From Ms Allum

What an amazing 10 weeks we have had this term! Over the many occasions our school community has come together including the Foundation Day Assembly, NAIDOC Week celebrations, the Festival on Forbes, exhibitions, performances, social gatherings, Old Girl reunions and lots of other events and celebrations, the simple joy of being together has resonated so strongly with me and I hope for everyone else too!

While for most students and families today is another last day of term, for our Year 12 students, today marks the end of their school journey. And, although their formal schooling has come to an end, they will always be a part of SCEGGS; long after that final school bell has rung, long after that final HSC exam has been sat, long after they pin their school badge on their tunic one last time, the Class of 2022 will forever be part of the SCEGGS family.

And so, to the Class of 2022, I wish you well as you embark on your final exam preparations. Be confident in the work that you have done to get you here today. Be assured that your teachers are here to support you all the way through. Know that we are all so proud of you!

May the spring holidays provide everyone an opportunity to rejuvenate, renew and reenergise.

Best wishes

Jenny Allum
Head of School

From the Chaplain

Considering Community

The SCEGGS Podcast “Walk The Mile” Episode 27: Creating a community within a community

We use the word “community” a lot at school and it is often used to describe the collective mass and its character. But what do we actually mean when we use the word and how do we know we have got one? This week’s episode is a conversation with our Alumni Relations Officer, Michelle Kadi. We talk about the need for true community, how to build it and why it is important to the survival of the planet. I hope you enjoy the discussion.

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.

Weekly Food Drive for the Marginalised of East Sydney

Something that has always been important to the SCEGGS culture is looking outside of our own community to those less fortunate outside of our walls. We have good relationships with many of the local welfare organisations and have been able to support their work in a variety of ways. This term I asked for families and individuals to volunteer their time and resources to make meals for the homeless and disadvantaged that attend Rough Edges Community Centre, located in Victoria St Darlinghurst. I asked if people could make meals to feed about 5 or 6 people on a Monday night, deliver it to me on a Monday morning and to be on a rotating roster where each provider should only need to make something once or twice a term. With about 12 providers each week it means that Rough Edges has enough meals to feed their clientele that evening. The response has been incredible!! We now have over 80 providers from all year groups within the school. We have had a wide range of meals being made, from lamb shanks to curries, lasagnas and vegetarian soups, brownies and fruit salads. A massive thank you to all of those people who have been involved and are so willing and enthusiastic to keep on giving. There is always room for more volunteers so if you would like to be part of this great initiative or want to find out more please let me know. By providing for another community we build our community.

Farewell Class of 2022!

Its always sad to say goodbye to part of our community and especially as our current Year 12s finish their regular school life with us today. They have been a great bunch of people and it has been a pleasure to get to know them over many years. Wishing them all the best for whatever comes their way in the future.

Rev. Garry Lee-Lindsay
School Chaplain

From the Primary School

Primary Music

Stage 3 Concert 15 September 2022

Stage 3 have been lucky to perform at a number of events this Term. We started with Year 6 performing at the IPSHA performing Arts Festival at the Town Hall, and then one week later, produced the Stage 3 Concert. Every Year 5 and 6 class presented a showcase item and the Year Choirs sang three pieces. I am grateful to the students for presenting such a truly beautiful night – each child sparkled with happiness and were filled with the joy of making music.

For 6 weeks this term, each class “workshopped” their own item. I asked any student who played an instrument to bring it along each lesson as we devised our item. Varied standards of musical ability were catered for, and I was motivated to bring a valid and positive musical experience to each girl in my classes. I found this process encouraged students to develop their own intrinsic motivation to compose, practise and shine in performance.

Year 5

5W presented two pieces with a jazz-groove underlying the simple melody of an African-American children’s song “Green Sally Up”. 5R  merged it with the well-known “Happy” by Pharrell Williams to give it a modern flavour. I was extremely impressed by the efforts of each student, as they created their own parts, added improvisation and blues notes to the piece. A special mention to Olivia Flanagan and Angelina Wang for their exceptional solo roles.

Year 6

6P devised a medley of Beethoven classics including the well-known pieces, “Ode to Joy”, “Symphony Number 5”, and “Fur Elise”. They then composed a rhythmic and melodic sample of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” for a bit of fun, with a stunning solo by Coco Shelmerdine.

