COVID update

Changes to isolation guidelines for people testing positive

From Friday 9 September, all staff, students and visitors who have tested positive to COVID-19 must isolate for at least 5 days from the date they test positive.

• On Days 6 and 7, the person may return to school if they are:
  • Completely symptom-free AND
  • Return a negative RAHT test before attending school both days AND
  • Wear a mask indoors when attending school (if 12 years and older).
• If symptoms remain after Day 5, the person is not able to return to school and must continue to self-isolate until symptoms have gone.

Staff and students will still not be permitted to participate in overnight excursions and camps until after isolating for at least 7 days from the date they tested positive. Students and staff may participate from Day 8 if they are symptom-free.

Masks

Masks continue to be mandatory:

• On buses, trains and public transport: this applies to all staff and to students aged 12 years and older. It applies when travelling to and from school, and during school excursions, by public transport or by chartered transport services.
• Indoors for staff and high school students returning to school as household contacts for a week (5 school days) and is recommended for primary school students in the same situation.
• Indoors for students and staff who have recovered from COVID-19, completed their 5-day isolation period and are no longer showing symptoms for an additional 2 days.

Masks no longer need to be worn on aircraft in NSW. However, they must still be worn in some circumstances, such as when travelling to more remote communities.

Household contacts

There have been no changes to these guidelines, so students and staff who are identified as household contacts can attend school if:

• They have absolutely NO symptoms and feel well
• Parents/carers notify the school beforehand that a student is intending to return under this provision, by emailing absences
• They conduct a daily RAHT and return a negative result each morning before attending school for a week (5 school days).
• Staff and students who are household contacts must wear a mask indoors, except when eating or exercising. It is recommended that primary students follow these same guidelines wherever possible.

Household contacts will still not be permitted to participate in overnight excursions and camps.

Staff and students who have had COVID-19 in the last 4 weeks do not have to comply with these guidelines for household contacts and are not required to self-isolate unless they develop new COVID-19 symptoms.

If your daughter is unwell

Staff and students cannot attend school if they are showing any symptoms of flu or COVID-19.

If symptoms occur at any time, your daughter should not attend school and should undertake a rapid antigen test. Even if she tests negative on a RAHT, please keep her home for 24 hours and then test again. Even if multiple COVID tests (RAHT and/or PCR) come back negative for COVID-19, students should not return to school until all symptoms of the illness have gone.

Health advice is that students who are sick should always stay home to rest and recover and avoid putting others at risk of getting sick. Please help us keep everyone in our community as safe and well as possible this year!

Holly Gyton
Deputy Head of School

R U OK? Day in the Primary School

R U OK? Day was celebrated in the Primary school last Thursday, dedicating this time to inspire and empower the girls to meaningfully connect and support them in asking the question “Are you OK?”. Relationships are at the core of the success of these effective conversations about wellbeing and support, so to celebrate this important day in our Wellbeing calendar we found as much opportunity to come together and have fun!

Learning how to support their peers and talk about how they feel is an essential life skill, and one embedded into many areas of our Wellbeing and Pastoral Care Programs here at SCEGGS. The concepts and strategies explored on R U OK? Day are ones the girls regularly engage with during Form Time activities and in other explicit and imbedded areas of learning.

The girls in Years K-2 use the Kimochi program during Form Times each week to discuss elements of emotional literacy and various social skills and tools. These conversations continued on R U OK Day, where the girls began the morning exploring friendships from popular movies and tv shows, identifying some famous friends including Woody and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story, Wilbur and Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web and Elsa and Anna from Frozen. The girls identified qualities that these characters possess and ones they share, in line with being a good friend and reflecting on different ways they can be or have been a good friend to someone. Kindergarten and Year 1 made friendship hands, filling these with beautiful sentiments about who they are as friends. In Year 2, the girls created Wanted Posters with the purpose of searching for a good friend, with the reward section, highlighting the impact of good friends or what they will offer in return. For example: ‘A good friend in return’, ‘someone who will help them when they need it’, ‘someone to talk to’.

In Years 3-5 the girls explored the four conversation steps provided by R U OK? which support students and adults alike, in checking in and supporting a friend. Through video, song and games, the girls were presented with the ALEC 4 step process: Ask, Listen, Encourage Action and Check In. These steps were broken down, allowing girls to brainstorm, discuss and role play various elements of these, to feel confident and ready to use the steps, if and when they need to. Classes created conversation Speech Bubbles and Action Footsteps to encourage the understanding of helpful and unhelpful ways to engage in these conversations and support of their friends.

