From the Principal

A very busy and highly productive term is coming to conclusion as we prepare to farewell our Year 12 students and wish them all the best in their upcoming Higher School Certificate examinations. Later this week our new School Student Leaders will be announced and our outgoing team will be acknowledged for their excellent contribution to the life of the School over the past twelve months.

Strings Concert

Last Friday evening the Junior and Senior School Strings performed their annual concert which was an absolute delight. The occasion also enabled the Music Department the opportunity to farewell their Year 12 string musicians who have made such a splendid contribution to the Music Program over the years. We are immensely fortunate to have such a successful and engaging music program that never ceases to impress due to the exceptional level of performance, and dedication of its students and staff.

Orange Eisteddfod

The excellence of our program has recently been acknowledged and evidenced at the recent City of Orange Eisteddfod where our string ensembles placed first in all six sections entered across both Junior and Senior School competitions. The Adjudicator for Bands was full of enthusiastic praise for the School's Music Program, both in terms of the number of students participating and the extraordinary quality of musicianship.

He also remarked on the number and quality of our soloists such as Zachary Annett and Ella Kerdic whose performances were highly impressive. Both the Concert Band and Chamber of Strings were awarded 99/100 in their respective sections, the highest mark awarded at this year's Eisteddfod. What was also wonderful to hear were the number of positive comments from the broader community remarking on how well-mannered and respectful our students were whilst at the Eisteddfod. A very warm congratulations to all involved.

Wellbeing Structures at Kinross Wolaroi 

A trial of vertically arranged Mentor Groups in Term 4

In recent years there has been discussion among House Head Tutors, Staff and Senior Students regarding the merits of our Mentor Groups being arranged vertically, meaning have students from each year group in the school rather than from single year groups. Our House Head Mentors have requested that for Term 4 we trial a new structure, arranging our Mentor Groups on a vertical basis, not unlike the structure that currently exists in many of our boarding houses.

Variations of the vertical structure have also been implemented within some Day Houses from time to time to enhance house cohesion and provide opportunities for student mentoring.

At Kinross Wolaroi School, our vision is to deliver leading practice in education that is responsive to the needs of our students and community. We pride ourselves on the development and education of the whole child and in doing so look for opportunities to provide students with the skills and environment necessary to mature into well-rounded, confident, resilient, respectful, and informed young adults. 

After extensive research and feedback, the School’s Wellbeing Team has recently recommended a move to a vertical wellbeing system. In making this recommendation, we have considered evidence from a wide range of schools and academic sources in Australia and internationally. We have also received feedback from our students that has indicated their desire to have more connection across age groups. The recommendation has recently been endorsed by the School’s Senior Management Team. Therefore, in Term 4, the Senior School will be trialing Vertical Wellbeing Groups during Wellbeing time. 

This means students will spend Wellbeing time with students from different year groups, from within their Day House.  Vertical mentor groups will be arranged across all year groups, from 7 to 12, rather than being made up solely of one year group, as they are now. As a general rule, each mentor group can expect to have two to three students from each year group. There will be no changes to Houses or House membership.

What is Vertical Wellbeing?

Vertical Wellbeing (or Vertical Tutoring) is an evidence-based and proactive student-focused approach to wellbeing that is designed to build deeper relationships among students within the school community and across traditional year groups. It removes the ‘one-size’ fits all system that tries to fit students within a structure and replaces it with an approach that adapts the structure to the needs of the students. 

What are the benefits of Vertical Wellbeing?

The main benefit of Vertical Wellbeing is that it enables us to care for our students, both academically and pastorally. A Vertical Wellbeing approach is designed to create an atmosphere of belonging across the whole school where students feel included, heard and most importantly, known not just by staff but by students within their House. 

The careful and considered creation of Vertical Wellbeing Groups by Head Mentors and Wellbeing Mentors ensures students are placed in a Vertical Wellbeing Group that will provide an inclusive, respectful, and safe environment for students. This type of environment will foster prosocial behaviours between year groups. Prosocial behaviours are behaviours that seek to benefit those around an individual. These behaviours will manifest themselves through students helping, sharing, and caring for others outside of their year group, thereby fostering a stronger community within the House and within School. 

Secondly, authentic opportunities for peer mentoring and student leadership should evolve organically as older students engage with younger students in their Wellbeing Group. Younger students will look to senior students as positive role models for behaviour, attitude towards their studies, and engagement with the wealth of opportunities available at Kinross Wolaroi. Senior students will have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills by mentoring younger students and leading discussions and activities related to the Wellbeing Scope and Sequence. 

Research suggests that these prosocial relationships will result in positive changes, including:

• New friendships 
• Empathy for other’s feelings
• Confidence to lead courageous conversations
• A safe place for students to explore and address concerns such as friendship issues and peer relationships
• Improved cognitive skills
• Enhanced individual social relationships and emotional wellbeing, and
• The promotion of positive identity development. 

Wellbeing Mentors will be able to continue to support the personal, academic, and pastoral development of each student and provide a more focused approach to the wellbeing of individuals at different times throughout the year. If we take examination periods for example, Wellbeing Mentors will be able to better support a smaller number of individual students prior to their examination period. 

Why the change?