6T presented a medley of music by Vivaldi. Vivaldi was a Baroque composer, teacher and violinist. He especially wrote pieces for a girls school in Venice, which provided exceptional music education for orphaned girls. 6T developed a piece using Vivaldi’s music in their own style – but we wanted to relate his music to the present, so we found a song that included similar melodic patterns to the Vivaldi melodies, using the popular “As it Was” by Harry Styles to finish.

During the year, many students in Stage 3 have taken part in our Eisteddfod and Musicale concerts. Four girls were chosen to represent our musical skill. Lily-Mae Cook (Flute), Elizabeth Teoh (Cello), Olivia Plavsic (Piano) and Lilly Zadgan (Voice) entertained us with exceptional solo items.

Joining us were the exceptional String Octet ands Percussion students who performed “Eye of the Soundstorm”. It was written especially for SCEGGS by the young Australian composer, Alice Chance, and the girls were tutored by Mrs Anne Sweeney, Ms Jayne Groves, Ms Allison Harrigan and Ms Bronwyn Cleworth. The piece depicts our school located in the middle of a bustling, noisy city. We are a haven for learning and growing together at SCEGGS. Last week, Year 6 also performed this piece at the Sydney Town Hall for the IPSHA Performing Arts Festival.

The Ukulele Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble and Cantare Choir also performed, with our staff supporting throughout the concert. A special thanks to Ms Jayne Groves, Mr Neal Sutherland, Ms Allison Harrigan, Mrs Anne Sweeney, Ms Stephanie Holmes for their musical expertise. Thank you to our class teachers, and Primary Executive for their support and backstage assistance.

The skills and lessons from creative pursuit serves us in life in all sorts of ways beyond music – teamwork, perseverance, overcoming adversity, celebrating each others’ successes and most importantly…that the show must go on! I am sure that the Stage 3 girls will remember this concert and use these skills regularly in their lives beyond the music classroom in the months and years to come.

Lanneke Jones
Music Teacher

Farewell Year 12

Our Primary School students took the opportunity to farewell some of our Year 12 students who themselves had been at SCEGGS since Primary School. From all of us in the Primary School “Goodbye and Good Luck Year 12 – we will miss you!”

Helen Dempsey
Head of Primary

Wingara Student Workshop

On Monday September 12, six students from Years 8, 9 and 10 accepted an invitation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to attend an AIS Wingara workshop on Voice, Self-Determination and Leadership: Building Aspirations for my Future. It was held at Western Sydney University. During the day there were sessions on cultural identity, leadership and the future (with specific emphasis on University possibilities and opportunities).

What did we think of the day?

This event was a great way to get to know more about our culture and get to know other people’s stories, ideas, and culture. We were given a warm welcome from Uncle Greg, who shared a lot of his background with us. Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander students from all over NSW attended this event and we got to learn more about Leadership, Culture, post-School, and we had a tour around Western Sydney University.
Naylise Thompson (Year 9)

It was a very informative and fun experience. We got to do many different activities with other schools. One activity I enjoyed was a sticky note writing activity where we considered what it meant to be Aboriginal. We came to the realisation that we do not all fit one stereotype; being Aboriginal is in our blood. I also liked the culture talk where we shared where we’re from and the stories we can learn to connect with our culture. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience – also because we learned about the different opportunities we can have at the university. It was great to meet people who are from my Country. I also enjoyed being able to be with my cousin for the day and reconnect with her!
Ebony Colliss (Year 9)

It was a really fun day, where I enjoyed meeting other Indigenous students from different schools and doing activities with them. I also enjoyed getting to learn more about my culture.
Cyndell McDonald Georgetown (Year 8)

I enjoyed learning about different people and their cultures. I wish we did have more time to really socialise with the other students but overall, I’m excited to go again.
Taliah Weldon-Coppell (Year 8)

A big thanks to Ms Allum, Ms Connolly, Ms Grattan-Smith, and Ms Kearney for giving us the opportunity to go out for the day and learn more about our culture. 

