COLLEGE NEWS
Welcome
Welcome to Week 4 of Term 2.
This fortnight the Junior School held their Athletics Carnival, they also welcomed all the wonderful women in their students' lives to a Mothers Day morning tea celebration.
Students undertook the NAPLAN testing and our Cattle team shone again at the recent Bathurst Show. Read below for further happenings this fortnight around the College.
Important information relating to the change in excursion notes, and Parent-Teacher Conferences for Years 7-11 can be found on the Deputy Principals Report page of the Newsletter.
Changes to Excursions Permission Notes
Please refer to the Deputy Principals Report page for important information regarding Excursion permission notes which will now be distributed via Compass.
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.
Enrol Now for Kindergarten 2022
Places are filling fast for Kindergarten 2022. To ensure you don't miss out on the Little TRACers Readiness Conferences, apply now by downloading the application form below.
A new subject available for selection in 2022
Psychology - International Baccalaureate
The Riverina Anglican College is excited to announce the introduction of Psychology to the suite of subjects on offer as part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in 2022.
For more information, please contact Mrs Patricia Humble at the College.
To view all of our subjects currently on offer for 2022, please follow this link: http://trac.nsw.edu.au/parents.php?id=53
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.
Browning House Day - Wednesday 19th May
Browning House day is next Wednesday 19th May.
The theme is 'Winter Sleepover' - dress in your warmest and tres comfy clothes!
Bring a gold coin for our house charity 'Wagga Women's Health Centre'.
There will be lunchtime activities and a BBQ. See you in your onesies and beanies!
Outdoor Ed Kitchen - Temporary Closure
General maintenance is being carried out in Building 1. It is anticipated that the maintenance will be completed by the end of Week 5. This disruption will result in the temporary closure of the Outdoor Ed Kitchen with no food or beverages being available during this time.
Alex Sarantakos | Head of Operations
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.
Notice for Secondary Students - sporting opportunities
Are you interested in Snow Sports? Would you like to be part of the College team?
If you are interested in being part of the College Interschools Snow Sports team, please register your interest by Tuesday 18th May on the sports noticeboard.
Country Cup Rugby League
(13's and 15's boys)
If you are interested in representing the College in the 13's boys or 15's boy's Rugby League Country Cup on Thursday 3rd June, please register your interest before Tuesday 18th May on the sports noticeboard in the gym.
Kym Kjaer | Head of Representative Sport
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.
Year 9 Outdoor Education (OED)
Referred by former students as the most mentally challenging and rewarding of the OED Outdoor Experiential Learning Programs, the Year 9 class was far from disappointed in their efforts and achievements. The class of 26 departed the College on Tuesday 27th April to spend three nights in Bungonia Conservation Area, a short drive from Goulburn.
The trip was the first of a series of overnight programs designed to further set the foundations of the elective subject.
During the program, College Outdoor Ed staff facilitated activities such as caving, field work/navigation, abseiling and camp catering. All activities are designed to further develop the students in areas of leadership, problem solving, perseverance, determination and learning how to take the time to reflect upon their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences and to effectively communicate these. Not having been this far out of their comfort zone before the students are to be commended in their efforts, positivity, courage, and encouragement they displayed towards one another.
More footage from the trip can be viewed at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/trac_outdoors/albums
Alex Sarantakos | Outdoor Education
Visual Arts Excursion to National Gallery of Australia Canberra
'Botticelli to Van Gogh’
Visual Arts students in Years 9, 10, 11 & 12 had a fantastic day last Thursday 6th May, visiting the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in Canberra to view the exhibition ‘Botticelli to Van Gogh’.
Y12 HSC Students visited the NGA to investigate the role, function, and purpose of galleries. Botticelli to Van Gogh gave students the opportunity to not only enjoy the works on the walls but to consider curation and how this impacts the audience experience. In addition to this, senior students considered the cultural responsibility of developing a relevant permanent collection against the celebrity status of the blockbuster exhibition.
Students really enjoyed the one hour ‘hands on’ practical workshop, learning some valuable new tips & skills. They commenced a ‘Still Life’ collage artwork which they will complete here at school in one of their practical lessons.
Seniors also had the opportunity in viewing other areas of the Gallery, which will inform their art practice moving forward.
It was a great exhibition and the students gained some invaluable knowledge from the expert guide commentary.
We had lovely feedback from the Gallery staff & also from the eating venues, on how well the students behaved & on their excellent manners.
Lindie Mannion, Kate Lenehan, Nanette Medau & Ross Kennedy | Visual Arts Department
Royal Bathurst Show
The College Cattle Team has enjoyed another successful show! On April 29 they loaded up a truck borrowed from Hayden and Jasmine Green with 9 stud Limousin heifers from Summit Livestock and headed to the Royal Bathurst Show. As usual, the team worked tirelessly into the night and were up at 5am to prepare the cattle for the show over Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning.
Results:
Ella - 1st place overall in Cattle Junior Judging
Savannah - 1st place in Paraders heat
Indigo - 1st place in Paraders heat
Charlotte - 2nd place in Paraders heat
Ella - 3rd place in Paraders heat
Angus led a Summit heifer that won 1st place in the under 12 months category.
