SCEGGS Reconciliation Action Plan

We have been extremely fortunate to have Aunty Kath Farrawell working with the whole school to produce three beautiful artworks that will be hung on the walls of our school. These completed artworks were presented to Ms Allum in the Week 6 Assembly. It was wonderful to have Aunty Kath, Aunty Viv and Year 12 student Gagara Farrawell present at our Assembly.

The first artwork ‘Celebrating’ was introduced to the school during the NAIDOC Week Assembly in Week 3 of Term 3 to commemorate the NAIDOC 2023 theme of ‘For Our Elders’. Aunty Kath’s artwork tells us that “Our Elders old and young teach us to walk our dreams”. The Student RAP committee members dotted the yellow, purple, and pink colours at the feet of the Dancers to symbolise the native hibiscus flowers that grow wild all over Australia. These flowers remember our ‘Stolen Generations’ with Love, Respect and Hope.

The second artwork is titled ‘Let Your Light Shine’. This work includes the fingerprint of all the students in the school. Aunty Kath notes that “these colourful fingerprints represent a rainbow of hope over our Mother Earth. The gold glitter on each fingerprint is for togetherness in learning, to make change for Voice and Equality. The shining glitter of light encircles the Heart with the lines from the North, South, East and West with respect on Gadigal Land”. The hands in each corner of the painting are those of Ms Allum, Mr Lee-Lindsay, Aunty Vivian and Aunty Kath.

The third artwork titled ‘Always was, Always Will be, Aboriginal Land’ includes the handprints of each of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students at SCEGGS in 2023. Aunty Kath says, “these are the Students Spiritual light hands from their Belonging Homelands of  Gamilaroi, Wiradjuri, Murrawarri, Yukunjara, Adnymathana, Dharwal, Yuan, Bundjalung, Birri Wirri, and Kaanju”.

Huge thanks to Aunty Kath, Aunty Viv, the Student RAP Committee and the Art Department for all the work they have done to bring these gorgeous works of art to life.

Heidi Anderson and Zoe Thompson
Co-convenors, SCEGGS RAP Committee

From The Chaplain

Christmas News and The SCEGGS Podcast “Walk The Mile” Episode 47: Life is a Drama Part 1

This was our first attempt at doing a podcast LIVE!! Admittedly, I was worried how it might go, whether I could keep the style of conversation going in front of an audience and just having to adapt to a new concept. In the end, I think we experienced something quite different and it was great to feel the vibe in the Great Hall. This was recorded late last term and all of our guests (Elizabeth Butcher, Peter Eyers, Deborah Galanos, Charlotte Friels and Poppy Lynch) are people involved in the performing arts, particularly the theatre world. We talk about what they get from the stage, the highs and lows, the benefits and the drawbacks. This is the first part of the conversation and the second will be published next week.

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 or any ideas you may have for further episodes. You will find each podcast as they are produced in this newsletter and on the other platforms as well as our website.

Festival of Lessons and Carols

Our Festival of Lessons and Carols is being held next week on Thursday 30 November at 7.30pm in the Great Hall. Everyone in and connected to our community is warmly invited as we celebrate the joy and meaning of Christmas. We take a collection at this service every year and the money donated always goes towards a local charity. I hope to see you there!

Christmas gift collection

As part of our annual school Christmas service, we ask each student to contribute towards a gift for either a boy or a girl, wrapped in cellophane, to donate to the Vinnies’ Community Centre in Redfern. These gifts will be distributed to children who may not otherwise receive anything at Christmas due to poverty or other family issues. There will be greater demand this year due to the unsettling times that many families face due to financial pressure and housing stresses. The feedback that we get each year is that these gifts make a huge difference to children throughout our city, giving them the message that they are loved and cared for. We will be receiving those gifts up until Friday 1 December. More information will be delivered to students via their Form or class teachers.

