From Ms Allum

After a compact yet full Term 2, I am sure everyone is looking forward to the winter school holidays. Take this time to rest, rejuvenate, to be kind yourself and to each other. Term 3 promises to be an exciting Term with the much anticipated fabulous Festival on Forbes, the Career Foundations SPAN Event, the Old Girls’ Back to SCEGGS Gala Dinner and the various camps across different year groups.

During the break, our school will turn 127 years young (on 17 July) and we will mark this occasion with our annual Foundation Day Assembly on the first day of term. It will be wonderful to come together for this special occasion after two years of remote celebrations.

A final reminder for students to undertake a RAHT before school on the morning of Wednesday 20 July.  

Until then, Happy Holidays!

Best wishes

Jenny Allum

Festival on Forbes

The countdown to the Festival on Forbes is on! This community event relies on the contribution of all families to make it as fabulous as ever!

The committee is currently seeking donations for the following items:

• Bottles of wine for the Coin Toss
• Prizes of all ages for the Chocolate Wheel
• Re-sellable books in good condition
• Vintage clothes, handbags and jewellery in good condition
• Second hand sporting goods
• Gourmet Pantry items – sauces, marinades, jams etc (Jars are available from the General Office)
• Silent Auction prizes (hampers, work experience, holiday homes, gift certificates, beauty products etc)

Donations may be dropped off to the General Office from the start of Term 3.  A drop-off zone will be available every Friday morning from Friday 22 July (drop-off times to be advised) in the Forbes Street carpark, located just before the Green Gate. There will be specific parking spots reserved for donations to be unloaded – look out for the Festival on Forbes volunteers in high vis!

For Festival on Forbes information from previous editions of Behind the Green Gate, click here or email sceggsfof2022@gmail.com with any questions or queries.

Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram! 

Wishing all families a fabulous school holiday break!

The Festival on Forbes Committee

Year 11 Art Exhibition

On Monday 20 June a group of students accompanied by Mr Lee-Lindsay, Ms Thompson, Ms Tring and Ms Connolly went along, after a very special invite from one of our Year 11 students to attend, the final week of the Love Endures All Obstacles Art Exhibition at The Rocks Discovery Museum.

You see the special invite was from Gagara Farrawell who also happens to be the granddaughter of the artist of this exhibition. Kathryn Dodd Farrawell is a proud Kaanju and Biri Wirri woman, artist, mother and grandmother.

Kathryn very kindly took the time in this the final week of the exhibition to welcome the students into the studio for a personalised tour of her artwork. We discovered that in her artworks presented in the exhibition, Kathryn explores her family’s history and the darker side of Australia’s past. We viewed some of the original paintings created in 2009 that started it all through the love of her parents’ marriage which was a story that began on Palm Island in Far North Queensland.

It is an intimate exhibition and Kathryn sensitively took us through her family’s first-hand experience surviving a number of harrowing and traumatic events. That includes being part of the Stolen Generation, and being impacted by the Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Acts. Kathryn spoke of her parents’ love that endured through these very difficult times and now that Kathryn, the youngest of these 11 children is honouring this love but continuing their commitment to family and culture. We learnt about some of the people who have inspired Kathryn over the years including Clinton Pryor, the spirit walker, whose walk for justice in 2021 took him from Perth in WA all the way on foot to the nation’s capital Canberra.

In those last precious moments in the studio with Kathryn, she allowed the students contribute to her artwork by encouraging them to sign some of the canvas pieces she had recently created for the NAIDOC Week celebrations. It was a lovely moment captured here in some of the pictures we took. The below link will take you to the exhibition details which closes on Friday 24 June.

Thank you Gagara and thank you Aunty Kath.

Laura Connolly
Director of Student Wellbeing

Drama News

Melbourne Drama Tour                                                   

Over the June long weekend, Mr Eyers, Ms Connelly, and Ms Rodda accompanied 35 students to Melbourne for a Theatre and Cultural immersion. The students embraced a number of Arts activities in a jam-packed weekend.

Theatrical highlights included a dynamic production of Kunstkamer by The Australian Ballet at The State Theatre, Victorian Arts Centre, a majestic production of Cinderella  at The Regent Theatre and a riveting production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Potter fitted Princess Theatre. Accessing these professionally executed productions contributes enormously to the students’ appreciation and appraisal of live theatre.

