Day on Friday 5th April was a momentous day for the School community. Over 1000 people attended a range of events that were held to commemorate the founding of St Paul’s.

The Thanksgiving Service for all staff and students from Prep to Year 12 was opened by Djambe who performed the Anniversary Fanfare Percussion, especially composed for our 30th year.

Our School student leaders addressed the School on the legacy of the founders and the Christian heritage of St Paul’s.

Pastor George Statheos, former Chaplain of the School, addressed the service, reflecting on his time at the School and challenging our community to continue to focus in Christo futurum – “in Christ the future”.

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At the conclusion of the Thanksgiving Service, all students celebrated with a communal lunch provided by the School.

This lunch was prepared and served by our Year 12 students. Classes were cancelled for the afternoon and, led by our House Captains and Prefects, all of our students in Castlereagh, Claremont, Cornwallis, Melville, Strathdon and Wilberforce battled it out in a House versus House games competition in both the Junior and High Schools.

At 3pm, the doors of St Paul’s were thrown open for our community to come in and sample the rich and diverse offerings of the School in the Explore St Paul’s Community Workshops.

Students, staff, parents and friends signed up for a range of activities from cupcake making to ballroom dancing, a science fair to soccer, calligraphy to clay, industrial design to Zumba. These workshops were led by both students and staff of the School.

At the conclusion of these workshops, friends and families were entertained by our ensemble groups at an outdoor concert on the The Arts Quarter Plaza, while lingering over a wonderful meal from our Twilight Food Markets. At 6pm, Principal, Mr Paul Kidson, formally opened the Founders’ Garden and the Heritage Corridor. The Founders’ Garden was conceived and designed by local landscape designer Mr Michael Allsep, and features a stand of spotted gums (eucalyptus maculate), sawn

sandstone seating and native grasses.

The Heritage Corridor displays artefacts, photographs and gifts that encapsulate the past 30 years of St Paul’s and seeks to be an ongoing exhibition that showcases the School’s history and mission.

Foundation Day was concluded by our first Alumni Concert, featuring music from St Paul’s graduates Jocleyn Mohen (1999) and Laura Attwood (2008) who played along with our students for this special performance. With over 10 hours of activities and over 1000 family and friends on our campus, Foundation Day was a wonderful and very special day of celebration for our School and its community.

The 2013 Grandparents’ Day on Thursday 2nd May was another great day for our families with 600 grandparents and friends visiting to sample the activities of the School. The day began with a welcome concert in the Centre, with 100 of our students performing in a range of music and dance ensembles from Prep to Year 12.

Grandparents then enjoyed a morning tea served by School leaders from the Junior, Middle and Senior School, before moving to experience the 21st century classroom. Our Year 10, 11 and 12 Hospitality students made and served a packed lunch. It was another great day celebrating the significant contribution of grandparents to our School.

In 2013 St Paul’s is celebrating 30 years since the School’s foundation.

In 1983, a committed group of Christian educators started to dream about what a Christian grammar school would look like in the west of Sydney at the foot of the Blue Mountains. This year we have organised a number of activities and events that sought to involve our community, inviting our members into St Paul’s to commemorate and celebrate our 30th anniversary.

Our community enjoying the ‘Explore St Paul’s’ workshops

Our 30th Anniversary Ball was our official celebration of the 30th Anniversary with over 370 guests gathering at the black tie event held at the Grand Ballroom, Sydney Superdome. The night, as always, began by focusing on our debutantes and their partners who were presented to the audience.

Mr Kidson welcomed our official guests, including the founding principal, Mr Adrian Lamrock and his wife Kerry, former Chairman, Mr Adrian Fox and his wife Pamela, and former principal, Mr John Collier and his wife Kate. The special guest speaker was Mr Mark Scott, Managing Director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. They were joined by many of our current and former Board members, staff and alumni, including three foundation students from the School’s first year.

As has been the tradition, the School Captains addressed the audience. This year, captains Damien Meduri and Susannah Hoffmann spoke from Luke 12:48. Our special guest, Mr Mark Scott, spoke to the audience about media, technology, our changing world and the steadfastness of the Christian faith.

Our guests were given a glimpse into the early days of the School through a series of documentaries made for the evening titled Origins, Cranebrook, Stories and Legacy.

The inaugural Dad’s and Daughter’s Breakfast held on Friday 14th June in the Junior School Hall was a chance for girls and their fathers to hear from members of our community about issues affecting our girls, including relationships, education and opportunity. As the father of three daughters, Mr Adrian Lamrock spoke to our Year 7 and 8 girls about his parenting experiences. A current Year 3 parent, Mrs Melissa Livingstone OAM spoke about her experiences in leadership serving in the Australian Defence Force, and our Senior Captains, Susannah Hoffmann and Laura Smith, discussed their journey through the School, from girlhood to womanhood, reflecting on the imminent completion of their secondary education.

What a breadth of opportunity we have had to celebrate our community and its past! We look forward to the Valedictory Dinner in September where we will honour student

leaders from the past, and our Presentation Evening where we will formally farewell our graduating Year 12 students and award the Codrington Cup. Over 4000 guests have been involved in celebrating our 30th year and we are grateful to all for being a part of these events for 2013.

Videos including historic documentaries and highlights from Foundation Day can be found online at http://www.vimeo.com/spgs

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St Paul’s. To us.

