From The Chaplain

Our Community Easter Events

Everyone in the SCEGGS community is invited to this year’s Easter Festival on Wednesday 27 March, starting at 7.00pm in the Great Hall. This is always a wonderful event which focuses on the meaning and significance of Easter, with readings, prayer and music provided by the School Choir, Madrigal Ensemble, Cantare, Years 5 & 6 Choir and Amati String Ensemble. We look forward to welcoming many parents and community members to our Easter Festival at this very special time of the year.

The following morning the whole school will be involved in our Easter Service. At both services, a cash only collection will be taken to support Women and Girls Emergency Centre in Redfern, a specialist homelessness service for women and families escaping gender-based violence. Students have been asked to bring a monetary donation in the next couple of weeks to go towards their form class’s Lenten offertory in support of this cause.

The SCEGGS Podcast “Walk The Mile” Episode 51: The Life of a Songwriter

One of the great joys that I have received from standing at the gate each morning to greet the students is getting to know many of our neighbours. Don Spencer OAM is one of those people that I have got to know over the years and have enjoyed hearing his story. He has had a lifetime in the music industry, was a presenter on the ABC’s Playschool for many years and has established a charity which addresses the needs of the most vulnerable children in our society. In this conversation, Don shares his journey and what drives him to be the person that he is. I hope you enjoy our chat.

And a reminder that we are published on Spotify, Apple, Google Podcast and Deezer, so you can access it easier from your preferred device. I always welcome your feedback or any ideas you may have for further episodes. You will find each podcast as they are produced in this newsletter and on the other platforms as well as our website.

Rev. Garry Lee-Lindsay
Chaplain

Primary School STEM/Coding Club

This term, our budding innovators in Years 3 to 6 have been diving into the fascinating world of technology and coding. STEM/Coding Club convenes on Monday afternoons (Years 5-6) and Thursday afternoons (Years 3-4). We’re exploring the Micro:bit – a pocket-sized computer capable of LED displays, light and motion detection, and sound production. The Primary students love it! So far, they have utilised their burgeoning coding skills to create their own digital name tags, display ‘beating heart’ animations, a fitness step counter and have even coded a digital Rock, Paper, Scissors game using the block-based coding system, Microsoft MakeCode.

We are now working on designing prototypes addressing real-world issues. The Years 5 and 6 girls have been developing a Fitness Friend which helps remind people to do regular exercise to help combat the high levels of heart disease present in Australian people. The Years 3 and 4 girls are designing light-up fishing nets to tackle the problem of bycatch (unwanted fish and other marine creatures trapped by commercial fishing nets). The girls have come up with some fantastic designs already.

STEM/Coding Club will be offered again in Term 2 for an exciting journey into Lego robotics!

Emma Spencer
STEM/Coding Club Coordinator

Visual Arts

In week 3, we took Year 8 Visual Arts students on an excursion to visit the First Nations Gallery at the Australian Museum and to the Yiribana Gallery at the Art Gallery of NSW. We were so proud of our students’ engagement, interest and deep learning throughout the day. The immersion experience across both galleries meant that students had the time to expand their awareness and explore and enrich their understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art practice and culture. Their independent assignment work is also significantly building their understanding and knowledge of the world’s oldest continuous living culture. Here is what some of our students said about their experience: 

At the Yiribana Gallery, I learnt that the artworks are so much deeper than just ‘putting paint on a canvas’. The way in which the artist depicts their work always has a reason, these aspects help the viewer to understand their intentions and stories. Often these works convey the impact that they have felt or the way that they are treated, and the connection to Country that Aboriginal peoples feel and sustain is felt through the way the piece is formed.   

The first artwork our class looked at was named Warlugulong, a Papunya Tula artwork originating from the Northern Territory. The artwork conveyed a Dreaming story derived from the artists’ Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri and  Tim Leura Tjapaltjarri’s culture.  
Annabel Lavery 

From learning outside the classroom, I can see how First Nations artworks from different Language Groups are so unlike one another and I better understand the different styles each group uses.  

