From Ms Allum

It is with great sadness I share the news with you that our former PDHPE teacher, Sue Phillips, passed away over the weekend. Sue proudly served the SCEGGS community for over 30 years, including as the Co-ordinator of Physical Education, Indigenous Liaison Student Co-ordinator, PDHPE teacher and Primary Sports Co-ordinator.

Sue was an inspiring woman, full of fun and vitality, committed to education, to nurturing and encouraging her students and to living a full life. Her colleagues describe her as being kind and caring, as someone possessing inner-strength and dignity and being a fierce role model.

Upon the announcement of her retirement at the end of 2021, Director of Sport Alison Gowan wrote in Behind the Green Gate, “Sue will be remembered for her passion for teaching, as a strong advocate for girls’ education, social justice and always putting the students first. Sue ensured that the experiences she provided for the students, either in the classroom or on the sporting field, gave them the opportunity to achieve their best and to value movement in all aspects of their lives.”

We are all forever grateful for all that Sue did for this community: the students, the parents and her colleagues and we are the better for knowing her. Here are a few photos in memory of Sue:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28)

Jenny Allum
Head of School

COVID Updates

In accordance with the latest changes to the isolation rules in NSW, there have also been some changes for schools in relation to the isolation guidelines for students.

Revised isolation guidelines for students

If a student is a household contact of a positive case, the student must:

• Follow the self-isolation guidelines and self-isolate for 7 days from the time the first COVID-positive person in the household had their test.
• Have a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) as soon as possible and again on Day 6. Have an additional RAT if symptoms develop.
• If all tests are negative and the student has no symptoms, they can leave isolation and return to school after 7 days.

Students no longer need to repeat or restart the isolation if another person in the household tests positive in the 14 days after this initial isolation period ends (ie Day 8 to Day 21 after the first person tests positive).

If another person in the household tests positive for COVID-19 more than 14 days after the initial isolation period ends (ie more than 21 days after the first positive case in the household), the student will have to isolate again for an additional 7 days.

What if the student has recently had COVID-19, but since recovered?
People who have recovered from COVID-19 have a low risk of getting it again in the eight weeks after you are released as most people develop some immunity. If a student who has had COVID-19 within the last eight weeks comes into contact with COVID-19 in their household again, the student is not required to self-isolate.

RAHTS

Surveillance testing remains an important tool for the School, so I would like to continue the twice-weekly testing regime for next week again too. So please do give your daughters a RAHT test on Monday and Wednesday, as this is an important tool in catching instances of the virus before it comes into the School itself and is a really important process to try to keep everyone safe until the end of term.

It is important to make sure that you follow the instructions carefully for any RAHT test that you have, but in particular, the requirement to not have ANY food or drinks for 30 mins prior to using a saliva test. This is the key to ensuring that these tests are at their maximum effectiveness.

Ongoing Monitoring

Staff and students cannot attend school if they are showing any symptoms of COVID-19. If symptoms occur at any time, your daughter should not attend school and should undertake a rapid antigen test. If she does develop some symptoms, even if she tests negative on a RAHT, please keep her home for 24 hours and then test again.

It is important to remember that no RAHT is perfect! The brands that the NSW Government has provided to us to distribute to the students have all been rated by the TGA at the “very high sensitivity” level. This rating level indicates that the tests should catch 95% of the positive cases that would be caught by a PCR test if they are used in accordance with the instructions – but this does still mean that 5% of cases may be missed. So, if your daughter has symptoms, does feel unwell and has tested negative on two RAHTs over the 24-hour period, parents/carers may want to consider obtaining a PCR test to understand whether the illness is COVID-19 or something else.

As circumstances and guidelines continue to evolve throughout the pandemic, I want to reiterate how grateful I am of the supportive, kind and empathetic community of SCEGGS and for everyone’s ongoing commitment to keeping us all safe!

Jenny Allum
Head of School

Thinking Allowed – Teachers as Researchers

In this edition of Thinking Allowed, our Deputy Head of Primary (Teaching and Learning), Cristi Wilsmore, shares two experiences of “teachers as researchers”: the first being a Research to Practice Program that is underway in the Primary School and the second is her own experience as a PhD candidate.

Aspiring to be the best educators we can be requires a commitment to high-quality, sustained professional learning. Teachers engaging in educational research as professional learning has grown in popularity in recent years. This can include teachers reading academic literature, conducting their own informal forms of research within the school context, taking part in research partnerships with universities or initiating their own academic research through university-based post-graduate programs.

