From Ms Allum

Dear Everyone                                                                                                         

I have been thinking of you all. It does seem that we are seeing an increase in the COVID numbers across NSW again, and we are seeing an increase in COVID-related absences (both positive cases and household contacts) in all year groups at SCEGGS too. And I know that with this increase in illness, there does come increased isolation and anxiety in some sections of the community. On top of this, I know there are others in our community have been adversely affected by the constant rain and areas of flooding too. It can be easier under these circumstances to let things start to get to you … but … tomorrow is always a new day! So I encourage you all to take a moment to notice the good things around you, to find some lightness in your life and to smile when you can!

Just a couple of messages and reminders from me.

RAHTS
I would like to continue the surveillance monitoring by using the twice-weekly testing regime for next week too. So please do give your daughters a RAHT test on Monday and Wednesday, as this is an important tool in catching instances of the virus before it comes into the school itself and is a really important process to try to keep everyone safe until the end of term. It is important to make sure that you follow the instructions carefully for any RAHT test that you have, but in particular, the requirement to not have ANY food or drinks for 30 mins prior to using a saliva test. This is the key to ensuring that these tests are at their maximum effectiveness.

ILLNESS & MONITORING
We have seen an increase in numbers in COVID-positive cases in all year groups. Please do monitor your daughter for symptoms very closely. If she does develop some symptoms, even if she tests negative on a RAHT, please keep her home for 24 hours and then test again. It’s better to have one day off school to be on the safe side than to spread it to many others in the school community.

LEARNING
At this stage, we are not going to offer a hybrid model of teaching, where we try and teach the students in the classroom at the same time as those zooming in from home. Our experience of doing this when we had the 2/3 and 1/3 hybrid model in 2020 was that everyone suffered – the students in the classroom and the students at home too. The teachers were severely limited in their classroom pedagogy, because they were trying to ensure that the girls at home were included (so no practical work, no small group activities, no discussions, etc). Managing around 20 students, some on-line and some in person, so that they could hear, ask questions and do the full range of activities meant everyone suffered. In the main, teachers felt that they would have preferred just to teach on Zoom to all students instead.

Whilst there are some girls who are well but needing to isolate, there are many more who have the illness, to varying degrees of severity. The most important thing for these students is to rest and recover. We don’t want to encourage girls to try to do too much too soon – that seems to be a quite damaging approach to this virus in particular.

So, at this stage we think that allowing teachers to use a full range of pedagogical tools (not just those that can be utilised over Zoom) so that they can be most effective in the classroom, and then being really attentive to the girls at home in other ways, is the best approach. This does mean giving meaningful work for those at home to go on with (at a time when they feel well enough to engage in this if they are unwell), as well as chatting with them when needed or organising one-on-one check-in times. We think this is a far better alternative than letting them try to be a “fly on the wall in lessons all day” over a screen from home. 

We will continue to monitor this and reflect on the best way forward, should circumstances change further.

Please do let me know if you have further questions or concerns.

Best wishes to you all.

Jenny Allum
Head of School

In This Together – Delights and pitfalls of parenting adolescents

In this week’s In This Together Janet McEwen, one of our School Counsellors, writes about how parents can help their daughter navigate adolescence.

Adolescence is an incredibly important stage in a young person’s life, often filled with many challenges.  It can be an immensely rewarding and exciting time, as a young person starts to build a sense of their identity, and to feel and think more independently.  It’s also a time which can bring many worrying thoughts and feelings for parents, as they strive to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their young person to grow and develop in their journey to adulthood.

By the time their child has reached the final years of primary school, and looking beyond to the high school years, most parents will acknowledge they have experienced many emotional moments, some enormously happy and rewarding times, as well as some struggles.  It’s not always easy as a parent to find the right balance between having fun with your child and making sure they are safe and protected, while at the same time trying to ensure they still like and respect you, as you travel through a whole range of experiences and emotions with them!  So many of life’s very important lessons are learned through playing games with siblings, parents and peers. Others will occur serendipitously by sheer chance or coincidence.

