Chaplains' News
Over the next few weeks here at School we will be partnering and supporting the work of Legacy Australia.
There are different ways that you can help our students collect over the coming weeks.
There will be merchandise in the School Office, ANZAC Cookie Day, lunchtime sale and there will also be collection points at our drop off and pick up zones.
For families who operate businesses within our school community you may want to consider the opportunity to give and receive a tax deductible receipt.
Please make contact with the Chaplains or the office ladies about giving and the receiving of a tax deductible receipt.
Extract from a letter sent to the School from Legacy Australia 2019.
….Wahroonga Adventist School helped to raise $3,332.10 which all contributed to the Hornsby Division raising $21,481.30 in total during the week. You as a school community were the second highest school fundraisers for our Division and we take our hats off to you all as it was the first time being involved in collecting for Legacy…..
Proverbs 19:17 - When you help the poor you are lending to the Lord—and he pays wonderful interest on your loan!
Legacy is a charity providing services to Australian families suffering after the injury or death of a spouse or parent, during or after their defence force service. We currently care for around 52,000 beneficiaries, with 82% (over 76 years of age) of them being elderly widow/ers throughout Australia.
Legacy is a voluntary organisation supported by veterans, servicemen and women, and volunteers drawn from all walks of life. Our support and services now extend to include the dependants of members of today's Australian Defence Force who lose their lives or their health as a result of their military service.
There are over 4,000 active volunteers around Australia who act as mentors to the widows and their families and who ensure Legacy’s promise to care for the families of deceased veterans is kept.
Whole School News
Vaping
A number of recent news articles have appeared in the news regarding a growing trend of vaping (use of e-cigarettes) among young people.
Although e-cigarettes have been around for more than a decade, vaping rates have skyrocketed in recent years, especially among teens. An ABC News article from 2019 referenced a study by the Cancer Council Australia which found that 13% of Australian children aged 12-17 years had tried e-cigarettes.
Vaping refers to the use of battery-operated devices that heat a liquid to be inhaled. The liquid usually contains nicotine, flavourings, and chemicals. The liquid is heated into a ‘vapor’, which the person inhales.
These devices contain carcinogenic compounds, and a recent study found significantly increased levels of carcinogens in the urine of teens who vape. Studies have found that vaping does, in fact, cause lung irritation akin to that seen in smokers and people with lung disease and causes damage to vital immune system cells.
The article in the Manly Daily mentioned a particular rise in the use of mini vapes, which are about the size of a USB memory stick. Many vapes are flavoured and appear to be marketed specifically to children and teenagers. Devices can look like a cigarette, a pen or even, as mentioned, like a USB memory stick. While HQD devices features colours and graphics of the flavour contained and look more akin to a small highlighter, JUUL, a popular vape device that also comes in flavours, looks like a flash drive and can be charged in a USB port. Sometimes students refer to it as "Juuling".
It is illegal for anyone under 18 to purchase or use vaping fluids containing nicotine, however devices are widely available.
E-cigarettes and vaping products are prohibited. Students found in possession of/or using e-cigarettes or vaping products will be referred to the Disciplinary Committee and may face expulsion.
I encourage all parents to have a conversation with their child about vaping and the serious health and well being impacts.
Mr Michael St Mart
"Beanies 4 Brain Cancer" Mufti Day - Fri 18th September 2020
We are having a Mufti Day for all students to raise funds for the "Beanies 4 Brain Cancer" charity. In May 2015, Carrie Bickmore won the prestigious Gold Logie at the TV Week Logie awards, which she dedicated to her late husband Greg who passed away five years earlier following a 10-year battle with brain cancer. Carrie went on to form Carrie's Beanies 4 Brain Cancer Foundation which aims to raise desperately needed funds towards research into the horrible disease that is brain cancer. At Wahroonga this year we have been praying for baby Imogen, the child of a Pastor in one of our sister schools, who has been battling brain cancer since soon after her birth. We also know that many families in our school community have felt the hurt that comes with losing loved ones to cancer.
On September 18th students will be given the opportunity to wear free dress along with a beanie! Gold coin donations on the day will be given directly to the "Beanies 4 Brain Cancer" charity. The Friday lunch time café run by our student leaders is also donating all proceeds to the cause. Students can bring a gold coin to buy lemonade and cookies while enjoying music and performances by their peers.
Junior School News
A Note From Mrs Deppeler
Over the past few months I have been checking temperatures in the basement each morning and I have been impressed with the pride that the students take in wearing the uniform correctly. Thank you to the parents who have helped us to maintain this standard. Please let your class teacher know if your child will be out of uniform.
I loved hearing about what the students hopes and dreams for the future are in the last challenge. Well done. For those who still like to complete the challenges that I have been posting on Seesaw, I will be posting a challenge into your child’s folder on a fortnightly basis this term. These challenges are not compulsory and are in addition to any work set by the class teacher. Once completed please upload and post to Mrs Deppeler's Weekly Challenge folder on your child’s class homeroom page in Seesaw.
