NAIDOC Week 2025: Strength, Vision & Legacy at SCEGGS

NAIDOC Week 2025 was a meaningful celebration at SCEGGS, inspired by this year’s theme: “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy.”

Marking 50 years of NAIDOC Weeks, the celebrations honoured the strength of Elders, the legacies they’ve passed down, and the bold vision of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders shaping the future.

The Student RAP Committee kicked things off by handing out NAIDOC stickers across the school on Monday morning, creating a sense of excitement from the very start. At Assembly, Aunty Binowee Bayles delivered an engaging Welcome to Country. This was followed by senior First Nations students Ebony Colliss and Naylise Thompson, who shared powerful and moving stories about themselves as proud Wiradjuri women. Their strength and pride shone through and it was a privilege to hear them speak.

Aunty Binowee also joined Kindergarten to Year 2 for special yarning sessions with SCEGGS Indigenous students, followed by an art and bracelet making workshop inspired by Country and culture. The younger students enjoyed her presence and created a colourful artwork which will be completed by the Indigenous students and placed in the Primary School.

Malyn Gordon and her dad, Tye, led a traditional dance workshop during Monday lunchtime, bringing students from both primary and high school together to learn dances and stories from Malyn’s culture. It was lovely to see so many staff and students dancing together on the lawn.

The weaving workshops were another favourite! Ngumpie Weavers worked with Year 6 and senior students to teach traditional weaving techniques, and the beautiful pieces they made will be brought together by the Ngumpie master weaving women into a collaborative artwork for the school.

Smoking ceremonies, led by Tye Gordon and Uncle Brendan Kerin, offered every student and staff member the chance to experience this powerful cultural tradition. These ceremonies reminded us of the deep spiritual connection to land and the importance of cleansing and renewal in First Nations culture.

Students in Years 3 to 5 also had their own weaving workshop with Koori Kinnections, learning cultural knowledge through hands on practice and storytelling woven into the process.

Throughout the week, Vivi screens across classrooms spotlighted influential First Nations women, trailblazers in politics, art, activism and education, who have helped change this country for the better.

The canteen also joined in the celebration, offering a morning tea infused with native ingredients and preparing a delicious NAIDOC lunch for staff.

It was a full and fabulous week, made possible by the leadership and energy of SCEGGS Indigenous students and the Student RAP Committee. The celebrations were vibrant, inclusive and rich with culture, reminding us all of the strength and beauty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. What a privilege for us all to celebrate together.

Sarah Kearney
Co-ordinator of Indigenous Education

From The Chaplain

Recycled Clothing Drive to Help Battle Cancer

We have had a few clothing drives this year to help those who struggle to keep warm. Here is another initiative from one of our former parents, Robyn Carrier, that you may be interested in and help you to clean out the cupboard and live sustainably.

The “Bargains for Brains, Fashion for Good” charity fundraiser is a local Northbridge initiative, sparked by wanting to support Cure Cancer Australia’s current leading and life-changing Brain Cancer Research. It’s an under-funded area. Your support can and will make a difference.

How you can help: it’s easy, and good for the planet as well!

If you’re doing an early spring clean of your wardrobe, we’re NOW COLLECTING clean, pre-loved stylish clothing for our charity fundraiser fashion sale. We’d love the clothes, handbags, shoes and accessories you’re no longer wearing…think fabulous pieces ready for a new life.

To donate clothing contact:

…for drop off locations in Northbridge, Middle Cove or Freshwater – or to arrange pick up by us.

 You’ll soon start to notice our eye-catching QR coded posters popping up.

Scan the code for more information. Or go to our website here.

The “Bargains for Brains, Fashion for Good” sale day kicks off at Northbridge Junction, next to Manhattan Nails, 10am-5pm on Saturday 13 September.

ALL money raised will go directly to Cure Cancer’s Glioblastoma (GBM) research to improve outcomes for the cohort of future and existing sufferers of this currently deadly and incurable disease. 

Rev. Garry Lee-Lindsay
School Chaplain

Jeans for Genes

We’re excited to announce the return of Jeans for Genes Day on Friday 8 August, Week 3!

This national initiative raises funds for research into cures for childhood genetic diseases.

To show your support, wear your favourite pair of jeans or denim to school and bring along a gold coin donation – tomorrow!

It is an incredible opportunity for the school community to come together and contribute to the Children’s Medical Research Institute, an independent organisation which has for 65 years worked to improve the health of children affected by genetic diseases. By supporting this cause, you are helping the scientists at Children’s Medical Research Institute continue their vital work.

