Festival on Forbes – 21 August 2022

Plans and preparations for the Fabulous Festival on Forbes are underway!

Click on the link below to find out more about each area of the Fair.

• Coin Toss and Chocolate Wheel
• School Fee Raffle
• For Festival on Forbes information from previous editions of Behind the Green Gate, click here.

• Follow sceggsfestivalonforbes on Instagram!

Thank you to all of our Class Parents who are busy organising their Stalls for the Fair. We encourage everyone to get involved. Your help will be greatly appreciated! 

Coin Toss and Chocolate Wheel 

The P&F Committee are looking for the following donations for two of the most popular Stalls – 

• Bottles of wine for the Coin Toss
• Prizes for all ages for the Chocolate Wheel (we are looking for new and unused items in the approximate price range of $5-$40) 

These items can be dropped off at the General Office and will be gratefully received. If you have any questions please contact us at sceggsfof2022@gmail.com

Your Chance to Win at The SCEGGS Fabulous Festival on Forbes 50% Off Your Daughter’s School Fees For 2023!

We will again be running the very popular School Fees Raffle at the 2022 Festival on Forbes.

To purchase your tickets and for T&C’s please click here.

This year all funds raised will be directed to the Light Her Path Campaign in support of the redevelopment of Wilkinson House.

Thank you for your support – I look forward to seeing you at the 2022 Festival on Forbes.

Good Luck!   

Bree Parker and the Fair Committee

Year 10 IST “Come Fly With Me” Film Festival

The Year 10 IST class have launched their annual digital film festival featuring original animations and videos. Please view the films and vote for your favourite.

During Term 1, the Year 10 Information and Software Technology class has been working on the unit Digital Media. As part of this unit the students have created their own cartoon animations and special effects videos using the industry standard products of Adobe Animate and After Effects.

The students have learnt a variety of techniques including key-framing, the use of chroma key, masking, layering and applying special effects. They experimented with Character Animator to produce animated puppets as well as using 3D programs to create props for their films. Students then had approximately two weeks to design and produce each animation and video. The animations were to be between 10 to 30 seconds in length, whereas the special effects could be upto 1 minute long. Each clip was to incorporate the motif of “Fly”. The students interpreted this quite differently with some including airplanes, alien space-ships, balloons, birds, bees, butterflies and mosquitos, golf balls and even “time flying”.

Over the last few weeks they have worked together to promote their Film Festival, designing promotional posters, building a website to display their work and creating a loop for the TAS TV in the Joan Freeman foyer. The website allows you to vote for the “People’s Choice Award” so we encourage you to go to Come Fly with Me Website to view their work and to vote for your favourite cartoon or movie.

Voting will close Wednesday 22 June 2022.

Anne Rumpler
Computing Teacher

Visual Arts-A focus on Year 7 portraits

Well it’s been a super busy and rewarding term with Year 7 Art students. Many students have recently completed their self portraits which show exciting learning and skill development in painting and drawing. We share some of these here:

It was wonderful to see the application of these skills in the context of student’s assignment work too. We have been thrilled to see Year 7 approach their work with such energy for creative adventure and to test their skills independently. A selection of work from their recent assignment is here:

And finally, we were thrilled to be able to recently visit the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes at the Art Gallery of NSW with all Year 7 classes able to explore a rich and diverse selection of works, including the work of SCEGGS Old Girls, Eliza Gosse (Class of 2012) hanging in the Archibald and Thea Anamara Perkins, (Class of 2009) hanging in the Wynne.

This week’s banner is from Eva Ancher’s semester 1 art assignment.

Go Year 7!

Heidi Jackson
Head of Visual Arts

Sydney Writers’ Festival

The girls in Years 4 and 5 were fortunate to attend the Sydney Writers’ Festival on Wednesday 25 May. Despite the rainy conditions that prevented the planned walk to the Sydney Town Hall, nothing could dampen the excitement of meeting “real live” authors and illustrators, and potentially purchasing signed copies of their books!

The sessions brought renowned children’s authors and illustrators together with primary students from numerous schools for a fun, interactive and educational day to deepen their love of reading and writing. Designed to inspire the next generation of readers and storytellers, the writers and illustrators talked about their craft, shared their discoveries, and then took questions from the students.  We listened to presentations by Nat Amoore, Remy Lai, Matt Stanton and Corey Tutt, with the girls learning that there is a direct correlation between the author’s ability to connect with their audience and the popularity of their books.  

The Primary Library is now endeavouring to keep up with the demand for books by these talented authors, with additional copies of many titles having been purchased since attending the Sydney Writers’ Festival.