One added challenge of parenting which often happens so unexpectedly is trying to help children to understand and to manage the emotions they feel in the many different situations they encounter.  Teaching young people about their emotions and how to manage their feelings in a social context can sometimes feel overwhelming, and a burden for which we are given no formal training at all! 

Young children rely heavily on their parents when learning how to regulate emotions.  Parents often step in and trouble-shoot when their young child is feeling really sad, worried or upset.  The joyous and happy moments are readily shared and enjoyed.  Young people learn a lot about responding and reacting in different situations by watching their parents’ behaviours and responses.  A lot depends on individual temperaments too.  However, parents are very important role models in their children’s psychological and social development.

Early adolescence is a period of rapid change – physical, emotional and social.  Acceptance by peers and finding a group to belong to become increasingly important.  With the transition to secondary school, a young person often turns more to their peers than parents and other significant adults for emotional support and acknowledgement.  As they start to try to express themselves as individuals, and to explore their own limits and abilities, they also start to explore and test the boundaries set for them by others.  There can be periods of confusion, frustration, insecurity and stress as a young person tries to understand and navigate the emotions they feel as they encounter new experiences, try to form and maintain friendships, do well at school, sport, or music, and work out what is important to them in the world in which they live. Challenging behaviours in young people can frequently be their way of communicating some of the difficult emotions they experience.  It is no wonder that parenting adolescents can at times feel like an emotional roller-coaster ride!

Helping young people to be able to notice and to start to understand their emotional responses is an enormously important skill.  Talking with your children about their thoughts and feelings in all sorts of different situations can help them develop the ability to process their emotions and to be accepting of their own and others’ emotions.  It can be as simple as “How did you feel about that?” or “How did that make you feel?” Providing a space where a young person can feel acceptance and validation of their thoughts and feelings is a powerful step to helping them learn how to regulate their emotions, rather than suppressing or cutting off from emotions.  Bottling up negative emotions can lead to stronger feelings, of anger, frustration and distress.

There is no doubt that parents can sometimes find talking about emotions with their adolescent difficult, even daunting – it may seem like the last thing their young person wants to do, however, it is well worth the effort, and possible awkwardness at times, to try and support them with managing their worries and, importantly, building and maintaining a meaningful connection with them.

Last year the counsellors at SCEGGS ran a six-week program Tuning in to Teens, for parents of students in Years 6 and 7 to help with managing the many emotional challenges of adolescence.  We are hoping to offer the program again in Term 2 this year.

More information will be provided in Behind the Green Gate towards the end of the term.

Janet McEwen
SCEGGS School Counsellor

Celebrating International Women’s Day in the Primary School

Last Tuesday, the Primary School girls came together to mark International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day is held annually on 8 March and is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality. Throughout the day, the girls engaged in a range of activities, designed to celebrate the achievements of significant women and to consider the difference that the girls might personally make to the world, even when they are as young as 5 years old!

Wearing purple ribbons as a symbol of International Women’s Day, the Year 6 girls led a powerful House Families session which allowed the girls in Years 2-6 to look a little more closely at a range of significant women, all of whom have made their mark in the world. In small groups, the girls discussed the achievements and thought about these in the context of their own lives, considering the potential difference they could make. Despite only being seven weeks into their leadership journey, the Year 6 girls did a magnificent job at leading these sessions, demonstrating that we have many strong female leaders that will undoubtedly go on to make their own mark on the world.

The day concluded with a special International Women’s Day Assembly, again ably led by our Year 6 girls. With a range of guest presenters including Ms Gyton, Mr Mitton, Mrs Carter and Ms Blakeway, we explored what it means to be “Bold”, how we can give female athletes a greater profile on the sporting field and how we can hold our own in traditionally male dominated fields such as Mathematics. The assembly finished on a high, with a video created that represented the career hopes and dreams of all of our girls from Kindergarten to Year 6. The future is safe in the hands of these young women who hope to make their mark in the world through careers in vet science, politics, teaching and the arts.

A huge thank you goes to Ms Rebecca Woodcock for facilitating the activities throughout the day.

