Speech Night

Speech Night will be held at the Sydney Town Hall on Thursday 1 December, with rehearsals conducted throughout the afternoon and the ceremony commencing at 7.30pm. Students are not required to attend school on the Thursday morning, as the school will be closed. Attendance at Speech Night is compulsory for all girls from Years 3 – 12. It is anticipated that Speech Night will conclude at approximately 9.30pm. Correct summer uniform should be worn (blazers are not required).

Students in the Secondary School will go straight to the Town Hall on Thursday afternoon, arriving progressively for their rehearsals. All musicians in the Special Project Orchestra are required at the Town Hall from 2.30pm onwards, while the Combined Choirs are required from 3.30pm. Further details for other musicians will be provided by the Music Department. All remaining students in the Secondary School will be required to meet their Form Teachers in St. Andrew’s Square (next to the Town Hall) at 4.30pm, for the full school rehearsal.

Parents of Secondary girls who are in groups that rehearse prior to the arrival of the majority of the Secondary School should be aware that girls will be dismissed for short, unsupervised breaks in the vicinity of the Town Hall. Students in the Secondary School will also be dismissed for a short dinner break from 6.15pm – 6.45pm when students will also need to remain in the vicinity of the Town Hall. All Secondary students will need to be seated, with their Form Teachers, in the Town Hall before 7.00pm.

For the Primary School (Years 3 – 6), girls will meet at school in the afternoon, and will travel by bus to the Town Hall accompanied by their teachers. Girls must arrive at school by 3.30pm. There will be supervision of the girls in the Primary Playground from 3.00pm onwards, and girls are asked not to be at school before this time. Primary girls are asked to bring with them an evening meal, packed in disposable wrapping. Primary girls will not be given permission to meet at the Town Hall, or to leave the Town Hall between the rehearsal and Speech Night.

Years 2-6 Swimming Carnival

We look forward to a fantastic day for our Years 2-6 Swimming Carnival in Week 7 on Monday 21 November, at Lane Cove Leisure Centre.

As usual, girls must be at school by 8.15 am on the carnival day. All girls will travel by hired bus and leave SCEGGS at 8.30 am to take students to Lane Cove Leisure Centre. Upon the event’s finish, girls will either return to school by bus or can be collected by a parent from the venue. Written permission must be sent to their Classroom Teacher if a student is being collected from the carnival. The school will conclude at the usual time of 3.10 pm.

Girls should come to school in PE uniform with their swimmers on underneath. At the carnival, the girls may wear decorated hats, coloured socks, t-shirts, and the like in House colours. There are to be no pom-poms or streamers to be brought to the carnival in our efforts to minimise any adverse impact on the environment. PE uniform must be worn correctly to and from school.

The pool at Lane Cove Leisure Centre is an outdoor pool. While there is ample undercover seating, girls must wear t-shirts and sun hats when not swimming and are expected to bring and apply sunscreen throughout the day. Girls may wear any sun-protective swimwear for the day if preferred. We ask that the girls bring enough food and drink for the day. 

Excitingly, we also welcome parents back to attend the carnival! Parents may sit near the students’ seating area or on the balcony overlooking the pool’s finish line. While the canteen facilities are open to parents, we ask that parents not purchase food or drinks for their children.

For students attending before-school and after-school activities, before school swim squad is cancelled, Art Club will be cancelled for the day, and Years 5 and 6 Drama Group will run as usual. All after-school sports activities will be on, but attendance is not compulsory.

As this is the second Swimming Carnival for the year, the day’s emphasis will be slightly different to that of Term 1. This year’s carnival will be used to select next year’s IPSHA Swimming Team. It is aimed at being a fun celebration for the girls and does not count towards House Cup points, nor will age champions be given out. Ribbons will still be given to race winners on the day. We encourage all girls to get involved in all events and strive for their personal best! From next year, we will be holding our Primary Swimming Carnival in Term 4 of each year, and all awards will be given as usual.

Any students who are absent and do not attend the carnival and wish to trial for the IPSHA Swimming Team will be able to do so in early 2023. This date is yet to be confirmed.

We are all looking forward to a beautiful day. In the case of inclement weather and the need to cancel the carnival, a decision will be made by 7.30 am. Please check the SCEGGS Sports Twitter feed for updates.

