Primary School Look and Learn

This week, the Primary classrooms have been bursting with adult visitors as we held the first of our “Look and Learn” lessons for 2023.

“Look and Learn” lessons will be held termly over the course of this year and are an opportunity for parents, carers, and extended family members to step inside our Primary classrooms to see learning in action. The past few COVID impacted years have prevented us from having the opportunity to share these experiences with parents, so it has been all the more special this week, rekindling this connection with our families.

This week, a variety of engaging and challenging learning experiences have been shared with families:

Kindergarten parents got a little more than they had bargained for when they were asked to actively participate in a PE lesson! The shoes were off, the pants rolled up and it was all hands on deck as they helped the girls to refine their fundamental movement skills. The focus of this lesson was accurate throwing and catching and lots of fun was had developing these skills through a games-based approach.

Year 4 parents enjoyed participating in a practical French lesson where their oral French was put to test as they described a range of weather conditions and revised their knowledge of numbers to 100. A joyous Choir lesson was also enjoyed, where parents enjoyed a range of strategies that are regularly used to refine the girls’ vocal skills and enjoyed a sneak peak of the repertoire from the upcoming Stage 2 Concert.

Year 5 parents engaged in a hands-on practical Science lesson where they explored the concept of surface tension by investigating how many drops of water could sit on the surface of a coin before the surface tension broke. A Music lesson was also showcased where parents were treated to a selection of both vocal and musical performances, with one willing Dad even joining in to perform alongside the girls on the xylophone!

Year 6 parents enjoyed unpacking the process of Narrative writing, using a great visual stimulus as a starting point. Working alongside their parents, the girls brainstormed, planned and drafted a range of narratives, ensuring they used varied vocabulary and sentence structure for impact.

Next week we look forward to welcoming parents for the following “Look and Learn” lessons:

Helen Dempsey
Head of Primary

Tuning into Teens™: Parenting Program

This year we are again inviting parents and carers of students in Years 6 and 7 to take part in Tuning in to Teens, a six-week parenting program that aims to help you and your daughter manage the many emotional challenges of adolescence. The program teaches skills in how to manage your own and your adolescent’s emotions in ways that help you to remain close and keep communicating. These skills are likely to help reduce conflict within your family and 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 (EQ). 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 young people 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 – EQ 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 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 we are aware that in recent years COVID restrictions have interrupted many opportunities 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 Thursday 27 April.  Dr Melissa Saxton and I will be facilitating the group, commencing in Week 3 of Term 2. There will be six two-hour sessions, from 6.30 – 8.30pm on the following nights:

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

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

Janet McEwen
School Counsellor

Music Matters

Assembly Performances

Congratulations to the Secondary musicians and choristers who performed in this week’s musical feature in Assembly.  The musical item this week provided the school with a sneak preview for Musicale 1’s Disney themed concert. Contemporary Strings, Van Reyk Percussion and choristers from Choir, Madrigal Ensemble and Year 7 Choir are combining for the grand finale in the concert to perform music from the Disney movie “Brave”. It was a rousing and energetic performance to commence the week!  Many thanks to Mrs Anne Sweeney and Miss Allison Harrigan for their direction of the musicians and choristers.  Thank you also to Mr Matt Moore who prepared the percussionists from the Van Reyk Percussion group for this combined item.

SCEGGS Eisteddfod Highlights Concert – Friday 24 March, Great Hall

Congratulations to all Primary and Secondary 2023 SCEGGS Music Eisteddfod students.  Over 280 students participated in this year’s eisteddfod with 21 Primary students and 22 Secondary students selected by the adjudicators to perform in their respective Highlights Concerts.  The adjudicators for the Primary Highlights concert were Mr Robert Harris and Ms Melanie McLoughlin (both Instrumental adjudicators).  The Secondary Highlights concert featured Ms Melanie Mcloughlin and Ms Donna Balson (Vocal adjudicator).  The adjudicators were impressed with the overall standard of musicianship in the students.  They also had the difficult task to decide on the acknowledgement awards and the overall winner of each Primary and Secondary section. 

