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Edition Sixteen 2018
19 October 2018
I would like to extend a warm welcome back to all members of our school community. I hope you enjoyed your time together over the recent school holidays and have had the opportunity to reconnect with each other as a family.  Term 4 is another busy term, complete with an array of school community activities that I hope you and your family are able to enjoy and contribute towards.
 

Year 12 Graduation – The end of a journey!

It is hard to believe that at the time of delivery of this newsletter our Year 12’s will have walked out of the ground floor foyer at 50 William Street for the last time.  The Graduation Breakfast, Assembly, Service and Dinner on Thursday, October 18 were a wonderful way to mark the end of our journey with our Year 12 students.  Whilst it is always difficult to say goodbye, it is also so very exciting for them.  This group have led by example and set the tone for future Year 12 groups.  Their legacy is one of respect, maturity, care and warmth. Farewell to you all - keep in touch!


 

2019 Student Guild

Whilst our Year 12’s will be sorely missed, we are excited by the Year 11 cohort taking on the mantle of leadership.  Formal leadership positions for 2019 were announced publicly this week, with a formal commissioning to occur in Term 1, 2019. Congratulations to the successful candidates – I look forward to hearing of how you plan to support and help our student body evolve over the next 12 months.


 

21st Century Learning Spaces – Level 2 design + Bean bags

The classroom furniture schemes and designs for Level 2 are well and truly under way, with an order imminent. The furnishings will hopefully be delivered before the start of the new academic year.  In the meantime, the student voice has been heard loud and clear – we want bean bags!  Therefore, 40 have been purchased to permit at least two per room.  The challenge now is to get them all filled with beans, which the Year 12’s have taken on with vigour!
 

Year 7 2019 positions just become available

Year 7 2019 has been full for a while, but due to unplanned circumstances two positions are now available.  If any families have friends or family whose child would like to join our community, please let them know these are open as they may well go quickly.  
 

Head of Lincoln

Mr McBride has capably led the House of Lincoln this year, which we thank him for.  After a time of reflection, Mr McBride has decided to place more of his focus on the Students At Educational Risk (SAER) role and has relinquished the Head of House position.  I would like to congratulate Mr Vincent Lim on being offered this position in his stead.
 

Business Manager

St George’s have recently employed a Business Manager to lead the business and administration element of the school. Over 80 applications were received, with a very strong field making the final 5 person short-list.  The panel was unanimous in our determination and have selected Mrs Sharon Caspersz as the preferred candidate.
 
Sharon has a wealth of experience in school business management.  She is a CPA who brings over 15 years of accounting and finance experience, including almost 4 years spent at Penrhos College as Director of Finance and Administration and over 7 years at St Stephens School as the Assistant Business Manager.  Sharon will start her role at St George’s AGS on Monday November 5, working alongside our Finance Officer, Mrs Lyn Lord.

 

Student celebrations

The following St George’s Anglican Grammar School students have received an Early Offer to study at Notre Dame in 2019:
  • Madeleine Buckland – Bachelor of Education (Secondary)/Bachelor of Behavioural Science
  • Winnie Zheng – Bachelor of Nursing
This year, Notre Dame received over 500 applications for the Early Offer Program. Our warm congratulations go to the successful applicants.
 
Well done to the following students who have shown perseverance, commitment and passion for their chosen sports:

 
  • Isaac Blackwell who recently achieved the Bronze Medal in the World Cup Taekwondo competition for sparring in his division, which was held in Sydney.
 
  • Maddison Curtis, who was in Melbourne again training with the Australian Ballet School over the holidays and has been selected for the WA Ballet's production of the Nutcracker.
  • Sam Johnsen who represented Western Australia for lacrosse as part of the Southern Braves team in the U15 National Championships, held in Melbourne during the second week of the school holidays. The team won and are now the National Champions in their age group, and Sam scored 5 goals during the tournament.  Sam is now in the training squad for the U19 Australian team that will play in July 2020.
  • Eliza Griffin on being selected in the 2018 Associated and Catholic Colleges (ACC) All Stars Athletics Team. Eliza achieved this in the 400m with a time of 01:00.87.
 
