New Senior School Student Live Q&A Webinar
New Senior School Student Live Q&A Webinar: The Questions and Answers
COVID regulations prevented us from inviting you to attend an information session and to meet you personally to answer your questions, so on Monday 1 February we conducted a live Q&A session on Zoom for parents of students commencing at Kinross Wolaroi School in 2021.
This was hosted by Deputy Principal and Head of Senior School, James Boyd with a panel including: Head of Teaching and Learning, Heidi Anthony; Head of Wellbeing, Tom Riley; Head of Boarding, Anthony Begg; Senior Years Coordinator, Claudia McCalman, Year 7 Coordinator, Alex Dunkley; and Director of ICT, Ben Wark.
For those who were unable to attend, we have provided the questions and answers below:
Can my child move into a higher level of maths if they feel bored in their current stream?
If your child feels they are not being challenged, the first point of contact is your child’s classroom teacher for a discussion about where your child is sitting in their cohort. Their teacher may be able to provide some extension work or may have a discussion with their Faculty Head about where your child is placed and if there is an option for them to be moved.
How are the decisions made about placing students in classes – in particular for English, Maths and Latin/Me Me Me?
Some changes have occurred with our class placement system for our students in Years 7‐10 this year, as we have introduced some mixed ability groupings for some classes. By grouping in such a manner, students will experience both targeted curriculum as well as greater opportunity to experience a more diverse learning environment across a wider cohort of students.
There has been a rigorous system applied to ensure the students are placed in their appropriate classes. Whilst the students have already been allocated to their classes there may still be some movement of students over the coming weeks as fine tuning of placement occurs.
The table below outlines the structure of our classes for Years 7 to 10.
English and Latin/Me Me Me are tied together for class allocation purposes. If students are in the top two English classes they will do Latin while other students will do Me Me Me. Allwell testing determines class placement but this was delayed to February 17 due to COVID. After this testing is done there may be some slight adjustments to classes. If you have any specific concerns about class placement, please email Heidi Anthony, Head of Teaching and Learning at hanthony@kws.nsw.edu.au.
Year 7 Sport – when does afternoon sport start?
Year 7 Trysports will run on Monday and Wednesday afternoons 3.30 - 5.00pm and Saturday mornings from 8am to 9am. The program is currently being written and the students get to try many sports that are offered by Kinross Wolaroi. This will occur in Term 1 only, from Week 3 to Week 7.
Information on Trysports is available through ‘Teams’ on the Year 7 site, set up by Year 7 Coordinator, Alex Dunkley. Within this site there is a separate channel for Trysports.
From Term 2, Year 7 will go into the sports they have chosen for winter. From Term 2 timing for sport will depend on the individual sport. Students will select their winter sport later this term. There will be information shared with families about our winter sports options before selections occur, this will include training and game times.
Are there regular afternoons for sport or does it depend on the sport? Does sport go to Tuesdays and Thursdays when Cadets starts?
Traditionally in the Senior School, sport training afternoons are Tuesdays and Thursdays until 5pm, at which time there are late buses run by the school to quite a few areas around the district. Some sports will train outside of these times, such as water polo and rowing.
Year 9 Sport – are there options for Term 1, especially rowing?
All new students Years 8-11 will be placed into a summer sport, which could be cricket, triathlon, swimming, basketball, tennis or touch football. There may be opportunities for entering rowing is students had prior rowing experience, however, the program has already commenced for the year and crews have been established, so it would be best to contact the Director of Sport, Joe Priest for more information regarding this option. Trials for winter sport for Term 2 will begin shortly and information on this will be circulated to parents in due course.
Can Year 7 students do rowing?
Rowing is a summer sport and takes place in Term 4 and Term 1. It is a sport that is very popular and we do have a cap on numbers due to the logistics involved.
For Year 7 students interested in rowing we offer a number of ‘learn to row’ sessions during Term 3. There is also a swim test that is part of the selection process for rowing students. For those who are selected for rowing there is traditionally also a short rowing camp in the holidays between Terms 3 and 4, before we begin the season.
What are the winter sports coming up?
Swimming Squad is offered all year round. Girls – netball, hockey, soccer. Boys – rugby, hockey, soccer. Winter sports trials and pre-season training will commence from around Week 6, Term 1.
Senior years students can participate in our fitness program – this is for students who wish to participate for their wellbeing rather than having a competition element. Our fitness program runs year-round for senior students.
Are change rooms still not allowed to be used at school?
Current guidance is to minimise the use of changerooms. Students who have PE should come in their sports uniform. If they have after school sport we would like them dressed in their uniform and they can change into their sports gear after school. We anticipate that this guidance may change and become more forgiving over the coming weeks.