Tom Mitton
PDHPE and Sport Coordinator: Primary

Cape York Conversations

We hope you are enjoying reading the range of reflections about Cape York experiences from the students this week and previous weeks.

Reflections

After returning from Cape York, I have truly been able to appreciate the life changing experience we were able to take part in. We were welcomed into communities with open arms, and they gave us insight into their incredible ways of life. The Elders within each community held so much knowledge about their culture and I feel so lucky I was able to learn about thousand-year-old traditions as well as visit places I would never known existed. At each homeland, Thitharr-warra and Bana, the Traditional Owners welcomed our group and accepted us as part of their families for the duration of our stays.

The Elders of Thithar-warra, Willie and Robbie, taught us so much and shared generations of stories for us to keep alive.They took us to the rainbow sands where they used to go to when they were children, continuing the activities they participated in, sharing a lifetime of memories that we will cherish. On the walk back we collected some jirrimindi (coconuts in their native tongue), Robbie and willie cut them open, and we shared some delicious coconut water and coconut.

At the next homeland of Bana, the Traditional Owners, Horris, Pete and Molly, gave us insight into completely different experiences showing the individuality of Bana’s customs. My highlights while staying on Bana homeland was the yarning circle each night and the beautiful song sung to our group as we left. Each night, our group sat around the campfire with the Traditional Owners, Jonah, Horris, Daniel, Molly and Unca, giving us the privilege to ask questions about their unique culture and their experiences throughout their lifetimes. On our last day on country, we were granted with the experience of being wished goodbye through song in the Bana language by the Traditional Owners. With not a dry eye in sight, everyone felt a special connection to not only the people but to the land itself, and it was the perfect end to a once in a life time experience.

Milla Brown
Year 11

The Cape York immersion was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I had no idea what to expect as I went into it, and honestly, I was a little stressed about the reclusiveness the experience was looking to be.

From the moment we arrived onto the homelands (a day late after two cancelled flights) and met the Traditional Owners, we were continuously learning so much about the Traditional Owners ways of living. From being taught how to make sultana and banana damper, to looking at one of the most incredible Aboriginal rock art caves in all of Australia, I was constantly amazed by the rich culture of Indigenous peoples and the completely different lifestyle they live.

We live controlled by time, constantly on our phones with no connection to the country we live on. Country is everything to the Traditional Owners, and we were so lucky that all the Traditional Owners of Melsonby and Panamuunji shared this deep connection to the land with us throughout the nine days.

I have never been a fan of journalling, so when we were first given our Red Earth journals, I was quite hesitant to start writing, but my journal became an opportunity to reflect on my experiences and record them, and now holds all my memories of the trip. I have deep descriptions of each day, pages of translations to Guuguyimithirr language Elaine taught us at Panamuunji, and many different reflections.

There are many memories that I’m sure I’ll never forget, but one specific memory that stuck with me was from our final night in Panamuunji, when we sat around the campfire in a small circle with Tim. Tim told us deeper stories about his culture and connection to country, his past and life events, and his thoughts on Acknowledgements of Country. He said acknowledging the Traditional Owners of Country is an important part of reconciliation and the least we can do. We also discussed Sydney, travel, and so much more. Out of the whole experience this was probably one of my favourite moments. It made me realise just how important it is to develop deep connections with Traditional Owners to understand their stories.

I am so grateful for Ms Thompson, all the teachers, Emma and Nice our Red Earth leaders and my parents in allowing and encouraging me to go on this immersion. It was truly unforgettable and to any girls contemplating doing an immersion in upcoming years, do it. It will change your life.

Lucy Thomsen
Year 10

In the holidays a group of SCEGGS girls were presented with the opportunity to attend an immersion to Cape York. After being selected to attend the trip, I was both excited and curious about travelling to a foreign place and immersing myself in unfamiliar and new experiences. We were fortunate enough to travel to two different homelands, each providing an abundance of knowledge and stories that continue to resonate with me.

We were fortunate enough to explore the beauty and history of Indigenous land, walking up mountains and swimming in rivers that possessed great cultural significance. This was told through the fascinating stories of the Traditional Owners of the land and they expressed how important it is that these stories are shared, as it magnifies the spirit of indigenous culture that must be kept alive.

We had the opportunity to try new foods (green ants were my favourite) and to learn parts of different Indigenous dialects and familial structures. This cultural immersion was life changing and I hope that many more people receive the opportunity to experience this trip and to pass on the rich history of Indigenous culture.