Thirty Years and counting…

Our 2012/13 School Captains reflect on the ongoing legacy of St Paul’s Grammar School Imagine you are flying, over hills and into valleys, the wind sweeping through your hair, the whole world beneath you with an endless sea of opportunity ahead. What could be better than this ultimate freedom you think as you glide next to a river. Suddenly, the sound of the 6am alarm pulls you from this dream and into reality, it’s time for school. The comfort and freedom of bed is now a thing of the past and a whole day at school needs to be tackled. Despite the prompt and not so gentle wakeup call, we all move on and accept our duties.

Before we know it, the time is 8:20 and we are laughing away with our friends.

We go to English, Science, have recess and lunch, and if we are unfortunate, we have double Maths. It seems that this process of waking up and going to school will last forever. Homework and assignments seem never ending.

However, as seniors, we are hit with a hard truth. The safety of this reality is coming to a close and we have to prepare ourselves for the world beyond our school border.

This realisation suddenly makes the mundane notion of ‘going to school’ actually a great time, but do not misunderstand me, waking up early does not get any more enjoyable, in fact it gets a lot harder when you stay up to 3 am the night before to finish assignments. Yet we begin to notice and appreciate our relationships more, we ‘stop and smell the roses’. We begin to reminisce about the good times and we also remember the bad times.

Memories, good and bad, form the core of our experience at school. There may

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be times back in Year 8 or 9 full of tears that now we look back on and laugh.

As seniors, we try make the most of the opportunities offered to us. Sporting carnivals take on a new significance.

Healthy competition, ever increasingly complex war cries and to top it all off, some truly amazing outfits, have transformed these sporting days into days of pure fun and enjoyment. This attitude is at the core of the schooling life of the senior students. A lot of hard work and effort is put in during the term and we make up for it by enjoying the carnivals twice as much as anyone else.

But these fantastic opportunities aren’t the only ones available at St Paul’s.

The facilities available, staff experience, sport, co-curricular and academic opportunities offer a fantastically rich experience.

These experiences transform St Paul’s from an educational institution, into a home. During the stressful last two years of school students also begin to see the teachers in a different light. We now understand how selfless and loving these people are, who are always willing to go the extra mile to help us get over the line at the end of Year 12. They put our best interests first and give us so much support and encouragement through our final years.

When asked ‘what does St Paul’s mean to you as seniors?, one Year 12 student responded to this question by saying ‘What doesn’t it mean to us?’. At first this might sound way too emotional or perhaps it’s just a flippant answer. But really, thinking about it, St Paul’s does mean so much to us. It is a massive

part of our lives. We’ve grown up here.

We’ve formed friendships and memories that have changed us. We have learned much. Sometimes against our will, but, yes, we have learned. It’s not the information that matters as much as the skills we almost unknowingly are equipped with. We learn to think critically, to not just accept everything at face value, to seek knowledge, to sieve through information and find the truth. To be open-minded, to listen and appreciate the opinion and view of others. To consider, to stop and really think in a world that moves so quickly. To communicate effectively, to respectfully get our point across. To have balance and to be risk-takers. To have compassion, to care about what is happening around us and in the world.

To be principled, to have integrity, to never compromise our beliefs and convictions, to never compromise who we are.

30 years of experience has brought St Paul’s to where it is today. If these years are anything to go on, the next 30 years of St Paul’s will be vibrant and remarkable.

We have gone from having a handful of students in a room, to a ground with the capacity for over 1000 students aged from 3 to 18. This school caters for every need and today, we are celebrating how far we have come, and preparing the school to be even greater for those of the next generation.

Finally, we would like to leave the younger grades with a thought. Most of you probably don’t realize how good you’ve got it. St Paul’s is just your school. But on this 30th Anniversary, just take a second to think about it, to think about how unique St Paul’s is; all the amazing opportunities and amazing people you live with each day.

Bishop Isesomo with St Paul’s leaders and staff: (from right) Head of Cornwallis Mrs Kelly Newton, School Vice-Captain Scott Wotherspoon, Captain of Cornwallis Veronica Mitchell, Bishop Ise-somo and former Head of Cornwallis Mrs Ann Gribble

Words into Action “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in” Matthew 25:35 “Thank-you St Paul’s” was the humbling message Bishop Ise-somo brought to staff and students at St Paul’s Friday 21 June.

St Paul’s was privileged to have Bishop Ise-somo, Bishop of North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo speak to Years 9, 10, 11 and 12 at our chapel services. Bishop Ise-somo has played an enormous role in facilitating our support for the orphans and Mutiwanzuki School in his province. St Paul’s has had an association with “Ise” since the mid 2000s. During this time, money raised by St Paul’s has contributed in significant ways to improving the well-being and education of the students who attend the Mutiwanzuki orphan school. St Paul’s has also supported an orphanage of between 30 – 40 children who attend the school.

School Projects we continue to support include: • buying roofing for the Mutawanzuki school (otherwise in the rainy season the students were wet during their lessons) • supplying building materials to build a modest but necessary toilet facility • desks and general improvements to class rooms • sewing machines for uniforms and vocational purposes.

• teacher salaries • food, clothing, shelter, health costs, education costs for the orphans • purchasing a block of land so the orphans can grow their own food

BISHOP ISE-somo’s province While the west of The Democratic Republic of Congo is experiencing relative stability, Ise-somo was able to explain the ongoing instability in the east. Rebel forces from both Uganda and Rwanda (including the infamous M23 rebels) raid farms, kidnap children and violate women.

