COLLEGE NEWS
Welcome
Welcome to Week 6 of Term 2.
This fortnight the Secondary College hosted Australia's Biggest Morning Tea, Year 9 participated in the inaugural Year 9 Camp, held at Port Hacking and Year 10 had a 'taster' of working life by completing a week's work placement in the workforce.
On the sporting field, our College was victorious in their Netball and AFL grand finals. Congratulations to the Tracey Gunsen teams (Year7/8 and Opens) and the Carroll Cup Team. You can read more about their sporting achievements in the Representative Sports section of this edition of the newsletter.
Enrol Now for Kindergarten 2022!
Places are filling fast for Kindergarten 2022. Kindergarten Readiness Conferences will commence next week!
To ensure you don't miss out on the Little TRACers Readiness Conferences, apply now by downloading the Application form below.
Kindergarten Readiness Conferences will commence Tuesday 1 June 2021.
Senior Pathways Information Evening - Wednesday 2 June 2021
Year 10 students and families are invited to attend the Senior Pathways Information Evening on Wednesday 2 June from 6.00pm to in the College Gym.
New prospective Year 11 students and their parents are also welcome to attend to find out about learning opportunities for students in Year 11 and 12. RSVPs are essential via email RSVP Now or phone 02 69331811.
IB Diploma Programme Information Evening
Mrs Patricia Humble will be hosting an IB Diploma Programme Information Evening on Monday 7th June.
This online event will commence at 6.00 pm.
Please welcome any families who are interested in learning more about the IB Diploma Programme to join this event.
More information can be found on the International Baccalaureate page of this edition of the College Newsletter.
Year 9 Camp
The Year 9 cohort enjoyed three days at the Youthworks Christian Outdoor Education Centre at Port Hacking, this week.
See Head of Secondary School, Mr Ingold's report for more information.
Year 8 Science
Year 8 Science completed research projects in Term 1. These were all of a very high quality and the following were given an award at Assembly this week.
Congratulations to all award recipients.
Top Awards
Thane Whitwell - Measuring transpiration in plants
Alethea Levy - Does the surface area of ice affect how fast it melts?
Teacher Awards
Miss Lawler
Caitlyn Payne - Does the amount of butter affect the height of cakes?
Ms O’Connor
Carter Zhang - What type of water is hardest?
Ms Foster
Jocelyn Corbett - What is the best hand wash to kill bacteria?
Mrs Bromley
Melanie Philpott - How much energy is in a potato chip?
Mrs Lough
Grace Cooper - Does the type of tree affect the amount of transpiration?
Miss Ganapathy
Pragya Sharma - The study of biological decomposition of organic, metal and plastic.
Peoples’ choice selected by the Junior School
Xander Downie - The effect of chewing time on the weight of gum.
Year 9 Visual Arts
Students have recently completed their practical drawing pieces based on Cubism, using charcoal and collage. Students draw from a still life setup, using line, shape, tone and collage to give a sense of perspective and depth in their artworks.
Their artworks are currently on display in the library.
Lindie Mannion | Head of Visual Arts
Mock Trial Victory
The College Mock Trial team had another victory this week. They were a skeleton crew with Year 10 being away on work experience, but the girls did a fantastic job.
Sarah Siddiqui was singled out by the magistrate as being a super convincing witness and very effective under cross examination pressure. Our team, who was acting as the defence, was informed by the Magistrate that when she got the brief, she thought there would be no way that the defence could win this case.
Congratulations Chelsea Burgess Hannon, Paige Jessop, Sarah Siddiqui, Charlotte Wickson, Tayarni Woods and Kadi Zurbo!
Biggest Morning Tea
Yesterday, the College hosted Australia's Biggest Morning Tea with an extended recess, with live music, cake stalls and an auction for the best cake, slice, cookie, cupcake and brownie.
It was wonderful to see parents come and support this great cause with their children.
Over $2000 was raised on the day.