Karen McBride
Primary School Librarian

Mick Elliot was the host and author at the 2022 Sydney Writers’ Festival. Mick is super funny and good at causing trouble! Corey Tutt is an Aboriginal man who taught us about the first Aboriginal explorers. Remi Lai was the second author and she taught us that if you have more than one interest you can choose both e.g. writing and drawing. After all, you can become an author AND an illustrator. Matt Stanton taught us to put twists in our stories with a but and to be curious in life. Nat Amoore was the last author and she taught us to get our ideas from anywhere. It doesn’t matter if they are from your childhood or a movie, it really doesn’t matter at all. We came back to school with our arms full of autographed books and lots of stories to share.

Grace Webster and Ingrid Soerensen
4B

Secondary Sports News

Inter-house Basketball and Football Results                                                             

We were blessed with fine weather to hold our Inter-house Basketball and Football Competitions on Tuesday March 10 at Moore Park. Well done to all students who attended the afternoon and supported their respective houses. The results were as follows:

Basketball

Football

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Congratulations to Madison Liew for her performances at the MLC Levels 5 – 8 Friendly Competition held on Sunday 5 June at MLC School. Madison Liew (Level 8):                         

1^st in Hoop, 2^nd Clubs, 1^st Ribbon and 1^st overall

Head Coach Rachel is very pleased with Madison’s achievements – Good luck for the next competition this season!

IGSA Fixtures, Results and Wet Weather

There is a new IGSA website and platform for accessing wet weather, fixtures and team results. You do not need to register or sign up to be a member to access this site.

SCEGGS Training sessions before and after school plus Saturday Sport

Please check the @SCEGGSSport Twitter feed for the latest updates relating to cancellations.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact myself on 9052 2721 or 0418 491 521. Alternatively, if you have any news or photos that we can highlight in the newsletters please email alisongowan@sceggs.nsw.edu.au

Alison Gowan 
Director of Sport

Primary Sport News

CIS Cross Country

Congratulations to Beatrice Emanuel, Sarah Reif, Anna Slack and Annabelle Jessup, who were selected to represent IPSHA at the NSWCIS Cross Country yesterday. All girls should be incredibly proud of their achievements in being selected for the day.

A special congratulations goes to Beatrice who finished 4^th and now heads to the NSW PPSA/All Schools Cross Country Championships on Friday 22 July at the Sydney Motorsport Park.

Rugby  

For those looking to get involved in Rugby, come along to the Harvey Norman’s Try Girls Rugby Day this Sunday 12 June from 11 am! It is at Easts Rugby Club, 22a O’Sullivan Road, Bellevue Hill.

Come down and Try Girl’s Rugby 7s and meet the Waratahs players!

Please note this event is for girls 11 and older.

Sport Enrolments – Term 3

Enrolments for some sports are still open for Term 3. Please email Tom Mitton or Brittany Robbins for any further Term 3 Sport enrolments or questions.

 We are still seeking more girls to join Dance with Joel (Friday Lunchtime) in the Old Gym! For those keen dancers, or those just wanting to give it a go for the first time, get involved today!

Term 3 Saturday Sports Trials

On Tuesday 21 June, we will be having the first of our trials for Term 3 Saturday Sport. This includes all sports including Year 3 Minkey (Modified Hockey), IPSHA Touch Football Year 4-6 and IPSHA AFL Year 5/6.

Further details have been sent in the enrolment letter for Term 3 Saturday Sport.

SCEGGS Training sessions before and after school, plus Saturday Sport

Please check the @SCEGGSSport Twitter feed for the latest updates relating to cancellations.

If you have any news or photos from sports that we can highlight in the newsletters, please email TomMitton@sceggs.nsw.edu.au

Tom Mitton
Primary Sports Co-ordinator

Music Matters

Year 12 Concert Evening – Thursday 2 June Great Hall 5.30pm                                      

Congratulations to the Year 12 Music students who performed last Thursday afternoon in the Great Hall.  This is the first opportunity these students had to share their performances with a wider audience.  Performance concerts are an important part of students’ learning, providing them with an opportunity to share their music as well as ways of overcoming any nerves they may have.  Elective Music students are always encouraged to attend to support their peers and it helps to inform them of the repertoire that senior students learn for HSC program.  Well done to the following students:

Special thank you to Ms Heidi Jones for her support and accompaniment for each student’s performance.  Thank you also to Mr Michael Tierney (Music 1) and to the music tutors who have helped to prepare each student’s performance program. 

There will be more HSC performances coming in Term 3 and we look forward to sharing these with the school community.