The county’s own militia, unpaid and with nothing better to do, also contribute to the violence rather than protecting the people. Ise’s parish shelters and provides care for victims of this terror. People are moving off the land and into the city where it is safer. This is driving up the costs of food and other living expenses.

The Mutiwanzuki School and orphanage are just two of the projects that Bishop Ise manages. He is the chair of a united churches council which funds and administers most social welfare – health, education, widows, victims of violence, orphans and refugees. “They come to us in need,” he said, “we are the church – we have to help them. What else can we do?”

While Bishop Ise-somo graciously thanked students and teachers, we all felt humbled in our position to be able to help in the small ways we can. What else can we do indeed.

This remains our challenge.

Mrs Newton and Mrs Gribble

While this news is shocking and seemingly insurmountable, Bishop Ise-somo was able to share with us positive news. The Mutiwanzuki School was initially set up for orphans. In many African countries if you cannot pay school fees, you cannot go to school. About 350 orphans attend the school, but it has attracted another 100 or so students because the community sees the integrity and care provided by the school and its teachers. A pupil from the school scored the highest primary matriculation score in Butembo. The government does not pay the wages of the teaching staff – yet they still teach because they know the value of education for these children, even if they have to go home to another job so that they can feed their families.

ST PAUL’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL

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LITERACY TAKES CENTRE STAGE “To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.”

A C Grayling, Financial Times (in a review of A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel)

There are many arguments over what should be included in today’s alreadycrowded curriculum, with “this should be taught in schools!” a common catch cry.

While we can debate the relative merits of further additions, the key focus for every classroom should be equipping our children in the area of literacy.

Since the commencement of 2012, staff in the Junior School have relentlessly focused on this area of learning, under the direction of Mr Nigel Walker (Assistant Principal and Head of Junior School) and Mrs Corinne Day (PYP Coordinator) and the Literacy Committee, made up from teaching staff across the Junior School. Teachers have discussed, observed, questioned, changed practice, developed resources, built on past successes, and inquired into what the latest research says about the most effective ways to facilitate progress in literacy learning.

Underpinning the initiative is the PALL Literacy for Learning Framework. PALL stands for Principals as Literacy Leaders, and the programme rests on research findings that particular leadership actions are closely linked to improved literacy learning and student achievement. The research identifies five major areas on which school leaders must focus:

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1. Professional Development 2. Conditions for Learning (physical, social and emotional) 3. Curriculum and Teaching 4. The Wider Community 5. Leadership.

Driving the process is a “disciplined dialogue about data” with the data being a strong evidence base.

Mr Walker explains: “In any human endeavor, it takes discipline to stay on track and stick to the task at hand. The task we have set ourselves is to improve literacy outcomes for our students, and that will come through interpreting hard and fast data about student achievement, classroom practices, and the learning environment in a disciplined and thorough manner, always going back to the question, ‘What does the data tell us?’ “ The evidence-based research is showing that there are six major areas within the Curriculum and Teaching area, and schools must ensure all six are covered in order to ensure students are given the best possible chance of success.

Early language and literacy experiences 25% of students begin school with 1,000 fewer base word meanings than the top 25%, and the gap never completely closes. Both families and schools must ensure that all children are exposed to a rich variety of language experiences in the early years.

Phonological awareness About 20% of students have difficulty in this area. It is fundamentally important for children as they move from speech to print in their early years, and includes knowledge of words, syllables, and individual sounds (called Phonemic Awareness, a subset of Phonological Awareness).

Letter-sound Knowledge (Phonics) At St Paul’s, Phonics is the most crucial part of the literacy programme. Systematic instruction in letter-sound knowledge is planned and taught carefully.

Vocabulary In a typical hour, the average child hears: Family Status

Actual Differences in Quantity of Words heard

Actual Differences in Quality of Words heard

Welfare

616 words

5 affirmations 11 Prohibitions

Working Class

1,251 words

12 affirmations 7 Prohibitions

Professional

2,153 words

32 affirmations 5 Prohibitions

(Hart and Risley, 1995) In the earlier years, vocabulary growth comes through listening and language. From mid-primary onwards, most growth comes through reading and related instruction. Our schools and homes need to be “energized vocabulary environments”, and at St Paul’s vocabulary is explicitly taught and integrated into all lessons.

Fluency There is a strong correlation between reading comprehension and fluency, so as students become more fluent their understanding of what they read should increase. Good fluency does not guarantee good comprehension but it is an excellent indicator. At St Paul’s, many teaching strategies have been employed to increase the fluency of the students, including the re-reading of texts, modelling fluent reading, and showing the students how to “sweep” their fingers under text.

Comprehension For children, comprehension is not about what happens after they read, it’s what happens when they read! Junior School students are benefitting from strategies such as having the thinking process modelled to them (thinking aloud), teachers modelling chunking the text into smaller sections, being challenged with literal, inferential and evaluative questions (“Here, Hidden, Head”), making connections, monitoring, visualizing, predicting and summarising.

As one of only 8 independent schools in NSW completing the program, St Paul’s received substantial funding as a result of its inclusion. This funding will go towards the purchase of literacy resources for the classroom, professional development for teachers, and release for class teachers so they can plan for the integration of teaching strategies in their classroom.