Camilla Brookes
Year 11

Visual Art News

This week’s banner is from Lily Punch.

ARTEXPRESS

Congratulations to our Year 12 students who have been nominated for consideration in ARTEXPRESS, as part of the HSC Showcase season in 2023.

Romy Burke, Lily Punch, and Scarlett Gibson-Williams’ Bodies of Work are all in the preselection stage with highly engaging unique and diverse submissions. We wish them the best as they progress through the next curatorial rounds.

Romy Burke

Lily Punch

Scarlett Gibson-Williams

National Art School Summer School 2023 is open for bookings!

NAS is gearing up to usher in the new year with the launch of their 2023 Summer School Short Courses! Develop and expand your creative skills in 5-day intensive January Summer Schools, held on-campus at NAS in Darlinghurst. Study for one or two weeks and choose from a variety of courses offered in the disciplines of Ceramics, Drawing, Painting, Photomedia, Printmaking and Sculpture.

• Week 1: 9-13 January 2023 – View courses here.
• Week 2: 16-20 January 2023 – View courses here.

Year 11s moving into Year 12 are especially encouraged to apply. Feedback on these courses is always so positive so if you are available and are wishing to seek out some creative learning and acquisition or extension of skills over the Summer break, we highly recommend you get involved!

Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts

Science News

Geodes, Slime and DeadlyScience

Last week, students in Science Club used egg shells to create beautiful crystal geodes. Students made saturated solutions of potassium aluminium sulfate (potash alum) and applied seed crystals to the inner layer of a halved egg shell. Students then placed their egg shells into the saturated solutions and left them for a few days to slowly cool and form crystals.

Next week, students will be making slime during Science Club and then selling it to raise money for DeadlyScience. In DeadlyScience’s own words:

DeadlyScience is providing science resources to remote schools in Australia, and works to ensure all schools have access to resources that connect schools to the First Scientists of Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

You cannot be what you cannot see and we want Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to see themselves becoming scientists, mathematicians, engineers and technicians. Each of our Australian Geographic books features a school or two demonstrating cool STEM activities.

100% of donations will be spent on book purchases, as our partner Australia Post provides free postage for all DeadlyScience book and STEM equipment donations to First Nations schools and communities.

So, in this Giving Season, students would like to raise money for this excellent cause. If you would like to help make the slime, please attend Science Club on Thursday 1.10pm in JF9. If you would like to purchase some slime, Science Club members and Prefects will be selling slime on Friday next week. If you would like to donate, please visit here.

Mia Sharma
Science Teacher

Music Matters

This week’s banner photo is from the rehearsals currently underway for 2022 Speech Night.

K-2 Christmas Concert – Friday 12 November

Congratulations to all 75 girls from Kindergarten, Year One and Year Two who performed in the Christmas Concert last Friday in the Great Hall.  The students have been busily preparing with Mrs Bronwyn Cleworth in a cheeky re-telling of the Christmas story.  Thank you to Ms Pip Playford for her artistic skills with the beautiful set design.  Thank you to Ms Eddi Goodfellow for her audio support and to the class teachers Ms Heidi Anderson, Ms Anne Maree Lodge and Miss Kate Jordan-Watt with their assistance.  Special thank you to Mrs Cleworth for her creative re-telling of the Christmas story and direction of this delightful production.  Well done to all performers, it was a truly special performance!

Year 7 Choir Performing at Festival of Lessons and Carols – Thursday 24 November

The Year 7 Choir will be performing at this year’s Festival of Lessons and Carols on Thursday 24 November at 7.30pm.  Students have been working on preparing for this repertoire in their choir session with Miss Allison Harrigan (Director of Choirs).  Please see the note that has been sent to families outlining further information for the night here.  We are looking forward to sharing the beautiful music from this special service with the SCEGGS community.

AMEB Examinations – Woodwind

Congratulations to the following students who completed their AMEB examinations on Saturday 13 November at school:

Thank you to the woodwind tutors: Ms Zoe Sitsky (Oboe), Ms Sarah Broughton, Ms Lisa Cartwright, Ms Alex Castle (Flute), Ms Nicole Barrett (Clarinet) and to Ms Christina Leonard (Saxophone) for their preparation of the girls.  We would also like to take this opportunity to farewell Ms Sarah Broughton who has moved to the UK.  Special thank you to Ms Stephanie Holmes and Ms Heidi Jones for their time rehearsing and accompanying girls in their exams. 