With the central goal of education being to help students to learn well, teachers engage in professional development to continually refine their own teaching practices as they work towards improving the learning outcomes of all students. There is a diverse range of professional development opportunities that teachers can participate in. These include activities such as conversations with colleagues, lesson observations, participation in professional networks, mentor partnerships, and attendance at conferences and workshops. As the academic field of educational research has continued to grow in the past 20 years, so too has teachers’ interests in learning more about evidence-based teaching practices, and it has become increasingly common for teachers to read, use, and engage directly with educational research. However, the direct translation of educational research to the classroom comes with some limitations. While the studies conducted might be of a high academic quality, the research typically takes place in a unique educational setting involving teachers and students who themselves are also unique. Therefore, it can be difficult for educators to directly apply generalisations from research and to transfer findings across different school contexts. In working around this limitation and in exploring the academic evidence of “what works”, teachers can take this “evidence-base” and combine this knowledge with their own experience and professional judgement to inform their teaching practices in the context of their own classroom. This evidence-informed practice becomes an essential component of high-quality teaching as schools work towards enhancing academic and educational excellence.  

The Primary School has recently engaged in a Research to Practice Program facilitated by the Association of Independent Schools NSW. Through this program, our Primary School teachers are taking on the role of “teacher researchers” as they look towards investigating evidence-based practices in two specific areas:

1. in the teaching of reading and writing in Years 3-6
2. in play-based, inquiry learning in Kindergarten – Year 2.

Involving ourselves in the Research to Practice Program provides us the opportunity to engage directly with educational research, to explore current research evidence and to use this knowledge to inform our own teaching practices in the context of the Primary School.

The Research to Practice Program utilises a research approach called the “Spiral of Inquiry” over an 18-month period. The process of inquiry includes six distinct phases including: scanning, focusing, developing a hunch, learning, taking action and checking. At the time of writing, we are currently engaged in the scanning phase. With students sitting at the centre of the “Spiral of Inquiry”, the scanning phase is all about gathering as much information about the girls’ learning experiences as we can and finding out what is happening for our girls as learners. Some of the scanning tools we are using include teacher and student surveys, work samples, student focus groups and whole class discussions around specifically designed questions. Having scanned a lot of information, many ideas will have emerged through this intensive process. The focusing phase requires teachers to sort through this information with a critical eye to select one specific issue to be the focus of the in-depth inquiry. Once a specific area of focus has been identified, teachers work towards developing a hunch about what might be contributing to the situation by brainstorming all possible reasons and ideas.

The aim of this phase is to expose all possible assumptions and to challenge any long-held beliefs or practices. Following this, teachers move into the learning phase where they identify what they need to learn to do things differently in relation to the area of focus. This includes things such as reading academic literature and seeking expertise within the school or broader education community with the purpose being to build skills and knowledge.

Through the taking action phase, teachers then use their new knowledge and skills to refine and change their teaching practices. The checking phase enables teachers to gather information about the impact of their changed practice and to critically assess if changes in practice are positively impacting student learning. The final three phases (learning, taking action and checking) often form a mini spiral as teachers continue to refine and improve practices and assess the impact of these.

Participating in the Research to Practice Program encourages teachers to adopt a reflective and evaluative mindset as they question their impact, seek evidence, embrace further learning, and remain curious about what is happening for the learners in their classroom. Through our involvement in this rigorous form of school-based research, we aim to bridge the gap between evidence-based research findings and what is happening in the classroom to support high-quality teaching and optimise the learning outcomes for our girls. Being an active member of a learning community is a key benefit of this form of research for our teachers as they engage in a collective professional learning journey that is both relevant and purposeful for our SCEGGS community.

Professional learning that sees educators engage in academic research can help build a broader and deeper knowledge-base in the field of educational research. In 2018, I began the journey of completing a Doctor of Philosophy (Education) with the School of Education at Western Sydney University. Leading me to the decision to embark on an academic pathway was my intense interest in Mathematics Education. I was curious about the mathematics classroom, the way girls engage in mathematics learning, the beliefs teachers hold about mathematics learning, and the teaching practices and strategies used by primary mathematics teachers. SCEGGS supported my access to rich professional development across many areas of teaching, including mathematics education, but there were questions and wonderings that remained unanswered, and it felt right for me to take the leap and try to find a solution to these through an academic study.

Unlike our Research to Practice project that is a collaborative, team-based endeavour, venturing into the world of academic research as a true novice can be a lonely journey. I’m ever mindful that my contribution to educational research is a drop in the ocean. The very premise of academic research is to find a gap, an unanswered question, and to work towards bridging the gap between what we know and what we don’t know.