Helen Dempsey
Head of Primary

International Women’s Day in the Secondary School – Presentation by Marlee Silva

As part of International Women’s Day celebrations in the Secondary School, Years 10 and 11 heard from Marlee Silva. Marlee is a young Indigenous woman from the Gamilaroi and Dunghutti nations. She spoke with honesty about her life experiences that have helped to form her into the woman she is today. The influence of her great grandmother as well as the support of many women in her life are at the core of her being. In acknowledging and affirming the positive roles models she has had in her life, Marlee spoke about having a responsibility to help bring change to this world through her platform as a storyteller. Marlee inspired the group to honour the skills they have been blessed with and use these as instruments for change. Her message of seeing each other as sisters  and not competitors was a powerful message of hope for a better world for women, with change coming from how we see one another. We also learned of how important giving back through social justice work is to forming and shaping our characters. It was an honour to listen to Marlee, to be challenged to see a different world for ourselves through considering how we see and approach the women in our lives, and to continue to work for fighting injustices using the skills and talents we have.

Dynielle Whitney
Head of Religious Education and Social Justice Co-ordinator

From the Chaplain

Two new lunchtime groups!!

For several years, SCEGGS has offered the opportunity for students to get together at lunchtime to discuss issues related to religion, God and the Christian faith. We have two new groups starting this term which are open to all students regardless of what type of faith background you might come from or if you don’t know what you believe. It’s a place to ask questions and explore some of those things we all think about. Both groups are run by Ms Jennifer Coleby, one of our Religious Education teachers. “Glow” is the group in the Primary School for Years 4 to 6. It will happen every Monday at lunchtime in the 5W classroom. “Eunoia” is the group for all students in Years 7 to 12 and will be held every Friday in my office. It is a relaxed space to ask deeper questions about God, life, everything. The word “Eunoia” comes from Ancient Greek and means “a well mind, spiritual thinking”. Please let me or Ms Coleby know if you have any questions.

The SCEGGS Podcast “Walk The Mile” Episode 21: Raiders of the Lost Archivist!

One of the more specialist positions that we have at SCEGGS is our school archivist, Prue Heath. What does a school archivist do you might ask? In this episode, we hear about the origins of the School, the importance of history for the present and the significance and learning from past stories. 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 and appreciate your encouragement. 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
School Chaplain

Light Her Path Campaign

We are very excited to officially reignite our Light Her Path Campaign, as per the email sent to our school community yesterday. The Campaign, initiated by the SCEGGS Trust, aims to raise $20 million: $12 million for the re-development of Wilkinson House this year and $8 million to expand the means-tested Scholarship Program at SCEGGS over the next three years.

There will be many opportunities throughout the year to engage with the Campaign and with the members of the Committee who graciously and generously have contributed their time and expertise to bring this campaign to life.

To help answer any questions that you may have about the Campaign, there will be a Light Her Path booth set up at various school events such as Parent/Teacher afternoons and the New Parent Dinner this evening!

We look forward to meeting you and sharing the School’s plans and vision for the redevelopment of Wilkinson House and the expansion of our means-tested scholarship program. So, if you do see us, please come and say hello!

Christy Boyce
Chair of the Capital Campaign Committee

Secondary Sport News

Tildesley Tennis Shield                                                                      

SCEGGS competed at the annual Tildesley Shield that was held at Pennant Hills Tennis Centre on Sunday and Monday this week. SCEGGS finished in 13^th place overall which was an improvement from 2021! A special thank you to Mrs Joukhadar and Miss Tucker who organised and coached the Tildesley Shield Team this year.

Highlights of the tournament were:

• Emma Jan reaching the fourth round before being defeated by the eventual Singles Champion after a terrific match.
• Alathea Hutley and Chloe Ramchand also reached the fourth round of the Doubles Draw before being defeated 8-2 by a very strong Meriden team.
• Sally Oppenheim and Madeleine Phillips reaching the third round.

Well done to all the SCEGGS students who attended:

Singles: Koko Bates, Marie-Louisa Carter Omoe, Octavia Cortese, Vivienne Henry, Emma Jan, Bridget Murray and Leyla Ozen

Doubles: Isabella Dua, Alessia Gallimore, Alathea Hutley, Mia Lamb, Sally Oppenheim, Madeleine Philips, Chloe Ramchand, Olivia Sader

Reserves: Pippa Brenner, Aurelia Cortese and Mia Webster

Thank you to all parents, grandparents and siblings who attended throughout the tournament to support the team.

