TAS Talks Term 4 Week 1

The start of term is always an exciting time, filled with chatter about what happened during the break and anticipation of the term and events to come. Yesterday was no different and we look forward to everything this term has to offer our students.

Safety online is an important topic for us all and particularly for our children and young people as they navigate their formative years in what appears to be an increasingly difficult online space. The internet and associated technologies bring so many wonderful benefits in terms of the information that is available and the ease of connection with friends and family. However, there is a significant negative side also, which needs to be considered, discussed, and managed where possible.

It can be difficult to keep up with the latest trends or concerns and to know how to support young people with this. The eSafety website https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents is a comprehensive and up to date resource with age-appropriate information for parents of children under 5 to those in their late teenage years. It includes advice on topics ranging from screentime and cyberbullying to when and how to have hard conversations with your children. I highly recommend finding a little time to have a look to ensure you are aware of and have an understanding of how to mitigate the issues that might affect your child online.

Dr Rachel Horton
Principal

It has been excellent to have our students return for Term 4. There is a great deal of excitement around the campus with the reconnection of friends, anticipation for the start of Summer sports pursuits and a realisation that we only have nine weeks before the extended break.

The grounds do look exceptional at the moment and this is no surprise with our outstanding grounds and housekeeping staff working hard over the break to ensure our students get the benefit of our beautiful campus. I have challenged students to demonstrate their appreciation through the respect they show for our facilities and the way in which they wear the uniform with pride.

I would also like to acknowledge the dedicated academic staff who spent considerable time supporting our students over the most recent break. With staff running study/support sessions for our Year 12s in the lead-up to their HSC exams, supporting our service trip to Fiji and countless others investing their time to review and enhance our academic and co-curricular programs. We were also able to complete and submit our Reconciliation Action Plan draft for Reconciliation Australia to review and provide feedback on in the coming weeks. I thank Clarrie Moran for his leadership in driving this and the RAP Working group for their time and contribution to this important initiative.

With HSC Exams commencing today in the gymnasium, all students in Years 6-10 are permitted to wear their PDHPE uniform to school on days when they have a practical lesson for the first four weeks of term. This will ensure we can keep the changing rooms and gymnasium space clear of distraction for our Year 12 students.

I wish everyone all the best for the final term of the 2022 academic year.

Mr Ray Pearson
Deputy Principal

1 Corinthians 13 Service

Fiji, a country synonymous with turquoise seas, resorts, great food and friendly service. Over the break a delegation of Year 8 students once again returned to that idyllic location – not go to be served pina coladas while sunbaking on a deck chair, but to serve.

With the recent talk in the media regarding voluntourism you might be skeptical about our involvement.

However, to those who have never been, this is not a holiday, they go to serve. They clean, weed, build, paint, cook, read, teach, share, and play – all in the name of service.

Why do they bother? Some would say that it makes you feel good to serve others – and it does, but if that were the sole reason for partaking in this trip, the only people they would be serving would be themselves.

However, they did it in the name of love. They listen hard to the School Lesson and respond. They don’t assume the word for love here is romantic love – in fact as far as the original language (Greek) is concerned, it’s a completely different word. It’s the word Agape – which means unconditional love, love to the unlovely, love when there is no ‘chemistry’. It’s love without bounds.

We do not serve in a vacuum, with no motivating principle. As the reading says, if we give all we have to the poor and even surrender our bodies to the flames, it is still an annoying, clanging noise and nothing will be gained if this is done without love.

So, we imitate Christ himself and we seek the interests of others. This may mean that they end up doing under whelming activities, but if that serves the community, if that’s what they need, our representatives have acted in love – they will have truly served. People may not even be able to tell what they did by this time next year, but that’s service.

This characteristic must define our School. Not just for the few who a privileged enough to go on one of these trips, but for all of us. We can act in this same way every day and in every moment. It does not matter whether you are in class, on the sporting field, at home, in the boarding house, on the bus or in the lunch line. To put others first is to acknowledge that Christ first loved us and gave his life for our sake.

Mr Richard Newton
Chaplain

Welcome to Term 4. Trust you have all had a great holiday with family and friends.

Funding Requests

During last term the funding request process for this year was finalised. Thank you to all who submitted a funding request and to those who had the opportunity to present their submission at the P&F meeting in September. Each request was reviewed with benefits in mind to support a majority of the student population. This process is the clearest way for the school community to give back to the students.

