WORLD OCEAN DAY 🌊 – Round Square Meeting

By Esther S, Year 6

After an early 6:00 start on Tuesday, the 9^th of June, nine year 6 students, including myself, met with a couple of year 7s and 8s along with Mrs Rasheed and Ms Taylor at the Bowral Train Station at 7:45 in the morning. From there we caught two trains and a bus, around 3 hours total, to then arrive at Redlands, a school in Sydney.

Why are we doing this? You might think! Well, the day before, Monday the 8^th of June was World Ocean Day. World Ocean Day is a global celebration for our oceans that happens every year. Why do we celebrate the ocean? The Ocean gives us over half of the oxygen we breath every day! It also keeps our planet’s climate safe, feed billions of people, and is home to the most wildlife on Earth! We were asked why are YOU grateful for the ocean, there are so many reasons, the beauty, the wildlife, but most importantly the way it cares for us.

Cooper and Kal shared some amazing stories with us about their impact on our environment and their connection to the ocean. Cooper Chapman is a former top 100 world surfer who left the sport to focus on mental health. He runs a youth mental health charity, hosts a podcast, and wrote a book about how simple things like breathing, gratitude, and exercise can change your life.

Kal Glanznig is an environmental activist, filmmaker, and local politician. In high school, he raised over $100,000 to put solar panels on his school’s roof, inspiring 20 other schools to do the same. He has made two documentaries about plastic pollution, with his newest one coming out this year.

Cooper and Kal started the Blue Minds program to help young Australians protect the ocean and build leadership skills. We also played fun games and heard from Taylor at Aus Map, who counts beach rubbish to help save our shores!

After Lunch up on the rooftop garden, we brainstormed ideas on how to fix plastic problems in our communities. We did this with students from other schools, sharing our ideas and listening to others really opened our eyes on why we need to save our environment.

The goal of this day was to teach the students how to build resilience, protect their mental wellbeing, and take meaningful action for the environment. It was an amazing experience and taught us all a lot about what we can do to save our oceans!

Disease at the 2026 FIFA World Cup- by E. Clarke- Year 8

As millions of fans gather across the United States, Canada, and Mexico for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, health officials are keeping a close eye on spread of diseases. Recent outbreaks of Hantavirus and Ebola have caused worry among the public, while Measles has also received attention because of its ability to so easily spread in large crowds.

Hantavirus

Because of a recent outbreak of the Andes Strain on a cruise, the Hantavirus has been gaining attention in the media, and some are worrying of spread at the World Cup. This disease is very dangerous, as it has a 30% – 50% fatality rate. However, experts say the risk is low, as Hantavirus mainly spreads through contact with rodents, not people.

Ebola

Ebola has also been the cause of media attention because of recent outbreaks in Africa. Ebola is a serious viral disease, but it is not airborne. Also, the outbreaks are only limited to specific regions in Africa, and the disease is not contagious until symptoms appear, making the risk of Ebola also low.

Measles

Although measles has not gained as much attention as the others, it is considered one of the biggest concerns. Measles spread incredibly easily through the air. A single infected person can infect 12-18 other unvaccinated individuals, and it becomes contagious approximately 4 days before symptoms appear. Also, people from all throughout the world will be coming, including places with low vaccination rates. However, measles is not as dangerous as the other diseases, and health officials are encouraging everyone to keep up to date with their vaccinations.

Respiratory Viruses

Respiratory viruses, such as Covid-19 or influenza, are also likely to spread. While Canada, Mexico, and the United States, (the locations of all the FIFA World Cup matches) are currently in Summer and not experiencing many respiratory disease outbreaks, people are travelling from many countries in Winter where outbreaks may be happening. These diseases also spread efficiently in crowded settings, such as the stadiums, airports, public transport, and hotels filled with fans from the World Cup.  However, this isn’t as big a concern as the others, as vaccination rates are higher and the risk to health is lower.

