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| 14 Feb 2023 | |
| General News |
NEGS News Term 1 Week 4
University Information Event
Last Monday, NEGS hosted a visit from representatives of 4 Universities to help inform the senior girls about some of the options available to them in 2024. There were presentations from UNE, Southern Cross University, the University of Newcastle and Charles Sturt University. They provided information on the range of courses offered by each institution, how and when to apply for entry, and advice on how to prepare for living away from home.
All year 12 students are encouraged to apply for further study in 2024. Mr Ryan Caldwell and Ms Jessica Walker are ready to assist the girls with information, advice and support.
Senior Leaders BBQ
NEGS hosted the Senior Student Leaders and Principals of local secondary schools for a BBQ last Wednesday evening, followed by an exploration of notions and the values of leadership. We were joined by staff and students of Armidale Secondary College, Calrossy Anglican School, Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School, O’Connor Catholic College, PLC Armidale, The Armidale School and Uralla Central School.
During this evening, the Student Leaders reflected on the values and ideals of leadership, and in particular, the expectations of their own schools. Through networking with each other, these young leaders continue to foster a foundation of support and friendship that extends past their school campus.
NEGS’ Head Prefect, Vanessa Baker, noted that ‘It was great to meet new leaders from our area, people who we will be seeing regularly throughout the year and by getting to know each other in the casual setting, we became more comfortable. It opened the opportunity to discuss school issues and solutions with people who could be experiencing the same thing.’
Navigating Social Media
As parents and carers, we are often faced with the dilemma of educating our young people about social media and helping them navigate the problems that can arise. These include its ability to distract, use up valuable time, disrupt healthy sleep patterns, increase feelings of loneliness, reduce physical activity, foster unhealthy comparisons to other people and distortion of the truth.
You may find the following webinars useful in helping your understanding of these challenges and providing strategies to help your children deal with them. All are free of charge and are currently being promoted on https://studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/. You are able to register for these webinars now.
the Australian Student Wellbeing Framework. The Framework captures the holistic nature of what contributes to students feeling safe, connected, respected, supported and engaged in their learning.
eSafety: FREE Term 1 webinars for parents and carers.
eSafety 101: how eSafety can help you (March). For parents and carers of young people in primary and secondary school, which covers:
https://news.studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/link/id/zzzz63f27fd286b11098Pzzzz61ce4b24ae60f987/page.html
Setting your child up for success online (Feb & Mar) for parents and carers of young people in primary school, which covers:
https://news.studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/link/id/zzzz63f27fd289515685Pzzzz61ce4b24ae60f987/page.html
Getting the most out of gaming (Mar), designed for parents and carers of children aged 7 to 14, covering:
https://news.studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/link/id/zzzz63f27fd28bbeb313Pzzzz61ce4b24ae60f987/page.html
Navigating online friendships (Feb & Mar) is designed for parents and carers of young people in secondary schooIing, covering:
https://news.studentwellbeinghub.edu.au/link/id/zzzz63f27fd28de10455Pzzzz61ce4b24ae60f987/page.html
In conjunction with the above, NEGS has booked an external organisation called Safe on Social Training and Education to provide a presentation to parents in the evening of March 30, via Zoom. This will be an age-appropriate presentation for K-12. It is part of our whole school approach to cyber safety and cyberbullying. More information will be provided closer to the event.
A Letter from Jorja Currie
Hej fra Danmark!
I have just reached the 1-month mark of my 12-month exchange!
I flew out of Armidale on the 19 of January, to Sydney. Then, after waiting all day, the group of exchange students going to Europe and I made the very long 14-and-a-half-hour flight to Dubai. From there, the group split up, 3 to Germany, 1 to Belgium and 2 to Denmark. 7 hours later, we were in Copenhagen, finally. 1 train ride later, I arrived in my host city, Odense, where I met my host family at the train station. After being given the weekend to settle in, I started at my new school, Odense Katedral School. It is very different from NEGS; it is co-ed, right in the city centre and all indoors. The biggest difference is that you don’t wear a school uniform at all! My school is called a Gymnasium. In Denmark, after you complete Year 9, you get to choose what you want to do. You can start an apprenticeship, go to a boarding school that specializes in sports. or go to Gymnasium. Even within Gymnasium, you get to choose what you want to study, you can specialize in the sciences, study business, or study languages. I am in the language line, meaning I am learning Spanish, French, Danish and English. As well as Maths, Biology, PE, History, and Social Studies! The school days are very long, starting at 8:00 am and ending at 3:30. There is no morning tea and only a 30-minute break for lunch. My classes go for an hour and a half.