Thanks for your support!

The SRC

ICAS Competitions 2025

SCEGGS students will again participate in the annual ICAS competitions this term. This year all students in Years 3 – 10 will participate in the English, Mathematics and Science competitions. These competitions provide an excellent opportunity for all students to experience challenge, cultivate critical thinking skills, engage with different types of questions, and enables deeper engagement with these subjects beyond the curriculum taught in class. Additionally, participation in ICAS will provide further feedback to teachers, parents and students about each girls’ areas of strength and areas for further improvement. There is a cost of $20 per test which will be rechanged to your account.

ICAS tests will take place in class time at some point in the following weeks this term:

• English during Week 4 (Monday 11 August – Friday 15 August)
• Science during Week 5 (Tuesday 18 August – Friday 22 August)
• Mathematics during Week 6 (Monday 25 August – Friday 29 August)

If you have any further questions about ICAS please feel free to contact either Cristi Wilsmore, Deputy Head, Teaching and Learning in the Primary School, or myself in the Secondary School.

Andrew Gallagher
Director of Curriculum

Book Character Parade

The annual Book Character Parade will take place at 9am on Friday 22 August, in the primary playground. This event is organised to celebrate Book Week 2025 and is a highlight of the library calendar!

Students are invited to come to school dressed as their favourite book character and to bring a book to match their outfit. The girls may come to school already dressed in their costume and go home the same way. If girls come to school or go home by public transport, they will need to wear their uniform to school and change into their costume when they arrive.

Parents should ensure sensible shoes are worn as “character” shoes can be worn for the parade only. Girls should also be aware that it is a normal school day, and they need to sit and move around the classroom as usual, so large or uncomfortable costumes may not be such a good idea!

Parents are warmly invited to watch the parade!

Karen McBride
Primary Teacher Librarian

Secondary Sports News

Netball

It was a wet and soggy Saturday of sport but there was plenty of netball played indoors.

SCEGGS 3 had a terrific win 29 -10 over Meriden 3 at the Meriden Indoor Court.

SCEGGS 12 also had a thumping win over Roseville 47 – 9 at Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre.

SCEGGS Mid-Term Break

With our impending SCEGGS Mid-Term break coming up on Monday August 18, it is timely to remind everyone that most secondary sporting teams still have fixtures on the Saturday. All students are required to play their scheduled matches.

Students Driving to Sport

As more of our students are gaining their driver’s licences, it is timely to remind everyone that no student is to drive another student to or from school, sports training sessions or matches, or any other co-curricular event or activity.

Due to safety concerns, particularly those associated with inexperienced drivers, we strongly encourage all students to use the buses provided to and from sporting venues.

Please refer to page 18 of the SCEGGS School Diary.

SCEGGS Co-curricular Commitment Policy

Regular physical activity is an essential part of promoting positive health and well-being. Building relationships, fostering sportsmanship and teamwork is another element to co-curricular sport. We expect full commitment to all co-curricular sporting activities at SCEGGS. Students should be respectful of the impact that any absence has on team sport: their teammates, the opposition, the coach, and the reputation of the school.

Students are expected to be fully committed and attend all scheduled training sessions, trials and matches.

All absences must be communicated to the PDHPE Department using the following guidelines:

• Parents and guardians are to request written permission for leave from Ms Allum (Secondary) or Mrs Dempsey (Primary) at least a week in advance from a sporting fixture or Saturday trial e.g. Year 12 student attending a University Open Day
• If a student is sick on a Saturday, a parent/guardian must email or message the relevant coach and Sport Coordinator, or Director of Sport, prior to the match explaining the absence.
• If a student is unable to attend a weekday training or trial session, the student, or a parent, is to notify the relevant Sports Co-ordinator as soon as possible on the day.
• In case of a clash with school co-curricular activities e.g. Musicale, Sports Training, Duke of Ed Hike, the student is to liaise with both Co-ordinators to negotiate an acceptable outcome.

Failure to adhere to the above guidelines in the secondary school will result in:

• A detention for any unexplained absences from a competition match.
• A penalty point for any unexplained absence from training or trial sessions.
• A penalty point for late arrival to more than two training sessions or matches in the same term.
• If a student’s attendance is deemed unsatisfactory, they will be ineligible for house points and recognition on reports.