Cultural experiences included a visit to the National Gallery of Victoria to explore the Picasso Exhibition as well as the many other engaging exhibits at the gallery. Plenty of shopping and eating opportunity was provided with a visit to the Queen Victoria markets and experiential learning was provided with a fun improvisation workshop at St Martin’s Youth Theatre in South Yarra.

The excursion was topped off with a visit to the sacred Melbourne Cricket Ground and an exciting game of AFL between Melbourne and Collingwood. Theatre exists in many of life’s experiences!

Thankyou to everyone who made this Drama trip a possibility. It was great to be able to travel again and we look forward to another Drama Tour opportunity in 2024.

The 25^TH Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Congratulations and best wishes to Samantha Millin, Ava Nunley, Eliza Newton, Lila Eversgerd and Willow Garside. The girls are currently appearing in the Grammar Musical, The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The show plays until Friday June 24^th at Sydney Grammar.

May the show be another triumph for you all. That’s TRIUMPH! T. R. I. U. M. P. H. TRIUMPH!

Senior Production

The senior production for 2022 is pretty.strange. by Olivia Satchell. It will be directed by Ms Romy Bartz.

Auditions were held in week 8 over three fun and explorative afternoons, with auditionees playing with text and playbuilding exercises.

It gives me great pleasure to announce the cast for this production:

Cast of Characters:

pretty.strange. will be presented in St Peter’s Playhouse during Term 4 – November 9^th to 12^th.

We look forward to seeing at the theatre! Have a great term break everyone!

Peter Eyers
Head of Drama

Secondary Sports News

NSW All Schools Regional Touch Qualifiers                                                

Last week SCEGGS sent two teams to the NSW All Schools Touch Regional Championships. SCEGGS was part of the Sydney Metro Region that competed at Penrith.

On Wednesday 15 June, 13 students competed at the Years 7 & 8 Sydney Metro Championships. The team consisted of: Ashaa Bonner, Bella Buckley, Bella Campbell, Juliette Clark, Piper Fincher, Hallie Hasemer, Ruby Hughes, Marni Hootman, Ava Martin, Henrietta Robson, Alex Silverton, Annaliese Stackpool and Lily Stafford. The team played matches against Cheltenham High School, Rooty Hill HS, The Hills Sports HS and Mt St Benedict. They placed 4^th in their pool but showed great improvement throughout the day.

On Thursday 16 June, 12 students attended the Years 9 & 10 competition. The team was: Stella Argyrides, Gabrielle Cheung, Imogen Collins, Lily Cooney, Olivia Davis, Francesca Emblin, Hannah Guest, Isla Hootman, Zara Ibrahim, Eleanor Lawson, Tessa McCarthy and Rosie Pallet.

The team had a tough pool to compete against and finished 2^nd behind Narrabeen Sports High in their division (ahead of Pymble Ladies’ College, Pittwater House and Hurlstone Agricultural School). They qualified to participate in the quarter final matches where they came up against Westfield Sports High school who narrowly defeated the team in a 4-3 battle. The team played 5 games throughout the day and were outstanding in all aspects including teamwork, sportsmanship, mentoring and they displayed persistence, outstanding skill and great belief throughout each game. They came together beautifully as a team and improved with each game throughout the day. Congratulations to all team members and particularly to those students who played up an age group for this competition -Rosie Pallett (Year 7) and Lily Cooney & Olivia Davis (Year 8).

Sailing

SCEGGS has qualified to compete at the Australian Secondary Schools Team Racing Championships in the holidays. This comes after strong results at the NSW All Schools where they were the second highest placed female crew. The exact make up of the team is currently being finalised by the team captain Hannah Kernohan, and we wish them all the very best. The championships will be held at Georges River Sailing Club from July 5-10.

Snowsports

Good luck to our SCEGGS Snowsport Team who will be competing over the holidays at the Redlands Cup and the Sydney Interschools Championships. SCEGGS will be sending 40 students to compete across a range of Alpine, Skier Cross, Moguls and Snowboarding events at Perisher (Interschools) and Thredbo (Redlands Cup). A special thank you to Scarlett Phillips family (Justin and Louise) for hosting the Welcome Party at their home on the weekend. This was a great opportunity for new families to connect and learn more about the upcoming events.

