From Ms Allum

I remind everyone in the School community of the importance of obeying all road rules when dropping off and picking up girls at School. It is really important that everyone drives safely and slowly around the school, to protect everyone and keep young girls safe. Please don’t stop on a crossing, even for a moment! Don’t drive down the wrong side of the road. Don’t stop in the middle of the street and block traffic and drivers’ sight lines.

It is also important that we respect the interests and concerns of our neighbours who share the streets with us. Please don’t double park, don’t park across their driveways,  don’t use the Horizon building driveway as a turning circle, and so on.

I am aware of the upcoming elections for the City of Sydney Council on 4 December 2021. If you are eligible to vote in this election, you could lobby your preferred candidate to gain better arrangements for school drop-off and pick-up zones, and better bus parking arrangements for the school too. I want to be respectful of the needs of our neighbours and their parking requirements, but it is also important that we have reasonable zoning and parking arrangements too. This is particularly an issue with the current restrictions prioritising parking in front of the school over a safe school drop-off and pick-up zone during our usual operating hours of student arrival and departure on school days, and we haven’t been able to get satisfaction from the City of Sydney so far!

Jenny Allum
Head of School

From the Primary School

During the months of lockdown, you may have seen various displays within your community that represented a sense of togetherness and solidarity in a time of uncertainty, challenge and isolation. One popular initiative, coined “Spoonville”, was started in the UK by a very creative lady who came up with the idea of making characters from wooden spoons as a way of cheering up her local community during lockdown. We loved this idea and decided to create our very own SCEGGS Spoonville!

During At Home Learning this term, the girls and teachers brought a wooden spoon to life, creating a character inspired by someone or something they love or admire. They gave it a name and a full-blown character profile. On the return the school, the girls paraded their spoon characters through the gate and the teachers were blown away by their marvellous creations! We had unicorns, Harry Potters, puppy dogs, mad scientists and even one of Gladys wearing one of her recognisable coloured blazers!

Over the past few weeks, each class has gone into the playground to choose a space to lay their spoon characters. These colourful, fun and unique creations have brought a fantastic pop of colour into the playground. in addition to this, we feel it also symbolises how wonderful it is to all be back together as a Primary School community for the end of the school year.

Congratulations to the girls for their commitment to this task. We just wish you could all come onsite to see how fabulous SCEGGS Spoonville truly is in real life!

Sarah Johnstone
Deputy Head of Primary (Student Wellbeing)

Music Matters

Beethoven Recording Project – Thank You!

On behalf of the Music department, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the school community for their contribution towards the Beethoven Recording Project.  I know that it isn’t easy managing the recordings and that there have been difficulties from our Primary families with the submission of their files.  Thank to everyone who have tried and were able to submit their files.  We are now collating these together to create the final version which we’re looking forward to sharing as our whole school item on Speech Day.

Thank you to our peripatetic tutors who have assisted with providing the guiding tracks for our students.  We could not have done this without your support.  Special thank you to Ms Eddi Goodfellow (Visual) and to Mr Neal Sutherland (Audio) who are now working through the files to the final performance!

Thank you to students, families and staff – we could not have done this without your support!

Year 10 Composition Project

Students began their study of Australian Music with an exploration of the collection of works by Slava and Leonard Grigoryan – This is Us: A Musical Reflection of Australia and Katie Noonan’s Love-Song -Circus. As the springboard and inspiration for Year 10, they were to visit the Australian Museum and use the exhibition “Unsettled” to select an item, picture or story to convey in music.  We continued with this idea but changed to a virtual tour of the exhibition.  We were excited to welcome old girl and composer, Dr Aristea Mellos to work with the girls. She shared some of her compositions and provide further inspiration and guidance. Below are the items, picture and stories of inspiration that the girls have set to music. We hope you appreciate these stories and the music they created while learning at home.

• Compilation 1
• Compilation 2
• Compilation 3
• Compilation 4
• Compilation 5
• Compilation 6
• Compilation 7
• Compilation 8

Alison Ryan

Year 10 Elective Music Teacher

Thank You String Ensembles – Beethoven Recordings

Special thanks to each and every string player from K-12 who participated in recordings of Beethoven Symphony No. 9 this week. Our wonderful and very creative videographer Eddi Goodfellow captured the girls playing their instruments in a myriad of settings around the school and these pop-up performances were thoroughly enjoyed by all! String players have been fortunate to be able to rehearse and perform together in person this term after such a long period of isolation during lockdown. Our Beethoven video collaboration of strings, band and choirs which will be presented at Speech Day will be an “Ode to Joy” to the return of music making in 2021!
Anne Sweeney
Director of Strings

Peripatetic News

As we approach the end of the year, I invite you to have a conversation with your daughter about their instrumental and vocal lessons.

If your daughter does not want to continue in the program next year, we ask that you give YOUR MUSIC TUTOR the required four weeks’ notice now.

The Music Department are grateful for your support during the period of lockdown this year. Many amazing zoom lessons occurred and there has been excellent progress made by many during this difficult time.