Ashaa Bonner, Jade Brennan, Ebony Colliss, Cyndell McDonald Georgetown, Naylise Thompson, Taliah Weldon-Coppell

Year 8 Camp

In Week 7, Year 8 embarked on their 3-day camp to Biloela with the Outdoor Education Group (OEG). Upon arrival to school, we were delighted to be gifted home-made lolly bags from Year 11s, as part of the Sister-to-Sister program. There were handwritten notes in these bags which had advice and their own camp experiences to guide us for the next few days ahead. With this we boarded the buses and started our camp journey. 

When we finally arrived, we were greeted by the OEG staff/camp leaders and instructed on what our activities and days would look like. In our groups we had to divide the camp equipment evenly and began hiking to our first activities. The hiking had many challenging aspects such as reading maps for directions, scaling up and down large mountains and carrying heavy hiking bags full of equipment. 

Many activities came with their own difficulties and created incredible memories of the hardships they included. We took part in activities such as abseiling, canoeing, mountain biking and initiatives. Our camp instructors taught us about the valuable safety measures and gave us the opportunity to scale down 3 metre through to 12 metre cliffs. This challenged those who had fears of heights which they overcame with the positive encouragement from group members. While canoeing we had the opportunity to play games like world domination and tip while testing our new knowledge on properly steering a canoe. One of the challenges we attempted was paddling against rapids to make it to the opposite side of the lake. This came with many difficulties because to succeed we had to communicate with our partner to keep our stability and to make it to the other side. With mountain biking we were given many different options and trails based on our confidence in bike riding. Some took larger risks going on harder tracks which were steep and narrow. We also had the option to challenge ourselves by attempting to ride across wooden planks of different widths.

During our first night at camp, we stayed in our two-levelled ecofriendly cabins. This was where we had our first meal. For each meal we alternated roles for who prepared, cooked, and made the fire. Various jobs were needed to produce the dishes such as chopping vegetables, rehydrating the meat and at the end we all came together to clean up. Before we went to sleep, we had the pleasure to sit along a campfire and look back on the challenges and achievements of the day. This first night was a great experience and reflecting underneath the clear starry night was a perfect end to the busy day. 

On the second day, we hiked down a large rocky mountain into the valley which was our second sleeping area. This area was where we had most of our activities, where the valley consisted of an extended lake intertwined amongst the forest and intricate trails that snaked against the mountain. A difficult team building experience was setting up our tents, as we were given little instruction and left to work with each other to construct our tents. Before we were set to sleep in our tents we combined with other groups and sat around a campfire to take part in a karaoke game to win marshmallows.

During this Camp, Year 8 went through many difficulties and challenging moments that completely tested us. We found throughout this camp that being surrounded by encouraging teachers, group leaders and friends made us push ourselves and create unforgettable memories. A huge thank you to the SCEGGS Staff who accompanied us and made this incredible camp possible! A big thank you as well to Ms Thompson for all her organisation behind the scenes.

Yolanda Liu and Stella Wilson

Years 7 and 8 “Father”/Daughter Breakfast

Week 1 Term 4

All Years 7 & 8 students and their “fathers” are invited to join the special guest speaker, Ms Audrey Lazaris (Class of 2010) for breakfast in the SCEGGS Great Hall. Please note, the date of this event has changed to Friday 14 October, which is at the end of the first week of Term 4.

Currently the Services Manager at the NSW and ACT Youth Cancer Service, Audrey Lazaris (2010) has built a career in public health management, facing some difficult challenges in recent years.

Prior to the pandemic, Audrey worked overseas for 3 years in management roles for the National Health Service in London, and for the World Health Organisation in Copenhagen and Moscow and is proud to have contributed to the publication of a Report on Prison Health in Europe, a first of its kind.

Having graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Sydney in 2014, Audrey then achieved a Master of Health Administration from La Trobe University in 2016. She also recently attained a Graduate Certificate in Adolescent Health from the University of Melbourne.

To hear more about Audrey’s commitment to health equality and her experiences since leaving SCEGGS, join us at the Years 7 & 8 Father/Daughter Breakfast on Friday 14 October, book your tickets here.

Visual Arts

This week’s banner is is from Romy Burke.

