TAS Talks Term 3 Week 6

One of the questions I ask all prospective students is who they admire or look up to. Responses range widely from sports stars to singers, scientists (occasionally), authors and entrepreneurs; perhaps unsurprising answers. More often than not, however, when young people are given carte blanch to pick anyone, they name their parents, older siblings or teachers as their role models; a reflection of the influence many of us have on young people that is worth reminding ourselves of from time to time.

This term represents a changing of the guard in terms of student leadership and the process to elect new leaders is well underway. One of the key questions to ask when considering students for these positions is “are they a good role model for their peers and for younger students?”. The most effective, and indeed popular leaders are those who do so with humility and intent to give back to their School and to positively influence the younger year levels.

It is also important to remember that one does not need a title to be a role model or a leader. I have been incredibly pleased recently to have received a number of complimentary reports around the conduct of our students, particularly at sporting fixtures both in victory and defeat.

As a school, the opinions of our stakeholder groups are very important to us. Last term we surveyed our alumni and this term we will survey parents, students and staff. MMG Education will deliver this survey on our behalf to parents and carers at some stage next week. Please keep your eye on your emails, I would be very grateful if you can find the time to answer some questions to help our future directions.

Dr Rachel Horton
Principal

This week I decided to go ‘analogue’. I put the Kindle down, pressed pause on the audiobook and picked up a paperback in the lead-up to Book Week. My choice was Eddie Jaku’s ‘The Happiest Man on Earth’. While finding the time to read for leisure can be challenging, Book Week is a great reminder of how important it is for us to read and the enjoyment that can be found in making it part of our routine.

In addition to the Junior School Book Week parade this Friday, students in the Senior and Middle School will be wearing ‘high-vis’ to raise awareness to the ‘low-vis’ issue of homelessness in Armidale. In lieu of bringing in money for this special mufti-day, we are asking all students to bring in cans of non-perishable food to be donated to local community groups in need. Year Levels have been set a challenge to see who can bring in the most cans and build a shelter with the donations this Friday at lunch. I congratulate all of those who will be ‘sleeping rough’ this Saturday night and thank Mr James Pennington for coordinating the TAS Sleep-Out for 2022.

Eddie Jaku, having lived through the nightmare of the Holocaust and having seen the worst of humankind, said it best:

“There are always miracles in the world, even when all seems hopeless. And when there are no miracles, you can make them happen. With a simple act of kindness, you can save another person from despair, and that might just save their life. And this is the greatest miracle of all.”
― Eddie Jaku, The Happiest Man on Earth

Mr Ray Pearson
Deputy Principal

DAILY ABSENCE

If your child is to be absent from school for any reason, including arriving late or leaving early, please advise the appropriate Administration Assistant (see below), explaining the reason for absence by phone, email, or written note before 10.00 am that day. In addition, a written note confirming the circumstances of the absence is required within 7 days.

Sickness in excess of 4 school days requires a doctor’s certificate detailing the nature of sickness and duration of sickness.

Junior School: Phone 6776 5817 or by email

Middle School: Phone 6776 5819 or by email

Senior School: Phone 6776 5800 or by email

More information about absentees and extended leave can be found HERE

TAS Parents Weekend - Save the Date - 9 and 10 September

This weekend in September seems primed as a weekend where parents from all year groups could come to Armidale and catch up with each other. As the sun starts to shine and the cold disappears, please consider joining us at any of the following activities.

Friday 9 September
1:30 – 3:30pm The annual Passing Out Parade – front of TAS and a wonderful spectacle to see.

6:00pm Year group dinners/get togethers – organised by individual year group parent liaisons.

