Bob Meakin, Deputy Headmaster & Head of Senior School

Dear Parents & Guardians

Last Friday I was treated to an OCA lunch with Old Cranbrookians spanning from the 1960s through to 2019. Marty Cayzer, President of the OCA, gathered the clans from a variety of year groups to enjoy one another’s company and exchange some old school stories. The OCA has so much affection for the School and are very supportive of our current programmes and events. I would like to thank Marty for all his efforts with the OCA, and also thank everyone who attended.

Last Friday evening, we held the rowing launch for the 2023/24 season. As well as christening some new boats, the new Captains of Rowing were inducted. Tom Gloster is the new Vice Captain and Jack Stone is the new Captain. The School is extremely grateful to the Friends of Cranbrook Boat Club (FCBC) for their ongoing support of the rowing programme.

In yesterday’s assembly we heard from many students, including reports from the various tours that took place during the holidays such as CETOP, Drama, Languages and Rugby. We also welcomed Ren Fernando from the charity ReLove, which looks to raise awareness of families suffering from domestic violence, and the practical support the charity provides through donating furniture. The reason for mentioning this is if anyone has any furniture that they wish to discard, ReLove would be very happy to receive it. We also heard from our new Senior Prefect and Second Prefect, Theo Walsh and Angus Malcolm. Their motto is Cranbrook 24/7 and is about supporting all the activities beyond the classroom and any activities that students are involved in outside the classroom.

Next week, we see the return of the Junior Drama Production of Great Expectations, and in the spirit of Theo Walsh’s address, I encourage you all to get behind the cast and crew and enjoy these performances.

Our HSC and now IBDP exams continue, with some HSC students now finishing their final exams this week. We wish them well.

Have a great week.

Best wishes,

Bob Meakin
Deputy Headmaster & Head of Senior School

Matt Grice, Director of Sport K – 12

Dear Parents and Guardians

A warm welcome to the 2023/24 Summer Season. The sun was out to start the season, and it was fantastic to see so much activity around both the Senior School and Junior School on Saturday.

The 1^st XI Cricketers have begun their CAS competition in style, having a comfortable win over St Aloysius last week, and then on Saturday scoring 414 runs on the first day of their two-day match against Trinity. Well done Sam Weir on a sensational 156. We are looking forward to seeing what the students can do this season as the 1sts hunt for their 5^th successive CAS Premiership.

What a start to the season for our volleyball programme winning the 1sts, 2nds, 3rds and 4ths against St Aloysius. We are looking forward to seeing them produce more great results over the season.

A little bit of Cranbrook history took place at Queens Park on Saturday as Cranbrook’s 1sts Touch Football team won their first ever competition game against Redlands. Well done to all students and coaches.

A massive thank you to Mr Carrol and the rowing fraternity who had a spectacular season launch on the Chapel Lawn last Friday.  Boats were christened and students, parents and staff had a wonderful time. Thank you for everyone’s hard work in setting up and organising the event.

This Friday night sees our second Friday night lights game at Trinity for the 1sts and 2^nd V Basketball. We would love as many students as possible to support our boys as we continue the CAS season.  We wish the sailors heading to ACT for their NSW class Championship all the best.

For details of all our weekend fixtures, please see here. For the Co-Curricular, Sport and Academy schedule in Term 4, please see here.

Speed and Agility starts tomorrow, 6.30am on Hordern. We encourage as many students as possible at these amazing free sessions Mr Hallam puts on. The programme is designed for all skill sets and athletic abilities. We would love to see everyone come down to get a little better each week for their chosen sport.

Looking forward to seeing everyone around the grounds this weekend.

Kind regards

Matt Grice
Director of Sport

Articles of Interest

Please find articles of interest below;

The resurgence of the teenage mullet

Puberty starts earlier now, but kids’ needs are the same

Surveying young people on social media

This man gave up his smartphone for 30 days. Could you do the same?

(Here is the trailer to his new documentary on the subject: Disconnect Me)

16 Overlooked Joys Of Raising A Teenager

The Great Separation

All best,

Matt Banes

Adrian Harrison, Director of Curriculum and Academic Operations

Our Year 12 students are currently immersed in the culmination of their academic journey, undertaking their final external examinations. This includes the commencement of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma examinations this week, while students pursuing the Higher School Certificate (HSC) have reached the halfway point of their examinations.

Today, we celebrated a significant milestone as an inaugural cohort of Year 11 students embarked on the Studies of Religion I unit within the HSC curriculum. We wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to these students for their bold and pioneering spirit. Additionally, we extend our sincere appreciation to Ms. Turnbull for her exemplary leadership in guiding these students through their academic endeavors, as well as to Mr. Farraway for his invaluable support.

Adrian Harrison
Director of Curriculum and Academic Operations

Peter Young, Director of Students

Dear Parents and Carers

Next week the Student Representative Council are running the ReLove appeal week. There will be a bake sale on Tuesday, during recess and lunch. On Friday a BBQ has been organised and students will be allowed to attend school in plain clothes. EFTPOS facilities will be available on both Tuesday and Friday and a gold coin donation is encouraged from all students for the privilege of not wearing the school uniform on Friday. The SRC has chosen to support ReLove, an organisation dedicated to helping people experiencing homelessness get back on their feet.

The newly elected Prefects were involved in a leadership training afternoon earlier this week where they unpacked the qualities of successful leadership as well as learning about the challenges of working in successful teams. The five different portfolio teams met and confirmed their goals for the next 12 months. The Prefect’s team work now continues as it aims to promote a connected and supportive student community.

