Principal's Message
In times of uncertainty, having some sense of control over our own thoughts and actions is important. Having goals can also help to motivate and inspire us.
Our school community actions to support those recovering from the turmoil of floods enabled students to take positive action. Our school goal was far surpassed and further enhanced by ADRA matching every dollar we raised with a further $4. This meant that 22 families in the Tweed Valley area affected by floods received $500 due our community effort. $2,200 was also raised to assist in Ukraine.
This is a very positive outcome demonstrating the desire for our community to take action and help others. I believe that our school helps to transform student’s lives in partnership with parents through initiatives such as this that put values into action.
When you think about the word ‘transformation’ in any context, it can seem like a dauntingly huge and unattainable goal. Transform comes from two Latin words, ‘trans’ meaning to move across or beyond and ‘formare’, to form, therefore, transformation is a generally positive change process towards a new state.
Last week our Secondary students had the opportunity to be involved in a spiritual transformation with the Week of Worship. A big thanks to the Chaplains, staff and students who led out in the worship and activities throughout the week, including the Friday night WIRED program and Sabbath at Fox Valley Community Church.
May you find joy amongst hardship, and may we all be transformed in our journey as a learning community so that we can make a positive difference in our own families, school and society.
Mrs Julia Heise - Principal
Chaplains' News
Wired and Week of Worship
Last week our Secondary Week of Worship (WOW22) was held with a daily presentation, time of worship and activity. The students got to experience our theme RISK by going on The Pinnacle (high ropes, jump, climbing wall and abseiling provided by Greater Sydney Adventist Church Spiritual Care Director Pr Richard Reid, WAS Chaplaincy and North NSW Youth Department of the Adventist Church, Dana Howard), Laser Tag (sponsored by Home and School), Pancakes for Breakfast, Staff vs Student games, and finally WIRED on Friday night. This was our first WIRED Secondary School gathering for 2022 (and the first in over 2 years due to covid)! The students experienced games, food, music and fun and finally a message from our WOW presenter Pr Sean! What a great week and a fantastic way to end it - there were many risks but some great rewards and that included many students choosing to take a RISK with Jesus as their forever friend!
MOTION - Secondary School Worship Night - TONIGHT!
You are invited to join the youth at Hills Adventist College for a fun evening of activities, music and food (free of charge).
Where: Hills Adventist College (Kellyville Campus) - 4 Gum Nut Close, North Kellyville
Time: 6pm - 9.00pm
Beating Technology Addiction - Parent Evening - 4th April 2022
Parents are invited to attend our Parent Evening on "Beating Technology Addiction" commencing at 7pm on 4th April, presented by Chuck Hagel from Life Ready Kids international. Chuck is travelling Australia and sharing support and resources for Parents. WAS Home and School, Wahroonga Adventist Church and WAS Chaplaincy are teaming up to sponsor and support this special evening to be held at Wahroonga Adventist Church. Further details to follow shortly.
Whole School News
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Calendar of Upcoming School Events
You can access the list of upcoming School events via the link below. The School Calendar is also available under the Parent Information tab on the School website.
Term Dates for 2022
Please click on the link below to view the school term dates and public holiday information for 2022.
Primary School News
SRC Primary School Leaders
I am pleased to announce the following students have been elected into SRC Primary leadership positions for 2022. Elected students for each class were announced on Monday during our Week 7 Primary Assembly.
Prep & Kindergarten Parent Morning Tea
It was lovely to host our Prep and Kindergarten Parent Morning Tea last week. Our students were so excited to be able to show their parents their learning spaces and work that they have completed. This was also a great opportunity for our parents to connect. Our Primary Captains and Prefects did an amazing job hosting the morning tea for our parents. Thank you to all the parents who were able to come and join us for our morning tea.