Saturday 10 September
Morning – come and watch your child play school sport – depending on the sport they play

• 9:00 – 11:00am If your child is not playing sport this day and would like to come for a walk at Blue Hole, please join us there.
• 2:30 – 3:30pm Tour TAS – strange as it may seem, there are many parents who have not had a chance to walk through the whole school yet. Please come and explore
• 3:30 – 4:30pm Concert and performance in Hoskins Centre auditorium
• 4:30 – 5:30pm TAS Foundation Drinks in Hoskins foyer – hosted by the TAS Foundation
• 6.00pm onwards Great Hops dinner and drinks for all

At this stage, please have a look at your diaries and save the date if you can. We will be sending more information and booking forms in the coming week.

Knowing God #2 : Romans 1:21-23

I must confess I’m not a great art critic, in the end either like a painting, picture or sculpture or not. Not a lot of deep thought goes into it, it’s a visual thing, and it’s either pleasing to my senses or not. At the risk of being taken as an art world Philistine, let me tell you of an art experience I had a few years ago. I had the great privilege of going to the National Gallery of Victoria to see the world-famous Guggenheim exhibition, these are works taken from the Guggenheim galleries from all over the world, a genuine world-class exhibition of modern art. Further, we were given a private lecture from the director of the gallery, he took us through some of the more important pieces and artists allowing us to understand the background and have a fuller appreciation of the art. When we were let loose on the exhibition, my reaction was underwhelming, I must say I just didn’t get it, there were maybe two pieces that I liked. I was not left in awe and wonder saying to myself “I could look at these for hours”. I deduced that the artists were probably not from the same planet as most people I know, though I must confess they raised important questions for me such as ‘where there drinks and nibbles being served?’.

According to the reading last time, this world is like an artwork. Its beauty, its majesty tells us something about the artist, something about the one who created this masterpiece, the trouble is what if I just don’t get it what if I perform the same way I did in the Guggenheim and I don’t understand. What if I make assumptions about the creator of the work that simply isn’t true? What if I get so focused on the creation, the artwork, but I totally miss the artist? Well, this may not matter to the postmodern artist, they may be relaxed about various interpretations but what if I misread the creation?

The passage today suggests that we all tend to do this, that we all tend to focus way too much on the creation in fact so much so that when we treat the artwork as if it were the artist as if it were the creator, this is problematic. If we desire to know the creator if we genuinely long to know God, where are we left if we continue to misunderstand the work of God and make incorrect assumptions about the artist of the universe?

Can we ever know God?

Mr Richard Newton
Chaplain

Congratulations to Year 12 students and staff for nearing the end of the Trial HSC Examination period. It has been a productive and successful experience, allowing students to gain real insight into the HSC process. We look forward to having Year 12 return to our regular timetabled classes next week.

There will be no large-group Sunday Study Sessions this coming weekend, but some of the smaller performance-based classes may still meet on Sunday. These teachers will
have advised their students of any sessions available.

Last week, Mr Polson and I hosted an online information session for Year 8 parents on subject selection for Stage 5 2023. Thank you to all who attended this, we hope it was a helpful first conversation around Year 9 subject selection for next year. These conversations should continue to occur over the coming months with subject teachers,
your child’s Advisor, Ms Taber as YLC and Subject Coordinators. Edval, our school timetabling platform, is now open and students need to make their first round of selections by the end of Week 8.

Please see the 2023 Stage 5 Handbook for more specific details on this process.

Additionally, our current Year 9 students will also need to select their initial Stage 5 Elective subjects via Edval by the end of Week 8, this will then inform the next stage of selections. I spoke to Year 9 about this at their Year Level Meeting on Tuesday and they have received a digital copy of the 2023 Stage 5 Handbook. Again, speaking to their
teachers, Subject Coordinators, and Mr Currell, as YLC, will assist them in making an informed decision.

Lastly, our Year 11 students head into a busy period of study and revision in the lead-up to End of Course Examinations. The timetable for these exams, which will happen in Week 9, will be released early next week to students.

Mrs Gill Downes
Acting Director of Studies

If only every week was Science Week

What a marvellous time we had celebrating science week with a handful of interesting talks and demonstrations in-and-out of the school routine.

