Welcome to Term 2!

Welcome back to Term 2! It was lovely to feel the buzz as everyone returned to school yesterday, excited to catch up with friends and get back into the routine of school for another term of learning, co-curricular fun and House activities too.

A special thank you to all those involved in our K-12 ANZAC Day Service yesterday morning – our musicians, historians, readers and the admin and tech crews behind the scenes. The girls listened with respect and open hearts to the ANZAC message delivered by Old Girl and Deputy Inspector-General at the Australian Defence Force, Commodore Fiona Sneath.

Term 2 is shaping up to be another exciting one with many opportunities for our community to enjoy the diverse talents amongst the students, including two drama productions (Ladies in Black and Appleton Ladies Potato Race), music concerts such as Musicale 2, sporting competitions, debating tournaments, Inter-house music and lots more. I look forward to seeing you at many of these events. And our wonderful P&F Association also have planned many events to bring parents together, including the much-loved P&F Trivia Night on Friday 2 June.

Pleasingly, our work on the Wilkinson House redevelopment continues and in the coming months we will see the scaffolding erected which will protect the facade of the building and ensure safe pedestrian access down Forbes Street as we move into the next phase of the development. There will also be changed traffic conditions in Forbes Street and St Peters Street, including the use of construction traffic controllers, and we will keep you updated as the development progresses. While there will be some disruptions as our vision becomes a reality, the outcome of a beautiful heritage building with fantastic teaching and learning facilities will be a tremendous asset for the education of girls into the future.

Holly Gyton
Deputy Head of School

Primary Girls using Public Transport

This year, we have seen a rise in the number of Primary students utilising public transport to travel to and from school. This is a pleasing trend, particularly from an environmental perspective, reducing the numbers of cars on the road and traffic during drop off and pick time.

To help parents make an informed decision on whether your Primary aged daughter is ready to catch the bus independently, I have outlined some keys points below that indicate what the School does to support the girls at the end of the day, and some things you may wish to consider and discuss with your daughter before she travels home by herself.

• At the end of the day Staff will accompany Primary girls catching the bus to the 2 most frequently used routes. This includes William St (in both directions) and Bourke St (389 towards Bondi).
• Primary girls travelling by bus meet staff at the Bourke St gates and must arrive promptly for a 3.10 pm departure. Should they arrive after that point, they will need to walk to the bus stop independently.
• Staff will remain at the William St and Bourke St bus stops, supervising the girls until 3.25 pm. After this point in time, they will then return to school. Your daughter is welcome to return to school with the staff member if the bus has not arrived, or they can wait on their own, until the next bus arrives. (Please note, the teacher on duty will remain on the side of William St, travelling towards the city, and does not wait with the girls travelling towards the East.)
• In addition, students from the Secondary school travel on most major bus routes and there are two Secondary staff members also on duty at the William St bus stop, ensuring the girls get safely on the bus.

Some things to discuss with your daughter:

• Over the past few months, a range of factors including reported driver shortages have resulted in more disruption, including buses being late or cancelled. Chat to your daughter about what her plan of action should be in case of a network disruption or if a series of buses do not arrive. For example, she might return to the Primary Office (which is open until 6.00pm).
• Ensure your daughter is fully versed on what she does at the other end of her journey. Does she know which stop to get off at? Will you meet her at the bus stop, or will she make her own way home from there? What will she do if she accidentally misses her stop or if the bus is diverted to another route?
• Can your daughter travel with a friend who lives locally, or perhaps an older student from the Secondary school? However, it’s also important to know what to do if that friend or older student is absent from school or not catching the bus too!
• Make a plan with your daughter as to what she might do if she ever feels worried or uncomfortable whilst travelling on public transport. Who might she approach on the bus/ in public is she is worried or unsure?

Helen Dempsey
Head of Primary School

Music Matters

ANZAC Day School Service

Congratulations to musicians of the Holst Wind Band who performed in Wednesday morning’s K-12 ANZAC service. Well done to Lucy McInnes (Year 10) who played “The Last Post” and “The Rouse” in this year’s assembly.  Special thank you to Mr Michael Tierney (Director of Bands) who helped to prepare and conduct the students’ performance in this year’s ceremony.    

