17 days until the Festival on Forbes is here!

We can’t wait to welcome our community for a fabulous day of fun, friendship and feel-good vibes all day!

Catch-up on all the Fair news here:

• Donation Drop-Offs 
• Gourmet Pantry 
• Silent Auction 

SCEGGS Tote Bags

The P&F are delighted to announce that you can now pre-order your very own SCEGGS bag! All funds raised from the sales of these bags will be directed towards the Light Her Path Campaign. Pre-ordered bags may be collected from the Information Booth at the Festival on Forbes on Sunday 25 August. The bags will also be available for purchase on Fair day.

Volunteers

This is a shout-out to parents and carers who may be able to help during the day by volunteering in one of the following ways:

• Merry People – we need hands for setting up and pulling down on Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon. The SCEGGS team work hard in the weeks leading up to the fair, but hands are needed on the day to help stall holders move into their area, with stall setup and then with tearing down and bumping out. There are only a few hours after the Fair to have the classrooms ready for Monday morning classes.
• Treasury– Volunteers are needed to assist with collecting cash from the stalls, counting and recording money received and EFTPOS machine support. Guidance for these procedures will be fully provided to all volunteers.

And, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram for updates and yummy prizes to be won!

See you on Sunday 25 August!

The Festival on Forbes Committee

Year 2 Hosts the Potato Olympics!

In Year 2, we celebrated the excitement of the 2024 Paris Olympics by hosting our very own Potato Olympics! The girls enthusiastically met their potato “athletes,” giving each one a unique name, face, and hairstyle. They also explored the Olympic aspirations of their potatoes.

To kick off the festivities, the girls measured the length, width, and weight of their potatoes using informal units, similar to how real athletes are assessed. We then created a series of Olympic-style events for our potatoes to compete in, including gymnastics, 10-pin bowling, sprinting, and long jump. Throughout these events, the girls utilized their mathematical brains to measure distances and times, further enhancing their understanding of the measurement strand.

The Year 2 students demonstrated learner qualities of persistence and collaboration as they worked together to make this event a success. It was a week filled with learning, laughter, and creativity, and we are proud of their achievements!

Kaitlin Ryan
Year 2 Teacher

Primary and Secondary Music

Musicale 3 at Festival on Forbes

This year’s Musicale 3 will be held at Festival on Forbes on Sunday, 25 August. Every Primary and Secondary Music Ensemble will perform throughout the day on one of three separate stages. Click here to see the timetable. Please plan to arrive 15 minutes before the performance time.

2025 International Music Tour

Planning is underway for a Music Tour in December 2025, departing after Speech Night. Senior school students will be eligible to participate. To learn more, please attend the Tour Meeting on Wednesday 21 August, at 6.00pm in the Lecture Theatre. For preliminary questions, please contact  Mr. David Gresham.

Year 7 String Soiree

Thursday 12 September 1.10-1.40pm in DB1 & Thursday 19 September 1.10-1.40pm in DB1

All string players in Year 7 are invited to perform a short solo at one of two lunchtime concerts being held this term. Performances of this nature, in front of a supportive and appreciative audience are vital for a musician’s development and all Year 7 string players are encouraged to perform and support their friends. Mrs Sweeney will be organising the solo concert programs during Contemporary Strings rehearsals over the coming weeks. Please discuss with your instrument tutor a short solo piece that might be suitable to perform. Girls are also very welcome to perform a duet with a friend! Piano accompaniment will be provided at both concerts.

Co-curricular Music Commitment Policy (Secondary)

Students and parents are reminded that the Co-curricular Music Commitment Policy is now in place and there will be consequences for late arrivals and unexplained absence from rehearsals and performance. We expect full commitment from students who wish to participate in important performances, competitions, and tours. For more information click here.

Thank you to the students who always do the right thing and communicate in advance with the Music Department. We appreciate you!

Student Achievements

Nina Carson, Year 10 – Toppenkurset Music Course, Norway

Toppenkurset is a music camp located in the North of Norway in a small town called Mosjøen, which happens to be my mum’s hometown. Specifically, Toppenkurset is a music course, where students can develop their skills and participate in a final concert at the end of the week. It is part of a bigger arts and music festival.  I attended Toppenkurset this June to July holiday.

Mosjøen is a small town, with colourful small wooden houses at the base of a big mountain and a beautiful fjord. One day a reindeer walked by after we came out of practice. 

