Celebrating Shore

Dear Students, Parents and Carers

It is lovely to have our fabulous students back in the School for a new year and looking refreshed and eager!  Schools are lonely places without them (I find). The ambient buzz of boys in possession of their school is delightful and reassuring.  Our boys have much to be grateful for in terms of the opportunity Shore provides and we relish as a staff co-working with them and with parents. 

HSC Results
The HSC Results on all indicators were the best Shore has seen for some time.  For those who follow such matters, Year 12 2022 Shore students achieved 347 Band 6 results, i.e. scores above 90%, and 100% of students in Extension 1 and 2 English and Extension 2 Mathematics achieved in the top two Bands, i.e. above 80%.  In the media league tables, Shore was in a very advantageous position as a comprehensive school where these tables are dominated by government and independent selective schools.  What does all this mean in practice?  As I have been arguing consistently for some time, not as much as people think!  It is nice to be able to take up this argument again, from a position of strength where Shore has done well, rather than it appearing to be excuse-making from a position of weakness.  Yes, it is excellent that 347 boys achieved subject scores above 90%, but it is also worth noting that 560 boys achieved Band 5 results, i.e. between 80-89%, with an extraordinary number, far more than one would expect, scoring 89% and so not featuring in the media league tables.  If these 89’s had been 90’s, Shore would have soared further up the league table.  What difference does one mark make?  Not a lot to student results, but a lot to marketing. Band 6 results have the “feel good” factor, but they don’t actually count for anything in terms of University entry simply by being a Band 6. 

What then are better indicators?  What we are most excited about is our students’ ATARs, i.e. their Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks, which are used to determine who gets into which course at which university.  These are scaled from their HSC results and, although they look like a mark because they are out of 100, they are actually a place in the state and, ultimately, the nation.  The median ATAR of our students from last year was 90.35, i.e. 53% of our boys were in the top 10% of available ATARs in New South Wales.  Ten of our boys achieved an ATAR above 99, i.e. the top 1% of possible ATARs and twenty boys received an ATAR of 98 or above.  This is a fabulous result and a credit to staff, students and parents and the cooperative educational relationship between all parties.  It also reflects Shore’s strong emphasis on academic excellence, the quality and expertise of our staff and our ongoing professional development programme. 

In terms of actual HSC results, five of our students achieved six results that were in the top ten places in the State across various subjects and in nine of our subjects the HSC results were more than ten marks on average above the State average.

The unique attributes of our boys do not place all at the top of the range.  It is very important to recognise that some of our boys overcame significant life issues and learning issues to achieve personal bests in the HSC.  We are equally delighted with and proud of them, as we are with our top achievers.  All we can ask of any boy is to work diligently and do his best.  With few exceptions, that is what our outgoing Year 12 have done.  There was very little tail to our results. 

In our society, results can be overhyped.  I am fond of saying to Year 12 that they don’t all need an ATAR of 99.95.  What they need is sufficient to access their chosen course.  If a boy needs an ATAR of 85 and achieves an ATAR of 87, that can be regarded as a real success.  An ATAR is an entry ticket.  Once it has been “spent” and fulfilled its purpose, it will rarely be mentioned again (except perhaps by proud parents).  There are, in any case, other legacies of schooling, principally, the shaping experiences the boy has had and the quality of man he has become.  As the writer of Proverbs puts it, there is a major calling for us here, as working with young people “for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behaviour…..knowledge and discretion to the young” (Proverbs 1:2-4).  From what I am seeing, I respect our Shore young men.      

There is much to celebrate!

Teaching Staff
We have welcomed some new staff to the School who by now would have introduced themselves to their classes.  We have an uncommonly large number of staff currently on long service leave.  This is the result of COVID over several years rendering travel impossible, so there is a backlog of staff who through those years have reached a stage of entitlement to long service leave and are eager to travel.  In common with most schools, Shore encourages staff to take this period of professional and personal refreshment and recharge as it becomes due.  Accordingly, at various stages of the year, depending on how many terms of leave staff have taken, we will welcome back: Messrs Stobo, Wales, Separovich, Hennessey, Walker, Werakso and Mses Doran, Mrs Papworth and Jacobs (the latter from maternity leave). 

Five staff have taken up senior positions in our structure.  Three were already on staff at Shore: Ms Domingo is our new Head of Christian Studies following Mr Gibson’s decision to become a full time Theology student; Ms Hunter is our new Head of Science following Dr Kennett’s return to the world of scientific research; Mr Blood comes into the newly created role of Head of Service Learning, indicating a focus by Shore on this important aspect of our culture.  Two very senior staff are new to Shore:  Mr Roland has commenced as Director of Boarding following the retirement of Mr Anderson.  Mr Roland spent some years as a Housemaster at Geelong Grammar School and then was Head of their Timbertop campus, then was Head of Boarding at the Hale School in Perth and, subsequently, was the Senior School Principal of an international school in South Korea.  In addition to his important role as Director of Boarding, Mr Roland joins our Geography staff.  Mr Champion has joined Shore as Acting Deputy Head, Pastoral Care, replacing Mrs Dudgeon.  Mr Champion has spent 15 years as a Housemaster at St Andrew’s Cathedral School and, for the last five years has been Head of Student Wellbeing at St Andrew’s.  He has an undergraduate major in psychology and post graduate qualifications at Masters degree level in student wellbeing and educational research.  He is a Shore Old Boy who has played competitively, including as an adult, in his favourite sports of basketball and rugby and is active in a local surf club.  Mr Champion has also joined our Geography department.

Holidays
No, not yet!  I am reflecting on the last holidays.  The cast for our forthcoming musical, Singin’ in the Rain, have been in rehearsal, with further auditions, for instance for Orchestra, underway.  Approximately 50 or our Year 11 boys very generously gave a week of their holidays to staff the Sony Camp, conducted jointly with PLC Pymble as a camp for students with disabilities.  Their willingness to serve is a splendid attribute.

Well done to our 1^st XI Cricket team on winning the Trans-Tasman Cricket Festival in Auckland.  Well done to our GPS 1^st VIII on winning the U18 Coxed Eight Boys Final at Lake Karapiro in New Zealand and congratulations to our Year 10 VIIIs on doing so well in the Geelong regatta. Our Basketballers have been very busy playing in various independent school Sydney-based competitions, our 1^st and 2^nd Tennis squads have been in a training camp, the GPS Swimming team has been conducting 5-7 training sessions per week in our pool and a number of our Water Polo boys have starred in the U18 and U16 Nationals.  On campus during the holidays I have noticed Rugby squads in training and boys in the gym undertaking strength and conditioning activities. 

Our boys have done very well to commit in these ways during their holidays.  All of these activities have been splendid opportunities for our students.  Of course, this could not happen without the generosity of staff giving their holiday time to lead these activities.

As we survey the year stretching before us, I wish all members of our Shore community a wonderful year. I am looking forward to it.

Dr J Collier
Headmaster

Upcoming Key Events

• Northbridge Campus Parent Cocktail Evening – Friday 17 February
• Parents of Boarders Cocktail Evening – Friday 17 February
• Year 9 Parent Seminar ‘Your Choicez’ – Tuesday 21 February
• Icebreaker – Friday 24 February (6.00pm to 9.00pm)
• Shore Parents’ Association Tennis Day – Friday 10 March
• Shore Parents’ Association Year 7 Welcome Barbeque – Saturday 11 March

Casual Baristas Needed

We seek to appoint Baristas to produce consistently high-quality coffee and provide friendly and caring customer service to students, parents, staff and visitors to the North Sydney Campus and Northbridge Campus canteens.

• Seeking Old Boys of Shore for casual Barista weekend work during school terms.
• Casual rates.
• Professional Barista training will be provided.
• A perfect work opportunity while studying.

Our Barista roles are casual, required only on Saturdays during school terms. A rotating roster will be provided for the entire term and hours will vary between summer and winter seasons. The ability to be flexible and cover casual canteen shifts is advantageous. Working hours will be discussed during the interview process.

Please view the full job description here and pass this on to any Shore Old Boys you know who may be interested. To apply for this opportunity, please attach a cover letter and your resume and email it to: people_culture@shore.nsw.edu.au

Shore Golf – The Longest Day

Last year marked the second year that the Shore Golf team has partaken in The Longest Day, an annual fundraising event for the Cancer Council. Golfers attempt to complete 72 holes of golf in one day, no mean feat on the team’s home course of  Northbridge, which has a large number of steep hills to contend with.

Once again, Cameron Newton (Year 9) was the instigator and chief organiser of the day. The team, comprising of students Stian Constable, Nick Evans, TK Kennedy, Leon Li, Tom Livingstone, Cameron Newton and Oliver Parish, one Old Boy (Archer Nugan) and members of staff (Rev Nick Foord, Mr Michael Spratt, Mr Geoff Tesoriero and Mr Richard Ward), hit off at first light on Monday 12 December 2022. 

Stormy conditions made it difficult with torrential rain and high winds at times and there was an enforced break for over 30 minutes when lightning reared its ugly head mid-morning.

The golfers experienced all four seasons during their four rounds but still managed to complete their allotted holes comfortably, finishing just after 6.30pm. The students mostly had to complete the day on foot as the popularity of the event saw all available carts at the course booked for use by more senior members, a credit to their stamina.

As was the case in 2021, the scores were excellent, and they only got better as the day progressed and the players adapted to the conditions and pin positions. The prizes were shared between staff and students with Cameron Newton fittingly taking out the overall individual honours. Rev Nick Foord playing with dark horse Mr Michael Spratt managed the best of the team’s events.

