"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
Philippians 4:6
From the Principal
It is an opportune time to remind parents and students that the COVID-19 threat is still very real and that we must continue to remain vigilant with regards to the following:
- Stay home if you are not feeling well.
- Adults must keep 1.5m distance between one another.
- Hand washing needs to occur in a mindful and vigorous manner.
- Cough into your elbow and avoid sneezing in public.
We all can play a part in helping to slow the spread of COVID-19 and I respectfully remind all members of the College community to observe these practices. I will be reminding students of the need to observe hygiene practices around the College and will be asking staff to do likewise.
Last Thursday I had the pleasure of conducting a walk around the Secondary School in periods 5 and 6. I was able to pop into each room and was happy to see a variety of purposeful learning activities taking place. The most pleasing aspect of these visits was seeing that the students have returned from the mid year break and are settling back into their learning routines. This week I will endeavour to get around the Primary School to see what is occurring in classrooms.
Last Friday and this Monday were photo days and I thank all of our families for ensuring that your children were appropriately attired. It was a tight schedule and we managed to get through everything in the allotted time. I would like to thank, in particular, Mrs Middleton - Director of Secondary and Mr Cross - Director of Primary, for their great work ensuring that the photo schedule moved smoothly.
At secondary assembly this week I presented the academic effort certificates, along with the Age Champions and Runner Up Age Champions from the athletics carnival. Congratulations to Smith House on a very pleasing victory in the secondary carnival. I look forward to the Primary carnival results being released at next week's Primary Assembly.
Interschool sport has begun its rebirth after the COVID-19 shutdown, and last Thursday our Open netballers represented the College magnificently at the NCIS Netball Championships. The team finished second to Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School and put up a great fight in the final, given that Lindisfarne is almost twice our size and their teams play together in the Tweed competition.
The next few weeks are a particularly exciting time for our Year 10 students, as they begin the important process of making decisions regarding subject selections for Year 11, 2021. The best subject choice hints are to choose the following:
- Subjects that you have proficiency in.
- Subjects that you have an interest in.
- Subjects that articulate to chosen or mooted career paths for the future.
- Students must remember to be flexible in their thinking and to not be defined by their subject selection.
- Parents need to give good advice, but must remember that your child needs to have some input and ownership over the process. It is no use forcing your choices upon your child.
A great example of this is from the wonderful movie 'Dead Poets Society'. One of the main characters, Neil Perry, played by Robert Sean Leonard is pressured by his intense and well meaning father played by Kurtwood Smith. Perry loves drama, acting and literature, whereas his father wanted him to be a doctor and never listened to what his son's dreams were. The consequences of this authoritarian style of parenting were tragic. Whilst it is only a movie, it demonstrates the importance of allowing your child some freedom within a guiding, educative and supportive framework of parental advice, rather than choosing for them.
Mr Darren Parks
Acting Principal
Term 3 Week 4
Monday 10 August
Fast Feet for Sport - 7.45am - Oval
Year 10 into Year 11 Subject Selection Q and A - 6.00-7.00pm - Via Zoom
Tuesday 11 August
NCIS Netball Trials - 7.30am - Courts
Primary Assembly - Sent to classes via Screencast
Friends of EAC Meeting - via Zoom
Wednesday 12 August
Secondary Chapel - Sent to classes via Screencast
Thursday 13 August
Secondary Chapel - Sent to classes via Screencast
Year 7 Experience Day - All day
Friday 14 August
Secondary Sport - Periods 5 and 6
Term 3 Week 5
Monday 17 August
Fast Feet for Sport - 7.45am - Oval
Year 12 HSC Trial Examination Block until Monday 31 August. Year 12 students and parents have been sent the timetable by Mrs Boyd.
Tuesday 18 August
Primary Netball Training - 7.30am - Courts
Whole College Chapel - Sent out via Screencast
Friday 21 August
Secondary Sport - Periods 5 and 6
Sports Update
NCIS Netball Championships
Congratulations to our Open Girls Netball team who competed at the NCIS Championships last Thursday. The championships were held at Tweed Heads and hosted by Lindisfarne. The girls finished runners up in the tournament, winning every game except the grand final where they went down to a strong Lindisfarne team.
Well done to Stella Atkinson and Paige Wilkie who were named as best and fairest players by their team mates.