I received six hours of piano lessons every day of the course, and I played in three concerts throughout the course. At the first concert, I played Petite Piece. In the second concert, I played the piece ‘Greased Lightning’, and in the final concert, I played Minuet on my own, and played a Hungarian Song ‘‘Ungersk dans’ in a duet with my grand aunt, who was a teacher in the course. 

On the concert stage, the black flat floors reminded me of the jazz dance floors that were always found in dance schools. Everybody on stage was dressed in formal attire and black for the final concert. The other pianists were excellent, and it was quite nerve-wracking. But it all went well and I received a certificate at the end. I was so happy, and I had a big smile on my face when I took my final bow.

It was a great experience and something I will remember for a long time. 

Upcoming Events:

Term 3

*Year 8 – 10 Elective Music students are encouraged to attend one of the Year 11 or 12 Concerts in Term 3.

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.

Heidi Jones
Head of Music (Co-curricular)

P&F Term 3 Guest Speaker – Lucy Dahill

The P&F warmly invite you to hear from communications expert Lucy Dahill as she presents:

Skills for Life – Parenting for Independence

Lucy brings with her a wealth of experience in a variety of industries from media to healthcare and has just submitted a Doctoral Thesis titled ‘Words Matter, A mixed methods investigation of perceived parental comments on adolescents’ weight, shape, and eating’. Of interest, is how much of what we communicate is non-verbal and founded on a variety of influences. Lucy currently works as a Youth Worker in a High School and, although her primary area of focus is teenagers, what is clear from the work she has done through her working life with children and families, the foundations for communication in adolescence are founded on what children have seen, experienced and communicated to them through their parents in the early years. She continues post-doctoral studies in this area through academic research, podcasts and book writing.

The foundation in all Lucy’s projects is the importance of decency and respect in our relationships with ourselves and each other and the importance of finding our voice in expression. Lucy is a parent of three, now adult, children and has a wealth of experience to draw on from her own parenting role to share in her presentations. She has learnt through experience, it takes a village to raise a child, hence the resources she provides to support parents are contributions to that village that can be accessed by busy parents.

Visual Arts

Our Art Captain, Jade Brennan has been selected as one of 28 finalists in this year’s Australian Life Photography Competition. This is an immense achievement as she was selected from a field of more than 2400 entries. Jade has been studying and practising photography at SCEGGS for over 4 years, being a dedicated member of the Dark Room co-curricular club. In this time, she has developed a keen passion for documentary photography, often exploring themes of family, connection and community in her captivating works. We are incredibly proud of Jade and admire her commitment and drive throughout her artistic journey here at SCEGGS.

Little Brother

“This photo was taken of my younger brother Yuin-River during the summer holidays on one of our coastal drives to Bellambi Beach. The photograph is captured in black & white, drawing attention to him and the washed-out background of the coastal slopes that stretch all down the coast. I tend to capture Yuin in many of my photos as he is my one and only brother who is living in a house of five girls and needs occasional spotlight on him.”

Voting for the People’s choice award will open on 2 August and close 18 August.

Finalists for the 2024 Australian Life photography competition have been announced. Click here to find out.

Woollahra Council’s Youth Photographic Award and Short Film Prize

The competition has been running since 1994, showcasing a broad range of images and short films from thousands of students over the years. The annual competition and exhibition, with cash prizes totalling more than $2,000, is a local celebration of creative expressions by our young and talented high school students. You can find out more information about the prize and exhibition here.

If you would like to enter, please email Michaela Gleave your photo, title, and film duration by Tuesday 20 August. There is a folder titled Woollahra Youth Photographic and Short Film Prize in Transfer Secondary Student for films and large photographic files.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Please note the following conditions:

Photography

• Limit of one photograph per student
• Photographs may be digital or darkroom prints
• Entries must be submitted digitally (I can scan darkroom prints)

Film

• Limit of one film per student
• Films must not exceed five minutes in total, including all credits
• Films must have been made in the last 18 months
• Entries are to be submitted as an MP4 file

Shortlisted entries may be used to promote the prize and exhibition.

We encourage you to be as experimental and innovative as you like!

Key dates

Banner photo acknowledgement: Maya Shearing, Year 11

Anita Tesoriero 
Head of Visual Arts (Acting)

Primary Sport

IPSHA Touch Football and AFL

The sun was out for Round 2 of the IPSHA Touch Football and AFL competitions last Saturday. What a contrast from the previous week!