In person you can see the texture in the artworks which brings them to life. 
Akansha Singh 

I learned about the different styles of artworks from different Language Groups and different regions. 

I especially liked learning about the symbols in Papunya Tula paintings such as “The Tingari Story” painting where concentric circles and connecting lines as well as shapes within the lines pose as lines of the journey. 
Francesca Maughan 

It was very calm and quiet allowing me to think clearly. I learnt more about Aboriginal art and culture throughout this excursion.  
Inès Lumei  

Walking through the gallery was so interesting as there were so many different art styles and methods. It was amazing to see the different regional styles and the way different people think of and represent similar things.  
Josephine Wheater 

When I went into the Yiribana Gallery it was fascinating to see so many different types of styles of painting, sketching and designing. My dad is an artist, and his artworks are not like other artist’s paintings, he mostly does sketches and dot paintings.  
Lottie Coulthard 

Learning outside the classroom has helped me to see and understand the many different symbols and Language Groups that are from Aboriginal culture. This has also helped me to learn about different perspectives, traditions and Dreaming stories.   
Nina Genc 

I have learned that First Nations art has evolved over time. Traditional Indigenous art included a range of forms including painting on bark, wood carving, rock painting using ochre (ground up powder with water), and sandpainting. Sandpainting lasts until it is blown away by the wind and returns to its rightful place, Country. More recently, First Nations art is called ‘contemporary art’. It can involve political messages and sculptures. Some contemporary art uses bright colours using acrylic paint, instead of using traditional materials. Even though the art looks different, it still has the same message. Connection to Country.   
Annabelle Jessup 

This week’s banner is a selection of watercolours from Ms Tesoriero’s Year 8 class. Students are exploring a place significant to them in multimedia works, that include these paintings, collage, photography and poetry.

Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts

Secondary Music

Thank you to the Woodwind Ensemble, under the direction of Ms Nicole Barrett, who played a selection of music ahead of the Open Day last Friday. Thank you to Mr Tierney for his support of this ensemble.

SCEGGS Eisteddfod

The Secondary Highlights Concert will be held on Wednesday 20 March at 6.00pm in the Great Hall. A selection of performances, representing a cross-section of year groups, instruments and voices will be chosen by the adjudicators to perform in this concert.

Performers will be contacted in the late afternoon of Friday 15 March if they are invited to participate in the Secondary Highlights Concert.

If you have any further queries, please contact Alice Kotowicz in the Music Department.

HSC Encore

On Monday evening elective music students from Years 8-12 attended HSC Encore at the Sydney Opera House. Encore is a program of outstanding HSC performances and compositions from 2023, by students from across NSW. Instruments included Voice, Marimba, Piano Accordian, Guzheng, Guitar, and more than a few drummers. The concert highlighted Music 1, Music 2, and Extension students, with a wide variety of styles and genres presented. We hope that all our students were inspired by the outstanding performances on the night.   

David Gresham
Head of Music Curriculum

New Parent Dinner – Lux Strings

Lux Strings, under the direction of Ms Eliza Sdraulig, will play a selection of music as guests arrive for the New Parent Dinner on Thursday 21 March. Before the performance, this ensemble will rehearse from 5.15pm – 6.00pm. They will perform from 6.50pm – 7.25pm and can be collected from the DB Centre around 7.30pm.

Musicale 1 

Please be aware that the date in the school diary is incorrect.

The following secondary ensembles will be performing at Musicale 1;

• Contemporary Strings
• Clarion Concert Band
• Van Reyk Percussion Ensemble
• Glennie Percussion Ensemble
• Years 7-10 Choir
• Years 7-10 Madrigal Ensemble

Further details can be found in this note.