Representatives of the Cancer Council showed up during the morning rounds to see how things were progressing and to express their appreciation. Overall, the team easily passed their fundraising target of $10,000, raising over $11,500.

A special thank you to the Newton family. Cameron was the instigator of the event and the driving force in getting everyone organised. His father, Mr David Newton, was once again a tireless worker on the day, providing breakfast, drinks and snacks for the players as well as regular encouragement. He was ably assisted by George Story who had to withdraw from the team with a broken arm but still managed to man the drinks cart all day. Thank you also to Archer Nugan for supplying prizes for the competitions and the staff of Northbridge Golf Club and Pro Shop for their support in enabling the event.

Mr R Ward
MIC Golf

Introducing the Director of Boarding, Mr Alistair Roland

I have been fortunate enough to have worked in a number of wonderful schools during my time in education. For many of those years I have worked in truly exceptional Boarding communities.

During my time at Geelong Grammar School, I was Assistant Housemaster of the Senior Boys Boarding House for five years and then Housemaster of the Junior Boarding House at the school for an additional five years. After that, I moved to be Head of Geelong Grammar School’s Year 9 Timbertop Campus, located at the foothills of the Australian Alps near Mansfield, Victoria.

I also had the privilege of working at Melbourne Grammar School in the terrific Boarding community alongside Mr Mike Shaw, a great Housemaster. As Head of Boarding at Hale in Perth, Western Australia, I was privileged to work with some fine school Heads, specifically Mr Ross Barron, then Head of Senior School and, of course, Mr Stuart Meade, a superb Headmaster. Following this, I moved to South Korea for a total of 12 years where I was the Secondary School Principal at an international school in Busan.

It is my absolute privilege to have been appointed Director of Boarding at Shore. I look forward to working alongside the very dedicated Housemasters and wider Boarding community. 

Mr A Roland
Director of Boarding

Save the Date – Shore Rugby Launch Dinner

As the Rugby season approaches, all parents of Shore Rugby players (from the Prep team to the First XV) are invited to attend the Shore Rugby Season Launch Dinner for 2023.

Come and learn more about the objectives of the Rugby programme, enjoy an evening with friends, win some prizes and listen to Phil Waugh and his thoughts on Eddie Jones … but more importantly, hear from Shore’s new Head Rugby Coach, Mr Angus Sinclair, on his pathway to this role and his thoughts on the season ahead.

Booking: www.trybooking.com/CFVSN
Date: Friday 31 March
Time: 6.30pm – 10.30pm

Location: Kirribilli Club, 11 Harbourview Crescent, Milson’s Point
Cost: $150 per person. Enjoy drinks for four hours, a three-course dinner and access to games on the night. Book with friends – it is always a fun and informative night no matter what level of Rugby your son plays!

Mr D Mason-Jones
MIC Rugby

School Pick-Up and Drop-Off

The beginning of the year is always a very busy time around the School, with a lot more students being dropped off and picked up than usual. This Term, there are additional pressures on traffic, with the building works on the corner of Blue Street and William Street.

Please be mindful of the safety of our students and other pedestrians around our drop-off areas. Please also be considerate of residents who live near the School and require access to and from their homes.

If you are driving up along Blue Street, please do not double park your vehicle to allow your son to get out. Instead, please come around the corner and find a space to stop on William Street. If travelling along Hunter Crescent, please continue to the undercover drop-off area, where you can drop your son off and exit via the Union Street gate. We have had numerous reports of cars stopping and doing three-point turns in Hunter Crescent which is unsafe. We take the safety of the Shore Community and the wider community into consideration with the upmost importance.

Thank you for your understanding.

Dr A Mansfield
Deputy Head Operations

Our Shore Foundation

Many of you will have seen the Sydney Morning Herald news story covered recently, Sydney’s top private schools rake in millions in donations. The article was indeed based on fact. I believe we should be proud to have a strong foundation and the role it plays in enhancing the educational experience for all Shore students and for others in the community.

Shore’s fundraising is community based and we do our best to ensure that families are not pressured into giving what they cannot. Shore was named in the top three schools in Sydney for the number of donations received from 2017 to 2022. The other two schools named have received very large single sums of money in recent years, but Shore is a unique community. We value receiving a small donation as much as we value receiving a larger donation. I am always cognisant that not everyone can contribute. School fees are not inexpensive. As a father of three, I get it.

We have much to be thankful for in being a part of the Shore Community. I am proud and grateful to those who help provide further opportunities for others and who help continue to build and shape our environment for the future.

Private schools do not receive capital grants from the government. If we took an aerial photo of Shore and looked at our physical space, we would determine that more than 80% of Shore has come about, in a large way, through the provision of donations. School House, Graythwaite, our Library, the Benefactors Building, the R A I Grant Centre, the Centenary Building, the Smith Auditorium, the Stands and fields at Northbridge Campus – the list can go on!

The history of giving at Shore is remarkable and is embedded in the School’s values. Generations of students, Old Boys and staff are grateful to all those who have given from their hearts in the past.

The true spirit of philanthropy at Shore, and one of my favourite stories, is about how our Northbridge fields were purchased. Opened in 1919, the Shore Community raised money for these fields during World War I. At a time, when we lost over 130 Old Boys in battle, the Shore Community came together with generosity and foresight to provide the grounds that we enjoy today.

We should be proud of these stories and never take our good fortune for granted.

Next week, I will highlight more of the areas that the Foundation supports that are often overlooked.

Mr D Mason-Jones
Executive Director, Shore Foundation and MIC Rugby

Shore Parents’ Association Fundraising Update

In addition to our primary purpose of encouraging support and friendship amongst the Shore parent community, the Shore Parents Association (SPA) raises funds throughout the calendar year to help fund scholarships, bursaries and equipment across the three campuses. Funds raised by the SPA are spent within the following 12 months to benefit current students.

I am delighted to share that in 2022 the SPA raised over $230,000. These funds will be allocated across all campuses based on student numbers and go towards a wide variety of items, as detailed below:

• Early Learning Centre: $14,200 to install an ‘Adventure Play’ area and several children’s outdoor tables.
• Years K,1,2: $35,000 towards the refreshing of classroom areas.

• Years 3 to 6: $31,800 to purchase new microphones, musical classroom instruments and new library shelving.
• Years 7 to 12: $140,000 in aid of a portable PA system, microphones, rowing oars, a glockenspiel and a xylophone as well as a much-needed partial contribution towards a new slate roof for the Senior School Dining Hall.

On behalf of the SPA Executive, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents and friends of Shore who gave their time, effort, and energy to help raise such a significant sum. We welcome all parents to the SPA and more information is available on Lampada
https://www.shore.nsw.edu.au/community/shore-parents-association.

Ms C Bowen
SPA Chair

Parents’ Tennis Day

A Shore Community social event for Dads, Mums and Carers

Bookings close Friday 24 February 2023

https://www.trybooking.com/CFT

Date: Friday 10 March 2023
Time: 9.30am to 12.30pm
(Please arrive at 9:00am for a 9:30pm start)

Cost: $60
Where: Shore Northbridge Pavilion & Tennis Complex
Includes: Tennis Day, hot drinks, refreshments, morning tea & a raffle ticket for the lucky door prize.

Bring: BYO Drink Bottle and Tennis Racquet (balls provided) Kindly also please bring a donation to be included in the raffle eg. Gourmet item/toiletries.

Monies raised will support the Shore Parents’ Association SPA

Enjoy a fun morning of socialising over either a Tennis Active Clinic for all levels (including hit and giggle) or Round Robin matches if you love competition. If you have a group up to 10 that you want to play with or compete against, Just send the names through otherwise a court will be allocated.

For more information please contact:
Trudie Hurt – t@trudie.com.au – 0417 676 725
Andy Hurt – andy@abmh.com.au – 0438 422 308

All Tennis standards welcome.

This Week We Thank – The Shore Facilities Team

A team that often goes unnoticed is our fantastic Facilities team, led by Mr David Pickerd, the Assets and Infrastructure Manager. The team have worked tirelessly over the school break to ensure that the campus grounds are immaculate, and facilities well-kept for the commencement of Term 1.

The Shore community thank you for your efforts and praises the talented team: Lizzie Adams, Rodney Briggs, Tyler Duncan, Dean Engelsman, Oliver Evans, Tim Hearsch, Nick James, Zsolt Lendvai, Brendan Lingard, Carson Macdougall, Travis McKinlay and Steve Pocott.

Would you like to acknowledge the great work of a Shore colleague or team? Please let us know at: communications@shore.nsw.edu.au

Chapel Notices

Chaplain’s Chat

There is something about new beginnings in life. Whether this is the start of a new school, a new job or a new sporting season. New beginnings bring about excitement, expectation and even hope. New beginnings give us the opportunity to experience new things, face different challenges, and grow as people. There are times when new beginnings take us out of our comfort zones.

For those that are new to the Shore Community this year, I would like to welcome you. No doubt there will be many new families and students in Year 7, but there are also older boys beginning at Shore, as well as many new faces in our Boarding Community. I do trust that your time at Shore will be a wonderful time and deep friendships are bound to be formed.