Our three AFL teams were in action at Forsyth Park and came away with two wins and a loss. The Year 6 team had a close encounter against Pymble, narrowly losing 14-25 in what was a hotly contested game which could have gone either way. The team created plenty of scoring opportunities but just couldn’t convert their behinds. The Year 5 team had a strong performance against Abbotsleigh, winning 53-1 and the Year 4 team were too strong for Barker, winning 78-1.

The IPSHA Touch Football teams had mixed results, with two wins and three losses. Special mention to both Year 6 teams, who are starting to improve their understanding of team structures and came away with two wins. SCEGGS 2 showed good defensive structure by helping each other and sliding as a team to stop Kambala from scoring to win 3-0. Jessica Grace (Year 6) and Charlotte Randall (Year 6) scored for the SCEGGS 1 team as they won 2-0 against Kambala in a close game. It is great to see the teams starting to see the benefits of working as a team and finding space to score touchdowns.

Year 3 Minkey Competition

The Year 3 Minkey competition started off well at Ascham under the watchful eye of Mrs Sweeney. The SCEGGS Blue team had a convincing win, with Kate Gao (Year 3) starring with her accurate shooting, scoring several of the team’s goals. The SCEGGS White team had a loss against Kambala, however are starting to apply feedback from the coaches to improve their positioning on the court.

AFL Paul Kelly Cup Regional Final

On Wednesday 31 July, a group of 16 girls across Years 5 and 6 attended the Paul Kelly Cup Regional Final at Timbrell Park, Five Dock. The students played three round games, including having a 7-7 draw in the first game against St Luke’s and then a convincing 32-0 victory against Petersham PS. In the third round, the team came up against eventual winners Randwick PS where SCEGGS took the lead in the first half, but a strong Randwick came back in the second half to defeat SCEGGS 26-13, although the SCEGGS girls kept their fighting spirit until the final whistle! What an exciting game it was. The SCEGGS team qualified for the semi-finals, however, couldn’t overcome Lugana PS, going down 14-1. What an amazing achievement by the team in a tough competition. You should be proud of your efforts!

3-6 Swim Squad

Every Monday morning, a group of committed swimmers from Years 3-6 start their week in the pool in our 3-6 Swim Squad. The students have been working on their speed, endurance and overall swimming fitness under the guidance of our expert coaches. Well done, girls. Keep up the fantastic effort!

2-3 Football Skills

Years 2-3 Football Skills is underway and takes place every Thursday afternoon in the Sports Hall. The group is focusing on core football skills, including passing, striking, and ball control under the watch eye of our coaches and Mrs Sweeney.

Upcoming Dates:

Have a wonderful week!

Mr Adrian Hammond
Primary Sports Coordinator

Careers Corner

Welcome to the 52^nd issue of the Careers Corner Newsletter. Click here to read about upcoming tertiary Open Days, international studies and more.

School Photographs

The next photograph day for 2024 will be held on Wednesday, 21 August. Photographs to be taken will be primary and secondary sport and co-curricular groups, as well as individual portraits of students who were absent for the last photo day. Students will be emailed if they are to participate in a group or portrait photo.

To order online, you will need to enter the 9 digit SCEGGS Advanced order code, which can be found here.

Please contact Advanced Life if you have any other questions.

K-6 Parent Information Session – Raising Your Child in the Digital World

You are invited to attend a session led by SCEGGS staff members on the important topic of how we can work together to support your daughter as she grows up in the digital world today. See details on the flyer and stay tuned for more information.

Sarah Johnstone
Deputy Head of Primary Student Wellbeing  

Whooping Cough (Pertussis)

Two confirmed cases of whooping cough (pertussis) have been reported this week, one in the Primary School and the other in the junior Secondary School. Whooping cough usually begins with cold-like symptoms such as a runny nose, mild fever and cough. The cough then gets worse, and severe bouts of uncontrollable coughing can develop. Boosters for whooping cough are recommended for adults every 10 years (particularly parents or people who work with children), as well as women who are in the third trimester of pregnancy, preferably at about 28 weeks.

More information is available here.

If you are at all worried about your own health or the currency of your own vaccinations, or you notice any symptoms of whooping cough, please see your GP as soon as possible.

Phil Rogers 
Director of Administration