Bob Meakin, Deputy Headmaster & Head of Senior School

Dear Parents and Carers

On Monday 13 November, the Senior School students and staff gathered on the Mackay Lawn outside the Memorial Chapel for a Remembrance Day Service. I read aloud the long list of the fallen during the Second World War that wiped out a generation of Cranbrookians and after each name the school bell was rung in remembrance. We welcomed several families and relatives of the fallen to join us in our Remembrance Service and we thanked them for their attendance, which added to this significant occasion.

Our new Perkins Building was opened on Monday evening, hosted by our Foundation Department. This was a celebration of the beautiful music spaces that now exist in this old and beautiful building, next to the Mackay Lawn. Our special guests enjoyed a tour of the music classrooms and rehearsal spaces as well as hearing from our Headmaster on the joys of a musical education.

On Tuesday night, our graduating Year 12 2023 enjoyed their formal at The Eveleigh in Alexandria. It was wonderful to see our graduating students and their guests enjoy the end of the examination period. Many of these students have already completed their full first aid training and they will soon be sitting their RSA course, equipping them for the world of work as they leave us.

This coming Friday, we celebrate the work of our Visual Arts Department with the Curating Cranbrook exhibition in whichstudents across the whole School showcase their work around the campus. The exhibition commences at 6pm in the Governor’s Ballroom.

This Saturday sees our final full round of Summer Sport. This has started extremely well for many of our students, and I encourage them to finish the term well and be good hosts and guests against Barker.

Year 7 CITF have one more night out in the Tharwa Valley before returning to us tomorrow afternoon. News from the field is that students have embraced this programme superbly. A note to parents of Year 7 – they will need a good shower and a space in the laundry timetable to ensure they are fit to enter your homes again. Year 7 CITF can be one of the biggest challenges they have in the Senior School, and I commend all Year 7 for surviving and thriving through this week.

Finally, well done to all Year 10 students who will complete their examinations tomorrow. Collectively, and individually they have embraced this examination period with maturity and rigour with many of them honouring so many co-curricular commitments as well as attending examinations. Well done to all Year 10 students!

Have a great week.

Best wishes

Bob Meakin
Deputy Headmaster & Head of Senior School

School Culture Survey

Next week we will be asking students in Years 5 through 12 to complete a survey about the school culture at Cranbrook. The purpose of this survey is to help the School understand student perceptions of life at Cranbrook, and how the behaviour of everyone within the school community aligns with the School values. The survey will also include questions asking students whether they have witnessed or experienced discrimination at school. We believe that an open and honest conversation of this type is important to ensure that we have a realistic picture of our school culture and that all students feel heard and supported.

Mentors will explain the purpose of the survey and will provide supervised time in mentor period for students to complete it.

Recognising that these topics may be sensitive for some students, we appreciate the importance of ensuring they feel comfortable and positive about engaging in this process. We are working to achieve this by:

–              Assured anonymity of all responses, including the use of a third party to collect and analyse data

–              Provision of a supervised, supported environment in which to complete the survey

–              Ability to opt out of individual questions or the survey at any time

–              Opportunity through and following the survey to connect with teachers and pastoral care staff to further discuss any issues raised

If you do not wish your son to do the survey, please tell him and he can tell his Mentor.

While I’m away on CITF this week, should you have any further questions about the student survey of school culture, please contact Brett Rolfe.

Angelique Sanders
Director of Student Wellbeing

Matt Grice, Director of Sport K – 12

Dear Parents and Guardians

Friday night and our Swim team created a little bit of Cranbrook history as they took out the Overall Shield and Junior Shield at the St Patricks invitational for the first time. It’s been quite a long time since we have held a swimming shield, and the students and coaches must be highly commended for their constant vigilance in improving the program. We are building nicely towards the CAS Championships in Term 1.

Huge congratulations to our Tennis program as they clean swept Waverley on Saturday, winning all their matches. We have a very young 1^st team at the moment and the future is looking very bright for the tennis program as we continue to push for our 1^st CAS Tennis Premiership. Well done to the Cricketers who also won all their games against Knox. The 1sts chased down 260 to leave them equal top of the table.

Once again, we had over 200 students turn up to Speed and Agility on Friday morning . Another great effort from the Cranbrook faithful.

This weekend we start CAS Round 5 against Barker. Basketball, Tennis and Water Polo will be at home, while our Cricketers start their two-day fixture against Waverley on Friday.  Please find the full round of fixtures here.

This Saturday sees the conclusion of compulsory Saturday Sport for the majority of our CAS competition this year, resuming again in Term 1.  Heads of Sport will be in touch with teams regarding sessions for the upcoming weeks.

As always, we would love as much support as possible to cheer on our teams. For all other details regarding Co-Curricular Activities and sports sessions please visit the schedule here.

Speed and Agility continues every Friday Morning 6:30am on Hordern. We would love to see as many students as possible at Mr Hallam’s amazing free sessions. The program is designed for all skill sets and athletic abilities. We encourage 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; 

Healthy eating habits for teens

Protein powder for teenagers, good or bad?

Teaching boys about respectful relationships

The emotional lives of teenagers  

The Daily Dad – podcasts

All best,

Matt Banes

Celebrating Photography Excellence

Talented Cranbrook photographers were celebrated for their artistic prowess at the Woollahra Council Youth Photographic Award and Short Film Prize on Wednesday 8 November. This annual photography competition highlights the impressive creative strength and camera lens mastery of local student talent. Out of more than 200 student submissions spanning the Eastern Suburbs, Cranbrook School, with 46 outstanding entries, clinched an imposing four prizes.