In conclusion, I encourage all students to hit the ground running and make the very most of this term. It is not too late to improve performance and marks for the Semester Two reports, so get to it!
 
Blessings to all.



As members of our community I ask that you advocate for our school as much as possible and let others know of the amazing place your child goes to school.
  Term 4 SCHOOL TOUR DATES
 
 Term 4 School Tour dates are as follows:
 
  • Thursday, 25 October 2018 (Week 3)
  • Thursday, 8 November 2018 (Week 5)
  • Thursday, 22 November 2018 (Week 7)

If you would like to participate in a tour, please contact the school on 9312-0800.

Should you require any further information regarding enrolling your child/ren please contact Student Admissions Officer, Christie Lee Kiff on 9312-0800.
     

Important Dates for Year 12 Students

Date Event
29 October - 16 November WACE ATAR Course Examinations
30 October - 8 November WAUFP Examinations Canning College
 

 

Year 11 Students

Please be aware of the following significant dates for all Year 11 students:
 
Date Event
12 November Year 11 Exams Commence
20 November Year 11 Exams Conclude
21 November Year 11 Students recommence classes
6 December Year 7 - 11 Presentation Evening
7 December Final Day Term 4 Year 7 - 11

University Clinical Aptitude Test for admission into Medical and Dental courses

The school has been advised of a major change in the aptitude test used as part of the selection process into medical and dental courses. From 2019 the UMAT will be replaced with the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT).

The UCAT provides an opportunity to move to a computer-based test with more flexibility in the test window and an expansion in the number of test venues available to candidates.

More information can be found at www.ucatofficial.com or students can collect a flyer from the Curriculum Coordinator.

 

2019 Student Guild

At our Chapel service on Monday 15 October, we inducted the 2019 Student Guild.  Part of that ceremony is always to thank and acknowledge the outgoing Guild. I have had the pleasure of working with the 2018 Guild this year; they are an amazing group of young people who I feel have epitomised the School values of Grace, Wisdom and Service. Thank you for your leadership, humour and support.

I have no doubt the 2019 Guild will serve our school community with the same level of energy and enthusiasm. Congratulations to those students.

 
Head Girl: Tahlia McGrath-Colgan
Head Boy: Ronan Dixon
Service Captain: Ashlyn Marriott
International Student Representative: Zixin (Zoe) Wang
Lincoln House Captain: Caitlin Miller
Gandhi House Captain: Alizeh Akhtar
Mandela House Captain: Anna Maggs
 

WA Police Incursion

On Tuesday 8 October, the WA Police Community Engagement Coordinator, Sergeant Warren Ameduri came in to speak to our Year 7 and 8 students about safety in the city.  He talked about the fact that in general, the city is a safe place at the times they are in it, but also discussed the need to remain vigilant and aware of how quickly things can change.  He gave them some great tips about avoiding situations that can place them in danger, how to handle difficult situations they cannot avoid and highlighted the importance of situational awareness in maintaining personal safety.

The students were full of questions and scenarios and, having already spent significant time in the city, were able to understand the reality of the situations that Sergeant Ameduri outlined. We look forward to increasing our engagement with the educational services offered by the WA Police, and are incredibly grateful to Sergeant Ameduri for giving up his time.



 

Parliament House

 
On Tuesday, 9 October, Mr Hardman and the 2018 Student Guild were invited to a luncheon at Parliament House by the Member for Perth, John Carey.  There, we were privileged to a wonderful meal and the opportunity to connect with an influential figure of the city.

We learned about the life of a politician and had an insight into the work that they do for our city.  We asked questions ranging from tourism to farming and had the opportunity to discuss important issues in Perth.

After lunch, we were invited to view Question Time in the Gallery. This was an opportunity for the Guild to be educated on, and understand the inner workings of Parliament, and the interactions between the different parties.  This trip was an insightful experience into West Australian politics and the different opportunities that exist for future graduates of the school.

 
Maddy Buckland


  From the ART DEPARTMENT
 
 MS CAROL WOHLNICK - HEAD OF THE ARTS
Opening on Wednesday, 31 October at 7pm, all Art Students, friends and families are very welcome to attend and celebrate another wonderful year of creativity and art making at St George’s.  Our talented Jazz Ensemble will also be playing at the event, so please come along and enjoy an evening of culture.
 
