TAS Talks Term 4 Week 2

Prefects and House Leaders

In a special assembly last Thursday our new student leaders were introduced and formally inducted and now they take up their new roles. In Week 1 we were very fortunate to be able to access Waterline Leadership for a full day of leadership training for these students which was a new initiative which will most certainly enhance their ongoing leadership training this term. The role of leader goes beyond recognition of performance and calls on those taking up these positions to set good examples, encourage other students and promote engagement in the life of the school. We are very fortunate to have such a talented and committed group taking up these responsibilities and I wish them well for the year ahead.

Last Saturday I was very pleased to be out at Malpas Dam to observe our flotilla of kayak paddlers to launch into their six hour endure paddle which was the final leg of a number of weekend paddles in place of the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic which, because of COVID we were unable to participate in this year. The very fact that we had such a significant number of students participating is testament to the approach of ‘challenge’ that our students embrace. The weather was delightful last Saturday but I do know that on previous weekends there have been some very trying conditions that confronted our paddlers in order for them to get their hours up to compensate for the time and distance of the Hawkesbury. Volunteering to tackle big challenges is something deeply embedded in our school culture and it is hugely encouraging to see that so many students across the year groups were willing to once again step outside their comfort zone. I would like to thank Jim Pennington and Alasdair Hey for facilitating the entire process and for providing this opportunity for our students.

Following up on this paddle will be the Year 8, 9, 10 ‘homeless sleepout’ which will take place at the school this coming Friday night (23 October). Staff and students will attempt to emulate the conditions of sleeping ‘rough’ in order to emphasise the plight of homeless people across Australia.

Alan Jones
Head of School

Japanese Matsuri Competition

Japanese Video Matsuri Competition (2020)

The Japanese Stage 5 class submitted two Videos into the Japan Foundation’s ‘Video Matsuri’ competition last term. Videos were submitted by schools from around Australia and New Zealand and after winning one of the divisions last year, the students were to excited to participate again. The submitted videos demonstrated their film making skills and allowed the students to use their language skills in a practical manner. The rules of the competition state that each video must include a water bottle and be a maximum of three minutes.

I am pleased to announce that the Year 9 students’ film ‘A Thirsty Murder’ achieved a ‘Special Mention’ award in the Junior Secondary Division and the Year 10 students’ film ‘Kappa’ participated in the Senior Secondary Division. You can watch the two films below with English subtitles.

‘A Thirsty Murder’ tells the story of a murder investigation. A body is found and the murderer leaves a vital clue by leaving his DNA on a water bottle which he drank from at the murder scene. After a DNA check, the murderer is identified and the police arrive at the house of the suspect. Further evidence is found and the murderer is arrested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIfnyhTch1A&feature=youtu.be

‘Kappa’ is a short film about an ad selling ‘Sumo Water’, water that is able to give you energy to do anything, even turn you into a sumo wrestler! In the next scene we discover that the ‘Sumo Water’ comes from a dam in the middle of nowhere. A murder mystery begins as the previous Stall holder disappears and we then discover that a ‘Kappa’ may have been involved. A Kappa is a mythical creature in Japan that lives in rivers and ponds and can leave the water if it has water on their head. Detective Mojo uses his wits to trick the kappa into spilling the water on his head which stores the kappa’s life energy after a game of sumo wrestling, something Kappas are very fond of.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VO06g1gHAE

It has been an incredibly challenging year for Round Square, a network built on international collaboration through exchanges, conferences, service projects and experience. But Round Square is more than those material elements, it is a philosophy built around the seven IDEALS – Internationalism, Democracy, Environmentalism, Adventure, Leadership and Service. And anyone familiar with TAS and all we’ve been doing this year knows that the IDEALS are still very much an integral part of the TAS ethos and community. Why, even the next few weeks will highlight this with activities ranging from the Youth Homeless Sleepout Service activity (with 74 students already involved at last count), to Environmental activities happening in Junior School, the undertaking of Leadership roles for our 2020/21 Year 12 cohort, and the incomparable Adventure experiences offered during Bivouac and Activities Week.

Managing Commitments

• Know what you are committing to and see that commitment through
• Seek help/advice from staff/coaches if you are struggling with the commitment
• If a school activity clashes with one of two training sessions then the student will be excused from that training session
• Staff will prioritise what is in the best interest of students (both individuals and team) when negotiating clashes
• Stay relaxed and be assured we are here to help..email [email protected] if it all becomes too much.

Rowing 

NCIS Tennis

Mr Will Caldwell
Director of Co-curricular

TAS Kayak Enduro

After four Sundays, incorporating all sorts of weather, 37 keen (or perhaps a little different) students and a few parents (also very special) gathered on the banks of Malpas Dam, ready to paddle six hours and complete the TAS Kayak Enduro.

In this crazy time, we’ve had to look well outside the box in order to create events applicable for the Triple Crown, hence the Kayak Enduro. The goal is to paddle 100km in total, across five sessions with the final push being the longest. It was terrific to see so many students willing to give up their weekends to chase their goals, ably supported by parents who were in a position to attend.

For Saturday’s final paddle, ‘Huey’ was kind and generous, providing the paddlers with wonderful conditions throughout the afternoon. With regular fuel (ie lollie stops) to provide motivation, the students kayaked into dusk, chasing time on the water. With a majestic procession, the boats glided across the dam ensuring that all were successful in the second stage of the Triple Crown for 2020.

Thanks to Mr and Mrs Hey for their enthusiasm, bus driving, organisation and boat maintenance, as well as to Mr Caldwell and Mr Currell for giving up their Saturday afternoon. My thanks also to Mrs Sheedy, Mrs Palfreyman, Mr and Mrs Campbell and Mrs Phelps for their assistance (and blankets, jackets and warm cars!) throughout the five weekends. Their support was invaluable.