So, what is it like to be a “teacher researcher”? I talk to the girls frequently about the Learning Pit analogy – that to learn something new, you must take a risk to dive into the unknown, to struggle with challenging ideas and concepts, to make mistakes and to work hard to find solutions to unfamiliar problems. As an adult learner and “teacher researcher”, I am firmly at the bottom of the Pit! Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get out with the answer to my research question in hand! I certainly have an appreciation for the research process and the rigour that it requires. Being a practising teacher, I bring a perspective to the research process that I know is valued by the academics that I work with. And in turn, they continue to challenge my analytical and critical thinking skills. In conducting my data collection at another school, I also feel I am contributing to those teachers’ professional learning, building stronger connections within our teaching profession and modelling to other teachers that they too can make meaningful contributions to educational research.

Students lie at the heart of everything we do as teachers. We are a profession focused on improving the learning outcomes for all students. Ensuring that we are working to be the best educators we can be requires a continual process of professional development. As the well-regarded educational researcher, Dylan Wiliam says, “every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better”. Educators engaging in research is one impactful form of professional learning that all teachers would benefit from adding to their repertoire.

Cristi Wilsmore
Deputy Head of Primary (Teaching and Learning)

From the Chaplain

Easter Services                                                                                               

Jenny Allum and I would like to invite you to this year’s Easter Festival on Thursday 7 April, starting at 7:00pm in the Great Hall. This is always a wonderful event which focuses on the meaning and significance of Easter, with readings, prayer and music provided by the School Choir, the Madrigal Ensemble, Cantare (Year 4), The Years 5 & 6 Choir and the Amati String Ensemble. The following day the whole school will be involved in our Easter Service. At both services, a collection will be taken to support Rough Edges Community Centre, a local organisation which addresses the needs of our city’s hungry and disadvantaged. Students have been asked to bring a monetary donation to go towards their form class’s Lenten offertory in support of this cause. We look forward to welcoming many parents to this special service at this very special time of the year.

Two new lunchtime groups!

For several years, SCEGGS has offered the opportunity for students to get together at lunchtime to discuss issues related to religion, God and the Christian faith. We have two new groups starting this term which are open to all students regardless of what type of faith background they might come from or if they don’t know what they believe. It’s a place to ask questions and explore some of those things we all think about. Both groups are run by Miss Jennifer Coleby, one of our Religious Education teachers. “Glow” is the group in the Primary School for Years 4 to 6. It will happen every Monday at lunchtime in the 5W classroom. “Eunoia” is the group for all students in Years 7 to 12 and will be held every Friday in my office. The word “Eunoia” comes from the Ancient Greek and means “a well mind, spiritual thinking”. It is a relaxed space to ask deeper questions about God, life, everything. Please let me or Miss Coleby know if you have any questions.

Rev Garry Lee-Lindsay
School Chaplain

Winter Uniform Now Available to Purchase

The winter uniform will be available for purchase from the School Shop this week.

Week one of Term 2 is the transition week whereby the summer or the winter uniform can be worn. If a full uniform fitting for your child is required, it is advisable to make an appointment. The best available times for full service are between 9.00am-12.00pm Monday to Friday.

We will be closed during the school holidays and re-open Wednesday 27 April 2022.

Students who are new to SCEGGS will be required to purchase long sleeved shirts, a winter tunic, long navy socks and/or tights and a tie if you are in Years 3-12. The blazer can be purchased in time for the photography days in Week 6 of Term 2. Year 3 Primary students are to transition into a collared striped shirt, a tie and an unbelted tunic.

For those who prefer to wear trousers, we offer a tailored wool blend trouser. Primary students can wear these with the primary striped blouse. Secondary students who choose this option are to wear the trousers with a navy striped blouse as well.

A tie is not required to be worn if you choose to wear the trousers. Outside of school in public spaces, this option is to be worn with either the school cardigan or blazer as it displays the school crest.

We also have good quality second hand uniforms available for purchase.I look forward to helping you with your winter uniform needs.

Clare Reid
School Shop Manager

From the Primary School

On Monday 28 March, we will welcome Dr Kristy Goodwin, a digital parenting educator and author, to SCEGGS, to host the information session: “Kids, Teens, and Screens”. Dr. Kristy has presented onsite and worked with our girls many times and bringing a wealth of experience and current research.

