MR MURRAY GUEST
Welcome back to all students and families for the new term and semester after what I hope has been a refreshing mid-year break. I particularly welcome those new students who join us this week as boarding and day students as well as those visiting on exchange. I trust that these first few days in a new school environment will be happy as well as busy as new friendships are made and the settling process begins.
As many will know, I was fortunate to take study and long-service leave during Term 2 and I offer special thanks to the TAS Board for granting that leave and to Alan Jones who took on a range of additional responsibilities last term to make that possible. As well as enjoying some welcome time away, I was able to visit a range of schools in the United Kingdom as part of study toward our ongoing strategic planning process and I both look forward to reporting on that in due course and thank those schools which were so hospitable and helpful in that study. All were schools in similar circumstances to TAS and the insights offered from different, but like-minded environments were invaluable. As well as new ideas and perspectives, those visits highlighted the common challenges and opportunities that are presenting themselves in today’s schooling and was as reassuring as it was interesting.
During the term break our PDHPE teacher and girls’ boarding deputy Catey Curtin gave birth to her new daughter Alice and I am pleased to report that both mother and daughter are doing well. We look forward to welcoming them back to our school family in due course. With Ms Curtin now on maternity leave, Ms Arlene Fletcher has joined the PDHPE Department and will take on Acting Deputy of Girls Boarding in Week 4, whilst continuing her music teaching with us and I wish her well as she settles into these new roles.
For our Year 12 students, this final school term of school life will be a significant and memorable one and I particularly wish them well for it. With HSC Trial Exams looming in the coming weeks there will no doubt be nerves and plenty of hard work to accompany the excitement of the prospect of finishing school and I know that the whole school will be keen to support them in that. As Mrs Hutton finished her time at TAS last term to move into boarding at PLC, Mrs Susan Polson has moved into the Year 12 Study Centre to support those senior students and I welcome her and wish her well in that.
Whilst the mid-year break is traditionally a ‘quiet’ one in terms of school activity, our staff enjoyed hearing reports from several activities during our Monday staff day this week. Highlights of that included the success of the annual Forensic Science Camp which again brought a large number of talented Year 8 Science students together from across the country to solve some gruesome crime scenarios created by the camp ‘controllers’ using cutting edge scientific methods. I congratulate Alice Hudson and Luke Polson who again organised and ran the camp as well as our Head of Science Alasdair Hey who supported through the week with his scientific expertise and our student leaders Kade Stanley and Hudson McAllister who clearly did a sterling job.
At the same time a number of students headed to Sydney to compete in the Shakespeare Festival, including our first TAS Dance Troupe who placed third with their original work and Boom Tangpoolcharoen who won the film category. This is an annual event celebrating the legacy of the great Bard and I encourage other budding thespians to get in contact with Mr O’Connell to register their interest for next year.
We also had a good number of students from the growing and increasingly successful TAS Hockey Club representing the School and their region in State Championships and I congratulate them on their commitment and performances.
As I write we have our senior students from the TAS Rifle Club competing in the GPS Championships at Hornsby and I look forward to supporting them in their final day of competition today and to reporting on that.
As I commented to Middle and Senior School students at our first assembly yesterday, the beginning of the new semester is an ideal time to set fresh goals for the remainder of the year. First semester reports will be fresh in the minds of all and the advice given in those should be used well to guide aspirations, motivate work habits and inspire classroom participation. However successful the first half of the year has been, the start of a new semester brings an opportunity that should not be missed and I wish every student well as they endeavour to make the most of that and I hope that all parents will join in that.
Murray Guest
Week 1 | |
Wednesday 24 July | GPS Shooting Competition
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Thursday 25 July | Musica Viva ( Armidale Town Hall) |
Friday 26 July | Foundation AGM ( 5.30pm – 7pm)
Sydney Boys’ High visit |
Saturday 27 July | TAS Rugby v Sydney Boys’ High |
Week 2 | |
Tuesday 30 July | Twilight Concert (6 pm) Hoskins Centre |
Wednesday 31 July | NCIS Netball
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Thursday 1 August | Year 10 Parent Teacher Interviews (2pm)
Year 10 Parent Information Session (6.15pm) |
Friday 2 August | Year 10 Parent Information Session (11.45am)
Year 10 Parent Teacher Interviews (2pm) OAU Reunion Weekend (Barbeque and Drinks – Hoskins Centre from 6pm) |
Saturday 3 August | OAU Reunion Weekend
TAS Rugby v Scots (Home) |
Sunday 4 August | OAU Chapel Service (9.30am)
OAU AGM ( Lower Maxwell Room – 11.00am) |
MR RICHARD NEWTON
Fifty years and a few days since we went to the moon for the first time.