“Mr Lee-Lindsay needs new undies and socks”

For those new to our community, I would like to introduce you to our socks and undies drive. There are a number of welfare organisations that are always asking for NEW socks and undies for their clientele. This is a serious issue amongst the homeless in terms of hygiene and good foot care. This is a whole school activity and because we want to get a variety of sizes this is how we would like the different year groups to donate:

Primary

• (Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 2) – Girls Socks and/or Undies for 3 to 7 year olds
• (Years 3 and 4) – Boys Socks and/or Undies for 3 to 7 year olds
• (Years 5 and 6) – Boys/Girls Socks and/or Undies for 8 to 12 year olds

Secondary

• Year 7 – men’s medium undies and/or socks
• Year 8 – women’s medium undies and/or socks
• Year 9 – men’s large undies and/or socks
• Year 10 – women’s large undies or socks
• Year 11 – men’s or women’s small undies or socks

Students can bring in donations this week and there will be a basket outside the Chapel for collection, like what we do for Harvest Festival (only we will not decorate the chapel with the items!). I will distribute our collection to local organisations in the last week of Term 4. Thank you in anticipation and for your ongoing generosity.

Hampers of Hope

I was approached recently by a local charity named “Hampers of Hope” who provide food for those struggling financially around Sydney, particularly refugees and other ethnic minorities. They have asked if we could provide Family Size blocks of chocolate to go into their hampers for Christmas. Our current Year 8 cohort have begun the collection and there is a box outside of the chapel for collection. The whole school community is welcome to donate to this cause and I will be delivering the chocolate by Friday 8 December.

Rev. Garry Lee-Lindsay
Chaplain

Class Parents 2024

Are you looking for a great way to be involved in your daughter’s year group, connect with other parents and bring your cohort together? Volunteering as a Class Parent offers you this and much more!

Class Parents are an important part of the School community and act as liaison between parents, the P&F Association, the Trust and the School. They create and organise opportunities for their Year Group to meet and get to know each other and provide invaluable assistance to the P&F.

We generally find four Class Parents per year is about right, but there are always more in some years, particularly Year 12 and we always do accept more for Year 12 and for Year 6, as both year groups have graduation events towards the end of the year.

To find our more information and to register for 2024, please click here.

Science News

Our Science Leaders have been organising and leading some great activities this term! So far, students have made lava lamps, glow in the dark slime for Halloween, circuits, oobleck (a non-Newtonian fluid) and most recently, a paper plane competition.

During circuits, the leaders helped students to produce a range of different projects that made noise, light or even moved.

During the oobleck session, students tested three different types of flour to see which produced the best oobleck – plain flour, corn flour or tapioca flour. Plain flour produced a dough rather than a non-Newtonian fluid, however, they discovered that tapioca flour was very impressive and may be even better than cornflour. Students also tried applying pressure rapidly to the mixture and found it was hard like a solid, then they tried slowly applying pressure and found it oozed and moved like a liquid. It was most unusual!

In the paper plane competition, four different designs were tested. The Basic Dart style plane was found to travel the longest distance on average, while the UFO style plane produced some nice circles in the air.

We’re all looking forward to our Invisible Ink Christmas cards next week!

Mia Sharma
Science Teacher

Visual Arts

The Visual Arts Department has an extensive exhibition history as both solo artists and as a group. We are delighted to conclude 2023 with a group show, titled Eleven, that includes all current members of the department, Kylie Brennan, Louisa Dawson, Heidi Jackson, Anita Tesoriero and Louise Willems, and includes for the first time, both our arts assistants, Michaela Gleave and Lilli Stromland. Our co-curricular tutors Ian Lever and Chris Gleisner will also be included as exhibitors. Alongside this group, we also have 2 past members of the department, former Head of Art, Katrina Collins, and Cheryl Collier who retired after 30 and 31 respective years of service at SCEGGS.

The exhibition is officially opening on 2 December at 1 to 4 pm, at Comber St Studios, 5 Comber St, Paddington.

Preview times are available on Wednesday 29 November, Thursday 30 November and Friday 1 December between 1pm -4 pm.

