P&F Association Years 7 and 8 Parent/Daughter Breakfast

Students in Years 7 and 8 and a parent/carer are warmly invited to attend the Parent/Daughter Breakfast:

We are thrilled to welcome back to SCEGGS Old Girl Olivia BOYAGES (2012), who has been on an incredible journey, as our guest speaker.

After completing a double degree in Law and Arts at UNSW, majoring in French and minoring in Spanish, Olivia has built an exciting career as a litigation lawyer at Gilchrist Connell, where she helps schools, architects and insurance companies navigate complex legal challenges.

But Olivia’s journey to Gilchrist Connell had some interesting stops along the way! In 2022 Olivia moved to the Netherlands for a year to work at the prestigious International Criminal Court in the Hague. There, she drifted from her usual work by taking on a role with the ICC’s in-house legal team.

Driven by her passion for social justice and giving back to the community, Olivia has provided pro bono legal assistance to women in need and refugees from Afghanistan. What’s more, she participates in a community outreach program with the elderly, and has completed two fundraising treks through the Northern Territory – one to raise money for Indigenous artists and the other for childhood cancer research.

On top of all of this, Olivia continues to nurture her passion for languages, speaking six languages in total – including Greek and French  – and even dabbled in some Dutch while overseas. She also juggles the demands of work while raising her one year old toddler, embracing the challenges and joys of balancing career and family life. 

To hear more about Olivia’s career journey and her fascinating insights, join us on Friday 5 September.

Creative Writing Success

We are so proud of the many enthusiastic and committed creative writers at SCEGGS and are delighted to share with you the achievement of two of our Year 7 students.

Susanna Brown (Year 7) has been shortlisted in the What Matters? Competition for her piece “Anzac Day Matters.” With over 6000 entries for this competition, this is an excellent achievement and we wish her all the best for the final announcement about the winning entries. Her powerful and engaging piece can be read at the link here.

Bianca Elias (Year 7) has been shortlisted in the Mosman Youth Awards for her short story. This year the competition received a record number of entries. We wish Bianca all the best as she attends the Awards Ceremony in late August.

External Writing Competitions 2025

Red Room’s Poetry Forest Competition

This competition encourages students to compose poems which have a positive message on climate change. The theme of this year’s competition is “Understory” and  there are a wealth of resources on the Red Room website and the competition closes on Friday 26 September.

More information can be found here.

The Insight Writing Competition

This competition is open to students in Years 7 – 12. Students are invited to compose creative pieces (short story, poem, script) of up to 1,400 words. The theme for this year is “Soulmates” This competition is open until 1 September.

More information can be found here.

Jenny Bean
Head of English

Stage 3 Oracy Showcase Celebrates Student Voices for a Third Year

The power of student voice took centre stage once again at the Stage 3 Oracy Showcase, where the finalists delivered powerful, passionate, and polished speeches that left the audience inspired.

Now in its third year, the event continues to grow in impact, reinforcing the Primary School’s commitment to oral language and communication as a vital foundation for learning, leadership, and future success. Driven by a focus on developing oracy skills that support collaboration, critical thinking, and personal expression, the event empowers the girls to use their voices to influence, inform, and spark ideas for positive action. As quoted in Annabel Ling’s speech on gender equity, in the words of Mahatma Gandhi, ultimately, we want the girls at SCEGGS, “…to be the change [they] wish to see in the world.”

The theme of the Stage 3 Oracy Showcase invites the girls to explore What Matters?  a provocation that always prompts an incredible range of topics from the global to the personal, from urgent problems to quiet but powerful ideas.

After an engaging morning of speeches, the overall winner was awarded to Klemintine Chylek (Year 6) whose topic was both refreshingly unexpected and a great reminder as the girls headed into the holiday break, Why Boredom Matters. Klemintine challenged the audience to rethink how they view boredom not as a problem to solve, but as an opportunity for creativity and self-discovery.