Secondary Piano and Harp Lunchtime Concert – Tuesday 8 November

Congratulations to the following students who performed last Tuesday lunchtime in the Secondary Piano and Harp Lunchtime Concert.  The concert featured some highly virtuosic works as outlined and performed by the following students:

• Zara Perkins – Impromptu No. 4 in A flat Major by Franz Schubert
• Emmaline Shapiro – The Water Nymph by Miriam Hyde
• Rebecca Colwell – Sonetto 47 del Petrarca by Franz Liszt
• Ilaria Roncolato (Harp) – Moonlight Fandango by Clare McDonogh

Thank you to Ms Heidi Jones and Ms Stephanie Holmes for organising the performance and supporting the students.  It was also lovely to see staff and students come along with their lunch to listen and support their peers.  Well done to all performers!

CVE and LUX Strings Performance at Positive Schools Conference

Congratulations to Contemporary Vocal Ensemble (CVE) and LUX Strings who performed at the Positive Schools Conference.  CVE performed at the conference on Thursday 10 November and LUX Strings performed on Friday 11 November.  Special thanks to Ms Alex Siegers who prepared the Contemporary Vocal Ensemble for this event, to Ms Stephanie Holmes for accompanied CVE’s performance and to Ms Eliza Sdraulig for her preparation of LUX strings for the event.  Thank you to Miss Allison Harrigan, Ms Holmes and to Mrs Anne Sweeney who supervised the girls for their respective performances.  Well done to all students with your participation in this performance!

Rock Bands’ Performance “Women in the Workforce”

The strains of Dolly Parton’s Nine to Five, Just a Girl by No Doubt and Adele’s Rumour Has It filled the terrace of the Joan Freeman Centre.  Two student directed rock groups performed a lunchtime concert at the school cafeteria on Thursday 10 November in support of Year 10’s Social Justice Week.  The theme this year was Women in the Workforce and both rock ensembles selected songs that reflected this.  Congratulations to Samantha Millin (Year 9), Aasha Maunsell (Year 9), Abigail Grace (Year 9), Lila Eversgerd (Year 9), Zoe Crisafulli (Year 9), Lara Greenfield (Year 11), Elizabeth Lapham (Year 11), Ilaria Roncolato (Year 10) and Isabella May (Year 11) for their performance.  A wonderful way to celebrate and support Social Justice Week!

Term 4 Music Calendar

Pauline Chow
Head of Music

Primary Sport News

Parent Communication

A big thank you to the parents who continue communicating with the relevant sports coordinators or Tom Mitton regarding their daughter’s non-attendance at before/after school training and Saturday sports matches. A reminder that your child is expected at all training sessions unless communicated otherwise; this is done to ensure coaches can plan for the sessions; most importantly, we want to know your daughter is safe! It is asked that communication regarding non-attendance be sent through as early as possible to ensure information can be passed on to relevant coaches and teaching staff.

A further reminder that 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 must be received by SCEGGS Sports Staff before 11am for the coaching staff to be communicated appropriately.

End of Term Sport

Next week will be our final week for sports training and Saturday sports for the year.

On behalf of our coaches and staff, we want to take the time to thank all students (and families) who have been so involved with activities throughout the year. From Monday Morning Swim Squads to Gymnastics till dinner time through the middle of the week to Saturday sports, it has been incredible watching so many girls participate in such a wide variety of activities over the year. 

Please take the time, if you haven’t already, to thank the sports staff and coaches over the course of the next week for all that they do. Without their hard work and dedication to girls’ sports, we wouldn’t be able to do any of this!

We can’t wait to do it all again next year!

Wet Weather

Weekday sports training cancellations are posted on the @SCEGGSSport Twitter feed, and Primary parents will receive an SMS when their child’s activity has been cancelled or adjusted for that day. 

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

Interhouse Tennis

The Interhouse Tennis competition was held at Parklands Tennis Centre last week. We were blessed with lovely weather and lots of house spirit on display. Congratulations to Docker who won the competition.

The results were as follows:

The last interhouse sporting (and arguably most important) event of the year, SCEGGS Inter-House Tennis was held last Tuesday morning. The best of 5 doubles style matches were accompanied by numerous students participating and displaying their house spirit. And of course a variety of baked goods on the side. A special thank you to both Mrs Joukhadar and Miss Tucker and all the tennis coaches whose organisation allowed for a seamlessly run morning.