Prior to the announcement of prizes, Mr Robert Harris shared the following thoughts in the Primary Highlights Concert:

I have enjoyed returning to adjudicate the SCEGGS Primary Heats and Concert. As in 2022, it has been exciting for me to experience again this year such an extensive program of performances by over 150 talented and dedicated young musicians, to appreciate the progress made by those who also performed last year, and to see and hear other students for the first time. My thanks and congratulations to all those young players for their good work and their achievements, many playing instruments well matched to making good progress at a young age, others playing instruments which are notorious in the music profession as being especially challenging. Therefore the concert includes a fair representation of the many other fine pianists and strings players in the SCEGGS music program but also brass, wind and percussion instrumentalists. Of course there were more than 20 players deserving of performing in the Highlights Concert but in addition to the important goal of including young musicians from every school-year level I have also selected players who, in my opinion, achieved on the day a musicality which enhanced technical abilities. My further thanks and congratulations to those who support these students’ musical endeavours – not only the friendly music staff who organise these special events so well but also the staff piano accompanists, the visiting instrumental teachers, the ‘entourage’ families of parents and siblings who support and adapt to the particular needs of private music lessons, home practise, ensemble rehearsals. Noting the long-proven and undeniable benefits to broad educational progress afforded by music and instrument study we must also thank the School for providing such a vibrant music program as part of opportunities, for students. I’m told that I may have contributed a relaxed positive experience for the performers but the pleasures have also been mine, enjoying young people bringing music into their and our lives. Congratulations everyone!

In her shared reflection at the Secondary Highlights Concert, Ms Melanie McLoughlin asked the students who performed to turn to provide their peer with a feedback and reflection of what they did well in their own performance and what they enjoyed of each other’s performance.

Congratulations to the following students:

My sincere thanks to Ms Heidi Jones and Ms Stephanie Holmes who not only oversaw the organisation and administration of the Eisteddfod but were also responsible for the accompaniment of students in individual heats as well as supporting students with their final rehearsals for the Highlights concerts.

Thank you to members of the school community, the Music Department and the outstanding team of instrumental/vocal staff for their support and contribution in making this year’s event such a success. 

Invitation for Interested String Players to apply for AUSTA String Festival 2023

An open invitation for any interested String players who would like to participate in the 2023 AUSTA’s (Australian Strings Association) String Festival on Sunday 21 May.  The event is designed to invite young string players to play in a friendly, non-competitive and supportive environment.  Players may perform either a solo piece or a work with an accompanist.  For further information please visit here.  Entries closes 7 May 2023.

Year 5 Open Classroom

Year 5 Parents were invited to take part in Open Classrooms this week.  Ms Lanneke Jones had Year 5 parents take part in her lesson with students learning to sing “Little Liza Jane” before transferring to canon and later learning parts on instruments.  It was great for parents to experience this and to see how a variety of different musical activities can transpire from a song.  Thank you, Ms Jones for sharing your lessons!

Upcoming Music Events for Term 2

Pauline Chow
Head of Music

Parents’ and Friends’ Assocation Trivia Night – Save the Date

The P&F’s Trivia Night is back! Save the date on Friday 2 June 2023 for an evening of fun, great company and a little healthy competition!

Year 4 Science and Technology Excursion to Long Reef

The Year 4 Science and Technology excursion to Long Reef on the Northern Beaches was a great day! The girls were challenged to be field investigators, looking for evidence of weathering, erosion and deposition in a coastal environment. To frame their learning, the inquiry questions were posed: How does the Earth’s surface change over time? How do natural processes and human actions change the Earth’s surface over time?

The day began with an area description of the Long Reef headland and rock platform. We learned that it was formed over 240 million years ago and is mostly made up of Bald Hill claystone. The girls handled some Hawkesbury sandstone, a type of sedimentary rock, and by grinding two samples together, they discovered one way in which the sand on Long Reef beach is formed.

They described its characteristics, examined various grain sizes using a hand lens and categorised its coarseness using the scale pictured below.