The evening will run from 6.30pm – 8.00pm in the Lecture Theatre and all K-6 parents are welcome. The Joan Freeman carpark will be open for parking from 6.00pm and will close promptly at 8.30pm. The entry of the car park is located on St Peters Street which can be accessed via Forbes Street.

During this presentation Dr Kristy will explore:

• Why children and teens are susceptible to potential pitfalls online given their brain development
• Why the online world is appealing to children and adolescents (there’s science to explain their digital infatuation and “techno-tantrums”)
• A simple and realistic formula to determine healthy screentime limits for children and teens
• The five vital digital boundaries parents must establish to ensure their children and teens develop healthy digital behaviours
• The current risks facing kids and teens in the online world and simple solutions to mitigate these
• Why digital disconnection is critical for your child’s physical health and mental wellbeing.

Although there is no cost involved, we ask that you RSVP to this session by clicking on this link and entering your details by Friday 25 March.

Helen Dempsey
Head of Primary 

Tuning in to Teens™: Parenting Program

Emotionally Intelligent parenting                                                                       

Parents of students in Years 6 and 7 are invited to take part in a six-week parenting program, Tuning in to Teens, that aims to help you and your daughter manage the many emotional challenges of adolescence. The program will teach you how to manage your own and your adolescent’s emotions in ways that help you to remain close and keep communicating. By learning these skills, you are likely to be able to reduce conflict within your family and your teen is more likely to talk to you about the challenging issues they face. These are factors that have been found to reduce the risk of mental health emotional problems.

What is Emotional intelligence?

The program is based on the concept of Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is about using your emotions to guide you through the world. It is about being able to use your own knowledge of emotions to make decisions, to calm yourself down, to manage anger and conflict, to help you in your relationships with people, to know what is happening in social situations, and to assist you in many aspects of life where you or another person are involved.

Why is Emotional Intelligence important?

Research has shown that adolescents with greater emotional intelligence:

• are more aware, assertive and strong in situations of peer pressure
• have greater success with making friends and are more able to manage conflict with peers
• are more able to cope when upset or angry
• have fewer mental health and emotional difficulties
• have more stable and satisfying relationships as adults
• have greater career success ~ Emotional Intelligence may be a better predictor of academic and career success than IQ!

When parents focus on helping their teen learn about emotions, the young person is more likely to have higher emotional intelligence. In this parenting program we will teach parents what to do to help these skills develop, and in doing so we expect teens to manage adolescence better.

Would you like to find out more?

Years 6 and 7 are important transition periods and over the past couple of years COVID restrictions have interrupted many opportunities normally available for parents to connect with others in the school community.  Here is a great opportunity not only to learn some skills to assist your relationship with your daughter, but also to connect with other parents in a relaxed and comfortable setting.

If you are interested in participating in this parenting program, please send an email to me before Tuesday 26 April.  Olivia Matthews, our K-7 School Counsellor, and I will be facilitating the group, commencing in the third week of Term 2. There will be six two-hour sessions on Wednesday nights from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, by email or phone at school.

Janet McEwen
School Counsellor

Years 7, 8 and 9 Drama Production

The Drama Department are beyond thrilled to bring you our first “live” production of 2022! Tickets will be availble to purchase from Term 1, Week 11.

Visual Arts

This week’s banner is an extract from Annabelle Tremain’s Year 12 Body of Work…

Year 9 Excursion to SH Ervin Gallery

We were thrilled to be able to take Year 9 to visit the exhibition The Natural World last week. Students have been studying sculpture for the past few weeks and it was exciting to be able to view the works of 2 dynamic female practitioners working in bronze welding and contemporary ceramic practice. Bronwyn Oliver and Juz Kitson’s work is connected by their concern for organic forms and the environment.

Students said:

It was great to be able to finally go out and experience the impact of artworks in person.
Zoe Crisafulli

The exhibition was really impressive. I loved the artworks detail and intricate elements that we could examine.
Ottilie Ewington

They were very beautiful in their abstraction.
Ebony Colliss

I really like the shadows that Bronwyn Oliver’s work cast against the gallery wall.
Julia Piazza

Juz Kitson’s work was intriguing and beautiful in real life. I had studied her work for my recent assignment. Being able to see it in real life helped confirm what I had explored and described in my essay.
Mia Butcher

Inner West Young Creative Awards 2022 – Call for entries

The Young Creatives Awards is an annual writing and art competition that provides young people in the Inner West an opportunity to hone their creative skills in a competitive environment, and to have their work seen and published.

The competition is open to young people aged between 12 to 24, who study, work, or live in the Inner West.

