From the Principal - Mrs Susan Shaw

I am very proud of the effort displayed by our students in their first representative fixtures under the ACC banner. We are not taking the world by storm results-wise, but our students’ pleasant manner and sportsmanship have been commented on.

Last week our Anglicare Ambassadors attended the launch of their program for 2018. As a CBD school, we want to make our social outreach meaningful, not only for those we support, but also for our students as urban workers. Anglicare’s Street-Connect program is perfect for us. We have made a commitment to support the Street-Connect bus through funds raised on our House Charity Days.

I enjoyed last Thursday night’s presentation on SEQTA and LearningField, and hopefully the parents and guardians present feel a bit more comfortable with what both offer. I know I certainly found out some new things.

Thank you to Mrs Lazenby for organising our student Guard of Honour for the Commonwealth Games torch relay on 24 February at Elizabeth Quay. It was a credit to our School that the City of Perth requested our presence for the occasion, which also saw our Music Captain, Ronan Dixon, play one of his own compositions. We were also very proud that our own Ms Jodie Scheele was one of the runners.

Welcome back to our hard-working Finance Officer, Mrs Lyn Lord, who has been on sick leave. She says she is fighting fit but we want to ease her back gently. Please accept our apologies if any financial contact has gone unanswered – Lyn will be dealing with emails, invoices etc in order of priority. Thank you for your understanding.

At our first staff Chapel service for the year, Father Richard shared a thought with us that has really stuck with me – When you’re having a tough time, just remember that there are millions of people in the world who would love to have your worst day.

From the Curriculum Coordinator - Mrs Angela Tanham

Study Skills Handbook
Parents are often concerned about how they can help their children get into good study habits and routines. The School subscribes to a website called Study Skills Handbook. It provides many tips and ideas to help students make the most of their lessons at school and home revision.

To access the handbook, go to www.studyskillshandbook.com.au and login as a subscriber with these details:
username:   stgeorges
password:   35achieve

Punctuality and Attendance
The latest that students should be arriving to school to give themselves enough time to be in TAG at 8:30 am, organised for the first two lessons of the day, is 8:20 am. If students are arriving later than this time they may need to look at bus and train timetables to see how they might arrive to school earlier. No student should arrive after 8:30 am unless they have written parental permission.

It is important that your child attends school regularly, so they can achieve the best educational outcomes possible. If your child is going to be absent, please inform the school via email at studentreception@stgeorges.wa.edu.au before 8:30 am.

The following graphic from the NSW Education Department shows just how detrimental missed days from school can be to a students learning journey. 

From the Pastoral Coordinator - Mrs Tracey Jacobsen

We are well into the swing of the term now, and one of the things we have done is update and simplify our uniform policy. We have tried hard to get a balance between the way the school is represented through our uniform and the ability for our students to comfortably express themselves. A couple of the simple things that come up a lot is socks and dress/skirt lengths.

We are particularly seeing boys wearing no socks or “invisible” socks. We’re not going to turn a blind eye to this one. We will be keeping a stock of socks at the Level 1 reception, and students who are not wearing the correct socks will be expected to purchase new ones there and then.

Equally, with some of our girls having grown significantly over the summer break, some hems are well above the top of the knee cap. We encourage all parents to double check their girl’s hem lengths and take steps to lengthen hems to an appropriate level.
 
The simplified uniform policy will be made easily available to students and families soon. Our main aim is to work with our community on this issue, but as Mrs Shaw likes to say, “your uniform is not a fashion statement”.

From the Sports Coordinator - Ms Jodie Scheele
It certainly was fantastic to have so many parents and guardians attend this year’s Inter-House Swimming Carnival at the UWA Aquatics Centre. You can view some of the highlights in the video below. The students’ level of participation, enthusiasm and their willingness to 'have-a-go' is truly one of the greatest assets of the St George’s student body.

The Inter-House Swimming Carnival shield was won by Mandela, who were well represented in the pool. The event included our unique SyncSwim performance which encapsulates the camaraderie of House spirit. The performances were remarkable and so entertaining. Well done to House Captains and Heads of House who worked tirelessly to achieve successful routines. Lincoln’s performance was voted to be the best on the day and they were awarded the SyncSwim Trophy for 2018.

We had some high-quality swimming races with swimmers performing with excellent technique and power. This year saw many students attending the Tuesday and Thursday 6:30 am training sessions at Mercedes College swimming pool. The following students earned outstanding individual swimming performances:

Division	Winner	Runner-up
U/13 Girls	Milla Howard	Lauren Martin
U/13 Boys	Alexander Brits	Austin Aggiss
U/14 Girls	Ali Griffin	Chelsea Flavel
U/14 Boys	Hamish Madden	Jeremy Webb
U/15 Girls	Chantelle Antonelli	Ella George
U/15 Boys	Elijah Sparrow	Sebastian Seidl and Jack Joyner
Open Girls	Lola McQueen-Laval	Riley Watson
Open Boys	William Loekito	Oliver Glasson

Sportsmanship Awards went to the following students:
Parker Samuelson (Junior)
Max Saseski (Intermediate)
Isabella Swanson (Senior)

The following students will represent the School at the ACC Swimming Carnival on Monday 12 March at the HBF Stadium:
Under 13 Girls 

