It’s Giving Day Today!

It is Giving Day!

There is no better time to contribute towards the redevelopment of Wilkinson House and the expansion of our means-tested Scholarship program than now!

Until 9am tomorrow, thanks to our generous matching donors, your donation will be at least doubled.

If you give $100, SCEGGS receives $200.

If you give $500, SCEGGS receives $1,000.

If you give $1,000, SCEGGS receives $2,000.

To be frank, giving to SCEGGS wasn’t an obvious choice for us. We’ve previously directed most of our giving towards small community organisations where need seemed greatest and our giving could have an impact. But we decided to give to SCEGGS for three reasons. First, it is a small organisation where gifts of any size can have impact, not so awash with funds or flush with facilities that our gift might seem superfluous. Second, there are few things more transformative for those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to access it than first-class education in an educational setting where they feel safe, heard, and supported. We could see how our gift would help enlarge that opportunity. Third, we think that making the Green Gate wider, so to speak, benefits everyone. The greatest institutions of learning of this century are those with a meaningful commitment to diversity and to attracting thinkers and learners from a wide range of backgrounds. And we want nothing less for our daughter and other girls than an educational institution that aspires to greatness.
Fleur Johns & Pete Hammond 

We gave to Light Her Path to ensure future generations of students at SCEGGS benefited from modern, efficient and sustainable facilities, as our girls have enjoyed in the facilities paid for by prior generations.  We saw it as our way of “paying it forward”, given the opportunities that our daughters have received by being a student at one of Australia’s best schools.
Chris and Carla Chapple

SCEGGS has been built through the generosity of past generations.  It’s our turn to give.

Cape York Conversations

Always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

The Cape York immersion of 2022 is one that will stay with us forever.

During the end of Term 2, 49 students from Years 10-11 and 10 members of our beautiful staff travelled up to Cape York for an unforgettable experience, of learning and adventuring. The definition of an immersion is the act of experiencing a locale like a local by embedding yourself in the culture of a destination, rather than simply viewing it from a comfortable distance. This is what we set out to do.

Not only did staying on country and being welcomed with open hearts and arms open our eyes to a new way of living and community far different from our own. When we arrived on different land, the traditional owners performed welcome to countries, to let the land and their ancestors welcome us as well. This ceremony meant that we were embraced, accepted, and protected by the land and culture. Our number one question when we first arrived was often, “does it bother you that we come and stay with you?” which was always immediately shut down, as the traditional owners confessed their love of hosting us, their love for sharing their culture with us and their love for teaching us. We could not be more blessed and privileged to be welcomed and given the opportunity to learn so much. All the students created such strong bonds with the traditional owners, many that we will never forget. I remember on our last day at our second homeland in Panamunji near the town of Hope Vale, none of the students wanted to leave and the couple we were lucky enough to stay with, Tim and Alaine both said the same thing, “go hide down the creek, and we’ll tell you when they’re gone”. This trip was so much more than just a visit it was a journey that will be forever ingrained within us. Those one-on-one conversations we shared around the campfire, during a bush walk or during a meal, were truly beautiful, eye opening, and I can confidently say on behalf of everyone, unforgettable.

This was a trip that will stay with all of us for a very long time, however it is not just memories but the actions we put forward with the knowledge we have gained. To share it with others, our peers, our families, our friends. Speaking about our experience, sharing those memories and all that we have learnt. We were fortunate to have been hosted by Indigenous Australians, who were so open, willing to share, answering every question we put forward. Now it is up to us to expand this and continue to share. Their positivity was inspiring, and their peacefulness was admirable. After all the horrors of their past, they continue to hold such strong connections to the land, their culture and one another. This trip was truly a life altering experience none of us will ever forget.

