From The Chaplain

The SCEGGS Podcast “Walk The Mile” Episode 40: The Wisdom of Science

Everyone that’s ever been to school would have had to study science at some stage. While it provides many answers to some of our questions, it is also a subject that offers a whole lot more. Dr Joseph Guss is part of our Science Department and in this episode we discuss the practice of science, how it connects with philosophy and belief, and what it means to teach scientifically. A very interesting conversation which might sound a bit lofty but is really quite reflective and personal.

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.

Rev. Garry Lee-Lindsay
Chaplain

Thinking Allowed

Interview with a Romanov Princess

It is not every day that you can claim you are interviewing a real-life princess! However, on 25 May this was a unique opportunity that I was able to share with two Year 11 Modern History students, Selena and Ariane. In Year 11 Modern History we study “The Decline and Fall of the Romanov Dynasty”, with a particular focus on Nicholas II and the lead-up to the 1917 Revolution. By chance, an opportunity arose via the mother of a student who had a connection to a Romanov descendent. And thus, an interview over Zoom was arranged with the wonderful Princess Olga Romanoff.

Olga Romanoff is the great-niece of the last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II. Her father Prince Andrei Alexandrovich was Nicholas II’s eldest nephew whom he “treated like a son”, as Nicholas and Alexandra had four daughters before the birth of their own son Alexei. Prince Andrei was 20 at the start of the Russian Revolution and was forced to flee from the Bolsheviks. He, with several members of his family, were held under house arrest in the Crimea before ending up in England with help from the British royal family. He married Nadine McDougall and Olga was born in 1950. In 2017, she was appointed as the Head of the Romanov Family Association and is currently the most senior Romanov in the world. One issue that she has been particularly involved in is the ongoing efforts to have the final two imperial children, Maria and Alexei, buried with the rest of their family.

To prepare for the interview our students worked as historians, brainstorming thought provoking and analytical questions. It was interesting to see the variety and depth of questions they came up with. Some were about specific points that we had studied in class including elements of the First World War or the impact of revolutionary groups. However, the majority stemmed from ideas and concepts outside of the syllabus, for example, the influence of Cold War politics and culture and queries about the infamous Anastasia pretenders such as Anna Anderson. It was pleasing to see the students engaging deeply with a range of concepts that demonstrated both their historical thinking and interest.

Whilst we were certainly nervous to speak with a member of royalty, any nerves were quickly forgotten once the very easy and captivating conversations with Olga began. The structured interview that had been carefully planned out with a long list of questions transformed into what felt like more of a conversation. Olga was generous with her answers, and we gained valuable insights into her Romanov background and different experiences she had growing up.

Her stories ranged from her interactions with imposter “long lost cousins”, or as she referred to them, “weirdos”, to her family changing the spelling of their last name to try and take them off “Stalin’s hitlist”. She had a great sense of humour and provided anecdotes about the actions of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin and his wife, and of almost being locked out of the 1998 ceremony and burial of the imperial family due to a bathroom break. However, throughout the interview there was a strong theme of family and connections, and she even noted at one point that her first visit to St Petersburg felt like she was “home”.

There were several moments when Olga became emotional, reminding us of the highly personal nature of history. She told us about what it was like to hear about the discovery of the imperial family’s remains in the early 1990s, and how important it was that her brother was present for their excavation amongst all the scientists. She shared insights into her experiences of the burial and what it was like to reunite the Romanovs from around the world, noting that most of them “hadn’t been together since the war”. This served as an important reminder about the nature of history and its ongoing impact. At the end of the day these figures are distant and far removed from our lives, and for our students their focus is often the key facts they need for their exams. However, for Olga these figures are her family and less distant than we might assume. She shared her frustrations about Nicholas II refusing to listen to the advice of her grandfather, Alexander. You can’t help but think how history may have been different if he had.