BAND Sunday Workshop – 30 April 10am to 1pm

A workshop will be taking place this coming Sunday 30 April for members of Clarion and Holst bands.  All students to arrive at the Diana Bowman Performing Arts Centre at 10am and to be collected by 1pm. Lunch will be provided on the day.

This workshop is to help with students’ preparation for their upcoming performances in the City of Sydney Eisteddfod in Week 7. 

We look forward to your attendance this Sunday!

Musicale 2 “SPACE” – Wednesday 10 May 5.30pm The Great Hall 

We are pleased to be presenting Musicale 2 on Wednesday 10 May at 5.30pm.  The following ensembles will be performing:

• Choir, Madrigal Ensemble and Contemporary Vocal Ensemble (CVE)
• Basie Jazz Band, Woodwind Ensemble, Holst Band and Glennie Percussion.
• Amati Strings, LUX Strings, String Power and Stringalong.

Performers will need to arrive at the Diana Bowman site promptly at 5pm to warm up in readiness for the performance.

A reminder for families of Primary school students who will require Afterschool Care to make their bookings.  Students who are performing will be collected by members of the Music staff from ASC around 4:45pm.

At the conclusion of the performance, an information session will be held for interested families for the 2024 Combined Music Ensembles tour to New Zealand.  The tour is planned for 9 days to take place at the beginning of the 2024 June/July school holidays.  The director of the tour company Hayes Travel Enterprise and Head of School, Ms Allum and I will be at this information evening to answer any questions you may have.  If you are interested in attending this session, could you please complete the following e-form so we can have an idea of numbers Expressions of Interest Form

Upcoming Music Events

Pauline Chow
Head of Music

Tuning In To Teens™: Parenting Program

Emotionally Intelligent parenting

A brief reminder – commencing in week 3 of Term 2, we are offering a six-week parenting program, Tuning in to Teens to parents of students in Years 6 and 7.  The program is aimed at helping you and your daughter manage the many emotional challenges of adolescence, and will focus on learning how to manage your own and your adolescent’s emotions in ways that help you to remain close and keep communicating.

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 help their teen to manage adolescence better.

If you are interested in participating in this parenting program, please send an email to me before Friday 28 April.  Dr. Melissa Saxton and I, both SCEGGS School Counsellors, will be facilitating the group, there will be six two-hour sessions, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm on the following nights:

• Thursday 11 May
• Thursday 18 May
• Wednesday 24 May
• Thursday 1 June
• Thursday 8 June
• Thursday 15 June

Please note:  parents only attend these sessions.  Group size will be limited. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, by email or phone at school.

Janet McEwen
School Counsellor

Plastic Free Boy visits the Primary School

In 2017, an 11-year-old boy made a worrying discovery after seeing three sea turtles being released back into the ocean following their rehabilitation due to plastic pollution. By the time Arlian Ecker is 44 years old in 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. This was the beginning of Arlian’s mission to save the ocean from plastic pollution. Since then, Arlian, known as Plastic Free Boy, has set out to educate and empower thousands of people across the globe. Now 17, Arlian continues to travel the country to visit schools to inspire other young people about the solutions to plastic pollution and what they can do to make a difference.

Arlian will be visiting the Primary School on Monday 1 May to share the presentation “Plastic Alarm”. He will run a session with the girls in Years 3-6 and another session for the girls in Kindergarten-Year 2. The Envirogirls will also have an opportunity to meet with Arlian at lunchtime to share the work they have been doing across the Primary School to promote sustainability and to hear some more ideas that Arlian might offer them.

“Everyone can be a Superhero. I believe that my generation is the key to change. Us kids can often feel powerless about the issues we learn in school, but what if we all learn that every one of us matters and can make a difference.”  Arlian Ecker

We look forward to welcoming Arlian to our Primary School on Monday.

Cristi Wilsmore
Deputy Head of Primary (Teaching and Learning)

Year 11 and 12 “Father”/Daughter Breakfast

Years 11 and 12 students and their “fathers” are warmly invited to join us for the P&F’s “Father”/Daughter Breakfast for on Friday 19 May from 7.00am – 8.15am in the Great Hall.

