Heads of Secondary 

As we all know, this is a time when our resilience is being tested. Our Girls’ Captain Lori Edgar spoke very eloquently about this recently in assembly. Resilience is not just an individual trait but a social and community one. Think of Covid-19 impacting our local, regional, national and global community at the moment. Our own School community and local region have been subject to some challenging times and individual events in the last year and few years which is not to be underestimated.  

The tragic event in Lebanon’s capital Beirut last week was a long list of challenges which that country has faced. Lebanon had already been suffering from wars, terrorism, large national debt, unemployment. Even the provision of what we would consider basic services has been unpredictable. Electricity has been unavailable for large parts of the day. It is estimated that 30% of the population live in poverty and this is likely to rise with food shortages being a consequence of the deadly blast. Keep that nation in your prayers if you are of prayerful mind. Just as we are bound by suffering in its many shapes and forms we are also bound by beauty of the natural world.

I read an article in the SMH on the weekend by Julia Baird. She referred to a lady named Isabel Joy Bear. She was a well-known academic in Scientific and more specifically chemistry circles who worked at the CSIRO for 40 years. She came up with the name “petrichor” for the smell of rain on dry earth, and was the first to describe it in scientific terms. The smell of petrichor, too, is the smell when the drought is breaking. I trust that many of you have experienced that smell this year. I had never heard of the word - I was never a good Science student let alone in Chemistry. Julia Baird also mentioned another couple of words, the experience and acknowledgement of which helped her get through her own illness and recovery:

Susurrus - the sound of the wind whispering, rustling

Apricity - the feeling of sun warming cold skin on a winter’s day

Baird goes on to say:

“One thing we all share, no matter our views, politics, abiding flaws or personal biases, is a capacity to be blown away by, and absorbed in, the tiny corners and vast horizons of the Earth.”

She goes on to list a range of other experiences and finishes off her article by saying the following:

“But they will remind us that we are alive, and that this in itself is an astonishing thing.”

In all that is going on this year it is important to not take for granted what is in front of us- being still and appreciating creation in all its glory - maybe Mr Price or Miss Davies can pick up with this theme sometime in Chapel!

Baird, J 2020, Alchemy for glum times: Awe of life's wonders, Sydney Morning Herald, viewed 8 August 2020, < https://www.smh.com.au/national/alchemy-for-glum-t imes-awe-of-life-s-wonders-20200807-p55jg7.html >

Leave weekend

On Friday August 21, secondary classes will finish at 1.25pm. Parents, if you wish your child to remain on the Brisbane Street Campus after 2pm or the William Cowper Campus please reply via return email to attendance@calrossy.nsw.edu.au so they can be supervised in the Brisbane Street Library until 4.30pm and the William Cowper Campus Library until 3.45pm.

A bus will run from the WCC to BSC at 1.40pm. Classes will resume on Tuesday, August 25.

We wish Year 12 all the very best with their HSC trials which started on Thursday, August 13.

Subject Selection and Parent teacher interviews

Subject selection information sessions took place on Friday, August 14. Year 8 in Period 1 and Year 10 in Period 2. Although you couldn’t be there in person, thank you for your partnership in helping your child make a decision about future courses. We would also like to thank Mr Lawson for all his efforts in the smooth running of these events and the Parent/Teacher Interviews on Thursday August 13.

Senior Leadership Process

This past week has been very busy for our emerging senior leaders. On Monday at the BSC, the speeches from girls who have nominated for some of the leadership positions were shown via video. Sadly, Covid-19 restrictions meant that our usual format was not possible. On Tuesday at the WCC, it was the boys turn to shine. All of the speeches showed careful preparation and courage. On Tuesday, the last of the four part Leadership Course also took place. We are fortunate to have a good supply of future leaders and have been encouraged at the number of students who gave up their time to participate in this course.

Voting took place on Wednesday at both campuses. The results of these ballots will be used to short-list candidates to progress to the next round which will involve interviews. The announcement of the new senior student leaders has been scheduled for Week 7.

Dianne Cameron & Hugh Howey