Planning has already begun for the SCEGGS Eisteddfod in late Term 1 2022. Now is a great time to choose an appropriate piece and start preparing!

Please find attached an updated version of the Peripatetic Music Program guidelines for your reference.

We look forward to sharing live music with you again next year.

Pauline Chow
Head of Music

Secondary School Sport

Australian Stingers Water Polo Squad                                                      

Congratulations to Sienna Green who after her strong performances earlier in the year at the National Water Polo League has been selected in the Australian Stingers Water Polo Squad! Sienna is now in the mix to attend the 2022 FINA World Championships and the 2024 Paris Olympics! Not surprisingly Sienna was also named in the Australian Paris and Beyond Squad. We wish her well as she continues to train over the summer break and look forward to seeing her wearing the green and gold in the future.

Rhythmic Gymnastics NSW Dance Showcase

Special mention to the following gymnasts who participated in the RG NSW Dance Showcase hosted by Gymnastics NSW last month: Olivia Phillips, Bronte Treffiletti, Sienna Morris, Stella Wilson, Georgia Farrow, Ilana Patkar, Hannah James, Sally Webster, Madison Liew and Laura Davies. It is fantastic to see everyone back in action and participating in sport once again.

Sports Trials for 2022

We are now organising our various tennis, touch and water polo teams for 2022. All students should look out for information regarding selection trials for their relevant sport. There will be some trial matches this Saturday against St Catherine’s in Touch at Reservoir Fields. Ms Thompson has emailed all the times to everyone.

Remember to check the @SCEGGSSport Twitter feed on Saturday mornings for possible cancellations. Updates will only be posted if sport is cancelled. No news is good news and sport will go ahead! Drop off and pick up only for all activities. No parents or spectators permitted near training areas.

Alison Gowan
Director of Sports

Primary Sport

K-2 Learn to Swim PE lessons                                            

The girls in Years K-2 have been enjoying being back in the pool learning basic floating, kicking, breathing and stroke skills. We would encourage parents to consider enrolling your daughter into swimming lessons in the school holidays to reinforce what they have covered in PE lessons this term. Contact your local pool for Learn to Swim information.

Co-curricular Sport

The enthusiasm continues for all our co-curricular sport. Parents, please note there are no spectators allowed at training sessions. After each session, the coaches will take the girls to the pickup area where you can meet them and have their name marked off.

If someone other than a parent is taking your daughter from the venue, please email suephillips@sceggs.nsw.edu.au or xantheaxford@sceggs.nsw.edu.au with the new pickup arrangements.

Year 5 & 6 Basketball Saturday 20 November – Time change

This Saturday 20 November Year 5 and 6 will meet at the Basketball Courts at 9.15 and have an extra half hour finishing at 10.45am.

Photo Gallery

We hope you enjoy a few photos from the last week!

Sue Phillips
PDHPE & Sport Co-ordinator

Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards

Highly Commended and Commended poems                                                                                        

The prestigious Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards received over 7,500 entries into their competition this year. The theme “Rich and Rare” elicited a range of provocative and thoughtful responses and encouraged students to draw both from their own experiences and the political landscape surrounding them. All students who participated are congratulated and will receive certificates acknowledging their efforts in class.

Five students from SCEGGS were noted by the judges for their exemplary writing. Lila Eversgerd (Year 8) and Zara Ibrahim (Year 9) were both Highly Commended in the Junior Secondary section for their poems “Betka Path” and “A Lament for Lebanon.”

Sophia Barry (Year 8) was Commended in the Junior Secondary section for her poem “A Greek Welcome” while Ruby Cooney (Year 10) and Luella Smith (Year 10) were both Commended in the Senior Secondary section for their poems “Sovereignty” and “Silence.” Congratulations to each of these girls – an impressive achievement!

A complete list of the Winning and Commended poems can be found at the following website.

Jenny Bean
English Teacher

From the Chaplain

Our Christmas Giving This Year                                                       

Like many things that have been affected this year, we have had to change our usual process and delivery point for our traditional Christmas present drive. In the past we have donated our gifts to Anglicare but due to certain protocols we can’t do that this year. However, we are able to give our gifts to the St Vincent de Paul Support Centre located in Redfern and they will distribute our gifts to needy families within the area. Every student in the school is asked to contribute towards providing a Christmas gift for a child of a certain age group which will be collected at our School Christmas Service on Wednesday 1st December. This always brings a lot of joy to the children as well as the parents. As you are probably aware, the number families doing it tough for a variety of reasons has increased due to the pandemic. Some parents feel ashamed that they cannot provide a gift for their children due to their circumstances and our donations help them to have something to celebrate during Christmas.  Form and class teachers will help the students to plan and prepare for this activity over the next couple of weeks. We would like to have the gifts by Monday 29 November.