On the cusp of great change and their transition to high school, Year 6 spent time considering and checking in on how they were feeling. Discussing the fact that it’s normal not to always feel ok, the girls looked at various rating scales and what circumstances could make them feel certain ways. The girls were open and vulnerable with each other, supporting meaningful and significant conversation, with reminders about there always having teachers and friends here to help and that these feelings pass. The girls also shared strategies they found helpful and unhelpful in moments of stress or challenge.

Teachers continued to integrate the concepts and focuses of the day throughout many aspects of learning, sharing picture books in lessons, adapting activities to support cross class groupings, and a personal favourite, the Feel-Good Lunch with music and a photo booth.

In recognition of this significant day and as we partner to support your daughter’s wellbeing, we wanted to provide three tools you might find helpful.

• To help you move beyond answers such as “fine” and “nothing” when asking about your daughter’s day, we have put together 10 questions to ask after school. Whether it be in the car after school pick up or around the dinner table these will help you to connect and engage in meaningful conversation about your daughter’s day.
• From learning about emotions to helping your daughter manage anxious feelings – when it comes to primary school children, Beyond Blue have a range of useful tools and ideas on their website for kids aged 6-12 years.
• Raising Learners is a new podcast, presented by net.au and developed in conjunction with the Department of Education and Training Victoria. Each episode features experts sharing practical advice and ideas for supporting children’s health, wellbeing to help your daughter learn and thrive at school and at home.

The girls are incredibly resilient and have faced ongoing challenge and change over the last few years. Should you ever have concerns regarding your daughter’s wellbeing or would like to discuss ways in which you can boost wellbeing, please don’t hesitate to contact either your daughter’s class teacher or myself.

Rebecca Woodcock
Acting Head of Student Wellbeing K-6

Science News

Science Extension Success

On Lunchtime of Friday 9 September the Year 12 Science Extension students presented their long term projects to the students and teacher on a wonderful session held in the School Library. The six students, Clare Crawford, Emily Feller, Olivia Jarvie,  Dakota Kedzier-Hurst, Jemimah O’Brien and India Poiner had an amazing diversity of projects that they have each been researching over the year.

The Year 12 Science Extension course is a fantastic way for Year 12 students to engage with scientific project work on their chosen topic and get to explore different methodologies that best test their scientific ideas. The poster presentations of their work will be on display in the Joan Freeman Building.

Marlise Kalt
Science Teacher

Science Medals!

Two teams of Year 12 Chemistry students have “dropped the base” and risen to fame at the National Titration Competition held at UNSW on Saturday 10 September.

Titration is a technique used by chemists to determine the exact concentration of a chemical solution. Year 12 students study this technique for determining acid and base concentrations in the HSC Course, and the competition provides an excellent opportunity to practise analytical techniques in the laboratory. As the concentration of one of the solutions is known, we can use a chemical reaction between this and the unknown solution, in the presence of a coloured indicator, to determine its concentration. Students must practise specific rinsing techniques and use analytical glassware appropriately to find out the most accurate concentration.

After great success at the NSW competition in Term 2, two of our 8 SCEGGS teams were invited to the second round – the National Competition, in which the procedure’s complexity is increased.

Big congratulations to Julia Inglis, Dakota Kedzier-Hurst, Maya Barnett, Olivia Jarvie, Renee Ayoub and Olivia Chu who received silver medals on the day. These medals are awarded to individuals within teams who determined the unknown concentration to a high level of accuracy. Well done!

Alison Johnson
Science Teacher

Year 8 Technology’s Entrepreneurial Fair

Year 8 Technology students were challenged to look around their world and identify a situation or problem that a solution would involve the use of microcontrollers and sensors. Using The Circuit Playground Express from Adafruit, the students created code using a block-based language.

After extensive experimentation, the students used their new-found knowledge of micro-controllers, sensors, input, and output devices to solve problems as diverse as knowing when to water your plant to visual temperature information for northern hemisphere skiers.

In Week 7 the Year 8 classes then enthusiastically shared their ideas and recorded their feedback in an exciting entrepreneurial fair.