NSW Schools Futsal Regional Championships

SCEGGS sent a team of Futsal players to the compete in the NSW Schools Football Regional Championships last Thursday. Congratulations to Kirrily Blyth, Marie-Louisa Carter Omoe, Heavenly Dwyer, Tessa McCarthy, Yve Mitchell, Sophie Myles, Alexie Wall and Summer Williams.

Results

• SCEGGS defeated Newtown High School 5-0
• Moriah College defeated SCEGGS             7 -1
• Fort St High defeated SCEGGS                    2-1
• SCEGGS defeated St George Girls              11-1

SCEGGS finished 5^th overall.

Frensham Buses – March 26

Please contact Xanthe Axford to confirm your daughter’s seat on the bus.

BUS 1 to Frensham School (Tennis)

• IGSA Tennis SCE01, SCE03, SCE04
• 5:40am Students to meet on Forbes Street
• 5:45am Bus will depart
• Bus will return to SCEGGS approximately 12:00pm

BUS 2 to Frensham School (Softball)

• IGSA Softball SCE01
• 6:30am Students to meet on Forbes Street
• 6:35am Bus will depart
• Bus will return to SCEGGS approximately 12:30pm

Students should bring warm clothes and food and drinks. We are unsure if the Frensham Canteen will be operating.

Students must be dressed in SCEGGS Sport clothing only.

International Women’s Day – March 8

Despite torrential wet weather and the cancellation of our Secondary Cross Country Carnival, there was a keen group of students who met in the SCEGGS Sports Hall to have fun, keep active and celebrate International Women’s Day. Thank you to Ms Thompson for organising the morning and to Ms Axford, Mr Mitton, Ms Smith and Mr Crawford who all joined in with the students.

Inter-house Touch and Softball

The Inter-house Touch and Softball competitions will now be held on Thursday April 7 from 3:15pm – 5pm at Robertson Rd, Moore Park. Buses will take all students to the venue and return to school at the completion of the competition.

Secondary Inter-house Cross Country Carnival

We have re-scheduled the Interhouse Cross Country Carnival to Tuesday March 29 at Queens Park. Everyone is to assemble at 6:45am at the Baronga Ave end with the first race commencing at 7am.

Water Polo

Congratulations to our SCEGGS Water Polo Captain Sienna Green, who made her debut for the Australian Women’s Water Polo Team in Peru at the FINA World League Inter-Continental Cup. Australia won the tournament after defeating the USA 11-4 in the final. We look forward to seeing Sienna back in SCEGGS colours very shortly.

Wet Weather Arrangements for Term 1

New IGSA Fixtures, Results and Wet Weather

There is a new IGSA website and platform for accessing wet weather and team results. You do not need to register or sign up to be a member to access this site.

SCEGGS Training sessions before and after school

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

Easts Touch

Eastern Suburbs Touch Association Facebook page
Wet weather number – 1 900 957 394

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 me.

Alison Gowan
Director of Sport

Primary Sport News

Primary Cross Country Carnival                                              

Due to poor weather last Tuesday, we were unfortunately unable to hold the Primary Cross Country Carnival in its usual format. We did, however, have some keen runners who attended a trial session on Friday morning at Queens Park instead of the regular Primary Cross Country Carnival. A big thank you goes to the 43 girls who came out early before school to trial.

All the girls trialling displayed enthusiasm and gave their best effort. Thank you to the Sports staff and coaches for their help around the track, and a special thank you to our Senior Cross Country girls, who ran with the Primary girls to support and encourage them along the way.

More information will be sent out next week regarding a make-up Primary Cross-Country Carnival due to be held later this term for all students.

IPSHA Cross Country Carnival

Unfortunately, due to poor ground conditions at The Kings College, the IPSHA Cross Country Carnival has been rescheduled for the beginning of Term 2.

More updates to follow.

