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| 13 Sep 2022 | |
| General News |
On Tuesday 30 August, NEGS welcomed two educational consultants from the Association of Independent Schools NSW (AISNSW) to discuss and review the school’s approach to social and emotional learning. Katrina Mostyn (Education Consultant: Teaching and Learning) and Jacqui Rainey (Education Consultant & Clinical Psychologist: Student Services) met with the NEGS leadership team to discuss and review planning processes for Social - Emotional Learning for all students and the broader school community. This was followed by a professional learning session for all school staff (including all support and boarding staff) on whole school approaches to respectful relationships and pro-social behaviour among the school community.
The AISNSW approach is whole-school, centred on building the skills of young people, to create and maintain respectful relationships with all people, in all contexts of their lives. This is a strength-based approach, addressing bullying and also racism, domestic violence, consent, workplace relationships, friendships, family relationships etc. It is designed to complement the teaching and learning in PDHPE K-10.
Topics discussed included:
We will continue to work with the AIS to develop a whole school foundation to build respectful relationships. This will involve:
Thursday 8 September was R U OK? Day. This is a timely reminder to check in and ask the question RUOK?
Farewell and Goodluck
This term we farewell Mrs Prudie Woods. Prudie commenced at NEGS in 2018, before fulfilling the role of Learning Support Coordinator in 2019. She has worked tirelessly and inclusively with staff and students, to ensure the best outcomes for our students. We thank Prudie and wish her every success in her future endeavours.
We welcome Florence de Crespigny to teach junior French. We continue our recruitment process in the learning support area.
Blue Tree Project
Liz van Genderen
Principal
'Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.'
The quote that I have chosen for this edition of the newsletter comes from a famous source. However, it is not from a renowned philosopher, a best-selling self-help guru or an instantly recognisable Instagram influencer. It is, in fact, a quote from heavyweight boxing champ, Muhammad Ali. Now, Ali was well known for his ability to come up with catchy poems or boastful 1-liners to make fun of his opponents, but every now and then he would come up with an absolute beauty.
The quote above speaks volumes about our renewed focus on kindness, gratitude, and respect for others. It speaks to paying it forward and being grateful for the opportunity to help others on their personal journey. We encourage and support our students to demonstrate these qualities.
We can all benefit from stepping outside our own world to see the view from another’s.
P.S Since writing this, we have all heard the news of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, and quite fitting that there has been a recognition of service in the above piece. Without a doubt, a shining example of the service of others above self. I suggest her rent was up to date and her bond repaid in full. Rest in Peace
Our current classroom focus is ‘Don’t suffer in silence', and to encourage our students to be actively involved in their own learning. Often, classroom disruption can be born from the frustration of not being able to understand the work being presented. We are encouraging those students to put their hand up, don’t be embarrassed, and ask for help. We are also asking those who do understand to actively support their peers in this process.
Uniform continues to be a focus. We have looked at the current policy and our constant battle with multiple ear piercings. Previously, students were not allowed to wear ‘clears’ in their extra piercings. This is no longer the case. Students with multiple piercings still must follow uniform policy in only wearing one set of sleepers or studs in the lower lobe, but they are now allowed to have 'clears' in other piercings. The students have had a week to be organised for this so, as of Monday, any student wearing extra jewellery (ear) will be asked to come and see me for it to be removed and safely stored until the end of term.
Thank you for your continued support.
Jamie Moore
Acting Deputy Principal / Director of Sport and Activities
Our Junior campus continues to be filled with experiences, external to our classrooms, focused upon building student connections with both their peers and their learning. We also welcome Brydi Holmes to the Stage Two classroom. She joins us for the remainder of Term Three, on a Prac experience from UNE. Brydi is an old girl of NEGS and has demonstrated a passion for teaching.
RUOK?
This week we recognised RUOK day. With yellow shirt pins and ribbons to a celebratory cake, our students were encouraged to check in with each other. RUOK’s mission is to inspire and empower people to meaningfully connect with those in their world. Looking for further information? The RUOK? website (https://www.ruok.org.au/how-to-ask) has some excellent tips on how to approach these conversations and ensure that you are ready, prepared and are doing so at the right moment. The steps are simple
The last fortnight has also provided a number of important occasions to bring our wider community together.
Father’s Day Breakfast
It was wonderful to see so many families in attendance at the Father’s Day Breakfast. For children, it is a day to show appreciation for their fathers and father-figures. For our school, it is a time to acknowledge you and the important role you play in the lives of our young people.
Upcoming Musical
As you are aware, work on our musical has begun and this is an exciting time for many. Rehearsals commenced on a Thursday afternoon. We are so proud of our students, congratulations to those who auditioned. In amongst the excitement, it was humbling to see the way our students celebrated their friends' success, even when they may have been feeling disappointment for themselves.