At Kinross Wolaroi School we are committed to and pride ourselves on providing the very best care for our students. To achieve this, we need to keep moving forward and looking at ways to best prepare our students for the 21st Century. This ever-changing world requires different skills and mindsets, and we have a responsibility to better support our students to prepare themselves for this world, with new experiences that encourage them to be adaptable, collaborative, and resilient. Over the last two years, we’ve increasingly heard students ask for greater integration between year groups. This trial is an opportunity to act on this student voice and allow for the integration of year groups through Wellbeing. 

Frequently asked questions:

• Will the year groups ever be together as a single year group?

Students will continue to spend time with their year group throughout the day and during co-curricular activities. Students will also meet with their Year Group once a fortnight. 

• How can students of different ages support each other?

Most problems in schools emerge amongst students of the same age. Vertical Wellbeing Groups will counteract negative aspects of peer pressure and allow the space for students of different ages to interact positively and respectfully. Sensible advice from older students is often more readily received by younger students. Peer mentoring and student leadership are also more easily organised, facilitated, and guided by Wellbeing Mentors. 

• Will students remain in the same Vertical Wellbeing Group from Year 7 to Year 12?

Yes. If the Term 4 trial is successful, Vertical Wellbeing Groups for 2024 will be carefully considered and created and students will progress through with the same Wellbeing Mentor from Year 7 (or their 2024 Year Group) to Year 12. This will allow for Wellbeing Mentors to establish deep, positive, and proactive relationships with students and their families. 

• How can the Wellbeing Mentor balance the needs of a Year 7 student with the very different needs of a Year 11 or Year 12 student?

Students have different needs at different times of the year. Wellbeing Mentors will be able to draw on the lived experiences of older students to assist younger students with any concerns, issues, or challenging situations. Wellbeing Mentors will also have the time and opportunity to focus on the three to four students from each year group at key times of the year. 

Wellbeing content will be differentiated to accommodate the needs of a Vertical Wellbeing Group. Year meetings will also be used to present age-appropriate information. 

• How can you avoid the negative effects of younger students hearing inappropriate conversations between older students?

Wellbeing Groups are always supervised. The spread of ages in each group and the nature of Wellbeing Time (structured activities) will limit the opportunity for these types of conversations to take place. Research suggests that Vertical Wellbeing Groups allow students to feel safe and the positive role modelling of our senior students will further encourage and foster this. 

• How many students will be in each Vertical Wellbeing Group and how many from each Year group?

Vertical Wellbeing Groups will be made up of students from within their Day House and from each year group. Every effort has been made by Head Mentors and Wellbeing Mentors to balance gender, day students, boarding students, and year groups. 

• Will the Vertical Wellbeing Groups trial be evaluated?

At the end of Term 4, feedback will be sought from students, parents, and staff. The trial of the Vertical Wellbeing Groups will be closely monitored by the Head Mentors, Head of Student Wellbeing and Head of Senior School. 

Congratulations

SWIMMING

At the recent NSW State Age Championships, we achieved some very pleasing results and were represented at the meet by:

Caleb Cashman, Lazo Jalal, Mathew Lowther, Chloe McGilvroy, Lara McGuigan, Chloe Provost, Brody Steele, Edwina Waterman, Charlotte Williams & Spencer Williams. 

Congratulations to: 

Brody Steele                    Silver Medal                U15 200m Backstroke

Edwina Waterman           Bronze Medal             U15 200m Backstroke

We have 5 swimmers who have qualified for the National Open Championships:

Eloise McMiles, Sienna Whalan, Chloe McGilvray, Edwina Waterman and Caleb Cashman.

We wish them the best of luck!

Cattle Team

On 1, 2 and 3 September, the Kinross Wolaroi School Cattle Team travelled to Blayney to compete in the 2023 National All Breeds Junior Heifer Show. Our team successfully claimed numerous ribbons and awards to cap off an incredible show.

Gb Livestock Junior Exchange Scholarship – Ollie Mendham

A huge congratulations to Year 11 student, Ollie Mendham who was awarded the GB Livestock Junior Exchange Scholarship – a life changing opportunity that nurtures young talent, broadens horizons and fosters international connections within the livestock community. Ollie will be travelling to Canada to learn more about the Cattle Industry. A fabulous opportunity.

Reminder: Lockdown & Evacuation Drill

Friday 15 September 2023 from 12.15pm to 12.45pm

A reminder that the School will be staging a practice drill for a lockdown or evacuation on Friday 15 September 2023 from 12.15pm to 12.45pm across both the Senior and Junior Schools. This will include practicing a classroom lockdown followed by an evacuation procedure. 

The school's alarms may also be tested in preparation on the afternoon of Thursday 14 September, however this will be preceded by an announcement that it is a test only.

Practice in these drills is essential to ensure that both staff and students understand what is expected of them in an emergency, so that they can remain calm and follow the correct procedures. All of this ensures their safety in an emergency.

We are informing families about the drill to avoid any misunderstandings or alarm when the drill takes place.

Staff Announcements

Mr Jarred Tyack – Junior School Teacher

Jarred recently expressed his desire to resign from Kinross Wolaroi School effective from Thursday 7 December 2023. With sadness, I have accepted his resignation.

With more than 2 years as a Junior School Teacher, Jarred has made a wonderful contribution and has achieved outstanding results with his students. Jarred has made a great impression on the staff and students during his time here. His experience, contribution and kind spirit will be greatly missed.

We wish him every happiness as he embarks on the next phase of his Teaching journey and as he moves back to Forbes to be closer to the family.