As I had emailed you all on Tuesday, this is a reminder about our 125th birthday book.
I think you would know that we engaged the services of Chris Gleisner to be a part-time photographer in residence for the year, to chronicle life at SCEGGS for our 125th birthday. Obviously those plans have changed a little! We are now capturing some learning at-home moments in photographs too! What a unique year to be capturing for posterity.
So, we would like to have a photograph competition for all girls. Please submit your favourite photo of what it is like to be learning at home. We will give some Highly Commended prizes, and the best few photographs (as judged by Chris Gleisner) will be included in the special 125th birthday book!
You may also include a short description about how you are feeling. This may take the form of prose or poetry.
All photos will also be kept for archive purposes too. Imagine what SCEGGS students will think about all these photos in 50 years’ time…?!
Please, only one entry per girl! Entries close Friday 8 May.
Jenny Allum
Head of School
A year in the life of SCEGGS Photo Book
As part of SCEGGS 125th celebrations, the School has commissioned photographer Chris Gleisner to capture a year in the life of SCEGGS. The photos will be used to create a coffee-table style book commemorating our milestone year. Needless to say, the year has taken a different course to what was anticipated!
An integral part of our life at the moment has been our experiences of learning and working at home. Some of you may have a “full house” of parents and siblings all trying to get on with their day-to-day agendas, others may have come up with some creative “corona hacks” for adapting to new ways of living while others may have discovered untapped talents as they self-isolate. Whatever your experience, we are looking for families who are happy to be photographed in their home by Chris for potential inclusion in the book. Chris will take all necessary health and safety precautions including maintaining her social distance, wearing a face mask and applying hand sanitiser.
If you are interesting in welcoming Chris into your home and to be photographed for the book, please email tinamavritsakis@sceggs.nsw.edu.au
We look forward to hearing from you!
Term 2 Co-curricular Activities
As Ms Allum indicated in an email to parents, the School is planning to offer an exciting range of Co-curricular activities for girls from Kindergarten – Year 12. These activities will range from physical activities such as Fitness, to creative pursuits like Painting, as well as Drama, Debating and many more! An email will be circulated tomorrow with further details and a timetable. We hope that many girls will take advantage of one or more of the activities being offered.
Sports News
A Welcome back to Term II message from the PDHPE and Sport Department!
Over the last month I have found it enjoyable to see so many people return to a simpler way of life where everything is less structured. As the cinemas, shopping centres, gyms and sports facilities have shut down, this has created new opportunities elsewhere. At my local sports fields I have seen many teenagers and young children out riding bikes, skateboards, shooting goals as well as parents kicking soccer balls and footballs with their children. Many parents are out enjoying walks with their children, chatting as they go and walking the family dog together. The joy of free play time and family connection has been rediscovered. This has been a real positive in this present situation.
This term will be very different to what we are accustomed with sport. All of our inter-school sporting competitions have been cancelled in both the primary and secondary school until Term 3. In addition, social distancing requirements and government sports facility closures have added another layer to our challenge to keep everyone healthy and fit.
As with online learning in the classroom, this has presented new opportunities for us to explore in the sports arena. This week we have started trialling some online Zoom fitness, yoga and pilates classes for everyone in the secondary school. We will be adding in more sports activities as the term progresses and as students return to school life in person. If you did not enrol in an activity for Term II , please do not worry as we will open most of the activities to everyone at no cost in the short term.
We have created some resources on our Cognito Sports page for students to participate in at their own leisure and will be adding to the various modules as the term progresses. If you have any additional fun activities or links to ideas than can be included, please let me know!
From week 3 in the primary school we will be offering some activities after school for students on site in large spaces such as the Sports Hall. These will include individual activities like yoga classes on a Wednesday and Fundamental Movements Skills and Hockey Skills on a Thursday. We will send out more information regarding this to parents shortly. We are optimistic about social distancing guidelines being further relaxed before the end of term so we can begin tennis training groups, resume our cross-country running club, commence athletics training and other activities such as gymnastics and sports skills sessions.
As soon as it is deemed safe to do so, we will introduce sports training sessions in football, basketball, netball and hockey in the secondary school. We will be preparing for Term III competitive sport and the various sports trials and looking at inter-house events in Basketball and Football. At this stage we are unsure about our two athletics carnivals in June and will await further government advice as to whether these can proceed.
As you can appreciate this current situation is evolving all the time. As social restrictions are hopefully softened in the upcoming weeks, we will adapt to reflect this in our sport offerings on a week by week basis. It is important for everyone to stay active for social, mental and physical benefits.