Other Illnesses

As with any large, crowded events, there are so many opportunities for illness to spread. Risks of gastrointestinal illnesses, mosquito borne diseases, and others are being watched. Other risks also include heat related illnesses from the hot summer weather, and cardiac events due to the stressful atmosphere.

Summary

While disease outbreaks sound alarming, monitoring and international cooperation will keep the overall risk low, and authorities are working to keep fans safe so the focus can remain on the excitement of the world’s biggest football tournament.

Lunchbox Rally: Maddy (Year 2) and Theo (Year 4) L-S

Interviewed by Kaitlyn S, Year 12

The Catcher in the Rye – A Book Review

by Ruby C, Year 10

Holden Caufield desires nothing else in life except being the ‘Catcher in the Rye’; he pictures “all these kids playing some game in this big field of rye” and sees himself “standing on the edge of some crazy cliff”. His main objective is to “catch everybody before they start to go over the cliff”. He has to. He has to “catch them”. He must save them – or rather himself – from falling into the depths of the corrupt adult world. Somehow, Holden must find an escape from the ‘phony’ realm of adult society and seek the true meaning of life.

J.D. Salinger’s acclaimed 1951 novella “The Catcher in the Rye” is a coming-of-age story that follows 16-year-old protagonist Holden Caufield who, after being expelled from his prep school due to “flunking four subjects and not applying [himself]”, flees to New York City. There, in the supposed ‘city that never sleeps’, he seeks solace and tries to discover a unique sense of authenticity within his conservative 1950s milieu. He also comes to terms with the tragic loss of his little brother Allie Caulfield, as it has left behind deep internal scars. From violent encounters with hotel lunatics, to heavy drinking in shabby nightclubs and bars, the protagonist is faced with fear, danger, and decadence in the city that challenge him while he remains on his journey to self-actualisation.

Ultimately, because of alienation, trauma, and adult phoniness that surrounds Holden, his complex journey forces him to accept that growing up is inevitable. Additionally, it allows him to find comfort and peace from his kid sister Phoebe. She serves as a crucial symbol that signals his emotional healing and acceptance of the real world; After all, she is the only individual who understands him for who he truly is.

Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” is a clever novel that explores powerful themes of teenage alienation and the loss of innocence. Told through the vulnerable first-person (and often unreliable) narration of the young protagonist, Holden Caulfield, it is a polarising reading experience. It is not only stylistically candid and slang-heavy, but presents a raw, conversational-like glimpse into the universal struggles of adolescence.

Youth Forum held on June 11th

On Thursday, the 11th of June, 4 others and I had the privilege of attending the 2026 State Youth Forum at Park Proxi Gibraltar. We arrived at 9:30 and spent most of the day watching an inter-school public speaking competition run by the  state government members. Edmund Hunt represented us well in this competition with students across the region of a very high calibre, judged by Ms Judy Hannan MP and the Hon. Ben Franklin MLC.

The Youth Forum itself started at 4 pm, and in advance, students had the opportunity to request topics for the agenda. We rotated through several issues, including, but not limited to, lowering the voting age to 16, climate change and the environment, the cost-of-living crisis, the housing crisis, and AI in the workplace and youth unemployment. Morning and afternoon tea were provided. The NSW government has been running roadshows all around rural and regional NSW since 2024, to provide a voice in the state parliament for youth who aren’t just located in urban areas. The roadshows and forums have been a raging success, and I and 4 other Year 10 students and I were lucky enough to be selected to attend.  

The atmosphere of the gathering was very open and easygoing. No one was afraid to speak or ask questions, and the members of parliament present were very open. The youth doesn’t often get . a lot of representation in government areas, which is why forums and roadshows like this are important. The forum and the voices of the youth there were transcribed and will be brought to the state government at a later date for discussion. Ultimately, it was a great experience, and I strongly encourage others to get involved next year! 