Here are the images of individual work from the members of our Department:

We warmly invite all members of the SCEGGS community to join us for opening drinks on Saturday. We especially encourage our students and their families to come and enjoy the afternoon with their Visual Arts teachers. With 11 artists in total there will be a rich diversity of practice to explore.

Visual Arts Co-curricular Exhibition opening next week

Next week we are thrilled to invite you to the Opening of the Visual Arts Co-curricular exhibition for 2023. Come along on either Monday the 27 or Thursday the 30 between 3:15 to 4pm to view examples of work created by the Drawing, Darkroom Photography and Painting students.

Please click here to see the invite.

Refreshments will be served and we take this opportunity to congratulate all students on their dedication and accomplishments in their creative work beyond the classroom.

This week’s banner is excerpts from the Visual Arts Staff Show, Eleven, opening 2 December, 1 to 4 pm. We hope to see you there!

Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts

Music Matters

Secondary Jazz Combo and Basie Jazz Band in the Primary School

It’s not everyday that secondary girls perform for the primary girls – that is exactly what happened last Thursday lunchtime. Performances by the Secondary Jazz Combo and the Basie Jazz Band were heard throughout the Primary School courtyard, accompanied by an enthusiastic group of dancers!  It was a lovely opportunity for the secondary girls to share their music with the primary girls.  The performances were enjoyed with requests for more! Thank you to Ms Alex Siegers (conductor of Secondary Jazz Combo), Ms Alison Ryan (conductor of Basie Jazz Band) and Mr Michael Tierney (Director of Bands) for organising these performances.  Well done girls!

Social Justice Performance – Rock Bands

Congratulations to the students in the Rock band program who performed for the Secondary School at the cafeteria during lunchtime. It was lovely to hear the girls’ performances and thank you to Mr Michael Tierney (Director of Bands) and Mr Neal Suthlerland (Rock Program Tutor) who assisted with the girls’ performance. It was lovely to hear a mix of cover and original songs to raise awareness for the Social Justice program.

UNSW Band Concert – Tuesday 14 November

Congratulations to our 2024 Music Captains: Teagan Barrack (Year 11) and Elektra Cook (Year 11) who performed in the UNSW Band concert on Tuesday 14 November at Clancy Auditorium. Both students have only joined the band in this third trimester, providing both with a small taste of university life. The experience was also an exciting one providing both students a wonderful opportunity to play challenging band repertoire. Well done girls!

Community Joy at Christmas

SCEGGS choristers and string players joined forces this week to provide musical entertainment for residents at Ardency Trebartha Retirement Village in Elizabeth Bay. The girls played a variety of music including Christmas carols and light popular music and shared morning tea with the audience afterwards. Congratulations to members of the Madrigal Singers and Lux Strings for their generosity in sharing their musical talents to bring joy and the spirit of Christmas to others in our community.

AMEB String Examinations

Congratulations to the following students who sat national music examinations for Violin, Viola and Cello for a second day of national music examinations at SCEGGS last Saturday:

Anne Sweeney
Director of Strings

Upcoming Music Events

Term 4

Pauline Chow
Head of Music

Secondary Sport News

Touch Football

Get ready to dive headfirst into the exhilarating world of Touch Football at SCEGGS!

I believe Touch Football is the BEST team sport offered at SCEGGS! Touch Football is not only a great cardio workout in a fun environment but also is extremely simple to learn, the only skills you need are being able to run pass and catch which can be easily taught by our talented coaches! I learnt how to play touch at SCEGGS in Year 7, I straight away felt welcomed by the coaches, and all the girls whether they were from SCEGGS or a new girl like me. For this reason, my friends in Year 7 came from my Touch team because of the teamwork and sportsmanship with your peers required for touch. This team sport teaches you to mould as a group and support your team through wins, and more importantly losses. It is also a great pathway if you want to extend your skills and play representative Touch outside of school, with many SCEGGS girls playing in the East-Roosters jersey, so they will feel very welcome. Win, lose or draw, when I am wearing my SCEGGS Touch jersey, I feel honoured to be apart of such a beautiful community led by strong talented young women.