Equestrian

Good luck to our SCEGGS Equestrian Riders who will be competing at the NSW All Schools Equestrian Championships at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre at Horsley Park from July 2-6: Chloe Copp, Hannah Doolan, Maggie Rose-Dunlop, Natalia Randle, Georgina Sharp & Scarlett Webber.

Term 2 Sports Results

In 2022 for the first time, IGSA are offering each of the 4 winter sports across both Terms 2 & 3. Hockey and Netball were smaller competitions being the non-traditional Term 2 sports. Netball was played exclusively at the Robyn Webster Centre in Tempe with success, albeit with a few grazed knees on the outdoor asphalt surface. In contrast, the Hockey was played all over Sydney (from Pennant Hills to Greenhills Beach) to access the preferred artificial playing turf fields. Football and Basketball continued in a similar format to previous years.

Due to limited playing rounds in Term 2, most of the grades featured a “first past the post” format. SCEGGS finished the final round with 2 busloads of players heading to Frensham to play football and basketball. We have shared a few photos from the weekend.

Congratulations to our various Saturday sporting teams in the various IGSA Competitions on all of their Term 2 results.

Basketball

SCEGGS 1 – 1^st in S03

SCEGGS 2 – 2^nd in S08

SCEGGS 3 – 2^nd in S12

SCEGGS 4 – 3^rd in J03

SCEGGS 5 – 2^nd in J07

SCEGGS 6 – 2^nd in J09

SCEGGS 7 – 2^nd in J11

SCEGGS 8 – 6^th in J13

SCEGGS 9 – 3^rd in Y703

SCEGGS 10 – 3^rd in Y705

Football

SCEGGS 1 – 6^th in S02

SCEGGS 2 – 6^th in S05

SCEGGS 3 – 7^th in S07

SCEGGS 4 – 5^th in S09

SCEGGS 5 – 1^st in J02

SCEGGS 6 – 5^th in J05

SCEGGS 7 – 5^th in J07

SCEGGS 8 – 1^st in Y703

Hockey

SCEGGS 1 – 3^rd in S01

SCEGGS 2 – 4^th in S04

SCEGGS 3 – 3^rd in J02

Netball

SCEGGS 1 – 2nd in S01

SCEGGS 2 – 3^rd in S02

SCEGGS 3 – 1^st in S03

SCEGGS 4 – 4^th in S03

SCEGGS 5 – 3^rd in S04

SCEGGS 6 – 4^th in S05

SCEGGS 7 – 3^rd in J01

SCEGGS 8 – 5^th in J02

SCEGGS 9 – 2^nd in J03

SCEGGS 10 – 3^rd in J04

SCEGGS 11 – 3^rd in Y701

SCEGGS 12 – 7^th in Y701

SCEGGS 13 – 2^nd in Y702

SCEGGS 14 – 5^th in Y702

IGSA Fixtures, Results and Wet Weather

There is a new IGSA website and platform for accessing wet weather, fixtures 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 plus Saturday Sport

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

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

Primary Sports News-End of Term Wrap Up

Another fantastic term of sport has now wrapped up!

Thanks to all of the girls who participated in various sports and activities across Term 2. From Hockey to Swimming to Tennis to Gymnastics, we thank all the girls who got involved, got outside their comfort zone and just had a go!

Despite the wet weather interruptions early in the term, we completed most rounds and training, much to our delight.

Year 3 Netball

The Year 3 Netball friendly competition was hosted this term by Kambala. A friendly introduction to sport against Kambala and Ascham was a massive hit for our girls, with a big turnout of girls playing netball for the first time. Seeing the girls learn new skills in a friendly environment was great. Thanks to Mrs Edwina Sweeney for running the competition, as our three coaches worked closely with each of their teams.

IPSHA Netball

Our IPSHA Netball girls took the court for a successful season. With seven teams from Years 4-6, it was another strong turnout for our Netball girls. A huge thanks goes to the girls who helped out their peers and played across several grades to help fill teams who were short of players. With a range of results for all our teams across the season, we hope you all had a fantastic time and look forward to having you all back playing netball next season! Thanks to Mrs Carter and her amazing coaches for the great term!