Down on the beach, the girls investigated erosion of the sand dunes. Working collaboratively, each group used an anemometer to measure wind speed at the front of the dune, then moved to the back of the sand dune to compare the results in kilometres per hour. After collecting several readings, they shared their findings and discovered the wind was at least four times more powerful on the side facing the sea! It was also evident that the waves had also caused part of the mounds to suddenly fall away. They noticed the critical role plants play in preserving the sand dunes and using a plant guide, they discovered species of Pennywort, Pigface and Coast Wattle, which is a shrub with leaves between 5 to 10 centimetres in length.

Walking around the headland, exploration of weathering, erosion and deposition continued. Practical experience included using a tape measure to measure the size of the boulders and a laser range finder to estimate the height of the cliffs in metres. The girls recorded their data in tables and analysed the results to consider how the many boulders varied due to erosion caused by gravity, abrasion, rain and wind.

Boasting a rich history, we also discovered a coast shell midden on the headland. As the shells become exposed due to erosion, it provided evidence of past meals eaten by Aboriginal people. We even found a Port Jackson shark egg as we studied the rock pools!

In the final challenge of the day, the students engaged in building a sandcastle and using loose parts found on the beach to protect it from erosion.

Whilst we ran out of time to test the robustness of the sandcastles, the girls will have an opportunity to put their scientific knowledge and skills to the test back in the classroom. Thinking deeply about the extensive erosion caused by the heavy rains in 2022, the students are excited about producing a design solution to protect Long Reef. They will generate and communicate ideas, collaborate and refine plans before constructing a model to solve a real-world problem using a range of recycled materials brought in from home.

Gabriela Grocott
Year 4 Science and Technology Teacher

Visual Arts

The Waverley Youth Art Prize returns for 2023

The Prize is open to everyone aged between 9-18 living, studying and playing in Sydney’s East. This year’s theme, Climate Utopia, was decided by a young people’s focus group and is intended to get young artists thinking about hope, possible futures and the environment.

Winners of the Youth Art Prize will receive a range of art materials to help with future art making while the winner of the senior section will receive a voucher for a week at the National Art School’s Summer School.

You can apply here. Submissions close on 25 May.

Create for a Day at SAE Creative Media Institute

When: Saturday 15 April (during school holidays)
Time: 10am – 3.00pm
Cost: $25/pp (lunch included)

SAE Sydney is opening its doors on Saturday 15 April for Create For A Day, a one-of-a-kind full day program where students can attend the SAE campus and work on inspiring creative projects in the fields of animation, audio, film, gaming, design, song writing & music production.

Students can access the SAE campus and its state-of-the-art facilities, explore behind the scenes, experience life as an SAE student and discover what it’s like to be a creative professional, with industry experts by their side.

Due to the tertiary level of the workshop content, this event is open to anyone aged 15 years and above.

Tickets are limited and going fast, don’t miss out! Get you ticket here.

This week’s banner is a painting from Bianca Hardge (Year 10).

Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts

Creative Writing Opportunities

This term we have been delighted to see students compose fabulous creative and analytical work; from punchy persuasive writing in Year 9 to haunting creative fiction in Year 7. Our teachers loved reading some the compelling biographical writing of Year 8 and were impressed by the ability of Year 10 students to write effective essay responses on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

We are always keen to encourage our students to submit their work into external competitions, and I know that many teachers have been sharing information with their classes about some of the upcoming opportunities. As we move towards the holidays, we wanted to share some of the links below as we know there are many keen writers who may want to work on pieces over their break. Many of these websites also have incredible resources for passionate poems and writers.

The What Matters Writing Competition is open to students in Years 5 – 12. This competition asks students to write personally on a topic which they are passionate about. Entries are due by Friday 5 May. More information can be found at the website here.

The Dorothea Mackellar Writing Competition is one of Australia’s most prestigious poetry awards for young people. This year’s theme is “A Winding Road.” The school has registered an account for this competition and your daughter will be able to check with her teacher about entering before the due date of Friday 30 June. Many Year 7 – 10 courses will explore poetry in Term 2, so this might complement your daughter’s studies nicely. More information can be found at the website here.

Red Room’s Poetry Forest Competition encourages students to compose poems which have a positive message on climate change. This competition is open until Friday 22 September. More information can be found here.

The Insight Writing Competition is open to students in Years 7 – 12. Students are invited to compose creative pieces of up to 1,400 words. The theme for this year is “Promise.” This competition is open until Friday 1 September. More information can be found here.