As Touch Football captain, I feel honoured when I hear the roar of the SCEGGS crowd on the sidelines – and it is even more rewarding when you get to see the supportive community walking past your teammates in school grounds, this is because Touch gives you the amazing experience of being able to play with girls in other year groups as well as your own. I am also privileged to also see how far SCEGGS girls’ skills have improved by the end of the season, as their hard work and determination shines through.

Touch Football consists of a Saturday morning game with your team vs other teams at your skill level, and a training during week after school from 3.30pm-5pm, at Moore Park, Robinson Road. Another great addition to touch is that Saturday games are at the same venue every week!

In Term 1, SCEGGS offers an annual Interhouse Touch Competition, where competitiveness, skill, teamwork, and collaboration excel in an afternoon full of colour and tries. This is always a SCEGGS favourite as it displays SCEGGS spirit while being able to compete with your peers representing your house.

So, if you’re looking for a sport where competitiveness, skill, sportsmanship, collaboration, and leadership combine on a Saturday morning in front of a cheerful crowd, Touch Football is the sport for you!

Zara Ibrahim
SCEGGS Touch Captain

Touch Football Grand Finals – November 25

There were some tightly contested battles over the weekend at Touch Football, with some teams coming out victorious at the end of the 40 minutes, and others going down by the narrowest of margins. Some even endured the heartbreak of extra time. Congratulations to the following seven teams who all made it through to the grand finals at Queens Park. SCEGGS 1 will also play for the Pillinger Cup against Kambala 1.

We wish everyone all the best of luck with their games. 

Indoor Hockey

Dive into the heart-pounding thrills of Indoor Hockey!

Indoor Hockey, an exciting sport that encounters a combination of both speed and skill. I am so pleased to be the Indoor Hockey captain for the 2023-2024 season, as I am able to share my passion for the sport with my peers. Indoor Hockey has allowed girls from all different year groups to create a closer bond and create a shared passion for the fast-paced sport, that is Indoor Hockey!

For most teams, the girls have been waking up every Monday and Tuesday morning, bright and early at 6.30 to give their best effort. For the senior 1 team, we have had a great experience training with the year 6 team, creating new connections, and allowing girls from the senior school, to act as mentors for the Year 6 girls. At trainings, we have been able to practice a wide variety of skills, including; our passing, possession games, short corners, and practice games against each other. I am proud to say, that there has been a large increase in the dedication to Indoor Hockey, including a higher participation rate at training.

But, on Wednesday and Thursday nights, is where we can really reflect on our enjoyment of indoor hockey, participating in games against other schools. The teams will travel from Ascham, to Kincoppal, to even Ryde, to play their matches. Throughout this season, we have had some very pleasing results with wins across the boards, and I have seen a massive improvement in every single player, from the start of the term till now. I cannot wait to play another term of Indoor Hockey, next year, and have been so appreciative of all the fun memories and bonds all us girls have made throughout the term!

Eliza Stratton
SCEGGS Indoor Hockey Captain

Equestrian

Congratulations to Hannah Doolan (Year 9) who represented NSW at the recent Australian Show Jumping Championships. NSW placed second overall in the Teams event. Hannah qualified for the final on the last day which was unfortunately rained out.

Do you have any sporting news or photos to share in the Green Gate?

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 Alison Gowan.

SCEGGS Training and matches Wet Weather

Wet weather notifications will now be sent out on Clipboard.

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

Primary Sport

Sports Enrolments Term 1

Thanks to those families who have already completed their nominations for Term 1 sport for 2024. A reminder that these have officially closed. If you have any further questions, or have missed the deadline, please email Brittany Robbins or Tom Mitton.  

Saturday Sport

Best of luck to all teams for their final fixtures of IPSHA Sport and Year 3 Sport for 2023. A big thanks to our coaches and staff for their commitment to the girls over the term and for making it such a great experience.

Thanks to all of the girls who have participated in IPSHA Basketball, Tennis, Cricket and Year 3 Football this term. It has been wonderful to watch you all grow confident and learn so many new skills.