First Prize of $200 in the Mayor’s Choice Award (Junior) was awarded to Dylan Davison (Year 7, Wakehurst House) for his rural landscape Fresh Out of the Shearing Shed.

Highly Commended of $150 in the Senior Category was awarded to Daniel Slade (Year 12, Thomas House) for his light painting image Beware of the Power.

Highly Commended of $150 in the Black and White Category was awarded to James O’Rourke (Year 9, Strickland House) for his quirky gruesome image Shivers.

Highly Commended of $200 in the Short Film Prize was awarded to Felix Swan (Year 12, OC 2022) for his moving disintegrating faces called Cibernetic Dissonance.

The exhibition runs until Sunday 26 November at Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf, opposite Cranbrook School.

To view this exhibition online and vote for People’s Choice Award here.

Julian Wrigley
Visual Arts Teacher

Parent Tech Portal: Laptops

We have recently partnered with ASI Solutions to provide Cranbrook with its ongoing laptop and technology requirements for students.

We are pleased to be able to provide a parent tech portal if you wish to purchase BYOD laptops and accessories for Years 8,9,11,12 in 2024, or personal devices, at preferential pricing

The portal is located here.

You will need to create a new user account prior to gaining access to the site with your email address and creation of a password.

You will also be asked for a REGISTRATION KEY CODE.  This code is 361-734-927.

Once into the portal, you will be able to browse a range of products and accessories, select what you wish to purchase, review your shopping cart and checkout with your credit or debit card.

You will then receive a confirmation email containing your order to review.

For more information please click here.

Andrew Hottes
Chief Digital Information Officer

Basketball Report

Round 4

The Cranbrook 1sts & 2nds played against Waverley last Friday night at Waverley, another great night of basketball with an incredible atmosphere. It was the third round of the CAS competition for the Brookie Ballers against Waverley and the Brookie Ballers won 13 games, lost 22 and one exciting drawn game in the Open 6ths.

1sts

The Cranbrook 1sts started slowly in the first quarter and fought back in the second quarter. Down 10 points at half they cut into the lead in the second half and where able to get in front by a couple of points late in the game. Down 4 points in the last minute, Justise Single made a three-point shot and kept it tight. With about 4 second left Cranbrook had the ball with a chance to win the game but were unable to get a shot off. Cranbrook 1sts 76, Waverley 1sts 77. Justise Single top scored with an impressive 35 point, Captain of Basketball Jesse Sher had 23 points and big man Tom Schall finished with 8 points and a bag full of rebounds.

2nds

The Cranbrook 2nds could not get into any rhythm against a solid Waverley 2nds team. Cranbrook got into a hole and stayed there until the second half when Cranbrook made their run. They cut the deficit significantly and at one point looked like they may pull off an unlikely win. Waverley got on top again and the game finished Cranbrook 2nds 39, Waverley 2nds 60. Noah Doherty finished with 12 points; and Charlie Dwyer and Sam Collison had 6 points each.

View the results here.

Stephen Whitehead
Head of Basketball

Cranbrook Basketball 3×3 Competition

After school on Friday 24 November, the Lewin Courts in the VCH will turn into a battle royale, of 3-player teams, facing-off in half-court basketball.

The 3×3 tournament is open to all years – there will be three age divisions for YR7 & YR8, YR9 & Y10 and Y11 & Y12.

The competition is a fundraiser for our basketball program, organised by our parents Cranbrook Basketball Supporters group. 

Parents, friends and family are encouraged to come along to watch what should be an energetic night at Cranbrook.

Barbecue and refreshments will be available. 

Date: 24 November 2023 (after school)

Time: 3.40pm (first tip-off), with games running through to 8.40pm

Location: Lewin Courts, VCH, Cranbrook Senior School

Registration: $30 per player (Teams of 3 or 4 players)  

TO REGISTER: https://events.humanitix.com/cranbrook-annual-3×3-tournament-2023

Only 16 teams per age group- registration is on a first-in, best-dressed basis – so get your team together NOW! (Registration closes this week)

We hope to see you on the court!

FEES 2024: Investing in our Staff

Many parents will have observed the recent media coverage surrounding fair pay for teachers, with the NSW State Government securing historic increases in September for teachers employed in State Schools.

Cranbrook is committed to treating its staff equitably and fostering a positive and inclusive environment.  To attract and retain the best educators in Australia, and the world, we need to be able to offer competitive salaries, and reward our teachers and staff for the exceptional quality of education they provide to students at Cranbrook. As such, Cranbrook has awarded pay increases equivalent to the NSW State Government increases to its staff, which will be reflected in school fees next year. This increase will ensure that we can continue to attract and retain talented and dedicated teaching staff to provide the excellent education Cranbrook is known for.

We are always conscious of the impact that any increase in fees may have on our families and while some parents may initially view fee increases with concern, we hope you recognise the broader benefits that arise from this measure. By attracting and retaining high-quality educators, investing in professional development, reducing teacher turnover, improving student-teacher ratios, and enhancing educational resources, we can continue to create an environment conducive to academic success and personal growth for all our Cranbrookians.

The School Council hopes to confirm more definite information regarding fee increases for 2024 in the coming weeks. For any questions or concerns regarding this, please email cranbrook@cranbrook.nsw.edu.au