Roald Dahl Day
NEGS JS is participating in Roald Dahl Day next Tuesday, 13 September. It is an opportunity to celebrate our favourite Roald Dahl characters, stories and moments, and engage in activities based on his well-loved books and poems. Tuesday Week 9, students are invited to come to school dressed as their favourite Roald Dahl character and enjoy some activities that will see us dive into Roald Dahl’s world of creativity, humour and nonsense!
Heidi Dent
Junior School Coordinator
We have moved into the post-season of our Netball and Hockey seasons. Congratulations to all our Netball teams who have progressed to the post-season. Both our Gold (Division 1) and Silver (Division 3) progressed to the GF, with wins in their respective semi-finals, with our Bronze team (Division 5) playing for the same right this weekend. These finals will be played at Armidale’s Lynches Road courts on Saturday, 17 September. Any support for these teams would be very well received.
Unfortunately, our Hockey teams were unable to make the finals series, however, all had great seasons and I would like to congratulate the players and thank the coaches for their ongoing commitment and dedication to ensuring our teams are prepared for competition each week.
With the 19for19 event approaching, I would ask that students and any parents wishing to join us, continue to put the miles in preparation. The organisers are just organising a team registration and there will be a link available shortly for us to register.
IGSA concludes next weekend, with our Junior Hockey team finishing top of the table and competing in finals. The team has been very impressive this year and has seen our younger players develop their individual and match play skills under the guidance of coach, Krishna Nagarajan. A special mention to 3 of our Year 9 students, who would normally play with our senior team, but have played in the juniors. Sofia Havas, Molly Collett, and Felicity Chapman have shown outstanding leadership in helping guide the team into the finals. Most impressively, it has been through bringing the entire team into the game not just playing as individuals, well done!
Our other IGSA teams finished their campaigns admirably, giving it their all to the very last whistle. I commend all students, coaches, parents, and staff for the effort of travelling so far to compete. It is a wonderful opportunity, and the school thanks you for your efforts.
Junior School – Mrs Liane Nixon
Numerous children from our Junior School competed in the IPSHA Athletics carnival on Monday August 29, at the Sydney Olympic Athletics Centre. Despite stiff competition, everyone gave it their all, and some kids were awarded ribbons in their respective heats. The way they worked together and supported one another was very admirable. It was wonderful to see so many competitors on the track and field after a long time of being unable to participate in this event. Congratulations to all competitors:
8 YEARS
9 YEARS
10 YEARS
11 YEARS
12 YEARS
In other news, Charlotte Travers has been chosen to be part of the North West Gymnastics team to compete at the NSW State Championships in Sydney. This follows great results at Regionals as reported in the last newsletter.
Jamie Moore
Director of Sport and Activities / Acting Deputy Principal
Term 3 has historically been the quieter term where many students keep their horses at home during the colder months, however, we have had a wonderful exception to this rule over the past few weeks with nearly all horses staying on campus throughout the term. Even the Junior students are continuing to brave the cold weather, with all our Junior lessons going strong under the guidance of our new Junior Coach and Coordinator, Lynda Reider. Lynda comes to us with much experience coaching young riders, and a passion for further developing inclusion, safety, and fun for our Junior students. She has some great ideas, which we will be implementing next term. We will be sending more information out to Junior families in the coming weeks.
Having so many students on campus has allowed us to travel to many competitions all over NSW, and in some cases interstate. Our girls have been hugely successful in many disciplines.
Here are some of the exceptional results over the past few weeks.
Selected to represent Australia in the 2023 AQHA Youth World Cup in Texas USA! Wow, what an achievement!
Olivia MacCallum 1st and 2nd in the Deb Elliot Memorial and Highest Scoring Youth
Emilee Stevenson - 1st and 2nd Youth Boxing Class
Tamworth Agricultural Show
Gunnedah Show Jumping Championships
Tamworth Show Jumping Championships
Warwick Horse Trials, QLD
Annyka Overton
Equestrian Centre Coordinator
Applications for the NCSS Summer School are closing soon
Dates: 4th-13th January 2023
Melbourne and Sydney
The National Computer Science School (NCSS) is a ten-day summer school bringing together talented young people from around Australia. NCSS will be running at the University of Melbourne and at our new Sydney home, the University of NSW. All NCSS students reside on campus at a residential college, with NCSS tutors and staff providing pastoral care for the duration of the summer school.
NCSS applications will be accepted from students who will complete Year 10 and Year 11 in 2022. No prior knowledge of computing is assumed.
Congratulations!