I definitely miss all my friends at NEGS, here it's uncommon to socialize between classes. I miss the camaraderie of NEGS. So far, the 4 weeks that I've been here have been jam-packed, I've seen some of the extremely old cathedrals, and eaten some delicious food, such as Fastelawnsboller - a kind of pastry filled with cream and icing. I also went to an indoor waterpark called Lalandia with some friends. Life here in Denmark is very different to life back home. For instance, I have to ride my bike to school every morning, instead of having my mum drive me to school. It is very cold here, most days I wear 2 jackets and 2 pairs of gloves on my way to school. In the beginning, the days were very short, with the sun rising around 8am and becoming dark around 4.30 pm, but slowly, the days are beginning to get longer as I head into spring. All the Danes rave about the summer, the heat, the constant light and being outside without being freezing cold! I'm not so sure about the Danish version of ‘heat’ but I will have to find out. This week, I was on ‘vinterbreak’ (winter break). I went to a place called ‘Slagelse’, to stay the night with my host grandmother, we then went to Copenhagen for the day. We even drove to Germany for a short trip, how cool you can simply drive to another country! I’m starting to make some friends at school, which at first was very hard and my homesickness is beginning to fade, which was helped along by a package from my Mum full of Vegemite, Tim Tams and Cheese Shapes! I miss home a lot but I am starting to love it here more and more every day. This exchange is an amazing experience for me and I hope it will bring new perspectives and ideas to me.
I’m very excited to see what is to come for me!
Thank you,
Jorja Curry.
Liz van Genderen
Principal
Choose Excellence:
I was grateful, this week, to be able to attend the leadership evening hosted by NEGS. School leaders from 8 New England Schools gathered at NEGS. This was a great opportunity for the leaders to network, share ideas, and forge new friendships. The evening was well organised by our prefects and embodied our school's value of excellence. There were 43 students, who had chosen to be excellent, chosen to be a contributor, and chosen to make a difference. It was encouraging to see the ease at which they mixed during activities and created new relationships face-to-face, instead of over social media. Although slow at the beginning, by the end of the night, the conversation flowed and the laughter was loud.
We can all choose excellence, whether it is in leadership, through our studies, on the sporting field, or in our relationships. It can be as simple as doing some extra homework, staying after training to work on skills, or acknowledging someone as they walk by.
Communication:
When wanting to contact the school about your child, in relation to day school, it is best to contact the Classroom Teacher (Junior School) or your child’s Wellbeing Teacher (Senior School). These two individuals can assist in most areas.
Please remember to notify the school if your son or daughter will be absent. Any leave, that is not school organised, must be given the green light by the Deputy Principal and will require an email to jamie.moore@negs.nsw.edu.au and helen.smith@negs.nsw.edu.au. Boarding students must notify the school and complete their leave request through Orah.
We are rapidly approaching the halfway point of the term and things remain busy across the entire campus. A successful Showjumping competition was held on the parent's oval last Sunday, and a number of those riders will represent the school this coming weekend in Tamworth. Our students continue to participate in a summer sports program including Futsal, Indoor Hockey, Swimming, and Touch Football and a reminder to all that, although it is nice to win, it is also important to enjoy yourself, respect the opposition and play the game in the right spirit.
Jamie Moore
Deputy Principal / Director of Sport and Activities
As most of us would be aware, there is a large body of research into the field of Education, and this rich literature paints a quite clear picture of what works, and what doesn’t work, in schools. We know, for example, that feedback has a powerful impact on learning, yet what type of feedback, and when, is more nuanced and something the staff and I will unpack at our next professional development session. Other key elements of what works highlight certain strengths of our NEGS learning community. For example, we know that differentiation is a strength amongst our staff, and thus something that we can further leverage to help each student progress their skills and understanding.
At a session earlier this week, the staff revisited some of the salient points from the literature on what works and spent time thinking through how we can further operationalise these factors here at NEGS. One of the key inputs from staff was the strength of the relationships students and staff forge, and how this translates into improved student wellbeing and individual academic progress. Collegiality and staff collaboration was another element highlighted as a strong correlation between teaching & learning at NEGS and the works literature, as was a focus on progress rather than just headline achievement.
I was asked just this afternoon what academic excellence meant, and my response centred around the idea of appropriate progress. We can’t all be at the cutting edge of achievement in every field of endeavour imaginable, but we all can make measured progress in the skills and understanding we need to both contribute to our society, but also to enjoy the rich bounty of a life well-lived in a free and democratic society.