The English Department wishes everyone all the best for the Easter break – what a wonderful time to read a book and get back to writing for pleasure!

Jenny Bean
Head of English

Secondary Sport News

IGSA Swimming Carnival 2023

 The IGSA Swimming Carnival was held on March 17 at the Sydney Olympic Aquatic Centre. Congratulations to all swimmers who competed and well done for winning the Division 3 Champion School Shield.

Ribbon Winners for Division 3

Team Results

Individual Results

East Touch Grand Finals

Well done to all the SCEGGS Touch teams who competed in the Term 1 Eastern Suburbs Touch Competition. SCEGGS were successful in winning the Overall Champion School.

The remaining touch semi-finals and finals were completed on Saturday at ES Marks. All matches were thrilling, hard fought games, with only one point deciding nearly all the matches.

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Congratulations to Ilana Patkar (Year 11) who competed at the Rhythmic Gymnastics Senior State Championships at Shoalhaven Sports Centre in Shoalhaven held on Sunday 19 March.

Ilana showed confidence on the floor with her improvement throughout the course of her competition season being displayed in abundance!

Ilana Patkar (Level 9): 11^th Hoop, 9^th Ball, 11^th Clubs, 10^th Ribbon, 10^th Overall

A huge congratulations to Ilana and her coaches Rachel and Emma for the work put into a successful event and senior competition season!

SCEGGS Around The Grounds

Here’s a few pics from the Striders.

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 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 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 at

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

Saturday Sports

Well done to all of our teams across Year 3 Basketball, IPSHA Football and IPSHA Waterpolo/Flippaball for an amazing term.

Thanks to all the coaches and sports staff for their ongoing hard work and dedication to help girls improve their skills and enjoy themselves at all weekly sessions and Saturday games in Term 1.

Term 2 Saturday Sports Information

IPSHA Minkey/Hockey Years 4-6

Training sessions will be held in Week 10 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 4.50pm from Moore Park or approximately 5.20pm outside the Sports Hall on Forbes Street.

Please note that all girls are required to have a mouthguard and shinpads to be able to participate in the Minkey trials.

IPSHA Netball Years 4-6

Trial sessions will be held in Week 10 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 4.50pm from Moore Park or approximately 5.20pm outside the Sports Hall on Forbes Street.

Year 3 Netball

Trial sessions will be held in Week 10 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 4.50pm from Moore Park or approximately 5.20pm outside the Sports Hall on Forbes Street.

If your daughter is unable to attend any of the Term 1 sessions listed above, please contact TomMitton@sceggs.nsw.edu.au.

IPSHA Cross Country

Best of luck to our IPSHA Cross Country runners who are representing SCEGGS this Saturday morning at The Kings School. We are very proud of you!

• Emilia Laban (Year 4)
• Hannah Walker (Year 3)
• Emma Bozunovic (Year 3)
• Imogen Symons (Year 3)
• Beatrice Emanuel (Year 4)
• Clementine Finlayson (Year 4)
• Emily Snow (Year 4)
• Klemintine Chylek (Year 4)
• Daisy Grice (Year 4)
• Evie Thorpe (Year 5)
• Sarah Ibrahim (Year 5)
• Grace Webster (Year 5)
• Jessica Grace (Year 5)
• Gabriella Orth (Year 5)
• Anna Slack (Year 6)
• Anja Baker (Year 6)
• Ava Pepper (Year 6)
• Chelsea Fallshaw (Year 6)
• Indigo Hasemer (Year 6)

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 before 11.00am for the coaching staff to be communicated to.

Tom Mitton
PDHPE and Sport Coordinator: Primary

SRC

The SRC for 2023 is up and running, and we are currently working on many new projects and have lots of news to share, so we thought we’d give you an update. It’s been a productive term, and we’ve been talking lots about how to make our school even better! Students all over the school have been giving us suggestions, and we’ve been working towards realising these ideas. We hope these updates excite you as much as they do us, and we welcome you to give us some suggestions in the form below!

What’s just arrived..

Sunscreen Dispensers!