Maths Olympiad - Years 5&6
During this past week, several of our high achievers in Mathematics had their mathematical skills and knowledge challenged as they commenced their first Junior Division Maths Olympiad competition session. The Junior competition is unique in that it focuses on the students’ ability to solve mathematical problems in a creative manner – it is designed to stimulate and challenge students, teach major problem solving strategies and strengthen students mathematical intuition prior to starting high school.
School Uniform
School uniforms give students a sense of belonging and enhance pride in their school. Wearing a uniform shows unity and identity. Thank you for partnering with us to ensure that your child is wearing the current uniform each day. Please contact the Uniform Shop if you require additional items for you child/ren.
Mrs Anne-Marie Deppeler - Head of Primary School
Primary School Sport
Sporting Achievements
CIS Football Trial -Congratulations to Ewan K and Zac A who represented WAS at the recent ASISSA football trials on 10th March. They both did an amazing job and found the experience to be very worthwhile. Well done boys!!!
ASISSA Swim Carnival - Congratulations to ALL of our amazing swimmers who represented WAS at the ASISSA Swim Carnival on 18th March. Special mention to the following children who managed to progress to the next level - CIS!!!
- Jude S - Individual Age Champion for ASISSA – well done Jude!!!!!
- Logan L
- Levi L
- Shivon C
- Harry A
- Lukas W
Jump Rope for Heart
Next term a number of our children will be involved in a 5 week Jump Rope for Heart programme during PE lessons which aims to improve children’s fitness and of course skipping skills, whilst raising money and awareness for the heart foundation.
More correspondence will be sent home in the coming weeks. 😊
At Wahroonga, we are very proud of our students’ achievements across the sporting fields. So, we encourage you to share any sporting achievements that your child accomplishes with us.
Upcoming Dates
- CIS Touch Football Boys & Girls - Tuesday 29th March 2022
- CIS Boys Football - Thursday 31st March 2022
- ASISSA Netball Gala Day - Friday 1st April 2022
Please email Mrs Gilbert if you would like your child to represent the school at ASISSA or CIS level. Please note - students must be playing their sport at a high rep level to be considered. chloe.gilbert@wahroonga.adventist.edu.au
Mrs Chloe Gilbert - Primary Sports Coordinator
Secondary School News
Maths Olympiad - Years 7 & 8
Congratulations to the Year 7 & 8 students selected for the 2022 Maths Olympiad. To be chosen, students needed to demonstrate excellent maths skills, working above the expected level for their age.
The Olympiad comprises five separate contests roughly six weeks apart, starting in late March every year. On Thursday, students competed in the first of these, which proved to be exciting and challenging!
Maths Olympiad is an individual and team international maths competition. It has been run by the Australasian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiads organisation (APSMO Inc.) since 1987 and involves more than 28,230 students. Each year thousands of schools participate in the competition from around Australia, New Zealand, and internationally.
Mr Michael St Mart - Head of Secondary School
Year 9 Textiles
Year 9 Textiles students have spent this term designing and producing a textile item that would bring joy and comfort to an animal living in a care facility. For the conclusion of the Creature Comfort project themed, Purr-fect Op-paw-tunity, the class had the pleasure of hosting Shadow, thanks to Mrs White. Shadow is a trained therapy dog and he charmed the girls. Some of the girls intimated that this day was one of their best in school this term!
Mrs Mildred Zuze - Head of Technologies
Year 8 Film & Animation
In Film and Animation this term, the students have been investigating a range of animation types, including stop-motion, traditional cell animation and Claymation. The students have been working together on a term-based stop-motion animation project, focusing on building skills in collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking. This week, the students were working together to create characters, design sets and take images for their animations. The students are having a great time creating their animations and are looking forward to sitting down together with some popcorn at the end of the term and watching all of their animations on our projector screen!