Blackwell House Day - Thursday 3rd June
Blackwell House Day, will be held next Thursday, June 3rd (Week 7A).
The mufti theme is 'Yesteryear' - dress up in the fashion of your favourite era (from hypercolour to Woodstock, 3 piece tweed to double denim, the choices are endless).
Start getting your fashion in place and bring your gold coin donation.
There will be a colouring in competition and a sausage sizzle with pre orders. See below for how to pre order at the sausage sizzle.
Ordering Details for Sausage Sizzle on Blackwell House Day
Ordering is now open for the Blackwell House Day Sausage Sizzle on Thursday, June 3rd for both Junior and Senior students.
Click here to go to the School24 page to log in or register (school id 25308963).
Please ensure you order in the Junior School section for students in Years K-6, and the Secondary School section for Years 7-12.
We have vegan/vegetarian and gluten-free options available to order.
Online orders will close at 8:30 am Wednesday, June 2nd. Students will be able to purchase sausages and drinks on the day.
The Outdoor Ed Kitchen will be closed for Blackwell Day.
Year 10 Work Experience
This week, our Year 10 students enjoyed a week of Work Experience at various businesses around the region, this week is a valuable opportunity for students to help guide which career path they may wish to pursue after graduating from school.
Write a Book in a Day
(For students in Years 5-12)
Finally...it is here again... it is time to WRITE A BOOK IN A DAY!
The exact day is yet to be determined, but it will be a Saturday or Sunday sometime between now and the 31st of August.
If you would like to enter, you will need a team of 5-10.
The divisions are as follows.
Primary School - Years 5-6
Middle Secondary School - Years 7-9
Upper Secondary School - Years 10-12
Open - 18 years and over
Email your expression of interest with your team member names and YOUR TEAM NAME to Mrs Hawke.
If you would like to know more about the event, click below:
More information will be provided in the coming weeks.
Performance opportunities
(for Student in Years 3-12)
We have music performance opportunities at the Junior School Assemblies each Friday.
Each week we require a musical item and someone to lead the anthem. If you would like to share your talent with our Junior School and either lead the anthem or present a musical item, please add your name via the link below.
Clare Brassil | Head of Music Performance K-12
Junior School News
Year 2 Art Class
Ms McAleer's Year 2 class had fun in Art with Mr Grant last week, creating leaves while discussing the Unit of Inquiry - Sharing the Planet.
Browning House Day
Last week Browning held their House day 'Winter Sleepover' in support of Wagga Women's Health Centre.
The days events included movie screenings, board games, and a BBQ lunch.
Thank you to students and staff for their participation.
Senior School Representative Sport - Online Permission Notes
All Representative Sports Permission Notes will now be distributed to families via the Online Compass Portal.
Once a student is selected into a representative sporting event, they will be added to the specific event on Compass and will need parental consent by approving the digital permission note (you just need to locate the event and click APPROVE!!).
I thank you for your patience as I become familiar with this new system.
Kym Kjaer | Head of Representative Sport
Changes to Excursions Permission Notes
All Permission notes will now be distributed via Compass.
Details were provided to families in the last edition of the College Newsletter. Click below to view. Please refer to the Deputy Principals Report in Issue 5.
Compass Phone App is getting an upgrade!
Compass has listened and the phone app is getting an upgrade.
Soon all users will be able to Sort, Flag and Save posts from Newsfeed. (See the attached flyer for more details).
Compass has assured us there will be more improvements to the phone app throughout the year.
Senior Academic Support
College Guidance Counsellor, Mr Richardson is pleased to offer Senior Academic Support in Room 31.
Please see the above flyer for session times.
This is a wonderful opportunity for our Year 11 and 12 students to upskill in effective study, learn time management skills, and access space for guided study.
Please note: Attendance for the whole session is not necessary, e.g. if their bus gets here at 8.30am on Tuesdays then a 20 minute attendance would still be valuable.