Clarion Concert Band Performance at Assembly and Sydney Eisteddfod

Congratulations to members of the Clarion Concert Band who performed in this week’s assembly.  The students performed excerpts from Snowfall composed by Chris M. Bernotas as the entrance and recessional items.  They also performed Arabian Dances by Roland Barrett as the main musical item. 

Following the morning assembly performance, the band competed in the Sydney Eisteddfod in the Secondary School Novice Band competition (Event 302).  The students’ performance was outstanding, as noted by the adjudicator “Good lyrical playing and accurate intonation”.  Warmest congratulations to Clarion Band with their achievement of 2^nd Place! 

Thank you to Ms Alison Ryan who has worked tirelessly to prepare and direct the performances.  Thank you also to Mr Michael Tierney and Mrs Anne Sweeney who provided additional logistical support on the afternoon of the competition.

AMEB Strings Exams – Saturday 4 June

Congratulations to the 13 string players who did AMEB String Examinations last Saturday. We were delighted to host Examiner Mrs Cecilia Bersee for a full day of face-to-face examinations in the Primary Music Room. The examiner was most impressed with the girls’ performances.

Congratulations girls and special thanks to Ms Stephanie Holmes for accompanying for the exams.

Registration for Week 8 Piano Concerts – Close this Friday!

Pianists are invited to perform in the Piano Concerts scheduled in Week 8 on Thursday 16 June.

3.30pm – Primary Piano Concert 

4.30pm – Secondary Piano Concert

We encourage students who learn at school, and students who learn externally to perform.

These concerts will be held in the Great Hall. Family and friends are welcome to attend.

Upcoming Events

Pauline Chow
Head of Music

Creative Writing Opportunities – Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards

The English Department were delighted to see so many engaging presentations of poems, persuasive speeches and creative responses during our Years 7 – 10 Assessment Block. We are always keen to encourage our students to submit their work into external competitions, and in many classes I know that the teachers have been sharing information with their classes about the prestigious Dorothea Mackellar Poetry Awards. The theme this year “In My Opinion” offers so much scope for students to really explore their ideas and passions in the written form.

Students should contact their English teacher if they are interested in submitting work for the competition, or could join the Creative Writers Group at lunchtime on a Tuesday in C6.

For more information, resources and examples of winning poems from previous years, don’t hesitate to look at the Dorothea Mackellar website.

Jenny Bean
Head of English

Year 1 and Year 9 Learning Together

In Year 1 Science and Technology, we have been using the Design Process to help us solve a very important problem: How can we improve our school environment to provide our fairy friends with a safe place to live?

Once our problem was clearly defined, we then went about brainstorming lots of possible solutions. We decided to make an inviting Fairy Garden complete with a range of essential garden features like swings, swimming pools, day beds, fences, tables and chairs. We spent time drawing our plans and thinking about the types of plants that would grow best in the gardens and the types of materials we should use to make the features.

Mr Innes, our school gardener, and Mr Mark, from the Maintenance Team, provided the resources for our garden, but we were left to do all the hard work of preparing the soil and planting the seedlings. When it came time to make the Fairy Garden features, we called on some special friends from the Secondary School. Ms Chadwick and her Year 9 Design and Technology class were just the right people to help us! Last Thursday afternoon, we all came together in the Year 1 classroom to bring our designs to life. We had brought in sticks and bottle tops from home and Ms Chadwick brought lots of different materials that were recycled from previous design projects. Working with our Year 9 buddies, we were challenged to think about how to assemble our creations using construction materials like string, blue tac, pins and glue. We also had to think about the scale of our designs and what would fit in our gardens.

It was a wonderful afternoon of learning and fun. We are very proud of our Fairy Gardens.

A big thank you to Mr Innes, Mr Mark, Ms Chadwick and the Year 9 Design and Technology students for helping us. We hope that our fairy friends will enjoy their new environment here at SCEGGS.

Cristi Wilsmore
Year 1 Science and Technology Teacher

Year 7 Charity Appeal – Support the Ukraine Crisis Appeal run by Save the Children

Year 7 Charity Appeal – Support the Ukraine Crisis Appeal run by Save the Children

Everyone should know about the tragedy people living in Ukraine are experiencing at the moment in the war against Russia. Around 14 million people have fled their homes since the war started at the end of February. More than six million have left for neighbouring countries, while eight million people are displaced inside the war-torn country itself. Homes and cities have been bombed and many of the remaining Ukrainians are experiencing shortages of food and other essential items. The Year 7 cohort have decided to support the Ukraine Crisis Appeal run by Save the Children as our Semester 1 charity. This appeal is providing for the children in Ukraine and their families in the following ways:

• Providing life-saving essentials such as food, clean water, critical basic hygiene supplies, winter and non-food item kits and shelter;
• Providing money and voucher-based assistance to address basic needs;
• Sending frontline emergency units in hard to reach places that are set up to provide the quality medical care required in extreme conflict situations;
• Protection and mental health support for children;
• Assistance with reuniting families that have been separated and providing support to families to prevent separation;
• Providing safe and caring child-friendly spaces that enable children to play and learn.