This interview allowed us to recognise the value of oral history. We gained insights that were personal, sensitive, and shaped by family stories and memories rather than school textbooks. Princess Olga made a point of reminding us of this at the beginning of the interview, stating that the things she was going to share were shaped by her father and extended family, not the history books. This is the value of oral history and is something that we will be able to refer to in future years.

When reflecting on this experience Year 11 students, Selena Hughes and Ariane Moisidis said the following:
It was such an incredible experience to be able to discuss the history of the Romanovs with a living descendant, Princess Olga Romanoff. To be able to witness the physical and ongoing family connection and the history of different family members. It was amazing to be able to hear accounts of the Romanovs fleeing Russia and the different experiences of her father and uncle. It was especially interesting to listen to her opinion on the representation of the Romanovs in the media and in movies, as well as what her life was like growing up as a Princess. We are so grateful to have been given the unique experience of interviewing someone so closely connected to our studies in Modern History and that she took the time to discuss her family’s rich history.

Sophie Craddock
History Teacher 

100 days of Year 7 from our Peer Mentors

Here is a collection of articles from our Year 10 House Peer Mentors talking about the first 100 Days of Year 7 at SCEGGS.

Badham

The Badham Peer Mentors have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with, and passing down advice to the Year 7s, over this last semester. We began our role at the end of last year, when we met the girls who came from the Primary School and completed a series of logic and problem solving challenges together.

On Year 7 welcome day, we came in and helped the girls settle in, giving tours and helping set up the girls’ diaries and organise themselves for their classes. We also spent some time getting to know each other with various ice breaker activities.

Over the semester, we have had more sessions together and have given our study tips as well as general advice for high school. For Easter, we did some easter egg competitions and before camp, we sent the girls off with some lollipops and some general advice about trying new things and the importance of leaving one’s comfort zone.

Furthermore, at the beginning of this term, we helped the Year 7s celebrate 100 days of high school, with a disco, which brought lots of fun and excitement.

It has been a pleasure working with the Year 7s thus far and we are eager to continue our roles, helping them in whatever ways we can, to ensure they are enjoying and making the most of SCEGGS life.

Stella Argyrides, Alexandra Collins-Tait, Katharine Conaglen,  Aurelia Cortese, Emily Rowland, Celia Watson

Barton

Us Barton Peer Support girls have had an amazing 100 days with the Year 7s and we have really enjoyed getting to meet the Year 7s whilst getting them warmed up to SCEGGS! Throughout this year, we have had many sessions and activities with the Year 7s as part of the Peer Mentor program. It’s been such a fun opportunity to get to know students from another year group and to be able to share some of our experiences from Year 7 in order to make their transition to high school easier! 

Some of the highlights of this year have been:

• The Year 7 welcome day – where we helped out with their first day of high school and gave them a tour around SCEGGS
• Organisation and exam advice – where we shared our best tips for studying and staying organised in high school
• Easter activities – where we organised some fun easter egg related games in the sports hall and competed against other houses
• Camp Q&A and send-off – where we answered any questions that the Year 7 had about their first high school camp and handed out lollipops with quotes as a send-off before they headed off on the bus
• 100 Day Celebration – where we celebrated the Year 7s 100th day of high school with a disco and ice blocks in the Auditorium

The Peer Mentoring program has been such an amazing opportunity so far and we are so excited for all the amazing activities that are still to come throughout the rest of the year!

Gabrielle Cheung, Demee Georgas, Samantha Millin, Charlotte Scott, Lucy Worsley 

Here are some picture from Year 7 Connections Day.

Beck

In the past 100 days, the Year 10 Beck peer mentors have created connections with the Year 7s, supported them through the transition to high school and made some very fun memories together. 

We started the year with Welcome day, where we introduced the house system and the Beck spirit to the new Year 7s. We joined the Year 7s on their first cafeteria lunch and played lots of games.

As the Year 7s entered their first exam and assignment blocks we helped them get started and gave advice about study skills and specific subjects over choc chip cookies and gummy snakes. We were so proud of the maturity and organisation of the Year 7s. 