We look forward, as a learning community to enabling and empowering our students to reach their potential through our efforts in helping them to reach their potential in literacy.

ST PAUL’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL 11

From the Classroom to Career Year 9 Dance students find pathways for their passions beyond the classroom.

The Year 9 Dance Class: (back left) Arianna Levy, Madison Brown, Victoria Andrews & Audrey Jagle (front left) Chiara Napoli

Every Friday afternoon Ms Lauren Grizelj runs a special 2 hour class for her Year 9 Dance students. This is a cocurricular group, voluntarily undertaken by the girls because of their passion for dance.

Learning how dance is art can be both confronting and incredibly rewarding.

How do we use our bodies to make an artwork? “We’re going to thread your poses around letterform”, says Mr Weatherhead who is taking photographs for the poster for the Ricochet dance concert. So students begin this particular lesson by creating dynamic shapes on the floor and walls. Maddie’s flexibility draws everyone’s attention as she bends in amazing ways. Audrey, Victoria and Arianna use their back and legs to create abstract shapes on the wall, Chiara balances on the floor with grace.

I ask them why you would want to dance at school rather than just do an outside of school class. The students are ready with their answers – they have thought about this before. “It’s the creativity of dance – you can be something that

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you are not, not like outside of school dance where it’s all the same – a routine that you learn and then perform. Dance here is an art form. We can create something that we can communicate, we can use our bodies and movements to express.” Everything (music and costume, choreography and movement) combines in a dance that enables us to “become something that’s not just about us, it’s about what we want to say to an audience.”

not attend school on Mondays, when she spends the whole day doing ballet classes. She wants to do more, and is aiming to tour Europe and America to audition. Maddie also wants to be a dancer. She too aims to audition as much as possible and take every opportunity do all styles of dance. “School every day has a new lesson for me and I’ll take this with me wherever I go.”

Not all of the girls want to become professional dancers, but all of them see what Dance can give them. Arianna has valued the discipline that she has to achieve, especially from ballet. “Things don’t come easy, I appreciate art forms and learn about other art forms. I intend to continue to take dance classes into the future as a way of self-expression.

I will keep doing dance as a way to feel free and to be myself and just be in the moment. I love the opportunities I get to perform and captivate an audience, it’s good to get feedback and congratulations – criticism as well.”

Aiming for New York City

Audrey wants to be a ballerina, performing on stage is an experience she “totally enjoys”. Currently, she does

We just love dancing.

One of the things any professional performer has to do is AUDITION. An artist friend once told me that “you have to develop a thick skin – to cope with all the rejection.” The audition process can be gruelling and disheartening, but also exciting and energising, a real roller-coaster ride. Sometimes you have to audition so that you can audition!

One of our outstanding and dedicated Year 9 Dance students, Yasmin Sayah, has been chosen by her ballet school to apply to audition for the Youth American Grand Prix (YAGP), the world’s largest student ballet scholarship competition.

Since its beginnings in 1999, Youth

“Dance here is an art form.

We can create something that we can communicate, we can use our bodies and movements to express.”

American Grand Prix has become an internationally known meeting place for dance students and teachers, where they can exchange ideas and share their experience on a variety of issues in ballet and contemporary dance. YAGP’s level of reputation as a showcase for dance students from all over the world is such that even passing the preliminary round to be selected to participate in the New York City Finals gives a participant an important distinction and a boost to their professional dance career. YAGP awards over $250 000 annually in scholarships to dance schools worldwide, and is open to dance students of all nationalities, from 9-19 years old. (http://www.yagp.org/ eng/index.php) Yasmin will have to undergo an exhaustive application process in order to qualify to audition. She has to send recorded footage of examples of her dancing techniques as she does a “variation” from a ballet. She is currently preparing to do her Advanced 1 examination for the Royal Acadamy of Dance, and is learning Odette’s variation from Swan Lake, which she will endeavour to perfect and use for her YAGP application. Yasmin says “if I am to get in and have the opportunity to travel

to New York, I will be extremely proud of myself for getting that far, as well as feeling excited about being in another country and also very, very nervous.”

We wish Yasmin every success, hoping that her hard work will pay off!

“I love the opportunities I get to perform and captivate an audience, it’s good to get feedback and congratulations – criticism as well” ST PAUL’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL 13

Rashmi talking about her experiences at the University of Sydney

International Science School Program The Professor Harry Messel International Science School Program is held every year at the University of Sydney.

Year 11 and 12 students from Australia and overseas participate in two weeks of lectures and activities. The Science Schools were first held for 25 students from Australia and New Zealand in 1964 but this was expanded to include students from first the United States and then England and Japan. Today, scholars from Singapore, Thailand, China, Malaysia, India and Canada also attend.

It is definitely worth being a part of such prestigious programme. So thought Mrs Patricia Humble, our Head of Science, as she supported Rashmi Shingde of Year 11 in her application. Rashmi was one of only 25 Australian students invited to attend as a consequence of her special talents and interests in science. “I am so grateful to Mrs Humble for encouraging me in this. I really had the time of my life,” reflected Rashmi.

This year the program ran from June 30th to July 13th. The theme was Nanoscience...Small wonders, Big Future. Many important international leading scientists presented

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fascinating papers on many aspects of Nanoscience from photonics to quantum systems to communication.