Scarlett Phillips (Year 11)

Going To Cape York was a life changing experience, and there is hardly just a since word to describe the enlightening experience that was this trip. If there was one word to describe it, the closest word would have to be “unbelievable”, because it’s truly unbelievable that we’ve had this incredible honour to learn thousands of years of history and culture, unbelievable that all of us have been able to cultivate a connection, to nature, to the people, to ourselves.

It’s unbelievable that we’ve all have been accepted onto their land and welcomed like a family. Along with all the stories we’ve been told, the history we have been taught, the amazing cave paintings, the friendships created, is something I know we’ll never forget; I could never have predicted what an unbelievable experience this would become. So, thank you for all the people involved because this trip couldn’t have occurred without your input.

Eleanor Purcell (Year 11)

Music Matters

Musicale 4

Our final Musicale for 2022 will take place on Thursday 17 November at 6pm in the Great Hall (Week 6).  The ensembles featured in this concert are:

• String Power
• Primary String Octet
• Bugles
• Training Band
• Glennie Percussion
• Van Reyk Percussion
• Contemporary Strings
• Clarion Band

Students will receive further information from their Ensemble conductors about this performance.  The concert is free, and we invite all parents to come and enjoy the music.

Year 7 Choir – Festival of Lessons and Carols

As part of the Year 7 Class choir, all students have been invited to perform in this year’s Festival of Lessons and Carols.  Further information will be sent to Year 7 families outlining the details of the evening service.  We look forward to sharing the beautiful music from this ceremony with the school community.

Congratulations Primary Strings Studio Concerts

Congratulations to the students who performed in the Strings studio concerts last week,  Monday 24 October, Wednesday 26 October and Friday 28 October, in the Primary Music room.  It was wonderful to hear the array of performances from string players of varying stages of their learning journey.  Many thanks to Ms Heidi Jones and Ms Stephanie Holmes for their assistance with accompaniment.  Big thank you to Mrs Anne Sweeney for her organisation and for her accompaniment for most of the performers.  It was a mammoth task!  Well done to our budding string players!

Year 5 and 6 Violinists at Week 3’s Assembly

A group of violinists from Year 5 and 6 learnt a wonderfully clever piece called Der Speigel which means “Mirror” in German. The Mirror Duet is a palindromic piece of music by W.A. Mozart. It’s like the word TACOCAT! A palindromic piece means you can play the music both ways and when it comes together as a duet, it has a lovely contrast between the two parts. The girls were amazed to think Mozart how clever Mozart was and that he must have had a lot of spare time on his hands to write this music. Probably because he did not have devices, so there was not much else to do! The music works both ways so when you flip it the right way around, there’s the Violin 1 music, and when you flip it the other way, you get the Violin 2 part. Congratulations to violinists Chelsy Diec, Olivia Chua, Angelina Wang, Anna Slack, Lucinda Morgan and Olivia Flanagan.  

Watch the performance of “The Mirror Duet” here.

Mrs Anne Sweeney
Director of Strings

Term 4 Music Calendar

Pauline Chow
Head of Music

Visual Arts

Congratulations to our Art Captain for 2023, Sienna Apted!

The Art Department were thrilled with the high standard of written submissions from all applicants and impressed by their eloquence and confidence in personal interviews.

Every applicant was brimming with ideas! We encourage students to take up the opportunity to get involved in any way that they can, articulating and exploring their love of the Arts beyond the classroom. We especially invite all recent applicants to put their name forward to be on the Art Committee that Sienna will form. We can dream big and achieve so much with a strong, united team approach.

Congratulations to Sienna! We know she will be a calm, organised and creative Captain.

Lilli Stromland: Onkaparinga Show

Many of you will know Lilli Stromland, Old Girl (Class of 2012) and currently the Visual Arts Department’s respected Drawing tutor. Lilli is a graduate of the National Art School in Sydney, with a major in painting. Since that time, she has been a finalist in a number of prestigious awards and prizes including being a 2020 finalist in the Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship. Her work has been selected in the Salon de Refuses, Portia Geach Memorial Award and the emerging artist section of the Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize.

