Chaplains' News
WOW! Another term has already come to an end.
Although we couldn’t come together in person for Chapel, this term still saw great student involvement across the Junior, Middle and Senior School. In the Junior School we introduced “The Friday Morning Show” which featured travel, cooking and fitness segments, as well as the weekly news story which focused on the promises of God. The show was a big hit amongst the kids and they loved featuring each week. In the Middle and Senior School we focused on wellness lifestyle, incorporating weekly challenges which the students were eager to partake in.
We are finishing the term strong with an awesome day of fun for the Junior School. There will be jumping castles, outdoor Chapel, and so much more. We know this year has been a little different so we wanted to create a day full of fun and awesome memories for our kids!
We pray that you all stay safe during the holidays and we can’t wait to see you in a couple of weeks.
The Chaplains
Whole School News
A Message from Dr Faull
Dear Parents and Guardians,
You may have seen a new face in the car line and I really appreciate those that have taken the time to say welcome.
Having had the opportunity to participate in Junior, Middle and Senior School classes, I have been amazed at the energy and application of the students. Your commitment as parents to keep the children healthy and presenting well in full uniform is very evident and much appreciated.
The dedication, commitment and professionalism of the teaching staff for the students is hugely evident on a daily basis across the School.
It is exciting to be making solid plans for 2021. A historic time in the development of the School being the first year to have students completing the HSC at Wahroonga.
Thank you to all those parents who have responded to reminders on payment of school fees. It helps the school cash flow to have our income stream up-to-date.
The happy smiles of students, the quality of the classwork and the active display of Christian values makes your Wahroonga School a special place!!
I hope you all have a safe and restful holiday break and look forward to seeing you next term!
Dr David Faull
A Message from the Principal
A big thanks to all our parents for your support as we have navigated our way through the restrictions that have been in place over Term 3.
Recent announcements suggest that some of current school COVID-19 restrictions may be lifted for Term 4. We will send out an update as soon as we receive further details.
Please stay safe and have a wonderful well deserved break.
Mrs Michelle Streatfeild
Wahroonga Adventist School - Facebook Page!
We are excited to announce Wahroonga Adventist School now has an official Facebook Page! Click on the "like" button to follow our page and keep up to date with all the exciting things going on around School!
Photo Day - Monday 19th October 2020
School Photo Day is scheduled to take place on Monday, 19th October 2020.
Your child has received a letter outlining instructions for ordering photos. If you would like to order a family photo, a separate letter has been given to your eldest child. If you have a Prep student who does not normally attend on a Monday and wish to have photos taken, please contact the School Office.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will be no money collected and all photos need to be ordered online by midnight, 19 October 2020. Orders received after photo day are subject to a $20 Archive Fee. After placing your order online, please keep a record of your Order Reference Number.
Should you have any queries, please phone MSP Photography directly on 9499 6555.
Annual School Cross Country
We are glad to inform you that we will finally be able to run our annual cross-country on Friday, 16 October 2020. More details to follow shortly.
URStrong Friendship Skills
This week, Year 7’s discussed some key facts about friendships, positive relationships and managing friendship fires (conflict) from URStrong Friendology101.
Friendship Fact #1: No friendship is perfect
Friendship Fact #2: Every friendship is different
Friendship Fact #3: Trust and Respect are the two most important qualities of a friendship
Friendship Fact #4: Friendships change, and that’s OK
We will be continuing to roll out this curriculum across the Junior and Middle Schools from next term.
Junior School News
A Note From Mrs Deppeler
Yay, we have finally made it to the last week of term. I feel like it has been a very long term with lots of learning to celebrate. Research has shown us that it is important to celebrate and recognize the achievements of students both inside and outside the classroom. Watching students grow and accomplish their goals is one of the main reasons why many enter the education profession, myself included. Recognising students’ accomplishments assists with developing strong relationships between students, families and teachers and creates a positive culture where students feel valued. What achievement, big or small, will you celebrate today with your child?
It has been wonderful enjoying the sunshine over the past week. As the weather has begun to get a little warmer, students often take of jackets and jumpers. Just a reminder to please check that your child’s clothing still has a visible label so that it can be returned to them if its misplaced.