Students also participated in activities such as laboratory tours and hands-on experiments. Lectures were given by such luminaries as: Professor Maria Kava llaris, Director, Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, UNSW, who lectured on Nanomedicine, Dr Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, Science Media Guru, Sleek Geek and the Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at the University of Sydney who talked about Great Moments in Science, and Professor Michael Roukes, Co-Director, Kav li Nanoscience Institute, California Institute of Technology who discussed Nanodevices.

Professor Peter Waterhouse, Molecular & Microbial Biosciences, School of Molecular Bioscience, lectured about Gene Regulation in Plants.

“Professor Waterhouse surprised us when he brought in his favourite pot plant – an Arabidopis plant – and then injected it with jellyfish fluorescent green protein,” said Rashmi. “Within the hour, it fluoresced red with the lights off under blue light. This means we can actually see the plant incorporating the transgene into its system! Imagine, in

the future, you could just squirt your crop, let it spread and silence whatever virus you wanted.

“A lot of our lectures looked into the beauty of photonics and transmission of information of light via fibre optic cables. Our lecturers showed us new materials that can exquisitely control light – detecting or even generating a single photon.

“On one of the mornings, we were taken to visit the multi-million dollar Electron Microscope Unit. We saw liquid nitrogen being poured into the five metre tall Transmission Electron Microscope. The best part was seeing the Atom Probe you could definitely hear this machine before you saw it! We saw individual ions being removed from the surface of an aluminum tip of 100 nm radii! After this, we learnt about 3D printing, which builds the product atom by atom. The possibilities are literally endless.

“Many of our lectures looked into the technology of quantum computers (computers built on storing information on single electrons), research into using nanoparticles to specifically target cancer particles, whether nanoparticles are alive (they’re not, sorry) and Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt gave his insights into the future of our universe with his Accelerating Universe theory.

“I could go on and on – but one thing that struck me was how normally we see science as a way of finding definite answers. With Nanoscience, you realize just how beautifully random nature is and how the more we look, the less we know. Which gives young scientists like me much to look forward to!”

Student Profile

Noah Mullins From an early age, Noah Mullins (Year 7) has been passionate about theatre and the stage.

While living in the United States, Noah joined the San Diego Junior Theatre, the oldest and longest running theatre group for youth in the world.

He performed in many productions, notably as a lost boy in Peter Pan and as Chip in Beauty and the Beast. After moving to Australia, knowing his love for theatre, Noah’s aunt told him about a competition that allowed winners to perform at one venue with Todd McKenney in his touring show Songs and Stories of Peter Allen. The competition called for contestants to send in a video of themselves singing. Noah was excited to learn that he had won. He had to learn the lyrics and dance moves to the song “When I get my name in lights”. While Noah admits that dancing is not his favourite occupation, he excitedly travelled in to the State Theatre, where he met Todd McKenney and they practised together on the stage, performing later that evening. “It was a really great experience,” said Noah. “Todd McKenney was nice and funny. I had the time of my life!”

Lachlan Allport Lachlan Allport is an extroverted, funny and engaging student who has an interesting and unusual passion – ice hockey.

Lachlan first became interested in skating after attending a children’s birthday party when he was about 8 or 9. He was so excited about ice skating that he convinced his parents to let him take up figure skating lessons. These lessons provided him with a strong skating technique, which made an excellent foundation when he moved to ice hockey.

His home team is the Blacktown Fliers, where he plays in the centre.

Last year, Lachlan was able to tour with the Under 18 Australian National Youth team. He played in Canada with the Bobcaygeon Bucks, training with their Junior A team and went to Finland on a training camp where he was on the ice for 2 hours every morning and another 2 hours every afternoon.

Early in 2013, Lachlan went to Serbia where he competed with the Australian

team in the second division of the International competition. Lachlan continues to play in competitions and tournaments both locally and nationally and hopes to continue his international career into the future.

He has certainly had the opportunity to travel to interesting and distant places, and we wish him every success in his chosen sport.

ST PAUL’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL 15

Student Profile Photo by: Judith Fay Taylor

Samuel Buckley Samuel Buckley is a dynamic Year 8 student.

You may remember him as the Cat in the Hat from Seussical the Musical performed at SPGS in September 2012.

Sam has always loved acting, often making home movies with his sisters, and earlier this year decided to put his name down with an agency. When the agency called to say that Opera Australia were auditioning for two productions, Tosca and Albert Herring, Sam sent in his CV and, to his surprise, got a call to audition. He prepared the song Danny Boy and at the audition was also asked to sing Happy Birthday! When he got a callback for a second audition for Albert Herring, he prepared songs from this opera, a work by Benjamin Britten about English village life. However, he landed a part in the children’s chorus in Tosca.

This major production was directed by the legendary John Bell and received

great critical acclaim.

Alexia Voulgaridou and Cheryl Barker shared the title role.

They were joined by tenors Yonghoon Lee and Diego Torre and baritone John Wegner played Scarpia in the famous love triangle. Christian Badea conducted.

Sam was doing two or three performances a week, as well as trying to keep up with his schoolwork, which was a fairly exhausting schedule. However, Sam found it energising. “It has been one of the best experiences of my life,” he says.

The first rehearsal was really daunting for Sam. “I thought ‘I don’t know if I can do this. I felt that I couldn’t hit the notes,

that I wasn’t singing well enough. It was REALLY hard compared with Seussical.