Lilli has an exhibition that opens next week 8 November 6-8pm at 38 Botany Road, Alexandria (next to the Alexandria Laundrette before Henderson Road).

You can view the works here.

The exhibition continues 9 Wednesday to 19 Saturday November 11am-6pm.

Howard Tanner Drawing Prize

The Howard Tanner Drawing Prize entries are currently on show in JF1. We were thrilled with the submissions from across all year groups and the breadth of practice and care shown in developing these works is impressive. Please feel welcome to drop by to view the works up until the end of week 5. The Award Recipient for 2023 is announced at Speech night by Ms Allum.

Year 10 Exhibition

Exhibition opening this afternoon, Thursday 3 November, 3.15 to 4.15 pm
Exhibition continues until end of week 5 (open during school hours)

On Friday 12 August, Year 10 Visual Arts elective students travelled to Cockatoo Island by ferry for a day of photography on this historically significant island. We were fortunate to spend the whole day exploring and photographing the island. This was part of our practical artmaking in class where we were challenged with creating a photographic body of work using image and text (inspired by the main aspects of Dadaism – and Postmodernism) that investigated and explored Cockatoo Island. We were given complete creative freedom on the subject matter, theme, and overall aesthetic of the work as long as it related to and depicted Cockatoo Island.

In preparation for the much anticipated excursion, in our Visual Arts Process diaries we wrote a statement/proposal outlining what our artistic intentions would be when at Cockatoo Island, and  researched a range of photographic artists such as Pat Brassington, Bill Henson, Trent Parke, Brassai, Andreas Gursky, William Yang and Man Ray annotating their images, looking at their different photographic techniques such as compositional devices, use of lighting, depth of field, viewpoints, and the structural and conceptual properties we could take inspiration from. Lastly, we had to decide how text would accompany our images. Our teachers explained that we didn’t have to stay with the original proposal we had written at the beginning of this practical task, as a key element of the artmaking process is change as we develop new ideas.

Many chose to focus on one of the 4 main eras of Cockatoo Island’s history as a theme to base and direct their photography – the First Nations history, the convicts, and either the reformatory and/or industrial school or the maritime era. Cockatoo Island is the homeland of the Wallumedegal, Wangal, Cammeraygal and Gadigal Peoples who know it as Wareamah. They were the first visitors on the island and traditionally inhabited it until 1893 when it became a new penal establishment. The site was significantly altered by the Europeans erasing much evidence of the First Nations people. From 1839 to 1869, exiled convicts endured harsh living conditions and backbreaking manual labour to help with the development of the young colony. In 1871, the vacant prison buildings were repurposed for an industrial training school for girls and a separate reformatory for young women. The school rooms and housing are preserved on the upper section of the island. The Maritime era lasted from 1857-1991; it contained a ship building and ship repair facility that contributed significantly to Australia’s maritime affairs at that time. There are still multiple docks, warehouses, and machinery on the lower section of the island which is evidence of this maritime era.

After uploading our photos to our laptops, we eagerly started photoshopping and editing our photos to our desired aesthetic. Our teachers taught us to play with saturation, scale, adding text, rotation, shadows, cropping, layers and all the inbuilt features in Adobe Photoshop. This allowed us to modify compositional aspects of the photos taken on Cockatoo Island to further expand and develop the theme we had chosen to illustrate within our artworks. While working online with Photoshop as well as after the stages of printing, there was also opportunity for text to be incorporated. Then we had the opportunity to print our photos on a variety of mediums such as conventional printing paper, matte paper, translucent and glossy. We were able to experiment with the texture of the paper and the size of the photographs, as well as the overall “final look” of the photos by printing our works in different formats and on different types of paper. After printing, some students started collaging, building structures to hang the photos on, cutting up pieces of text from newspaper or making clay forms to create installations. Therefore, there is an amazing diversity of artworks, and the atmosphere of these creative practical classes was uplifting and inspiring. We continued experimenting and artmaking until Week 1 of term 4, and our works are currently exhibited in JF1.