In Chapel last week, we reflected on how we are all precious and important in God’s sight. As the Bible says, every single one of us is ‘made in God’s image’. We have been given our minds to learn and grow in knowledge of so many things, while our bodies are able to complete many physical activities. And yet, we are also created as spiritual people. We were made for relationships not only with each other, but also with God Himself. As we begin a new year here at Shore, I hope we can all consider afresh the spiritual journey ahead and growing our relationship with God we can have now and into eternity. As Jesus says in John 17:3, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

Reverend A Benn
Chaplain

Top image credit: Reverend A Benn, Chaplain

CRU Update

CRU is the voluntary group that meets in the Christian Studies classrooms every Friday lunchtime at 12.30pm. It is awesome to be back at CRU for another year as we spend time studying the Bible and learning about Jesus. To kick the year off we had a scissors, paper, rock tournament, with Jesse Cochrane coming out victorious for the Year 12s. 

After this, we had our Bible passage read from Acts 1:1-11. This term we are looking at the book of Acts, which comes just after the Gospels in the New Testament. Reverend Benn spoke about Luke’s purpose: to inform Theophilus of accurate historical events. He wrote about the physical evidence that proved Jesus really rose from the dead, including all the witnesses who observed the risen Christ. Reverend Benn went on to note how Jesus is the ruler of God’s Kingdom, which He is building through the spreading of His Word. It is incredible that the Gospel of Jesus’ resurrection and the eternal life we have from believing in his Word has travelled to Australia; a place unknown to the disciples when Jesus commanded them to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth.

To hear more about the amazing news of Jesus Christ in the Acts, come along to CRU next Friday during lunchtime in the Christian Studies Centre.

Daniel Becker
10 TY4

Careers News

“For some, work is simply a job. To many more, it’s a lifeline to social interaction, purpose and a place of belonging”

Ashley Fell, McCrindle Research

Career development is an integral component of education, and it is a privilege to support students on their individual journeys. It is a process of exploration, and the earlier students engage in the process, the better the informed decisions will be made along the way. It involves understanding one’s inner world – strengths and interests, learning about the outer world of work and then finding purpose-filled connections where contributions can be made. It is a lifelong process as we experience, learn and grow and there are many tools and resources available to support our students on their journey. These include:

1. The Careers Lampada page: There is a wealth of information here about post-school opportunities, tertiary institutions, and occupations as well as many other resources.
2. A Careers Newsletter is published regularly with upcoming events, webinars, course updates, application deadlines, scholarships and other opportunities. It is emailed to parents of students in Years 10 to 12 and is also available on the Careers Lampada page.
3. One-on-one counselling is available to all students, who can book an appointment via the Careers Lampada page to discuss goals and future aspirations.
4. The Lower North Shore Careers Expo is the premier Careers event of the year and will be held on Monday 15 May in the R A I Grant Centre from 4.00pm to 6.00pm.
5. Year 10 Morrisby Profiling will take place at the end of Term 2.
6. Year 10 Work Engagement Programme is from 27 November – 1 December.

This year, we are excited to welcome Ms Belinda Wilde to the Careers team who will be working one day a week this Semester. She is an exceptional career professional with many years of experience counselling students. Ms Wilde will be working with each Year 11 student in 30 minute sessions to discuss and explore future possibilities around their Morrisby Profiling. Further information will be sent to students on how to make a booking.

No doubt it will be another exciting and event-filled year in Careers and we look forward to working with families as we support students in preparing for life beyond Shore.

Ms V Shirriff
Head of Careers Education

A Conversation about ChatGPT

Over the holiday period, a plethora of articles emerged about the OpenAI tool ChatGPT. Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools that generate human responses to open text-based inputs have been around for almost five years. What was particularly impressive about ChatGPT was the speed and accuracy of the responses it could generate in a seemingly human way.

As you can imagine in the education community, there were a range of responses from opinion pieces ‘This is the End of High School English [1]’, to New South Wales and Queensland Public Schools banning its use [2], to numerous articles imploring educators to embrace this technology and think carefully about how AI tools can be utilised for learning. McCrindle Research even identified AI in its trends of 2023 as a theme for enhanced human flourishing. An additional challenge for educators has been the terms and conditions of products such as ChatGPT which require users accept they are over 18 years of age before using it. A challenge for those of us that are educating students primarily younger than this age.  

Educators are experts in teaching students how to learn, and learning is a consequence of thinking. Throughout education, there have been a range of technological tools and advancements that have assisted students with various tasks but still require a fundamental knowledge base. Take for instance calculators and spellcheckers. Calculators have not ended the need for knowledge of fundamental skills in Mathematics, in fact, the need to be able to input the correct instructions and spot potential problems with the output is a key skill students require despite calculations that are made by this technology. Similarly, the use of spellcheckers has not made the fundamental skill of spelling redundant. It is a tool that assists students, but ultimately the fundamental knowledge and skill is still required. Professor Matt Bower, Interim Dean of Macquarie University’s School of Education expresses this well when he says, “We still need humans to learn and know fundamental knowledge and skills – without that, how will humans be able to spot problems with AI outputs, or work creatively with AI?” 

One immediate change we have made as a result of AI availability at Shore has been in the design of our assessment tasks in the Senior School. These tasks are designed to assess a students’ own learning. In creating tasks, we want to ensure students do not have the ability to undertake and submit tasks with work that is not their own and generated by others. This has always been a consideration and concern with the availability of external tutors but also the increase in availability of information on the internet. AI has simply provided another avenue where this is possible and accessible. In designing authentic tasks, we are seeking to assess students own learning where they have the ability to demonstrate the applications of the knowledge they have learned. We have also updated our Academic Integrity Policy with guidelines around AI and specifically ChatGPT. The fundamental philosophy of the policy has not changed. Whatever a student submits, this must be their own work created authentically by them.  

Both now and into the future, fundamental knowledge with critical and creative thinking is required to imagine and examine what is created, be it by ChatGPT or other AI technologies of the future. For over 130 years, Shore have been equipping boys with these skills as learners to navigate the world irrespective of technological advances. The ability to learn and think is a timeless human skill. Learning, in the holistic sense at Shore, is far more than academic head knowledge or skills. All of this does not even mention or consider the significant ethical, philosophical and theological questions that these tools raise. I recently enjoyed reading the musings of former Shore teacher Mr Simon Smart on this very topic [3]. As these tools develop and become even more sophisticated, we will continue to ask ourselves as educators what are the benefits for learning to our students, and what are the potential costs and pitfalls. It is imperative we strike the right balance between using technology to assist learning and ensuring our students have fundamental skills and knowledge required as they venture out into the world.

Mr M Leeds
Deputy Head Academic

^{[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/12/openai-chatgpt-writing-high-school-english-essay/672412/
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/23/queensland-public-schools-to-join-nsw-in-banning-students-from-chatgpt
[3] https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/chatgpt-and-the-apocalypse}

Study Centre Sessions

Shore’s Study Centre has now started again. There are subject-specific sessions before and after school to allow the boys to seek individual help and guidance with their schoolwork. Teachers, sometimes assisted by high-achieving Old Boys, are available according to the published timetable. Study Centre operates on a drop-in basis and there is no charge involved. The boys are strongly encouraged to attend.

The ‘Focus On’ programme is part of the Study Centre. It is run by staff in the Educational Services Department who offer support to boys in all subjects in Years 7 to 10. They will assist the boys with their executive functioning skills, as well as help with homework and other schoolwork.

Please note that the Study Centre timetable changes from time to time as teachers’ Co-Curricular commitments change. It is always best to check for the most up to date version of the timetable on Lampada.

Study Centre Timetable Term 1 2023

The Art of Rhetoric

The English Department is excited to share the return of the long-standing public speaking event ‘The Art of Rhetoric’. After a long hiatus due to COVID-19, the competition celebrated the power of language, with the chosen finalists from each English class delivering powerful and thought-provoking speeches which left the audience entertained.

The speech topics (listed below) were inspired by memorable song titles, requiring students to deliver a short speech that had a lasting impact on the audience. The interpretation of these songs allowed each student to showcase their unique perspective and bring the lyrics to life in new and exciting ways.

Throughout this unit, students from Years 7 to 9 developed an understanding of the key elements of speech writing and public speaking, gaining an appreciation of the hard work required to deliver a meaningful speech.

The Art of Rhetoric is an important reminder of the power of public speaking and the positive impact it can have on individuals and communities. It was a testament to the hard work that our students put into their public speaking skills, allowing for the unforgettable return of this important competition.

The English Department would like to extend our gratitude to the participants who made the event possible.

We look forward to the next public speaking event and the opportunities it will bring to all involved.

Congratulations to the winner and runner-up of each year group:

Year 7: Oliver Dorney (Winner) and Charles Griffin (Runner Up)

Year 8: George Scammell (Winner) and Jayden Pan (Runner Up)

Year 9: Angus Leslie (Winner) and Callum Zhu (Runner Up)

Speech Topics:

• You can’t always get what you want.
• Go your own way.
• Everybody wants to rule the world.
• All you need is love.
• Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.

Ms Z Doutreband
MIC Assisting English (USYD Partnership and Competitions)

Pastoral Care

Welcome back to all students and their families, and a special welcome to the new Shore boys and families who are joining us for the first time this year. It was terrific to be at the front gate last week to welcome and meet many of you. As the Acting Deputy Head of Pastoral Care, I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to work with the excellent staff at Shore who are committed to keeping our boys safe and enabling them to learn and thrive as young people.

Shore is very fortunate to have a fantastic Pastoral Care team that works tirelessly every day to build positive and respectful relationships and ensure that all our boys are known and supported so they can fully participate in the life of the School. As part of our approach to student wellbeing, Shore collaborates with many excellent external experts, such as Yasmin London and her team at ‘ySafe’ who the School hosted on Thursday 9 February. All our boys in the Senior School will hear from ‘ySafe’ during either Term 1 or 2 and then discuss and debrief on the key themes and content presented to them during tutor and House time.