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

 Years 2-6 Primary Swimming Carnival

The Primary School Swimming Carnival held on Monday at Lane Cove Aquatic Centre was a lovely day – it could not have been better with warm weather, blue skies and incredible House spirit from all the girls, who were all dressed up in a sea of House colours.

An enormous thank you to all the staff for their support on the day to make it one to remember.

The Champion House Cup winners for 2023 was…. Barton!

Please see below for the results:

100m Freestyle Champion

New Records

Age Champions

Congratulations to Susanna Brown, the overall Primary Swimming Champion for 2023

Here are some images from the day

Please help us celebrate any other achievements outside of school!

Does your daughter compete in any sport outside of school (for example, at a representative level or a sport we do not currently offer)? If so, I would love to celebrate their achievements by recognising them in this newsletter!

Please email Tom Mitton any information (and photos, if possible), will be included in newsletters throughout the term.

Tom Mitton
Primary Sport Co-ordinator

SCEGGS Stories of Immersion in Indigenous Australia

We hope you enjoy reading a range of reflections about Stories of Immersion in Indigenous Australia from the students this week. For the previous week’s reflections see here.

Reflections from the Cape York Immersion

Cape York was an experience which I will never forget and will forever be grateful for. It exposed me to so many great experiences such as electronic freedom, meeting new people, being away from civilisation, getting to know everyone at the homelands like the traditional owners and their nieces, nephews, sons, and daughters. I really got to know Alex from Binthi-Warra who I got to have just nice and casual chats with. One of the big things I really enjoyed was making the didgeridoo with Joe, going on a walk around the land and learning about all different kinds of things, and going fishing in the river even though we weren’t overly too successful. One thing I found very interesting was how we have one massive store or multiple stores dedicated for only one or two purposes, but for the traditional owners they had everything on their land. They thought of their forest as a cabinet which had everything that they needed – like soap, medicine, and food.

Both homelands really helped me reflect on how lucky we are. At the end of leaving both homelands we got to ask questions, one of those questions was “why do you offer your land to us and let us on your land and learn about it?”. Their answer was basically saying that we are sometimes the voice when they can’t have one, and that really has stuck with me, especially at this time in Australia. Along with the meaningful experience, I also had some very funny ones, things such as; playing touch every day with Raiden and Franklin; playing and teaching cards to a variety of people; making bracelets with Aunty Julie; going silent and no one moving in the tent mid playing cards because we can hear a teacher coming (especially Ms Ziesel with her green light); playing the pen game for hours; going for a swim in the creeks, overall just making and getting to know all the girls we went on the trip with. This overall experience I will forever hold very close to my heart and also reflect on in my future to come.

Ava Weekes
Year 9

Spending 10 days in Cape York was an incredibly rewarding experience that I will never forget. I have made memories that will definitely be some of my favourites from my secondary school life. In the two Homelands that we visited, Yungee and Loggy-Crossing, I learnt so much that has really benefitted my understanding of Indigenous Australian culture and connection to country and how important it is to understand in order to move towards reconciliation. The immersion was not only informative and educational, but it really impacted me on a deeper level too that is hard to put into words. Not only did I become closer with the amazing teachers and the girls in my group, but I feel I have a connection to the places we went to and the incredible people we met. 

We started the immersion bright and early at Sydney airport before finally arriving at our first Homeland, Yungee. At Yungee we met Des and Estelle and their large family and were greeted with a traditional smoking ceremony and welcome to Country. Throughout our few days spent here, we were able to have meaningful conversations with Des and Estelle about the history of their land, their pasts, their hopes for the future and the importance of their culture to them. Their daughter Judy took us on a walk and taught us about many things including totems, traditional practices, and close encounters with crocodiles. On one of the days, we had a reflection and we talked about our intentions for the trip. I said that I wanted to remain open to trying new things and that I wanted to have a deeper understanding and appreciation of culture and language to take back to Sydney and to also become a more open and informed person. Looking back, I would like to think I have achieved this after doing things I never thought I would do like eating ants off a tree and plucking up the courage to talk to someone I didn’t know very well about different things. I have been able to tell people at home, experiences and perspectives from Des and Estelle and their family.