Sophia Chu and Bridgette Dunlop
Year 10

This week’s banner is from Amanda Aroney’s submission for this exhibition.

National Art School Summer School 2023 is open for bookings!

Week 1: Monday 9 – Friday 13 January 2023
Week 2: Monday 16 – Friday 20 January 2023

NAS is gearing up to usher in the new year with the launch of their 2023 Summer School Short Courses! Develop and expand your creative skills in 5-day intensive January Summer Schools, held on-campus at NAS in Darlinghurst. Study for one or two weeks and choose from a variety of courses offered in the disciplines of Ceramics, Drawing, Painting, Photomedia, Printmaking and Sculpture.

• View week 1 courses here.
• View week 2 courses here.

Year 11’s moving into Year 12 are especially encouraged to apply. Feedback on these courses is always so positive so if you are available and are wishing to seek out some creative learning and acquisition or extension of skills over the Summer break, we highly recommend you get involved!

Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts

Secondary Sport News

Parent / Daughter Camps

Just a reminder that with the upcoming parent/daughter camps for Years 4, 7, 9 & 11 in November, all students are required to still fulfil their Saturday morning sporting commitments. Please refer to page 33 of the school diary regarding this rule. There will be consequences for failing to attend prior sporting commitments.

IGSA Gymnastics Championships

The IGSA Gymnastics Championships were held last Friday for the first time since 2019. The competition was split at both Abbotsleigh School (Rhythmic) and PLC Sydney (Artistic). There was lots of sportsmanship on display from all participating schools and officials. At both venues there was a supportive and encouraging environment with lots of cheering and some excellent gymnastics on display. Congratulations on all the competitors who represented SCEGGS.

We are still waiting on official results from IGSA and our Gymnastics Captain Madison Liew will tell us more about the event in next week’s Green Gate.

Easts Touch

SCEGGS has been doing exceptionally well in the Eastern Suburbs Touch Competition which girls play in every Saturday morning. Last weekend we had an overall 8 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses across both senior and junior teams which is an amazing result for SCEGGS. It’s really great to see the SCEGGS community including families and friends coming together every weekend with girls enjoying the opportunity to play with their friends in the warm weather! Luckily, we have been able to play all 3 rounds this term, unlike term 1 which was completely washed out by the rain.

The Senior First team had an outstanding game against top of the table team, Kincoppal Rose Bay, who we beat 5 – 2 last weekend. As well as the junior first teams round 1 game being a 12 – 0 win. These results are super encouraging and are continually improving as the weeks progress. The involvement and commitment to touch at SCEGGS is strong and important, seeing many girls keen to play multiple games and help one another out. In particular Year 8s: Ruby Hughes, Summer McCarthy and Lola Hush who played three games last weekend as well as others who supported teams short on players. 

The determination and passion among many SCEGGS girls for the sport is exciting to see. We are seeing many more girls get involved in representative teams and competitions to improve their skills and use in the SCEGGS touch program. Including, Lily Cooney (Year 8) who played excellently in the senior firsts in round 2 of the competition, being a great asset to the team. Every girl should be proud of their efforts so far this season and it’s exciting to see SCEGGS touch growing stronger each term.

Olivia Ward
Touch Captain

SCEGGS at Play

Do you have any sporting news to share in the Green Gate? Do you have some photos of your children at play?

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 alisongowan@sceggs.nsw.edu.au

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.

Alison Gowan
Director of Sport

Primary Sport News

Sports Nominations Forms

Our enrolment process for Sports Nominations for Term 1, 2023, has begun. Enrolment forms must be submitted as soon as possible to ensure your child/children can be involved in their chosen activities.