Evie, Georgia, Angus and Juliette all received encouragement ribbons in their Paraders heats.
The students made the most of their first royal show experience with Angus and Charlotte participating in the Royal Grand Parade in the main arena. Students dressed themselves and their cattle up to compete in a Cattle Fancy Dress competition. They were also selected to compete in motorised Eskie races. They enjoyed a rare chance to attend the sideshows and rides over two nights.
Mr Dawson is proud and amazed at how often people comment on how the team works so well together and how professional they conduct themselves in all they do.
Well done everyone!
The Cattle Team were recognised for their achievements at the Royal Bathurst Show at our Principal's Assembly last week. The Sheep Team also had their achievements from previous shows acknowledged.
Our next cattle show will be on 8th - 10th July at the Limousin Youth Camp in Canberra.
The show focus has now shifted to the Sheep Team who are currently preparing for the Holbrook Sheep and Wool Fair on 26th and 27th May.
Mock Trial Victory
Last week, the Mock Trial team competed against St Paul’s College, Walla Walla, in a virtual trial. We had a decisive victory of 231 - 217.
The team consisted of:
Barrister 1 - Chelsea Burgess Hannon
Barrister 2 - Claire Heazlewood
Solicitor - Sarah Siddiqui
Witness 1 - Trang Nguyen
Witness 2 - Simran Banga
Magistrates Clerk - Dionisa Gendy
They were supported and prepped by:
- Diya Bhengra
- Shreekha Goudicharla
- Paige Jessop
- Boston McLeod
- Kristy Sauw
- Charlotte Wickson
- Tayarni Woods
- Karina Zhang
- Kadijiana Zurbo
Our next round is coming up in Week 6, when we compete against Murrumbidgee Regional High School.
da Vinci Decathlon
Year 7, 9 and 10 students recently participated in the Riverina da Vinci Decathlon. This is an annual academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of students. Unfortunately, the event could not be held in 2020. Adjustments were made for the event to run online this year, adding an extra component of complexity to the challenges.
Our Year 7 and Year 9 students progressed to the State level and competed last week.
Each team thrived with the challenges of the 10 tasks, each requiring creative problem solving across disciplines such as engineering, maths, code-breaking, art and poetry. We are so proud of their positive attitudes, teamwork, creativity and enthusiasm.
WORDMASTERS: Debate Camp and HICES Debate Competition
This has been one of the most exciting weeks for our debaters so far. On Wednesday the 28th of April, Our Senior Team A (Karin Rezkalla, Dionisa Gendy and Trang Nguyen) versed Team B from Oxley College (Bowral), presenting a most convincing and winning argument in the affirmative to the statement: That every federal election should also contain at least one plebiscite. The adjudicator was impressed with the confident and sassy argument presented by our speakers.
On Monday the 3rd of May, the same argument was battled between our two Open teams: Team A (Sarah Siddiqui, Amelia Matthews, Ostara Loesch and Tayarni Woods) and Team B (Chelsea Burgess-Hannon, Paige Jessop and Isabel Brown). Team B came out victorious with their second win for the season.
On Thursday the 29th of April, 19 of our Wordmaster debaters from Year 6 through to Year 11, travelled to Wollongong for our very first Debate Camp and to compete face to face in two official debates against Oxley College. Our Senior Team B (Caitlin Cumberlege, Karina Zhang, Diya Bhengra and Vinudi Rathnayaka) were defeated in their affirmative argument: Should the Federal government override State imposed border security. While our Middle Team B (Quinntesaa Sankar, Ariane Mota, Hansa Rathnayake and Kate Miller) won their debate, successfully confirming the affirmative stance: that Fifteen year olds have more right to vote than 70 year olds.
On the journey to Shellharbour, our debaters chatted about their learning from the Debating Workshop held in the previous week, and about their experiences with debating so far. They considered ways they could challenge themselves and consolidated their understanding of model debates which requires debater to create water tight hypothetical worlds and scenarios to support their stance when responding to debate statements containing the word “should”.
On Thursday evening, our Senior Mentor, Chelsea Burgess-Hannon, organised and initiated our ‘Debate on the Beach’ and our Junior and Middle debaters, who did not compete, formed two teams and began their preparation in response to the statement: that travel should be a compulsory element of the school curriculum. Here we saw The Pink Fluffy Unicorns (Sofia Chacon, Mackenzie Lister, Rachel Ranby and Daisy Charters) verse The Sassy Red Unicorns (Finn Hillam, Jude Petts, Carter Zhang and Jackson Payne). The Senior debaters were the adjudicators and provided almost 10 minutes of highly valuable and detailed feedback for our junior students, developing their own skills as leaders in debate tuition in the process. Brooke Graham gained her first experience as debate Chairperson and Anneliese Klimpsch was our expert time-keeper. In this instance, The Sassy Red Unicorns defeated The Pink Fluffy Unicorns by discovering flaws in the model presented by the affirmative team. A valuable learning experience for all.