Amelie L, Year 10

The Adelaide Bunyip

by Peter Dunning (nearly 8, Year 2)

Chapter 1:

Hi, my name is Luke, I’m eight years old and I go to Bundaroo Primary. Each year there is a surprise, like last year we went to Taronga Zoo, and this year we are going camping in Adelaide! My teacher, Miss Terry, told us to pick a camping buddy. I chose Kevin. Kevin and I are best friends. We’ve had lots of sleepovers together and he makes me laugh.

Chapter 2:

I woke up at six a.m., got dressed and dad gave me a lift to school. Miss Terry told us to get into line and head down to the bus stop. The bus was five minutes late which was annoying, but Kevin entertained me by burping Happy Birthday.

The bus ride was long, but I had fun. I had a sleep, told some jokes and looked out the window. Kevin’s favourite joke was, “Why did the bear fall off his bike? Because his mother threw a fridge at him!”

Chapter 3:

When we got there, Miss Terry showed us how to set up our camping tents and then we went for a bushwalk. The bushwalk was a long narrow track. There were a few other people not from our school doing the bushwalk as well. I counted 5 of them on our way in. But only 4 of them on our way out. Hmmm that was odd…

Chapter 4:

We went back to the camp site for dinner and then Miss Terry lit the fire. Miss Terry then told us a spooky story about a Bunyip that lives here. Everyone was pretty scared (except me).

Soon the fire was going low. Miss Terry told Jeffrey, the other teacher, to get some firewood. Once he was gone, we heard a scream, followed by a grumble. We did not mind though because Jeffery is always grumbling about something. But an hour later, he still wasn’t back. We thought he must have gone to bed.

When we went to bed, Kevin seemed a bit nervous and so did the other kids, but I was out like a light. Then at 4.30am, I was woken by another scream and then the growl happened again. But I’m a pretty good sleeper soooo… I just fell back asleep.

Chapter 5:

In the morning, when I woke up, everybody was gone!

“Miss Terry? Eloise? Kevin?!? Where is everybody? Hello!?!?”

Then something flew into me and raced off. All I saw was a big brown blur of colour. Next thing I know, I was knocked out cold!

Chapter 6:

When I woke, I looked around and saw that I was… back on the school bus! It turns out the class and Miss Terry had defeated the Bunyip monster after it took them all. How that happened, I have no idea. I slept through the whole thing! Although I still couldn’t spot Jeffrey … Nevermind. I’ll just have a nap.

The End

Vote for Valentine M in the 7 NEWS Young Achiever Awards NSW/ACT People’s Choice.

Congratulations to Year 6 student Valentine M and Old Oxleyan Violet F (Class of 2025), who have both been named finalists in the 2026 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards (NSW/ACT).

Valentine is one of the top five finalists in the Awards Australia Foundation Connecting Communities Award, selected from hundreds of nominees under the age of 30 across New South Wales and the ACT. As the founder of Peace Hive, she has inspired schools and communities through initiatives centred on peace, empathy and kindness. Through the Bee Bracelet Project alone, Valentine has helped raise more than $75,000 for the Britvan family, while encouraging young people to put values into action through everyday acts of kindness and service.

Valentine has also been nominated for the People’s Choice Award, giving the broader community the opportunity to recognise her remarkable contribution.   

As a whole school community it would be wonderful to support Valentine, we encourage you to cast a vote in the People’s Choice Award.
Voting is open until 20 July, and while you can vote once each day, even a single vote is a wonderful way to celebrate this outstanding achievement.

Cast your vote here: https://awardsaustralia.app.do/2026-7news-young-achiever-awards-for-nsw-act-people-s

The winners will be announced at the 7NEWS Young Achiever Awards Gala on 24 July.

We also congratulate Oxley alumna Violet F (Class of 2025), who is a finalist in the Office for Youth Create Change Award. Violet founded Grow Your Voice at just 13 years of age to help young people build confidence through public speaking and creative expression. Since 2021, the initiative has reached more than 20,000 children around the world, giving young people the confidence and skills to find and use their voice.