Parent Communication

A big thank you to the parents who continue communicating with the relevant sports coordinators or Tom Mitton regarding their daughter’s non-attendance at before/after school training and Saturday sports matches. A reminder that your child is expected at all training sessions unless communicated otherwise; this is done to ensure coaches can plan for the sessions; most importantly, we want to know your daughter is safe! It is asked that communication regarding non-attendance be sent through as early as possible to ensure information can be passed on to relevant coaches and teaching staff.

A further reminder that 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 must be received by SCEGGS Sports Staff before 11.00am for the coaching staff to be communicated appropriately.

IPSHA Gymnastics

The SCEGGS Gymnastics Team travelled to the Sydney Gymnastics Aquatic Centre Rooty Hill to compete in the IPSHA Gymnastics Carnival on Thursday, October 27, and returned with some excellent results! The girls performed beautifully on the day and received some lovely compliments from judges and coaches.

Our Rhythmic Team in Level 1 finished 4^th. Overall, an excellent achievement for the girls who represented the school with great enthusiasm. Seeing the girls work so hard throughout the year to remember and execute their routines was great.

Sienna Morris (Year 6) also competed in Level 4 Rhythmic Gym and finished 4^th overall in Hoops and 4^th in Ribbon against some tough competition.

All 4 of our Artistic Teams placed inside the Top 3, with credit to the girls. They looked polished and thrived in the team atmosphere, an enjoyable day and experience.

• Level 1 – 1^st
• Level 2 – 1^st
• Level 3 – 2^nd
• Level 4 – 3^rd

Glen Hay
Head Gymnastics Coach

Student Achievements

Congratulations to Ingrid Soerensen (Year 4), who competed at the Gymnastics State Championships on Sunday after competing for the IPSHA Gymnastics team on Thursday. Ingrid placed in the gold band for her efforts and second in the team’s competition. A huge step and something to be incredibly proud of.

Parent / Daughter Camps

This is a reminder that all students must still fulfil their Saturday morning sporting commitments with the upcoming parent/daughter camps for Year 4 and Year 6 in November.

Years 2-6 Swimming Carnival

We look forward to a fantastic day for our Years 2-6 Swimming Carnival in Week 7 on Monday 21 November at Lane Cove Leisure Centre.

As usual, girls must be at school by 8.15 am on the carnival day. All girls will travel by hired bus and leave SCEGGS at 8.30 am to take students to Lane Cove Leisure Centre. Upon the event’s finish, girls will either return to school by bus or can be collected by a parent from the venue. Written permission must be sent to their Classroom Teacher if a student is being collected from the carnival. School will conclude at the usual time of 2:55 pm for Year 2 and 3.10 pm for Years 3-6.

Girls should come to school in PE uniform with their swimmers on underneath. At the carnival, the girls may wear decorated hats, coloured socks, t-shirts, and the like in House colours. There are to be no pom-poms or streamers to be brought to the carnival in our efforts to minimise any adverse impact on the environment. PE uniform must be worn correctly to and from school.

The pool at Lane Cove Leisure Centre is an outdoor pool. While there is ample undercover seating, girls must wear t-shirts and sun hats when not swimming and are expected to bring and apply sunscreen throughout the day. Girls may wear any sun-protective swimwear for the day if preferred. We ask that the girls bring enough food and drink for the day. 

Excitingly, we also welcome parents back to attend the carnival! Parents may sit near the students’ seating area or on the balcony overlooking the pool’s finish line. While the canteen facilities are open to parents, we ask that parents not purchase food or drinks for their children.

For students attending before-school and after-school activities. Before school swim squad will be cancelled. Art Club will be cancelled for the day. Years 5 and 6 Drama Group will run as usual. All after-school sports activities will be on, but attendance is not compulsory.

