Michele Marquet, Acting Head of School

Dear Parents and Carers,

As Term 3 draws to a close at Cranbrook, we celebrate a vibrant array of accomplishments across multiple areas of school life. The Spring Festival was a standout event, where the creative spirit of our students was on full display. The HSC and IB Art Exhibition provided a platform for our senior artists to showcase their incredible talent and hard work, while Book Week at the Junior School, brought the joy of reading to life with engaging activities and storytelling. Additionally, our Beehive initiative culminated in the much-anticipated Bee Day, raising awareness about sustainability and the importance of our environment.

Our winter sports teams also had an outstanding season, with impressive achievements across the board. From exhilarating victories to admirable displays of sportsmanship, our athletes made Cranbrook proud. Meanwhile, the Drama department delivered memorable performances, reflecting the depth of creativity and dedication of our students and staff. As we prepare for the final Term of the year, we extend our best wishes to the Year 12 students, who are heading into the final stretch of their HSC and IB exams. Your contributions to the academic, artistic, and co-curricular life of Cranbrook have been invaluable, and we are excited to see where your next journey takes you.

Across every campus, the staff and I thank all of our families for their unwavering support and motivation throughout the past Term. We wish everyone a relaxing and restful break and look forward to welcoming you back to Term 4.

Kind wishes,

Michele Marquet
Acting Head of School

Bob Meakin, Deputy Headmaster & Head of Senior School

Dear Parents and Carers,

On Tuesday, it was an absolute pleasure to view the Major Works from TAS for both the HSC & IB courses. The craftmanship, creativity and professionalism was simply superb. I am in awe at the courage and determination to move from a concept for idea through to something that is put together in a physical way and proudly explained by the student during the evening. The Major Works for Timber will be proudly displayed in their own homes for years to come, I am sure.

In yesterday’s assembly, we were entertained by our current Year 12 Prefects, with a video and a live performance which depicted the handing over of the school to the incoming Year 12 next term. A special thanks to Charlie Swain and Harry Jones for their acting and singing that entertained us all.

Earlier today we farewelled our CAS Athletics team, who at the time of writing this are on their way to Homebush along with Years 7, 9 and 11 who will be there to support them. We obviously wish our athletes our very best for the CAS Championships.

Tomorrow, we look forward to the Valedictory Assembly which commences at 9:30am in the Centenary Hall in the Vicars Building. Year 12 parents and whole Senior School will pay tribute to our leavers, as this officially ends their classes for Year 12, with the exception of IB students who will return in Week 1 of Term 4.

Tomorrow night, we will enjoy the Valedictory Dinner with Year 12 students and their parents at Randwick Racecourse which promises to be a wonderful celebration of their time at School.

We wish students attending the Ladakh tour the very best for a safe and wonderful educational experience. Our Rowers also have a camp in Berry and a Water Polo Tour to Queensland in Week 3 of the holidays, as well as some other sports preparing for the Summer season. Our 1sts Sailors who finished in second in the Nationals and qualified for the Interdominion Championships, which sees the best three Australian School teams compete against the best three New Zealand school teams in week 3 of the holidays. We wish them the very best.

I would like to wish everyone a safe and restful break over the holidays. Term 4 commences on Tuesday 15 October.

Best wishes,

Bob Meakin
Deputy Headmaster & Head of Senior School

Adrian Harrison, Director of Curriculum and Academic Operations

Thank you to all students for the way they have engaged in their learning throughout Term 3.

A reminder that Term 3 school reports will be sent home next week.

Years 7-10 will receive a progress report on their attitude and effort for the term. As usual further feedback is available via Continuous Reporting for students on Canvas.

Year 12 (both IBDP and HSC) will receive a final full school report.

Year 11 (both IBDP and HSC) will receive their reports early in Term 4.

Many thanks,

Adrian Harrison
Director of Curriculum and Academic Operations

Angelique Sanders, Director of Student Wellbeing

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

As we wrap up this term, I want to acknowledge the efforts your children have made. Many have worked hard to achieve the goals they set for themselves, while others have faced challenges, learned from mistakes or poor decisions, and navigated their way through the ups and downs of the teenage years. We have also seen students take positive risks—whether in the classroom, on the sports field, through music, art, drama or by exploring something new.  We hope the younger years are inspired by the work they have seen our Year 12 students produce in the range of fantastic showcases we had this term.  The consistent messaging from our senior students is to take every opportunity we provide here and be fully engaged in school life.

To our Year 12 parents and carers, we know this may not be the most restful time, but we wish you all the very best in supporting your sons in the final few weeks of their schooling. It is up to them now to do their best. It has been a privilege to share the journey with you and wish them every success in their life post school, while holding true the school values we have instilled in them.

Angelique Sanders
Director of Student Wellbeing

Matt Grice, Director of Sport

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As we approach the end of a very busy Term 3, I would like to wish all our CAS Athletes the best of luck in their endeavours at the CAS Athletics Carnival today.  The season may be short but the students have put in a huge effort and we can’t wait to see them take to the Track and Field this afternoon. 

I’d also like to thank the staff heading out to man the shot put and javelin arenas and support the students.

We wish our Y12 Cohort goodbye – for now….rest well during the holidays and we wish you all the best for the upcoming Exam Season.

Please find attached the Holiday Camp and training schedule for the upcoming Term break here.

More details about the camps can be found – under the dates to remember section or below:

Basketball – Junior Camp and Senior Camp

Cricket – Junior Camp and Senior Camp

Rowing Camp – Open to Year’s 7 – 11

Sailing Camps – JS Optimist Race Camp and SS Teams Racing Skill Camp

Tennis – Open to Year 7 – 12 Cranbrook students

Water Polo – Junior YR7 & YR8 Camp and Senior Camp (YR9, YR10 & YR11)

Matt Grice
Director of Sport

NBA Basketball Camps

Please find the flyer for upcoming Sep/Oct holiday camps here.