Mr James Pennington

NCIS Tennis

NCIS tennis was held again at Grafton on 20 October. We took seven students who played a number of games in a round-robin format. It was a great day with lots of high-quality tennis from our team. Congratulations to Joshua Miron who finished third in the opens and Joshua Casey who finished second in the 15s.

Mr Christian Nexo

Mr Andrew O’Connell
Creative Arts Coordinator

ICAS Mathematics

We would all like to congratulate the following students for competing and excelling in the recent ICAS Mathematics and Spelling Competitions. This is a competitive exercise for those who elect to be involved and we congratulate all of them for having the courage to have a go. The recent results are:

Mathematics

• Distinction – Yr 5 – Peter Thompson, Richard Ma
• Credit – Yr 5 – Andi Li, Yr 3 – William Cooper-Fillios, Yr 2 – Janesh Wijewarna
• Merit – Yr 2 – Matilda Polson
• Participation – Yr 4 – Mila Wright, Zana Ross, Rhidima Das, Yr 2 – Rudra Tandon

Spelling

• Distinction – Yr 5 – Peter Thompson
• Credit – Yr 2 – Matilda Polson
• Merit – Yr 3 – William Cooper-Fillios, Yr 4 – Zana Ross, Yr 5 – Andi Li
• Participation – Yr 2 – Janesh Wijewarna, Yr 4 – Mila Wright, Yr 5 – Richard Ma.

Summer Sport

Wonderful to see the summer sports up and running so smoothly this term, including many of our Year 5 cohort who have joined their Middle School counterparts in sports such as kayaking, swimming, tennis and basketball. This continues to be a very important part of our offering, especially during these trying circumstances and I thank all those involved. If you have any questions, please contact the school. Mrs Wright has included some photos with her sports’ section article.

Book Week – October 17 – 23, 2020

You may have heard from your classroom teachers that this week, Junior School is celebrating Book Week. Each class is participating in a number of activities we are having a grand Book Week Parade on Friday October 23 with the theme: ‘Curious Creatures, Wild Minds’ in the Hoskins Theatre. We are encouraging everyone to come to school dressed as their favourite character from a book they have recently read. Again, we thank Mr Gordon Arndt for promoting this week and thank him for the wonderful visit we had last week from the Children’s Laureate, Ursula Dubosarsky.

Live Streaming events at TAS

We are working hard to live stream many of the events that are being held while the restrictions remain in place. On Wednesdays, our Junior School assemblies will be streamed and on Friday, we will be looking to do the same for our Book Week parade. These will be advertised in advance, with a link sent to parents which can then be viewed at the time, or later at your convenience. We hope to have the link to you before kick-off this afternoon with our combined Year 2 & 3 assembly.

Student Agency

Layla Abu Assab and George Drain have been in conversation for a number of weeks planning to take action to raise funds for the World Wildlife Fund. They have been keen to draw attention to the plight of endangered species around the world (but especially in Australia).  In their own time, they made bags, bookmarks and decorated notepads with the intention of raising funds for the charity. Yesterday, they sold all their merchandise and raised over $50, setting up plans to expand their project and co-opt others to join the cause. Congratulations to both Layla and George for taking this initiative and to others that have decided to give them a hand.

Harry Fawcett, George Drain and Layla Abu Assab

Outstanding Violinists

Mrs Hawksford has passed on her wish to acknowledge the dedication, practice and resilience that both William Cooper Fillios and Andrian Zhang put to their AMEB (Australian Music Examination Board) exams, Grade 1 last week. Last term, we were delighted to see their level of skills in an in-house Assembly and these exam results are outstanding for both boys reflecting their perseverance, talent and hard work. Congratulations to both boys for your dedication and enjoyment with music.

Junior School Upcoming Events

Happy Birthday

Hunter Crane, Lucie Stephen and George Drain all celebrate their birthdays this coming week so many happy returns to you all.

Mr Ian Lloyd
Head of Junior School

PYP-What are our Transition and Kindergarten classes up to in Term 4?

What a joy it is to see many eager and engaged students as I visit our Junior School classrooms. Term 4 is a short term and there is much learning and teaching to occur.

Our Transition and Kindergarten classes all commenced their new units of inquiry at the start of this term.

Transition

Transdisciplinary Theme: Where we are in place and time

Central Idea: Journeys can lead to new experiences and opportunities

Lines of inquiry:

• How signs and symbols can communicate a message
• The types of journeys people make
• The choices, decisions and planning involved in making a journey

Some reflections from the students as to what they enjoyed in their previous unit: (How we express ourselves)

Scarlett: I loved the creativity unit because we got to do pottery with Mr Hatch. I made a face mask. I painted this with special paint used just for pottery.

George: I enjoyed the unit because I loved learning about all the famous artists and their paintings. I had an idea to make an art gallery with the blocks in our morning playtime. My favourite artists were Henri Matisse and Jackson Pollock.

Kindergarten

Transdisciplinary Theme: How we express ourselves

Central Idea: Creativity allows for expression

Lines of inquiry:

• What creativity is
• Different ways to be creative
• Sharing and understanding perspectives

Responses from Kindergarten students as to what they are enjoying about their new unit:

Mishkah: I love our new unit because there is a sword and we all get to pull it out of a stone. If you do pull it out you can become the true King or Queen of England.

Alexa: I love our new unit because we have a castle in our classroom and I love wearing the crown that I made. I also love the sword you get to pull out of the stone.

Raymond: I love the castle because it has a kitchen and I love to play in the castle with all my friends.

Mrs Veronica Waters
PYP Coordinator