Jim Irwin, an astronaut who spent three days on the Moon in 1971 as part of the Apollo 15 mission, during an address given to a small crowd in country New South Wales, described his experience.
Irwin, standing on the Moon and looking back at Earth, closed one eye, held up his thumb and covered the entire planet — every mountain, every city, every person, every valley, every ocean, all under his thumb.
Irwin said it made him feel terrifyingly small.
Buzz Aldrin, on arriving at his destination, paused and took communion.
In the stillness after the dramatic lunar landing, Aldrin radioed back to Earth, “This is the LM pilot. I’d like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way”.
Then in the silence, Aldrin quietly read from John’s gospel, then took communion in thanks to God.
As Simon Smart said in an ABC online article “it’s a striking thing that in this moment of astonishing human achievement, perhaps the zenith of scientific endeavour to that point in time, a key player in the drama was reaching for something spiritual to make sense of the experience.”
I’ve mentioned two blokes and the experiences they had as they reached the moon, the reality was that many, many more of the astronauts who ventured to the moon, had similar experiences, spiritual experiences, existential crises, most of the time due to the fact that they had seen the world, the existence that they held so dear in another light, they saw it from a bigger perspective.
In the School Lesson read at Assembly, we learn that while we strive for our own small victories and enjoy our own successes, they will pass. There will come a time when all the experiences of our lives will be put into perspective.
“12 For now, we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.”
There will come a time when we will have a clear picture, but that time is in the future, what about before then, do we have any hope of gaining a better view on life?
Well notice Paul’s experience,
“11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.”
A clearer view is possible. Paul is able to say that he sees more now than what he used to, and when that perspective was given to him, he saw his life for what it was, he saw that he had too small a view of the world, his view needed to include Jesus and that will give perspective and change your view on the world as you know it.
Mr Richard Newton
MRS RACHAEL NICOLL
Well, I hope everyone has had a chance to spend some time with family and relax over the holiday break. We are now into Term 3 and the end of the year always comes upon us so fast. As a heads up… The P&F will be hosting a 125th birthday event on Saturday, 16 November, so watch this space and I’m sure there will be more on the horizon with all the other 125th birthday celebrations going on.
If you want to know what’s going on in the P&F join us on Facebook! We regularly post updates on what we are doing, what events are coming up and any other useful information that comes to mind. We have our own Facebook page – use the keywords TAS Parents and Friends and then ‘like’ us.
Don’t forget each year also has their own Year Group Facebook Page… These are closed groups for parents to catch up on what’s happening… Please search for TAS Year 12 and then the year your class will graduate from Year 12. For example, this year’s Year 12 Facebook page is TAS Year 12 2019.
Finally, if you have anything you would like to raise with the P&F please either contact your Year Group Liaison Person or any member of the Executive or send us an email on [email protected]
Sydney Boys’ High School will be visiting TAS this Saturday. Please feel free to pop in to watch some games, partake of the P&F BBQ and catch up with friends. Hope to see you there.
We will be having our first P&F meeting for Term 3 next Wednesday night at 7 pm in Lower Maxwell meeting room. Please feel free to join us, all are welcome.
The OAU is having its Reunion Weekend on Friday 2, Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 August – that’s next weekend.
As it is the 125th Birthday of TAS it will be a big weekend. Scots College is coming up to play rugby and everyone is welcome to come along and support both the students and the OAU. Further information about OAU Reunion Weekend can be found on the TAS website.
Mrs Rachael Nicoll
P&F President
MRS SEONIA WARK
Parent-Teacher interview sessions for students in Year 10 are planned for Thursday 1 August from 3.30pm – 6pm and Friday 2 August from 2pm – 5.30pm. These will be held in Memorial Hall.
Two-Parent Information Presentations, conducted by Mrs Wark, will be held on Thursday 1 August beginning at 6.15pm and a repeat session on Friday 2 August at 11.45am. The presentation will focus on how to choose subjects for Years 11 and 12, the best way to prepare for the HSC and the seniors years at TAS and also understanding the recent changes to the HSC. These sessions will be held in Big School (just outside reception).
Please note: Year 10 students have started their new electives for this semester and teachers may only have seen your child once in the classroom this term, so they will have limited feedback in relation to their progress. However, it does give you the opportunity to meet with their teacher to discuss options for subject choices in Years 11 and 12.
Parents have been sent the link and web code to organise suitable interview times with your child’s teachers. If you have not received the link and code please contact Mrs Vickey O’Brien – 6776 5806 or [email protected]
Specialist tutoring in English, Maths and Science will resume for students in Years 6-11 in the Library from Monday to Thursday. A separate tutorial schedule is available to students in Literacy and Numeracy from 3.45pm-5 pm for students in Years 6-8.
