Shore Boarding Hits the Skies

Shore Boarding Hits the Skies

Over the weekend of March 30-31, Darren Junee and I visited the country, enjoying the wonderful hospitality of our hosts and the many Shore community members who joined us.  Descending beneath the clouds as we prepared to land in Tamworth, it was wonderful to see the ground sodden with rain.  It lifted the spirits of all of us, and we enjoyed hearing that this feeling had spread to other rural areas in the state.  Here’s to more rain to come!  It was fantastic to catch up with nearly 50 old Shore friends, as well as current and prospective parents in Walcha and Spring Ridge.  We would like to thank the Warden Family (Walcha) and the Clift Family (Spring Ridge) for such generosity and kindness.  We had a fabulous time – thank you for having us!  We look forward to spending more time in Dubbo, Narromine, Mudgee and Coonabarabran in the upcoming term.

Food

We have been working as hard as we can to improve the food here in Shore boarding, across several fronts.  It certainly has been better (don’t listen to everything your boys tell you!), although we are aware that there are still areas that could be improved.  The boys across all four Houses have been surveyed to determine foods they would prefer left off the menu, those foods they would like to see added and what they love and would like bulked or doubled up.  There has been greater emphasis on quantities, presentation and nutrition, with notable additions such as boxes of fruit delivered to Houses and more morning and afternoon teas.  Favourites like schnitzels, taco’s and meat patties added to the BBQ menu have been a hit, but we will continue to strive to listen to the boarders and deliver.  The Senior Boarding Housemaster meets with the Catering Manager once a fortnight to review the menu, based primarily on boarder feedback, and changes are made where possible.

Wet ‘n’ Wild

Several boarders enjoyed a great time out on an excursion to Wet ‘n’ Wild recently. In addition to the activities run by individual boarding houses this term, there have been several opportunities for boys to join an excursion as a whole boarding group.  Recently, there have been several takers for trips to Kirribilli, Luna Park, ten-pin bowling, the Balmoral Swim had three boarding houses represented and Wet ‘n’ Wild.  It has certainly been a very long but enjoyable Term 1; it might even be true that a few of us are quite looking forward to a couple of weeks off!

We here in Shore Boarding wish everyone a wonderful Easter break with your sons.  Enjoy some quality time with them, and we look forward to seeing you in Term 2.

Brendan Morris
Senior Boarding Housemaster

New Headmaster for Shore

Dear Shore Community

On behalf of the School Council, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Timothy Petterson as the eighth Headmaster of Shore. Dr Petterson’s appointment will commence in January 2020, following the retirement of Dr Timothy Wright at the end of 2019.

Council began its search in October 2018 with the appointment of an international recruitment agency and two highly regarded educational specialists who enabled us to attract an outstanding field of applicants: local, interstate and overseas. Dr Petterson’s superior qualities and fit for the role became evident in the extensive and rigorous selection process that followed.
Dr Petterson has established his credentials as an outstanding Christian educator and leader through his work at both St Philip’s Christian College, Port Stephens, The King’s School, Parramatta, and before that, in the business world. He is a man of outstanding character who is ideally suited to lead Shore into the next phase of its growth as a leading comprehensive school in Australia. Importantly, he embodies the Shore virtues of humility, perseverance, courage and the service of others.

With significant experience in developing pedagogy of the highest order, including the execution of curriculum and program leadership, Dr Petterson has a demonstrated capacity to evaluate and improve the quality of teaching and learning. He is deeply passionate about all aspects of Shore’s approach to all-round excellence in education and co-curricular pursuits, bringing extensive experience as a boarding housemaster, cadet officer and sports coach.

Dr Petterson is married to Susan and together they have two children, Rebecca, a university student, and Henry, in Year 11. We look forward to welcoming Dr Petterson and his family to Shore.

To view a short interview with Dr Petterson, please refer to the video below.

Yours in faithful service

Rev Stuart Holman
Chairman of Shore School Council

Year 7 Update – Week 11

The Year 7 School House boarders have certainly hit the ground running this term. After a sensational camp down by the river in Port Hacking, the illusion that Senior School is all about sailing, beach cricket and water slides, has well and truly been shattered. With pencils’ sharpened and highlighters at the ready, the Year 7 boarders have immersed themselves in their studies. 

