From the Principal

Perseverance and potential

It has been an outstanding start to the year with such a positive and enthusiastic atmosphere pervading the School. Our Student Leaders are demonstrating excellent initiative, a great deal of industry is evident in our classrooms, and there have been many outstanding achievements in our broad co-curricular program. I have been delighted to witness the energy, initiative and enthusiasm of many students who are engaging in a vast array of valuable Round Square activities.

At our recent School Assembly we acknowledged the excellent academic achievement and effort of many of our student body. It was fabulous to congratulate so many for their dedication, perseverance and academic success.

As we all appreciate, teaching and learning is central to the operation of a school so that we can provide our students with the best start in life. At Kinross Wolaroi School we provide a broad and extensive educational experience that caters for a diverse range of interests so that all our students can discover subjects and activities that excite them and that well equip them with the skills they need to navigate the future before them.

However, success in whatever we do in life requires for more than skills alone. If we do not possess the character or tenacity to pursue our goals, little of real worth will be achieved.

Perseverance and effort are the key to success. In all that we do be it in the classroom engaging in learning, in music, on the sports field or in practical works – one must be prepared to demonstrate grit and resilience if you wish to achieve your potential. Most important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept trying when there seemed no hope at all. The pioneering advances made in medicine, science and engineering provide testament to this.

The prolific inventor, Thomas Edison provides us a clear example. He was considered by his teachers to be a failure at school and was told he was too slow to learn. But he never gave up, and continued to work hard, experimenting with different ideas and inventions. He made over 10,000 attempts to invent the lightbulb and when he finally succeeded he was asked by a reporter “how does it feel to have failed so many times?” His response was “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that wont work”.

The invention of the light bulb had an enormous impact upon society and people’s lives. No longer were we dependent on candles or oil lamps to light our homes and workplaces.

Edison’s invention is an excellent illustration of the value of hard work, determination and of understanding that learning and achievement takes time.

Edison’s relentlessness and willingness to learn from his mistakes helped him achieve great success. He patented over 1,000 inventions in his lifetime, many of which continue to have a profound impact on the world today. His legacy serves as a testament to the power of hard work, perseverance, and the belief that failure is an opportunity to learn and improve.

In life as we strive to fulfil our potential and become the best versions of ourselves, there will be times that we experience fear, uncertainty, discomfort and stress – each of these emotions are normal, just ask any sportsperson, musical, performer or academic.

There will be times as we strive to achieve our goals or learn new tasks and skills, that we will fail, we all do. But it is through failure we learn to do things better and differently. Don’t be afraid to fail or do all that you can to avoid it, for it is learning from our setbacks that provides the key to future success.

It is my hope that our students will have the courage to work hard and persevere: to be brave enough to risk failure and to have the character and resilience to bounce back, reassess and then achieve their designated goal.

I encourage everyone to display these characteristics in all that they do, be it in your academic studies, on the sports field, the creative arts or in your personal life.

At our Academic Assembly we were also delighted to celebrate two outstanding achievements of our talented Year 12 students, Joe Denman and Eleanor Armstrong.

Firstly, Joe Denman entered a written piece in the Central West ABC Heywire Competition, a competition that celebrates stories of life across rural and regional Australia. He won! The judges loved his story, a profound reflection on mental health, and he subsequently had the opportunity to go into the recording studio and record his story. It was played over the ABC nationally. As part of his prize, Joe will be spending five days at Parliament House in Canberra at the Regional Youth Summit. Over that time, he will be meeting with appropriate Ministers and maybe even the Prime Minister, to voice issues concerning regional youth. We are not only extremely proud of his achievement but super proud that he will be representing Kinross Wolaroi School at such a prestigious event. We wish Joe the very best of luck in Canberra.