Jane is an award-winning global executive. She is Australia’s ‘Young Woman to Watch in International Affairs’ and in the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Business School’s ‘Hall of Fame’ in 2022. Her career spans New York and Rome United Nations (UN) postings, where she is recognised for her work as Nobel Peace Prize Laureate with the UN World Food Programme. In London, Jane worked at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as senior manager delivering global programs for leading foundations and institutions and worked directly with high-profile leaders. She is recognised for her work as co-designer of The Earthshot Prize spearheaded by Prince William. You can read an interview with Jane on page 4 in the current SPAN News.

Debating

Welcome back to Debating for Term 2! Competitions resume this week with our first debates on the Friday 28 April. This Friday, our Eastside contingent is debating at Grammar and will leave SCEGGS to walk there at 5pm. We also have four make-up debates for ISDA: Primary B, Year 7, Year 10, and Senior B will stay at SCEGGS and debate their opponents via Zoom at their usual debate times.

We will also have an IPSHA Debating training session for Year 6 this Friday lunch in preparation for their first debate in Week 2.

The beginning of this term will also be spent finalising the teams for the Archdale Debating Competition, beginning in Week 4. This competition takes place on Tuesday afternoons and evenings ­– debates for Year 7-8 begin at 5:30pm, and debates for Year 9-12 begin at 6:30. Please remember to think about if this might be a competition you would like to commit to, as ISDA and Eastside come to an end this term.

If you have any questions about what is happening this term in debating, or you would like more information about signing up at this point in the year (which is very welcome!) please send me an email. 

Imogen Harper
Debating Co-ordinator

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award at SCEGGS

Hiking during the shoulder season – a mix of summer sun and autumn rain!

This time of the year the Duke of Edinburgh International Award Expeditions become tougher, as the cooler weather and shorter days produce testing conditions and practical limitations. Fortunately, our students at SCEGGS have the attitudes and enthusiasm to overcome these drawbacks, and so often impress us with their positive frame of mind, ability to deal with problems, and unity when overpowering adversity.

Over the holidays we successfully ran two Gold expeditions- in the Blue Mountains in the first week, and around the Hawkesbury in the second. As noted earlier, completing expeditions this time of year is a little harder due to the cooler temperatures, especially when combined with dampness and wind, though sensible clothing and strategies help mitigate chilliness during the day, and a crackling campfire helps keep the cold at bay in the evening. Both expeditions were menaced by rainy weather, though never enough to contemplate surrender, and all the candidates finished with great memories and a sense of contented achievement.

We have several Silver and Bronze Award expeditions scheduled between now and the end of term, so are beseeching the weather spirits to provide us with dry and mild conditions. Candidates should remember to sign up early, be involved with their trip planning, and resolve all issues and problems well before their hike.

We urge the girls to stay motivated with their Service, Skill and Recreation components, so that when an opportunity arrives to complete an Expedition they will be able to finish off their Award without delay. It’s very heartening to see that quite a few of the year twelve’s have submitted their completed award, leaving the rest of the year free for them to focus on their HSC exams.

Should there be any further questions or problems with your Award, please feel free to catch Ms Bower or Mr Swain around school, via email , or checking the website, or the SCEGGS Duke of Edinburgh resources on Cognito.

Joanne Bower and Doric Swain
Duke of Edinburgh Award Co-ordinators

Year 5 and 6 Outdoor Education Camps Coming Up!

A reminder that our Year 5 and 6 students will be heading to camp this term.

• Year 5: 17^th – 19^th May going to Tallong.
• Year 6: 10^th – 12^th May going to Attunga.

Your daughter’s online medical form needs to be completed ASAP. Information on how to do this as well as their Student ID was included in the note that went home at the end of Term 1.

Parent briefing sessions led by representatives from Southbound Adventures are being held on Tuesday 2 May from 5:30pm-6:00pm. The aim of these is to provide more information regarding how to best prepare your daughter for camp and what activities she can expect to be involved in and learn throughout her time away.

• Year 5 in 5W Classroom
• Year 6 in The Auditorium

Please contact Sarah Johnstone if you require any further assistance.

Sarah Johnstone
Deputy Head of Primary, Student Wellbeing

Parents’ and Friends’ Association

Class Parent Events

2023 SCEGGS P&F Trivia Night

The P&F are delighted to invite you to the much-loved Trivia Night on Friday 2 June in the Great Hall. Bring a team or join a table: $40 per person or $400 per table of 10. BYO food and drink.

Book your tickets here today – the last Trivia Night sold out!