I have been speaking to a number of agencies recently about what they would prefer in terms of donations for Christmas and a number of them have asked if people could provide gift cards for those in need. One of those agencies is Barnardos Australia. They work with children and families dealing with the issue of out of home care and have had a special request for children in their older teens. This is part of a message I received from them:

“This year we required 1,500 gift cards for older children in our care. We would like to call on our appeal supporters to collect gift cards and send into Barnardos Head Office, attn: Annalise Wild, 60-64 Bay St, Ultimo NSW 2007, up until Friday 10 Dec.  Gift cards suitable for this particular age group include: JB HIFI, Rebel, Kmart, Target, Events Cinema, EB Games, Apple. We ask that gift cards are a minimum of $30.”

Garry Lee-Lindsay
School Chaplain

History Debating

Was Nero the worst Roman Emperor in History? Did he really fiddle while Rome burned? And can Ancient historical sources be trusted? These were some of the questions our Year 10 History debaters tussled with as they resumed their competition last week on the topic That Nero has been unfairly villainised by ancient historians. Debating Emanuel School on Zoom, our team of Alexandra Kuo, Helena Piazza, Ruby Cooney, and Lydia Bodsworth employed detailed historical research and source evidence to argue the affirmative case, which they successfully proved. We wish them well as they move on to the Quarter Finals of this competition.

Continuing the Ancient theme, our Year 11 History debaters contested the Quarter Finals last week on Zoom against Roseville College, delving into the founding father of History, Herodotus. Arguing the affirmative case, That Herodotus is the father of lies, Lucia Gelonesi, Kiara Wijesinghe, Charlotte FitzSimons, and Scarlett Gibson-Williams examined Herodotus’ The Histories, along with a range of ancient, modern, and archaeological sources, to construct their case. In a close contest, the SCEGGS team had a narrow victory, proving that indeed, Herodotus is the father of lies. We wish them well for the Semi Finals.

Congratulations to the teams from Emanuel, Roseville, and SCEGGS, for providing two very engaging, insightful, and well researched debates.

The History Department

Go Greener

I am a History teacher, and for me, History has always been the study of humanity – who we are, how we develop, and how people act and react in certain situations. Humans learn from experience, but it doesn’t have to be our own direct experience. For instance, I will never try to conquer Russia in the winter, and that’s not because I have already tried and failed. Perhaps more importantly, I know that a revolution does not just happen. Meaningful social change is not an overnight phenomenon. Martin Luther King Jr agrees with me.

As COP26 is unfolding, there are so many reasons to feel hopeful right now. What a time to be alive! What a moment to witness. BUT (and it is a big but, if I say so myself) we cannot allow ourselves to feel complacent. The leaders are finally taking action. Deals are being made. Targets set. However, it is going to be up to all of us to keep politicians accountable for the promises that they make. It continues to be our duty to spend our dollars wisely so that we can force businesses to care about the environment as much as profit margins. In times when big actions are needed, it is easy to despair about your individual contribution. You may not have started making an individual contribution yet beyond thinking about it. We need to band together and remember that hundreds of individual acts will mean a lot in the long term. I know a certain politician (who shall remain nameless) in an electorate where I may or may not live who is suddenly much more proactive about the environment because it looks like he might lose his seat to a new kid in town who DOES care about these issues. Power to the people!

I look forward to teaching my future students about how richer countries recognised their responsibility to address the issues of climate and waste. I look forward to telling them how ordinary people accepted that they had to let go of what used to be “normal” life and habits. Even if we hit the current climate goal, life will look different, and it will not always be easy. It is exactly for that reason that we must all play our part, because if the natural disasters and weather events that we have seen in the last five years are anything to judge by, we do not want to condemn the children of today to more extreme conditions. Economically and ethically, we must start living for the long-term. There will be sacrifice, compromise and unexpected delights along that path, but History has taught me that we are capable of banding together for a cause if we really try. Those who lived through the Depression and World War II are sometimes dubbed “the Greatest Generation”. It’s time for us to earn the right to claim that title for ourselves. 

The little things you can do:

• Compost food waste
• Plan meals out carefully so you don’t buy more than you need at the shops
• Dispose of clothing thoughtfully – is there somewhere that you can recycle or repurpose your old clothes?
• Eat less meat and dairy
• Write to your local representative on a regular basis – making sure they know that you care about these issues.
• Buy green – support sustainable businesses.
• Donate your time or money to reputable environment groups – maybe a local action group!

Parents:

• Show your kids the value of nature. Children are unlikely to fight for something unless they care about it. Bushwalks, beach visits, picnics, walks through gardens, visiting natural wonders could all foster a sense of enthusiasm.
• Think futuristically – eg rather than teaching our children what to expect at a party based on what happened in the past (ie a lot of plastic waste), set different, environmentally-sound expectations from as early an age as possible.
• Make sure your children know that you care about climate change and the environment. Knowing that the people around you care is crucial.
• Vote with the environment in mind.

Students:

• Make the effort to use the right bin for your waste around school
• Think carefully about the plastic you use – eg do you need to laminate something? Do you need to buy that drink in plastic?
• Make sure your parents know that you care about climate change and the environment.

Dr Fiona Radford
Maailma Environment Committee

Parents’ and Friends’ Association

P&F Events

Please see below coming events this term:

Year 8 Parents Drinks