Before the Beck Year 7s were sent off to camp, we were able to talk to them about our camp experiences and share insight about the impacts of camp and how it can bring people closer together. The morning before the Year 7s departure, we were able to be supporting figures and provided the students with chupa chup bundles and words of wisdom.

Easter was such a fun celebration. Together, we played lots of easter-themed and team building games, competing with the house groups. These activities included rob the nest with chocolate eggs, which Beck students enjoyed afterwards, a visit from the easter bunny and an egg and spoon race, in which beck placed second! 

And that brings us to 100 days. We celebrated this milestone with the Year 7s last week, with a disco. We loved seeing all of the Beck girls dancing their hearts out, enjoying Zooper Doopers and connecting with everyone in the year group. We are so proud of the Beck Year 7s and can’t wait to see where the rest of the year takes us!!

Christine Chen,  Zoe Crisafulli, Abigail Grace, Milla Jones, Darcey Meers, Georgia Tsangaris

Christian

On Friday 28 July, the Year 7s of 2028 celebrated their 100th day of high school life, only 1957 to go! Across the first 100 days of their life at SCEGGS, the Year 10 Peer Mentoring girls have strived to be both a friend and a mentor. We began this year with Welcome Day, accompanying the girls across their first introduction to each other and the school campus – it was a honor to be a part of such a intrinsic memory for many of them. From the shy girls we once met, the Year 7s of SCEGGS have evolved into confident young women, forming their own bonds and friendships among their cohort and we could not be prouder. Following Welcome Day the Peer Mentors strived to uphold the SCEGGS name, mentoring and helping the girls with their assessments, exams, friendships and more unfamiliar experiences that were bound to happen, we hope that they are able to take our advice to heart and express themselves throughout the next 1957 days of SCEGGS life!

Zara Clarke, Isabella Dua, Zoe Klein, Julia Piazza, Madeleine Soo, Summer Williams 

Here are some pictures from Easter Celebration.

Docker

Throughout the past semester we have thoroughly enjoyed working with the Year 7s, getting to see them settle into high school and become part of our House, Docker. It seems like so long ago that they started at the school, they have become a part of the Docker family, and we look forward to all of our catch ups. We began our year with Orientation Day, this was a nerve racking and exciting day for many of the girls. Our Peer Mentoring team started the day with activities introducing ourselves and getting to know each other. We went through the school diary and organised the girls so they would be ready for their lessons that would commence in the following days. We toured the school pointing out the classrooms that the girls will have to go to making sure they feel comfortable and know what to do if they get lost and know that if they ever see us, we are always willing to help. We got to do team activities working together and building friendships from Day 1, it has been great to see the girls connect with peers in their House. Throughout the term we also met to go through study skills and teach the girls our preferred styles of palm cards, mind maps, poster, Quizlet and many more. In this period we prepared the girls for what to expect with assessments and spent time helping individuals work in particular subjects that they might have wanted help on. Easter was a big highlight for the Peer Mentors we had a great morning searching with the girls for chocolate eggs, not only a great teamwork experience but one we will definitely remember. The girls also got together to do some physical activity, where we did skipping and Indigenous games. This was a great experience and we had so much fun all skipping on the one rope. Overall our first semester with the Year 7s in Docker was great and we are so glad to have gotten to spend time with them and watch them settle into SCEGGS life.

Sarah Beresford, Bianca Hardge, Mia Jonson, Helaina Travassaros, Evie Vigil

Here are the pictures from Year 7 100 day Celebration.

Langley

What a thrilling 100 days it has been for Year 7. The Langley peer mentors have highly enjoyed taking on this cohort supporting them through their first two terms of high school. From their first day at SCEGGS to now we have learnt so much from this experience and hope Year 7 have learnt just as much from our various activities such as our study skills session in preparation for exams, SCEGGS culture and encouragement to get involved in everything they can. More of our fun with Year 7 was spent in their first two terms in our easter egg hunt games, indigenous games and just dances in our peer mentor sessions. Last Friday we brought Year 7 together to celebrate their 100 days of high school accompanied with essential Zooper Doopers and lollies. We can’t wait to bring this great group of Langley girls right through to the end of Year 7 and hope we have been fun role models they can learn from.