SCEGGS’ Alumni in Concert

On Monday March 4 some of SCEGGS’ keenest singing students and choristers from the choral program attended Long Lost Loves (And Grey Suede Gloves). This evening concert at City Recital Hall featured internationally renowned mezzo soprano and proud SCEGGS’ alumni Anna Dowsley accompanied by pianist Michael Curtain. The students enjoyed an evening of story-telling through the songs of American composer William Bolcom. Many of our choristers sang with Anna Dowsley in 2022 at a SCEGGS SPAN event and enjoyed her reminiscing about her journey through the SCEGGS choral program to international success. To revisit her talents again in this one woman show and witness her extraordinary versatility as a singer and actor was very inspiring for our students.

Allison Harrigan
Musical Director of Choirs    

Clipboard

All co-curricular music ensemble schedules are now available on Clipboard. If you haven’t set this up yet, please follow these instructions.

If you are having any issues with Clipboard set-up, please contact our Music Administration Assistant, Miss Alice Kotowicz.

Important Dates

Term 1

Heidi Jones
Head of Music Co-curricular

Primary Music

SCEGGS Eisteddfod

The Primary Highlights Concert will be held on Wednesday 20 March at 4.30pm in the Great Hall. A selection of performances, representing a cross-section of year groups, instruments and voices will be chosen by the adjudicators to perform in this concert.

Parents of instrumentalists and vocalists will be contacted in the late afternoon of Friday 15 March if they are invited to perform in the Primary Highlights Concert.

If you have any further queries, please contact Alice Kotowicz in the Music Department.

Musicale 1 – Thursday 11 April 6.00pm, Great Hall

Please be aware that the date in the school diary is incorrect.

The following ensembles will be performing at Musicale 1:

• Sinfonietta
• Chamber Strings
• Primary String Octet
• Bugles’ Band
• Primary Percussion Ensemble
• Cantare
• Stage 2 Choir

Further details can be found in this note.

TMO Junior Instrumentalist Festival

The Metropolitan Orchestra Junior Instrumentalist Festival is being held on Sunday 16 June. This is a non-competitive performance opportunity for young musicians of all ages and abilities to perform a piece either solo or with accompaniment. Performers will be allocated a session along with a similarly aged/skilled musician where they will perform their chosen piece on stage. There are no rankings awarded or winners announced. Instead, each student receives written feedback from the adjudicators along with a TMO Young Instrumentalist Medal. For more info and registration click here.

Clipboard

All co-curricular music ensemble schedules are now available on Clipboard. If you haven’t set this up yet, please follow these instructions.

If you are having any issues with Clipboard set-up, please contact our Music Administration Assistant, Miss Alice Kotowicz.

Beyond the Green Gate

We are always happy to hear about ways our primary musicians are involved in music-making outside the school. Please send details to Heidi Jones.

Important Dates

Term 1

Heidi Jones
Head of Music (Co-curricular)

Secondary Sport News

Tennis

Congratulations to the SCEGGS Tennis Team who competed at the Tildesley Shield that was held at Pennant Hills Tennis Centre last week. SCEGGS placed 15^th overall and produced some excellent results.

Highlights

Bridget Murray (Year 10) reached the 4^th round of the Singles competition.

Alathea Hutley (Year 10) and Pippa Brenner (Year 10) reached the 5^th round of the Doubles.

Camille Coonan (Year 10) and Olympia Batchelor (Year 9) reached the 3^rd round of the Doubles.

Aurelia Cortese (Year 11) and Mia Webster (Year 11) also reached the 3^rd round of the Doubles.

Thank you to Ms Joukhadar and Miss Tucker who coordinated the entire program. Thank you to all of our coaches and parents who came and supported the players over both days. A special thank you to Carla Chapple for organising the amazing luncheon on the Thursday.

Athletics

Congratulations to all of the SCEGGS students who competed at the NSW Junior Athletics Championships over the weekend.

Matilda Emanuel (Year 10) won the Silver Medal in the U17 women’s 1500m. She backed up the following day to win Gold in the 800m, making her the NSW U’17 women’s 800m champion!

Coco Espie (Year 10) had a very busy weekend competing in the U17 Wheelchair events and winning the 100m, 2000m, 400m, 1500m and Discus events.