Day students accessing specific tutoring sessions will be charged $15 per afternoon. Tutors will keep rolls and the charges associated with these sessions will be added to TAS accounts each month. It is best, though not compulsory, for us to know if you want your child booked into these tutoring sessions. Families can do this by contacting Mrs Vickey O’Brien ([email protected] or 6776 5806) for more details. Year 12 students are not charged for HSC tutoring sessions.
Boarders attending these sessions must sign out of the house in a normal manner and return by the required time. There is no additional cost for boarders as out of hours’ support is already part of the Schedule of Fees for 2019.
Day students are able to access dinner in the Dining Hall from 5:30pm and will do so by swiping their Student Card at the door. The cost associated with dinner (approx. $6 per meal) will be added to their TAS account. Day students must be collected from the school by 6pm. Families are to arrange directly with their child when and where they will be collected.
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | |
Year 6-8 | 4pm-5pm
English/Maths/Science |
4pm – 5pm
English/Maths/Science |
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Year 9-10 | 7pm-9pm
Maths/Science/English |
7pm-9pm
Maths/Science/English |
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Year 9-12 | 7pm-9pm
Maths (All levels) |
7pm-9pm
Maths (All levels) English (All levels) |
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Year 11-12 | 7pm-9pm
Maths/Chemistry/English |
7pm-9pm
Maths/Chemistry/English |
TAS will once again operate the schools Extended Day Program for those students who wish to use the Library at the start and/or end of the school day to complete homework, assessments or extra study and revision. The Library is supervised at all times during the extended opening hours.
Early Morning Program (7:30am – 8:45am Monday to Friday for Years 6 to 12)
Students in Years 6 to 10 who are attending various commitments before school or who arrive at school early are now able to check into the library from 7:30 am to work quietly or read. Students or families do not need to provide notification before they attend and there is no cost for this supervision. If students wish to attend breakfast in the Dining Hall then they are to swipe in using their Student Card and the associated cost will be added to their TAS Account. There is no specific academic support available to students at this time of the day. This gives students a safe and quiet place to work on their own.
Afternoon Program (3:30pm – 6pm Mondays to Thursdays for Years 6 to 8)
The library will be staffed from 4 to 6 pm. The staff will be overseeing students working quietly in the library and assisting them with organising and completing their homework. They will be able to give general guidance but is not there to provide specific tutoring in areas of concern. As with the early morning program, there is no cost for students accessing this support, nor do they need to book in.
Evening Program (3:30pm – 7pm Mondays to Thursdays for Years 9-12)
The library will be open for all students in Years 9 to 12 to work quietly until 7 pm. There is no subject-specific academic support available during this time, however, the library is supervised by Mrs Bremner and Mrs Polson who can give general guidance as required. Both day and boarding students are not required to book into the library, nor will they be charged for this access.
Students are able to access dinner in the Dining Hall after 5:30 pm and can do so by swiping their Student Card at the door. The cost associated with dinner (approx. $6 per meal) will be added to their TAS account. Boarders are to sign out of their boarding house and return when required.
Evening Program (7-9pm on Mondays to Thursdays for Years 9-12)
The library is staffed by Mrs Susan Polson from 6 to 9 pm. Mrs Polson is a trained teacher who is currently undertaking further studies in Special Education. In this time, Mrs Polson will be overseeing students working quietly in the library and assisting them with organising and completing their homework. She will give general guidance, assist in researching and referencing but is not providing specific tutoring in areas of concern. There is no cost for any senior student accessing this support nor do they need to book in. Boarders are to sign out of their boarding house and return when required.
Friday Afternoon Program (3:30 pm – 5:30 pm for Years 6-12)
The library will be open for all students in Years 6 to 12 to work quietly until 5:30 pm. There is no specific academic support available during this time. There is no cost for students accessing the library at this time, nor do they need to book in.
Trial exams will begin for Year 12 students at the start of Week 4 (12-23 August). Full school uniform is to be worn to every exam.
Absences from an exam due to illness must be supported by a Doctor’s certificate. Boarders missing an exam must be in the Medical Centre during the exam unless at home on doctor’s advice. Students are to notify Reception at their earliest convenience if they are unable to attend an exam. An Appeal Form must be submitted within 48 hours of returning to school. Any absence/appeal must be accompanied by a medical certificate. Refer to the Stage 6 assessment policy and contact Mrs O’Brien if you have any concerns about this.