The winning entries will be displayed in a dedicated public exhibition, scheduled this year for the first time in Camperdown’s Chrissie Cotter Gallery.

The closing date for submissions is 31 July 2022.

Drawing Workshop with Eliza Gosse

Eliza Gosse our co-curricular painting tutor is running a drawing workshop at the modernist architectural masterpiece, Rose Seidler House, through Sydney Living Museums and the Ku-ring-gai Council Heritage Festival. Students 15 years and older can apply to attend on Saturday 30 April. Capacity is strictly limited so get booking! 

Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts

Music Matters

2022 SCEGGS Eisteddfod Highlights Concerts – Friday 25 March Great Hall

Come and celebrate the musical talents of the 2022 SCEGGS Eisteddfod!  TWO concerts will be held this Friday to celebrate the musical talents in our school community:

• Primary Highlights concert: Friday 25 March at 4:30pm
• Secondary Highlights concert: Friday 25 March at 6.00pm

A variety of awards are made at these concerts:

1. Outstanding Musician of the Primary School/Secondary School
2. Wran Prize for Up and Coming Vocalist (Secondary only)
3. Acknowledgement Awards

We look forward to your attendance at the Highlights Concerts.

Musicale 1 “Of Foreign Lands and Places” – Tuesday 29 March 6pm

You are invited to the Musicale 1 Concert held next Tuesday 6pm 29 March at the Great Hall. 

The theme of the concert is “Of Foreign Lands and Places” where a representation of musical ensembles from the SCEGGS Ensembles program will take you on a musical journey.

The concert will feature the following ensembles:

• Year 7 Choir
• Clarion Band
• Primary Percussion Ensemble
• Chamber Strings
• Bugles Band
• Cantare
• Sinfonietta
• Primary Cello Ensemble
• Contemporary Strings

Pedal Harp – Ilaria Roncolato 

Last week, the Music Department welcomed the arrival of a concert pedal harp!  The harp is a loan instrument from The Scots College, and this was organised for our Year 10 Elective Music student Ilaria Roncolato.  Ilaria has learnt the harp since she was 6 years old and has upgraded to a concert pedal harp. This harp will stay at school so that Ilaria can easily access an instrument for Amati rehearsals as well as class performances.  Thank you to Mrs Anne Sweeney (Director of Strings) and Mr Owen Torr (Harp tutor at The Scots College) to facilitate this loan.  You can hear Ilaria play the pedal harp here.

ARCO – Voyage of Musical Discovery “Design & Innovation”

Year 10 Elective Music and Year 11 Music 2 students attended the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra on Monday 21 March at City Recital Hall.  Students were treated to a performance of Edward Elgar’s “Serenade for Strings” Op. 20 and Gustav Holst’s “Saint Paul’s Suite in C Major” Op. 29 No. 2. 

Students particularly enjoyed the second half of the concert that featured the piano music by prominent Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin.  The program for this part also featured pieces of music that were written as a tribute to eccentric French composer Erik Satie.  After the death of Satie, his friends discovered over 40 unposted love letters that he had written to his first love.  The music that Elena Kats-Chernin composed were inspired by what these letters.

The repertoire from this concert is supporting the Year 10 Elective topic 19^th Century Music (Romantic) and 11 Music 2’s mandatory study of “Music of 1600-1900”.  Students were accompanied by their class teachers Ms Chow and Ms Holmes.

K-2 Assembly Performances

It has been lovely to feature solo musical performers in K-2 Assembly this term. Girls gain valuable such performance skills when they play in front of an appreciative audience in a familiar environment.

Congratulations to the following girls who have played beautifully at the K-2 Assembly this term:

Piano – Olivia Tan, Defne Aslan, Sophia Prodromou, Ivy Zhang, Skye Huilgol

Violin – Ivy Zhang (pictured), Hana Yao, Ava Yusiw

Cello – Georgina Sharp

Pauline Chow
Head of Music

Women In Science

As part of International Women’s Day in the Secondary School, the Science Department held some Women in Science celebrations.  We noted that, according to UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics, less than 30% of the world’s researchers are women and studies have found that women in STEM fields are paid less for their research, publish less and do not progress as far as men in their careers. 

To highlight the amazing contributions that women have made to science, students completed a Kahoot in Form Class that included SCEGGS Old Girls, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women of science and other Australian and internationally recognised women currently working in a broad range of scientific fields such as hair/blood tests for cancer, studying the evolution of galaxies, aerospace engineering and the invention of Kevlar for bullet-proof vests. If you would like to test your knowledge, please feel free to play here.