Mrs Emmeline Trappitt - Visual Arts & Digital Media Teacher
Year 10 Science - Dissections
For the first 6 weeks of this term, Year 10 were studying genes and how they are passed on to the next generation. As part of this unit, students learnt about the process of meiosis, and how this plays a part in spermatogenesis and oogenesis. In animals this process occurs in the gonads, testes in males and ovaries in females. On Wednesday both Year 10 classes had the opportunity to participate in a dissection of a testis and an ovary. Students were able to observe the internal structures of the reproductive organs and link this with the theory they had previously learnt. Many students were surprised by the small size of the ovary compared with the testes, being particularly amazed that it holds all the egg cells a female will need for their whole life.
Mr Jayce Hokin & Mrs Madeline Hokin - Secondary Teachers
Year 8 Geography Excursion
Year 8A and 8S visited Norah Head beach on Wednesday to complete fieldwork for Geography. They have been learning about landscapes and landforms this term; today was an opportunity to complete a case study on coastal landscapes. They measured longshore drift of the ocean, angles and elevation of the sand dunes, and wrote about the erosion of the beach. 8W will be completing their geography excursion to the beach next semester.
Mrs Karina Jones - Secondary Teacher
Year 11 & 12 Studies of Religion Excursion
Year 11 and 12 Studies of Religion classes went on an excursion to the North Shore Synagogue as part of their Judaism study this week. They met with Rabbi Paul Lewin who discussed with them the origins of Judaism, the importance of the sacred texts to tradition and ethics, and learned all about the deep meaning and importance behind the rituals of Jewish Marriage.
Mrs Madeline Hoken - Secondary Teacher
Year 8 Visual Arts
In Year 8 Visual Arts this term students have been learning about portraiture and the Archibald Prize. The students have been practising using correct proportions of the face and pencil to shade their drawings. The students have been working towards completing their Major Work for the end of this term, which is an Archibald portrait of a teacher of their choosing. This week, the students finished off their drawing portraits, and they are looking fantastic! We’re looking forward to seeing their final painted Archibald portraits as they take shape over the next few weeks.
Miss McCartney & Mrs Trappitt - Visual Arts Teachers
Years 10 & 11 Art Excursion
Years 10 and 11 attended an excursion to ARTExpress at the Art Gallery of NSW last week. Everyone had a fun time and have been inspired for their first assessment task in both Visual Arts and Photography!
Secondary School Sport
CSSA Zone Swimming Carnival
On Wednesday 16 March, 36 Secondary Students represented Wahroonga at the CSSA Zone Swimming Carnival. All participants were competitive and with many of these students achieving great results. Special mentions must go to Salani S (Year 8), Felicity S (Year 12) and Charli B (Year 12) who achieved Age Champions.
CSSA Zone Touch Football Gala Day
On Friday 18 March, U15 Girls, U15 Boys and Open Boys touch football teams participated in the CSSA Zone Touch Football Gala Day. All three teams played with plenty of energy and competed against the schools of Oxford Falls Grammar, Covenant Christian, Northern Beaches Christian and Pacific Hills Christian which pushed Wahroonga’s teams. There were good passes, fast plays and fantastic tries from our school teams with the Open Boys team achieving a significant victory against Covenant Christian 5-2. Well done!
Honourable Mentions
CIS NSW Golf - William M (Year 12) attended the CIS Secondary Golf Championships on Monday 21 March. He competed at an exceptional level and won the championship! This is an astonishing achievement and he has now been selected in the CIS team to compete in the NSW All School Golf Championships in Yamba in June. Congratulations Will!
Upcoming Sporting Events
CSSA State Swimming
- When: Tuesday 29th March 2022 (Week 9)
- Venue: Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre
Mr Ignatius Ah-You - Secondary Sports Coordinator
Library News
Book Fair 2022
Our ‘Dive into Reading’ Book Fair will run from next Wednesday, 30th March and will continue until Monday, 4th April (8am – 4pm & Thursday until 6pm) in the School Library. A giant range of children’s books, novelty items and posters from Scholastic Book Company will be available for purchase. Choose books for your personal use, for gifts, or select books from your child’s class wish list and donate them to their classroom.