Students must arrange Disability Provisions with Ms Boydell well before the examination.
Please arrive at your exam at least 20 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
A copy of the Trials Exam Timetable has been emailed to students.
Mrs Seonia Wark
Director of Studies
MR WILL CALDWELL
I hope the holidays provided an opportunity to reconnect with family and recover from a busy term; ready for another eventful term. Sport has resumed with some slight changes to coaching personnel due to the rotation of our Gap Students (see attached)
Whilst most teams are midway through their season, Term 3 offers an opportunity to recalibrate goals and strive to further develop skills and teamwork.
This term is a special milestone for Year 12 and the culmination of years of co-curricular contribution. Whilst all staff are mindful of the pressures of HSC Trials, we also recognise the value of physical activity in dealing with this pressure. Your coach will work with you to ensure a healthy balance.
Winter Training Schedule (t3)A reminder to Year 12 that nominations for TAS Blue are due to the Co-curricular Office by midday on Friday 9 August.
This weekend we are hosting Sydney Boys High. The fixture is unique on the TAS calendar as an opportunity to host students in playing a range of sports including some which otherwise do not have regular inter-school competition. More broadly it is a wonderful TAS community event where country hospitality is on display to city visitors, many of whom are venturing into regional NSW for the first time.
The two schools will compete for the Hannon and Harris Cup across four sports: Basketball, Tennis, Football and Rugby. All students are encouraged to participate or support (wearing Formal uniform). A schedule of fixtures is attached.
The pride we share in watching our Olympic teams striving on the world stage has inspired Australians for generations. As we all know this spirit can transcend the sporting field and be a potent force for positive change.
The Australian Olympic Change-Maker program recognises and rewards students who are demonstrating the Olympic spirit through leadership and driving positive change in their communities. The new program, which has evolved from the former Pierre de Coubertin Award, encapsulates leadership and what it means to have a positive effect on communities.
This can take on many forms – from minor to major, and from the ordinary to the amazing. Whether leading teams, coaching juniors, supporting seniors, making a difference at a sports club, a national cause or effecting change on the world stage.
Students from Years 10 and 11 are invited to nominate by emailing Mr Caldwell at [email protected]. Please provide a brief description (200-300 words) of how your attributes and actions best demonstrate leadership and making change in the community. Nominations are due Wednesday 7 August. Up to TWO students will then be nominated by TAS for the award. If selected, you will be required to produce a one-minute video which will be attached to your nomination.
All students nominated by their schools will be invited to attend an Olympic Forum to be held in each respective State / Territory during September 2019. This Forum offers a unique opportunity for your students to connect with like-minded young people, learn from Olympians and experience the Olympic spirit first-hand.
Additionally, each award recipient will be considered for the National Olympic Change-Maker Summit. Selection to attend the National Summit will be chosen by a panel of Olympians based on the video submissions and contribution at the State / Territory Olympic Forum.
Mr Will Caldwell
Director of Co-curricular
MR ANDREW O'CONNELL
MR MARK HARRISON
Welcome to Term 3. We’ve already had our first whole school assembly, and also Homeroom advice time and our collective charges seem to be fine and willing to navigate new semester timetables. Such willingness suggests they’ve had a really good semester break and this is the best way to start something that will, like its predecessors, be very busy. Reunion Weekend, for example, is only two weeks away – and it’s a special one for us, isn’t it? To be frank, this last break from general routine was excellent and clearly everyone benefited because people are amenable and smiling, everyone (we need to be careful of absolutes, so I qualify this by adding ‘within reason’) is prepared to listen, everyone has a neat uniform. We’ve certainly come back to strange weather – days can be warm (yesterday reached a very manageable 19 in Australia’s highest city), nights, freezing, and clouds, I’m afraid, are few and far between. It’s not been easy, has it – so, we just hope and pray. What we are going to do this term is advertise water use here at school, so that everyone is aware of the necessity of ‘tightening belts’ in relation to it. This awareness will have to be encouraged through boarding of course, and also through HSIE and Advisor time – and it’s necessary. We’re all feeling this one and we all need to be proactive in relation to it so, as indicated, awareness is the first step to change, particularly of habits.
I hope yours has been a good break and that you’re happy (enough) with Semester Reports. If, for some reason, you wish to ask questions and make comments please contact us as Homeroom staff and we’ll do our best to address issues arising from the reporting period. I’ve already seen some students, responded to a number of parent emails and had some meeting -probably a good thing. We need to work together on improvements, adjustments and even attitudes as they relate to academic performance in general and exams, in particular.
I indicated that we’re in for a busy time this term: we have ‘home away games’ for sports and of course, the pace of life here will test us, but it’s better to be busy that its alternative.