Term 1 Saturday Sports Information

Saturday 19 March – Final Round of Years 4-6 Term 1 Saturday Sport Competitions

We wish all students good luck for their final games of Football, Water Polo and Basketball this weekend. We hope everyone has enjoyed sport this term!

Term 2 Saturday Sports Information

IPSHA Minkey Years 4-6

Students will catch the bus to and from SCEGGS and the venue for Tuesday sessions. Students may be picked up at 4:50 pm from CPSC Synthetic Turf, Robertson Road (Tuesday 22 March), Banks Ave Daceyville (all other sessions) or approximately 5:20 pm outside the Sports Hall doors on Forbes Street.

IPSHA Netball Years 4-6

Trial sessions will be held in Week 9 and 10 of Term 1 as follows:

For all Tuesday sessions, girls will catch the bus to and from SCEGGS and the venue. Girls can be picked up at 4:50 pm from Moore Park or approximately 5:20 pm from outside the Sports Hall on Forbes Street.

Year 3 Netball

Trial sessions will be held in Week 9 and 10 of Term 1 as follows:

For all Tuesday sessions, girls will catch the bus to and from SCEGGS and the venue. Girls can be picked up at 4:50 pm from Moore Park or approximately 5:20 pm from outside the Sports Hall on Forbes Street.

If your daughter is unable to attend any of the Term 1 sessions listed above, please contact TomMitton@sceggs.nsw.edu.au

Reminder: Permission Requirement for all Primary Sports

Permission notes (or an email) are required for all students being picked up from a sports activity or training session by another parent/carer including nannies and babysitters. If arrangements are reoccurring, parents may provide one permission email for the term.

Permission emails need to be received by SCEGGS Sports Staff prior to 11:00 am, for the coaching staff to be communicated to.

Tom Mitton
PDHPE and Sport Co-ordinator: Primary

Music Matters

“This will be our reply to violence:

To make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before”

Leonard Bernstein

Sending Love And Prayers To Ukraine

Amati Strings learnt the Ukranian National Anthem in rehearsal last week. The girls were reflecting with Mrs Sweeney about the conflict in Ukraine and lamenting that the week before Lent is usually a celebratory time in Ukraine when the Festival of “Masliana” is celebrated, a feast that marks the end of Winter and the beginning of Spring. The Ukranian tradition is to eat pancakes every day in the week prior to the beginning of Orthodox Lent. Pancakes symbolise the sun, as families say goodbye to the long winter.

Click here to listen to Amati Strings performing the Hymn of Ukraine, the country’s national anthem.

Students might like to download a violin arrangement of the folksong Verbovaya Doschechka.  The main melody is in the Violin 1 part.  There is an interesting story relating to this folksong, which you could read here.

Open Morning 11 March – Woodwind Ensemble Performance

Congratulations to members of the Woodwind Ensemble who performed at the Open Morning for new families of 2024.  The students provided musical entertainment for the new families, it was a lovely way to welcome them to the school. 

Thank you to Ms Nicole Barrett for her preparation of the ensemble and to Mr Tierney who supervised the performance. Well done Woodwind Ensemble!

Musical Mentors

Secondary string players have been wonderful role models for their younger counterparts this term. Students from Contemporary Strings and Amati Strings have been attending primary string ensemble rehearsals to assist the younger girls to prepare repertoire for Musicale 1, to be held on Tuesday 29 March at 6pm in the Great Hall. The theme of the Musicale 1 Concert is Of Foreign Lands and Places: Musical Travel. Sinfonietta and Chamber Strings are preparing a range of exciting pieces to share and have benefitted both musically and socially from having Musical Mentors in rehearsals.

Special thanks to Sophie Gallagher-Horne, Ashley Diec, Caitlin Cameron and Mia Chang for giving up their mornings to provide guidance and encouragement. Little girls love big girls, so we have had lots of fun together this term!

