Principal's Message
As the year draws to a close, I am reminded that we have much to be grateful for. We have been on quite a journey together in 2021 and it has been exciting to see the vision of Wahroonga growing into a Prep to Year 12 school become a reality with the graduation of our first Year 12 class. Celebrated by family, staff and students the Year 12’s created a unique piece of history as they were honoured and farewelled with a final walk through the school.
I am grateful for the dedication of the staff and commitment of families who believe in an education where values are central. This is exemplified by the Home and School committee who met this week to reflect on the year and plan for 2022. They are an inspiring and energetic group of men and women who are passionate about our community and I thank them for their generosity of time. Through the funds of the Home and School each student was able to participate in a fun memory-making activity day on Monday.
During the past week we have held graduations, honoured students in presentation mornings, had fun with the Christmas Chapel and activities and been presented with the inaugural P-12 Yearbook, Connections, thanks to the editor Mrs Emmeline Trappitt and her team.
Most of all I am thankful for the relationships built and learning experiences shared this year. May you have the gift of faith, the blessing of hope and the peace of God’s love this Christmas. I look forward to seeing you in 2022.
Julia Heise - Principal
Chaplains' News
Christmas and Honour!
As we look forward to Christmas it's good to remember honour, so as we upheld the first graduating Year 12 class, we couldn't help but uplift and honour those that had contributed along the way - former Principals, Chaplains, Families, Support staff, faithful church members, the Conference leaders, and as this photo shows, we were able to honour the teachers that were part of the journey all those years ago and ongoing! To honour these people is only fitting, because they daily set their heart on the mission of encouraging and being the loving Jesus centred teachers that many of graduating Year 12 students needed over the years of their development as so aptly mentioned in this Bible text:
Mark 10:25 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people" gnt.
We want to close the year off by uplifting the sacrifices and service made by the school family this year, to uplift and honour faithful staff over the years also- faithful leaders, Pastors/Chaplains and certainly the faithful teachers like Mrs Curnuck, Mrs Els and Miss Robinson (as shown in the photo below).
We want to pause and to be thankful for their sacrifices for our good, to honour their contributions just as we do also that of Jesus' sacrifice and service of identifying with us! They have chosen to literally be at our level as Jesus does and this Christmas, we are reminded of Jesus doing exactly that - being at our level with a mind and heart to serve humanity (Philippians 2:5-11). So, thank you Jesus for being God with us and thank you to the faithful parents and faithful staff who have followed this example, we honour you today for serving our wonderful students, God will honour you also!
John 12:26 "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me." niv
Today and this Christmas we honour Jesus as best example of what it means to identify with us and to serve.
Honour, Blessings and Safety to you this Christmas from the Chaplains
Pr Eden, Pr Nick, Pr Andy
Whole School News
End of Year Activity Days
Students across the school participated in End of Year Fun Day activities on Monday. It was such a great day and students and staff all reflected how lovely it was to get out and have some fun together.
Prep, Kindy and Grade 1 & 2 students had a great time playing with water and having turns on an inflatable jumping castle that was set up on the school's new basketball courts. There was jumping, laughing, squealing, running and many excited kids all having a great time.
Grade 3 & 4 students also had a great time jumping, laughing and playing together on the blow-up obstacles and courses at Inflatable World.
Grade 5 & 6 students travelled to Manly Surf & Slide for a morning of fun on the waterslides before heading to the beach for lunch and a play on the sand.
Grade 7 & 8 students travelled to Penrith Cable Park where they swam, climbed, jumped and played in the water at the inflatable obstacle course.
Students in Grades 9 & 10 challenged themselves with games of bowling and laser tag at Castle Hill, and students in Grade 11 went to Manly Beach for a swim, relax on the sand and for some healthy – but competitive – games of volleyball.
CODE CAMP
Code Camp is back for Summer at Wahroonga Adventist School from 13-15 December and 11-13 January!
There is a variety of camps available, for more information or to book click here.
Calendar of Upcoming School Events
You can access the list of upcoming School events via the link below. The School Calendar is also available under the Parent Information tab on the School website.
Term Dates for 2022
Please click on the link below to view the school term dates and public holiday information for 2022.
Primary School News
A Note From Mrs Deppeler - Head of Junior School
The year has certainly finished off with lots of events on the calendar for our students. It has been wonderful to be able to hold these events for our students to celebrate their achievements and to provide them with a positive end to our challenging year.
Prep Graduation Afternoon
On Tuesday 30 November we held our Prep Graduation service for our 2021 Prep students. The ceremony was a wonderful way to celebrate the achievements of our youngest members of our school community and to acknowledge their efforts as they graduate to Kindergarten.