Sports Captains
Congratulations to the following students who have been selected as Sports Captains for Terms 2 & 3:
Football
Sascha O’Rourke
Netball
Charlotte Cooper
Hockey
Despina Tsolakis
Athletics
Mia Whalley
Basketball
Isabel Hurwit
Alison Gowan Director of Sport
From the P&F
Dear Parents & Friends
Welcome to Term II.
I do hope that you your daughters and families had a relaxing break.
Given that the School’s priority is a return to “school” as we all know it for all our daughters over the course of the next month, all the scheduled P&F events and class parent activities for May 2020 including the Trivia Night and Years 11 & 12 Father Daughter Breakfast will be cancelled. It is envisaged that these events will be rescheduled later in the year when it is deemed to be safer for all for such events to take place.
The P&F acknowledges that certain events scheduled for Term I were cancelled due to COVID-19 and that payments were made by parents for participation in these events. The P&F will make arrangements for these payments to be returned to those parents in the next short period.
Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Penny Newton
P&F President
From the Senior Library
“125 Years in 125 Days” – We have just completed our sixth week of counting down our School’s birthday!
Camp at Kangaroo Valley 1972
Depending on when you read this article, it is about 85 days until the School’s 125th birthday. The final week of Term 1 featured interesting or important School buildings.
While the holidays were occurring, we were also counting down some of the glamorous versions of the School uniforms over the years as well as looking at wartime activities leading up to ANZAC Day.
The Library will send a link next week with a slideshow showing the countdown so far!
This coming week will feature some of the varied School camps and excursions over the years. The Archives have an amazing collection of past camp and excursion photographs from which to choose!
We love the contrast between the tennis trip to Frensham by Charabanc bus in 1930 and the 1987 Year 7s on their way to Littledale on the new School bus.
1930 and 1987 bus trips
SCEGGS has a long history of exciting excursions to places near and overseas – we love the photograph of the girls looking very pleased with themselves in the 1981 trip to Greece!
Trip to Greece 1981
Can you guess what year this Warrumbungles trip took place? Does anyone know the students featured in this photograph? Email your answer to alisonconliffe@sceggs.nsw.edu.au.
Warrumbungle National Park
We hope you continue to follow the countdown with us and enjoy the physical display board when you return in person.
Dorothy Wilkinson Memorial Library and Archives
The School Shop is open for trading
The opening hours for Term II for the School Shop will be 8.30am-3.30pm, Monday – Friday.
In keeping with safe community guidelines, the following changes from last term will stay in place:
Winter Uniform fittings will be by appointment only
We will not be accepting cash payments.
If you know the size and the items you require feel free to email ClareReid@sceggs.nsw.edu.au or phone through your order. You can pick them up from the shop at a time that suits you.
I look forward to helping you with your Winter uniform needs.
Clare Reid School Shop Manager
Visual Arts
Existing Co-curricular classes resume for students in Week 2.
Monday’s Drawing classes with Babette and Lilli and Thursday’s Painting classes with Eliza will provide access to an online gallery space to exhibit their work and plenty of fresh opportunities to discuss their process and progress with their tutors.
We look forward to seeing students collaborate, exchange ideas, experiment and expand their skills. All currently enrolled students will be notified via email of their course plans for the coming weeks by their tutors.
Digital Photography Club
We’re thrilled be able to offer a new Co-Curricular Art Class in Digital Photography on Tuesday afternoons. A digital camera of some description (including your smart phone) is all you need.
The class will start next Tuesday 5th May at 3:15PM and run until the end of term. The class will be taken by established artist, educator and SCEGGS Old Girl Ella Condon. Ella has extensive experience as a contemporary photographer, teacher, and currently runs education programs at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Ella Condon photography
Ella Condon photography
We are unable to offer Darkroom Photography for the time being, so for our current Photography students this will be a wonderful opportunity to expand their skills into the digital realm and learn a little more about camera craft in this setting.
Any Year 12 students who are using Photography in their Body of Work are strongly encouraged to participate!
SCEGGSfest
Our short film competition SCEGGSfest, run over the School holidays has had its deadline extended until end of Week 2. Details on how to enter can be accessed here SCEGGS-fest! And we encourage all students to submit their work for consideration.