From completing a VLOG for PDHPE, getting stuck into directed numbers in Mathematics or trying to secretly slip a letter into Reverend Dudley’s office without being detected, the boys have certainly been busy. A key focus for the group this term is learning how to use their diaries properly. Amongst a whole host of benefits, if used appropriately, it can be a great source of staying organised and getting started on assessment tasks early. A majority of positive effort grades from their respective classroom teachers reflects well on the group. Let’s build on this in Term 2!

Photos:  Gelato on a Sunday, a Bowling activity, Year 7 attending Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (main photo).

Year 7 Reflections

Louis Cathles  

So far I have noticed that we get a lot of homework and that work is harder in some aspects. On the whole, it doesn’t feel a lot different from primary school but we do move around for classes which is fun but tiring. I went bowling on the weekend which was fun.

Frank Yu

So far in my point of view, Year 7 has been a great experience. There are so many opportunities. I also have a chance to just go out to Greenwood Plaza after school and hang out with my friends. Although the homework could be slightly lessened, all the teachers have been friendly so far.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

On Saturday 30 March, the curtain rose for Shore’s 2019 Musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.  Since then, the cast and crew have accomplished 7 successful performances, concluding Saturday 6 April. 

The boys have been rehearsing tirelessly for 6 months to create the American comedy.  Through their efforts they produced an almighty spectacle; comprising of extraordinary vocals, lively dancing, and not to mention, the hysterical comedy.  The boarding community had strong representation on the stage, with Ben Henchman (Hodges) and Charlie Cross (School) performing in the two lead roles.  Dirty Rotten Scoundrels received the highest of praises from the audience across all shows, we congratulate all their efforts.  Special acknowledgement to the boarders who were part of the musical: Wyatt Bellotti (School), Jeremy Elliott (Hodges), Max King (School), Josh Brice (Robson), Charles Dight (Robson), Adrian Lai (Barry), Angus Malcolm (Barry), Michael Mingay (Robson), Billy Moore (School), Henry Saunders (Barry) and Julius Andres (Robson).

Jeremy Elliott (12HS)

Year 11 Mum’s Weekend Away

The Year 11 Boarder Mums invited the City Mums to a ‘country weekend away’ on the 5-7 April, coinciding with Orange FOOD week.

15 Boarder Mums and 83 Day Boy Mums had a most memorable time, especially those that had not been over the Blue Mountains before!  

The weekend commenced with Orange night markets and drinks at the Greenhouse rooftop bar on the Friday night; followed by a “Feast for the Farmers” lunch at Heifer station winery then a Welcome by the Boarders games night; and the finale was Millthorpe markets or Yoga in the vines!

Some highlights included walking and talking through the vineyard, dancing in the Bull paddock, an informative welcome by Mayor Reg Kidd, the Boarders introducing themselves, meeting some lovely Mums (we had never even seen before!), laughing and sharing stories about our boys.

A special THANK YOU to everyone that attended and contributed to making this event such a success; plus Meg Merriman for baking 100 Anzac biscuits, Pru Pearce donating 100 local apples, Pip Bishop coordinating the Mums dinner, Lisa Broadley for the Welcome Bags and ‘warning’ the local stores of our arrival, Ed Swift from Printhie wines for 6 bottles and the Shore Foundation for 6 champagne prizes for our Games night. A final thank you to Dr Wright for giving us the ‘green-light’.

We were very blessed with the weather and the opportunity to meet like-minded new and old friends before our son’s complete Shore next year.  We hope this Year 11 event will be considered as an annual sojourn for Boarders inviting our City friends into the country.  Soooo much fun!

Christine Weston 
(School House Mum)

Balmoral Swim Review – Robson House

With sun shining, tempers racing and budgy’s flaming, the Robson boys descended on Balmoral beach for the almighty day.  With 24 members participating from the House, all of the boys were reared and ready to swim for cancer.  Under the charge of Will Nicholl, all teams fared very well on the day.  The senior team won, consisting of Ollie Bishop, Ben Broadley, Jonah Edlington and Joshua Brice placed 18^th on the day and notably raised $1,500, toppling the funds of rest of the teams in the School to help fight cancer.