Our next parent seminar is an online seminar for our Year 9 parents on Tuesday 21 February. David Kobler from ‘Your Choicez’ will speak to parents about teaching boys respectful relationships and the importance of consent. David will then speak to the boys the following day about this topic. This is a key focus area for us, and we will be engaging our boys in further age and stage relevant discussions as the year goes on. Further information and a link to the webinar will be forwarded to all Year 9 parents closer to the date.

For additional support, parents can also access SchoolTV, which provides detailed information on a range of wellbeing topics for parents. The archive includes information on topics such as school transitions, managing Year 12, school refusal, managing screen time, moving to a new school, starting Year 7, and more.

I hope the start of the new school year has been positive for all students and families thus far. I look forward to working with parents and carers throughout the year to support students at Shore.

Mr D Champion
Acting Deputy Head Pastoral Care

Debating Trials

When: Friday 3 to Friday 10 February   

Location: Playfair

Who: Senior students of all Debating levels

Debating Competitions: SSDDC, LND, ISDA

The Lower North Shore Debating (LND) – Competition Term 2 – training Term 1 with ISDA runs from 3.15pm to 5.00pm during Term 1 for home Debates and from 3.15pm to 6.30pm in Term 2.

Sydney Schools Debating Development Competition (SSDDC) – Takes place at Shore for training and Zoom Debates and runs from 3.15pm to 6.30pm each week.

Interschools Debating Association ISDA – A seven week competition with finals rounds that continue throughout all of Term 2. Depending on the student’s year level, Debates finish at 7.30pm for Years 7 to 9 and 8.30pm for Years 10 to 12.

Debating occurs every Friday afternoon at 3.15pm at various locations and requires regular attendance. Please email Mrs Jacqui Melville if you would like further information or are not able to attend the upcoming Debating Trials. Interest will be registered by attendance by emailing jmelville@shore.nsw.edu.au.

Mrs J Melville
Debating ISDA

Media and Production – Filmmaking

Do you enjoy watching films?
Do you like making exciting visual content?
Are you a natural storyteller?

Join Media and Production – Filmmaking; a Co-Curricular activity for film buffs, animation fans, storytellers and like-minded people interested in editing software. Learn camera and editing skills with your friends.

When: Every Wednesday from 3.00pm to 5.00pm

Where: Classroom 7-1-10, outside the Visual Arts Department office on the ground floor.

Who: Students in Years 10 and 11

This is a small group and numbers are limited. Register your interest by emailing jharrison@shore.nsw.edu.au or by signing up via the Co-Curricular activities form.

Ms J Harrison
MIC Visual Arts and Digital Learning Integration

From the Music Department

Welcome back and an especially warm welcome to all new students, parents and carers joining us this year. Thank you to all the students who have auditioned for Concert Band and Orchestra. It was really pleasing to see and hear so many students branching out of their comfort zones and having a go.

I am pleased to announce that all Music ensembles have started rehearsals. Year 7s who auditioned for Orchestra have now been placed into the appropriate ensemble, and all Year 7 students who auditioned for Band have been placed into Concert Band II.

This ensemble rehearses on Wednesday and Friday mornings at 7.15am. If you have missed one of the opportunities to audition for an ensemble, it is not too late! If you have any questions about ensembles and the audition process, please go to the following link: https://www.shore.nsw.edu.au/co-curricular/performing-arts/music or come and speak to a staff member in the Music Department. 

Music ensemble mentors are Shore Old Boys who have been enthusiastically involved, and excelled in the Music programme during their time as students. They have returned to Shore to help assist in the development of the core Music ensembles.

These mentors are here to help guide the boys, assist in problem-solving, instruct them on instrumental techniques, and also develop their own leadership skills. Their assistance is greatly appreciated, and they are an invaluable and integral part of our Music programme.

Welcome back to the following mentors: Peter Brown (2019), Ben Egan (2019), Martin Huang (2019), Ryan Kennedy (2021), Adrian Lai (2021) and Xavier Margarian (2020).

We also welcome the following mentors to the team this year: Ben Cody-Osborne (2022), Finn Kennedy (2022), William Kwon (2021) and Jordan Li (2022).

Welcome back our Shore Old Boy Assistant, James Griffiths (2020). James Griffiths is assistant to the Director of Choirs.

Camps
There are several upcoming Music camps: Strings Camp is on Tuesday 28 February, Band Camp is on Tuesday 7 March and Wednesday 8 March, and Choir Camp is on Tuesday 1 August and Wednesday 2 August.

Further details will be emailed to parents. For more information, please contact Head of Strings: awentzel@shore.nsw.edu.au; Coordinator of Bands: pdorich@shore.nsw.edu.au; or for Choir Camp: Director of Choirs: ewels@shore.nsw.edu.au.

Private Music Tuition
Lessons have begun for students learning instruments at Shore. The School offers lessons on all brass instruments including euphonium, woodwind instruments (including saxophone), string instruments (including guitar), musicianship/theory and drum kit. You can complete a form to sign up for lessons. The form can be found here: https://www.shore.nsw.edu.au/co-curricular/performing-arts/music

Upcoming Dates:

Mrs K Barber
Head of Music

2023 Musical

Save the Date!

Basketball Report

This week saw the Shore First V travel away to take on a strong Kings College First V group. Kings started the game by jumping out to an early 24-18 lead in the first quarter. After Kings stretched their lead to 17 points in the second quarter, Shore showed their resilience by cutting the deficit to 6 points by the end of the third. Shore continued its momentum into the fourth quarter and held a slender four point lead with just three minutes remaining, but the bounce of the ball in the final minutes fell to Kings, who were able to execute offensively and finished the game just ahead at 95-90. 

Brandon Salis led the charge for Shore, finishing the game with 29 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in 38 minutes of work. Joslin Barnes chipped in with an efficient 20 points and 18 rebounds on only 10 field goal attempts. Stef Petrellis also provided an efficient punch off the bench with 9 points in as many minutes.

The Second V set a blistering pace to begin the game going up 13-0 within the first 5 minutes. Kings couldn’t handle the intensity of Shore’s full-court defence or fast-paced transition in offense. The boys were able to maintain the pressure through the entire game and never relinquished the lead.

Amongst a strong team performance, Josh Ashton was outstanding in controlling the game, which allowed the other players to get up and down the floor with total confidence. Nick Wendt also had a strong game, grabbing 11 rebounds, to go along with 12 points and 4 steals. The win now places the Second V in equal second position.

Outside the competition teams, we had success stories across the School and out at Kings. Special congratulations this week go to Mr Polis (14C), Mr Ho (14E), Mr Joson (Sixths), Mr O’Brien (Ninths) and Mr Ng (Tenths), who all managed to come out on top in their first games as Shore Basketball coaches and are therefore currently the ‘winningest’ coaches in the School. We’ll keep an eye on the situation as it unfolds to see if they can keep it up!

Player of the Week: Jayden Sze thinks he scored 18 for the Ninths, but the scoresheet says 25 so we’re going with that.

Team of the Week: The 14As picked up where they left off with a 73-15 demolition of Kings in which almost every player scored, including a dominant full-court press and some highlight reel assists which I wish I’d filmed.

Mr G Davis
MIC Basketball

Round 8 First XI Match Report v The King’s School

Saturday 4 February played at the Junior School White Oval, The King’s School

Shore 8/273 (Alex Segaert 79, Lachlan Hunt 47, Will Sutton 46, Oliver Carney 33) defeated The King’s School 10/269 (Sam Walton 4/61, Alex Segaert 2/36, Will Nutt 2/51)

After a highly successful tour to New Zealand in January, the First XI was keen for the resumption of the AAGPS Competition. The tour to Auckland provided most of the team with plenty of confidence following some excellent performances with both bat and ball. There would be no greater test than travelling to North Parramatta to play the undefeated competition leaders at the JS White Oval.

On a magnificent day under clear skies Lachlan Hunt won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch that resembled the Hume Highway – flat and hard. Openers Will Sutton and Alex Segaert took full advantage of the conditions putting on 120 together before Segaert was dismissed for 79 with a direct hit attempting a quick single. His innings was characterised by some beautiful stroke play and clean hitting. Sutton, who was well set, was joined in the middle by Axel Bailey. Bailey began positively with two crisp boundaries but was out soon after, being caught for 13 with the score on 145. Captain, Lachlan Hunt, joined Sutton but their union quickly ended with Sutton’s dismissal for 46 and the score on 153. Oliver Carney joined Hunt and the pair set about rebuilding the Shore innings after an excellent start.  Some judicious shot-making saw the pair put together a 75-run partnership before Hunt was bowled 3 runs short of what would have been a well-deserved half century. Carney continued on with wicket keeper Hugo Orpin taking the score to 243 before Carney was dismissed for 33 attempting to accelerate the run rate in the final overs. Orpin, Josh Constantian and Toby Robinson were all dismissed in the final overs unselfishly attempting to get Shore over 270 which they achieved. 