Term 4 Sport

Activity Selection for Term 4 Sport will open at 10.00am on Friday 8 August, in Clipboard.

To assist in the planning of all Sport for Term 4, we ask that parents / carers sit down with students to submit the online form by Friday 15 August.

A reminder that all parents / carers must submit activity selections. Secondary students are not permitted to make their own co-curricular sport selections via Clipboard.

Please click on this link to enrol students for Term 4 2025 Co-Curricular Sport.

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 Sport News

Saturday Sport

Unfortunately, due to the rain, all primary sport was cancelled last Saturday. It was wonderful to see the clouds part this week and Tuesday training was able to proceed for our IPSHA and Year 3 teams. A few reminders for Saturday sport:

• Any cancellations or changes to fixtures are made through Clipboard.
• Students are expected to be at the venue ready for warm up 30 mins prior to game time. Please account for Saturday traffic.

Students need to come prepared in full sports uniform, including anything specific to that sport (such as sports singlet for touch football, shinpads for hockey and mouthguard for AFL).

Students Achievements

Beatrice Emanuel (Year 6) has achieved excellent results at recent Cross Country events. On Saturday 12 July she competed at the NSW Short Course Championships in Dapto and placed 3^rd and earned her spot on the NSW Cross Country team to compete at the Australian Cross Country Championships in Ballarat in August. On Wednesday 23 July, Beatrice finished in 4^th place at the NSWPSSA Carnival and qualified for the 2025 School Sport Australia Cross Country Championships in the Gold Coast in September. She was also a member of the winning CIS 12/13yr girls team and was awarded a gold teams medal. What outstanding results and we wish Beatrice all the best at her upcoming competitions.

SCEGGS Co-curricular Commitment Policy

Regular physical activity is an essential part of promoting positive health and well-being. Building relationships, fostering sportsmanship and teamwork is another element to co-curricular sport. We expect full commitment to all co-curricular sporting activities at SCEGGS. Students should be respectful of the impact that any absence has on team sport: their teammates, the opposition, the coach, and the reputation of the school.

Students are expected to be fully committed and attend all scheduled training sessions, trials and matches.

All absences must be communicated to the PDHPE Department using the following guidelines:

• Parents and guardians are to request written permission for leave from Ms Allum (Secondary) or Mrs Dempsey (Primary) at least a week in advance from a sporting fixture or Saturday trial
• If a student is sick on a Saturday, a parent/guardian must email or message the relevant coach and Sport Coordinator, or Director of Sport, prior to the match explaining the absence.
• If a student is unable to attend a weekday training or trial session, the student, or a parent, is to notify the relevant Sports Co-ordinator as soon as possible on the day.
• In case of a clash with school co-curricular activities e.g. Musicale, Sports Training, Duke of Ed Hike, the student is to liaise with both Co-ordinators to negotiate an acceptable outcome.

Term 4 Sport

Activity Selection for Term 4 Sport will open at 10.00am on Friday 8 August, in Clipboard.

To assist in the planning of all Sport for Term 4, we ask that parents / carers sit down with students to submit the online form by Friday 15 August.

A reminder that all parents / carers must submit activity selections. Secondary students are not permitted to make their own co-curricular sport selections via Clipboard.

Please click on this link to enrol students for Term 4 2025 Co-Curricular Sport.

Important Sports Dates:

Primary Sport Achievements

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 Adrian Hammond. These will be included in newsletters throughout the year.

or any questions or issues, please email Adrian Hammond  and the SCEGGS Sport Department.

Have a wonderful week!

Mr Adrian Hammond
Primary Sports Coordinator

Primary and Secondary Music

Amati Strings at Assembly

Amati Strings performed Triumph by Armond Wimberley, an African American musician who composes music combining classical structures with hip-hop and rap, at Assembly this week. Congratulations Amati Strings.

Year 4 Music Class

Mrs Cleworth’s Year 4 Music Class had great fun this week learning to sight read new music, singing then playing xylophones and glockenspiels to improving their music literacy skills.

Musicale 3

Musicale 3 will be held at 6pm on Wednesday 3 September 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.

Spring Cello Course

The Adelaide Cello Trio is delighted to offer a Spring Cello Course to be held in the October school holidays from 6-8 October at Kambala School in Rose Bay. Join forces with the renowned Swiss cellist Kurt Hess, Sydney cellist John Benz and Brisbane based cellist André Duthoit from the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. This is a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of cellos with ensemble playing, masterclasses and more! The Spring Cello Course welcomes both beginners and experienced school-aged cellists. The course will run each day from 9.30am–3.00pm from Monday 6 October to Wednesday 8 October, concluding with a final concert involving workshop participants and tutors at 3.30pm on Wednesday  October.