Perhaps this weekend, you may like to make a little progress on something in your own life. I’m going to attempt to make a cheesecake. I’ve never made a cake – not one, not ever – so when I find a spare moment, I’m going to give it a go, and as I enjoy my hopefully (?) delicious cheesecake with my son and partner, my family can also enjoy the fact that I made some progress on my skills and understanding as a cook, and thus we can have our cake and eat it too, for many years to come.
Ryan Caldwell
Director of Teaching and Learning
Last week was a wonderful opportunity to see our school values at work, as we observed from the pool deck, our houses working together, across the ages, to support one another. Much of a child’s learning takes place in the classroom, with intentional learning goals set for each lesson. Yet, unintentional learning also plays a large part in their life. It occurs in our classrooms, playground and everyday environments.
Incidental learning involves using naturally occurring opportunities and interactions. This type of learning is often tied in with language and communication lessons, but can also be seen when acquiring social and life skills. Incidental learning is most often successful as it is natural, unstructured, engaging, memorable, and enjoyable. Hence, our swimming carnival - the learning that takes place in these situations is valuable, lifelong learning that promotes the growth of a number of ‘soft skills’ - the combination of people skills, social skills, communication skills, emotional intelligence, and personality traits, that make it easy to get along and work harmoniously with other people.
Valuing teamwork in a learning environment is key to our students continued success.
TEAMWORK - What is it?
Teamwork means you are loyal and dedicated to the group you are part of. It means you can work together as a class, not bicker and knock each other down. If you are growing teamwork, you do your share and work hard for the success of the group.
What does it look like in our classrooms?
• We work side by side with others in a peaceful and constructive way
• We know we need to work together, not against each other to get things done. e.g. 'United we stand, divided we fall'
What does it look like on our playground?
• We cheer on people when they are in our game
• We problem-solve together, hearing everyone’s points of view
Teamwork is a strength. Together, let’s build our student’s capacity to work collaboratively, seeing opportunities rather than barriers.
Heidi Dent
Junior School Coordinator
Boarders continue to embrace weekend activities. The Glen Innes show gave our Girls the opportunity to cheer on NEGS equestrian students in the showjumping, have a few rides in the carnival area and walk around the livestock. Kirkwood House was buzzing when Local artist Kerry Gulliver shared her knowledge enjoying 2 hours of participating in a Still Life using stencils and stamps. The results were a simplified, stylised flower with a washy background in acrylic over which the stencils and masks are placed to create flowers, vase and tablecloth.
Meg Laverty
Head of Boarding
It has been a very busy beginning of the school year, with our students participating in many activities across our campus. From sporting to co-curricular activities, seeing our students getting involved is wonderful.
Students are beginning to take up the many co-curricular activities offered during lunchtime and after school. Please encourage your child to access the tutoring opportunities on offer on Monday and Thursday after school and Maths during lunchtime on Tuesdays should they be needing some extra help with their homework or class tasks.
Swimming Carnival
We had a fantastic swimming carnival day on Tuesday, 14 February, with every student participating where they could. The house spirit was alive this year. From Kindergarten through to Year 12, the energy and encouragement shown was something really special among our students.
Swimming Carnival Results
House Cup winner:
| Murray - 4th Place | Dumolo - 3rd Place | Green - 2nd Place | Lyon - 1st Place |
| 526 | 871 | 1029 | 1177 |
Triviett Cup Winner: Sasha Scott-Hamilton
House Cheering Cup Winner: Dumolo
Age Champions:
| Junior School | ||
| Junior Girls | Junior Boys | |
| 1st | Scout McDonald | Matthew Roberts |
| 2nd | Kenzie Watson | William Gibbs |
| Senior Girls | Senior Boys | |
| 1st | Adelaide Scanlon-Dawson | Xavi Dent |
| 2nd | Abbie Kelly | Logan Hassett |
| 12 Years | ||
| Age Champion | Caitlin Emerton | |
| Runner Up | Zulema Alexia Agarobe | |
| 13 Years | ||
| Age Champion | Sasha Scott-Hamilton | |
| Runner Up | Tabitha Havas | |
| 14 Years | ||
| Age Champion | Georgia Scanlon | |
| Runner Up | Amelia Fiechtner | |
| 15 Years | ||
| Age Champion | Sofia Havas | |
| Runner Up | Heidi Zwiers | |
| 16 Years | ||
| Age Champion | Grace Rogers | |
| Runner Up | Ruby Holgate | |
| 17 Years | ||
| Age Champion | Cottee Harwood and Rosie Ross | |
| Runner Up | Emily Wamsley | |
| 18 Years | ||
| Age Champion | Emily O'Rourke | |
| Runner Up | Grace Boughton | |
Winter Sports Expression of Interest
We are coming to that time of year where we need to form our winter sporting teams.