This year funding requests awarded from the P&F totals over $32,000 which will go to the following projects:

• Retractable court dividing curtain: a replacement curtain in the school gym will increase the potential for multi-purpose use of the basketball courts
• Hockey kit: renewing hockey masks and smocks for the team
• Netball kit: adding pads to the netball posts to increase player safety.

Christmas Puddings

Thank you to those who have already pledged a bottle of brandy for the Christmas Puddings. We still need more. If you are planning to donate a bottle, please drop it into TAS Reception.

We have had many pre-orders for Christmas puddings. Glad to see the tradition of buying a TAS P&F Pudding for family and friends is alive. You can now place orders and pay for your pudding purchase through this link TAS P&F Christmas Pudding

Golf Day

Reserve Friday 4 November in your calendar for the P&F Golf Day at the Armidale Golf Club.

Come and play a round in the morning followed by lunch, or just join us for lunch. Full details and the booking site will be available soon.

Save the dates for the upcoming P&F meetings:

• Wednesday 19 October at 7.00pm
• Wednesday 23 November at 7.00pm

Contact the P&F Executive

If you have anything you would like to raise with the P&F Executive, please send us an email at [email protected]

Mr Paul Gaddes
P&F President

Welcome to another action-packed term of co-curricular activities. This term we have two Triple Crown events – starting this weekend with the Anya’s Wish 19km event at Kenwood Park; the Activities program – including Bivouac and Activities Week, and the extensive sport and Creative Arts offerings.

I spoke to students in Assembly this week about making the most of their opportunities and challenging themselves throughout the term I have also reminded them of their responsibilities and expectations, as mentioned below.

Students are reminded that sport is compulsory, and sports uniform should be worn to each training session (unless otherwise advised by their MIC) and games. It is a student’s responsibility to communicate any intended absence from sport. This should be done either in person or via e-mail prior to the training session or game, with a valid reason. In accordance with Public Health Orders, students will not be able to attend co-curricular activities if displaying any symptoms of illness, and/or if directed to isolate under public health orders.

It was pleasing to be able to present the Co-Curricular Captains their badges in Assembly this week. A full list of the captains can be seen below. I look forward to their leadership and involvement as they undertake their responsibilities.

Updated Term 4 Training Schedule.

Mr Huon Barrett
Director of Co-curricular

AAAGPS Athletics Championships

After a COVID-enforced hiatus in 2021, the AAGPS Athletics returned this year with a record crowd and some outstanding performances. Liam Hunt, our Captain of Athletics was majestic in his final Championships, running an outstanding 400m in the Opens and then quickly backing up to anchor the 4x100m relay. Andrew Brennan and Lang Toakley continued their wonderful form in the longer events, running strongly in the Open 3000m. Joshua Casey competed well in the 100/200m double and then it was straight to the High Jump with a 1.55m clearance. Daniel Emmery and Ted Chick showed that the 400m is their event, with Claude Toakley, Sinclair Little and Luke Schumde excelling in the shorter sprints (100/200m). Joe Fenwicke and Leonardo Wright displayed grit in their respective 800m events, whilst Archie McMaster clearly has a talent in the Shot. My thanks to Mr Drain and Mr Farrington for their wonderful efforts in coaching the boys and their support on the day.

Mr Jim Pennington

NSW All Schools Athletics Championships

Harriet Crawford, Leonardo Wright and Andrew Brennan spent the first part of the school holidays contesting the NSW All Schools Athletics Championships, racing the 2000m Steeplechase. It is one of the most demanding track events, which requires athletes to contest 23 barriers, including the water jump on five separate occasions. For all three athletes, this was a new experience, stepping well outside of their comfort zone, racing against the best in the State. Building on some outstanding performances from NCIS/CIS and GPS Athletics towards the end of last term, Harriet, Leonardo and Andrew were magnificent, running some very impressive times and now have the NSW Junior Championships on their radar!