Cassandra Davies, Francesca Emblin, Emma Hawkins, Nico Hopkins, Camille McCarthy, Isobel Murray 

Secondary Sport News

SCEGGS Mid Term Break

With our impending SCEGGS Mid Term break coming up on Monday 14 August, it is timely to remind everyone that most sporting teams still have fixtures on the Saturday. All students are required to play their scheduled matches.

IGSA Saturday Sport

This term we have the IGSA Basketball, Football, Netball and Hockey competitions in action. You can access all the results, ladder, and fixtures via the IGSA website.

Please arrive 30 mins prior to the start of each match. All students are to wear only SCEGGS sports clothing. Students will be asked to remove any non-SCEGGS clothing.

A final reminder that any requests for absence from Saturday sporting matches need to be submitted in writing by a parent to Ms Allum.

NSW All Schools Cross Country

Well done to our SCEGGS competitors who produced outstanding results at the NSW All Schools Cross Country Championships that were held at Eastern Creek.

A special congratulations to Nancy Newton (Year 9) who placed 2^nd in the 15 years age group and Ruby Fry (Year 10) placed 4^th in the 16 years age group.

Congratulations to Lily Cooney (Year 9), Matilda Emanual (Year 9), Ruby Fry (Year 10) and Nancy Newton (Year 9) who will all be representing NSW at the Australian Cross Country Championships to be held in Canberra on 26 August.

FIFA Women’s World Cup

As the Matildas have progressed through the round games, the SCEGGS “live” site in the Old Gym and is proving to be very popular. Students from both Primary and Secondary year groups have been enjoying watching the matches in live time, and some exciting replays. The Foosball and Table Tennis tables have also been getting a good workout during this time.

The SCEGGS World Cup Knockout Challenge will start next week during lunchtimes. We have teams signed up across Years 7 -11. Look out for an email from Mr Crawford regarding the match schedule.

Please send in any “selfies” from attending any World Cup matches, live sites, or showing your support from your lounge room, to be included in the Green Gate and on the Sport TV.

Beach Touch Skills

This term we have 35 students enrolled in Beach Touch skills. Students meet with Ms Thompson at North Bondi Beach on Tuesday mornings and the sessions are proving to be a real hit. As well as an early morning fitness session, students are brushing up and improving their Touch Skills in preparation for the Term 4 Easts Touch Competition. Check out the gallery below and this video.

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  (Please ensure that photos are of your daughters only. We are unable to publish photos of non SCEGGS students without parental permission).

SCEGGS Training sessions before and after school plus Saturday Sport

Please check the @SCEGGSSport Twitter Feed for the latest updates relating to cancellations and wet weather.

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

Visual Arts

We are proud to share that Michaela Gleave, our Art Assistant has a solo exhibition:
The sky continues beneath our feet

Opening tomorrow at Passage Gallery 6 – 8 pm.

Passage Gallery, Sydney

Here’s the beautiful exhibition text written by Marco Rinaldi:

In the Western world, “we have inexorably removed personal experience from our understanding of the universe… we have used a sieve of mathematical laws and equations to strain ourselves out of the stars.” – Jo Marchant, The Human Cosmos, pg. 263.

Although we like to convince ourselves that we understand what is happening around us, over 80% of all matter in our universe is made up of material that cannot be perceived or detected. We call this material DARK MATTER. We believe it to exist because, without it, our current models for the behaviour of stars, planets and galaxies simply wouldn’t make sense. Its gravitational effects are necessary to explain the rotation of galaxies, the motions of clusters, and the invisible structure of the entire Universe. With these concepts in mind, Michaela Gleave presents her new work, The sky continues beneath our feet. In this work, Gleave utilises Passage as a ‘portal’ to these non-ordinary states of understanding. She presents a constructed universe that glows 24/7, defying the time and space of the outside world.