I knew I had to get singing lessons.” So that was what he did. “It helped me so much. My teacher taught me how to reach the notes properly and techniques for breathing. After that I knew that I was much better, and I felt really good about everything. It was such fun! Getting into my costume, being made up, everyone was so nice. They were so encouraging and made me feel welcome. I kept thinking ‘I am in Opera Australia – what is this!’”

Joshua Goode Joshua Goode runs a one-man marathon for Tongan children.

Joshua (Year 10) ran from Penrith to Campbelltown in support of his chosen charity, the Falekakala Scholarship Fund (FSF). Founded by Mr Semisi Falekakala, a friend of Mr Goode’s, the organisation works together with village elders helping disadvantaged Tongan students to continue into tertiary education. ‘‘According to the Australian guidelines I was too young to participate in a marathon, which really disappointed me, but my heart was set on running, so I decided to find my own solution and create my own one-man marathon,’’ he said.

Josh began the initiative as his MYP Personal Project, which all Year 10 students have to complete. In preparation he ran 5-10km on weekdays

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and up to 32km at weekends. This is part of his regular training regime.

Joshua (left) with local MP Brian Doyle

After an 8am start from the Northern Rd in Penrith, Joshua checked in every 5k for energy food and drinks provided by his family support crew. He finished the full 42k marathon in 4hrs 1m and 16seconds, raising about $1600 for the charity. ‘‘I chose this charity because my family was involved in creating the foundation and that was important to me,’’ Josh said, “but I think I could have done better with the sponsorship.”

He described the run. “In some ways running helps me to focus on my own

future – I can imagine myself studying and working. For this run, the countryside was lovely to look at, and this also helped me along.” He finished in Campbelltown, cheered on by his family, some members of the local Tongan community and his church minister. They celebrated with a barbeque lunch.

“Running is something that I do. This was a way of using that for good. I want to help people in the world who don’t have what I’ve got. I’m finally helping someone, and that felt good to me.”

Sailing the World Principal’s Award winner Alice Tarnawski shares her achievements and adventures in an exciting six months since she graduated from St Paul’s.

Tell us a little about your Year 12 achievements I finished the IB in 2012 and received a score of 42, which equated to an ATAR of 99.35. My final year of high school was incredibly busy as I was precariously balancing my studies with sailing and my social life. I took on a few very contentheavy subjects, such as History, and found that I needed to make the most of each week so that I could use my weekends to hit the water and get to the regattas as I really wanted to race. In the end, I did not expect to do as well as I did, although I am, of course, very happy that it worked out the way it did! I am so proud of the way that I managed to study hard and achieve my best as well as train and see my friends on the weekends.

What post school pathway did you choose?

I applied to get into a Bachelor of Law combined with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies at the University of Technology in Sydney. I was still very unsure of what I wanted to do at the end of my high school journey. At the last minute I decided to take on university and see how I liked Law. I loved going to university and I really enjoyed my course and the way that it challenged me. However, after five weeks I realised that I needed some time off to take care of my health and to train as hard as possible and see where my love of sailing could take me before I got stuck into study again and the routine of university life.

I deferred my place at UTS and I am currently working at a trampolining centre called Planet X in Richmond, which has been a fantastic opportunity for me to see a business grow. I have also become more involved in the MAKS Racing team from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and their Youth Development program. The team is an all-female youth team with the hope of completing the Women’s International

Match Racing world circuit. Just after having decided to defer university, we received a wild card entry to an event on the racing circuit held in SaintQuay-Portrieux, France and suddenly I was jetsetting off to Europe to do what I love. Now that I am home, I have plans to spend the rest of the year getting fit and healthy, campaigning with MAKS racing and saving up some money so that I can live on campus when I recommence studies.

What are your plans for post tertiary study?

I am still unsure of what I want to do with my life and my degree and I’ve kept my options very open so that I can continue my sailing goals this year and as I get a better idea of the world and what it is about so I can choose exactly what path I want to take. I’m certain that I will continue my sailing career and that I want to see as much of the world as I can and get to know as many different people and stories as possible. The degree that I am enrolled could get me a job in the field of international human rights and I would love to work for a Non-Government Organisation and fight for those who can’t defend themselves. I also have dreams of competing again in elite level sailing, and see how far I can go in both the sporting and academic worlds.

What was the best thing about your summer holidays?

Just after New Year, I was part of a youth team that competed in the Pittwater to Coffs Harbour offshore race which took approximately 27 hours and was followed by four days of racing around the Solitary Islands. The race there was tough, but it was worthwhile

and an incredible experience. I learnt that when you are tired enough it’s possible to fall asleep nearly anywhere on a boat and that perseverance is one of the greatest virtues a person can have.

What have been your memorable experiences since graduating from St Paul’s In May, MAKS racing got invited to a grade one event in France. Grade one events are the highest level of competition that you can enter in the sailing world. So, with very little notice or preparation we set off for France and competed against some of the world’s best sailors. It was a gruelling, but absolutely amazing week of competition. We had a few wins against some incredible sailors and role models and returned home with an 8th place up our sleeve and a ranking of 47th in the world. We are so incredibly proud of our result and what it means for our future as elite professional sailors.You can follow MAKS racing on Facebook for updates.

After studying French at school I had always dreamed of sailing in France.

Three weeks ago, I quite literally lived this dream. I cannot thank everyone who helped me get there enough, including my family, friends and Mr Humble who helped fuel my tenacity and encouraged me to strive to achieve my best. The future holds so much more for me and I’m so excited to see what more I can achieve.