Chasing 274 for victory would take a big effort but Shore knew King’s had some quality batsmen, so would need to bowl in the right areas and maintain discipline and patience.  King’s chase began disastrously with their opener being dismissed by Will Nutt, caught behind off the second ball of the innings. A direct hit by Toby Robinson dismissed their other opener, seeing King’s slump to 2/13. They were in even deeper trouble when Sam Walton dismissed their Number 4, trapping him leg before wicket with the score on 17. Walton struck again dismissing their dangerous Number 3 caught at square leg with the score on 57.  Shore was on top, but the King’s batsmen continued to take risks and play freely keeping the required run rate very achievable. A partnership of 100 ensued before Alex Segaert took the vital fifth wicket of the King’s Captain. Despite disciplined bowling and good fielding, King’s kept playing positively in their pursuit of the victory target. A second wicket to Segaert had King’s 6/186, still 88 runs shy of Shore’s total. Will Nutt was reintroduced into the attack, and he made the crucial breakthrough dismissing King’s top scorer for 76 with the score on 218. Walton also returned for his second spell taking two quick wickets, seeing King’s 9/231 and still needing 33 runs. This seemed a big ask but the two King’s batsmen were determined to get their team home. Needing nearly 10 runs an over they pushed on ensuring an epic finish. The game came down to the final over with King’s requiring 6 runs to win.  The experienced Will Nutt took responsibility with the game on the line. His first delivery was pushed into the off-side for a single. King’s now only needed 5 runs from 5 deliveries. The second ball was defended by Will Sutton fielding at cover. Indecision saw the non-striker commit to a run but he was sent back by the striker. Sutton coolly fielded the ball cleanly making a direct hit with an underarm throw ending the game. 

The win will long be remembered by the team and their supporters.  It will also give the First XI even more confidence and self-belief. The team look forward to hosting Sydney Grammar School at Northbridge in Round 9 of the competition this Saturday.

Mr T M Wallace
First XI Coach

Round 8 Second XI Match Report v The King’s School

Saturday 4 February, played at the War Memorial Playing Fields, A Ground, Northbridge

Shore 10/112 (Oscar Everett 25, Billy Kwan 24) defeated by King’s 3/116

After a long summer break, it was great to get back into full swing and prepare for the second half of the season. With many of our boys enjoying their summer holiday’s away from Sydney, not many had played cricket. We commenced training on Tuesday and had a great week preparing for our toughest opponents in the competition, The King’s School. They were seven wins from seven matches, and we were three wins with four losses. It was always going to be tough.

With the King’s bus being held up in traffic, we started the match 15 minutes late. We won the toss and chose to bat on a flat deck, with the sun shining bright. We lost an early wicket but fought hard to see off the openers and be 1-25 off 10. Their openers were solid with consistent line and length. Change of attack usually provides a bit of relief but they upped their game and broke through. Oscar Everett (25) and Billy Kwan (24) fought back to rebuild the innings putting on a 30 run partnership. Billy played his usual aggressive style, taking it to the bowlers until he chopped one on. Credit to our boys, they were looking to rotate the strike but lost regular wickets, preventing us from gaining back the momentum. The tail-enders, especially Toby Ogg (14), all got starts but were unable to convert. King’s bowled well and we were all out for 112 in the 40th over.

When defending a low total, there is only one way to go about it and that is we must take wickets. Normally, bowling at the start of the innings is our strength, but not today. They bat with purpose and put the pressure back onto us, putting away the bad balls to be going at a run ball after 6 overs. They were on track to secure the bonus point (chasing the total down by the end of the 25th over). Toby Ogg was required to come on early and took a wicket to give some hope. However, their batters continued their momentum and the game got away from us. Tom Fuzes (1/26) cleaned bowled one of their top batters and Matt Melville (1/22) took a well-deserved wicket. In the end, they were too good on the day and passed the total in the 22nd over, securing the bonus points.

Our boys learnt today that cricket is a tough game, and it can really hurt. However, it’s just a game and we will continue to prepare ourselves to win our next match against Grammar.

Mr G S Tesoriero
Second XI Coach

Cricket Report

Third XI: The Shore Third XI suffered a big loss to a far superior team. We won the toss and batted first but the King’s bowling was fast, accurate and consistent with nothing loose to put away. Their fielding was also top-notch. The boys did their best but regular wickets fell to good balls or outstanding fielding. Tom Davison scored only seven runs but showed true grit to last almost 20 overs against a potent attack. With wayward deliveries almost non-existent, runs were very hard to come by and 31 was woefully short of a competitive score. Nevertheless, the Shore bowlers managed a couple of consolation wickets before the inevitable denouement.

Mr R J Ward
Third XI Coach

Fourth XI: Perfect conditions at King’s Old Boys meant both teams were up for a big game to kick off the year well. King’s won the toss and sent Shore in to bat on a lively wicket and slow outfield. As such, runs were always going to be hard to come by. This proved to be the case with Shore eventually being bowled out for 78, the backbone of which was Sam Andrew’s patient 34. So, while we felt it was probably slightly below par, at least Shore had the runs on the board, and King’s would have to bat on the same wicket. In fact, with King’s at 2/33 after ten overs after some beautiful line and length bowling, the highlight of which was Tom Lyons’ 2/7 off four overs, Shore felt they were a genuine chance. At this stage, though the wheels fell off somewhat, a few chances just missed going to hand and King’s were able to accelerate the innings to eventually pass Shore’s total five wickets down after 16 overs.

Considering the depth King’s have in the Opens, going to the Eighths, it was a great effort from our boys to push them as far as they did. Plenty of positives build from and we are back on home soil this week to take on Sydney Grammar. Up the Toadies!

Mr N A Trumbull
Fourth XI Coach

16A: Shore 16A played away against the King’s School in the first match back of the new year. Shore lost the toss and fielded on a batting-friendly wicket, which the home side took full advantage of by scoring 189 with the loss of only two wickets including a run out from 32 overs. In response, Shore lost quick and frequent wickets failing to maintain the required run rate. Finishing the innings at 5/86 with the top scorer being Neo Presley with a quick-fire 27*

Mr A Robinson and Mr A Nugan
16A Coaches

15A: Shore 15As turned up to TKS Old Boys in the hope of starting 2023 on the right foot. Shore won the toss and chose to bat as the deck looked in reasonable condition. Stewart Hurt and Daniel Harvey remained composed as King’s bowled in good areas from ball one making it difficult to release the pressure. As a result, Shore lost both openers to be 2/35 at halfway through the innings. Julian Harrison (42) played exceptional cricket by putting the bad ball away and running hard between the wickets to put pressure on the opposition fielders. Handy contributions were made by Daniel Harvey (16) and Stian Constable (18)  giving King’s fielders something to chase. At the end of the innings, Shore set King’s 100 runs to win. King’s started very well in their chase with both openers hitting multiple boundaries. Shore required something special when King’s needed 13 runs to win off 16 overs with nine wickets in hand. Then, Stian Constable put his hand up and made it very difficult for King’s by claiming four wickets for only 16 runs off his six over spell. Unfortunately, King’s were able to get over the line in 24th over, however, the fight that the boys displayed in the second half of the bowling innings was something that they can use as motivation into the next game against SGS. While it was a disappointing result, there were some good performances and attitudes during the match.

Ms S Horley
15A Coach

15B: The Shore 15Bs put in a very strong performance in the field after losing the toss, restricting King’s to 84 runs. Harry Kowalski bowled exceptionally, ending with figures of 5/6. Harry got close to taking a hat-trick in his first spell and then almost led a team hat-trick in his second. Fielding was strong, with two run outs from the outfield, first Charlie Ryan with a strong arm from square leg and then Harry Lyons from third man. Unfortunately, the batting performance was not as strong as the fielding, with a number of the top order losing their wicket as a result of trying to score too quickly. Lachie Richards did well to bat half of the innings, but he was run out after drinks on 20. The game went down to the wire, with Shore needing just one run to win, but our last batsman was out, caught behind. A man down, we did not have another batsman to come in and score the winning run, so the game ended a tie.

Mr A N Mason-Jones
15B Coach

15C: On Saturday, the newly formed Shore 15Cs arrived for their first game against King’s in the T20 competition. With captain Dylan Germain winning the toss and electing to bat. Shore was off to a slow start on only 22 after the first ten overs. However, some strong batting with smart quick singles later in the innings saw Bryce Skarott and Sam H pull the team’s score to a respectable 74. 

Attempting to defend 74 on a small Doyle field was always going to be a challenge. However, a very strong team performance from Shore, catching four out of four opportunities and never letting go in the field put the pressure back on King’s. This paired with a strong individual performance from Henry Clifton collecting a remarkable 5/3 in his spell allowed Shore to bowl King’s out for 73 securing a nail-biting victory. 

A Gill and A Fisher
15C Coaches

14A: After a long time between drinks, the boys headed out to Parramatta to face King’s for the second round of the season. James Mathur and Thomas Hamilton picked up where they left off and started out the bowling attack with great pace and accuracy. It only took five overs for James Mathur to strike first and take the first wicket of the day. Some excellent fielding throughout the innings resulted in each of the seven wickets to be taken through catches. Aidan Kurtis took two screamers which wouldn’t look out of place in a classic catches’ competition. Hugo Dunn and Jude Terry bowled a terrific spell to keep the TKS run rate down to around two runs an over. Jack Campbell and Oscar Brown continued the heavy lifting, bowling six overs each to mount the pressure on the batters. After the 32 overs, TKS ended up with a total of 73 runs.

With a target set of 74, the boys knew that runs would not come easy. A great start from Aidan Kurtis and James Mathur had the run rate well over the required 2/3. Some solid bowling from TKS saw an early collapse and the pressure mounting back on Shore. Thomas Hamilton and Lachlan Boys had a very gutsy batting partnership, to help keep the runs ticking over and not lose any more wickets. At drinks, Shore found themselves 5/49 with the win in sight. Unfortunately, the first ball after drinks resulted in a wicket and the 14As continued to fight until they fell 13 runs shy of the winning target. Shore will look to bounce back for next week’s game against Grammar.