Annabelle Jessup (Year 8) finished 5^th in the U’15 3000m, which was a great result given she was running with a knee injury and had been unable to train in the two weeks leading up to the race.

We wish all our athletes well as they prepare to represent NSW at the Nationals to be held in Adelaide next month.

Surf Lifesaving

A special shout out to Sofia White (Year 8) who competed in the NSW State Nippers Championships at Queenscliff over the weekend which had more than 45 surf clubs competing.

Sofia represented North Bondi in the carnival and won a Gold Medal in the U13 Girls Cameron Relay (which involves a swim, board and run leg) and a Silver Medal in the U’13 girls Mixed Beach Sprint Relay.

North Bondi won the overall point score competition for the second time in the clubs history – congratulations.

International Women’s Day Run

The SCEGGS Cross Country and Striders squad celebrated International Women’s Day with a group run/walk down to Lady Macquarie Chair and back again. It was a lovely morning by the waterfront with students joined by staff and parents with many wearing purple to honour the day.

You can watch a video here.

Snowsports 2024

For those SCEGGS families who are thinking about participating in the SCEGGS Snowsports Team, now is the time to lock in your accommodation before it all books out. SCEGGS competes in the Sydney Region of Interschools to be held at Perisher from July 16–19. The emphasis at the regional level is on participation so students do not need to be super quick.  Students should however be capable of skiing or boarding down a blue run unassisted.

The competition is open to all students from Kindergarten through to Year 12. More information can be found in this link.

Please contact Alison Gowan on 0418 491 521 if you would like to discuss further.

SCEGGS at Play

Do you have any sporting news or photos to share in the Green Gate?

We love seeing our students being active and want to celebrate their passion and enjoyment amongst the SCEGGS community. Please send in any action shots from the weekend and any other interesting sporting highlights to Alison Gowan.

SCEGGS Training sessions before and after school plus Saturday Sport

Any cancellations or adjustments will be made in Clipboard and families will receive a notification or email when changes are made. Please ensure you have notifications enabled.

IGSA Fixtures, Results and Wet Weather

The IGSA website and platform for accessing wet weather, fixtures and team results can be found here.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact myself on 9052 2721 or 0418 491 521.

Alison Gowan
Director of Sport

Primary Sport News

Years 3-6 Cross Country Carnival

Well done to Years 3-6 students for their efforts at the Primary Cross Country Carnival. Despite the warm weather, it was wonderful to see the girls giving it their all as well as cheering on their peers. Congratulations to Langley and Badham who were equal House Champions for the event, both finishing on 77 points. Well done to the following students who placed 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd in their age division. The IPSHA Cross Country Carnival will be held on Saturday 6 April at The Kings School.

Student Achievements

Congratulations to Emily Snow (Year 5) and Beatrice Emanuel (Year 5) who competed at the State Nippers Championships for their club Bronte over the weekend, achieving some fantastic results, including:

Beatrice Emanuel:

• 6^th overall in the Under 11 1km Sand Run
• 6^th overall in the Under 11 2 x 500m Relay
• Bronze in the Under 11 Beach Sprint Relay

Emily Snow:

• Silver in the Under 11 Flags event
• 6^th overall in the Under 11 2 x 500m Relay
• Bronze in the Under 11 Beach Sprint Relay

Congratulations to Evie Duncan (Year 6), Alexandra Carroll (Year 6), Lucinda Carroll (Year 6), and Gabriella Orth (Year 6) who competed in The Big Orange Under 12s Waterpolo Tournament over the weekend for their club UNSW Wests. The girls did a fantastic job, winning every game until the grand final where they were beaten in an amazing game. They won the silver medal. What a fantastic effort!

Well done to all the students who joined in the International Women’s Day run last Friday. It was great to see so many students wearing purple and supporting equality for women. What an excellent opportunity to celebrate women’s achievements.

Upcoming Sports Dates:

Have a wonderful week!