IPSHA Hockey

Well done to the IPSHA Hockey girls for another great season. It was great to see a rise in numbers playing hockey with the three teams taking the field each week in a tough competition. Congratulations to all teams who formed a strong bond on and off the field and had a great time doing so. We look forward to continuing to build our hockey numbers next year! A big thanks to our head hockey coach James for his work in the hockey program this year!

A huge thanks also goes to all our amazing coaches and sports staff for their help to improve, inspire and motivate the girls in all their sports. It was great to see the girls getting involved in each training session and making us proud in Saturday matches.

We can’t wait to do it all again in Term 3, this time with Year 3 Minkey (Modified Hockey), IPSHA Touch Football and for the first time at SCEGGS IPSHA AFL!

Term 3 Sports

Enrolments for some activities are still open for Term 3. Please email Tom Mitton or Brittany Robbins for any further Term 3 Sport enrolment questions.

Dance for Fitness

We are still seeking more girls to join Dance with Joel (Friday lunchtime) in the Old Gym! Get involved today for those keen dancers or those just wanting to give it a go for the first time!

Term 3 IPSHA Saturday Sports Trials

A reminder that there is a final trial for IPSHA Touch Football and AFL on July 19th, the day before term resumes from 8:30 – 10:30 am. This trial is optional and is for those that can make the session. Selections will not be affected due to not attending this trial. If your daughter is not planning on attending this trial for any reason, to make coaching allocations easier, please email TomMitton@sceggs.nsw.edu.au.

Tom Mitton
Primary Sport Co-ordinator

Visual Arts-End of Semester 1

It’s been such a successful term full of exploration, experimentation and deep historical and critical learning within the art classrooms. It seems timely that we share some Year 8 works based on significant places special to students as we all look ahead to perhaps getting away or spending some time somewhere we find nourishing and restorative. We look forward to welcoming everyone back and to hearing about your travels and trips to galleries and museums. From all the Art Department, we wish all of our Art students a very happy holiday!

This week’s banner is from Astrid Straesser and below are examples of some other Year 8 “Sense of Place” works.

Have fun at the National Art School these holidays in a Winter Workshop!

4-15 July 2022

These workshops provide young people aged 6–16 with opportunities to engage with artists, art-making and creativity at the NAS campus. Families are able to use the NSW Creative Kids Vouchers.

BOOK HERE

Students are encouraged to keep an eye out for co-curricular email sign ups in Week 1 of next term for Semester 2 participation in Darkroom or Digital Photography, Drawing and or Painting.

Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts

Music Matters

Secondary School’s Inter-House Music Competition                                           

The excitement is building as all six houses prepare to battle it out this Friday 24 June at the Great Hall.  This year’s theme for the Inter-House Music Competition is Musical Heroines where each house is to present a small and large ensemble item featuring a song or musical item with a strong feminist theme.

We are very fortunate to welcome Dr Jo Lawry and Mr Simon Burke AO as our two adjudicators for this year’s competition. 

Having spent the last two decades in New York, Dr Lawry returns to Australia is the current leader of Equity in Jazz program at Sydney Conservatorium of Music where she is also lecturing.  She has also released a CD in 2008 I Want to be Happy which was named among ‘Best CDs of the decade’.   

Mr Simon Burke AO is a familiar face on both Australian and U.K. television and musical theatre.  He has starred in many major productions including Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music and is currently playing the role of Ziegler in Moulin Rouge. Mr Burke is also best known as one of the well-known and loved presenters of Play School for twenty-five years. 

Best of luck to each of the Houses!

Woodwind and Brass Concert Sign-Up: Term 3 Week 3 Thursday 4 August

Woodwind and Brass students are invited to perform in the Woodwind and Brass Concerts scheduled in Week 3 on Thursday 4 August.

Primary

Secondary

We encourage students who learn at school, and students who learn externally to perform.

These concerts will be held in the Great Hall. Family and friends are welcome to attend.

Week 8 Piano Concerts (Primary and Secondary) – Thursday 16 June

Congratulations to all the performers who played in last Thursday afternoon’s series of Primary and Secondary Piano concerts.  Special thank you to Ms Heidi Jones and Ms Stephanie Holmes for their organisation of this event.  A thank you also to our SCEGGS piano tutors Ms Lisa Adamik, Ms Natalia Deasy

Primary Performers

Secondary Performers

Well done everyone – a wonderful celebration of our Pianists at SCEGGS!