Over the last week, students have enjoyed showing how they are also Women in Science, taking self-portraits of themselves and pinning them up on a board displayed in the Joan Freeman Science, Art and Technology Centre. This created much laughter and enjoyment as students demonstrated their love for science, and especially for white lab coats and scientific instruments!

The celebrations will be culminating in a Lab Coat Artwork competition, where students can submit artwork designs for lab coats that will be worn (and admired!) by SCEGGS student scientists. If you have any last-minute entries, please submit them ASAP. We will keep you updated on the winners!

Also, a big shout-out to all the Senior Science students who demonstrated excellent leadership skills and helped with organising the events to make them run smoothly.

It has been impressive to see the enthusiasm and learning that has occurred, and it is hoped that celebrations such as this can help to inspire the next generation of women scientists.

Mia Sharma
Science Teacher

Secondary Sport News

East Touch Grand Finals – Saturday March 26

Despite a very rain interrupted Touch season, we have four teams through to the Grand Finals this weekend. Matches are due to be played at the Parade Grounds. Please check the SCEGGSSport Twitter feed in the event of rain. Good luck to everyone playing!

 
Frensham Buses – March 26

Please contact Xanthe Axford to confirm your daughter’s seat on the bus.

Bus 1 to Frensham School (Tennis)

IGSA Tennis SCE01, SCE03, SCE04

• 5:40am Students to meet on Forbes Street
• 5:45am Bus will depart
• Bus will return to SCEGGS approximately 12:00pm

Bus 2 to Frensham School (Softball)

IGSA Softball SCE01

• 6:30am Students to meet on Forbes Street
• 6:35am Bus will depart
• Bus will return to SCEGGS approximately 12:30pm

Students should bring warm clothes and food and drinks. We are unsure if the Frensham Canteen will be operating.

Students must be dressed in SCEGGS Sport clothing only.

Secondary Inter-house Cross Country Carnival – Tuesday March 29

We have re-scheduled the Interhouse Cross Country Carnival to Tuesday March 29 at Queens Park. Everyone is to assemble at 6:45am at the Baronga Ave end with the first race commencing at 7am.

Upcoming Sports Trials for Term 2 Secondary Sport

 IGSA Hockey

Senior Teams – all students (Yr 10/11/12 – including those who would like to be considered for the Senior 1^st)

Junior Teams – all students (Years 8/9 – including those who would like to be considered for the Junior 1^st)

Year 7 Team

Staff Day Final Trial/ Training Session

ALL Students will be required to attend a final trial / training session

Tuesday 26 April at David Phillips Sports Complex. 8:00AM-12:00PM (training timeslot TBC).

Students need to make their own way to and from the venue.

Please see Miss Smith if you are unable to attend any of the trial sessions.

IGSA Netball Trials            

Saturday March 26 – CPSC Moore Park Netball Courts

• 12:30pm – 2:30pm      Year 7+ Juniors (8+9)
• 2:30pm – 4:30pm       Seniors (10,11,12)

Monday March 28 – CPSC Moore Park Netball Courts

• 3:15pm – 5:00pm        Seniors (10,11,12)   and  Juniors (8+9)

Wednesday March 30 – SCEGGS Sports Hall

• 6:40am – 8:00am        Year 7

Please check emails from Miss Styles and Miss Tucker

IGSA Basketball Trials  

Saturday March 26 – CPSC Moore Park Netball Courts

• 12:30pm – 2:30pm      Juniors (8+9)
• 2:30pm – 4:00pm       Seniors (10,11,12) + Year 7

Monday March 28  – Sydney Uni

• 6:30am – 8:00am              Junior Firsts & Senior Firsts (Players will be invited after Saturday trials)

Please check emails from Mrs McAllan

IGSA Football Trials

Friday March 25 – Cook & Phillip

• 6:45am – 7:50am        Year 7

Tuesday March 29– Robertson Rd, Synthetic Turf

• 3:15pm -5pm              Years 8 & 9

Wednesday March 30– David Phillips Turf

• 3:15pm – 5pm             Seniors (10,11, 12)

Thursday March 31 –David Phillips Turf

• 3:15pm – 5pm             Year 7

Friday April 1 – Cook & Phillip

• 6:45am – 7:50am        Junior 1^st

Please check emails from Mr Crawford

Wet Weather Arrangements for Term 1

New IGSA Fixtures, Results and Wet Weather

There is a new IGSA website and platform for accessing wet weather 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 me.