Tricia Tring
TAS Teacher

Year 4 Science & Technology Heat and Energy Incursion

Spinning propellors, tea bag rockets and chemical reactions! There was a hive of activity during the Year 4 Science and Technology incursions on Thursday last week as the girls explored the science behind light and heat energy. 

Hands-on experiences included building various electrical circuits with light bulbs and spinning propellors and using thermometers to measure temperature. The students compared the movement of particles in hot and cold water using dye. A true favourite was mixing baking soda and vinegar together to create a mixture in a zip lock bag which caused an endothermic reaction. The girls were fascinated as the mixture produced a gas and temperature change as it foamed up and became cold. In some instances, when there was too much gas produced, it caused the bag to pop!

The girls proved to be curious audience members as they observed demonstrations of how light energy is absorbed by solar panels and converted into electrical energy. They learned how darker substances absorb more heat radiation and how lighter substances reflect it. A memorable moment was when the demonstrator created a convection current using a burning tea bag which the girls likened to a hot air balloon. As the current of air moved inwards and the burning tea bag became lighter, it rose straight up into the air!

The workshop ended with a bang…literally! This time, the girls watched an exothermic reaction which simply means a combustion reaction that releases a lot of heat energy. Glycerol was mixed in with Condys Crystals to create a distinct sound of ignition which caused a bright purple flame to suddenly erupt. Most importantly, the girls learned about the importance of safety when working with chemicals and the measures that scientist must take to keep themselves safe as well as those around them.

Gabriela Grocott
Manager of Primary Administration and Operations

WriteOn 2022

During Term 2, the girls in the Primary were given the opportunity to take part in the WriteOn Competition, an annual writing competition open to all students Years 1-6 in New South Wales. Tasked with composing an imaginative text of up to 500 words in response to an image (below), this year, the competition had more entries than ever before, with close to 500 students participating. This number is quite impressive considering schools could only submit one entry from each stage of learning.

Showcasing their creativity and writing skills, we received many entries from the girls in Years 3-6. We would like to congratulate Anna Slack (Year 5) and Giselle Wharton (Year 4) whose compositions were not only selected for submission into the competition but were recognised by the competition judges, a panel comprised of experienced Primary teachers and NESA representatives across each educational sector. Both girls received Silver commendation and their compositions will be published in The Best of WriteOn 2022 Anthology.

“Eyes Everywhere”

My head turned upwards. There were eyes everywhere. Always eyes. Wherever I looked there were eyes. Glancing, staring at me, peeping. Some were hidden so that they could watch us without us knowing. Others were in immediate eyesight, as though reminding us that we are always being watched. This fair was supposed to be a moment in time where I could forget, the kaleidoscope of colour and movement meant to distract me from reality, but I was not fooled. I studied the collection of toy animals to know which of them were watching us. Was it the panda? Or was it the green chameleon reporting back to headquarters? I had been warned by older children that some of the eyes contained cameras. They wanted to ensure our every move was captured. I glanced at the red book in my hands. It was supposed to guide us through the fair. However, I saw it as just another mechanism to watch us and control our every move. 

My grandfather talked of a time before, where everyone was allowed to think for themselves, where children could run aimlessly through the streets without an eye on them. They were allowed to be different. Now, we were told what to think, what to do and if we didn’t agree, the faint hum of the drone could be heard, hovering ready to capture us if our disagreement was too great. I had become so used to the hum of the drone above that I barely lifted my eyes when it descended. 

Unexpectedly, the gigantic lips amongst the partially covered mural moved. I trembled, partly in fear and partly in awe, as the lips mouthed, “Fight back. Fight for your right to have a view.” My eyes widened. The view that I had always adopted was being expressed.

The toy’s eyes all moved, firmly fixed on me. Now though, I did not care. I knew the drone would eventually catch me, but I would fight back. I wanted to have a voice, not live a life functioning like a robot, being told what to think and do. I threw the red book on the grass. I screamed, “I want to be myself.” My shoulders were up, and I stood straight. I was not going to be overpowered.

All I could now see were the bulging eyes of the toys. The cameras could now be clearly seen. However, I felt liberated.

The drone hovered, claws ready to grasp me. 

The eyes were my shadow and my constant companion,
And they were going to punish me, for being me.