Science Quiz

Representatives from each our six houses went head-to-head in a tournament of minds in the science week quiz. With Dr Horton acting as quizmaster, students fought to answer correctly questions such as: “Which science teacher has a pet spider collection?” and “What was the bacterium responsible for the bubonic plague (Black Death)?” or recall and tell the funniest science joke. Green house led the way for much of the competition, with Tyrrell closing the gap with the best received science joke. In the end it came down to a tiebreaker and Green house emerged victorious.

Many thanks to Mr Pearson for setting up the Memorial Hall for the event.

Food Adulteration Talk

Year 5 student projects this term have focussed on the idea of food adulteration – the addition or substitution of inferior substances or the removal of some valuable ingredient. Mr Hey was able to present one particularly notable example – that of borax substitution for MSG in food. Although relatively harmless to humans when used as an ant poison or cleaning product, when ingested it reacts with stomach acid to form boric acid; and that’s now a toxic cocktail!

Year 3-4 ‘Energy’ Breakfast

On Wednesday morning, students, parents and grandparents attended a marvellous breakfast and 45-minute science presentation about Energy and its transformation. ‘Indiana’ Hey swung the large pendulum, air gun extinguished candles, balls bounced to the ceiling and magnetic levitation was seen in copper tubing in the Hoskins Centre Foyer. The student’s energy and enthusiasm were explosive as they attentively watched and participated in these exciting demonstrations.

Many thanks to Mr McLennan, Paul Lomas and Max Miles (gappy) for their support in setting up the Hoskins foyer.

Biomedical Science Lecture

Dr Mack and Mrs Chick’s Year 10 Science classes, along with Mr Currell’s Year 11 Biology, had the privilege of listening to a talk from a Professor in Biomedical Science Natkunam Ketheesan. The group heard about the evolution of human life expectancy, infectious disease and vaccines, along with a few anecdotes about Professor Natkunam’s life and career. He also spoke about his shared research paths with our own Dr Horton, looking at the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei! The presentation was enjoyed by all, with students also having the opportunity to participate in a Q & A at the end of the session.

Dr Charlotte Mack

Density of salt water Experiment

Salt water is more dense than fresh water: Students were asked to see if they could create a boundary layer between salt water and fresh water to show that the liquids did not mix. The challenge was to see who could place a layer of coloured salt water beneath fresh and take an image of the result. This can sometimes be seen in the Gulf of Alaska where melt from fresh water glaciers flows to meet the salty Pacific Ocean.

Image: Charles Crawford, from 8 STEM

Bubbleology Challenge went Pop

Adhesive and cohesive forces were the topic of conversation when students investigated surface tension in Dr Mack’s middle school science last week. By varying the amount of glycerol and detergent, students were challenged to make the biggest bubbles and seek the effect of differing concentrations on stability of bubbles.

A big thank you to Gordon McLennan for photographing so many of our science week events.

Mr Alasdair Hey
Science Coordinator

As mentioned in my Week 2 TAS Talks Report, a number of Weekend Activities have been organised for our boarders this term with each of the six Heads of House managing and coordinating activities. Saturdays Scavenger Hunt and Movie Night in Hoskins were well received by the boarders and both Emma Channon and Julie Crozier deserve a special mention for the work behind the scenes and on Saturday afternoon/evening to ensure these activities were such a success. It’s pleasing to see large numbers of boarders embracing these activities and enjoying the benefits of boarding at a weekend.

Mr David Drain
Director of Boarding

It’s crunch time for the HSC Creative Arts students with project submission deadlines and HSC performance Trials and Examinations all falling in the coming weeks. Our HSC Drama Set Design and Poster and Promotion Designs were handed in on Monday, next week will see the submission of the HSC Visual Arts Body of Work, and the HSC markers will be around for both Drama and Music. To help the students prepare we will have the HSC Art/Drama Showcase on Monday from 5pm – 6pm in Hoskins – come along to view the submitted works and then watch the Drama Group Performance.