Milla Howard

Tara Sergeant

Bonnie Baugh

Lauren Martin

Bella Cunnington Niamh Bingham

Under 13 Boys

Zenas Solibun

Harrison Flower

Austin Aggiss

Alex Britts Tristen Bow Koby Pascall

Under 14 Girls 

Maddy Taber

Ali Griffin

Chelsea Flavel Olivia Flavel

Ella Tiley

 
Under 14 Boys

Hamish Madden

Harry Maude

Jem Webb

Tamru Short

Harrison Ball

Under 15 Girls 

Chantelle Antonelli

Olivia Lennon

Jessica Klimek

Jordan Higginson

Ella George

 
Under 15 Boys

Elijah Sparrow

Jack Joyner

Seb Seidl

James Grey

Daniel Greenaway

Open Girls 

Riley Watson

Eliza Griffin

Petra Tan

Sofia Pascall

Halla Harding

Genna Price Open Boys  William Loekito Oliver Glasson Jack Blatchford Lachlan Spencer-Starkie

We wish these students the very best of luck.

The NWAS teams have been working hard each week and students are commended on their effort and dedication to the after-school fixtures. We have two fixtures left, against Carmel and Mercy College. With continued involvement and experience, teams will develop their skills and cohesion to increase their competitiveness. Thank you to all students and supervising staff who have actively involved themselves in the program.

Introducing the inaugural St George's TAG Mentors.

The centre of our Pastoral Program for 2018 is a new TAG Mentoring Program. We have sought TAG Mentors from Year 10 to 12 and announced these today. The mentors will work closely with their TAG teachers and Mr Hardman and will also be supported by their Head of House and the Pastoral Coordinator. The role will formally begin at the start of Term 2.

The TAG Mentors will work with the TAG and TAG teacher to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses within the TAG and help deliver sessions focused on personal development, social/emotional development or teamwork.This aspect of the program is predicated on the knowledge that students are often more likely to speak to a trusted peer than to an adult, and that with some of the important lessons, such as bullying, students will more openly accept information from a peer than an adult.

The TAG Mentor will provide an approachable and non-threatening alternative for students who need support with any concerns or personal issues. Mentors will receive training in regard to this aspect of the role, as well as weekly sessions to debrief.

Congratulations to the following students who have been selected as TAG Mentors for this year. The very deserving students started their training today during extended TAG with Mr Hardman. Training will be over the next 4 weeks.
 
Gandhi House
Eliza Griffin (Year 10)
Sofia Pascall (Year 10)
Dylan Merrick (Year 12)
Rachel Fan (Year 11)
Jack Blatchford (Year 10)
Phoebe Cala-Willis (Year 10)

Lincoln House
Olivia Patterson (Year 12)
Celeste Kershaw (Year 11)
Maddy Buckland (Year 12)
Caitlin Miller (Year 11)
Genna Price (Year 10)
Halla Harding (Year 10)

Mandela House  
Gabriella Navarrete (Year 11)
Tahlia McGrath-Colgan (Year 11)
Sebastian Millington (Year10)
Winnie Zheng (Year 12)
Georgia Johnson (Year 11)
Stefan Varodi (Year 12)

From the Music Coordinator - Mr Michael Newton
In the Music Department
It has been a busy past couple of weeks for the music department. The EletroCity Ensemble performed at the Fremantle Maritime Museum NWS Shipping Theatre on Wednesday 21 February. This was the final performance of the FRINGE WORLD Festival 2018 season and was a very successful night indeed.
 
On Saturday 24 February, St George’s took part in the Commonwealth Games Queen’s Baton Relay. Ronan Dixon composed a piece of music for the Queen’s baton relay, which he performed on stage as part of the event’s afternoon entertainment.

Muso Profile - Jackson Edmonds
What instrument(s) do you play?
Guitar, vocals, self-taught on bass, drums and piano.
 
What first got you interested in Music?
ElectroCity ensemble and an invitation into the Jazz Ensemble

What's the best thing about Music at St George’s?
Multiple opportunities to perform and travel.

Why should other people do music?
They shouldn’t, I don’t like competition. But in all seriousness they should do music because it’s a good hobby to get into, and it opens up a whole lot of opportunity.
 
What's your advice for anyone learning Music?
2 hours practice a day to become almost professional level.

Coming Up & Opportunities
Thursday 22 March – (Not) On The Roof Concert, 7:00 pm Lower Burt Hall (St George’s Cathedral)

Careers 
 

Master Mind Revision Program

Middle School revision and skills development program

• For students in Years 7 to 9
• Study Skills (5 hours of teaching)
• Subject Revision (10 hours of teaching)
• Naplan Preparation
• Extension classes in Mathematics and English (10 hours of teaching)
• First and Second Week of the April Holidays
• Two Campuses
  • Christ Church Grammar School (Claremont); and
  • Hale School (Wembley Downs)

ATAR revision and exam preparation program

• For students in Years 10, 11 and 12.
• Study Skills (5 hours of teaching)
• Essay Writing (5 hours of teaching)
• Subject Revision (10 hours of teaching)
• Exam Preparation and Focus
• First and Second Week of the April Holidays
• Two Campuses 
  • Christ Church Grammar School (Claremont); and 
  • Hale School (Wembley Downs)

Please click the below links to download the brochures.
2018 Middle School 
2018 Middle School V2
2018 Senior School 
2018 Senior School V2