On Monday the 3rd of May, our Middle Team A (Carter Zhang, Brooke Graham, Anneliese Klimpsch and Jackson Payne) lost their debate against The Illawarra Grammar School in their attempt to argue the affirmative: that Fifteen year olds have more right to vote than 70 year olds.
Overall, we have had a wonderful week of valuable and fun learning experiences. All speakers are to be congratulated for their prowess as public speakers and critical thinkers, their teamwork, and their collegiality and cohesiveness as Wordmasters while on the camp.
Special thanks must go to Mr Begg, Mrs Heffer, Mr Studdert and Mr Guise for their assistance in mentoring and/or chaperoning our teams.
Round 2 is now complete – next week we begin Round 3 of the 2021 HICES Debating Competition.
Corina Hawke | Head of English and HICES Debating Co-ordinator
Orienteering Championships Report
On Wednesday 6 May 2021, a group of 14 students from across the senior school participated in the annual Orienteering Championships at the Botanic Gardens, hosted by the Waggaroos Orienteering Club, competing against schools from throughout the Riverina.
The day started off at 9:15am with an introduction from the Waggaroos Orienteers and then splitting off into separate groups. Students were taught how to read their maps and what to do when they approached each control. Accompanied by a specialised map and an SI stick, students were required to navigate themselves through Willans Hill, while finding and scanning different controls, in a specific order, to complete the course as fast as they can.
The participating students were required to use their geography and fitness skills, to navigate and locate thirteen different controls in an individual race and also a team relay race. The individual races were divided up into the age groups, 10-11,12-13,14-15, and 16+, boys and girls. While the team relay race was completed in teams of three, with mixed-gender, mixed age and mixed school teams being accepted. Each age group and gender were given different courses to be completed.
Four students were placed in the top three for their individual race times in their age categories, and with four College teams competing in the relay race, three teams had made the top five and the fourth team making the top ten.
Our students are thankful for the day spent using geography skills and with the majority of students being from Year 11, the experience came out to be a very positive one. Among the Year 11 students, it was agreed that it’s an adventure that will surely happen again next year!
Thank you to the Waggaroos Orienteering team, the NSW Orienteering team and the helpers that came from Canberra and Sydney to make the day a fun and challenging day. Thank you to Mrs Voss for accompanying the students to the Botanic Gardens for this event.
Written by Georgia Bertoldi | Year 11 student
Year 12 Science students collaboration with CSU
Image and article courtesy of The Daily Advertiser
Year 12 students at The Riverina Anglican College have collaborated with CSU for their HSC science projects.
Read more here:
https://www.dailyadvertiser.com.au/…/trac-students-uni-re…/…
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
Junior School News
Athletic Carnival
The inaugural Junior School Athletics Carnival was held on Tuesday 4th May. It was so wonderful to see the students enthusiastically participating. It was also fantastic to see so many parents and carers supporting their children throughout the day.
K-2 students participated in their 70m race followed by novelty events while the older students took to the Field for High Jump, Shot Put, Long Jump and Discus as well as their Track events.
Year 2 visit with the Year 9 Agricultural Technology class
Head of Agriculture - Mr Dawson and Year 9 Agricultural Technology had a visit from Ms McAleer's Year 2 class and Mr King's Year 5 class recently, as they learned all about keeping chickens. Mr Dawson discussed with the students the Five Freedoms of animal welfare.
These include:
1. Freedom from hunger and thirst: by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour.
2. Freedom from discomfort: by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.
3. Freedom from pain, injury or disease: by prevention through rapid diagnosis and treatment.
4. Freedom to express normal behaviour: by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal’s own kind.
5. Freedom from fear and distress: by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.https://kb.rspca.org.au/…/what-are-the-five-freedoms-of-an…/
Students were asked to name the ways Mr Dawson and the College can protect the chickens and their welfare. Year 9 students were working with the Junior School students to understand these rules and how they relate to Agriculture at the College.
Mothers Day Morning Tea
Last Friday, the Junior School hosted a special Mothers Day morning tea for families of the Junior school students to celebrate all the supportive women in our childrens' lives.
Year 5/6 Girls League Tag Gala Day
Last Wednesday, Year 5 and 6 girls participated in the Girls League Tag Gala Day at Paramore Park, Wagga. Thank you to Year 11 student Lillian for coaching the girls. Ms Addison was very proud of their participation throughout the day and the girls had a great time.
Congratulations to Hattie, Daisy and Olivia for receiving 'Player of the Day' awards.
Year 3 and 4 Rugby Union Gala Day
Our Year 3 and Year 4 boys participated in a Rugby Union Gala Day recently. After training sessions with Mr Richardson, they were well prepared.
Congratulations to the boys for playing well - 1 win and 1 draw out of the 4 games, it seems that they also had a lot of fun!
Little TRAC-ers Playgroup
We recently introduced the first-ever session of our Little TRACers Playgroup.
Playgroup is held in the Junior School playground after the conclusion of the Assembly at 9.30am. It is a parent-supervised event aimed at families with children aged 5 years and under.
New and existing families are welcome to attend and enjoy getting to know each other whilst their children socialise.
If you would like further details regarding the breakfast or playgroup, please contact Junior School Reception or email: jodie.noble@trac.nsw.edu.au
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.