** Please note: Our dress up day this year is going to be on 26th August during our Term 3 Book Week celebrations.
** There will be no book exchange in the Library during the Book Fair so please keep your books at home and return them the following week. Tuesday classes will be rescheduled so that they can also attend the Book Fair.
** If you are able to volunteer some time to help set up and run our Book Fair, please contact Mrs Savage at library@wahroonga.adventist.edu.au – set up will be on Tuesday, 29th March and helpers will also be needed during the Book Fair.
Premier's Reading Challenge
The Premier’s Reading Challenge website is now up and running and we already have 22 students who have completed the challenge for this year. The Premier’s Reading Challenge is achievable for all students, so please encourage your children to give it a go! Congratulations to Emily S (1C), Harry A (2H), Elsa K (2R), Sean P (3L), Jasmine L (4R), Laura O (4R), Jemima S (5C), Elijah V (5C) and Lucy M (6K) who have all completed the Premier’s Reading Challenge. Keep up the great reading!
If you need your child’s username and password, please contact Mrs Savage at library@wahroonga.adventist.edu.au
Last Week of Borrowing for Prep
This week is the last week of borrowing for the term for our Prep students. Please keep all library books at home during our Book Fair and then return them in Week 10 so the Prep boxes can be changed over during the term break. Borrowing for all other classes will continue over the holidays.
Holiday Reading
Please email Mrs Savage if you would like your child to collect extra books for holiday reading (maximum of 10 books per student).
Mrs Leonie Savage - Librarian
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Co-Curricular Program
Coming in Term 2... Bricks 4 Kidz!!
We are very excited to announce the upcoming Bricks 4 Kidz after school program which is coming to Wahroonga for Term 2!! Open to students from Years Prep to 3, Bricks 4 Kidz is an international Educational Play program with over 40 locations across Australia.
At their after school workshops, children will be constructing amazing technical models with motors and batteries to make their creations come to life! They will be introduced to all the STEM based concepts of engineering, science, architecture and mechanics using LEGO®. Lessons integrated and discussed using themes such as Space, Laws of Motion, Inventions, Robotics and more to provide variety and ensure a high level of interest and enthusiasm amongst our students! LEGO is a brilliant way of getting kids to think about STEM, and because it is fun, kids are more likely to retain the concepts!
Code Camp - April School Holidays
We are excited to announce over the April school holidays Code Camp will be running camps for students aged between 5 and 13. For more information or to book please click here.
Ballet - Prep/Kindy Students
Home and School
Parents
Please join us for the special Easter Chapel Service on the 1st of April at Wahroonga Adventist Church. Home and School will be providing some morning tea on the lawn outside the church for parents to meet and fellowship. We ask that you wear a mask and please do not attend if showing any possible symptoms of Covid.
Save The Date!!
Mrs Michelle Roberts - Home and School President
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Meals With Love
The Meals with Love Team have been busy restocking the freezer with meals this term. We have a number of families presently in isolation and we'd be more than happy to support them with a home cooked meal. Please email and we'll arrange for a meal to be delivered. All meals this term will continue to be prepared by the Canteen and the MWL team. However, if you would like to contribute, we would gratefully accept any dry ingredients such as pasta or microwave rice to accompany our dishes.
If you have received a MWL meal, please return the blue cooler bag to the Canteen.
Many thanks for your support.
mealswithlove@wahroonga.adventist.edu.au
Canteen
The Canteen has revised the Menu for the remainder of Term 1, please click HERE for more information, or to order please log into flexischools.com.au.
If you have any questions please feel free to email canteen@wahroonga.adventist.edu.au
Bits and Pieces
Clothing Donations
Looking for somewhere to donate your old clothing?
Wahroonga Adventist Church (the big building next to our school) has 2 new collection bins out the front. All donations to the bin will go directly to those in need.