One of the most rewarding parts of the immersion was the community project that we helped complete at Yungee. While a couple of us cleaned and painted the house belonging to the family, others helped build a new camp kitchen for the site. It was really great to get hands on and do something for the family as a way of thanking them for letting us stay on their land. One of the best feelings was seeing Estelle and the kids’ faces light up when they saw the new, bright kitchen painted blue.

We said a tearful goodbye to the family at Yungee. Estelle said, ‘if you got your blood and my blood, they would be the same because we are family.’ That was really special and made me think about the connections I had made to this place and these people. It was sad to say goodbye and we didn’t think we would have any room left in our hearts to love the next Homeland as much as we loved Yungee, but we were wrong.

After a beautiful stop at Isabella Falls and a visit to Hopevale Art Centre, we arrived at Loggy crossing to set up the tents again. We met Elders, Dora and Trev and their beautiful granddaughters Nova and Chate. That night they got their guitars and sang us some beautiful songs together which might have to be my favourite memory from the whole trip because of how peaceful and moving it was. It made me think about how grateful I was to be having this experience and how nice it is to be all together. The next morning, we had a Welcome to Country ceremony followed by various fun activities curated by Dora and her daughter Tammy who both have teaching backgrounds. We did things from scavenger hunting to weaving, leaning language, spear making, and frying damper. Through these traditional cultural practices, we got a better understanding of the importance of teaching younger generations these skills, so they won’t be forgotten.

Saying farewell to Dora, Trev and their family was just as hard as before. They were such incredibly easy to talk to people who were more than happy to answer our questions and talk about their experiences. It was sad to know that our journey was coming to an end.

Although there were challenges along the way, (in the form of flooded tents and spreading sickness), spending 10 days in Cape York was one of the most meaningful and rewarding experiences I think I will ever have. I would like to take what I have learnt and contribute to making a change in Australian society by sharing what I have discovered and contributing to the conversation. I feel lucky to have been able to speak to Indigenous Elders in far north Queensland to hear their stories and experiences to work towards reconciliation through education and understanding the importance of culture. I think it’s important to share knowledge in order to break down false stereotypes of Indigenous people that are present today. One of the things I valued the most and miss most now on the Immersion was how we were able to stay present and in the moment and focus on what was happening then, not the future. I hope that I will get the chance to have a similar experience again and that I will revisit the beautiful region of Cape York.

Isobel Murray
Year 10

Reflections from the Top End Immersion

The Top End Immersion was one of the most challenging but rewarding experiences I have ever had. Despite the incredibly hot and tiring days, it was such a worthwhile experience to receive firsthand education on Indigenous culture, spirituality, traditions, and issues. I feel so grateful to have had such meaningful and insightful conversations with the Indigenous people of Nauiyu and Barnatjal, who shared aspects of their lives and culture with us. The immersion really made me aware of the privilege I have and to never take that for granted. It has really forced me to focus on being mindful in my every day and spending more time with my family, after seeing the deep connection the communities had to their families. I discovered how rich their culture and spirit still is, as before witnessing it I had assumed that most of it had faded with the influx of westernisation, but it was beautiful to see their everyday and traditional practices that keep them so connected. Also, the active teaching of their culture to the younger generations was incredible to see – for example, the teaching of the didgeridoo from an Indigenous elder to his son.

One of my biggest takeaways from the trip was the power of having a conversation and sharing these stories that I have experienced and witnessed. That we can make such a difference in our lives just by educating people about these communities and the hardships they face. I believe reconciliation does not have one answer, but a large component is going on with these immersions and actively educating ourselves on Indigenous affairs and how to help. This immersion has made me much more mindful of how I want to help Indigenous Australians in their fight for equality and how that starts with education. I am immensely grateful for this opportunity that I was given, and I know it is an experience that I will take with me through life, as well as making me more mindful in my approach to reconciliation.