Term 4 has seen the summer of tennis resume within the SCEGGS community! Tennis at SCEGGS offers all players a physical challenge while simultaneously providing the chance to turn teammates into lifelong friendships. Speaking from experience I have developed within myself because of the opportunities I have had with tennis both on the court and through the connections I have sought out with the other players. The connectivity and encouragement across year groups has built a healthy positive culture which is beneficial to all players and motivates all to give their best for themselves and the school. Another beauty of our tennis community is that it extends to families, friends and pets who come together to watch on Saturday matches. 

So far this term all teams have been playing exceptionally well every Saturday morning and at their respective training sessions. Improvement and enthusiasm have been seen at all IPSHA, IGSA and Tildesley trainings where all teams are making amazing plays. Importantly, spirits have been high at Tildesley training as we are all working hard to one up last year’s overall 13^th position!

It has been great to see each player enjoy themselves and they should all be proud of their efforts so far this season.

Madeleine Phillips
SCEGGS Tennis/Tildesley Captain

SCEGGS at Play

Do you have any sporting news to share in the Green Gate? Do you have some photos of your children at play?

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 alisongowan@sceggs.nsw.edu.au

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.

Alison Gowan
Director of Sport

Go Greener

Mobile Muster

Planet Ark has been organising National Recycling Week since 1996. This occurred last week, and we used the screens around the school and the Vivi screens in the classrooms to get the message out to our students about this important event.

Planet Ark’s mantra is reduce, reuse, recycle.

One of the recycling programs they promoted was the mobile muster campaign. It is estimated there are twenty six million mobile phones in storage around homes in Australia and of these, five million are unusable. Mobile muster recycles more than 95% of a mobile phone into its component parts. Not only does this save mining for new materials but also makes new products. So far eight million mobile phones have been handed in for recycling.

The options include:

• Find a drop off point to collect your phone on their website e.g., Officeworks, Telstra, Optus, local libraries etc
• Pick up a mobile muster satchel from a post office or JB HiFi
• Complete a form and Mobile Muster will send you a satchel

Further details is on their website.

Sue Zipfinger
Sustainability Coordinator

Summer Vacation Care

Dear Families

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

The service will be operating from Monday 5 December – Wednesday 21 December, and Monday 16 January 2023 – Monday 30 January 2023, with school returning on the Tuesday 31 January 2023.  The service is open for current Primary SCEGGS girls and their school aged siblings only.

The vacation care program for December – January 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 here 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 2023, you will be required to fill out enrolment documentation prior to booking. This can be accessed via the link here.

Please reach out if you have any inquiries about Vacation Care, please do not hesitate to contact me at afterschoolcare@sceggs.nsw.edu.au

Fran St John
After School Care Co-Ordinator

School Shop

Uniform Fittings for New Students

The Uniform Shop will be open from Monday 9 January in the new year to welcome new and existing parents and students. Fittings are conducted by appointment only. Please remember to book in before the end of term. The school shop can be contacted either by phone: 02 9332 1133 or email.

2023 Textbooks for Secondary Students

SCEGGS has partnered with Box of Books for the purchase of physical and digital education resources for the 2023.  To ensure you receive your physical items in time for the start of the school year, please place your order by Friday 9 December 2022. Primary students are not required to order textbooks.

To visit the Box of Books site go to Box of Books Shop

Clothing Pool

There are wonderful generous parents and conscientious recyclers of uniform in the school community. Can we please ask that you wait until the new year before uniform items are handed in to the school shop. We are suffering from a lack of storage space and will not have a chance to process Clothing Pool items until the new year.

Lost Property

A final reminder has been issued to students with identifiable Lost Property items. We expect all Lost Property items to be collected by the end of this term.

The School Shop Team wish you a happy holiday season.

Clare Reid
School Shop Manager

School Holiday Arrangements

The School will close over Christmas and New Year from Friday 23 December 2022 and re-open on Monday 9 January 2023. During the rest of the school holidays before and after this period, hours and services are as follows:

• General Office 8.00am to 4.00pm
• SCEGGS Shop 9.00am to 3.30pm, by appointment

(please call the School if you need to make a uniform appointment and please note the Shop is closed from Thursday 1 December, reopening Monday 9 January).

Sarah Walters
Director of Administration