Anna Slack (5W)

“The Panda who Finally Found a Home”

Hi, my name is Panda, I’ve been here a long, long time,
See me on the top shelf? Hey, I’m still in my prime.
Why doesn’t anyone pick me? Aren’t I a delight?
With my little black nose, my twinkling eyes alight.
Aren’t I fabulous? Aren’t I great?
Or maybe did they make a mistake.
What is wrong? Come on, tell me now!
I’m cute and cuddly, that I avow.

No hugs or smiles, I wake up, freezing,
I do not find this very pleasing.
It makes me sad, I feel alone,
All I really want is a home.

There’s a little girl coming up to the stand,
Won’t get my hopes up, won’t show my hand.
But wait, she’s paid and is aiming high,
As she loses her first turn, I want to cry.

Her second attempt is good, but not great,
If she tries a little harder, she may get it straight.
Then she will win, I know that she can,
That’s how they do it, so stick to the plan.

She’s done it. It’s the moment of truth,
Will she pick me? Or someone who toots?
She looks up and she points right at me,
It’s happened finally. Whoopee!

Giselle Wharton (4B)

Kristy Williams
Acting Curriculum Coordinator (English)

Music Matters

IPSHA Performing Arts Festival

Last Tuesday night primary musicians and choristers from Year 5 and 6 represented SCEGGS at the 2022 IPSHA Performing Arts Festival at the Sydney Town Hall. Ms Lanneke Jones and Ms Allison Harrigan worked tirelessly to prepare the repertoire for this exciting performance opportunity. Our girls collaborated with musicians and choristers from five other Independent Schools to form a Combined Schools Choir and Symphony Orchestra. Each school also performed an individual item, showcasing the talents of their primary students. SCEGGS Year 6 Choir performed “Eye of the Sound Storm”, an Australian composition by Alice Chance inspired by the Foreshore at Barangaroo. The Year 6 Choir was accompanied by a String Octet and percussion. Congratulations to:

These girls have rehearsed every Friday lunchtime since Term 1 to be ready for the performance. Special thanks to Mrs Bronwyn Cleworth and Ms Jayne Groves who assisted greatly in the preparation of this piece.  

Mrs Anne Sweeney
Director of Strings

Australian School Band and Orchestral Festival (ASBOF) – Congratulations Amati Strings and Holst Wind Band

Congratulations to the members of Amati Strings and Holst Wind Band who competed in the Secondary divisions of ASBOF on Sunday 11 September at Sydney Conservatorium of Music. 

Holst Wind Band gained a Gold Award in the Grahame Lloyd Event and Amati Strings also gained a Gold Award in the Ernest Llewellyn Premier Event of the Australian School Band and Orchestra Festival.

Only 18 of the 27 girls in Amati were able to perform on the day due to illnesses and clashing commitments. The girls who performed are to be congratulated for their resilience and determination to “soldier on” – despite having key soloists in Amati absent on the day.

This has been a wonderful performance opportunity for our senior musicians in both ensembles and to be publicly acknowledged for their level of musical performance.

Special thank you to Mrs Anne Sweeney for her direction of Amati and Mr Michael Tierney for his direction of Holst Wind Band.  Thank you to the parents of students in the ensembles for your support.  Well done to all performers for your preparation and commitment to this event.

Invitation for Music Captain and Committee Members Application

Inviting all Music Elective or Co-Curricular Music students in Years 10 and 11 to apply for positions of Music Committee member or 2023 Music Captain.  The application can be accessed here.

Applications are due Week 10 – Wednesday 21 September 3.30pm

Term 3 Calendar of Music Events

Term 4 Calendar of Music Events

Pauline Chow
Head of Music

Visual Arts

This week’s banner is is from Scarlett Gibson-Williams.

Student Works

We are proud to share that Scarlett Gibson-Williams (Year 12) has been awarded a Category Prize in the Woollahra Youth Photographic Award for her work Twist.

Scarlett says about this work:

Twist explores the duplicity in ballet as an art form. Each day, a ballerina’s every movement and action are questioned. The audience, or an external perspective, sees ballet as effortless, delicate, and an enchanting form of art. While a dancer loves what they do, behind the closed curtain can lie a world of pain (emotional, mental, and physical), sacrifice, and self-sabotage.

Extreme lights and darks are incorporated to portray these two perspectives. The darkness symbolises the experiences of physical damage, and fierce competition, while the light is a symbol of the grace and beauty of the audience’s perspectives, and the delicate nature of the costumes worn by the dancers. In this work the movement of the dancer is captured in a ghostly manner, sometimes making it seem like there are multiple dancers. In those, the dancer looks back at herself, seeing the pain and beauty.