Mrs Anne Sweeney
Director of Strings

Madrigal Excursion to Australian Brandenburg Orchestra – featuring Astrid Girdis (Class of 2021)

Members of the Madrigal ensemble attended a performance by the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra last Wednesday 9 March at City Recital Hall, Angel Place.  Students went and listened to the “Paradisum” concert which featured a selection of Baroque works by Lully and Rameau and the beautiful Requiem by French composer Gabriel Fauré.  The concert featured Ms Heidi Jones (on the baroque organ) and Astrid Girdis (class of 2021).  Astrid is currently studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and was selected by Paul Dyer AO (Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s Artistic Director) from an audition earlier this year.  Astrid was featured as a part of a voice quintet in the first half of the concert, and she also sang as a part of the mass choir in the Requiem. 

Thank you to Miss Allison Harrigan for organising the excursion for the Madrigal singers and to support Astrid in her first performance with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra.

 
SCEGGS Eisteddfod 2022 – Well done all performers!

The SCEGGS Eisteddfod heats for both Primary and Secondary students have concluded on Tuesday 15 March.  The heats began on Friday 11 March with vocalists and Year 12 students performing prior to their Assessment period. 

Congratulations to all students who have participated in the Eisteddfod heats.  It has been a wonderful opportunity for the girls to share their music, after a disruptive year of instrumental and vocal tuition.  Thank you to students and their families who have submitted a video entry, it is very much appreciated. 

I would like to express my deepest thanks and appreciation to Ms Heidi Jones and to Miss Stephanie Holmes for their planning and organisation of this event.  Thank you also to all music staff with their support and class teachers who have facilitated with students performing in heats. 

Practice-a-thon – Return your Practice Tracker

Please return your Practice Tracker to your instrumental tutor or your Music class teacher so that your results can be collated.

SCEGGS Eisteddfod Highlights Concerts 2022

There are two concerts to celebrate the musical talents in our school community:

• Primary Highlights concert: Friday 25 March at 4:30pm

Secondary Highlights concert: Friday 25 March at 6.00pm

• A variety of awards are made at these concerts:

1. Outstanding Musician of the Primary School/Secondary School
2. Wran Prize for Up and Coming Vocalist (Secondary only)
3. Acknowledgement Awards

Our Adjudicators had a tough job this week to refine the number of participants to a group of 15-20 performers to perform at each Highlights concert (Primary & Secondary).

Please see here for the list of students who have been selected.

Primary Highlights Concert participants

Secondary Highlights Concert participants

We look forward to your attendance at the Highlights Concerts.

Any questions please contact Ms Heidi Jones

Pauline Chow
Head of Music

Debating

Congratulations to the Years 7, 8, 9, and 10 ISDA teams, and the Years 7, 10 and 11 Eastside teams, for winning their debates last Friday. A special congratulations to our ISDA Year 9 and Year 10 teams who remain undefeated more than halfway through the season.

This Friday we will be travelling to Rose Bay for our Eastside debates, and welcoming Trinity to SCEGGS for our ISDA debates. The Eastside bus will leave at 4:30, and debaters will need to be picked up at Rose Bay as there will be no bus returning to SCEGGS.

As always, debaters should remember to bring their own supper, as well as pens, paper and palm cards.

Imogen Harper
Debating Co-ordinator

Cuts 4 Cancer – Thank You to all our supporters!

On Thursday last week almost all the girls in Year 12 cut their hair for cancer as a part of a Year 12 charity initiative, Cuts 4 Cancer. The day was a great success and the atmosphere in the Sports Hall was one we have all missed very much. We were able to raise almost $30,000 to be donated to the Leukemia Foundation. Along with the money raised, the hair that was cut was also donated and given a new purpose – either to make wigs or to be used to help clean oil spills in the ocean.

The day would not have run without the help of an amazing salon of Oxford Street called Murphy Gozzard. We cannot thank all the hairdressers both from Murphy Gozzard and elsewhere enough for making this initiative possible. Not only did they cut our hair, but Murphy Gozzard is also donating it through their salon on behalf of SCEGGS.

Thank you so much to the everyone in the school community for getting behind this charity. Everyone in Year 12 is very grateful for the support.

The SCEGGS Prefects

World Poetry Day 21 March 2022

The Dorothy Wilkinson Memorial Library will be running a range of activities during Week 9 to celebrate World Poetry Day. Come along to explore the wonderful world of poetry!