While it is not a formal examination term, this one is important in that it will be succeeded by a small window of opportunity next term before the next battery of examinations. As indicated, new timetables for the term were issued during lesson 1 and discussed during Advisor time yesterday. Students need to be gainfully employed during prep time. We’ll continue to ‘work on’ boarders and we want you to ‘work on’ day students at home. What do I mean by this? We need students to be vitally aware of the fact of work and the necessity of keeping them on task. We need also to continue to work together.
I hope you are well,
Mr Mark Harrison
Head of Middle School
MR IAN LLOYD
I hope the holidays have been a great opportunity to wind down and clear out the Term 2 cobwebs. I know from our staff, that they provided well-earned respite from the wintery coughs and colds that had become so difficult to manage and that for some, it took a good deal of time to recover. Today however, it was fantastic to see so many smiling faces, particularly those of our new students who joined us this term. I look forward them all settling into our community and finding their way quickly at school.
Our relationship with Tezukayama was enhanced recently with a joint project to celebrate a well known Festival in Japan called Tanabata. Tanabata, also known as the Star festival, takes place on 7 July and students place their wish for the year on colourful strips of paper and are attached to bamboo and places outside classrooms. Our Year 4 and 5 students wrote their wishes in Japanese on these sheets of paper and were shared with Tezukayama Year 4 and 5 classes. Our students wrote wishes like, what they wanted to become in the future, who they would like to meet etc. Tezukayama’s exchange organiser said, “Our students looked happy to see the wishes of the students who had been to TAS in 2017 and looked happy to remember the days there. The students who had been a host family last December were looking at the stripes to try to find the familiar names”. This will be an annual event and will help us to build the relationship between our two schools.
Tezukayama will be visiting TAS next month and we still looking for host families to billet 1 or 2 Tezukayama students for five nights. If you can assist please contact Sandra Lasker in Junior school. As this trip is rapidly approaching.
We welcome Miles Hollington and Jamie Short to Junior School this term as our resident Gap students. Miles is known to us all from last term as he assisted our PDHPE classes. Jamie has arrived from Scotland, a product of the Gordonstoun School and comes very highly recommended indeed! His father was also a Gap student at TAS in the late 1980s and it is fantastic to see the family tradition continue! Later this term we expect Elizabeth Koobatian from Hotchkiss School (USA) to join us as well, adding to the wonderful support team we can offer in Junior School.
It is timely to mention again that the Junior School playground is not supervised before 8.15am in the morning. While there may be occasions when children need to arrive at school earlier than this, it should only be for an activity which would have the appropriate supervision. We are keen to avoid the increasing number of early arrivals who have been asked to sit in the Junior School Reception area until the appropriate time.
In addition to this, while we understand the pressures of getting children off to school in the mornings, the morning routine at school is an important one. It is widely recognised that children benefit from playing with friends in the playground before school. It is also disruptive when late arrivals occur once a lesson has started. If your child is late please escort them to the Junior School Reception desk prior to heading to the classroom and sign them in, as it is likely that they have been reported absent. We thank you for your ongoing support.
Many happy returns to Hugo Broun, Harry Brownlie, Hercules Nedianu, Elsie Nexo and Ruby Ogilvie for your special days.
Mr Ian Lloyd
Head of Junior School
Week 1 | |
Wednesday 24 July | Chess Tournament at ACPS
No Assembly |
Week 2 | |
Wednesday 31 July | Kindergarten Assembly – Hoskins Centre (2.45pm) |
Friday 2 August | PSSA Athletics |
Week 3 | |
Wednesday 7 August | Year 4 Assembly – Hoskins Centre (2.45pm) |
Week 4 | |
Wednesday 14 August | Year 1 Assembly – Hoskins Centre (2.45pm) |
Friday 16 August | Activities Day including Book Week Parade
|
Our Winter sports program continues this term with Netball, Hockey and Football teams all recommencing this week. Please contact your child’s coach if you require any information on games this weekend.
All sporting teams will re-commence their games this weekend. Please ensure you have access to either the TAS app or draw on the association websites to locate your time and venue for this weekend.
This term our Junior School Athletes will have the opportunity to compete in these Athletics competitions in August. The PSSA local competition is on Friday, 2 August and the NCIS competition held in Coffs Harbour is on Tuesday, 20 August.
Invitations to compete in the local PSSA Athletics Carnival have been sent out this week. Please ensure you take into account which events you have been nominated for and whether you would like to compete in this competition. All permission notes must be returned to Mrs Lasker by this Friday 26 July.
Mrs Christine Wright
Junior School Sports Coordinator