Peter Young
Director of Students

Chantel Munro, Head of Drama

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Only one week to go until the Junior Production “Great Expectations” hits the Cranbrook Packer Theatre! A family-friendly and highly accessible production, you can still purchase tickets on the following link: (please insert)

Dates are Wednesday 1, Thursday 2, Friday 3 November at 6.30pm and Saturday 4 November at 5.30pm.

In other exciting Drama news, our Junior Theatresports team have made it through to the Regional finals of the Theatresports Australia Competition! A huge congratulations to Finn Dusseldorp, Weston Rose, Ned Granger, Thomas Lord, Arthur Rogers, Ferdinand Johnston, Ashton Corbett and Ethan Goldberg who will be competing for the State Finals on Monday night at St Patrick’s in Strathfield.

And finally, the Senior Production next year will be Cloudstreet- the theatrical adaptation (abridged!) of the iconic Tim Winton novel. Auditions will be held on the 6^th and 8^th November after school in the Packer theatre. Audition information and scripts can be found here.

Chantel Munro
Head of Drama

Year 10 Social Photos

Crystal Club

The results are in for the RACI NSW Crystal Growing Competiton for 2023! Well done to Year 7 students Edward Darnell and Oscar Jassal who both received a Highly Commended award for their crystal entries in Term 2!

Crystal Club continues this term on Wednesday lunch time in C2.2.

Ms Kathryn Whiten
Laboratory Technician

Basketball Report

The Cranbrook 1sts & 2nds played in the first Friday Night Lights game this season at St Aloysisus; good crowd, quality basketball. It was the first round of the CAS competition for the Brookie Ballers against St Aloysius and won 21 games, lost 17 and drew 1 game.

1sts

The Cranbrook 1sts were in a battle for the first quarter. Aloys began to push in the 2nds and third quarters. The game looked like it was getting away from the Brookie Ballers but they dug in a fought back. There was a chance they could somehow get close enough to sneak a win but it wasn’t meant to be, lost 66-74. Justise Single played well at both ends of the floor and finished with 32 points.

2nds

The Cranbrook 2nds started slow and were unable compete early in the game with Aloys taking a commanding lead. It didn’t take long before the Cranbrook 2nds found their rhythm and began to slowly peg back the margin. It wasn’t quick but it seemed that suddenly the Brookie Ballers were infront and in control, eventually winning, 48-37.

You can view the results here.

Roughtober Sleepout

On Friday 20 October, a group of approximately 30 students and 4 staff members embarked on an overnight excursion with Rough Edges, a non-government, not-for-profit organisation who works in our local area assisting our community who are experiencing homelessness and other challenges.

Rough Edges is a cafe-style service where meals are provided free of charge for anyone who needs them, providing a place of connection is at the heart of what they do. 

To support RoughEdges, we wanted to allow our students to experience what it’s like to live without the security of a place to call home while making a real difference in the lives of people who face this reality every day by raising money for Rough Edges. After a small dinner, we visited six stations over the course of the night on a walk about around the Darlinghurst/Kings Cross area along with a contingent of students from SCEGGS. During our evening, students were able to speak with a variety of people including those currently experiencing homelessness, those who have been homeless in the past, family members, social workers and others all affected. These conversations were transformative and left us with incredibly valuable perspectives that built on a presentation given to our Year 11 students in Term 3.

Following this, we returned to St John’s Church on Darlinghurst Road where we bunked down for the night outdoors, experiencing for just one night what it is like to not have the security of a roof over our heads.

A challenging but rewarding experience all round for both the students and staff involved and one that we look forward to taking part in next year.

If you would like further information about the fundraising please contact Anolan@cranbrook.nsw.edu.au

Aaron Nolan
Acting Director of Service / Acting Assistant Head of Languages  

Body Image Forum

Body Image has been identified as a significant issue for Australia’s youth. The Butterfly Foundation’s Body Kind Youth Survey was completed by over 1,600 Australians aged 12-18 years. Disturbingly, some of the key findings were –

• More than 90% of young people have a concern about their body image
• Nearly 70% of young people said they have experienced appearance-related teasing, with 73% of these saying they’d experienced it at school
• Nearly two-thirds of young people say their body image stops them from doing physical activities
• 50% of young people said that how they view their body has prevented them at some point from raising their hand in class

Allegra Spender, Member for Wentworth is hosting a parent and carers forum, along with a  panel of experts including:

• Helen Bird, Education Services Manager, the Butterfly Foundation – the national charity for all Australians impacted by eating disorders and body image issues, and for the families, friends and communities who support them
• Dr Helen Rydge – a Clinical Psychologist who has worked with clients with eating disorders and body image concerns for over 20 years across a range of public and private settings
• Isabella Griggs – youth advocate and counsellor in training
• Jaimee Krawitz – a local counsellor who is releasing an e-book about the importance of language surrounding body image and eating disorders as well as the importance of placing preventative measures in the curriculum

The key focus of the forum will be the sharing of practical information, education possibilities and community resources about body image and is for parents and carers as well as educators.

An invite can be found here.

Resonate Series: Professional Learning

Delivering an excellent holistic student experience is predicated on having an actively engaged staff, supporting one another and working to extend and develop careers. Shaping a culture where teachers feel supported and challenged to do their best work is vital to Cranbrook’s ongoing success. Professional learning is about cultivating a culture of excellence. I want to set the right environment that allows teachers to work effectively, learn from each other to improve their practice and curate their learning through teacher agency. At its core, ongoing teacher development is about sustaining and maintaining motivation. Cranbrook professional learning suites help ensure our teachers continue to strengthen their practice throughout their careers grounded in self-reflection, self-directed learning and the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

Read more here.