The new Meat and Wine Co adjacent to the Exhibition are offering school patrons a special deal on the night if you decide to dine after the show.  Keep your invitation and show the waiter when ordering and receive a complimentary glass of wine with any main meal purchase.  Valid on 31 October only.
 
Congratulations to Evie Kirkpatrick (Year 9) this year's winner of the ASC Digital Christmas Card Competition 2018.  Her artwork above was selected from a strong field of beautiful designs. The Principal selected unaware that she had also won last year!   Well done, Evie!  A budding young artist in the making. 






WAAPA Summer School 2018/2019
This Summer WAAPA at ECU, Mt Lawley is offering an exciting performing arts program for students from Years 1 to 12.  The Summer School includes classes in RAP, Acting, Dance, Drama, Screen Performance, Music Theatre and of course, how to perform Shakespeare.  For information about the fantastic courses on offer please visit WAAPA Summer School or contact Gabrielle Metcalf at g.metcalf@ecu.edu.au
  From the HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT
 
 MRS KATHY KANIA - HEAD OF HUMANITIES


During the last week of Term 3  the Year 8’s held a Market Place in the cafeteria. There was a wide range of products available from cake pops to photo-booths, from popcorn to pizza and pancakes – sweet treats seemed to be a clear favourite.  The stalls were open during both recess and lunch where students were able to sell their products to the rest of the school. There was a bit of market competition with similar products being sold, resulting in competitive pricing, but overall the students had a lot of fun.  We are yet to count their earnings, so hopefully there will be minimal losses, but one thing is certain, there are definitely some budding business men and women in this group!  Congratulations on the completion of your Business and Economics unit.

Ms Lauren Carrick
Teacher 



 

Recently the Year 7s had a guest speaker from AWS, Amazon Web Services, as we have just concluded our Business and Economics unit which included a research task on an entrepreneur, and a ‘Shark Tank’ presentation. AWS is the webserver behind well known businesses such as Uber, Google, Airbnb and many others.  Derek spoke about a new app that is currently being created called ‘Stuck’ which is an app that works similarly to Uber, but combining road-side assistance for people whose cars have broken down and require assistance.  He explained how businesses are created from a single idea, including the process of creating a prototype, how market research is conducted, the complications associated with doing so and finally the actual selling of the product.

Thank you, Derek Bingham!



 
  From the PHYSICAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
 
 MS JODIE SCHEELE  -  HEAD OF HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
We have begun the home run (yes, pun intended) to the end of the 2018 school year with Softball.  Students have been batting their way into the term down at Supreme Court Gardens playing some very competitive games.  It has been pleasing to observe individual students skill progression and highlights the importance of revisiting sports within our PE Program.  Students have demonstrated greater consistency with their technical skills as they have played softball in previous years.  Year 10 students have taken part in an inter-class competition at Langley Park and it was a very successful event with both girls and boys playing with skill and strategy.
 
 
After such a successful year, winning the ACC H-Division Swimming Carnival, I encourage students to think about the up and coming swimming program which takes place in Term One next year.  We will be training at 6.30am every Tuesday and Thursday morning at Mercedes Swimming Pool with Coach Courtney Spanbroek from Kingsway Swimming Club.  Courtney has been in touch to invite all students to begin swimming and to come down this term if you would like to get a head start.  Her contact is:  cspanbroek@kingswaysc.net
  VACATION SWIMMING LESSONS 2018/2019
With swimming pools and beaches a big part of the Western Australian lifestyle, ensuring your children can swim competently and safely is essential.
 
If your child is over 13 years old and loves swimming, they can train for their Bronze Medallion. This advanced program provides lifesaving skills for life.  Having a Bronze Medallion could lead to paid work as a swimming instructor.
 
VacSwim programs are held at pools and beaches all across the State.  No matter where you are planning to spend these summer holidays, your children can take part in VacSwim.
 
Enrol your children in VacSwim now at education.wa.edu.au/swimming




 
  Calendar

Please check the School calendar on the website for up-to-date event details. The calendar can be accessed here.
 
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