ST PAUL’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL 17

An exciting learning journey Year 4 Inquiry at St Paul’s

“I love coming to school!”

Imagining that they could do anything they wanted, students created their own charities, wrestling with problems of sustainability, and coming to terms with the fact that they can’t fix everything!

Fun, exciting, awesome.

This is how Year 4 students are describing what they are doing in their classroom this year.

to dissect the kidneys, eyes, hearts and brains of sheep and cows.

Says Lewis: “I brought in a heart and I picked it up bare-handed and stuck my finger in the tubes and showed everyone where the blood came out and in.”

The Year 4 program of Guided Inquiry learning is generating excitement with both staff and students as children explore our world. Mrs Lisa Bonazza and Mr Chris Harnett have tackled three units of work this year: The Human Body, Rights and Responsibilities and Colonisation.

“I liked to feel the different parts of the body and see the eye and what’s in it. We made body systems out of boxes. I made the lungs” – Oskar.

On the first day of school, students were surprised to enter Mrs Bonazza’s classroom to find a room in utter chaos. After the initial shock, they realised that order was essential for a system to work, and began to relate some of this thinking to the systems of the Human Body. Questions were asked, particularly “How?” and “Why?”, as students gloved up and began

Nellie says: “I liked when we had to make our body out of boxes. We put packs on at the end and called it ‘Jet Pack Granny!’”

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“I enjoyed touching the animal organs and cutting open an eyeball – I want to be a doctor!” – Josh.

In the “Rights and Responsibilities” unit, students began to investigate what it might be like to live in another part of the world. Mrs Bonazza took them on

a short “Incursion” down to the School dam to bring buckets of water back to the classroom. This enabled students to empathise with other children their own age who have to carry water every day. Investigations into the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights revealed that all people have basic human rights that are contravened every day by poverty, war, racism and other evils. Rose Nelson of Year 4 and her family organised a visit by their friend John Maclean. Rose has this to say: “I liked taking charge. I got my friend John Maclean to come in. He has his own charity. He is actually disabled. He was training for a marathon and got hit by a truck. The doctors thought he was going to die, but he’s a paraplegic. He swam across the English Channel and did a marathon. His best friend John helped him across the line. He’s a very inspirational man. His charity helps kids in wheelchairs. He gets kids sports wheelchairs. He’s always telling people to take their opportunities in life. He taught me to always go for what you want and don’t hold back. My class has raised $100 for his charity – the John Maclean Foundation”. John’s visit opened students’ eyes to the strength and resilience of people living with disability.

Year 4 students engaged in artmaking in their unit of inquiry

Imagining that they could do anything they wanted, students created their own charities, wrestling with problems of sustainability, and coming to terms with the fact that they can’t fix everything!

In the unit on Colonisation, students learned about the First Fleet and what it would have been like to travel here on a tall ship – “smelly, dirty and disgusting” suggests Lauren Jeffrey. Many students really appreciated the opportunity to choose a research topic. “I was amazed to learn how badly they treated the convicts” says Alex Seppelt, “They would be beaten with a cat-o-nine tails which is a whip with 9 leather strips with barbs on the end!” Angus learnt how Pemulwuy survived with 7 shots to his body when Henry Hacking, a British soldier, shot him. An excursion to the Environmental Education Centre at Brewongle was a very popular event. Chanuth demonstrates how he learned to count in Dharug.

But, as Galen says “the thing that I have really liked is having choices. We have been able to choose research topics, and sometimes we can choose what we want to do in maths.” Harry adds “I love maths.” The excitement and sense of purpose in the classroom is palpable and the students are confident and capable.

The learning journey is so much fun!

Mr Harnett with Year 4

ST PAUL’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL 19

Five Minutes WITH Chris Atwood

Mr Chris Atwood is new to St Paul’s in 2013, teaching our Year 4 students. Having taught previously in other schools and worked at Taronga Zoo, he brings a unique perspective on inquiry based education.

Tell us about your family (parents, wife and kids?) and where you grew up.

I’m descended from Irish convicts, a child of the ‘80s, with a secret passion for mix tapes. I grew up just around the corner from the Three Sisters. Close enough to the bush to know every cave and canyon this side of the Jamison valley. My parents taught at the local high school and after observing their lifestyle (often waking at 5am to mark assessments), I vowed never to become a teacher. At nineteen I married my high school sweetheart, Lisa. My folks weren’t overly enthusiastic about the union but Lisa was and remains a fabulous choice and it was a decision carefully made. No kids yet, apart from the twenty five that I look after Monday to Friday.

How did you come to faith?

I grew up in a loving Christian context, the values of which I rebelled against in my teens. It was a combination of a healthy dislike of 90’s praise music, the horrifying image of teens at my local youth group wearing beige cardigans, a series of unsatisfactory answers from Church leaders and the sad reality that the Christian kids at my school were the only ones not having fun. Even the computer boffins had more laughs

than the lunch time F.I.S.H group. So I lived a less than ideal lifestyle for a bit.

Then, just before I met Lisa, God began to reveal the mystery and truth of the gospel to me. You can’t ignore the truth!

What made you decide to become a teacher?