We were also thrilled to see Eva Litosh’s Year 7 portrait work that she completed in class and as part of her assignment in term 1 selected to hang in the window of the Bellevue Gallery. Congratulations Eva!

School Holiday Workshops at The National Art School are back to Inspire Young Artists

NAS is excited to host their Spring School Holiday programs for 2022! Their on-campus workshops provide young people ranging from ages 6–16 with real-world opportunities to engage with artists, art-making and other forms of creative production. The workshops are running from Monday 26 September to Friday 7 October 2022.

You can view the range of courses here.

Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts

Primary Sport News

Gymnastics

Congratulations to the SCEGGS Gymnasts who competed at Five Dock Leisure Centre on Sunday 4 September. We look forward to primary and high school representative carnivals later this year.

It was fantastic to see SCEGGS compete strongly against a field of independent schools and private gymnastics clubs.

Ingrid Soerensen won the overall highest score in Level 4. Wavy Ellis and Victoria Poniros collected Gold Banding, both finishing within the Top 5!

It’s lovely to watch the girls grow in confidence with each event. Due to COVID its be so long and it’s nice to be back out there on the floor.

Results

Term 4 Sports Trials

Thanks to all the girls who attended Tuesday’s first Term 4 Sports trial. Seeing so many girls involved in Basketball, Cricket, Tennis and Football (Year 3) has been incredible. The final trial dates and times are listed below.

IPSHA Basketball Year 4

The final trial sessions will be held on Saturday and Week 10 of Term 3 as follows:

Girls will meet coaches at the SCEGGS Sports Hall for all Tuesday training sessions at the end of the school day. Girls will be picked up from the Sports Hall on Forbes Street at 5pm.

IPSHA Basketball Years 5-6

The final trial sessions will be held on Saturday and Week 10 of Term 3 as follows:

Girls will meet coaches on the SCEGGS Sports Hall for all Tatsday training sessions at the end of the school day. Girls are to be picked up at 4.50pm from CPSC Netball Courts, Robertson Road or from outside the Sports Hall on Forbes Street at 5.20pm if returning on the bus.

IPSHA Cricket Years 4-6

The final trial sessions will be held on Saturday and Week 10 of Term 3:

*Please note the venue change for Cricket for Saturday morning.

For all Tuesday training sessions, girls will meet coaches at the SCEGGS Sports Hall at the end of the school day. Girls are to be picked up at 4.50pm from CPSC Moore Park Synthetic Field, Robertson Road or from outside the Sports Hall on Forbes Street at 5.20pm if returning on the bus.

IPSHA Tennis Years 4-6

The final trial sessions will be held on Saturday and Week 10 of Term 3 as follows:

Girls will meet coaches at the SCEGGS Sports Hall for all Tuesday training sessions at the end of the school day. Girls are to be picked up at 4.50pm from Parklands Tennis Centre, Robertson Road or from outside the Sports Hall on Forbes Street at 5.20pm if returning on the bus.

Year 3 Football

The final trial session will be held in Week 10 of Term 3 as follows:

For Tuesday sessions, girls will catch the bus to and from SCEGGS. Girls can be picked up at 4.50pm from Moore Park or approximately 5.20pm outside the Sports Hall on Forbes Street.

Term 4 Sport Nomination Forms

A big thank you to all families who have returned their Sport Nomination Forms for Term 4. If you have not, please contact Tom Mitton or Brittany Robbins.

We would also love to hear from any girls interested in playing Year 5 IPSHA Basketball next term!  

Holiday Clinics

Tennis

SCEGGS’s Exclusive Tennis Coaches Justin and Vince are hosting a SCEGGS JUNIOR SCHOOL ONLY tennis program this upcoming school holidays.

All standards are welcome and programmed for; Beginners, Intermediate and Frequent Players.

What to expect through both days :

1. 4 Basic Stroke Techniques – Serve, Forehand, Backhand, Volley
2. Interactive Tennis Drills
3. Tennis Scoring System
4. Fun and Fitness Games

Justin and Vince are the long-time and current coaches of the SCEGGS Tildesely Tennis Team and run certain PE tennis classes for SCEGGS junior school.

Please take a look at the attachment here and feel free to contact us if you have any questions/inquiries.