Senior team 2, involving Nick Spencer, Ollie Brooks and Julius Andres and a last-minute replacement from another house helped them give the swim a great crack and got around the cause. The last two senior teams, consisting of the Senior men of Robson, namely Josh Richardson, Digby Jones, Tom Nicholl, Deuchar Dight, Angus Greig, Maximo Siufi, Tom Cruikshank and Will Nicholl all got into the race and had a competitive morning.

All the junior and intermediate collectively embodied the spirit that the rest of the Robson men were trying to emulate. They all competed very well and did the House proud. At the conclusion of the event, smiles were shared all around with Robson proving itself a formidable swimming force in the future.

Congratulations and thanks to all of the boys and parents who donated and participated in the event and made it a huge success, raising a school-record sum of around $3,000 for Robson House.

Joshua Brice and Jonah Edlington (Year 11 Robson)

Year 12 Barry House Lunches with the Headmaster

Every year, Dr Wright invites the Year 12s of every House to join him for (a free!) lunch. The Barry House boys had a very pleasant afternoon in the Headmaster’s office; they even said it was strange eating with their fingers in his presence. Thinking that they were going to be regaled with stories of travelling to exotic locations, they rather learnt of Dr Wright’s plans to help the marginalised next year.

Balmoral Swim for Cancer

In our eighth consecutive year, Barry House entered a record 8 teams into the Balmoral Swim for cancer research, 32 Barry boys joining boys from School and Robson Houses in a 4×150 swim relay.  While we didn’t trouble the medal-distributors, it was a lot of fun and a great morning out in the sun.  Thanks to our very generous donors, Barry House raised $3,500 for an extremely worthwhile cause.

National Rowing Competition

The week after HOTR, Jooya Kalanta (11HS) competed in the International Rowing Competition held at the Sydney International Regatta Centre.  Jooya qualified for all the finals (Single, Double and Quad) and came 5th overall in Single and winning two bronze for Double and Quad. 

Congratulations on an outstanding achievement.

New Barry House Member

Barry House welcomed a new member late this term when House Dog, Nero joined the team.  Even though the Housemaster pushed for “Barry” as a name, he was out-voted at home.  Nero has enjoyed some quality time with the boys, who enjoy having him around, although he will be let off the leash a little more when he gets a bit older (and barks less…).

Flu Vaccinations 2019

Dear Parents

As a commitment to continuous improvement, we are once again offering the annual quadrivalent influenza vaccine to our boarders through the Health Centre.  Please read the information sheet and permission letter accessed through the link below.  Should you wish for your son to receive the vaccine through the Health Centre please complete the online form.  Once you have finished filling it in and e-signed it you will be asked for an email address to verify your signature.  Please check that inbox for the verification email and click the blue link. The form will be automatically sent to the Health Centre for processing.  Should you encounter any issues please contact us.

Instructions (Also in attachment with illustrations)

Step 1 – Click on the link to the form Boarder Flu Vaccine Information/Permission Form

Step 2 – Read the information leaflet

Step 3 – Fill in the permission form if you choose

Step 4 – E-sign the form and click the blue submit button on bottom of screen

Step 5 – Enter an email address to verify your signature

Step 6 – Check the email inbox for the verification email (echosign@echosign.com is the sender)

Careers Expo 2019

13 May 4.00-6.00pm at Shore

For students in Years 10-12

All students (Shore and neighbouring schools in the Lower North Shore area) are invited to come along to meet with over 50 tertiary exhibitors (universities, pathway options, trades/apprenticeships).

Parents are encouraged to attend.

More information can be found here or contact
Alexandra Macaulay, Alumni Manager, aamacaulay@shore.nsw.edu.au or Tel: (02) 9956 1123

The Wallabies are Welcomed to Shore

On Monday 18 March, the students were delighted to see 5 of the Wallabies at Shore. Wallabies players, Tom Robertson, Jack Dempsey, Rob Simmons, Jake Gordon and Ned Hanigan generously shared insights and ran skills training with some of the boys.