What is your favourite book character challenge?
This week’s challenge requires you to share your favourite book character. You can either draw a picture, write or provide a video explanation outlining who it is and why they are your favourite. I look forward to what you come up with. See your learning journal in Seesaw for more details.
Thoughts have energy. Make sure your thoughts are positive and powerful! (Author unknown)
Year 3 & 4 Pancake and Pyjama Fun Day
Last week, stage 2 students enjoyed a pancake and Pyjama day to celebrate the great achievements students have made overcoming many obstacles to their learning this year. The students were so excited coming to school in their pyjamas. At recess they enjoyed some pancake treats and had some fun playing games with the teachers and chaplains. During the afternoon the students watched a movie with their class. A fun and enjoyable day for all.
Upcoming Junior School Events
Moving Bodies (P-6)
This term Moving Bodies will be providing our Junior School students with valuable skills in athletics. Students will participate in a variety of activities to further their skill development and enhance their overall abilities. These sessions will be conducted over two days, Tuesday and Friday, and each child will participate on one of these days.
Basketball Coaching (Stage 2 & 3)
For the remainder of the term, our stage 2 and 3 students who registered, will be participating in basketball coaching sessions during their lunchtimes each Friday. The students will be learning new skills and building on prior knowledge during each session.
Middle & Senior School News
Year 7 Network Activity
Year 7 students have been participating in small group workshops focusing on connecting with others (Invictus NETWORK theme), valuing others and taking personal responsibility for contributing to an inclusive school culture. Boys have been working together and applying their skills to make bush shelters, and girls have been creating artworks that represent diversity and connecting with others. Students have also been practicing appreciating others and writing letters to their peers, recognising similarities and expressing appreciation for differences. We will attempt to have some photos from the girls groups for next newsletter.
Year 7 & 8 STEM Day - Thursday 27th August 2020
Selected students from Years 7 & 8 competed in the Year 7&8 STEM day yesterday. The challenge was to build a fully functional lift to take a person from the ground floor up to the first floor. The students had to make this out of cardboard, a small selection of tools and some basic electronic equipment. They then had to calculate the distance for the lift to travel and create the computer program to make it all work. Each team member was given a different role that suited their skillset. We had builders, accountants, programmers, designers and documentation specialists.
A huge congratulations to our teams who placed 1st and 3rd out of all competing teams!! Well done everyone!
The winning team for the whole GSC STEM day was the Year 7 boys!! Congratulations James B, Neo K, Cameron P and Kenneth P.
The Year 8 boys team came 3rd! Well done Jordan L, Jean-Luc T, Jasper P and Liam N.
The girls Year 7 team did not get a top three but would not have been far off. Well done Isla H, Audrey K, Chloe C and Eliza M.
ADRA Appeal
Thank you for your support of the ADRA Community Centre in Blacktown
On Thursday 13 August 2020 all the food items collected through the “Bags for Good” were collected and delivered to the ADRA Community Centre in Blacktown. A big thank you, to all the helpers who gave generously to help others have food on their tables. We delivered a car full of goodies and the ADRA Blacktown Food Pantry has its shelves full again as seen in the pictures. ADRA staff were excited and delighted to receive the food. Thank you for giving to the Lord.
Upcoming Middle & Senior School Events
Year 11 Preliminary Exams
The examination period will run from Wednesday 9th September to Wednesday 16th September 2020.
These examinations are a very important part of the Year 11 students learning and are a major component of the assessment program for Preliminary subjects. As such, the usual rules apply regarding assessments and examinations. Any student who is unable to attend an examination must notify the office on the morning of the examination and complete an Illness/Misadventure form.
Students must be in attendance at school for their scheduled examination. At other times, attendance is not compulsory. The majority of examinations will be held at Fox Valley Community Centre.
The Examination Timetable and rules can be found in SEQTA under School Documents. Examination conditions apply at all times. Students must read and understand the rules and conditions for examinations. Students must wear full school uniform and must arrive at least 10 minutes before the examination. We assume that students attending a morning examination will go home afterwards to study.
All students are expected to return to normal classes on Thursday 17th September.
We wish the students the best of luck in their examinations.
Middle & Senior School Parent/Teacher Interviews - Wed 16th and Thurs 17th September 2020
SAVE THE DATE! Middle & Senior School Parent/Teacher Interviews are scheduled for the afternoon/evening of Wed 16th and Thu 17th September. More details to follow shortly.
Year 8 Outreach & Service Donations
The Yr 8 Outreach and Service class are collecting donations of new and pre loved items as well as shoe boxes to give to families in Cobargo - since the fire swept over their town and everything was destroyed.