The Highly Commended award was shared by two outstanding finalists. Annabel Ling (Year 6) spoke passionately on gender equity, highlighting the persistent barriers still faced by women and girls and calling for action and awareness from all. The second speech, delivered by Eva Geha  (Year 6), offered a poignant reflection on why doing nothing sometimes matters most.

Throughout the event, all eight finalists demonstrated the three pillars of effective presentational talk: manner (voice projection, expression, and stance), matter (balancing emotion and evidence), and method (organising a compelling, cohesive message). These pillars were used by the judges to select the winner and highly commended.

Everyone at the event was visibly impressed by the confidence and authenticity of each speaker. As Alice Chandler, a host of the event, reminded the audience, “At SCEGGS, we believe every voice matters.” This belief was certainly embodied in the day’s presentations.

A special thank you was extended to the teachers, Ms Ryan, Ms Jaekel, Ms Ward, Ms Schwartz, Ms Gloor and Ms Tennant, who supported the girls’ oracy development throughout the term, and to Ms Walsh and our Senior judges, Celia Watson (Year 12), Jessica Gallie (Year 10) and Amelia Wilcsek (Year 10), whose careful consideration helped make the day a success.

As the event concluded, there was a clear sense that this third year of the Stage 3 Oracy Showcase had once again achieved its mission: giving the girls the tools, and the stage, to say something that matters.

Congratulations to all our finalists:

Congratulations also to our wonderful hosts for the event, Alice Chandler and Rose Johnston in Year 5 and Dasha Jolley and Minttu Guss in Year 6.

Kristy Williams
Acting Curriculum Coordinator

Peer Mentor Program

In Term 2, Dong’s Dynasty (7D) delivered a nail-biting win in the Year 7 Midweek Madness Competition.

Everyone displayed great form spirit whether they were playing or cheering from the sidelines. A special shout out must go to Matilda Tatlow (Year 7) who showed up in her moon boot every week to encourage her team mates on!

During the final game the Craddock Crushers (7CK) took on Dong Dynasty (7D) in what would prove to be a buzzer beater with Alice Barnett (Year 7) scoring with two minutes to spare making the score 3-2 7D’s way. Craddock Crushers may have gone down in the Grand Final but their team was awarded the Golden Boot Award for scoring the most goals throughout the 4-week competition.

Even though every game was hotly contested, everyone displayed great sportsmanship and through this fun, friendly competition, Year 7 students were able to make more connections with each other and with their Peer Mentors who helped facilitate this four weeks of lunchtime madness, organising, participating and cheering on their respective Form teams.

Congratulations also to the other four Year 7 teams as well – 7BN Blitz, Pizzinga Power, Stormin Storries and Conliffe Crusaders.

Our gratitude goes to Ms Thompson and all of the Peer Mentors and Form teachers for their support, enthusiasm and the organisation that went into this excellent competition.

Goldie Connelly 
Year 7 Peer Mentors

Secondary Sport News

Snowsports

SCEGGS sent a large team of 55 students to the Sydney Interschools Regional Championships that were held at Thredbo in the holidays.

We were blessed with terrific snow conditions and all competitors performed strongly throughout the week.

Highlights of the week in the Secondary School:

Division 2

Division 3

The following students will compete at the NSW Interschools Championships to be held at Perisher in August:

Equestrian

SCEGGS had several students compete at the NSW Interschools Equestrian Championships that were held over the holidays at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre.

Highlights of the week from the Secondary school were as follow:

Isla Oxley (Year 9) won the Medium Championship and Reserve Championship for the Advanced. She will represent NSW at the Australian Championships in September in both divisions.

Ella McHugh (Year 10) placed 6^th Overall in the Showjumping (80cm) which was held over three days.

Scarlett Webber (Year 10) placed 3^rd in the Combined Training and has qualified for the Australian Championships.