We are delighted to see both Valentine and Violet recognised. Through their leadership, initiative and commitment to serving others, they embody our College values of Show Courage, Be Kind and Seek Wisdom. We wish them both every success at the awards and look forward to celebrating their achievements in July.

Ethics, Media and the Power of Sport

Oxley College was fortunate enough to host, Australian sports journalist Tracey Holmes on the 4th of June. Being the third Centre for Ethics speaker this year, Tracy brought exciting new insights into the role sport plays in our changing world. Her lecture explored the impact of sport in enhancing international relations and sustaining social harmony across the globe. She shared several emotional stories from athletes all over the world overcoming hardships to continue doing what they love while making immense difference on the perception of sport internationally. Her words inspired the entire audience to pay more attention to the people behind the sports we continuously consume. On behalf of the Gibraltar society and the wider, growing Oxley community we thank Tracey Holmes for sharing her beautifully articulated perception of the importance of sport in today’s world.

Zara K, Year 11

DA VINVI DECATHLON

By Ruby M, Annabel B, Harper W, Greta S, Sammy R, Elena C, Frankie R

On the 23^rd of April, students from year seven, year eight traveled to Knox Grammar School representing Oxley in the junior Da Vinci decathlon. In addition to this, Oxley had a year 9 and 10 team to participate in the senior Da Vinci decathlon, with each team consisting of 8 students. The da Vinci Decathlon was founded in 2002 by Knox Grammer School, and has expanded from a small local competition to attracting thousands of students each year and even having competitions in New Zealand and the UK. This is an academic event that consists of teams of 8 students, who tackled 10 different papers focusing on the talents of Leonardo Da Vinci in the fields of Engineering, Art and Poetry, Mathematics, English, Ideation, Legacy, Cartography, Creative Producers, and Codebreaking. Schools from all across the Illawarra region sent a group of students from years 7 and 8 to spend a day tackling these subjects as a team. We began training for this event midway through term 1, and met once a week to complete practice papers together and discuss strategies for the day. Students faced unique challenges in papers to test their problem-solving skills and collaboration, focused on this year’s theme “time,” with around 2 hours to complete each paper as best they could.  Each of our teams performed very well on the day, with our year 7 team finished 6^th overall out of a total of 69 teams. Our year 8 team finished 5^th overall, placing first in Art and Poetry, Engineering, and English, and third in Legacy. Below are some accounts of the experiences these students faced on the day: 

The Missing Piece

by Miranda K, Year 8

The river waits for me like an old secret, shimmering softly reflecting the sky with a kind of quiet kind of arrogance. Its surface is smooth, deeply calming the way a held breath is calm. It’s clear and dark water makes me feel unsteady, almost as if it’s hiding something in plain sight.

Riven Hale steps out from the trees moving with that strange shadow soft grace of his. He seems like someone shaped by storms and silence. His eyes seem older that the sky and his hair fall’s down into his face as if he is hiding from the world. The crescent scares that curves across his ribs makes me wonder. I know everything about him, yet he still seems so mysteries like there is some deeper question that I still haven’t solved Someone who sees too much and says too little.

“You came” he said voice low almost reluctant

“You asked” I replied although we both knew wouldn’t have come anyway. Something about him pulls me not romantically, not dramatically but gravitationally as if his eyes were streetlights guiding the way home.

People think I shine because I’m popular but really its because my HSAM (Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory) traps every memory in unforgettable detail.

I remember everything,

Except why this river feels like a bruise

The thought rattles me. My memory is flawless, relentless like a library with every book yet here a page is torn out. Something important. I try my hardest to resurface every time I’m here yet every time, I leave heart broken.

Our reflections ripple together two silhouettes stitched together by the trembling surface. My blonde hair catching sunlight and shines to bright like a warning flare, and in that body of water the memory slams into place.

The problem wasn’t the river it was us.