Their houses, place of worship, and shops were burnt down. We are looking for books, puzzles, games, stationery, bibles, toys, treats and souvenirs/trinkets. The ages range from a few months to 17 years old. If you could please donate anything to brighten up their day by Friday 4th September to let them know they are thought about and connected it would be greatly appreciated.
Art Competition - Years 5 to 11
The due date for students entering the Art Competition is now Friday 16th October (the first week back in Term 4). Please submit your entries to Mrs Anita Kim in Art Lab 2.
All submissions must have the following labelled at the back of you artworks-
Your full name, year group , title of artwork and medium used.
Themes to base artworks on:
- Yrs 5&6 - A self portrait of an inspirational person in your life.
- Yrs 7&8 - Modern and contemporary style art of any subject.
- Yrs 9&10 - Photography inspired by a bible verse of God’s creation.
- Yr 11 - Free choice.
We look forward to accepting the art entries so start getting creative! Yes there will be a prize reward for every category.
Please forward any enquiries to: anita.kim@wahroonga.adventist.edu.au
Term Dates for 2020
- Term 3 - Thursday 23rd July 2020 - Friday 25th September 2020
- Term 4 - Monday 12th October 2020 - Thursday 10th December 2020
Library News
Premier’s Reading Challenge
Congratulations to Henry W (KA), Josephine L (1L), Sheressa S (4R), Hannah R (6T), Alexandra W (6J), Ishaan T (8A), Elke G (KA), Alexis G (2B), Myles G (5K), Matthew C (KA), Patrick C (1S), Liam C (KA), Alexander I (KA), Liam I (KE), Matilda M (KA), Gaba G (2M), Harriette M (4H), Leon O (KA), Charlotte L (KA), Laura O (2B), Oliver L (4H), Harriet L (6J), Levi L (2B), Logan L (4R), Sophie C (5C), Angelique M (5K), Finn M (7W), Joshua F (KA), Eliza C (2M), James C (3K), Thomas C (5C), Elijah P (5C), Tilly C (7A), Eliza M (7S), James M (7A) and Olivia M (9A)
PLEASE NOTE: The Premier’s Reading Challenge finishes today, Friday, August 28!! Mrs Savage will have access to the PRC website for an extra week, so if you have missed this cutoff date please send her your reading list so she can enter it for you - email Mrs Savage (library@wahroonga.adventist.edu.au).
Book Week - 19 to 23 October 2020 - Curious Creatures, Wild Minds
Book Week has been pushed back to October this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so we have some exciting celebrations planned for Weeks 2 & 3 of Term 4 (19 to 23 October).
Carnival Books Virtual Book Fair
Running from 19 - 23 October you can shop at our Carnival Books Virtual Book Fair from the comfort of your own home. Support our school whilst purchasing great literature for your kids at discounted prices. More details will be provided closer to the date.
Dress-Up Friday
Our Book Week dress-up day will be held on Friday, 23 October for our Junior School students. The theme will be ‘Curious Creatures’ so get thinking about some of God’s more weird and wonderful creations, from the aardvark to the zigzag salamander - let your imaginations run wild!
Book Week Performance: ‘The Greatest Discovery’:
Our Book Week performance for the Junior School is scheduled for Friday, 30 October. If government restrictions still prevent a live performance from taking place, we will opt for the Virtual option.
Library WebApp
The library WebApp is a great place to keep track of your child/ren’s library loans, search the catalogue and read about upcoming library events. You can access it from any device at bit.ly/waslibrary. Instructions on how to log in to your child/ren’s personal details are on the home page.
World Book Encyclopedia Subscription
Wahroonga Adventist School has a subscription to World Book Encyclopedia Online which gives all students and teachers online access to an amazing variety of resources which can be accessed using any device. If you would like to explore this resource, please follow the link below and use the word was for the log-in ID and password.
Home and School
THANK YOU to all the families that took the time to complete the Home and School Survey. It is so very much appreciated by the Home and School Committee. This information is valuable for ongoing work in the development and growth of our school community. Your thoughts, ideas and feedback can help shape future events. And it was super exciting to have so many families indicate that they are wanting and willing to do more within the Home and School space.
I would also like to make a special mention to Dr Jodie Lanstra who shared her skills and time in creating this survey and collating the data into meaningful feedback.
Watch this space for some future events like Beyond the School Yard and hopefully some creative ways of celebrating the new school Basketball Court.
Meals with Love
Do you know of a school family that has just welcomed a new baby, has a sick family member, or is going through a bit of a tough time? We would love to be able to support them on behalf of the school community with a Meals with Love meal! Please send us an email and we can have a meal arranged. Unfortunately, due to the current climate we cannot accept donations of meals this term and all meals are being prepared by the Canteen and Meals with Love team. Thanks for your continued support.
nicolasweetman@gmail.com
tishiarmstrong@hotmail.com