From the Head of the Junior School

In the last week we’ve had some significant events in the Junior School. Our Primary Years Swimming Carnival was a great success, with so many children persevering to get points for their house. There was a friendly sense of competition amongst our students and lots of support and encouragement. I’m so thankful to the parents who came along to cheer on the students, and to help and we could not have run the carnival without the help of some exceptional Senior School students who came along to serve our students. Thank you especially to Mrs Harris for her work behind the scenes. Ziele Pitt took out the carnival this year – well done to the students who swam in that house, and to your loud and enthusiastic supporters!

Also in Sports news, Emily Hyslop showcased her exceptional cricketing talent at the PSSA NSW Girls Primary Cricket Tournament, held from the 17th - 20th February, as a key player for the NSWCIS team. After dedicated training sessions, she earned the prestigious role of opening both the batting and the bowling, a responsibility she embraced with pride. One of the standout moments of the tournament was her outstanding bowling performance on day one, where she claimed three crucial wickets from three overs against a formidable Riverina batting lineup. The NSWCIS team displayed remarkable skill and determination throughout the competition, securing victories in all but one match and ultimately finishing in an impressive third place in the state-wide tournament. Congratulations, Emily, on this incredible achievement!

Our Year 6 Leaders were honoured at an Induction assembly on Monday 24 February. All of the students in Year 6 have the opportunity to serve the students in the Junior School, and to help staff. Our leaders meet with their mentors on a Thursday in Tutor time and have come up with some great initiatives in Service, Well being and Sustainability to make a difference in our school. Their motivation is Good Learning, Doing Good – thinking about how being faithful with their talents, their time and their energy can make a difference, be it big or small. Congratulations to Year 6.

The following day our elected leaders and Miss O’Keefe visited St Paul’s for the HICES Student Leadership day. The students had a great day learning to work together and to be stretched out of the comfort zone. They had the opportunity to plan ahead with some ideas for the year. Thanks for the long day Miss O’Keefe and for managing 10 excited people brimming with ideas, all at once!

Wentworth Falls families really enjoyed the Welcome Picnic on the oval this week – thanks to the work put in by the P&F to make that such a welcoming and pleasant time to chat and play. Later this term the Springwood campus will have their Evening on the Lawn to build community – it’s always a great event.

It was also great to see our P&F group off to a strong start this year. The fundraising efforts on both campuses last year were incredible and we will soon be enjoying some playground improvements at Springwood and Wentworth Falls. These will be very much appreciated by staff and students, so I encourage parents to get involved. The aim of the P&F is two-fold – to build community and to raise funds to improve our school. We can all agree that they do a great job with that.

Rachael J Newton

Assistant Principal – Head of Junior School