Can students who play in external and representative teams able to play in external teams?
We have numbers of students who play representative sports. It does depend on the level they are playing – if they play at an elite level they can apply for an exemption from school sport – if they are playing in more of a local representative squad we would ask that they play for the school, however, that will depend on the commitment required in the sport they are playing. We have an exemption process for any students who are looking at not playing school sport and so it would be best to contact the Director of Sport, Joe Priest for more information.
When do students do private music lessons?
These occur throughout the school day. We have approximately 25 private instrumental tutors who attend the campus to deliver private lessons to our students. This includes instrumental, vocal, and speech and drama lessons. Contact the Performing Arts Faculty via Music Secretary, Sharon Martin for more information at smartin@kws.nsw.edu.au.
Sharon will also be able to assist with information on instrument hire and instrument locker hire.
When will we get logins for the new Parent Portal and what will it offer?
This new service is undergoing some extra testing and a revised launch date will be announced shortly. Our IT Team are currently fully occupied with onboarding students to our systems with their BYO devices. As this is taking longer than originally anticipated, some other program launches have had to be pushed back slightly.
The Portal strategy has been adopted to streamline the way that we communicate with parents and the way that you are able to access the different applications and systems operated by the school so that you can get the information that you need.
The School is using the Microsoft Suite for all of its teaching and learning as well as for communication between students and teachers. We will use the same software for communicating to parents by providing a single sign on for all services. For example, one sign-on to the Portal will pass you through to Boardingware, give you access to areas of your child’s learning on Teams, allow you to book for Parent/Teacher Evenings, as well as provide somewhere to notify absences, access your latest account statement or update your contact details.
The Portal will give us the ability to move away from excessive email traffic and will provide a mobile phone app that will conveniently deliver your alerts and notifications.
When will we get access to Boardingware?
Boardingware invitations were sent out over the weekend. If you did not receive your invitation please contact your child's Head of House and your details will be resent.
When does the Duke of Edinburgh program commence?
The program runs all year round, beginning in Term 1 with Year 9 students. Information will be provided to Year 9 students during their Mentor time. Students who wish to join the program in more senior years should contact our Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator, Liam Callaghan at lcallaghan@kws.nsw.edu.au for more information. There is also a Teams page for the program, which students can access once they are enrolled. This gives access to full program details and other necessary resources. There are regular drop-in sessions conducted by Mr Callaghan for students to check-in regarding their compliance and workbooks, and to see how their award is progressing.
When will the School diaries arrive?
Our suppliers are hoping they will be delivered for the start of Week 3. They have been caught up in supply issues being experienced as a result of the pandemic. In the interim, a PDF version has been supplied to all Head Mentors to share with the students if they feel it is appropriate.
Could we have an update on the new uniform?
The uniform review is going ahead this year and we are expecting to be able to launch a new uniform towards the end of the year. We are having some significant supply issues with the current uniform and the school is working very closely with Noone to rectify those issues. Deliveries of stock are arriving almost daily and we will keep in touch to let you know as new items become available.
Will there be a new anorak?
Stock of the existing anorak has run down and we are considering a number of other options. The existing anorak will continue to be able to be worn be students for at least a couple of years.
How will we be notified if sport is to be cancelled?
This will be managed by MICs for individual sports. For whole of school events the families will be emailed by 7am and posts will be made to the school Facebook and Instagram accounts. The new Parent Portal will have the capability to send alerts via a mobile app.
Is Try Band running for Year 7 this year?
As part of the TrySports program, by Week 5 we will also be offering TryBand on Wednesday afternoon for any student who may be interested or who perhaps has never had any instrument lessons. Flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet and trombone will be on offer in this program. All welcome. It is a wonderful opportunity to try an instrument that you may never have experienced before and all Year 7s are encouraged to get involved.
When can students join Cadets?
After a large break last year we are hopeful that our Cadet Program can be up and running this term, with our annual camp planned for the final week of Term 1. There will be information shared with families in the coming weeks about the re-start of our home training program for Years 8 and above. Year 7 will begin Cadets in Term 3, when our new Cadet year rolls around.
Any student who is new to the school and wishes to join Cadets will be given instructions on how to join the program when that information is shared with families. There is no barrier to joining the program in more senior years.
The uniform and equipment for Cadets is issued in their first few sessions of Cadets – everything is supplied and there is no need to purchase anything. Students can enter at any age throughout the program. We have our Cadet Promotions Camp in the June/July holidays – this allows any students who wish to take on leadership roles, or ‘Rank’, to upskill by attending this leadership development course.
Is Cadets compulsory?