Mr Adrian Hammond
Primary Sports Coordinator

Debating

Congratulations to the following teams for winning their debates last Friday night: Primary A ISDA, Primary B ISDA, Year 9 ISDA, Year 10 ISDA, Year 10 Eastside, Year 11 Eastside, and Year 12 Eastside.

The Round 4 Year 7 ISDA debate has been rescheduled to after school on Monday 18 March. Prep will be at 3.45pm, with the debate starting at 4.30pm and concluding at 5.30pm.

This Friday we are travelling to Wenona for ISDA and to SGHS for Eastside. The ISDA bus will leave straight after school, while the Eastside bus will leave at 4.30pm.

Imogen Harper
Debating Coordinator

Primary Easter Hat Parade

You are warmly invited to join us for our annual K-6 Easter Hat Parade on Thursday, March 28. The Parade will commence at 2.00pm and will be held on the Primary Playground.

Girls in K-2 will make their Easter hats within their Art lessons, alongside Ms Playford.

Girls in Years 3-6 are asked to make their hats at home and bring them to school on the morning of the parade.

Hopefully the sun shines for us and it’s a wonderful way to celebrate Easter. We look forward to seeing you all then.

Helen Dempsey
Head of Primary

Parents’ and Friends’ Association

Class Parent Events

Butterfly Foundation Webinar

Raising Body Kind Teens – Butterfly Foundation Webinar

Butterfly Foundation is the national charity for all Australians impacted by eating disorders and body image issues, and for the families, friends and communities who support them. The Foundation recognises that eating disorders often arise from poor body image. The organisation delivers a range of prevention programs. One such program is the Raising Body Kind Teens – Parent Webinar on 20 March. Further details and link for registration provided below for families who are interested.

Raising Body Kind Teens – For Parents (Zoom)

Join the experts at Butterfly for this practical webinar on supporting positive body image in teenagers.  Includes strategies on:

Managing social media | Reducing appearance talk and body comparisons | Increasing body appreciation | Supporting Body Kind eating and movement | Responding to negative self-talk and appearance bullying | What to do if concerned.

When: Wednesday, 20 March 7 – 8.30pm (AEDT)

Cost: $15 

Via Zoom: Time-limited recording available

Register Here

Year 7 Vaccination Clinic – Friday 22 March

Parents of Year 7 students – if you would like your child vaccinated please complete the online form before the clinic on Friday 22 March.

If your child is in Year 7 or Year 10 in 2024, you will need to provide consent online for school vaccinations offered by NSW Health’s School Vaccination Program. Vaccinations will only be provided at school if consent has been received. Online consent will only be accepted if provided through the NSW Health School Vaccination Program portal.

How to provide consent:

1. To complete online consent for your child’s school vaccinations, visit: health.nsw.gov.au
2. Follow the steps to log in to your existing ServiceNSW account. This is the same account you may already use to renew your driver’s licence. If you don’t have a ServiceNSW account, refer to ServiceNSW to create one.
3. Update or confirm your personal details in ServiceNSW as required.
4. Complete the School Vaccination Consent Form for your child/ren. You will need to:
   1. Enter your child’s personal details
   2. Provide the Medicare card details for you and your child
   3. Read the linked Parent Information Sheet and privacy statement
   4. Provide consent

Detailed instructions can be found on the NSW Health website.

If you or your child do not have a Medicare card, consent can still be provided by requesting a paper consent form from the school.

If you have given consent for your child to be vaccinated at the school clinic, but they are absent on the day of the clinic visit, the school immunisation nurses will try to catch them up at their next visit. Alternatively, you can speak to a GP or pharmacist about catching up on vaccinations.

For more information on school vaccinations visit here or if you have any questions, please contact South Eastern Sydney Public Health Unit on: 9382 8333 (Ext 2).

SCEGGS Vaccination Clinic dates for 2024 are as follows:

• Year 7 – diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (dTpa) and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines 
  – Friday 22 March
• Year 10 – meningococcal ACWY vaccine 
  – Friday 2 August

Phil Rogers
Director of Administration