Congratulations to Meave Churchyard in Year 11 who has been offered a place in Bell Shakespeare’s work experience program in Term 4. She will be one of twelve students from across Australia to go behind the scenes to discover how a working theatre company operates, learning about everything from production, casting, design, rehearsals, marketing, box office, fundraising, education and administration. Along with this she’ll see live theatre, explore backstage, undertake group projects, listen to panel discussions, interview staff and participate in practical workshops. It is an Arts experience like no other and well-deserved recognition for one of our MS Play Assistant Directors.

Thursday night at 7:15 pm we have the recording of Treasure Island by the National Theatre on the big screen in Hoskins. The event is free and open to all members of the TAS community, runs for 1 hour 45 minutes, and is recommended for children aged 9+

Next week Middle School’s History’s Worst Decisions and the People Who Made Them take to the stage! It’s a fun and wacky trip through historical debacles and showcases some great ensemble work. With a Boarders Preview next Tuesday and shows Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we invite everyone to come along and support the hard work of those students, the student Assistant Directors, and the Director Mr Wheatley. Tickets can be booked online through this link: https://events.humanitix.com/hwdpm

Mr Andrew O’Connell
Head of Creative Arts

Activities Day

No doubt many would have breathed a sigh of relief last week to know that we have passed the halfway mark of another busy term and productive term. Last Friday, I had the pleasure of travelling to Tamworth with our 13s Boys and 14s Girls rugby teams as they played their final competition games of the season. These students represented TAS well and whilst the scores didn’t necessarily all go our way, the students were gracious in defeat and humble in their victories. I look forward to supporting our students as we approach another busy weekend. On top of the regular sporting fixtures, a good number of our students will be sleeping out on Saturday night to raise awareness for the issues of youth homelessness. In addition to this, there will be cooking throughout the night to prepare meals for those in need.

As a Middle School, we are really focusing on getting the basic things right on a day-to-day basis and doing these things well. Each week, we have a manners or actions focus and this encourages our students to be mindful of how they speak and interact in our community. I am sure that all of our parents and community would agree that moderating how we speak to and around others is an essential element to creating a happy, safe and respectful community for everyone to enjoy. Furthermore, I spoke to our student body yesterday about our appearance and taking pride in our uniform and school. I have encouraged proactivity – promoting the students to self-initiate a solution to an issue before it becomes a problem. Do your shoes need a polish? We have supplies at our reception. Is your school cap ripped and in need of repair? We have a uniform shop on campus. I am fully cognisant of the fact that this age group do need reminders from us from time to time and to assist with this process, I have included the Student Rules and Regulations Document below in case you need to refer to it. It is a detailed document, however, it contains important information concerning uniform, appropriate interactions and guidelines for appearance. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Students Rules and Regulations 2022

Mr Luke Polson
Head of Middle School

Year 3-5 Choirs - New England Sings – Important Information

Year 3 to 5 families will have received a letter outlining changes to the NE Sings program announced recently. With the completion of the Performance Theatre at Armidale Secondary College, NECOM has announced that there will now be only one combined concert for all choirs – to be held on Sunday October 23,  from 2.30 – 4.00 pm.

As a result, there have been some changes to the schedule and it is important that you note these now. For rehearsal purposes, TAS has been allocated to Choir No. 1, while all choirs will come together on both Saturday and Sunday, October 22 & 23.

While we understand that there will be some who are unable to commit, we hope that as many students from our Year 3-5 choir will attend as possible, for all rehearsals and the performance. Transport will be organised for students who require assistance to attend.

As in previous years, the dress code for all students in the Primary choirs for the concert on the final weekend is as follows – black pants (can be bought inexpensively at local chain stores, no leggings),  coloured t-shirt (no logos), black socks, black school shoes.

Limited tickets for New England Sings! are now on sale and can be purchased through the following link: www.trybooking.com/CBWYY Ticket prices are Adults $30, FT students $20. Please book early to avoid missing out. Choristers do not have to purchase tickets.