Places are limited, so registrations will be accepted on a first-come first served basis.

Click here to enrol.

Eisteddfod Congratulations

Alice Zhang (Year 2) is to be congratulated for her excellent results in the 8–9 Years Violin Solo Event across four major Eisteddfods recently.

Well done, Alice for your hard work to achieve this!

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)

Visual Arts

Bundanon Art Camp 2025

At the end of last week, a group of Year 10 and Year 11 Visual Arts students travelled to Bundanon with Ms Dawson, Ms Jackson and Ms Willems for an unforgettable art experience.

Bundanon is a breathtaking property located on the land of the Dharawal and Dhurga Peoples, just outside Nowra on the South Coast. In Dharawal, Bundanon means “deep valley.” The property was once home to the acclaimed Australian Modernist painter Arthur Boyd, who settled at what was then known as “Riversdale” on the banks of the Shoalhaven River in the 1970s. Boyd built his home and studio on the site, where he worked until the end of his life.

In 1993, Prime Minister Paul Keating announced the Australian Government’s acceptance of Arthur and Yvonne Boyd’s gift of Bundanon to the Nation and the formation of the Bundanon Trust. Boyd believed that “you can’t own a landscape,” and this generous act reflects their wish for others to find inspiration in the beauty and power of this remarkable place.

The Boyd Education Centre was built by renowned architect Glenn Murcutt and completed in 1998. In 2020, construction of a new light-filled (and bushfire resistant) contemporary art museum was announced. Partially buried in the landscape, the new museum development sits at the centre of the new vision of Bundanon, with a bridge structure landing onto an expansive public plaza near the existing 19^th century buildings. The new Kerstin Thompson Architects (KTA) buildings have enlivened Arthur Boyd’s iconic Bundanon property and provide a most exquisite place to work, stay and relax.

Below is a reflection on the trip by year 11 student Zara Eade:

“Going to Bundanon was such a special experience, with the beautiful landscape, abundant wildlife and calm, rainy atmosphere making for a truly relaxing weekend. I’m so grateful for the time I had making art and creating memories with my friends that I’ll always hold onto.”

Banner Acknowledgement: This week’s banner is an en plein air work by Year 11 student Georgia Farrow painted on the banks of the Shoalhaven River.

Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts

P&F General Meeting and 2026 Festival on Forbes Think Tank

The P&F warmly invites all parents and carers to our Term 3 General Meeting and 2026 Festival on Forbes Think Tank on Tuesday 26 August in the Lecture Theatre. Join us from 6.30pm for drinks and light refreshments, with the meeting beginning at 7.00pm.

This meeting will be a wonderful opportunity to share your thoughts, ideas, and creative energy as we start shaping one of the most anticipated events in the school calendar.

Whether you’ve been involved before or are simply curious, your input is genuinely valued, and we’d love to hear from you! Come along, connect with other parents, and help us make next year’s Fair better than ever!

Parking will be available in the St Peter’s Street Carpark. For catering and administration purpose, please register via this link.

Rob Jessup
President, P&F Association

Careers Corner

Careers Corner Newsletter

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

Indigenous Futures at Sydney: Open Day and Scholarship Applications 

Organisation: University of Sydney 

Location: Online 

Date: August 14, 2025 

The USYD Open Day is fast approaching! The team will be available to address any questions prospective students may have. We will also assist with the scholarship application process, which has been open for over a month, to ensure you have all the necessary information. 

Find out more and register

Rural Health Pathways Showcase 

Organisation: Rural Doctors Network 

Location: ICC Darling Harbour 

Date: September 8, 2025 

High school students, careers advisers, teachers and parents are invited to RDN’s Rural Health Pathways Showcase. Learn about study pathways and careers in medicine, nursing, midwifery, allied health, Aboriginal health and administration. 

Attendees will have a chance to: 

• Talk to universities and rural workforce agencies about study pathways and career opportunities; 

• Speak one-on-one with and be inspired by health students, recent graduates and health professionals about their journeys; and 

• Participate in hands-on activities that will give an insight into a day in the life of health professionals. 

Find out more and register

Andrea Pinnock
Careers Advisor

Parents’ and Friends’ Association

Class Parent Events