I can see the storm-lit afternoon argument crackling between us like lightning. Riven accusing me of knowing too much, remembering too much, seeing too much. Me accusing him of hiding behind silence of letting the river swallow pieces of himself he refuses to face. Words sharp as broken glass. His eyes grey and furious, ones I have never seen before. My voice too loud, too certain, too stern like I was becoming someone else, someone I have never seen myself become.

Then the slip.

The splash

The scream swallowed by water

He didn’t fall I pushed him. A hard and brutal push. The current to strong, taking him down the river rapidly, the dark sky makes him invisible. Disappearing into the darkness, I break down, a tight burn swelling between my lashes until it spills over, how could I.

For a heartbeat I don’t breathe

For a heartbeat I’m six-teen, and twelve and ageless all at one

I hesitate to whisper “Riven I remember”

His shadow stiffens beside mine.

“The river the storm the … the push” I say voice trembling

The river wasn’t bruised it was us, me, the guilt I buried so deep even my perfect memory couldn’t bear to hold it. Mabey I’m the one that is afraid to face pieces of myself, maybe it’s all my fault.

“I’m sorry” my voice clear, and shy

Riven stays quiet

And in that moment, I realised something I should have known all along, something I should always remember. Memory isn’t a wound or a weapon. It’s a bridge, A way forward. A way back. And maybe the only way we can heal is by stepping off the bank, not into the river, but into the guilt we have been drowning in all this time. Instead of letting the current drag us under, deeper, from the truth.

BERTY INTOS RISKS IT FOR THE BISCUITS

By Luca S, Year 8

Berty Intos and Herb Pike entered the supermarket at around 10:14 in the morning. They had quite a mission ahead of them. The sliding doors shut behind them as Berty hopped towards the snack isle, Herb trudging benignly behind him. Berty was what most would call ‘distracted’. He was almost never distracted, in fact. He just had amazing focus on all the wrong things. Herb was more on the uptight side, and preferred staying with similar routines for most things. But when your best friend is Berty Intos, you find yourself getting roped into all kinds of adventures. 

“Herb, hurry up!” shouted Berty, startling an old man an aisle away. “We don’t have all day!” 

“We quite literally do,” muttered Herb under his breath before following Berty, who was heading to his second favourite place on the planet besides the chocolate biscuit factory: the spot in the supermarket that contains the chocolate biscuits from the aforementioned chocolate biscuit factory. Berty had quite the obsession with choccy biscuits, and he had stashes in his pantry and his fridge. And his bedroom. And his laundry. And his dad’s shed. On this particular morning Berty had run out, but his day was about to get a lot worse. There were no chocolate biscuits in stock… 

Berty screamed in shock, once again startling the old man, who was still recovering from his first fall an aisle away. “NOOOO! Herb, there’s no choccy biscuits! This is horrible!” 

Herb muttered a few comments about immaturity under his breath. Berty’s dark hair was being soaked with mystery supermarket juice while he squirmed on the floor. “What will I do without them?” He cried.

“They’re just biscuits,” said Herb tiredly.
“I’m going to starve!” Berty exclaimed.

“Eat some fruit instead.”

“This is no time for jokes! Can’t you see I’m in pain?” whimpered Berty. Herb put his hand through his spiky blond hair and sighed, before pointing to a pimply worker who had just dropped an orange can, ran over to pick it up, and dropped it again. “We could ask that guy when they’re restocking?” suggested Herb as Berty rolled around on the floor. Once he got into a fit about something he was not going to get out of it. He discreetly picked up an onion and squirted the juice in his eyes to dramatize things and said, “That won’t fix anything! Right now, there’s no choccy biscuits, and—” he stopped and stood up, like a meerkat sensing a predator. “Wait. Do you think they’d have some biscuits in a stock area? Like, behind the shop or something?” 

“Well, maybe, but- wait. No.” Herb knew what Berty was thinking, which was surprising because usually not even Berty knew what Berty was thinking. But today he had a plan. In order to avoid waiting for a restock, he would pull a heist to get the biscuits from the employees-only area and escape with his biscuits. It was an idiot-proof plan involving the world’s best idiot.