As this is the second Swimming Carnival for the year, the day’s emphasis will be slightly different to that of Term 1. This year’s carnival will be used to select next year’s IPSHA Swimming Team. It is aimed at being a fun celebration for the girls and does not count towards House Cup points, nor will age champions be given out. Ribbons will still be given to race winners on the day. We encourage all girls to get involved in all events and strive for their personal best! From next year, we will be holding our Primary Swimming Carnival in Term 4 of each year, and all awards will be given as usual.

Any students who are absent and do not attend the carnival and wish to trial for the IPSHA Swimming Team will be able to do so in early 2023. This date is yet to be confirmed.

We are all looking forward to a beautiful day. In the case of inclement weather and the need to cancel the carnival, a decision will be made by 7.30 am. Please check the SCEGGS Sports Twitter feed for updates.

SCEGGS Training sessions before and after school plus Saturday Sport

Please check the @SCEGGSSport Twitter feed for the latest updates relating to cancellations.

Cancellation Due to Adverse Weather

Weekday sports training cancellations are posted on the @SCEGGSSport Twitter feed, and Primary parents will receive an SMS when their child’s activity has been cancelled or adjusted for that day.

 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

Debating

Primary Debating

Our Primary Debaters in Years 5 and 6 have working hard at their debating skills over the year, and enjoying themselves in the process! During the year, our Year 6s have had opportunities to compete in multiple competitions: ISDA in Term 1, IPSHA in Terms 2 and 3, and the IPSHA Gala Day in Term 3. These debates have taught them to construct arguments, listen critically, and speak with confidence. Now, in Term 4, we have keen debaters training each Friday lunchtime to further develop their skills in preparation for high school. With no competition to prepare for the girls can take the time to develop their argumentative talents with fun activities that will serve them not only in debating, but in any activity that requires critical thinking and analysis (which is many!) We have also been delighted to launch our Introduction to Debating program for Year 5. It’s been lovely to see how many new faces are interested in learning the skills and strategies of debating, and we are very excited to see many of these girls represent SCEGGS in future years.

Imogen Harper
Debating Coordinator

Go Greener

New single use plastic bans in NSW from 1 November, 2022

According to the organisation Take 3 for the Sea, it is estimated more than 2.7 million plastic items end up in water ways across NSW each year. Single use plastic makes up 60% of this litter in our state. In June 2022 the NSW Government banned the is of plastic bags with handles and thickness of 35 microns or less. More legislation has been enacted to ban further single use plastics items from 1 November.

These items include:

• Single use plastic cutlery, straws, stirrers, and chopsticks
• Single use plastic plates and bowls
• Extruded polystyrene foodware, cups, plates, and clamshell containers
• Single use plastic cotton buds
• Microbeads in certain rinse off personal hygiene products

This ban applies to above single use plastic items even if they are made from compostable, biodegradable or bio plastics.

If you would like some suggestions on how you can swap these items with reusable ones Take 3 from the Sea have produced a video to help and inspire you.

Sue Zipfinger
Sustainability Coordinator

Year 7 (& Catch-Up) Vaccinations Wednesday 9 November

The NSW Ministry of Health offers all school students free vaccinations recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). These vaccines are important and protect students through to adulthood.

All Year 7 students who have received the first dose of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine through the school earlier this year will be offered the second dose on Wednesday 9 November.

Any students who have missed a previous vaccine clinic and have already handed in their signed consent card will also be given the opportunity to receive their missed vaccine on Wednesday 9 November. Parents will be emailed if their daughter is one of the students receiving a catch-up vaccination.

Sarah Walters
Director of Administration

SPAN Event – Women in STEM

Join our Head of Science Mr Hanson as he interviews five stellar women from the SCEGGS Old Girls’ community who are excelling in their careers in STEM. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from Professor Elizabeth ELLIOTT (1974), Brittany EVAT (2014), Jayne LONGSTAFF (2008), Edie MATHER (2003) and Dr Sarah THOMAS BROOME (2012) while you connect with other like-minded members of the SCEGGS community!

If you are currently working or aspiring to work in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields, this event is for you!

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