Secondly, Eleanor Armstrong was the Kinross Wolaroi School candidate for the Orange Lions Youth of the Year Award. It is a long and difficult process. It consisted of two stages, a private interview with a panel of judges, where their marking criteria is based on a variety of attributes from personality, academic success, self-expression, citizenship and leadership. A week later, a public judging at a dinner attended by Lions Club members and the same panel of judges marked a prepared speech on neuro-diversity. The speech Eleanor delivered spoke about what she appreciated the most about the world (community) and whether she was a cat or dog person (she’s a dog person). She was outstanding, funny and clever and it should come as no surprise that she won the title. Congratulations Eleanor.

As a parent who has walked in many of your footsteps, confronting some of the joys and challenges that our beautiful children experience during their journey through school, I would like to share some strategies that may assist you.

We all want the best for our children and for them to become the best version of themselves. One of the most important ways we can support them is by encouraging them to make the most of the wonderful opportunities that they have at School.

May I encourage you to:

1. Set high expectations – encourage your child to aim high and set ambitious goals. Let them know that you believe in them and their ability to succeed.
    
2. Be involved – attend school events and functions and stay informed about your child’s progress. This demonstrates that you value education and are invested in their success. We have a marvelous, warm and supportive community here at school that will also provide you with a wonderfully enriching journey and many great friendships. It certainly did for me.
    
3. Support their interests – encourage your child to pursue their passions and interests, both inside and outside of the classroom. This helps them stay empowered and motivated in their studies. We have such a rich and diverse educational experience at Kinross Wolaroi that provides excellent opportunities for personal growth, challenge, and a great deal of enjoyment.
    
4. For those with children living at home – endeavour to provide a conducive learning environment. Create a quiet and comfortable space at home for your child to study and limit distractions such as TV and electronic devices during homework time.
    
5. Stay connected – keep the lines of communication open with your child’s teacher’s and ask for their advice and feedback on how you can support your child’s education.
    
6. Celebrate their successes – whether it is in the classroom or success in the co-curricular sphere, make sure to acknowledge their achievements and let them know how proud you are of them.
    
7. And finally, encourage their resilience – teach your child the value of hard work, determination, and resilience. Help them to learn from their mistakes and to see setbacks as opportunities for growth and learning.

Every child is unique possessing their own strengths and each will confront their own challenges. By working together with the school and our staff, you can help your child to become the best they can be and achieve their full potential.

Congratulations 

Rowing – NSW Rowing Championships 

Rowing

On the weekend Kinross Wolaroi rowing travelled to the International Regatta Centre in Penrith for the 2023 NSW State Championships. 

Our 66-strong team competed in a variety of events across all underage and school categories. The overall entry numbers were up 35% from the previous year as the sport recovers from COVID. The competition was fierce, with many interstate crews in attendance, making this year's State Championships effectively a national level regatta.

The Kinross Wolaroi squad performed well across both the girls’ and boys’ programs; with the boys bringing home 1 bronze, 3 silvers and 1 gold medal and the girls bringing home 5 silvers and 1 gold medal. The school totalling 11 medals.

The school finished 10th on the medal table behind 9 clubs from around the country, meaning that Kinross finished as the top placed school overall, and top girls’ and boys’ school overall. A remarkable achievement.

Congratulations to the entire Kinross Wolaroi School rowing squad for their outstanding efforts on the weekend.

Triathlon

Our students competed against the best in the Central West recently in the Central West Interclub Series event. Kinross Wolaroi students were very successful, with: 1st place Zoe Wood, 2nd place Jess Thompson, 3rd place Imogen Christmas in the Women’s Super-Sprint. In the Men’s Super-Sprint, Ollie Krause placed 2nd. Congratulations!

Good luck to our Kinross Wolaroi School Triathlon team at the upcoming All Schools Triathlon event at the Sydney International Regatta Centre in Penrith this week.

Academic Awards

AWARDS FOR YEARS 7 and 8 in Semester 2 2022

AWARDS FOR YEARS 9, 10 and 11 in Semester 2, 2022