AFL

For those girls who are looking for a bit more AFL in Term 4, there is an AFLX Competition running at Moore Park on Monday afternoons from 10/10/2022 – 12/12/2022. We would love to get a SCEGGS team together to compete; whether you are an experienced player or have never played before, we would love to hear from you! For more information, visit here.

For those interested in signing up as part of a team or as an individual, please email me.

SCEGGS Training sessions after school plus Saturday Sport

After a week’s worth of cancelled Saturday sports (mostly), now more than ever, it is essential to keep up to date with all sports cancellations/changes. Please stay subscribed to the @SCEGGSSport Twitter feed for the latest updates relating to cancellations.

Please note the finishing dates for Term 3 Activities attached here.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me on 0435 138 037. Alternatively, if you have any news or photos that we can highlight in the newsletters, please email TomMitton@sceggs.nsw.edu.au.

Tom Mitton
PDHPE and Sport Coordinator: Primary

Secondary Sport News

Term 4 Touch and Water Polo Trials

IGSA Grand Finals – Saturday

Fixtures for all matches this weekend are listed below. Best wishes and good luck to everyone playing in grand finals and final round games this weekend.

Australian Snowsports Championships

SCEGGS sent 9 students to compete at the Australian Interschools Snowsports Championships that were held at Perisher last week. This was the final competition to finish up the 2022 Snowsport season.

Conditions were somewhat tough during the week with wind, rain and ice all a feature throughout. A special mention of the Division 1 skiers in both Alpine and Skier Cross who had a hair-raising experience on difficult courses that were full of ice and difficult to navigate. This year we farewell Lily Punch in Year 12 who has represented SCEGGS and competed at the Australian level since she was in Year 1.

The Cross-Country skiers certainly stood out from the crowd and received many comments from other schools in their “Gowan’s Gals” T-shirts! Led by our SCEGGS Snowsports Captain, Scarlett Phillips, there was some excellent sportsmanship on display as the team cheered on their fellow competitors, even the Division 1 team from Tara were cheered on during the race despite being our opposition.

Thank you to all of the SCEGGS families who made the season possible with your constant support and commitment on the mountain, and the many hours commuting to and from Perisher this year.

Highlights from the week were as follows:

• Division 1 Moguls: Scarlett Phillips placed 17^th
• Division 1 Alpine: Scarlett Phillips 10^th, Lily Punch, Sophie McGrath
• Division 5 Alpine: Jessica Grace placed 26^th (out of 70 competitors)
• Division 1 Skier Cross Team placed 5^th overall: Lily Punch (13^th), Scarlett Phillips, Evangeline Marr
• Cross Country Classic Division 1 Team placed 5^th overall: Tilda Meggitt, Scarlett Phillips, Zara Buchen
• Cross Country Classic Division 2: Abigail Grace
• Cross Country Classic Division 4: Gemma Shennan 15^th
• Cross Country Relay Division 1 Team placed 5^th overall: Tilda Meggitt, Scarlett Phillips, Zara Buchen

SCEGGS Striders

This term saw the introduction of the SCEGGS Striders Club on Wednesday mornings. This was an extension of our SCEGGS Cross Country program run by Ms Thompson. The venues and routes would change as the bus dropped students around Sydney and they took new sights each week. It has proven to be very popular with numbers continuing to grow. We look forward to offering more of the SCEGGS Striders next term.

Arounds the Grounds

We celebrate some of our teams from Netball and Football that competed in the semi finals on the weekend.

SCEGGS Training sessions before and after school plus Saturday Sport

Please check the @SCEGGSSport Twitter feed for the latest updates relating to cancellations.

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. Alternatively, if you have any news or photos that we can highlight in the newsletters please email alisongowan@sceggs.nsw.edu.au

Alison Gowan
Director of Sport

Careers News

Careers Corner Newsletter

We are pleased to bring you the next issue of the Careers Corner newsletter.

Youth Voice in Parliament 2022

Youth Voice in Parliament week (21-24 November) will champion the voices of young Australians by giving them a voice in Parliament and online. Politicians across the country have committed to reading a speech written by a young person aged 21 or under in their state, territory or electorate. This is an opportunity for students to raise the issues that matter most to you, in your words.

This initiative is open to any person under the age of 21 and the task is to create a 90-second speech submission (approximately 200 words) which answers the question: What should Australia’s new parliament accomplish?