Berty rushed through the supermarket, Herb trying to stop him in the process. Eventually, they found two mysterious swinging doors between cereals and strange, pear-shaped objects. (The objects were just pears, but calling them strange builds mystery.) The suspense was suspenseful. The tension was tense. It was so thick you could cut it with a knife, but knives were being sold on the other side of the building, and we don’t have that kind of time. Berty rushed in, and at long last spotted the biscuits. He grabbed twenty-six bags (enough to last a day or so) and found his way to the cash register, Herb trying his best to act the babysitter. Berty was more than to happy to pay the $200 fee (with Herb’s money) and kindly allowed his friend to carry all the bags. Berty Intos and Herb Pike exited the supermarket at around 1:27 in the afternoon. They had just experienced quite a mission.

Best Banana Brownies

Anna S, Year 10

Prep: 10 minutes 

Cook: 40 minutes 

Serves: Approx.16 squares

These banana brownies are fudgy, dense, extremely tasty and one of the most addictive treats I have baked! (Credits to Baran Bakery for creating this recipe.

Equipment

1x large bowl

1x medium heat proof bowl

1x Whisk

1x Rubber Spatula

1x 8 inch square pan (its quite flexible! – I usually use a small rectangular pan)

Ingredients

• 1 cups peeled ripe bananas, mashed
• ½ cups salted butter, get melted
• 1 cups chocolate chips, any kind works, I like dark
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cups Dutch-process cocoa powder, spooned and levelled
• 1 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• ⅔ cups chocolate chips, I like mixing dark and mini chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 163 degrees Celsius, fan forced and grease and line an 8×8” pan with an oil spray and parchment paper (leaving an overhang to easily remove them). 
2. Mash the bananas until there are no more large clumps, similar to a puree, and measure (I usually find around 2 medium sized bananas are enough.
3. Place the butter and chocolate in a medium, heat proof bowl and microwave for 1 minute, remove and stir until the chocolate and butter is melted and combined. 
4. In a large bowl, place the granulated sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and eggs and whisk them together for 2-3 minutes, until the mixture is completely smooth. 
5. Add in the melted chocolate and butter and whisk until the mixture is fully combined.
6. Add in the mashed bananas and whisk until the batter is completely smooth.
7. Add in the flour and salt and whisk just until there’s only a few streaks of flour left. 
8. Add in the chocolate chips and fold together until they’re completely combined.
9. Spread the brownie batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. The top should be thin and crackly and puffed in the centre (to check if fully cooked, I recommend using a metal skewer and if it comes out clean its cooked the full way through).
10. Tap it against the counter a couple of times, it should deflate a little but not be jiggly at all. When you press on it, it should feel slightly soft underneath, but not like a liquid.
11. Allow to cool in the pan for 30-60 minutes. Refrigerate for a bit if you want clean slices.

Optional Extras:

• Sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top before baking
• Top with sifted icing sugar
• Top with whipped cream and berries or banana slices

UR Strong Friendship Day

On Thursday of Week 10, our Junior School celebrated URSTRONG Friendship Day, a special day dedicated to strengthening friendships and fostering a culture of kindness and connection. URSTRONG is our Junior School friendship program, designed to support students in navigating the ups and downs of relationships by providing them with a shared language for building healthy, respectful friendships.

The morning followed the usual timetable before students took part in engaging friendship lessons and discussions. After lunch, the Festival of Friendship saw students choose from a range of creative and active activities, including friendship bracelets, kindness rocks, board games, music, chalk art, soccer and more. A spirited staff versus Year 6 soccer match was another highlight, bringing plenty of fun and laughter to the day.

It was wonderful to see students connecting across year groups and celebrating positive friendships. Thank you to Valentine Meyerson for helping coordinate the afternoon activities, and to our staff for making the day such a memorable celebration of friendship.

Junior School Crazy Hair & Sock Day

Equestrian Training Day