Year 6 Graduation Dinner
Our Year 6 students celebrated their graduation from Primary School in style on Monday 29 November. The students looked absolutely amazing. A special thank you to the parents who spent time setting up the venue, our roof top, which looked spectacular. Mrs Jacobs, Mrs Curnuck and Miss Rogers created a special night for our students to remember their Primary years and to celebrate their journey into Secondary school.
Christmas Chapel/Mufti Day
Last Thursday 2 December our School Chaplains provided a fun Christmas Themed Day for our students. The day started with a Christmas Chapel which was a great way to wind up our year of online chapels. Each year level was then treated to Christmas games and fun in the snow. What a wonderful way to celebrate all things Christmas.
Christmas Door Competition
All the Primary classes participated in a Christmas Door Competition over the past few weeks. I was super impressed by all the efforts of students and teachers. It was hard to choose the best door, however 4 lucky classrooms won a prize, and the other classes received a runner’s up prize.
Primary Presentation Morning
Tuesday 7 December students who had achieved outstanding academic, sport and performing arts results were acknowledged. It was fantastic to see a number of our primary music students showcase their amazing talents in various solos during the presentation service. Well done.
.
Year 4 - Maths
National STEM Day kicked of a series of STEM sessions this term for the 4 Maths class. Since then, the class have accepted the missions to Save Fred the Worm from drowning, catch as many Thanksgiving Turkeys as they can and build the Tallest Tower possible to hold a tennis ball for 3 seconds.
In each of these challenges the students have had so much fun using the design process, working as a team and using their brains ‘to the max’ to solve engaging problems.
Mrs Kemp - Year 4 Maths Teacher
Year 5
In Year 5 we have been exploring the wonderful, wacky world of puppetry! We have discovered a variety of puppet types from places and cultures all around the world, learning what they are made of and how they are controlled. We have also examined how puppeteers use voice and movement to make puppets ‘come to life’ in interesting and engaging ways. All this said, it was important that we create some puppets to work with to put our newfound skills to the test! Year 5 have created their very own puppet characters, developing a unique ‘look’ for their puppet as well as considering the type of voice, backstory and personality their puppet will have. We used our puppets at the end of the term to perform short skits for our classmates.
Mr Cowley - Year 5 Homeroom Teacher
Year 5 Geography Travel Expo
In Week 9, Year 5 students celebrated their Geography research projects by participating in a Travel Expo. 21 countries were put on display as students shared their wealth of knowledge on their case study country with their peers and visitors.
During Geography students have explored the Natural and Human Characteristics of a case study country that neighbours Australia. Students also used clay to sculpt the landscape of their case study country and an animal that lives there. Information reports were also written about the animal during Writing sessions. The collection of these work samples were put on display to compile each country’s stall at the Travel Expo.
Mrs Kanimako - Year 5 Homeroom Teacher
Secondary School News
Year 12 Graduation
On Wednesday, January 27th 2016, a group of scared year sevens entered demountable classrooms and a high school was born. Nearly 6 years later, the journey of those scared year sevens has culminated with a remarkable group of young men and women who have undertaken the journey of being our first Year 12 graduating class.
After a year of changes and uncertainty, watching the Year 12s walk down the aisle was a proud moment for both parents and staff alike.
We were blessed to have our local state MP, the Honourable Alister Henskens and Wahroonga church Pastor, David McKibben both present awards and speak to our graduating class. Mr Chris Starrett concluded the service with a reflective address encouraging the graduating class to be the change that the world needs.
To the parents of these Year 12s: Thank you for putting your trust in our school and the education that we could provide for your children.
To the Year 12s: You will be missed.
Mrs Stanculescu - Year 12 Coordinator
.
Years 7 to 11 Presentation Morning
On Friday 3 December we celebrated all the hard work and diligence of our students in Years 7-11 at Wahroonga Church. Students were rewarded for upholding school values, sustained effort and academic achievement. The talents of some of our Performing Arts students were showcased and our outgoing School Captains highlighted the events of a challenging school year and encouraged the school body to continue to strive for excellence. In her address, Mrs Heise reminded us to always remember to act responsibly, with respect and integrity, while always showing compassion to others.