TAS Junior Strings

Book Week Parade – Friday 26 August

Please remember our plans for the Book Week Parade this Friday 26 August. All students are encouraged to come to school and Parade in the Hoskins Centre with the theme this year being “Dreaming With Eyes Open”. Please talk with your classroom teacher if you have any questions or need further information. You will have received an email with a link to watch the parade from 10.30 – 11.00am.

Fathers’ Day Celebration – Friday 2 September

Please be on the lookout for an invitation for those “Marvellous Men” who play a part in the lives of our children. We will be having a lunchtime celebration on Friday 2 September for all. Please make a note in your diaries.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

Congratulations are in order to the 50 Junior School students who entered and completed the Premier’s Reading Challenge this year!  This tops last year’s record of 22 students.  It was an impressive collective effort this year with students, teachers and parents working together in support of the event.  Certificates will be sent out later this year in Term 4 and we will celebrate the students’ achievement once they arrive at TAS.  Book Week 2022 is also underway with voting taking place for Scholastic titles that students would like added to the library as part of the Scholastic Wish List Fair.  Voting will continue throughout this week with the library open at recess and lunch for students to put in their requests, collect a bookmark and enjoy a selection of classic stories in the PIT Gallery.  Book Week will wrap up this year with the Book Week parade on Friday morning in the Hoskin’s Centre.

Mr Gordon Arndt

Sleep out at TAS – Saturday 27 August

As we now know, Mr Jim Pennington has been busy organising another project which our Junior School SRC, in conjunction with their Middle and Senior School counterparts, are very keen to support.  Junior School will be supporting a project to support Armidale’s homeless, donating canned food and Years 3, 4 & 5 can volunteer to participate to various degrees in a sleep out at school. Please ensure you are aware of the necessary details and approach the school if you have any questions.

• Wednesday 10 August – Canned food donations commence
• Friday 26 August – Book Week Book Parade (with Canned Food Donations in lieu of a gold coin)
• Saturday 27 August – Sleep Out at TAS

Congratulations

We would like to congratulate Tom Loxley in Year 5 who has been working hard to achieve some outstanding results in his AMEB Grade 3 in Speech & Drama and Cello. He received High Distinctions for both. Well done Tom.

School Spirits

Congratulations to the following students that received School Spirit Awards last week: Gus Hodges, Charlie Crowley, Felix Boyce, Scout Bush, Ed Benham, Bella Widders-Major, Ari Ah-See, Mason Grace-Booth, Bronte Polson, Carla Price, Lexie Kay, William Minter, Liam Hoad, Poppy O’Brien, Grace Crowley, Lachie Wood, Cameron Rodgers, Will Dennison, Jacqui DuBois, Harry Fawcett, Arabella Hodges and Pippi Goudge.

Happy Birthday

Best wishes to Kieran Ahern, Ivy Rice, Roman Sue and Sam Trevaskis for their birthdays this week.

Mr Ian Lloyd
Head of Junior School

Upcoming Events

Year 2

Year 2 have a wonderful time in their current UOI where they have been able to put scientific skills to good use such as questioning and predicting, processing and analysing data. They all enjoyed the STEM design and production component of the unit where they worked with Mr Arndt on making rockets and collecting data from these.
Central Idea: Changes in technology can shape daily lives

The unit commenced with a provocation to ignite and engage student interest. The class went on an incursion to the ‘TAS Technology Museum’ where our head of IT Mr Secker, spent time showcasing the many changes that have occurred to technology over time. He answered many burning questions.

In English Year 2 have been learning how to construct persuasive texts. They worked in collaboration to construct a text on “Technology is good for children.” 

Throughout their many STEM lessons with Mr Arndt, the class has explored how to represent data using technology, which was linked to making rockets. This was certainly a highlight for the students.

Mrs Veronica Waters
PYP Coordinator