Masterclass
Over the School holidays Babette Robinson, one of our co-curricular Drawing tutors, ran a masterclass in Drawing and watercolour painting and her students produced some beautiful works! This was a wonderful opportunity for students to collaborate together over the holidays, gain new skills and explore their artmaking practice.
Lila Eversgerd, Year 7
Sascha O'Rourke, Year 12
The 2020 Youth Art Prize will be continuing with an online exhibition
There has never been a more important time to be making art.
This year’s theme Framed asks young artists to create an artwork about someone that inspires them. All artworks will be included in the online exhibition.
As a part of this initiative, we are running online activities lead by local artists to help our young artists come up with great portraits.
So #isolatecreate and get planning on your Youth Art Prize Entry!
We know there are lots of young artists, parents and teachers in the region looking for creative, at-home activities. So be sure to tell your friends and colleagues to sign up for Waverley Youth art Prize newsletter. Forward them this newsletter and encourage them to sign up by clicking here.
Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts
Music Matters
“Music for Mateship” – ANZAC Day Commemoration 2020
In the last week of the school holidays, an email was sent to Primary and Secondary students involved in Music ensembles to take part in in the “Music for Mateship” initiative. The current COVID-19 situation saw services that would normally have taken place in our local communities to commemorate ANZAC Day cancelled. “Music for Mateship” was a national call for musicians to learn and play The Last Post and Reveille at the end of their driveways at 6am on ANZAC Day.
The spirit of the ANZACs was certainly kept alive as you can see from the following photographs of students who took on the challenge. Thank you to these students for sharing your photographs with the school community: Katerina Giannikouris (Year 5), Georgia Baker Wood (Year 6), Anna Slack (Year 3), Emily O’Shea (Year 6) and Samantha Millin (Year 7). Well done to everyone who took part in this initiative!
Instrumental and Vocal Tuition via Zoom
As face to face teaching is being re-introduced (beginning with our Year 12 students) most tutors feel it would be more practical to maintain their teaching through an online platform. Tutors will be in contact with families with lesson times for the coming weeks. Students are reminded to let their class teachers know if they have an instrumental/vocal lesson within a timetabled class.
Co-curricular Music Activities
A schedule of Co-curricular Music activities will be shared with the school community in Week 2. Ensemble directors and conductors have worked hard to create activities for students to access online.
See below the pictures of students who participated in Bugles band online with Mr Tierney at the end of last term:
Students involved in the relevant ensembles will be contacted with further information about their online activity.
We encourage all students who are currently involved in a co-curricular Music ensemble to remain committed to the online activities.
Any students who like to join are most welcome and are encouraged to contact Mr Jewitt (Ensembles Co-ordinator) in the Music Department.
Whilst the current situation is restricting our activities as an “online” presence – we are looking forward to resuming our rehearsals face-to-face as soon as the situation allows.
Pauline Chow Head of Music
Somerset National Poetry Prize
Lucia Gelonesi wins Junior Category of Poetry Prize
At the end of March Lucia Gelonesi (Year 10) was announced as the Junior Winner of the 2020 Somerset National Poetry Prize for her poem “Mothers as Others.” Lucia has won this competition previously in 2019 and we congratulate her on this incredible second honour.
I asked Lucia to reflect on the motivation for her poem and she commented that, “Like most young women, I find the relationship between mothers and daughters endlessly fascinating.
I think it takes time for any child to recognise the full humanity of their parents. In your early teens they are simply, self-evidently embarrassing. But, perhaps, after facing the daunting prospect of starting to shape our own lives, our mother’s human frailties become more evident, and more understandable: internal contradictions, blind-spots and sensitivities, extravagant love, but also an inevitable ambivalence (and at times outright hostility) toward their own daughter. When you are very young, you only see your mother in relation to yourself. But as you become more of a self-conscious individual, you begin to reflect in a more curious and appraising way and recognise her as complex a character with an intriguing history, in the dark ages, before you existed! Although it’s inevitable, this realisation can be at times confronting and bewildering. I wanted to explore all this in the poem.”
Her poem, and other winning and commended poems can be read here.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind our community about the many Creative Writing Opportunities available for students at the moment. Your daughter is very welcome to contact their English teacher if they have a question about any of the competitions mentioned below.
The SCEGGS Old Girls Careers Evening on May 6 has been postponed, unfortunately. We waited as long as we could to see if there was a chance it could have gone ahead but it is not possible to host such an event during these unprecedented times.
It is hoped that the event can be scheduled later in the year, or at the latest, early in 2021.
There has never been a more important time to be making art. 