I loved hearing about what the students’ favourite sports 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.
Sport Challenge
This week’s challenge requires you to participate in sporting activities during your holidays. You can either draw a picture, write or provide a video explanation outlining what it is and how often you participated in a sport. I look forward to what you come up with. See your learning journal in Seesaw for more details.
“Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
Junior School Fun Day
Today the students in P-4 were involved in a variety of activities organised by the Chaplains. Students were excited and engaged in the activities. Thank you to the Chaplains for organising this amazing event for the students.
Prep Sound/Letter Day
This week in Prep we have been learning the letter ‘Jj’. We have visited Letterland to meet Jumping Jim. Jumping Jim loves to jump, juggle and eat jam. To celebrate our learning, we wore Jeans and Jumpers on Thursday. The Preppies were very excited to come to school wearing mufti. We love learning the letters of the alphabet!
Upcoming Junior School Events
Moving Bodies (Term 4) – Swimming
Due to the current restrictions, we are currently looking at our options for sport for Term 4 as we are unfortunately unable to participate in swimming at this stage. We will provide further details over the coming weeks.
Middle & Senior School News
Year 5 & 6 Travel Expo!
Last Friday, Years 5 & 6 came together to make a travel expo where different countries that are neighbours to Australia were looked at . There were different booths that had posters, PowerPoints and sometimes even food from the country. I made pineapple cakes because they are a popular dessert in Taiwan. The best part of the travel expo was looking at the different groups and seeing their displays. I learnt about China. Did you know, you can't ride a bike on the Great Wall of China and it is 1200 kms long! Everyone had a great time learning about the different countries.
By Coira R
On Friday, I took part in the Travel Expo. The Travel Expo was about neighbours of Australia and we had to do a presentation about a particular country. Posters, PowerPoints, videos on tinker were made to promote the country. I learnt a lot about the different countries. My friends and I found the travel expo interesting and we liked presenting the information in our booths.
By David V
Year 9 Invictus Wellbeing Program
Year 9 students presented their Invictus Wellbeing Program - Mastery Showcase on Thursday night. All semester students have been applying themselves towards developing a skill and self-reflecting on this learning experience. The Showcase was an opportunity for Year 9 students to publicly highlight their learning (and outcome/product) via a group presentation, and an opportunity for parent and friends to celebrate the amazing achievements of all who participated. Mastery skills included video editing, crocheting, Rubik’s cubing, cooking, and magic amongst many others.
Year 9 Visual Arts
Year 9 Visual Arts students have been studying the human body this semester and have created hand sculptures out of clay in different poses and forms.
They have each created something unique and had fun painting them in vibrant colours.
Mrs Anita Kim
The Wahroonga Interhouse Cup
Term 3 has seen the beginning of a new Wahroonga sporting tradition - the Interhouse Cup. The Hunter and Phillip houses, coordinated by their captains, formed Middle and Senior School volleyball teams, taking to the court for three lunch time matches over the course of the term. A number of PE classes have learned about volleyball over the course of the year, which lifted the quality of play significantly. It was excellent to see the teams putting their volleyball skills to use in a competitive context, the matches included some impressive rallies and tightly contested points. At the conclusion of the three games for this term Phillip house took home the title for the Senior School, earning 100 house points, while Hunter house won the deciding match for the Middle School, also gaining 100 house points.
To round out the competition and the term of volleyball, the students took on the staff on the final Tuesday of term, with the staff managing to hold on for a 2 sets to 1 win.
For Term 4, the Interhouse Cup will consist of three basketball games between the Middle and Senior teams for Hunter and Phillip. Once again, 100 house points will be on the line for the winning house!
Wahroonga - Mountain Bike Ride
Sunday, 13 September saw the first Wahroonga Mountain Bike ride for 2020. Students and parents met at the "Old Mans Valley" trail in Hornsby, completing 14 kilometres in some excellent spring conditions. Riders navigated flowing berms and jumps, rocky descents and some tough climbs. As always, it is great to see our students making the most of the outdoors, increasing their physical fitness and continually improving their bike skills. Thanks to the parents who joined in for the ride. There will be two more Wahroonga Mountain Bike rides in Term 4, please contact Mr Starrett for details if you would like to join.