During Week 8, Year 7 will be running three fundraising initiatives:

1. A children-themed bake sale on Wednesday and Friday in the cafeteria. There will be some vegan, gluten free and dairy free options at the bake sale for people with allergies.
2. A “guess the number of lollies in the jar” competition. Year 7 will be around the grounds at recess and lunchtime all week so bring in your gold coins to guess. The person closest to the number will receive the whole jar of lollies!
3. We will also be hosting a children-themed movie night for Year 7 only on Friday 17 June (Week 8) after school in the Lecture Theatre from 3.30-5.30pm. Please come in your pjs, your favourite onesie or a hoodie. Each Year 7 girl will pay $5 upon entry and the person best dressed will win a prize. Bags of popcorn are provided. I look forward to seeing ALL of you there. All the money raised during the week will go to our Ukraine Crisis Appeal.

How can you help? Save up your coins this week and bring them into school in Week 8 to buy some yummy baked goods from the bake sale. Donate by guessing the number of lollies in the jar, and Year 7, don’t forget your $5 donation for the movie night on Friday 17 June. Bring extra $$ to buy left overs from the bake sale!

Chantilly Fallshaw
7D

National Boarding Week

A few weeks ago, the Boarders celebrated National Boarding Week. At SCEGGS there are eight boarders and we stay at St Vincent’s College in Potts Point.

Heavenly in Year 10,  Naylise and Ebony in Year 9, and Annalise in Year 7, come from Wellington, a town near Dubbo. Tay, Cyndell, Secilia and I are from Sydney. You may have seen us all at the General Office in the morning or next to the school shop in the afternoon to get some afternoon tea. Boarding can sometimes be a challenging experience, living with girls from Years 7-12 everyday can occasionally get frustrating. Many of the Boarders come from all different parts of Australia and some as far as Darwin, which gives all of us the ability to learn about different life experiences and the opportunity to go to places we have never been before. After the past few years having to watch out for COVID in the Boarding House and having certain rules, we are all happy that we can go back to normal somewhat.

For National Boarding Week, we were hoping to have some of our friends stay over in boarding for one night to get the experience that we have, but unfortunately it had to be postponed due to COVID. In the next few weeks, each year will get to have the opportunity to learn more about boarding in year meetings.

Being a Boarder is not something everyone could do, but it is made easier with the help from the boarding co-ordinators including the St Vincent’s College Head of Boarding, Ms O’Donoghue, and our SCEGGS Boarding Co-ordinator Ms Tring. Another person who we could not get anywhere without is our bus driver Zoki. Without him we would not go to our early and late sports commitments, and we are so thankful that he picks us all up whenever he needs to and listens to all the events from the night before and karaoke so early in the morning. We thank all of these people for looking after us and being around us to help all of the Vinnies and SCEGGS boarders together. Their jobs mustn’t be easy, having to deal with teenage girls all the time so they are truly legends for doing so.

Ebony Colliss – Year 9 “Boarding is very enjoyable, a place to meet new people from different places and create new friendships”

Tay Georgetown – Year 11 “I had found boarding very scary at the start but once I had a support system to help me, I found it very fun and found my second home. I like boarding because of all the friendships I have made with everyone in the boarding house but also found my two closest friends who are the sweetest and kindest people you could meet.”

Secilia Mafi – Year 11 “Being a boarder is an incredible journey. Boarding school provides a safe, supportive and caring environment where the students can concentrate on their academics, mature, and prosper. The boarding house offers a welcoming and friendly setting. Being a boarder is enjoyable as it provides so many opportunities and allows you to develop lifelong friends and sisters. At boarding, all the teachers and staff are always looking out for your best interests. As you’ll be away from family at boarding school, you will learn to be ambitious and independent. I’ve really enjoyed boarding for the last 5 years.”

Molly Murray
Year 12 Boarder 

Go Greener – Plastic ban in NSW and Plastic Free July

60% of all litter in NSW comes from plastic packaging and single use plastic items. On June 1, NSW became the last state in the country to ban problematic plastics. This ban will prevent almost 2.7 billion items of plastic litter from entering the environment in NSW over the next 20 years.

