Message from the Principal
The heart of a School – its people.
Recently, I and several of our staff had the pleasure of visiting our Kinross Wolaroi communities in Dubbo and Bourke. Two excellent gatherings of current, future and past families afforded great occasion to catch up with friends and to hear a little of the many activities and developments that are taking place at the School.
Such occasions powerfully reinforce one of the very strong aspects of Kinross Wolaroi, one that greatly impressed Josephine and I on our arrival – that very rich and tangible sense of community that pervades our School. It is evident when families experience difficulties and at times of hardship, at school events and in the way so many contribute and support our school. The enthusiasm shown by a great number of our local community to support our pioneering and innovative educational program, the Regional Engagement Enterprise, our TREE initiative is a clear demonstration.
The most precious element of any school or community, is its human resources, a component of far greater worth than bricks and mortar – our built environment will ever be. This is not to say our surrounds are not important, because they certainly are, and as Sir Winston Churchill reminded us ‘We shape our buildings there after they shape us’. But a school is so much more than a collection of buildings; it is a shared collection of ideals and ideas; of values and cultural history … but most of all it is a collection of people; a community where students, teachers and parents lie at its heart.
One of the great joys of leading a school is the immense privilege of engaging staff who can inspire and motivate our students to become the very best they can be.
Appointments
I am delighted to announce the following appointments who will enrich our school community and add greatly to our vibrant co-curricular offering at Kinross Wolaroi.
Ms Sarah Cook
Rowing Coach and Athlete Development Co-ordinator
Ms Sarah Cook will join the staff of KWS at the commencement of Term 3 as Rowing Coach and Athlete Development Co-ordinator. Sarah comes to us with a wealth of national and international experience as an athlete, coach, administrator and as a highly respected sporting identity and leader. Over the past two years the concept of an Athletic Development Unit at KWS has been explored by the Director of Co-Curricular and Head of Sport. This new initiative will oversee the wellbeing of all students engaged in the KWS sports program. The Athlete Development Unit will also strive to foster athletic excellence and will operate in close collaboration with the academic and wellbeing areas of the School to ensure a well-balanced and developmentally appropriate sporting program.
A dual Olympian in rowing, and Australian Sailing representative, Sarah has been highly involved in improving performance in sport in Australia. Through her numerous roles in high performance administration and coaching, Sarah has led the development of winning cultures and improved the development pathway for young athletes. Since her retirement from rowing following the London Olympics, Sarah has already had a significant impact in Australian sport, influencing positive outcomes through lobbying State and Federal Governments and as an advisor to state and national sporting associations.
Sarah is currently Operations Manager for Australian Sailing where her responsibilities include organisation, strategy and management of all operations and logistics for the Australian Sailing Team and their programs. As a Rowing Coach, Sarah has coached the Australian Junior Men’s Coxed Four at the World Championships, and was Head of Rowing and Coach at St Joseph’s College in Sydney. In 2016 under Sarah’s leadership, St Joseph’s experienced their most successful year in their history, achieving podium finishes in 9 of the 11 races contested and claimed the First VIII title at the GPS Head of the River.
Sarah has an outstanding record as an Athlete. From 2004 – 2012 she represented Australia in Rowing competing at two Olympic games and 7 World Championship events, winning 6 World Championship medals. She was Australian National Champion 8 times, rowing in 5 different boat classes.
Sarah is a highly acclaimed International Rowing Commentator regularly broadcasting with World Rowing, BBC, BT Sport and Fox. She is a regular contributor to national and state radio for commentary and insights on professional and Olympic sporting news and debate.
Sarah is President of the Sydney University Boat Club (the first female to hold this position), a Director of NSW Rowing and Athletes Commission Member.
Holding a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Canberra and University of Sydney and a Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of New England, Sarah is qualified to teach Science.
In the coming weeks Sarah will be representing the Australian Olympic Committee as a delegate to the International Olympic Committee Conference in Greece.
Sarah has a strong interest in viticulture and having grown up in Canberra is greatly looking forward to living in the beautiful centre of Orange. She is married to Tobias Wehr-Chandler who will also be joining us to lead our Rowing Program.
Mr Tobias Wehr-Chandler
Master in Charge of Rowing and Rugby
Mr Tobias Wehr-Chandler joins us to lead and coordinate our rowing and rugby programs. Commencing in Term 3, 2018. Tobias will initially oversee Rowing and in 2019 assume the role of MIC Rugby.
Tobias comes to us from St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill where he has been Head of Rowing and has forged a reputation as an outstanding administrator and leader. He is also a gifted coach, achieving excellent results with the St Joseph’s crews.
Tobias has an impressive record as an athlete, representing New Zealand at six World Championships and five World Cup events. At the World Rowing Championship in 2009, Tobias won the Men’s Coxed Four Under 23 World Championship. From 2010 to 2014 he was the World Record Holder for the 1-hour ergometer.
Tobias has also sailed professionally and was a member of America’s Cup Challenge Team Australia in 2014.
Holding a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry (Distinction) from the University of Waikato in New Zealand and a Masters of Business Management from the University of Sydney, Tobias has also worked as a Senior Management Consultant. He has advised educators, employers and students to achieve better outcomes from experiential learning collaboration, and in the field of design and implementation of client strategy and communication at the University of Sydney.
Tobias has been engaged as an industry facilitator for the Masters Level Entrepreneurship and Innovation course. Tobias has been an active member of the Sydney University Boat Club and led their Strategy and Operations Committee.
Having grown up in rural New Zealand, Tobias is very much looking forward to making Orange home and along with Sarah, making a significant contribution to the students and community of Kinross Wolaroi School.
I am most grateful to Mr Sinisa Kosorac who stepped in with very little notice to oversee our Rowing Program for the 2017-2018 season. Sinisa’s love of the sport, hard work and highly efficient organisation has been greatly appreciated by our rowing community. We look forward to his continued involvement and contribution to Kinross Wolaroi Rowing Program. I also express sincere appreciation to Mr Richard Freeman for his skilled, dedicated and passionate approach to our Rugby program. We very much look forward to him continuing his outstanding contribution as MIC Rugby for the 2018 season.
I am sure that you will join with me in welcoming both Sarah and Tobias to the KWS Community.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Collette Lyons, Sasha Wilson, Oliver McLaughlin and Mercede Cornelius-Feltus who very successfully competed at the All Schools swimming carnival as members of the CIS team. Congratulations to Collette Lyons who has been chosen to represent NSW in the Australian School Swimming event which will take place in Hobart in July. What a remarkable achievement for Collette!
Dr Andrew Parry
Principal