Hockey

Well done to Audrey Rivers (Y10) who represented North-West Sydney Hockey Association at the U16 Hockey State Championships in Illawarra in late June. The team reached the Division 1 Semi Finals.

Football

Tom Sermanni (ex-Matildas Coach) attended the UNSW Football training over the holidays. Pictured with him are Year 11 SCEGGS Football players Summer McCarthy and Lola Hush.

For all diehard Matilda’s fans, you are now able to purchase your tickets for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup to be held in Australia in March 2026.

SCEGGS at Play

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.

SCEGGS Training sessions before and after school plus Saturday Sport

Any cancellations or adjustments will be made in Clipboard and families will receive a notification or email when changes are made. Please ensure you have notifications enabled.

All Clipboard notifications will now come through the SCEGGS Mobile App too, so if you have been receiving notifications from Clipboard (eg when sport is cancelled due to wet weather), you will need to download the SCEGGS Mobile App to ensure that you continue to receive these push notifications.

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 & Secondary Music

Musicale 3

Musicale 3 will be held on Wednesday 3 September at 6pm in the SCEGGS Great Hall. This concert will feature performances from ensembles in the secondary school as primary ensembles are busy preparing for ASBOF and assembly performances this term.

Ensembles performing:

Emma Pask Jazz Band, Basie Jazz Band, Woodwind Ensemble, Rock Band, Choir, Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, Madrigal Ensemble, Touring Choir, Edwardes Percussion Ensemble, Van Reyk Percussion Ensemble, Cremona Strings, Amati Strings.

Rehearsals:

All rehearsal information can be viewed on Clipboard. Please check rehearsal venues in the lead-up to the concert as we try to schedule at least one Great Hall rehearsal for each group.

Audition for Sydney Youth Orchestra 2026

The Sydney Youth Orchestra invites orchestral musicians of all ages and abilities to audition for inclusion in 2026 weekly ensembles. SYO creates transformative experiences where young musicians can achieve artistic excellence in a welcoming, supportive and safe environment. SYO ensembles perform in exciting concerts in world class venues in Sydney, across NSW and for international tours around the world.

Click here for more information.

St George Eisteddfod Result

Monica Zhang in Year 4 was awarded third place for her viola performance at the St George Eisteddfod. The adjudicator Judy Hellmers commended Monica on her intonation, praised her sense of rhythm and appreciated the style she brought to the piece. Congratulations Monica!

Beyond the Green Gate

We love hearing about ways our musicians are involved in music-making outside of school. Please send details to Heidi Jones.

Clipboard

All co-curricular music ensemble schedules are now available on Clipboard. If you haven’t set this up yet, please follow the provided instructions. For any issues with Clipboard set-up, contact our Music Administration Assistant, Miss Alice Kotowicz.

Term 3 Event Overview

Please refer to Clipboard for information regarding rehearsals and performances.

Heidi Jones
Head of Music (Co-curricular)

Careers Corner

Careers Corner Newsletter

Please click here to view the latest issue of the Careers Corner Newsletter.

Future Doctors Australia – A 4 Day Program for ages 14 to 18 Register Now for 22-25 January

This popular program will book out, so register now to ensure you have your spot!

Gaining medical work experience is essential for young people considering a medical career. It provides insight into the field, helps develop skills and attributes, and provides networking opportunities. However, obtaining medical work experience can be challenging due to various restrictions such as limited opportunities, safety concerns, and confidentiality issues.

That’s why NIE has developed the “Future Doctors Australia” program. This engaging and high-impact 4-day program provides young people with a unique opportunity to gain medical work experience in a safe and structured environment. Participants will have the opportunity to spend time with current junior and senior medical students. They will also have the rare opportunity to spend time with more senior clinicians and various medical specialists. You will learn about clinical specialist’s relevant fields of work, ask them questions, and learn some hands-on skills from them. Click here to find more information.

Andrea Pinnock
Careers Advisor