Library News
Premier’s Reading Challenge
The 2021 Premier’s Reading Challenge Certificates have arrived and were placed in the Primary School report envelopes (High School students can collect their certificates from the library). Congratulations to all 134 students who completed the 2021 challenge, and especially to the following students who all received special awards this year:
Gold Certificate (4th year of completion): Alex L (2B), Charles B (3H), Eliza C (3H), Gaba G (3H), Tate G (3H), Alexis G (3K), Nicolas J (3K), Jasmine L (3H), Ryan L (3H), Lachlan P (3K), Amy P (3K), Sam T (3K), Victor K (4L), Joshua L (4L), Yifei S (4L), Ryan Z (4L), Sheressa S (5K) and Jessica L (6J)
Platinum Certificate (7th year of completion): Rebecca C (6C), Myles G (6J), David L (6J), Isabel P (6J), Elijah P (6J) and Samantha M (7W)
Medallion (Completed every year from Years 3-9): James L (9W), Katie M (9W) and Angelica Y (10W)
And the Winner is . . .
Wahroonga Adventist School was recently the lucky winner of a book giveaway sponsored by the State Library of NSW in association with publisher, Allen & Unwin. The prize was a copy of the book ‘Somebody’s Land: Welcome to our Country’ written by AFL legend Adam Goodes, a beautifully illustrated book which explores the proud and long connection Australia’s indigenous people have with this land.
Mrs Savage - Librarian
.
Home and School
THANK YOU to these amazing, talented, generous of heart and committed committee members who volunteer their time to be part of the growth of our school community.
(Missing in the photo are Edwina Spooner, Michael Montelone, Jeanne Van Warmelo and Catherine Manners)
Last night we shared a meal and then spent time reflecting on the year, reviewed our role and vision as Home and School and then planned new events for 2022. Hopefully, 2022 will allowing our planning to come to life.
To all the parents who joined us on Zoom and to all our school community who attended our events or competitions a sincere thank you. We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you in 2022.
Merry Christmas and blessings to you all.
Michelle Roberts - Home and School President
Family BBQ Night - The Results Are In!
We are very pleased to announce the results from the Family BBQ Night... And the winners are....
1. Most Creative - 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 = 1 Sedgman Family Group
2. Make Up – 6, 9, 6, 9, ,9, 9 = 9 Roberts Family Group
3. Marshmallows – 2, 6, 4, 7, 4, 4 = 4 Behrens Family Group
4. Cream tower – 4, 12, 4, 12, 4 = 4 Allen Family Group
5. Lego – 1, 2, 4, 2, 4, 2 = 2 Gibson/Tate, Lissy and Gaba Crew Family Group
6. Interview: 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 = 2 Duckers Family Group
Family BBQ Honourable Mentions Voting (no prizes):
1. Most Creative- 10, 8, 8, 8, 8 = 8 Edwards Family Group
2. Make Up – 9, 1, 8, 8, 8 = 8 Gibson/Tate, Lissy and Gaba crew Family Group
3. Marshmallows – 7, 7, 2, 7, 2 = 7 Duckers Gamily Group (Also the technical winners with 20 regulation size marshies)
4. Cream Tower – 12, 1, 4, 1, 1 =1 8 Gibson/Tate, Lissy and Gaba Crew Family Group
5. Lego – 2, 4, 4, 4, 3 = 4 Atkins Family Group
6. Interview: 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2 = 3 Sedgman Family Group
Outstanding efforts deserving of a mention... Felberg Fire Pit Marshies response was fantastic, 17 by Dad is pretty epic and everyone had a go!! The Roberts’ smiley meal was cool! :) Grandad of the year award to Mr Allen!!!
Well done one and all for all the food, fun and worship time! Thank you, Mick Monteleone and the Home and School, for such a creative and fun opportunity!
Pastor Andy and the Judging Panel :)
Beyond the School Yard
Home and School in conjunction with our talented and dedicated SRC students have done an extraordinary job in promoting ADRA and Fusions for our Beyond the School Yard initiative.
On the school mufti-day last week students were asked to bring in a food item to donate between ADRA and Fusions. The amount of food donated was overwhelming. The generosity of our WAS community is humbling and we are so appreciative of people's kindness. The gift of giving is really highlighted at Christmas time. Thank you to you all for your contribution.
Thank you to Jodie Lanstra, a member of the Home and School, who delivered the food donations and toys last week.
Operation Christmas Child
This year we have been able to donate 30 boxes to Operation Christmas Child.
Meals With Love
We would like to thank all the families that contributed food for Meals With Love this year. A special thanks too to our wonderful Canteen staff for providing their delicious salads to go with each meal. We were able to distribute dozens of meals to school families this year. If you received a meal and have a blue cooler bag please drop them back to the Canteen in the New Year. Thank you for supporting this initiative and we wish you all a safe and wonderful Christmas.
mealswithlove@wahroonga.adventist.edu.au
Bits and Pieces
Clothing Donations
Looking for somewhere to donate your old clothing?
Wahroonga Adventist Church (the big building next to our school) has 2 new collection bins out the front. All donations to the bin will go directly to those in need.