Starting in the Prep, the Year 3 classes participated in a skills clinic with the Wallabies and Christian Mayo, NSW Rugby Primary School Relationship Manager.  They also visited the Prep assembly before moving to the Senior School.

In the Playfair Hall, Tim Wallace, Director of rugby, interviewed the players before the students got the chance to be part of a group photo! The visit finished with a visit to a Year 7 PE class and a quick lunch before returning to training.

Tim Wallace, Director of Rugby shared: “Today’s visit was very well received by the boys and a great way to promote the game a week out from the start of our season.”

Barry House Sport

We congratulate our many Barry House GPS rowers who enjoyed such great success in the Head of the River this year. Led by Captain of Boats, Max Pearce’s 1^st VIII won a thrilling race. Nick Halliday and Henry Murray rowed magnificently in the 2^nd IV’s second place, while Charlie Clift’s 3^rd IV and Oscar Crookes’ 3^rd VIII enjoyed tremendous victories. Our champion coaches, Ms Wickenden (1st Junior VIII) and Mr Jenkins (2nd VIII) also enjoyed outstanding wins on the day. Congratulations!

In Swimming, Oliver Spanton captained the Shore Swim team to an outstanding 2^nd place in the Senior GPS competition, amazing when you consider that Shore has no swimming pool. Oliver finished on the podium in the 50m Freestyle Division, 4x50m medley and freestyle relays, 50m Backstroke Division and 100m Freestyle. Oliver has also been selected in the 2019 AAGPS team for six events, and on Saturday, April 7, he swam in the winning Senior relay team at the Balmoral Swim for Cancer!

In Athletics, Henry Murray ran a sensational race in the 100m Hurdles at the Nationals, winning until the final hurdle before clipping it and falling, finishing in 4^th place. Nonetheless, he still managed a PB time! Congratulations, Henry! Many boys also rose early to run 1500m and 3000m events on School Oval in Weeks 10, earning important points for the Carnival points score. The Junior Tug of War were outstanding in getting to the quarter finals, while the Seniors went all the way to the semi’s, defeated by Ms Wickenden’s Burrell House.

Healthy Eating

The boys from Barry have enjoyed some more home-style cooking in recent weeks, including gourmet burgers with a choice of fillings. Meanwhile, House Supervisor, Jake from the Shore PE Department made healthy smoothies during recess, utilising the fruit and berries delivered to the House each week.

Confirmation Service 2019

Confirmation Service – Sunday July 28 at 9am

Any Student in Year 10 or above interested in being Confirmed in the Shore Chapel should write to Rev Dudley expressing their interest.

Classes begin in Week 3 for Term Two, Wednesday May 15 at 7.45pm – 8.25pm in the Chaplains Office.

For more information please contact Rev Dudley at pdudley@shore.nsw.edu.au or via telephone (02) 9956 1129.

Barry House at the Head of the River

We congratulate our many Barry House GPS rowers who enjoyed such great success in the Head of the River this year.

Led by Captain of Boats, Max Pearce’s 1^st VIII won a thrilling race. Nick Halliday and Henry Murray rowed magnificently in the 2^nd IV’s second place, while Charlie Clift’s 3^rd IV and Oscar Crookes’ 3^rd VIII enjoyed tremendous victories. Our champion coaches, Ms Wickenden (1st Junior VIII) and Mr Jenkins (2nd VIII) also enjoyed outstanding wins on the day.

Congratulations!

Cadet Parade

In its 111th year of service, the Shore Cadet Unit (SCU) continued to represent an integral aspect of the school: providing a challenging environment where students have the opportunity to serve not only each other but also the wider community. In adopting the four core values of the Australian Military – courage, initiative, respect and teamwork – it seeks to nurture students into well-rounded young men and women with a desire to serve and lead.

On Friday, 15 March, the unit held its Ceremonial Parade. The 2019 Ceremonial Parade of the Shore Cadet Unit marked the official end of the Cadet year and the final parade of the Year 12 cadets. This years parade was reviewed by COL(AAC) Richard Morgan, Head of Corps and National Assistant Commander of Australian Army Cadets. The parade acted as the ceremonial passing out parade for the current senior rank team and was a celebration of all that the unit has achieved.