Selena Hughes
Year 11

Public Speaking

A huge congratulations to the Primary girls who completed their ASCA Speech exams over the last two weeks. Over 80 girls completed a Speech exam where they presented a prepared speech, answered questions, preformed drama or poetry from memory and read aloud to an audience. We learned how to paint and treat a sprained ankle with year 6, about the history of flight and the Crown Jewels with Year 5, enjoyed holiday recounts and stories with Year 4 and learned about some of the Year 3 girls most prized possessions, to name just a few. The Speech exams are an excellent opportunity for the girls to show the skills they have been developing throughout the year and are always entertaining for the audience.

Thank you to the parents of the girls as well, for helping them prepare and attending as members of the audience, where possible. 

Elizabeth Walsh
Speech and Public Speaking

Australian Air Force Cadets 306SQN

Our girls continued their strong involvement with the Australian Air Force Cadets 306 Squadron this year and have undertaken a wide variety of activities alongside their weekly Friday afternoon parades. This Friday afternoon (24 November) at 4pm 306SQN have their annual Ceremonial Parade at Wiegall Playing Fields if any of the SCEGGS community would like to come and watch.

The cadets have had the opportunity to participate in overnight experiences at Richmond air base, firearms courses (where four SCEGGS cadets qualified on the .22 rifle) as well as promotions courses that have seen promotions to Sargent and Corporal as well as other Bivouacs.

In August this year 306SQN had teams compete in the metropolitan 3 Wings Competition against 14 other squadrons. The teams performed strongly across various subjects (individual drill, flight drill, aircraft recognition, fieldcraft and service knowledge). With some outstanding results achieved in:

Service Knowledge: 306SQN placed 2nd with a team including:

• Simone Turner (Year 11)
• Florence Furness (Year 9)
• Juliette Clark (Year 9)

Aircraft Recognition: 306SQN placed 3rd with a team including:

• Florence Furness (Year 9)
• Juliette Clark (Year 9)
• Madelyn Hung (Year 8)

The Squadron is looking forward to another successful year in 2024 and is always keen for new recruits.

Craig Beckett
Commanding Officer 306SQN
Australian Air Force Cadets

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 11 December – Tuesday 30 January 2024, with school returning on Wednesday 31st January 2024.  We are excited to announce that the Vacation Care Program is now open to all girls and boys enrolled in any Primary School for 2024.

The vacation care program for this summer has a wonderful variety of excursions, incursions and exciting in-house days at the centre for everyone 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 if you are a new family joining SCEGGS, you will be required to fill out enrolment documentation prior to booking. This can be accessed via this link.

Please reach out if you have any inquiries about Vacation Care, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Adam Mawardi
After School Care Co-Ordinator

Parents’ and Friends’ Association

An Invitation to SCEGGS Community From Yirranma Place

Dear Community of SCEGGS,

Please join us at Yirranma Place – Sydney’s precinct with social purpose at its heart.

Due to popular demand, the Yirranma Place Community Open Day is back again in 2023. With an array of activities for children and adults, this free event has something for everyone.

We welcome you to explore this historic building which has been reimagined for social purpose, and engage with resident organisations to learn more about their impact.

There are too many great things happening to list in one email so please visit the website to read about everything we have planned. 

Ground Floor Activities, including:

• Delicious treats served throughout the building all day
• Christmas carols on the heritage organ
• Tours of the art collection – led by curators Barbara Flynn and Hannah Donnelly
• ‘In Conversation’ with Yirranma Place tenants
• Social Enterprise Christmas Market
• Christmas bauble decorating – in support of CaringKids
• Two Good Cafe open all day, and a Two Good x Messina Gelato pop-up (FREE gelato!)

Family-Friendly Space on Level 2, including:

• all day face painting
• all day plaster master
• all day slime-making class
• 10.15am: Feature Creature Reptile Show
• 11.45 am: weaving workshop with Awabakal artist Shellie Smith

Yirranma Place Community Open Day

Saturday, 2 December 2023
10 am – 1 pm

Yirranma Place

262 Liverpool Street
Darlinghurst

Visit the Event Website