All activities will run at lunchtime in the Secondary Library.

Festival on Forbes

I’m delighted to introduce myself as your 2022 Festival on Forbes Fair Convenor! I’m a current Year 9 parent, having joined the SCEGGS community when my daughter started in Year 3. My time as a parent here has been a rewarding journey of friendship and community. I look forward to creating an inclusive fair that brings a sense of belonging to all, especially in light of the past two years.

There are lots of opportunities for parents to be involved, and we warmly welcome all volunteers who would like to contribute.

We are currently in the process of forming the Fair Committee, if you would like join our team please email  or call 9332 1133 for further details.

Bree Parker
2022 Festival on Forbes Convenor

Parents’ and Friends’ Association

Class Parent Events                                                                               

Go Greener

In this week’s Go Greener, we look at Sustainability in the Senior and Primary libraries at SCEGGS and the TreadLightly shoe program.

Sustainability in the Senior and Primary libraries

Paper is a highly recyclable commodity and is one of the easiest things to recover. Each year the SCEGGS sends 11.32 tonnes of paper and cardboard for recycling. However, the disposal of damaged and unwanted books has always been an issue for librarians.

Last week saw the end of a long weeding process to update the collections of both libraries. Ms Conliffe and Mrs McBride partnered in the Sustainability Project supported by James Bennett publishers. Forty five boxes of books were taken by the company. The books will be sorted. Any better quality books will be donated to communities in need. Other books will be recycled into new products by pulping once the laminate has been removed or sold on E-bay or Amazon. The SCEGGS Librarians have nominated to donate all money raised from our books to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

So far, this program has saved 225,000 books from landfill. A wonderful win/win for all involved and for the environment.

Calling all old sport shoes and sneakers – we need you!

Did you know more than 110 million shoes makes their way to Australia each year? Did you know it takes up to 1000 years for the components of a sport shoe to decompose?

TreadLightly is a company that will collect old sport style shoes, take them to their recycling plant, extract the component and make them in to new products such as gym mats, floors and playgrounds. The list of acceptable shoe types is below:

Over the weekend have a clean out and collect all your old sport style shoes. Bring them to school from Monday 21 March to Friday 25 March and we will organise from them to go to TreadLightly for recycling. There will be wheelie bins located outside the General office in the Secondary school and Primary office as collection points. You are even welcome to bring single shoes but make sure they are the correct type for recycling!

Sue Zipfinger
Sustainability Co-ordinator

Year 7 (and Year 8) Immunisation Program 2022

Each year NSW Health works in partnership with schools to offer the vaccines recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council for adolescents as part of the school vaccination program. As part of this program Year 7 students are offered the following vaccines:

• Diptheria, Tetanus and Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine as a booster dose
• Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) vaccine as a 2-dose course (at least six months apart)

Due to the last clinic of 2021 at SCEGGS being cancelled due to Covid lockdowns, current Year 8 students who handed in a signed consent form while in Year 7 will also be vaccinated at this year’s clinics.

The Year 7 and 8 vaccination clinics at SCEGGS will be held on:

• Visit 1 Friday 25 March
• Visit 2 Wednesday 9 November

A record of Vaccination Card will be given to the student at the time of each vaccination at each school clinic.

If a student is absent for any of the clinics, they will have the opportunity to catch up at the next school visit.

Year 7s

Further information for Year 7s was provided in the 2022 Parent Vaccination Information Kits that went home a few weeks ago and is also available now in many languages at: www.health.nsw.gov.au/schooltranslations

All Year 7 students received a consent form for parents/guardians to complete and return to the General Office a few weeks ago. If you haven’t yet returned the form, please do so now. Only return the consent form if you wish your daughter to receive the vaccines. Please note that the consent forms for Year 7 students will need a parent/guardian signature for each vaccine requested. The nurses will not be able to vaccinate any student if their form is not fully completed.

Year 8s

Consent forms were completed by parents last year, but, as noted above,  the vaccination program did not go ahead. We will use those consent forms at the 25 March 2022 vaccination session. If you wish to change your consent, please let the General Office know.

Sarah Walters
Director of Administration