Mr Jim Pennington

NSW CIS Athletics Championships

Just a few days after the AAGPS Athletics Championships, the NSW CIS Athletics was held at SOPAC. This is our pathway from NCIS and brings together eight associations under the CIS umbrella, allowing great competition for both the girls and boys. Emily Ussher and Zana Ross were outstanding, racing wonderfully in both the 800m and 1500m. Chelsea Bourke, Camilla Coupland, Alice Howlett and Sinclair Little ran the 100/200m sprints, whilst Halina Saunders was our sole hurdler, racing strongly in her first outing. Olivia Cannington (our new Captain of Athletics) was magnificent, contesting the 400/800m ‘double’, arguably one of the toughest combinations on the track. Charlie Ward, Archie McMaster and Cody Wellings took charge in the field events, with some new TAS records coming home. Mia Croker competed in both the Long Jump and 400m, with our Ali Newton, Georgia Rose and Madeleine Nicholls being our sensational High Jumpers. My thanks to Mrs Ward and Mrs Dloniak for their wonderful efforts in coaching the students and their support on the day.

Mr Jim Pennington

Term 4 might be the shortest term but there is plenty of Creative Arts to jam into it. Firstly, we cast the 2023 TAS Production Legally Blonde: The Musical at the very end of last term and you can find the full cast list below. Students can still elect to be in the Ensemble by sending [email protected] an email expressing their interest – the cast list closes on Thursday! The first meeting for all involved will be this Sunday from 5:30pm at the Hoskins Centre, with a barbecue at 6pm, handing out scripts at 6:30pm, and then watching the musical on the big screen from 6:45pm. Please RSVP to the invitation coming your way from Mr Lane.

Mr Andrew O’Connell
Head of Creative Arts

Welcome Back 

I would like to offer a warm welcome back to everyone as we commence the final term of the year. This term we welcome a number of new families to Middle School and I hope that you all settle into TAS well. This term is shaping up to be a full one and with lots of activities scheduled, there is certainly something for everyone to look forward to. I encourage everyone to remain on top of communication that comes from various parts of the school including sport coaches, activities coordinators and teaching staff. As always, if you have any questions or concerns at any point, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Link to Start of Term Information

As we begin the new term, a number of key points and information was sent out as part of the start of term newsletter last week. The link to access this information is here:

https://www.as.edu.au/start-of-term-newsletter-4/ 

Participation in UNE Research Project

TAS Middle School will be working with UNE and a higher research candidate, based in the School of Psychology, who will be researching how our youth are feeling about climate change issues. ‘Understanding the Emotions our young people have about climate change – Research invitation’. Researchers from the University of New England have invited the Year 7 and 8 students at TAS to participate in one of the first mixed-methods studies incorporating participatory research methods and quantitative analysis exploring young people’s emotions and impacts on mental health relating to climate change in rural and regional Australia. This is an exciting opportunity for our school as we can provide a safe environment for our students to be actively involved in participatory research that is meaningful to them.  Students will be able to articulate their knowledge and understanding of social issues that are important to them through collaborative thinking and photography. Please click this link with all the information and a consent form for your child that you can complete online. Please complete this consent form as soon as possible.

Middle School Open Day

Finally, it is not too late to register for the Middle School Open Day  – Where Adventure meets Education that will be held on Saturday 15 October from 1 pm – 4 pm.  This event is for all current and prospective families to enjoy a day of adventure, fun, creative arts and STEM activities.  It will also be an opportunity for all new and current families to meet the Principal Dr Horton and myself, enjoy lunch or afternoon tea and learn more about your child’s educational opportunities during the middle years at TAS.

I wish everyone well for the term ahead.

Mr Luke Polson
Head of Middle School

Mr Ian Lloyd
Head of Junior School

Upcoming Events

What a joy to wander through our Junior School classes and observe all students engaged and communicating so eagerly with their friends as they commenced the final term for 2022. 

This term, our younger classes are commencing new units of inquiry whilst our older classes are continuing with units from last term.

Student Led Reflections and Pre-K Creative Showcase

It was wonderful to see many parents and carers attend the Student Led Reflections and our Pre-K creative showcase at the conclusion of Term 3. This provided a wonderful opportunity for parents to gain an insight into the classrooms and our specialist lessons. The students were delighted to be able to share their work and to set learning and social goals in collaboration with their parents. 

Our Pre-K students certainly did not disappoint with their ability to show and explain their creative learning in the classroom and in their learning journals. Added to this was a stunning art exhibition showcasing a range of artworks on display in Hoskins Foyer.The showcase concluded with a confident performance of a range of songs.

Mrs Veronica Waters
PYP Coordinator

Summer Sports

Training commences this week, with Basketball on Wednesday afternoon. All other sports will commence next week. Please ensure your child has the correct uniform for training and games during the term. Any absences must be reported to your child’s coach.

Mrs Christine Wright
JS Sports Coordinator