During my senior years at high school, I worked at an adventure campsite that catered for school groups and disadvantaged kids. I learnt that many kids struggle. I really enjoyed the relationships I developed over the course of a week at camp. I found it immensely enjoyable to be a positive influence and to share the truth of the gospel. Teaching is one of the few professions that allow us to develop meaningful relationships with little people. Also, you can’t beat that feeling when the 3pm bell rings on the last day of the term.

I hear you have had experience working at Taronga Zoo. Tell us about that.

I have always loved animals. Spiders, leeches, snakes, crocks, cockroaches and slugs, I love ‘em all. So when I discovered a job where you can share animals with kids and like-minded adults,

Mr Atwood talking to our community on the 2013 Grandparents Day

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I couldn’t resist. I’ve been working at Taronga for seven years, as a part time Education Officer. I often host the Roar and Snore sleepover program which involves the handling of Australian snakes and mammals, night tours through the zoo and hosting behind the scenes experiences such as meeting fur seals and sea lions, feeding giraffes and prepping exhibits for the lions, gorillas and bears. Top Job!

I expect everyone asks you this – are there any similarities between zoo work and teaching?

In my experience, animals are often far easier to control than children.

What do you love about the classroom?

I love that as a teacher, you create and control the culture of your classroom.

If you want, it can be a place where learning is pleasurable, where difficult truths are faced and character can be tested. It can be a place where fears are dissolved and laughter is unavoidable.

More than anything else, the classroom can be a community where God is glorified. This is not a perfect description of my classroom but it is what I aim for.

Five Minutes WITH

James Grady

Mr James Grady joined St Paul’s in 2013, coming to us from ministry at Campbelltown City Baptist Church following his study at Sydney Missionary and Bible College. He talks to FUTURUM about his faith, his family and journey to St Paul’s.

Tell us about your folks, where did you grow up and go to school?

I grew up in and around Campbelltown.

Dad is an air-conditioning and refrigeration mechanic and Mum works for a fitness company in admin and management. For much of my childhood they ran their own business in the flower industry. The first decade of my life was spent on a 5 acre property out the back of Minto and I loved the outdoors. I also have a brother named Tim who is a year and a half older than me. I went to St Peter’s Anglican Primary School, Hurlstone Agricultural High School (7-10) and then William Carey Christian School (11-12). God has been very kind to give me the parents and childhood that he did.

I hear you were married young, tell us about that.

Christians hey?! I was 18 and knew that I was punching above my weight, and so I began to work out how I could convince Nat to marry me. She was silly enough to say yes and we got married when we were a few months shy of 20. Lots of people thought we were insane – but the people who knew us well were incredibly supportive. It was good for me to be out of home and taking responsibility for myself and my wife at a young age.

Being married to Nat has brought me much, much joy.

You have a little boy and another baby by now! How do you manage a new job, a new house, a toddler and a new baby?

Good question. I’m still working that out to be honest! As I write this, it’s my first day back at work since Nat had our second boy. I think it’s a constant balancing act where I keep asking Nat how she’s going and how I can be loving and serving her. It’s certainly challenging to feel the pull of responsibility at home and at work. I’m convinced though that

my first ministry is to my wife and kids, and so I’m trying to make sure that that is evident to them, whilst at the same time doing my job at school as well as I can with the time that I’ve got.

How did you come to faith?

I grew up going to church and don’t really remember a time where I didn’t believe that Jesus died for my sins. So faith has always been part of my life. As I grew I started to learn more about the historical reliability of the Bible, as well seeing God answer prayer and change others around me. The more I think on and understand the gospel, the more I see God as glorious and kind and loving and merciful – first of all to me and also to others. That Jesus died for me still shocks me, and the older I get the more I realise how desperately I need him.

What made you decide to go into the ministry? And then become a school chaplain?

A strange mix of circumstances really. I wanted to help with youth group at my church when I was 18 because I saw a need. My pastor at the time offered me a job in response, and so I worked for my church whilst finishing my teaching qualifications (technically I’m a History teacher). I’ve been involved in ministry ever since. My first teaching job was in the Chaplaincy department at Barker College and I loved every minute of it.

And so after spending a few years at Bible College, when the opportunity to be at St Paul’s came up I couldn’t wait to come here and get involved.

As a newcomer to our community, what are your perceptions of it?

I love that as a school we are serious about achievement, but at the same time we don’t seem to take ourselves too seriously. The staff here care deeply

about their work and the students they teach – I find that incredibly encouraging. I’m finding that students have many unanswered questions about God and the Bible and I’m excited to help answer some of those questions. I also appreciate the culture of being globally minded and the enthusiasm with which students have supported House charities has been incredible to see. I think our students do have a fair understanding of how blessed they are and the responsibility that that gives them to look out for the needs of others.

What is your vision for your students?

I’m praying that our students will hear the good news of Christ’s death on their behalf and put their faith in him. That students would understand the gospel and respond would be amazing. I’d love for this to be a place where students not only get a first class education, but a place where they encounter the God of the Bible who pursues his people relentlessly. And for those who don’t put their faith in Jesus – I’m praying that they’ll keep thinking about the big questions of life and continue to consider the life and death of Jesus even after they leave this place.

ST PAUL’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL 21

WINTER 2013

On Friday 7th and Saturday 8th over 70 students performed in the cast of ‘Faust – A Modern Tale’ at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre. Here we have Faust (played by Angus Findlay), his back turned to Greta (Kaitlyn Cobcroft) with the spectre of Mephistopheles (Campbell Barnes) looking on.