Howard Tanner Drawing Prize

A reminder that submissions for the Howard Tanner Drawing Prize are due on the first Friday back of Term 4.

The Howard Tanner is a SCEGGS special award for Drawing. It is presented on Speech Night by Ms Allum.

We encourage all art students to submit work in any drawing media on any subject and on any scale. You can select drawings from classwork or create drawings at home using the skills learnt in art classes or the SCEGGS co – curricular drawing class with Lilli Stromland.

Eligible entrants are students from Years, 9, 10 and 11 and Year 7 and 8 students who attend co-curricular Drawing classes here at SCEGGS.

An exhibition of submitted drawings will be displayed at School in Term 4.

As it is an award for observational drawing it does not include manga or cartoon imagery.

You can hand in up to 3 drawings to Ms Jackson in the art staffroom at any time by the first Friday of Term 4, 14 October by 9.00am.

Please make sure your name and your year is clearly marked on the back of your work. Have fun Drawing!

Student Works

Congratulations to Romy Burke whose artwork has been selected to become part of the School’s HSC Graduate Collection, the Katrina Collins Collection. Romy made a range of dynamic, abstract sculptures and expanded her investigations in documented forms of these which reiterated the delicacy and energy of her 3 dimensional works. An except of her work is this week’s banner. We will love contemplating and considering this work in perpetuity, in and amongst the existing collection.

School Holiday Workshops at Woollahra Gallery, Redleaf

Don’t forget to check out the SCEGGS girls in the Youth Photographic Award & Short Film Prize while you are there!

Happy holidays everyone! We hope you get to go to lots of galleries and museums during your break, make some art and enjoy some creative time.

Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts

Music Matters

Stage 3 Concert

Congratulations to all Stage 3 students who performed in the concert last Thursday 15 September in the Great Hall.  The concert featured The Eye of the Soundstorm by Alice Chance and was a work that was the featured item at last Tuesday’s IPSHA concert in the Town Hall.  Other items by students, small ensembles, Stage 3 choir and Cantare were also featured in a musical celebration of the students.  See the Primary Music item elsewhere in this edition for further details. Thank you to Ms Laura Tennant, Ms Cassie Rogers, Ms Kristy Williams and members of the primary team who assisted.  Thank you also to members of the Music staff Mrs Bronwyn Cleworth, Mrs Anne Sweeney, Ms Stephanie Holmes and Miss Allison Harrigan for their support through the process.  Many thanks to Ms Lanneke Jones for her musical vision to showcase the many musical talents in our Stage 3 students.  Well done everyone!

Year 12 Farewell Service – Madrigal Ensemble

Congratulations to members of the Madrigal Ensemble who performed at the Year 12 Farewell Service on Sunday 18 September.  The students sang the favourite hymns as voted by the Year 12s and pieces including Cantique by Jean Racine by Gabriel Faure.  Special thank you to Miss Allison Harrigan for her preparation and direction of the performance.  Thank you also to Mr Kurt Ison for his accompaniment for the service. 

Well done Madrigal Ensemble!

Chamber Strings’ and Bugles’ Performance at Primary Final Assembly

Congratulations to members of Chamber Strings and Bugles with their performance at the final primary assembly on Monday 19 September.  The primary school were treated to performances by both ensembles.  Chamber Strings performed Boogie Fever by Loreta Fin with a specially arranged drum part performed by Annabelle Dempsey. Bugles performed the band’s favourite, Rolling in the Deep by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth, arranged by Robert Longfield.

Well done to both ensembles!

EXTENDED to Term 4: Invitation for Music Captain and Committee Members Application

Inviting all Music Elective or Co-Curricular Music students in Years 10 and 11 to apply for positions of Music Committee or 2023 Music Captain.  The application can be accessed here.

Applications are due Term 4 Week 1 – Monday 10 October 3.30pm

Pauline Chow
Head of Music

Primary Sport News

Athletics News

Congratulations to Ava Pepper (Year 5), Stasia Serafin (Year 3) and Beatrice Emanuel (Year 3), who represented SCEGGS at the CIS Primary Athletics Carnival on Tuesday 20 September. All three girls should be extremely proud of their efforts against some tough competition.