Pauline Chow
Head of Music

Years 7 – 12 Inter-house Athletics Carnival – Friday July 22

The Secondary School Inter-house Athletics Carnival will be held in Term 3, Week 1 on Friday 22 July at Hensley Athletics Field, Eastgardens. Below is important information for students and parents.

Roll Call

All students are to arrive at school as usual in their correct sports uniform in time for Roll Call in their Form room at 8.20am.

Travel Arrangements

As the Carnival may be cancelled if there is likelihood of rain, it is essential that all students make their way to school and travel to the Carnival by hired coaches. No student is permitted to make their own way to the Carnival. Students and staff will depart from Hensley Athletics Field at approximately 2.15pm. All girls will be taken back to school on the coaches.

Uniform

Girls must wear their correct school sports uniform which may include a t-shirt in their House colours. A school sports hat, sunscreen, and school jumper and/or school tracksuit should be brought to the Carnival. Students will be sitting in an exposed area which can get very cold.

Lunch

There will be no canteen facilities. All girls must bring their own lunch and plenty of water to drink during the day. No girl will be allowed outside the area for any reason.

Behaviour

SCEGGS has been very fortunate to use Hensley Athletics Field. The staff at the venue have been very co-operative and helpful. Please return their hospitality by showing thoughtful behaviour and ensuring that all rubbish is placed in the appropriate bins.

Generally

There are to be no electronic devices, phones, tablet PCs etc and definitely no chewing gum. Just bring your House spirit and participate enthusiastically. All girls must sit in their allocated areas when they arrive at the venue.

Sports Training on Friday afternoon

There will be NO sports trainings on the day of the Carnival.

Wet Weather

Be fully prepared for wet weather (umbrellas, raincoats, etc.). In the case of extremely inclement weather a decision will be made at 8.00am.

If WET WEATHER results in the cancellation of the Carnival, we will operate on the Day 10 Timetable. Girls should be as prepared as possible for the day, although we will understand if they are not able to have every single item they need for the four lessons!

Athletics Events on the Day and Appropriate Attire

Major and Minor Heats

There are two different types of heats for running races, Major and Minor heats. You may like to nominate for a Major Heat for the following reasons; to run your best against other competitive runners, to challenge yourself to get your best time, to be in the mix for IGSA selection and many more reasons. If you do not nominate for a Major Heat, you will be in a Minor Heat and will still have the opportunity to run and receive points for your house. All students should have already received a sign-up email from Ms Axford last week.

Six Lane Races (One lane for each House)

All Major heats will be full of 8-10 athletes.

Minor heats will consist of six lanes (six athletes), one athlete from each House. This will mean that you will be running against five other athletes if you are in a Minor heat. This is a great opportunity to be competitive against the other Houses and challenge yourself to get the maximum points for your heat.

800m Races Starting Early (only Major Heats)

For those wishing to compete in the 800m races, there will only be Major Heats. These will begin prior to the official start time of the carnival at approximately 8:00am. A bus will depart school at 7:15am.

Invitation 100m and Staff v Students Relays

Due to moving the 800m to earlier in the day, we are hoping to introduce an Open Invitation 100m race. The Invitation 100m is the 10 fastest girls in the school across any age who will have the opportunity to race against one another. We also hoping to run a staff v prefects relay. These events will only go ahead if we have enough time at the end of the carnival.

Appropriate Athletics Attire

We want you to show your house colours and spirit however please ensure you are competing in appropriate clothing for athletics. The staff at all events will be asking you to remove any clothing that is not appropriate eg Onesies.

Please come and chat to myself, Ms Axford, or the Athletics Captain Tessa McCarthy for more information.

Alison Gowan
Director of Sport

Refugee Week 2022 and the Year 11 House of Welcome Food Drive

Year 11 and the Face-to-Face Program                                                               

Last week, Year 11 had the honour of having Mr Rahan Udin come and speak to us as a part of the Face-to-Face Program as a part of Refugee Week. This program, organised by the Refugee Week Council, is presented by a speaker from a refugee background, in which they share their personal story to safety.

Rahan is a refugee from Myanmar, who, along with his family, fled from the armed government conflict which threatened the Rohingya people – the stateless ethnic group of Myanmar which he belongs to. He explained to us his perilous journey to Australia via boat, and then his experience in the refugee camp on Christmas Island. After leaving the camp, Rahan attended the University of Sydney and received a psychology degree. He now works with the Refugee Council as mental health support for those in his community.