Mr J Murphy
14A Coach

14B: After a delayed start due to the King’s bus being stuck in traffic, Shore went to work with Ben Sullivan setting the tone by taking out the middle stump with the first ball of the innings. Apart from some holiday rust making itself apparent in the field Shore bowled and batted very well. Deserving victors who were very pleased after losing to King’s earlier this season.

Mr M D Webster
14B Coach

14C: It was a tough day at Northbridge on Saturday for the 14Cs. King’s won the toss and batted and soon found themselves in trouble at 4/10, Alistair Neiland taking three wickets in his first two overs. But that was the only threat of the day. Shore seemed to struggle with putting pressure on the King’s batsmen and decided to put it on themselves instead and allow King’s back in the game. A casual effort in the field and some lacklustre bowling gave King’s every opportunity to reach a competitive score of 89. Shore was the same with the bat as they were with the ball, they struggled to find runs and were compliant to just play a defensive game. Unfortunately getting to the end of their innings 42 runs short.

Mr C D Burke
14C Coach

Player of the Week Nominations:

1. First XI – Alex Segaert 79 from 71 balls

2. Second XI – Billy Kwan 24 (26)

3. 3rd XI – Tom Davison

4. 4th XI – Sam Andrew

5. 16A – Neo Presley 27*

6. 15A – Stian Constable 18 runs and 4/16

7. 15B – Harry Kowalski 5/6

8. 15C – Henry Clifton 5/3

8. 14A – Lachlan Boys

9. 14B – Tom Gocher 27

10. 14C – Alistair Neiland 3/12

Player of the week: Henry Clifton 5/3 and Harry Kowalski 5/6

Rowing Report

Last weekend saw two regattas take place, the first in Sydney for our Junior boys and the second in Penrith for our Year 10 and Senior crews.

The Shore Regatta was held in Sydney over the weekend with the Shore Junior squad making a strong showing. The Year 8 squad enjoyed some good racing, with the increasing wind making it a little tough going through the middle stages of their race. I am pleased to report that no diggers or crabs were caught by our crews.

In a very loaded side of the draw, Shore recorded one win, two 2nd places in very tight finishes and two 3rd places. Our first Year 8 quad of Oli Mott, Sam Chan, Ed Macdonald, Ben Gordon and Harry Leahy showed brilliant boatmanship to take the win in the first Year 8 division.

The Year 9 quads, due to their experience and training, found the conditions not as challenging and were able to record five wins and a 2nd place in their races. This is a very talented and hard-working age group and it is great to see the improvement that was continued on from last term. The first quad of Harrison Frape, Ben McHutchinson, Luke Robinson, Lawson Armstrong and Oscar Miller showed tremendous focus in one of the closest races of the weekend to close out the win.

In Penrith, our Senior squad and our Year 10 VIIIs competed in the annual Scots College Regatta. 

The Year 10 VIIIs showed great speed in the early racing this year, recording four wins and three 2nd places from their eight starts. A highlight was the debut of our Fourth Year 10 VIII, who in their first race this season recorded a very good win. All of these crews have shown tremendous improvement over the January camp period and I am very much looking forward to seeing what the next few weeks have in store for the squad.

Our Senior crews closed out the Regatta, with all crews recording strong performances. The Fourths recorded 2nd and 3rd places in their races in what was uncharacteristic conditions for the Sydney International Regatta Centre (SIRC), with the crosswind making the racing very hard-going in the outside lanes. Our First VIII and Second VIII raced well with the Second VIII putting in two very strong performances in both races, recording  2^nd places to two different crews. The First VIII finished the Regatta but unfortunately did not race to the standard they are capable of, with the conditions and a little sickness ultimately affecting the performance of the crew. They will be looking to bounce back strongly against their AAGPS rivals this weekend at the NSW State Championships.

Mr G Bates
MIC Rowing

Snowsports Invitation

The 2023 Snowsports season promises to be an exciting and rewarding experience for those who are passionate about skiing and snowboarding. After an outstanding season of success from newcomers and experienced racers last year, we now have new families join the Shore Snowsports team this year.

Snowsports fosters a wonderful family-oriented enjoyment of Alpine environments, with events in downhill skiing and snowboarding, skier and snowboard cross and slopestyle and cross-country skiing in a fun and relaxed atmosphere, suitable for skiers and boarders of all skill levels. It has been lovely for me to receive updates from families who have enjoyed the Northern Hemisphere winter. Thank you to those who took part last year.

Please read below for important information for this season:

Information Night
The Information Night is an evening event for prospective families to learn more about Snowsports at Shore, the Interschools Competition and the registration process. There is also the opportunity to meet with parents who are experienced with the Sport. The 2023 Information Night is scheduled for Tuesday 4 April in Playfair from 6:30pm.

2023 Snowsports Training Camp
While we did experience a bit of a debacle with last year’s Snowsports training camp, we are surging forward into 2023. I have been in contact with the Thredbo Ski School and have tentatively booked beds at the House of Ullr Ski Resort in the heart of Thredbo. Arrangements are looking positive.

The Snowsports Training Camp is a fantastic opportunity for boys to spend time and train together under the guidance of professional instructors. The tentative dates for the camp this year are Tuesday 4 July to Saturday 8 July. Boys must be collected by their parents on the afternoon of Saturday 8 July and then stay with their parents throughout Regionals. Depending on the availability of instructors, there is also the possibility of an optional training day for boys who do not require accommodation.

Interschools Event Dates
In 2023, the Shore Snowsports team will compete at the following Interschools events:

• Subaru Sydney Interschool Snowsports Championships – 10 to 14 July at Thredbo Ski Resort.
• Subaru NSW/ACT/QLD State Interschools Snowsports Championships – 21 to 25 August at Perisher Valley.
• Australian Interschools Snowsports Championships – 5 to 10 September at Mt Buller.

If you are not yet part of the Snowsports Team at Shore but are interested, please contact Mr Payne for any information regarding the season ahead, as well as to be added to the email contact list to keep informed of any developments as the season approaches: wpayne@shore.nsw.edu.au or visit https://www.nswinterschools.com.au/.

Mr WJ Payne
MIC Snowsports

Top image credit: Snowsports Daniel Kovacs Alpine-3

Surfing Report

Due to a fun-run that closed access to beaches from Dee Why to Manly, Long Reef Beach was packed on Saturday morning. The waves were small but clean and consistent and the Shore Surfers wasted no time finding their usual spot, way down the beach near the pole.

It was clear that many of the boys had spent time in the water over the summer with the standard of surfing well advanced from last year. Duncan Cowan was generating a lot of speed from the small waves and going to the air, while Sam Pockley was attacking the end section of his waves. Nathan Stanmore, John Rajaratnam and Morgan Elvy paddled further south and straight into some nice waves.

Will Hoy was busy as always attacking the left-handers in front of the coaches, while Ben Jones was most improved with a quick pop-up, helping him generate speed. Henry Peters got the turn of the day with a drawn-out, on-rail roundhouse cutback that threw buckets of spray.

Mr J McClelland
MIC Surfing

Shore Swim Club – Speedo Sprint Heats and Australian Open Water Championships

The newly formed Shore Swimming Club was out in action at Homebush competing in the 2023 Swimming Metro North East Under 13s Speedo Sprint Meet. The Speedo Sprint Meet has a history that dates back to the early 1970s when it was known as the ‘Shell Series’ and introduced sprint swimming to our younger age groups. Some very famous swimmers commenced their early careers with success in this competition. Today, this meet continues to be a relevant proving ground for our younger Swimmers.

Shore Swimming Club was well represented by Alex Freischmidt, and his brother Hugo Freischmidt, Arthur Ilaug, Archie Lawry, Jack Nelson, Hugo Stewart, William Watson, and Will Robinson.

Congratulations to all the boys on a fine effort, and thank you to their Swimming Coach, Katie Kelly, who was in attendance supporting all our boys through the racing process.

The boys who achieved a top six placing in events are listed below:

Top image credit: Swimming – Speedo Sprint Heats – Team shot

Australian Open Water Championships – Busselton, Western Australia

Congratulations to William Bestic (Year 8) who recently qualified for and competed at the Australian Open Water Championships in Busselton, Western Australia. Will raced in the 5km event and placed 4^th in his age category in a time of 1:4:51. A great effort from Will – congratulations!

Mr P Hardman
Head Coach, Shore Swimming

Shore Tennis Report – Shore versus The Kings School

The Shore Tennis season has started off with a bang, with many talented players showcasing their skills on the court. Tennis players have been putting in a lot of effort in practice and it’s paying off, as many close and exciting matches have been played.

The First VI won against Kings at Parramatta. In the singles, Oliver Wilcox , impressed everyone with his strong forehand and impressive footwork. He won in straight sets, showing dominance on the court with a result of 6-1, 6-0. Ari Carboni must be mentioned and after narrowly losing in tiebreaks, but played one of his top performing matches since starting tennis at Shore.

Congratulations to Taj Gupta playing his first match in the 2nds after showing consistent progress in the Under 16s. Matthew Hogg, Captain of the Seconds, made his presence felt by winning his singles and doubles matches, showing his experience as he competed his last time against Kings.