There are lots of tips about what makes a good speech, how to get started and the template to use for the submissions here. This is also the website where students can upload their final submission. Speech submissions are open until 19 October.

Go Greener

Biodiversity at SCEGGS

The month of September is designated as National Biodiversity Month. It celebrates connecting with nature and caring for nature in all its diversity. Biodiversity is a vital component of the environment that supports the clean air, water and other natural systems on which life depends. One of the school’s sustainability goals is to “improve the biodiversity in the school grounds”.

Over the last eighteen months, several biodiversity improvements have been made at SCEGGS. These include:

• Introduction of a native bee hive located in the primary school vegetable garden. There are approximately 2,000 native bee species in Australia. We have the variety called Tetragonula Carbonaria which create a beautiful spiral hive. There are up to 10,000 of these tiny bees in our hive. 85% of flowers require bees to pollinate them. 
• A bush tucker garden is located on the roof of the primary school. This has been a good source of food for solitary native bees. When the plants are in flower you can often see blue banded and teddy bear bees collecting pollen and nectar.
• A Gadi tree (Xanthorrhoea Johnsonni) was planted by Kindergarten in March this year near the bush tucker garden.
• On the walkway to the mathematics department, six pots with three different Australian native plants have been planted to encourage small birds and bees in to the school.
• Near the secondary dining room, a herb garden has been planted for use by the kitchen staff.
• At the back of the Old Girls Building native plants, grasses and reeds have been specially selected to encourage small birds and frogs.
• Bees have excellent vision in the ultraviolet spectrum. Many small colourful annuals are planted in pots to provide food for our native bees.
• Some of the bird species seen at the school include Lorikeets, Magpies, Kookaburras, Noisy Miners, Butcher birds and of course the Ibis. The are some seasonal birds such as Channel-billed cuckoo visiting the school.

A big thank you must go to our gardener Innes McManus for the care he takes of the gardens in the school.

Sue Zipfinger
Sustainability Coordinator

School Shop

Selling Summer Uniform

The School Shop will commence selling the SCEGGS Summer uniform the week of 12 September, Week 9 of Term 3. Students are to wear the Summer uniform in Term 4. If a full uniform fitting is required for your child it is advisable to make an appointment. The most suitable time during the school term is between 9am-12pm Monday to Friday. For new students, uniform fittings are conducted throughout January by appointment only.

New Release

This summer we are excited to introduce a swimming hooded towel to keep students dry and warm.

The Primary hooded towel retails for $50 and the Secondary one will retail for $70.

2023 Year 12 Textbook List

The Year 12 Textbook list for 2023 is available on the SCEGGS site to the incoming cohort and can be accessed via this link.

On a sad note, T’s textbooks in Alexandria are closing their business after 47 years. They encourage parents and students to find a bargain on secondhand textbooks, novels and study guides while stocks last.

Lost Property

Also, we have accumulated a collection of Lost Property items from Term 3. Secondary students with identifiable items in Lost Property are encouraged to collect them before the end of term. In addition we have water bottles, lunch boxes and sundry un-named items waiting to be claimed.

Trading Hours

The School Shop will close Friday 23/9/22 and reopen Monday 10/10/22. We look forward to helping you with your Summer Uniform needs.

Have an enjoyable term break.

Clare Reid
School Shop Manager

Spring Vacation Care

Dear Families

With the Spring holidays fast approaching, we would like to take the opportunity to share our Spring Vacation Care Program with you.

The service will be operating from Monday 26 – Friday 30 September, Tuesday 4 – Friday 7 October, with school returning on the Monday 10 October 2022.  The service is open for current Primary SCEGGS girls and their school aged siblings only.

Please click here for the Vacation Care Flyer.

The vacation care program for Spring has a wonderful variety of excursions and incursions and exciting in-house days at the centre for all children to enjoy.

If you would like to book your child into Vacation Care, please follow the TryBooking link to generate your tickets.

Please note, that if you have not yet enrolled your child into our After School/ Vacation Care Service through the OWNA website or you are a new family joining SCEGGS in 2022, you will be required to fill out enrolment documentation prior to booking. This can be accessed via the link.

Please reach out via email (afterschoolcare@sceggs.nsw.edu.au) or phone (9332-1133) if you have any inquiries about Vacation Care.

Warm regards,

Fran St John
After School Care Co-Ordinator