Students Ordering Food Off-site
Students are reminded that it is not acceptable to order food off-site to be delivered to the College via Menulog or any other delivery style providers. If Homerooms are ordering food this needs to be carried out by the Homeroom Mentor or Head of House, who will communicate with the Front Office and follow other College protocols regarding Covid and payment processes. If parents are delivering food to their child at recess or lunch they need to do so via the Front Office of either the Junior or Senior schools.
Secondary Students
Programming Competition Opportunity
There is an opportunity to be involved in an exciting competitive robotics challenge, controlling robots on the International Space Station! This would be a collaboration opportunity with another school!
The activity is called the “Kibo Robot Programming Challenge” (Kibo RPC). The Kibo RPC is a free opportunity provided by One Giant Leap Australia Foundation and supported by the Japanese Space Agency and the Australian Space Agency.
You can find more information on the Kibo Australia website:
or see Mr Isaac Mannion for further details.
College Visual Arts Competitions 2021 (Secondary Students)
Calling all creative Secondary students. Would you like to win some great prizes?
This year's theme is 'Animals'.
Two Visual Arts competitions are currently running.
Click below for further details.
College SS Photographic Competition
Submissions Close - Term 3 Week 3.
College SS Visual Arts Competition
Submissions Close - Term 3 Week 3.
Lindie Mannion | Head of Visual Arts
Phone calls to the College
When you call us at the College, you hear a pre-recorded message with menu options. We understand that you might not want to listen to this message every time!
The main information to remember is:
For the Junior School - Press 1
For the Main Office (Senior School)
- Press 2
For the Uniform Shop - Press 3
Term Dates for 2021
Term 2 concludes - Thursday 17 June 2021
Term 3 commences - Monday 12 July 2021
Term 3 concludes - Friday 17 September 2021
Term 4 commences - Tuesday 5 October 2021
Term 4 concludes - Wednesday 8 December 2021
Have you downloaded the Compass Parent Portal?
All families should have received an email inviting you to download the compass School Manager for Parents. This communication platform is a secure site where you can access an array of information about your child/children.
Please contact the College office, if you are yet to receive your login details.
Access to the College
Please view the parking arrangements in the image above if you are not familiar with the parking arrangements in the image
Driving to School - Year 11 and 12
Students in Years 11 and 12 who wish to drive to school, need to ensure the following steps are taken and agreed to before students are permitted to drive to and from the College.
• Complete a 'Driving to School Permission Form' (see attached), and return the signed form to the College Office for processing.
• Taking Passengers - Any student travelling in the car of another student will be required to complete the 'Passenger Permission Form' (see attached), and return the signed form to the College Office for processing.
The College recommends that siblings be permitted and, at most, one other authorised person.
Vehicles must not leave the College during the day without the student/s signing out from the College Office.
Driving to School Forms:
Driving to School Permission Form
College Office
Absence Process
Student absences should be reported to the Compass Parent Portal, preferably by 9am.
Do you need to update your contact details?
Have you moved address or had a change in your family circumstances and need to update your contact details?
If you have changed your contact details recently. We urge you to contact the College office to update your phone numbers and email, so if we need to contact you urgently we can do so.
Please email Office@trac.nsw.edu.au
with your current details or update in the Compass portal.
Medical Action Plans
If your child has a Medical Action Plan please ensure that the College Office has an up-to date copy for the student's file and Sickbay.
If you need more information, please contact the Office on 69 331811 or Office@trac.nsw.edu.au
Long-term Absences
If the student will be absent for more than 2 weeks (10 school days), an application to the Principal is required via the Application for Extended Leave - Vacation/Travel Form prior to departure. Once this document is completed by the Parent/Guardian, please return to the College Office for processing. You will then receive a Certificate of Extended Leave - Vacation/Travel.
Students who will be absent for shorter periods of time (less than 2 weeks) are also required to supply written notification to the College.
All student long-term absences should be reported to the College via email absences@trac.nsw.edu.au.