Last year’s SRC completed a huge project of getting sunscreen dispensers for the school. They’re called “Sunsquirt Sunscreen Dispensers” and have been specially designed and customised for SCEGGS and have just arrived at school. We ordered three dispensers that are being placed around the school, so keep a lookout around the school this week and give them a try!

What we are working on:

Currently, we have numerous new ideas and projects we are working on.

These include:

• Making improvements to the bathrooms
• A focus on the cafeteria and vending machines

And most importantly… more communication from us to you. So, we are introducing a google form that any student or staff may click on and send a message to the SRC, whether that’s an idea they want us to talk about in meetings or any questions they have about how the SRC works. The form will be in all future SRC Behind the Green Gate articles and always up and running, being checked regularly all year.

Suggestions form

Have any suggestions or any ideas for the SRC? Or any questions about what we do or what we’re working on? You can write them here at any time.

The SRC

Debating

Congratulations to Helena Piazza (Year 12) for making the NSW State Debating Squad! This is a truly phenomenal achievement. Approximately 80 debaters in Years 10-12 across the state trail for the NSW Debating Team, and it is after those initial trials, and call-backs for 24 debaters, that Helena has been selected in the top 12 debaters in the state. She will now have the opportunity to train with this squad for the next few weeks.

Last Friday, all our Eastside teams, and our Years 10, 11, and 12 ISDA teams, won their debates – well done everyone! As we near finals many teams are in contention to make the knock-out rounds, and all teams should be proud of their performances.

This week is the final week of debating in Term 1. Eastside debaters will be travelling to Cranbrook for their Round 5 debates. The bus will leave at 4.30pm, and there will be no return bus to SCEGGS. A reminder that the Year 9 Eastside debate has been rescheduled to 12 May in Term 2. The final round of ISDA debates will take place at SCEGGS, and we will be competing against Roseville.

Debating will begin as soon as Term 2 resumes. In Week 1 we have our 6^th round of Eastside against (and at) Sydney Grammar school, and the rescheduled Primary B, Year 7, Year 10, and Senior B ISDA debates. Those ISDA debates will take place virtually, so all teams will remain at SCEGGS. The Archdale competition, on Tuesday afternoons, will then begin in Week 4. For Year 6, IPSHA debating will begin in Week 2 of Term 2.

Imogen Harper
Debating Coordinator

Public Speaking

Term 1 has been a busy time for Public Speaking.  The Rostrum Voice of Youth took place over the past few weeks  with one student, Sadie Juneja (Year 9) winning her heat and two students, Bronte Burke (Year 11) and Nicola Allen (Year 12) being awarded runner up.  The whole team, also Celia Watson (Year 10), Sofia Tzouganatos (Year 7) and Ashley Diec (Year 8) spoke confidently and did the School proud. 

A number of students also received awards at the Australian Speech Communication Association (ASCA) Awards Ceremony.  These awards were given to students who have received outstanding marks and worked consistently in the lead up to the ASCA exams in 2022.  The recipients were Mila Gupta (Year 4), Annabelle Dempsey (Year 5), Zara Anderson (Year 6),  Antonia Neal (Year 7), Alex Rennie-Meyenn (Year 7), Isabella Burns (Year 8), Zara Perkins (Year 9), Emma Chang (Year 10), Claudia Demos (Year 11), Sybilla Hooke (Year 11), Amelia Moran (Year 12) and Lucia Gelonesi (Class of 2022).

Elizabeth Walsh
Speech and Public Speaking

Autumn Vacation Care at SCEGGS

It is not too late to book into SCEGGS’ fantastic Vacation Care program for the coming school holidays. A full program of events can be viewed here.

Please note that the excursion to the Easter Show planned for Wednesday 12 April has been replaced with a Multi-sport day to be facilitated by our Head of Gymnastics Glen Hay. If you have booked in for this excursion and would like a refund, please contact us here.

If you would like to book your child into Vacation Care, please follow the TryBooking link to generate your tickets.

All Vacation Care enquiries may be directed to Robyn Lindau on 9332 1133 or via email on afterschoolcare@sceggs.nsw.edu.au

Parents’ and Friends’ Association

Class Parent Events