In addition to Web Comp, which was completed last term, the girls have recently completed the NCSS Challenge. Both of these competitions are national competitions and, despite some of the girls having never coded before, they performed exceptionally well. They now have the foundation skills to program their own websites and write code from scratch. Year 7 also competed in a national cybersecurity competition last term in their ICT class. Congratulations to the following students:
Web Comp Beginners & NCSS Challenge Beginners certificates - Georgia Scanlon
Web Comp Beginners, NCSS Challenge Beginners & Cyber Comp certificates - Emily Edmunds
Web Comp Beginners Perfect Score - Regan Simpson
NCSS Challenge Beginners High Distinction - Chelsea Kentwell
NCSS Challenge Beginners Certificate & Credit in Cyber Comp - Ella Severin
NCSS Challenge Beginners Credit - Megan Gerigk
NCSS Challenge Beginners Certificate, Cyber Comp Certificate, Web comp Beginners perfect score & Web Comp Intermediate High Distinction - Albatool Alkhathami
Achieving a Merit in Cyber Comp:
Achieving a Credit in Cyber Comp:
Achieving a Distinction in Cyber Comp:
Achieving a High Distinction in Cyber Comp:
Achieving a Perfect Score in Cyber Comp:
Belinda Stone
Science Teacher
HSC Showcase
As part of our celebration for our Year 12 students, we wish to invite all students and families to the HSC Showcase night, Wednesday 21 September. This is a fantastic opportunity to see all the HSC Major Works before the girls begin their exams next term.
To RSVP, please click the button below.
Grandparents Day
On Friday, 9 September, we welcomed over 100 Grandparents onto the NEGS campus, for Grandparents Day. Grandchildren took their Grandparents into classrooms and around the school, before a beautiful Chapel service and morning tea.
For the entire gallery of photographs, please click the below:
Armidale Show 2023
The Armidale & New England Show, is looking to find amazing artwork to feature on the cover of our Show Schedule for 2023!!
1. Who can participate?
Participants must fall into one of the following categories
Category A – 5 to 10 years old
Category B – 11 to 15 years old
Category C – 16 to 18 years old
2. Competition theme:
The theme for the 2023 Armidale Show is “Celebrating Our Rural Communities: From Little Things, Big Things Grow”.
Each participant should design a cover around this theme, that includes the words ‘Armidale Show Schedule 2023’
3. Entry Fee:
This competition is FREE
4. Conditions
Only one entry per person
All submissions should be the own work of the entrant
All submissions should be made on an A4 sized (210 cm x 297 cm) document
Category A & B entries need to be signed by a guardian
Entries close September 17th 2021
Awards and prizes will be given for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place getters. All entries will be displayed in the Pavilion at the 2022 Armidale Show in March 2023
Tutor Group 7B are beginning a book club on Tuesdays in check in where we get to read for enjoyment for 10 minutes every week.
The books we have selected today are:
| Mrs Kelly is reading 'Keep me safe' by Daniela Sacerdoti | |
| Miss Turner is reading 'In the Clearing' by J. P. Pomare | |
| Mr Paige is reading 'The Crying of Lot 49' by Thomas Pynchon | |
| Ms Kelson is reading 'The Ruin' by Dervla McTiernan | |
| Dr Pearson is reading 'The Retreat' by Sarah Pearse | |
| Mr Jones is reading 'There’s a hippopotamus on our roof eating cake' by Hazel Edwards | |
| Mr Woods is reading 'Scrublands' by Chris Hammer | |
| Miss Pracy is reading 'In the Clearing' by J. P. Pomare | |
| Miss Stone is reading 'As Good as Dead' by Holly Jackson and 'Broken Horses' by Brandi Carlile | |
| Mrs Smith is reading 'Once There Were Wolves' by Charlotte McConaghy | |
| Miss Maughan is reading 'The Lincoln Highway' by Amor Towles | |
Mrs Ford is reading 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine' by Gail Honeyman
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| Mrs Swartz is reading 'The Bee Keeper of Aleppo' by Christy Leftery |
Over the weekend just past, we welcomed the Old Girls' from 1962, 1971, 1972, 1982, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2011, 2012, and 2017 back to NEGS for their Reunion Weekend.
The weekend began with exciting games of Current vs Old Girls netball and hockey matches. Both games were close, with both teams playing well, however, the Current Girls came out on top in both games.
Saturday was the NEGS Long Lunch, where we hosted over 120 Old Girls for a lovely meal. Much laughter and smiles were shared, with memories reminisced. It was fantastic to see the Assembly Hall full of these alumni years all together again.
The weekend was concluded by the Old Girls Chapel service, led by NEGS Chaplain, Reverend Lou Davies.
Below is the gallery of images captured by the NEGS team of the fantastic weekend:
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