Alison Gowan
Director of Sport

Primary Sport

Primary Cross Country Carnival

The rescheduled Primary Cross Country Carnival for Years 3-6 will be held on Tuesday, 5 April at Queens Park opposite Moriah College, Baronga Ave, Queens Park. Girls will be leaving SCEGGS at 8.30 am, with the first event starting at 9.00 am.

The Carnival has been rescheduled as a priority to promote participation, a healthy and active lifestyle and a chance for students to challenge themselves. Please note this carnival is not a trial for the IPSHA Cross Country team; this trial was run on Friday 11 March, as communicated via email.The girls will return to school as usual for the rest of the day. The program has been organised with approximate times as follows:

Please note “age” is each student’s age on 31 December 2022.

Term 2 Saturday Sports Information

Thanks to those students who attended the first of the Term 2 IPSHA sports trials on Tuesday. It was great to see such excellent attendance for Hockey and Netball. 

A reminder that if your daughter cannot attend any of the Term 1 trials due to illness or absence, please contact TomMitton@sceggs.nsw.edu.au to help facilitate the sharing of this information with the relevant coaching staff.

 
IPSHA Minkey Years 4-6

Training sessions will be held in Week 9, 10 and 11 of Term 1 as follows:

For Tuesday sessions, students will catch the bus to and from SCEGGS and the venue. Students may be picked up at 4:50pm from Banks Ave Daceyville, or approximately 5:20pm from outside the Sports Hall doors on Forbes Street.

IPSHA Netball Years 4-6

Trial sessions will be held in Week 9, 10 and 11 of Term 1 as follows:

For all Tuesday sessions, girls will catch the bus to and from SCEGGS and the venue. Girls can be picked up at 4:50 pm from Moore Park or approximately 5:20 pm from outside the Sports Hall on Forbes Street.

Year 3 Netball

Trial sessions will be held in Week 10 and 11 of Term 1 as follows:

For all Tuesday sessions, girls will catch the bus to and from SCEGGS and the venue. Girls can be picked up at 4:50 pm from Moore Park or approximately 5:20 pm from outside the Sports Hall on Forbes Street.

Reminder: Permission Requirement for all Primary Sports

Permission notes (or an email) are required for all students being picked up from a sports activity or training session by another parent/carer including nannies and babysitters. If arrangements are reoccurring, parents may provide one permission email for the term.

Permission emails need to be received by SCEGGS Sports Staff prior to 11:00 am, for the coaching staff to be communicated to.

Tom Mitton
PDHPE and Sport Co-ordinator: Primary

Primary School Easter Hat Parade

On Friday 8 April  we will be holding our annual Primary Easter Hat Parade.

Girls from Kindergarten through to Year 6 will take to the Primary Playground to display their Easter Hats and we will also enjoy some Easter themed singing and dancing. Girls in Kindergarten to Year 2 will make their Easter Hats in their Art lessons at school but girls in Years 3-6 are invited to make their hat at home and bring it to school on the morning of the parade. Top marks will go to those that manage to create a sustainable Easter Hat made from recycled materials!

Unfortunately, due to the continued COVID situation parents will not be able to attend. However, do look out on Seesaw for some photographs after the event.

Helen Dempsey
Head of Primary

Festival on Forbes

The organisation of the Festival on Forbes has begun in earnest! Thank you to everyone who has reached out to join the Fair Committee.

We will soon be looking for donations for the Silent Auction, raffle and various stalls such as the Gourmet Pantry, books and vintage clothing. If you would like to be involved or have a business that can assist we would love to hear from you – please get in touch either by email or you can call 9332 1133 to ask for our mobile contact details.

Please Save the Date for the first Festival on Forbes meeting for Class Parents, the Fair Committee and any interested parents on 5 May at 7pm. We will be notifying Class Parents of the stall allocations early in Term 2. 

Bree Parker 
Fair Convenor 

Debating

Congratulations to the Years 8, 10, and Senior A ISDA teams, and Years 9, 10, and 12 Eastside teams, for winning their debates last Friday.

This week both competitions will be held in-person. For Eastside, we will be welcoming Cranbrook to our school. For ISDA we will be travelling to Kincoppal Rose Bay. The bus will leave for Kincoppal at 4:15pm. Audience members are welcome at both SCEGGS and Kincoppal. Kincoppal has asked though that there is no more than one audience member per debater.

Please remember to bring something to eat before the debate, and to bring your own paper/palm cards, and pens.