Upcoming Middle & Senior School Events
Years 5, 6, 8 & 10 Camp Information
Next term we have exciting plans for Years 5, 6, 8 and 10. Instead of camp we will be heading out on 3-day trips over Term 4. Each separate year group will have the opportunity to spend time out of the school environment having fun and making memories. We will be sending details about cost, dates, and activity types in the second week of the holidays.
Year 6 Dinner 2020
The Year 6 dinner will be going ahead, we are not entirely sure about what it will look like or where it will be held, but it is happening. Mrs Jacobs, our Stage 3 coordinator, will be sending out more information about the Year 6 dinner early in Term 4.
Year 12 - Commencing Term 4
We would like to celebrate our Senior School students as they transition to Year 12 from next term. Well done on making it this far everyone!
Please see the following SchoolTV link for great information on Surviving the Final Year of School:
Free Online Session with Psychologist Ruth Fordyce - Are Your Teens OK?
Ku-ring-gai Council is hosting a free zoom session ‘Are Your Teens Ok?’ with psychologist Joyce Fordyce. Joyce will discuss how parents and friends can meaningfully connect with their teenagers to check if they are ok, and what they can do if they are not.
Date: Wednesday 7th October
Time: 6:30-8pm
Where: Via Zoom
Cost: Free
Who: everyone
Art Competition - Years 5 to 11
The due date for students entering the Art Competition is now Friday, 16 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
Term Dates for 2021
- Term 1 - Wednesday, 27th January 2021 - Thursday, 1st April 2021
- Term 2 - Monday, 19th April 2021 - Friday, 25th June 2021
- Term 3 - Wednesday, 14th July 2021 - Friday, 17th September 2021
- Term 4 - Tuesday, 5th October 2021 - Friday, 10th December 2021
Library News
Book Week - 19 to 23 October 2020 - Curious Creatures, Wild Minds
We have some exciting celebrations planned for Book Week this year which will be taking place in Week 2 of Term 4, 19-23 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. The website and a school code will be made available at the beginning of Term 4.
Dress-Up Friday
Our Book Week dress-up day will be held on Friday, 23 October for our Primary 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’
We have opted for the virtual presentation for our yearly Book Week Performance and the Primary School students will be viewing the performance during Book Week.
Author Visit - Claire Saxby
On Friday, October 30, Years 5 and 6 are privileged to be booked in for a virtual author visit with the popular Australian author Claire Saxby, along with Tannya Harricks, illustrator of Claire’s latest book ‘Kookaburra.’ All of Claire Saxby’s books will be available for sale at our Carnival Books Virtual Book Fair.
Middle and Senior School Book Swap
Do you have a book that you have finished reading and no longer want? Why not bring it along to our Middle & Senior School Book Swap? Running during Book Week (19-23 October), bring the book you want to swap to the stand in the library and then choose another book to take home. Happy reading!
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.
Home and School
Over the past term a number of parents have reached out expressing a wish to thank our teachers and staff for their ongoing hard work in these testing times. So on behalf of the Wahroonga Adventist Community via Home and School we organised a Mexican Food Truck to arrive yesterday as a surprise for the staff. It was a gesture to say “thank you” - it was well received and greatly appreciated!
We have a few events lined up for Term 4. Please save the date for Family Date Night which we encourage you to get together with another family, set up your computer for a zoom connection and a fire pit ready to melt some marshmallows. More details to come in Term 4.
We will also be holding a Gingerbread building competition. They will cost $25 each and they are dairy and nut free and you can purchase gluten free options. Buy your lollies and treats and we will have different categories you can win by sending a photo into the Home and School Panel. Not long now until Xmas!
Meals with Love
If you know a school family in need of a home-cooked meal, then please email us. Due to the current climate we cannot accept donations of meals, however we would gladly welcome any donations of dry food such as packets of pasta, microwave rice and garlic bread which we can add to our meals. Donations can be delivered to the School Office. All meals will continue to be prepared by Meals with Love and the Canteen.
We thank you for your continued support!
Nicola - nicolasweetman@gmail.com
Tish - tishiarmstrong@hotmail.com