With some amazing results on the day, Ava (11 Years Girls) has been selected to represent the CIS as a part of the Primary Athletics Team in the 100m and 200m, finishing 3rd in both races, respectively. Stasia finished 4th in the 100m final and has been nominated as a reserve for the 8 years 100m.

Well done to all three girls who have trained hard in the lead-up to the carnival and gave it their all on the day.

Blackmores Sydney Running Festival

Well done to all the girls involved in the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival on Sunday 18 September. It was great to see some girls and their families take part in such a huge event.

Congratulations to the following girls who ran in the 3.5km fun run racing against nearly 6000 participants!

• Annabelle Jessup (Year 6) – 13th overall
• Beatrice Emanuel (Year 3) – 48th overall
• Bonnie Turnbull (Year 5) – 230th overall
• Scarlett Jessup (Year 2) – 655th overall

What a great effort from our girls!

Holiday Clinics

Tennis

SCEGGS’s Exclusive Tennis Coaches Justin and Vince are hosting a SCEGGS JUNIOR SCHOOL ONLY tennis program this upcoming school holidays.

All standards are welcome and programmed for: Beginners, Intermediate and Frequent Players.

What to expect through both days :

1.       4 Basic Stroke Techniques – Serve, Forehand, Backhand, Volley
2.     Interactive Tennis Drills
3.     Tennis Scoring System
4.     Fun and Fitness Games

Justin and Vince are the long-time and current coaches of the SCEGGS Tildesely Tennis Team and run certain PE tennis classes for SCEGGS junior school.

Please take a look at the attachment here and feel free to contact us if you have any questions/inquiries.

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

Term 4 Touch Trials & Training

All students are to check their emails sent from Ms Thompson regarding Touch Trial for next term.

IGSA Grand Finals

Congratulations to all teams who made finals last weekend

NSWCIS Athletics

Congratulations to the following students who represented the IGSA Athletics Team that competed at the NSWCIS Athletics Championships on Tuesday.

A special thank you to Ms Axford who was one of the IGSA Athletics Managers for the day.

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. 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

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 are announced during the final week of Term 3. Students with previous awards not yet embroidered can also leave their blazers at this time.

Blazers may be left at Student Services until 1.00pm on Monday 26 September. 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

Go Greener

Waste

“There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere.”

These words were spoken by Annie Leonard who is best known as the creator and narrator of the animated documentary film The story of stuff . This documentary looked at the hidden environmental and social costs or our consumer driven culture.  Since then, she has gone on to be an executive director of Greenpeace US and has spent decades working on international sustainable and environmental issues. The Story of Stuff Project website continues to provide videos about what happens to ‘the stuff’ we consume.

When we throw something “away” this often ends up in landfill. Below are a few suggestions on how to reduce your landfill at home:

• Do a waste audit of your bin. Take notice of any parts of the waste which could be recycled or composted.
• Label the bins inside you house so that you can get the whole family involved in sorting the waste correctly. E.g. paper, soft plastic, landfill, compost etc.
• Think about what you consume. Are there ways you could reduce your packaging so there is less to dispose of. Avoid purchasing single use items.
• Instead of putting things out in the council clean up, see if you can give it away or sell on line.

At school we have put new labels on the top of our bins to make it easier for our community to sort their waste and hopefully reduce the amount SCEGGS send to landfill.

Remember we are all activists in our own small way as we make changes each day to help the planet.

Sue Zipfinger
Sustainability Coordinator

Parents’ and Friends’ Association

P&F Term 4 Meeting – Panel Discussion on Emotionally Intelligent Parenting

Join us for an insightful discussion on Emotionally Intelligent Parenting  on Tuesday 15 November at 7.00pm in the Lecture Theatre.

Our Director of Student Wellbeing Laura Connolly and two of our School Counsellors, Janet McEwen and Olivia Whelan, will lead a dynamic discussion that will resonate with all parents and carers of pre-teens and teenagers. Discussion and topics will include research and strategies for communicating with, understanding and helping your children to manage their emotions, plus there will be an opportunity for Q&A at the end.

This event is free of charge, but for catering purposes, an RSVP is greatly appreciated!

Class Parent Events