The Dining-In Night (held on the evening after the Ceremonial Parade) is a significant occasion for the Unit’s leaders to gather and practice the etiquette of the formal mess dinner. This years dinner was a terrific evening where the Year 12 Cadets, their family’s, and the Cadet staff gathered together to mark the conclusion of the Class of 2019’s service with the SCU.

Lachlan Caldwell (12HS)

CHHHodges and The Black Prince (Townsville Grammar Archives)

EXTRACT FROM THE ARCHIVES 50 (Townsville Grammar School)

It is with great satisfaction that I report that this is the fiftieth From the Archives since the concept was first suggested by Mr Fairley, the Principal. It has been great fun writing the monthly article but even greater fun doing the research. In the process I have come across some often weird but wonderful stories related to the school. The story of the Black Prince [below] was taken from Jake Pollard [ed] Birds of Paradise: birdlife in New Zealand and Australia:[1967]. It is one of the many tales that in total add up to make the Grammar School so interesting and individualistic in character.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the story below is that a man with Mr Hodges’ background could become so close to a bird such as the pet cassowary. Educated at Oxford University where he graduated with First Class Honours and having had a distinguished teaching career at two very prominent English Public Schools in Radley College and Rugby School, he was also the author of a text on arithmetic. On leaving Townsville Grammar in 1900 he had a distinguished career as the Head of Sydney Church of England Grammar School [Shore]. Photographs of Mr Hodges show a distinguished gentleman, always immaculately dressed in a three piece suit. It must have been a wonderful sight to see Mr Hodges and The Black Prince wondering around the school grounds.

The sketch that appears below the tale of The Black Prince was taken from the School Magazine, December 1900, Volume 1, Number 8. The artist of the sketch is unknown but in researching similar sketches in other magazines it can be said, but without much certainty, that the sketch may have been drawn by the then Headmaster, Mr C.H.Hodges. The sketch depicts a day in the life of the School at that time with the Black Prince taking centre stage. Goats were also prevalent in the area at that time and there are stories of boarders combing Castle Hill on weekends looking for goats. The chickens mentioned in the story are also on display as are some of the minor School buildings at that time.

Black Prince of Townsville Grammar (D Le Souef)                            

THE CASSOWARY IS too expensive and too uncertain in temper to be frequently kept as a pet. Mr. C. H. Hodges, when headmaster of the Townsville Grammar School, however, kept one for two years. Black Prince, as he was called, had been caught young, and, though he grew to stand over five feet without his stockings, he did not show any malice in his disposition, even to strangers.

He would stroll about the grounds with his master’s arm around his neck, and merely take the opportunity to poke his head into his master’s pocket where he expected, not without warrant, to find something to his advantage.

For a sleeping-place a cage was provided ·in a corner of the shrubbery, but he was allowed to ramble about at his own free will. The house was raised some three feet above the ground, and his delight was to creep under it, and to watch a hen which resorted to the same quarters, and, as soon as she had laid an egg, he would take and eat it. His appetite was a healthy one. At first he would only eat banana, of which he consumed some ten shillings’ worth in a week. The feeding operation resembled nothing so much as the posting of letters in a pillar-box, unlimited bananas disappearing one by one into the dark cavity without producing any apparent effect. Later on he learned to feed on potatoes and bread. Hunger was in fact a constant trait, and he was ever on the look-out for something tasty. One lady had skinned a bird; he approached, saw, seized and promptly swallowed the skin. Another lady’s bonnet attracted him; with a dart he pecked it off, but this, dainty as it was, proved too difficult an object for the pillar-box. This Cassowary drew the line at missionaries; he never attempted to swallow one.

Black Prince made great friends with a cockatoo. In their game Cocky soon discovered the weakness of Achilles. A timely nip in the heel was always sufficient to make his large and otherwise invulnerable friend leap high into the air as a first step in his retreat. The Cassowary was not so friendly with some tame kangaroos which shared the shrubbery with him. He would kick them from him, with the force of a horse, always kicking forwards. This power, alas, proved to be too dangerous as the bird increased in size and strength, and, in order to prevent accidents, it became necessary to remove him, greatly to the sorrow of his master. The lordly form of Black Prince still stands in the hall of the Townsville Grammar School.