Senior students have been provided with an expression of interest form to complete with the following options:
Junior School families have also been sent an expression of interest form to complete by Wednesday 1 March. https://forms.gle/aaiMdCe3iXkAEySh9
Junior School students have the opportunity to participate in:
Years 5-6 - Primary Competition
Years K-2 - this is run in age groups.
Please ensure that you have had a discussion with your children about their sporting choices and the commitment they are able to make to the team. It is an expectation that they are at all training sessions and games.
As many of the sports on offer are played in teams, it is important that all team members are committed to playing the whole season.
Senior students seeking leave during the season are required to email either Mr Moore or Mrs Nixon. No leave will be granted during finals weeks.
Junior Schools families are to contact their sport managing teacher by the Wednesday prior to game day should they be unable to play on a particular weekend so arrangements can be made.
Senior School Representative Sporting Opportunities
Below is a list of upcoming representative sports that your child may nominate for. They must already be playing this sport at a reasonable level for their nomination to be accepted as these are not participation events. These nominations are for your child to have the opportunity to be selected to attend the IGSA trial for selection into the IGSA Representative Team, potentially moving through to CIS and state level, not NEGS IGSA sporting teams. These will be selected later this term. Please note, should your child be selected, it may require you to transport your child to the event. Have your child see Mrs Nixon or Mr Moore if they are interested in any of these opportunities by the dates indicated:
NETBALL
Trials 1st May, Pymble Ladies’ College
Trials 31st July, Pymble Ladies’ College
TOUCH FOOTBALL
Trials 30th March, Loreto Normanhurst
HOCKEY
U16’s trials 27th April, Homebush
Opens’ trials 5th May, Homebush
SOCCER
IGSA REP OPEN’S - nominations due 10TH MARCH
Trials 8th May, Loreto Normanhurst
Upcoming Sport Dates:
1 March IPSHA Swimming
17 March IGSA Swimming
24 March NEGS Cross Country Carnival
1 April IPSHA Cross Country
Jamie Moore
Director of Sport and Activities / Deputy Principal
Liane Nixon
Sports Coordinator
Learn Music at NEGS
Is your son or daughter new to NEGS or new to music, and would like to learn an instrument but isn't sure of the process? This is our 'Learn Music at NEGS' information flyer which outlines everything you need to know.
Is your son or daughter already signed up to learn an instrument but you need to hire one? Below is the link for our Instrument Hire Form. If you wish to hire an instrument, please complete and submit the form. Our Music Team will take care of the rest.
Click here to register instrument hire
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us on 02 6774 8700.
NECOM Bus
This message is for those of you with children who attend NECOM after school.
Were you aware that NEGS has a bus available to drive your child/ren to NECOM to save you from having to arrange transportation?
If you would like to take advantage of this service, please complete the Registration Form linked below so that we can ascertain which days the bus is required. If you already use this service, please still complete the form so that we have an official record and know to expect your child.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Tianna Kelly
Music Admin
The minutes from the most recent Parent and Friends meeting, held in February, can be found on the Engage Parent Portal. The next P and F meeting will be held Tuesday, 4 April, to allow some of our boarding parents to attend, when they collect their children for the end of term.
Exciting News!
The P and F are excited to announce that Brooke McClymont and Adam Eckersley will perform at NEGS, on Thursday, 21 September.
Brooke McClymont is one third of top-selling award-winning Australian country music trio The McClymonts. With over 175k album sales, 2 x ARIA Awards, 11 x Golden Guitar Awards, 1 x CMA (USA) Award, 1 x APRA Award and 4 x #1 ARIA Country Albums, the McClymonts are a dominant female group in Australian Country Music with major success from hits such as “Kick it up”, “Wrapped up good” and “I’ve got this”.
Adam Eckerlsey has won 2 Golden Guitar Awards: the first in 2015 for New Talent of the Year and then in 2016 in the category Group or Duo of the Year for his group the Adam Eckersley Band. Their debut album ‘The First Album’ debuted Top 5 on ARIA Country Chart with ‘The Second Album’ debuting #7 on the ARIA Country Chart. Adam was also recognized for his songwriting winning the APRA Award for Country Work of the Year (2015) and an Honourable Mention in the International Songwriting Competition in 2014.
www.facebook.com/brookeandadam
www.instagram.com/adamandbrookemusic