All of us were deeply moved by Rahan’s story and found the experience of having him speak directly to us incredibly informative. Whilst we all had prior knowledge about the experience of refugees, having Rahan share his personal story not only increased our awareness, but also our emotional connection with the journey of refugees. Hearing about the dangers of his journey to Australia and the treatment he experienced in the refugee camp illustrated to us the extraordinary courage of refugees around the world. Ultimately, all of Year 11 felt very lucky to have heard from Rahan and we hope this experience will promote positive change within our community.

Bibi Kuo
Year 11

House of Welcome

Just a reminder of the goods that we are asking students to bring in this refugee week. We appreciate all goods that are brought in.

Goods will be delivered to the House of Welcome in Granville in the school holidays, helping support recently arrived refugees and asylum seekers.

Please note: We pay particular heed to the wishes, habits and palates of those receiving our donated goods and respectfully request that you do not supply soup, baked beans or tinned spaghetti.

Dynielle Whitney
Head of Religious Education

Student-led Wellbeing Conference Hosted by Ravenswood and Knox Grammar

A number of our students participated in this year’s Ravenswood and Knox Grammar’s student-led wellbeing conference. The conference included keynote addresses from Mr Matt Cogin and Dr Kristy Goodwin, as well as four workshops. Year 11’s Luella writes about the conference below.

As a student, I feel the term “wellbeing” has become somewhat redundant. We often discount it for the sake of our studies, social lives, families, co-curriculars and our day-to day lives. We may believe what does not benefit or contribute to our future holds secondary importance.  

The Knox-Ravenswood Student-led Wellbeing Conference enabled a group of eight Year 11 students to examine the student-wellbeing phenomenon in a new light. Its impact was significant.

What really set the workshops and lectures apart, was the level of pragmatism the issue was approached with. Though the examination of wellbeing is an inherently empathetic experience, detailed conversations throughout the day provided different perspectives and further aided our overall understanding. There is no doubt that this student-run event impacted us all greatly. 

There were four workshops, of which we each attended two. They ranged from a step-by-step guide in developing positive relationships and finding meaning and purpose, to emotional management and the importance of habits and goals. The student leaders exhibited remarkable leadership skills, engaging us so we actually wanted to listen. We each genuinely respected the young people in front of us, who we could tell truly cared about wellbeing education.

We realised that positive wellbeing was the key to all aspects of our lives. Models discussed had a focus on holistic and positive education. Wellbeing does not need to be last on our list of priorities, because it is intertwined in all aspects of adolescent life, both in and out of school. It can mean many different things to any one person, but it is necessary for any form of success, academic or not and can be effectively implemented in everyday life.

As a student-led event, we were provided with new perspectives on current issues impacting students. Key note speakers, Mr Matt Cogin and Dr Kristy Goodwin, discussed the topics of: the doors of opportunity in becoming an agent of change and optimising your digital life.These topics examined the power of  “yet” as a word to change perspective (I can’t do this yet) and understanding the impacts of technology on our attention span.

We were given suggestions on how best to enhance our wellbeing, and, in speaking to my fellow attendees, we shared an excitement to impart our findings throughout the school community. It was an incredible experience, which we feel can have a genuine impact on school life and, if done effectively, help all SCEGGS students understand that their wellbeing is key, particularly in our formative years.

A shout out to Ms Satchell who supported us on the day and in the lead up to this event.

We are excited to see what the next step may be…

Luella Smith
Year 11

SPAN Event – Career Foundations

Our stellar panel of industry leaders will share their insights on how to enhance your employability, effectively search for a job, compose a cover letter and resume, refine your interview etiquette and use social media to connect and network to help you consolidate your career toolkit.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from: Ian Narev (CEO, SEEK),  Angus Dawson (Managing Partner, McKinsey, Australia and New Zealand), Heather Gyton Carroll (Head of Marketing, Janus Henderson Investors) and Jenny Allum  (Head of School). The Panel will be moderated by Holly Gyton, Deputy Head of SCEGGS Darlinghurst.