The Under 14s, 16s and Opens had a tough day, with Kings showing great consistency and depth. Even though they went down in rubbers, there were many highlights on the day and positive sportsmanship displayed by Shore. The Under 15s were on a high with a great overall win against Kings. Special mention to the Bs who won without dropping a set. Lastly, we welcomed Year 7 to the tennis fraternity as they continue their trials. Enthusiasm and excitement have been present at every session, and we look forward to seeing them on the court in action this weekend.

Results
Win/Loss in rubbers (matches)

Top image credit: Shore and Kings Tennis 2nds on the court at Northbridge Campus.

Mr J Straney
MIC Tennis

Holtermann Columns

Philosophy and Our Complacency

The Basis of Thinking and Why We Shouldn’t Ignore It

J. A. McCreery

Have you ever really considered what you want? What you value? Why you do the things you do? 

One of the many dangers of our youth is blindness, obliviousness. One simply goes along with the flow. Life’s okay, you are happy, privileged; you’ll take the Shore 5, embrace what is waiting in the wings – a business degree at Sydney Uni, a ‘finance’ career that you don’t quite understand and a family. That’ll fulfill you. Won’t it?

The Greeks called such socially-derived thought ‘doxa’, today we’d translate it to ‘common-sense’. 

So, if such a sensible suggestion, why did Plato – the ancient world’s foremost philosopher and one of the greatest thinkers of history – repeatedly, across his many liminal works, disparage a love for doxa. 

Plato found it wrought with “errors, prejudice and superstition”. Doxa denotes society’s “taken-for-granted, unquestioned truths”, so-called truths which leave people routinely finding themselves stuck with the wrong values, careers and relationships and that more broadly shackle societal growth both in structure and quality.The things we believe we should love are so often driven by irrationality or the bias of others. We wrongly pride ourselves on instincts and passion, throwing ourselves into commitments on the basis of ‘feeling’ or that “it’s just what you do”.  

The solution. Simple, elegant, and a bit blunt, Plato prescribes ‘thinking harder’. Plato proposes that one loses their self-agency primarily because they do not give themselves time to think. You must think carefully and logically about your plans, aspirations and beliefs. It is hard, it is confronting, it is uncomfortable, but do you not find the alternative, entrapment in your own ignorance, so much harder to bear with?

As Plato commanded: “γνῶθι σεαυτόν – know yourself”. For how can you understand the world if you do not understand yourself.

Many will scoff at this plea for consideration yet  the recognition of thought’s value is the basis of societal progression and more solipsistically, individual success.

Ultimately, it all boils down to a study of philosophy, an area of study which quite literally means “love of wisdom”. Those that practice it seek comprehension of fundamental truths, about themselves, about the world around them and about their relationship with it. You may see it as a convoluted and ambiguous area of study but that is, in many cases, where its beauty lies. You  cannot be unreasonable, you are merely challenging what reason is. You cannot be belittled for attempting to better society’s notions of what is right and wrong.  

At a simpler level, a consideration of one’s place in the world and a study of philosophy, helps one weigh values, improve reasoning, find their ‘moral compass’, express the need for change and formulate coherent arguments. It is a practice which promotes logic and reason, two bases which will undoubtedly provide improvement in many other disciplines. 

Don’t be fooled by its simplicity either, philosophy is not just thinking, it is metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, logic and history all wrapped in one. It is further a medium to craft one’s legacy, the names of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Marx, Confucius and Machiavelli, all instantly recognisable for their contributions to the field. If such a lasting legacy is not a sufficient indicator of philosophies impact nothing will be. 

If you have taken an interest, feel free to come and discuss your views and learn more about the dynamic field of philosophy at Agora – Shore’s student run philosophy club, run by Justin Gao and Dominik Mautner.

Aussie Slam

Australian Open Overview

A. M. Bailey

The 2023 Australian Open was one of the most highly anticipated Grand Slam tournaments in recent years, and it did not disappoint. The tournament was held in Melbourne, Australia, from January 16th to January 29th, and featured some of the biggest names in tennis competing for the coveted title.

In the men’s singles competition, Daniil Medvedev looked to be the informed leading into the tournament. And from the crowds swarming around him, was the favourite to win. However, Novak Djokovic, the current world number 1 according to the ATP rankings, lived up to his hype; cruising through the early rounds and defeating some of the game’s most talented players along the way. Djokovic reached the final after defeating Tommy Paul in an easy game for one of the game’s greats. The three-set match was over quicker than the crowds’ likings, winning 7-5, 6-1, 6-2. In the final, he faced Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was making his second appearance in the Australian Open Grand Slam final. Despite a valiant effort from the young Greek player, Djokovic proved too strong and secured a 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 victory to win his tenth Australian Open title and his 22nd Grand Slam overall.

The women’s singles competition was just as exciting, with some of the best female players in the world battling it out for the title. Aryna Sabalenka became a Grand Slam champion after defeating Elena Rybakina in three high-quality sets to win the 2023 Australian Open. Last year, Aryna dished up 428 double faults, 151 more than any other player on the women’s tour. Sabalenka was even resorting to underarm serves at one point. However, with the 24-year-old Belarusian dropping her first set of 2023 in the final in Melbourne. She came roaring back to beat the reigning Wimbledon champion 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The tournament was not just about the singles competitions, as the doubles and mixed doubles events were also closely contested. In the men’s doubles, the Australian wild cards Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler won their first Grand Slam title after defeating Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski in the final, 6–4, 7–6 in the final. In the women’s doubles, Defending champions Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková defeated Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara in the final, 6–4, 6–3.

Off the court, the Australian Open was also a success, with thousands of fans attending the tournament to support their favourite players. The tournament organizers went to great lengths to ensure that the event was safe and secure, with the strict health and safety measures in place still lingering around from last year’s Australian Open due to COVID-19 pandemic. Despite some of these measures, the tournament was able to provide a fantastic atmosphere for the players and fans alike, with the players commenting on how much they enjoyed playing in front of the enthusiastic crowds

In conclusion, the 2023 Australian Open was a fantastic tournament that provided some of the best tennis action of the year. With Novak Djokovic and A. Sabalenka winning the men’s and women’s singles titles respectively, the tournament was a showcase of some of the best players in the world. The doubles and mixed doubles events also provided some fantastic matches and memorable moments, with the tournament organizers doing a great job in ensuring that the event was a success both on and off the court. The Australian Open will always be remembered as one of the best tennis tournaments in recent years and we look forward to what the future holds for this iconic event.

Brittney Griner traded for ‘Merchant of Death’

An Update on Brittney Griner

By A.T.B.Gilchrist

Last year in August, I wrote about the Russian incarceration of W.N.B.A. (Women’s National Basketball Association) Star, Brittney Griner. In summary, she was sentenced in a Russian court to 9 and a half years in prison, for drug charges, having been found with less than a gram of hashish oil (cannabis concentrate) in vape cartridges in her luggage. Unfortunately for her, although many states of the United States, her home country, have decriminalized cannabis, Russian has not. Against Russia’s extremely severe sentencing for any drug charges, such as drug use or possession, she had little chance of freedom, and experts said Brittney Griner’s trial was likely to end in a conviction. She faced up to 10 years in a penal colony if she was convicted. Compare this to Australia, where in NSW the maximum she could receive is a  2-year prison sentence and/or up to $2,200 fine. 

“There’s a bias mainly because the Russian judicial system says they really should not go to trial unless the defendant is going to be convicted,” said William Pomeranz, the acting director of the Kennan Institute and an expert on Russian law. “There’s no real idea or expectation that the defendant could be innocent. There’s no presumption of innocence, really.”

Her wife, Cherelle Griner called for the Biden administration to do “everything in their power” to get her released. In fact Brittney managed to appeal directly to the president herself in a handwritten letter delivered to the White House, urging him not to “forget about me and the other American Detainees.” Notably, while Trevor Reed was released in a prisoner exchange in April, fellow former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence of hard labor on espionage charges.

On August the 15th, Griner’s lawyers, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, filed an appeal of her nine-year Russian prison sentence for drug possession. After Griner’s conviction, Blagovolina and Boykov said the sentence was excessive and that in similar cases, defendants have received an average sentence of about five years, with about a third of them granted parole.

The Moscow court however, rejected her appeal of her nine-year sentence on drug charges, an anticipated result in a trial that U.S. and international officials called an illegitimate proceeding.

On the 19th of November, she was transferred to a penal colony, the Female Penal Colony IK-2 in the town of Yavas in the Mordovia region, 200-plus miles southeast of Moscow. Finally, after a total 9 months of captivity on December the 8th, after a sudden flurry of talks, Griner was released in a high level prisoner swap, traded for notorious Arms Dealer Viktor Bout nicknamed “The Merchant of Death”. “I had thought about this moment a thousand times, and I thought I would be full of tears, but I was overwhelmingly happy,” Cherelle recalls in an interview. “It was the first time I was able to finally exhale, and I’m like, ‘Oh, thank God. This is such a great day.'”

“It feels so good to be home,” said Griner in a statement released on Friday. “The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn. I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help.” “President Biden you, brought me home and I know you are committed to bringing Paul Whelan and all Americans home too. I will use my platform to do whatever I can to help you,” said Griner in her statement. “I also encourage everyone that played a part in bringing me home to continue their efforts to bring all Americans home. Every family deserves to be whole.” Griner had traveled to Russia during the WNBA offseason to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg. The 32-year-old, one of the best basketball players in the world  however, said that she has every intention of returning to play for the Phoenix Mercury for the new WNBA season, which starts in May.

