From the Middle School

Welcome back to Term 2 in the Middle School. We trust that you had a lovely Easter break with family and that the girls are refreshed and ready for another fun term.

Congratulations to Ruhani Surana (Year 8) who has been selected to be a representative on the eSafety Commissioner’s inaugural Online Safety Youth Advisory Council. This is a great honour and an important responsibility. The council was selected from applicants across Australia between the ages of 13 and 24. Ruhani will be on the Council for a minimum of a year. The purpose of the Council is for young people to help provide advice to the government about issues that young people experience online and explore ways of supporting them to have positive online experiences. It will also inform eSafety’s youth policies and programs.

I would also like to congratulate Emily Nguyen (Year 8) who, alongside her partners, recently competed at the NSW Acrobatics Gymnastics State Championships and was awarded the Silver Medal for 12/18 Women’s Trio. Emily has now been selected to represent NSW at the upcoming 2022 Australian Gymnastics Championships which will be held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, from 11 to 14 May. All the very best for this next opportunity.

Congratulations to Méa Shires, Lelia Rich and Addison Woods from the Middle School who represented the College and NSW at the Australian Age Diving Championships in Adelaide during the holidays. A special congratulations to Méa who competed in the 12/13 years age group. Méa achieved a gold medal in the 5m Platform and a silver medal in the 1m Springboard. Méa was also selected to represent NSW in a team of four divers in the State Challenge held at the start of the competition. Méa also achieved fourth place in Synchro and 3m Springboard. What an amazing achievement!

I would also like to acknowledge Matilda Harrison (Year 8) who competed in Melbourne during the break at the Australian Little Athletics National Championships. Tilly placed second in the 100m, fourth in the 200m and was awarded first place in the 4x100m relay. This is a fantastic result!

Year 7

It has been wonderful to welcome back Year 7 from the recent holidays. The girls are looking refreshed, beautifully dressed in their winter uniforms and ready to take on the challenges of Term 2. As advised at the end of last term, the timetable has had a few tweaks in terms of the naming of Periods 1 to 8 and the timing of the Mind Body Spirit belt to after lunch. Please remind your daughter of these changes as they plan for each school day.

In Directions this week we have enjoyed reconnecting with each other and have spent time working on ensuring that the girls are feeling organised and prepared for their learning and Co-curricular activities this term. As the girls settle into their second term of Secondary School, we will continue to encourage them towards increasing independence and to be proactive about accessing feedback and support when necessary. We look forward to another fun and productive term working with your daughters.

Year 8

Welcome back to Year 8 students, most have had a restful break and are ready for a term of nine weeks. Students are also looking forward to experiencing the change to the timetable, with an earlier lunch benefiting all. The Performing Arts Competition (PAC) is in Week 3 of this term. If your daughter is a keen performer, please encourage her to participate. The competition is run by the Performing Arts prefects.

In Directions this week students will be using the Responsibility Pie Chart which is “a psychological tool used to explain the role three factors (own actions, others’ actions, and unpredictable factors) have on the outcome of a situation. It is particularly useful in explaining negative situations, and in helping us to see that many parties have responsibility and to attribute responsibility beyond themselves.”  https://schools.au.reachout.com/respectful-relationships/me-others-and-external-factors

Students will be reading case studies to create Responsibility Pie Charts. The aim of the lesson is to understand that while taking responsibility is important, it’s also worth remembering that there are often factors outside of your control that can lead to an outcome.