In The sky continues beneath our feet, Gleave divides Passage into two parts, concealing 80% of the space with a polycarbonate stud wall, while 20% of the space remains visible. Behind the wall is Gleave’s universe: glitter, inflated star balloons, and foam coexist in a paradoxical state—shiny and spongey, granular and continuous, opaque and transparent, reflective and matte, absorbent and repellent, fragile yet durable. Gleave’s timber studded and polycarbonate wall creates a hazy 2D grid, a representation of our limited sense of dimensionality, dissecting the horizontal installation landscape and standing at odds with the rest of the space. Light filters through the wall as we peer through lenticular distortions in an attempt to glimpse, pause, rethink, and shift our assumptions on reality.

The sky continues beneath our feet by Michaela Gleave is a constellation of ideas, a material collection of a practice blazing with cosmic ambition, like the tail of a comet the artist has carted around with her. It is a constructed universe of party materials, air, light, timber, and reflections standing on a precipice between real and not real. Here, truth and fictions exist at a point in time where humanity seems to no longer believe in physical reality and is busy dissolving the world around us. 

Michaela’s exhibition continues:

Friday 4 August – Thursday 17 September

Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts

Careers Corner

Welcome to the 42^nd Careers Corner Newsletter. To view this issue, please click here.

Project Management Spring Camp for students in Years 10–11

The School of Project Management at the University of Sydney, will be running their in-person Spring Camp on Thursday 28 September for students in Years 10–11. Expressions of interest are now open for high school students and close 1 September 2023.

Andrea Pinnock
Careers Adviser

Primary Sport News

City2Surf 2023

If you are interested in running in 2023’s City2Surf, gather your friends and get training for the world’s largest fun run! On Sunday 13 August, the City2Surf promises to be a great day out, running or walking 14km from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach.

For more information, speak to Mr Mitton and get signed up today!

FIFA Women’s World Cup

With the Matildas playing their final group match against Canada on Monday night, we can now breathe a bit easier as we move on to the round of 16. Continue to get behind our Aussie girls as they perform on the world’s biggest stage!

If you attend any matches, send some photos of you in your supporter’s gear to Tom Mitton and be featured in the following weeks BTGG!

Primary Sport Achievements

Congratulations to Grace Walsh, who came 3^rd in the inaugural Moore Park Junior skills championship for her age group. Well done, Grace on your achievements on the golf course!

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 any information (and photos, if possible) to Tom Mitton. These will be included in newsletters throughout the year.

Tom Mitton
Primary Sport Co-ordinator

Science News

Super Science Bake Off!

National Science week is fast approaching, and as one of our many exciting activities, we will be holding a Super Science Bake Off!

The bake off entry needs to relate to a concept in Science. Please also include a few sentences explaining the concept, and an ingredient list. Please do NOT use nuts in the recipe. Cookies, cupcakes or other desserts are also acceptable. Entries are due Tuesday 15 August (the day after the Mid-Term break, so you can have an extra-long weekend baking and decorating!).

Ms Allum, Ms Dempsey, the Year 12 Science Leaders and Mrs Sharma will be on the panel of Judges. There will also be a People’s Choice Award. Here are a couple of ideas that Mrs Sharma’s family tried out:

So get your chefs hats out and aprons on, and get baking and decorating!

Mia Sharma 
Science Teacher 

Music Matters

Music Week Concert Featuring Emma Pask

Congratulations to the musicians from Amati Strings, Basie Jazz Band, Bugles, Cantare, Choir, Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, Madrigal Ensemble, Primary and Secondary Jazz Combos who participated in workshops and performed with outstanding Australian Jazz vocalist Emma Pask.  Congratulations also to our secondary vocalists: Akira Nicholson (Year 11), Hebe Zines (Year 10) and Martha Elgood Cann (Year 9) who worked individually with Emma to prepare for their solo items in the Music Week Concert.