The End of Authenticity

How the Increasing Utility and Complexity of AI will Shape our World

B. N. Dent

Ukraine is currently facing a number of challenges and political tensions. The country is still in conflict with Russian-backed separatists in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, despite several ceasefire agreements. The economy has struggled, with high inflation and unemployment rates, and corruption remains a widespread problem. In addition, the government is facing pressure from opposition groups, civil society, and international organizations to address these issues and implement reforms. Despite these challenges, Ukraine is making progress in some areas, including its efforts to integrate with the European Union, and its people continue to exhibit a strong spirit and resilience in the face of adversity.

I am sure you are confused as the preceding paragraph has no correlation to what you may have expected this article to be about based on the title and subheading. The paragraph above is merely an example of the immense strength and level of intricacy that computer generated responses currently have. Specifically, the paragraph was generated when ChatGPT was asked to “write a paragraph about the current situation in Ukraine.” It is worth noting that the response was solely reliant on information prior to 2021 due to that being the most recent time that the data library accessible by ChatGPT was updated. For those who haven’t already heard of ChatGPT, it is essentially an online chatbot designed to generate human-like responses to any question that may prompt it. Questions can range anywhere from extremely complex mathematical problems to requests for generating a unique creative story. 

So how does this insane technology work? ChatGPT functions via transformer architecture whereby when generating a response, it uses the context of the input (question used to initiate the response) and the previous word or sequence of words it has already produced in order to calculate the most likely word to follow the sequence. In order to perform the calculation of finding the most probable word to generate in the response, the bot utilises its access to an extremely large amount of text data which allows it to understand which word is most likely to add continuity to both the coherence of the sentence structure and to the relevance of the response. The predominant and unmatched benefit that ChatGPT provides at the moment is the specificity and accuracy that it is capable of providing on a large range of subject matters. We have all been in a situation where we have a quite specific query, so we research online to seek a response, but whilst we may find something that vaguely resembles what we were hoping to find, we do not find a definitive response. It is here, with great precision and accuracy, where ChatGPT thrives. On the flipside, some of the disadvantages include its inability to offer unique insights, lack of understanding regarding how the world works which can lead to nonsensical responses, and limited context due to the finite amount of data in its reach and the frequency at which its accessible data is updated.

In the past, we have seen that the emergence of powerful technologies has had the ability to completely change the world that we live in by advancing our technological state and shaping how we interact within society. The societal implications of easily accessible advanced AI whilst seemingly beneficial may prove to be harmful due to the dependence that can be formed with such technologies. The dependence on AI to think critically, research, explain and come to conclusions for us is an extremely dangerous threat, ultimately leaving us without the ability to think for ourselves. The pollution of this innate human characteristic can lead to a repression in creativity and genuine authenticity. Alongside AI oriented apps like ChatGPT are others such as DALL-E which is able to generate “unique” images from text. Whilst the by-products of these apps such as stories and artworks are claimed as new ideas, they are all based off of pre-existing ideas stored in a database, in effect creations of inauthentic authenticity.

“The pace of progress in artificial intelligence is incredibly fast. Unless you have direct exposure to groups like Deepmind, you have no idea how fast—it is growing at a pace close to exponential. The risk of something seriously dangerous happening is in the five-year time frame. 10 years at most.”  —Elon Musk wrote in a comment on Edge.org

A Summer of Sport

Australian Success

F. A. Loxton

THIS SUMMER HAS SEEN SOME OF THE MOST GRIPPING FIXTURES from drama in Big Bash final just last weekend, to history repeating itself in Australian Open final a few weeks ago.

Firstly, in the NBA, Lebron James remains dominant in an injury-ridden Lakers side sitting at 13th in the west. Soon to make history, James sits just 37 points shy of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all time points record, and by the time you’re reading this, he may just have edged himself ahead of Jordan as the all time leading scorer.

In cricket, Australia’s summer featured some great moments for Australian cricket with Warner scoring 200 in his 100th test, Cam Green’s first 5-fer, and Alex Carey scoring a debut hundred at the G just to name a few. The side will be tested in their upcoming away series against India, as they prepare for the Ashes in June.

Finally, in some of the more relieving news throughout the holiday period, Wallabies coach Dave Rennie was sacked, with Eddie Jones welcomed into the role for the upcoming World Cup in France. Jones is tremendously experienced, having previously coached England to the 2019 final, and will most definitely get the best out of the team on the games greatest stage.

What did you do this Summer?

GPS Rowing

J. A. T. Collier

As many of the shore community soaked up the summer sun, embarked on holidays all around the world and relaxed over the break to get ready for the new year, the boys of the GPS rowing shed had other plans. 

Following speech night, the boys from the 1^st VIII, 2^nd VIII, 1^st IV and 2^nd IV all got ready and packed to go over to New Zealand on the annual rowing trip. Being the first time in a few years, due to COVID, the excitement levels were high as for many it was the first rowing tour they had ever been on. Staying at St Peters College in Cambridge, the boys got straight into training, three times a day in order to get ready for the Christmas regatta at Lake Karapiro. After a few days of gruelling training, the first VIII collected a win in the schoolboys VIII race with the second  VIII also having a great race in that final. The first and second IV went into an VIII for the week and recorded a second place in the club VIII race, which was also another great result. For some of the boys in the squad they had the opportunity to row in a double and a four in which both crews recorded a first place in their heat. It was a great experience to make new friends with the New Zealand boys from “across the ditch” and to get to experience rowing In another country. Back in Sydney, the third and fourth four also had racing as well as a week of solid training. 

As the plane landed back in Sydney, the boys were given a “break” of a few weeks with a lower training intensity to rest up and get ready for January camp. However, come January, the boys all became familiar with the erg once again and pushed out workouts to ensure that fitness levels were still at a high level. And as the 16^th of January came around, the boys were back in selection week and then off to Penrith for the last week of holidays. Along with the support of many parents, the boys were able to live out at Penrith for the week to maximise the training opportunities. With training after training in the hot sun of Penrith, the boys put in the hard yards and finished the holiday break off strongly with a great few sessions on the SIRC regatta course. 

As the term recommenced last week, the whole GPS boatshed is keen and ready for racing most weekends this term and getting prepared for the infamous Head of the River in Week 8. 

So to the boys of the SHORE community, mark the date for the 25^th of March as all crews get into a tough 7 weeks to prepare to race the best they possibly can come HOTR. I wish all the boats good luck for the upcoming weeks and hopefully a few wins come out of the hard work they have put in. GO SHORE. 

The GymTok Bandwagon

The Dark Side of Ashwagandha

J. Lai

Withania Somnifera, or commonly known as ashwagandha, is a traditional herb which has existed for thousands of years within Indian and Middle Eastern communities as an adaptogen and a form of Ayurvedic medicine. Despite its long history, it has only seen a rise in popularity within the Western World in recent months, due to widespread promotion in bodybuilding communities on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, where ashwagandha is advertised as a natural athletic supplement. However, in-depth research on its side-effects and potential implications reveals a darker side to the supplement and draws concerns in its recent popularity.

Ashwagandha has been recently popularised due to the range of supposed mental and physical benefits that it provides. It is best known to reduce anxiety and depression through its ability to help control stress mediators such as heat-shock proteins and cortisol and to modulate neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin and dopamine. The reduction in emotional depth from the supplement has led to beliefs in its ability to make one supposedly emotionless, which has attracted users of the gym community due to the recent upsurge of the ‘Sigma’ and ‘Stoicism’ trends, where the lack of showing emotion is seen to be fashionable and masculine. The deprivation of one’s emotion in turn supposedly leads to one becoming more disciplined in their lifestyle and going to the gym more consistently. Its anti-inflammatory effects and ability to improve sleep quality, coupled with its alleged capabilities of increasing testosterone due to the lack of cortisol within the body, has further attracted users of the gym community due to its capacity to enhance athletic performance and recover more quickly.

Despite its supposed benefits, a deeper look into the adaptogen reveals a range of concerning side-effects which could seriously damage one’s brain chemistry and physical health.

Though Ashwagandha does reduce the lows of emotion, it also reduces the highs, as it desensitizes the production of serotonin in the brain, leading to the presence of the side effects associated with SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reputake Inhibitors), a type of antidepressant. This includes the blunting of emotion, the depletion of well-being and happiness, and a lack of motivation, which may lead to one’s relapse into depression and anxiety, as well as beliefs of existential nihilism due to anhedonia, or a lack of pleasure, in life.

Furthermore, the lack of modern scientific research, as well as investigations of the long-term effects of ashwagandha, draws serious concerns of its use and potential unseen effects after prolonged use, especially in large doses. This is especially susceptible to teenagers, whose brains and bodies have not fully developed and matured, with many concerned sceptics and medical experts fearing that the change in brain chemistry provided by the supplement may stunt growth and development.

The lack of regulation surrounding ashwagandha further draws concerns to the product, with the market susceptible to faulty and defective products. Impurities, contaminants, and unintended ingredients could pose fatal health risks to users, and the lack of consistency within the market leads to the effects of the supplement varying from brand to brand. This has led to various cases of fever, drowsiness, and liver damage for users, drawing large concerns to the usage of the supplement.

Ashwagandha’s rapid rise in popularity over recent months draws concerns about the potential unseen side effects that users may experience during consumption. As with most supplements however, more research will be developed in coming months and years in order to give consumers a better understanding of the product and to gain a full picture of the supplement’s potential side effects.  It is therefore highly recommended that anyone thinking of trying ashwagandha, as a result of the influence of social media, to wait until such research is conducted to see if it is endorsed by medical experts, as the potential implications can be fatal.