The ban includes lightweight plastic bags with handles, 35 micron or less in thickness.  Any lightweight bags made from biodegradable plastics, compostable plastics, or bio-plastics are also banned, including those made from Australian certified compostable plastic. However, is does not include produce bags and deli bags, bin liners, human or animal waste bags or bags to contain items for medical purposes

From November 1, the ban will include single-use plastic straws, stirrers, and swizzle sticks, as well as cutlery (forks, spoons, knives, sporks, splayds, chopsticks, and food picks). It will also target single use plastic plates and bowls as well as polystyrene food ware.

More information about this ban can be found on the NSW Government website.

Plastic free July is starting in a couple of weeks. This initiative has been operating since 2011 and is organised by the Plastic Free Foundation. It aims to encourage us to work towards the vision of seeing a world free of plastic waste.

You may like to take the challenge of being plastic free in July. More information about this can be found on the Plastic Free July website. 

Sue Zipfinger
Sustainability Coordinator

Winter Vacation Care Program for Primary School Families

With the July holidays fast approaching, we would like to take the opportunity to share our Winter Vacation Care Program with you, which includes a wonderful variety of excursions and incursions and exciting in-house days at the Centre for all children to enjoy.

The service will be operating from Monday 4 July – Tuesday 19 July, with students returning to school on Wednesday 20 July 2022.  The service is open for current Primary SCEGGS girls and their school aged siblings only.

If you would like to book your child into Vacation Care, please click here to generate your tickets.

Please note, that if you have not yet enrolled your child into our After School/ Vacation Care Service through the OWNA website or you are a new family joining SCEGGS in 2022, you will be required to fill out enrolment documentation prior to booking. 

Please reach out if you have any inquiries about Vacation Care.

Fran St John
After School Care Co-Ordinator

Gardening club

Last week was National Reconciliation Week. In gardening club, we acknowledged this by making Saltbush Soda Bread from the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden.  We discussed the importance of saltbush for Indigenous People as both a cooking ingredient and for medicinal purposes. A comparison was done on the difference fragrances you get from fresh saltbush (out of our bush tucker garden) and the dried variety. The girls hands got messy mixing the dough and then we enjoyed our hot bread with butter and honey. If you would like to make this recipe at home a link can be found below. 

Saltbush Soda Bread Recipe

Susan Zipfinger
Environment and Support

Careers News

Careers Corner Newsletter                                      

Click here to view Issue 33 of our Careers Corner newsletter which includes details about many information sessions being held about various courses and institutions, as well as lots of resources made available for a wide range of careers.

Are you interested in a career as a forensic investigator?

If you are seeking a career where you can apply scientific analysis and the interpretation of evidence to help solve crime, then don’t miss hearing from Old Girl Joanne Jennings (Class of 1997) at lunchtime on Tuesday 14 June in OG9. Currently employed as a Crime Scene Officer with NSW Police, Joanne’s role is to examine crime scenes and report on what she finds for the NSW Coroner, the NSW Police and the Court system. Joanne has been performing this role for about 15 years which includes attending scenes that require her to examine a stolen vehicle for fingerprints through to homicides. Before working for the NSW Police, Joanne was an investigator for the NSW Environmental Authority and has worked with various local governments in similar roles. Joanne has a Bachelor of Social Science (Justice Studies- Criminal Justice) from Charles Sturt University, an Advanced Diploma in Forensic Science and is currently completing her Graduate Certificate in Crime Scene Examination. This is a great opportunity for students, particularly those in Years 10 -12, to hear about Joanne’s experience and ask her questions that will help guide their future study and career choices.

Debating

Congratulations to our Senior B team for winning their division of the ISDA Debating Competition on Friday Night! The team, consisting of Ruby Cooney, Alexandra Kuo, Leyla Ozen, and Helena Piazza, debated against Barker, and won the Grand Final debate unanimously. This result reflects consistent high performance in a competitive competition of 32 schools and four finals rounds, as well as a fantastic final debate!

Congratulations also to our 7B, Junior, and Year 9 Archdale teams for their wins on Tuesday evening. Next week we will be travelling to Queenwood for the final round of Archdale this term. The bus will leave immediately after school, so debaters are reminded to pack everything they need for debating so they can get on the bus straight away. The bus will return to SCEGGS at the conclusion of the senior debates.

Imogen Harper
Debating Co-ordinator

Parents’ and Friends’ Association

Class Parent Events