Imogen Harper
Debating Co-ordinator

Go Greener – Earth Hour

Earth Hour was first celebrated in Sydney on March 31, 2007. This was a grass root movement where 2.2 million individuals and 200,000 business turned off non-essential lights for one hour to show their support for climate action. It quickly spread to a global event the following year. By 2018, Earth Hour had spread to 188 countries and territories where 17,900 landmarks across the globe turned off their lights for one hour in support of environmental issues. WWF and Earth Hour are hoping for a bigger event this year.

Earth Hour is timed around the Autumn equinox in the southern hemisphere and the Spring equinox in the northern hemisphere. This is when the sunset times in both hemispheres are closely aligned for maximum impact of fewer lights.

The Earth Hour website has great deal of useful information. If you need some help in deciding how to spend you time without lights on Saturday night, there are seven tips are located here. 

Alternatively, if you would like to do more then turn off the lights for one hour, there are ideas on how to make your life more sustainable and help you to reduce your impact on the planet. 

During Earth Hour, have a conversation with your family or friends about climate change, the environment, or the joy of being in nature – Shape our Future and #Switchoff.

Sue Zipfinger
Sustainability Co-ordinator

Public Speaking

Our first public speaking event of the was the Rostrum Voice of Youth metropolitan round, held at Ascham on 9 March.

SCEGGS entered three competitors in the Junior and Senior division. The girls spoke to one of the five suggested topics: speaking for six minutes for juniors and eight minutes for seniors. Topics varied from “Start a Conversation” to “Changing the Narrative”.

Senior Speakers were Helena Piazza, Ruby Cooney and Sybilla Hooke. Junior Speakers were Sophia Barry, Celia Watson and Sadie Juneja. All speakers were commended on their thoughtful interpretation of their chosen topic.

Results Senior: Sybilla won her heat and, in another heat, Helena Piazza was runner up.

Results Junior: Celia won her heat as did Sadie with Sophia runner up in the same heat. Congratulation to all speakers.

Sybilla, Celia and Sadie will compete in the Regional Finals early Term 2.

Good Luck to Nicola Allen and Clementine Hooper who compete in the Plain English Speaking Award today.

Sandra Carter
Public Speaking Co-ordinator

Yom HaShoah commemorating Jewish History and Celebrating Jewish Culture

The Sydney Jewish Museum Youth Committee is hosting an event to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day and to celebrate Jewish history and culture. This event is specifically targeted towards high school and university aged students from all communities. Not only will you expand your understanding of the devastating history of the Holocaust, but you will also learn about the thriving Jewish culture through a series of interactive activities. The event will feature a panel including Holocaust survivor Kitty Lowinger,  the museum’s coordinator of Research and Educator Dr Breann Fallon and me, as the Sydney Jewish Museum Youth Committee president. The event is  on Thursday 21 April 2-4pm and the entry fee is $15.

Lara Greenfield
Year 11 Student

Careers Corner

Careers Corner Newsletter                                                   

Please click here to access the latets issue of the Careers Corner Newsletter, packed with lots of  post-school study and career information sessions.

STEM Opportunities for Secondary School Students

If you are curious about the world and how things work, a career in STEM or engineering might be for you! There are two opportunities currently available to find out more about the industry and would be of benefit for students in Years 7 – 10.

Engineers Australia’s Experience it!

Tuesday 27 September – hybrid delivery with online sessions + on campus at UTS

If you like designing solutions to problems, want to contribute to society and make a difference in the world – come and see what engineering is about! To be delivered in a hybrid format with online sessions and on campus at UTS, female students from Years 7 – 10 in NSW and the ACT are invited to participate in a full day of experiential engineering, organised by Engineers Australia Sydney’s Women in Engineering Society. The day will also feature inspiring collaborations between six universities and six engineering businesses. For more information, please contact stemnsw@engineersaustralia.org.au.

Engineers Australia Portal for Secondary Students

Engineers Australia knows that many of the most successful engineers weren’t merely forged while studying – they began their engineering journey while young, eager and full of possibility. Perhaps your interest and aptitude in science and maths has guided you to engineering. Maybe you love designing and building or have ideas that will make the world a better place. You might even be driven to engineering by a cause you believe in, such as feeding the hungry or cleaning the world’s oceans.

Engineers Australia has partnered with Australia’s Chief Scientist to develop the STARportal.edu.au, Australia’s first centralised national portal for exciting and engaging STEM activities from around the country.

No matter how you arrived at engineering, know this: as an engineer you will face rewarding challenges, work with brilliant minds, put their skills and talents to great use and shape a future where tools, vehicles, structures and cities are more functional, efficient and accessible.

Parents’ and Friends’ Association

Class Parent Events