Cadets is compulsory for Year 7 (from Term 3), Year 8 and Year 9 (Term 1 only). After the Year 9 Annual Camp which takes place at the end of Term 1, students can elect to continue via the Promotions Courses or withdraw.
What is the commitment for Cadets in Year 7 from Term 3 onwards? How does this fit around commitments for sport and band?
They will have a weekly home training session on campus on Wednesday afternoons until 5pm. A Bivouac Camp occurs at the end of Term 4 in the last few days of the school year, on campus and on one of our school farms. This will include abseiling, swim tests and water safety, navigation and orienteering etc.
We work hard to ensure that our co-curricular activities do not result in too many clashes. Inevitably – it is a very busy place and there is lots on offer for our students – there may be some clashes, particularly with Stage Band, which involves some of our more advanced music students. When this occurs, attendance is week-about. This is usually the only activity that clashes with our Cadet program.
As a new boarding parent, when is the best time to visit my Year 7 child in boarding? Is there a general guide or does the school have a preference for this?
It is important for students to have their first weekend together in boarding to settle in – to get to know each other and the boarding staff – to develop relationships and find common interests. Any time from the second or third weekend is ok to visit if you feel you need to however it would be better to push it out to three or four weeks if possible.
When you visit, consider taking your child out for a meal and if possible take two or three other students along as well so that you can get to know them.
Can a family friend visit my child on school grounds and how would I arrange this?
Currently adults are not allowed to enter the boarding house but parents/authorised persons may collect the student and conduct their visit off site. All requests must be made via Boardingware.
Where can we find the schedule outlining weekend activities in boarding houses?
This will be posted on the School website by the end of this week and will later be available in the Parent Portal.
Can textbooks be purchased from the School?
All textbooks may be ordered through Campion Books. Textbook lists are available on the New Student Information page of the website. If you need further assistance, please contact Yolanda Morcom, PA to the Director of Studies at ymorcom@kws.nsw.edu.au. If your child is a boarder you may have the books delivered to them at school.
My child has started in Year 9 – is there an option if they would like to swap one of their chosen electives?
Ordinarily this is not an easy thing to do – many electives have capped numbers for safety reasons – so it would depend on what electives were involved. Our Director of Studies, Mrs Lucy Collett handles such requests and it would be best to direct your enquiry to her at lcollett@kws.nsw.edu.au.
Can day students have boarders to visit and how does this work?
Yes, it is encouraged. Boarding parents must put in a leave request to the Head of House via Boardingware. To do this they must have been in contact with the day student’s parents and have ascertained address details and pick up/drop off arrangements. Day student parents will be met by the boarding staff at pick up time and all details will be checked for the visit. Day student parents assume the Duty of Care for the boarding student during the time that they are supervising the visit.
Boarders can stay overnight with day students. This is known as ‘Special Leave’ and this can be applied to any night of the week but is usually a Friday or Saturday evening. This is organised via Boardingware.
Can boarders be out for the whole weekend?
Yes, they may do so. If the weekend extends on a Friday or Monday for travel or other reasons, the student must also apply for Academic leave via reception (reception@kws.nsw.edu.au) to cover these school days.
Will parents be able to attend the Championship Swimming Carnival as this is usually held after school?
A lot will be dependent upon COVID spacing restrictions, as this is held in the School pool. We will have to wait and confirm what requirements apply at that time. We also need to first accommodate the required adult staff for the event before access by spectators can be considered. This is particularly difficult for parents who need to make plans in advance to attend. The school is cognizant of these challenges and will endeavour to provide information on adult attendance as far in advance as possible.
What is the mobile phone policy during school hours?
Any communication between parents and students should always go through the front office. If there is an emergency, contacting Reception is the best way to inform the school and reach your child.
In class: Students must not have mobile phones with them in class at any time. There are boxes in the front of the classroom to leave phones at the beginning of each class or students may leave them in their lockers. Students found with their phones in class will need to speak with their Mentor and may have them confiscated until the following day.
In the playground: Students generally do not spend much time on their phones or devices during break times but this is not banned. We have staff members on supervision during this time and should we notice that that a student is spending excessive time on phones or devices it will be referred to the student’s Mentor to follow up as to whether there is a particular need for this to occur.
Will there be an opt-in class list so families can communicate?
Yes, this will be available via the new Parent Portal.
Is there going to be a Year 7 Camp this year? If so, when?
We hope so! We are planning the camp now and we expect it will take place in Week 10 from 29-31 March.
Are students expected to bring a lock for their locker and keep it locked during the day?
Year 7 students’ lockers are automatically locked at night and opened up during the day. During the day it is advised that students have a lock to keep their laptop or phone safe. They may use any type of lock. Year 8-12 locker areas are indoors and are not accessible out of hours.