Year 7 and Elective Music students from Years 8 to 11, also participated in workshops with Emma and her musical director Mr Kevin Hunt.  Students learnt to sing the main melody to Jazz standards and were taught some of the fundamental skills with improvisation in the style.

To highlight Music Week, a series of lunchtime performances were also shared with the school community.  These performances featured our advanced pianists concert, rock ensembles, the Van Reyk percussion ensemble and finally series of group performances by our elective and primary students – Giselle Wharton and Olivia Yan.

Many thanks to Ms Emma Pask for her amazing musicianship and generosity of spirit working with our girls.  Every student who had the opportunity of working with her emerged from their session with improved knowledge and awareness of Jazz.

Thank you also to the Music Department for their preparation of students and ensembles for Music Week.  The concert last Thursday evening 27 July was a celebration of the importance of Music and the joy it brings.

Amati Strings Swing! 

In addition to working with our visiting Guest Artist jazz vocalist Emma Pask as part of Music Week, Amati Strings had an intensive workshop with jazz specialist Simon Sweeney. Simon is on the Jazz Faculty at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and has decades of experience in music education. Simon was able to help the Amati musicians better understand the jazz idiom – something that is not familiar to classical string players. The girls utilised their well-developed aural skills, making a huge improvement in the performance of “Queen Bee” by Sammy Nestico, which was then shared at Musical 3. Simon’s focus on articulation, tone and “finding the pocket” to really swing was an enjoyable experience for all! Special thanks to Ms Allison Harrigan on piano and Zara Perkins on drums.  

St. Mark’s Choral Scholarship

Interested SCEGGS Students (16-18 years) are invited to apply for the Choral Scholarship offered by St. Mark’s Church in Darling Point. Please see the flyer for further information and audition details.

Sydney Children’s Choir – Chorister for a Day

Sydney Children’s Choir is inviting  students from K-6 to come along to their Chorister for a Day program this weekend! This is your chance to experience being a member of the Sydney Children’s Choir. Come along to sing beautiful music, learn new skills and meet new friends. You’ll be able to meet the wonderful conductors, including Mrs Cleworth, and talk to the staff about what it’s like to be in the choir.

Reserve your place to booking a free ticket, registration is essential: Chorister for a Day – Term 3 2023 | Humanitix

Sydney Youth Orchestra Auditions

Sydney Youth Orchestra (SYO) is the leading orchestral training and education provider in NSW. Involvement in SYO weekly ensembles fosters dedication, commitment, teamwork, confidence and many other skills which translate into every aspect of life. Auditions are now open for musicians from Years K-11 to become involved with SYO for 2024. Please discuss the audition requirements with your daughter’s music tutor to help to prepare thoroughly. Click here to join.

Upcoming Music Events

Term 3

Pauline Chow
Head of Music

Debating

Congratulations to the 7A, 7B, Juniors, Year 9, Year 10, and Seniors for winning their debates on Tuesday night. That was the final round of the Archdale Debating Competition, so well done to all teams for completing the season. The 7B, Year 10, and Senior teams have finished on 5+ wins, which means they will definitely be through to the quarterfinals on 22 August. We now wait to hear whether the 7As, Juniors, and Year 9s will get through to the quarterfinals based on margins, as they have finished with wins in four out of seven rounds.

We also have the first two rounds of Junior Interhouse Debating this Friday for Years 7-9. It is a big term of debating for those junior years, since many of those same debaters are also representing SCEGGS in social debates with various schools on Friday evening.

Finally, in the Primary School, it was lovely to meet all our new Year 5 debaters in their first debating session last Friday afternoon. We have a big group this year, and it is fantastic to see the enthusiasm and bravery as they all push themselves to learn new skills and practice speaking in front of the class. Our Year 6 IPSHA group also continues to grow, and the teams continue to be successful in their debates on alternate Fridays – best of luck to the two teams who are travelling to St Andrew’s Cathedral School this Friday lunch.

Imogen Harper
Debating Coordinator