Phil Beverley, Director of Music

Thank you to all the amazing performers who have invested countless hours practising and rehearsing in the lead up to their solo performances. We have had over 350 solo performances across the Junior and Senior School as well as 120 students complete an AMEB exam this term. This represents over 800 pieces of individual music performed by Cranbrook musicians. Our IB and HSC students a have prepared an astonishing 280 min of Musical performance as well as composing a combined 60 min of music across a huge range of styles. This component of their examination is now complete with only the HSC Aural skills paper to be completed at the start of Term 4.

Thanks to the music team who work behind the scenes to support each student in their pursuit of excellent music-making. Of special note is Martyn Hentschel who has managed the logistics of both the Spring Festival and the AMEB Examinations this term. His attention to detail and passion for musical excellence has helped ensure all students enjoy a plethora of musical opportunities that help inspire each individual and elevate their musical experience.

On Monday afternoon, we were fortunate enough to host a Contemporary Music workshop where musician and Old Boy, Jack Folden, run a masterclass on songwriting for our budding young song writers preparing for the New Music performance evening NEU! Week 5 Term 4.

We will be all hands on deck this holidays as David Russell and Andrew Benson put the finishing touches on this year’s Production, Little Shop of Horrors.

Looking forward to term 4 we look forward to several key opportunities for our students.

1. 3:30 – 5pm Monday 21 October in the Orchestra Room – The Performance Plus Keynote will look at Pathways in Music. We look forward to welcoming 2022 Alumni, former Head of Music, Paul Nicolaou, who is forging a career across Australia and New Zealand, working professionally with leading symphony orchestras. This will be held in the Orchestra Room

2. Little Shop of Horrors! Is on sale. Click here to book tickets to one of the shows.

3. 6:30pm Thursday 14 November in the Packer Theatre, NEU! is back with some original music from the Contemporary Rock Band music space

4. 6:30pm Wednesday 27 November in the Chapel Space, is our Ensembles Soireé, featuring many of our ensembles from the Choral, Jazz, and String spaces within the department.

Term 4 often signifies the beginning of our Music Programme, and it is a crucial time to have the conversation with your child, about the musical direction they’d like to pursue. The Ensemble programme is an integral part of this journey, and we begin in Term 4, the process of preparing students for the many musical opportunities ahead in 2025. Please make sure you reach out to your son’s instrumental teacher and their head of instrumental area over the coming term to have this conversation.

Warm Regards

Phil Beverley
Director of Music

Andrew Benson, Acting Head of Drama

Dear Cranbrook

We are excited to invite Old Cranbrookian and Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company back to Cranbrook before he heads to Broadway to direct “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. Please mark in your diary Tuesday 29^th October 2024 4:00 – 5:30pm in the Packer Theatre. This is a compulsory event for all elective Drama students and seats have been allocated for your son. This is a fantastic opportunity to meet and hear from one of the worlds most exciting and innovative directors.

Cranbrook celebrates the arts and as such I am mindful that many of you may wish to attend this wonderful opportunity to hear Kip speak to the students. A limited number of FREE tickets for parents are available for you to book via this link.

I do hope to meet some of you at this event or one of the performances of our school musical “Little Shop of Horrors” this coming week.

Sincerely

Andrew Benson
Acting Head of Drama

Little Shop of Horrors

Please click here to book your tickets.

Council Update

The School Council are pleased to provide you with a Term 3 update, to continue regular and transparent communication about ongoing progress and activities through Link and on Cranbrook Connect. Please click here to read more.

Year 12 Farewell Assembly

Articles of Interest

A round up of articles to read curated by the boarding staff;

‘Learning to relax can be life-changing’: how to find your comfort zone

Help, my kid is a gamer: Striking the right balance these holidays

Taking Care of Mental Health During Exam Sessions

Finding Balance Between Sports and Studying

Teenagers learn through play too: communicating high expectations through a playful learning approach

All best,

Matt Banes

Message from the CSPA Committee

Dear Parents  

The Cranbrook School Parents Association (CSPA) is a not-for-profit association of all Cranbrook parents run by an elected committee of Year Representatives, General Committee Members and the Executive. The primary role of the CSPA is to support Cranbrook School, particularly the parent community, fostering goodwill and creating a community that is inclusive and welcoming to all. We are seeking nominations from parents across the whole school community for volunteer roles on the CSPA Committee. 

To find out more information about the CSPA, what we do, the Constitution and lots more, please go to Cranbrook Connect Parents Association – Cranbrook Connect 

If you are interested in joining our Committee, either as a Year Representative or on the Executive Committee please fill out a nomination form attached and send it to the CSPA secretary (cranbrookspasecretary@gmail.com). Nominations for positions close on Friday 18 October 2024 ahead of the CSPA AGM on Monday 18 November 2024 at which the 2025 Committee will be elected. 

If you would like more information about any of the roles and what opportunities are available, please get in touch with Angelique Haritos cspavpjuniorschool@gmail.com , Meg Tudehope cspavpseniorschool@gmail.com or myself cranbrookspapresident@gmail.com . 

Please see below two upcoming CSPA events.

1. Notice of CSPA Meeting

The CSPA AGM will be held on Monday 18 November 2024 at 7.00 pm in the Nugent Boardroom, Senior School, followed immediately by the CSPA Term 4 Meeting.

2. Second Hand Uniform Sale

The Second Hand Uniform Sale will be held on Monday 14 October 2024 from 12pm – 2pm in the Senior School Gym

Many thanks

Sam Roberts
CSPA President