Go Greener- Food for your brain

The Powerhouse Museum has embarked on an ambitious cultural project focusing on conversations with 100 innovative and visionary people taking positive action on climate change. These podcasts are produced in conjunction with an exhibition at the museum.

Each Friday the Powerhouse Museum releases a new podcast.  So far, 16 podcasts have been added to their website. Some of the impressive guests include:

• Clover Moore – Climate ready Sydney
• Lesley Hughes – A career in climate
• Nick Hazell – Engineering the next meat
• Sasha Purcell – Human rights and climate justice
• Matt Kean – NSW Net Zero
• Zali Steggall – Behind the Climate Bill

You can access the podcasts via the Powerhouse Museum website or download them from your favourite podcast App.

If you would like to part of the live audience in the boiler room at Powerhouse Museum, bookings can be made through Humantix 

Sue Zipfinger
Sustainability Coordinator

Year 11 Biology Fieldtrip

Last Friday all Year 11 Biology students visited Gibberagong Environmental Education Centre and the Ku-ring-gai Chase and Garigal National Park. The visit was part of the students’ depth study into the Southern Brown Bandicoot, an endangered species. The goal of the students’ study was to determine the best site to place motion detection cameras so that bandicoots could be observed in a way that would not disturb their normal behaviours. If enough evidence of bandicoots in the area could be found, fox baiting could be used to help reduce predation on these animals, and possibly, help to save the species. In order to complete this task, students needed to measure biotic and abiotic factors at the two possible camera sites, and determine which would be most appropriate site.

Students engaged with the tasks with enthusiasm, and quickly measured pH, temperature and light levels. There was a little more hesitation in testing the soil type (which involved digging up soil, rolling it into a mud-ball and then squeezing it through their fingers). There were also some squeals (surely of delight!) when searching for invertebrates in the soil such as spiders and centipedes.

In addition to these tests, students were most interested in observing some of the Aboriginal rock carvings in the area, and discussing Songlines and Totem animals. It was excellent to see the students so engaged with this subject matter, especially when the difficult topic of possible extinction of totem animals came up. These carvings are thought to be 5000-7000 years old.

From the fieldtrip, students developed their understanding of conservation efforts, practised their practical skills and understood a little more about the First Australians who lived in the area. Students will continue to delve more deeply into the topic of bandicoots and conservation efforts for the rest of their Depth Study.

Mia Sharma
Science Teacher

Environmental Careers Afternoon – Can you help?

Calling all ex-students and interested parents working in environmental-based careers

Climate change and environmental issues are a concern for many people.  This generation of students will be instrumental in developing solutions to some of the challenges facing our planet. In response to this, we would like to run a careers afternoon focusing on the many aspects of environmental occupations available for our students to pursue.

We are planning to run the environmental careers afternoon on Monday 22 August from 4.00pm – 6.00pm. We are hoping there will be time for small groups to interact with our speakers as a Q&A as well as some presentations to the student body. If any ex-students or parents working in or with knowledge of environment-based careers would be interested in being part of this initiative, could you please contact me at suezpfinger@sceggs.nsw.edu.au.

Sue Zipfinger
Sustainability Coordinator

Blazer Pocket Awards

Girls in the Secondary School who are awarded a “Pocket” for excellence and outstanding achievement in a co-curricular activity can have their blazers embroidered during the holiday period. Awards will be announced during the final week of Term 2. Students with previous awards not yet embroidered can also leave their blazers at this time

Blazers may be left at the Student Services Reception from Friday 24 June until 1pm on Monday 27 June. Blazers cannot be accepted after the cut-off time. Late submissions will need to wait until the next holidays.

Embroidery and dry cleaning will be done during the holidays and the cost will be charged to your school account.

Angelique Cooper
Special Projects

Winter Vacation Care for Primary School Families

With the July holidays fast approaching, we would like to take the opportunity to share our Winter Vacation Care Program with you, which includes a wonderful variety of excursions and incursions and exciting in-house days at the Centre for all children to enjoy.

The service will be operating from Monday 4 July – Tuesday 19 July, with students returning to school on Wednesday 20 July 2022.  The service is open for current Primary SCEGGS girls and their school aged siblings only.

If you would like to book your child into Vacation Care, please click 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 2022, you will be required to fill out enrolment documentation prior to booking. 

Please reach out if you have any inquiries about Vacation Care.

Fran St John
After School Care Co-Ordinator