Mr Graham Walker
Sport and Coaching Administrator
Secondary News
Academic Effort Awards
During the Virtual Secondary Assembly this week, we recognised the academic effort made by students during Semester 1. Congratulations to the following students for their awards:
Academic Awards:
Year 7
Sascha Connolly
Ava Delaney
Amber Ivers
Mackenzie Liska
Valentina Mulé
Robert Mumford
Madison Paice
Franceska Payne
Olivia Van Zwieten
Hannah Vidler
Edie Wadsworth
Felicity Walker
Lillian Whitby
Year 8
Roi Chong
Cassidy Curnow
Freya Elliott
Anya Grant
Hayley Kaye
Alexander Keir
Marlie Koenen
Sindiswe Malaba
Zoe Marr
Olivia Mills
Priya Singh-Pangly
Lola Wagner
Jack Whitaker
Joshua Williams
Year 9
Lara Atkinson
Michael Bull
Eliza Grosser
Sophie Lawson
Nkosilathi Malaba
Sophie Parks
Sylvie Peart
Grace Tyrrell
Raquel Van Merwyk
Year 10
Sienna Cahill
Jade Harris
Mia Hoey
Kyra Jorgensen
William Lane
Anita Norton
Oliver Payne
India Trevan
Year 11
Breanna Barron
Alex Chapman
Scarlett Donovan
Aysha Franklin
Bronte Jarrett
Ethan Jorgensen
Sofie Kreutzfeldt-Jensen
Gabriel Mison
Hayley Oakes
Letia Paton
Ella Peart
Simone Redman
Sofia Ribechini
Kirsten Smith
Hamish Walker
Lachlan Walker
Paige Wilkie
Year 12
Stella Atkinson
Josephine Carey
Jemima Grigor
Lily Kratzer
Thomas Lane
Samuel Mercer
Annie Milne
Jade Monti
Isabella Nowell
Alanah Osborne
Ryan Richards
Himanya Sajnani
Caitlyn Seamer
Lara Truman
Gold and Silver Award Winners
Gold Award Winner: Alexander Keir was presented his Gold Award at the Virtual Assembly. This award is presented to a student who has received 45 Well Done stamps. Congratulations to Alexander for the effort he has placed into his work at school.
Silver Award Winners: A student who has received 30 Well Done stamps achieves a Silver Award. Congratulations to Laylan Bradbury, Anya Grant and Marlie Koenen for achieving this award.
Preparing for Exams
Year 12 students begin their Trial HSC exams in Week 5 of this term and Year 11 are starting to prepare for their yearly exams being held at the end of this term. As students prepare for their exams it is important for students to develop an effective study routine. NESA has provided a diagram to support this process which can be seen below.
By using this process, students will develop an understanding of the topic and determine if there are gaps or weaknesses in their explanations.
A recent Sydney Morning Herald Article for HSC students recommends that students study in small chunks over a long period of time to retain information “intense learning (cramming) can’t replace long term learning”. By creating a study schedule students are able to balance their wellbeing, extracurricular commitments and map our times to study to ensure they are able to retain information. Sample study schedules can be found in the College planner.
As we begin to prepare for the HSC it is also important to listen to tips from students who have gone before us. Below are some of the top study tips from students and teachers which were listed in the Sydney Morning Herald Article:
"Break down your notes into dot points and make sure you address all the topics in the syllabus. If you understand the syllabus, you will be ready for the HSC." - Natalie, 2019 HSC student
"Collaborate with your classmates – that external insight is key to improving weaknesses in your preparation." - Mairead, 2019 HSC student
"Treat this year like you are an athlete preparing for the Olympics. Build memory muscle and stamina for study by increasing cognitive load in chunks, not all at once. It's important to factor in relaxation time and other menial tasks to allow the subconscious to do its work after revision/study blocks." – English teacher and member of the Best in Class unit
During the next few weeks, work with your child to revise key concepts and develop a study schedule so they can be successful in their exams.
For further information to support studying for the HSC refer to the HSC Study Guide 2020.
Mrs Amanda Middleton
Director of Secondary
Mission Australia Youth Survey
This year the school will be participating in the 2020 Mission Australia Youth Survey. This survey is the largest annual survey of young people with over 25,000 respondents in 2019. The survey helps schools, community organisations, governments and policy makers to gain an understanding of young people's values, concerns, challenges and ambitions. The survey is for young people aged 15 to 19. This survey will be completed during Pastoral Care lessons in Week 4. For further information regarding the survey and to provide your consent, please log onto the Parent Lounge.
Primary Update
Peer Support
Our Primary students started Peer Support sessions this week. The students are participating in a new module, 'Moving Forward', which focuses on resilience. The experiences in the module help children to identify their qualities and strengths, develop skills, respond with a range of strategies and seek support when faced with challenges. In this first session, the children established connections with the other members of their group and developed their group agreement to enable them to work well together. The students discussed an example of a challenging situation and some resilient and non-resilient responses.
Mrs Kate Sculley
Primary Teacher - Year 6
Music Notes
Individual and small group music tuition has commenced for Term 3
Music tutors have returned to site in week 2 to recommence music tutorials with students from Kindy to Year 12.
If your child(ren) have previously had tuition or if you would like for them to begin, please email Mr Justin Cleverley at jcleverley@eac.nsw.edu.au for further information and to arrange for lessons to begin.
Full details including prices and tutor information is available on the College website via the Co-Curricular menu.
Mr Cleverley
Teacher of Music - Primary/Secondary
Instrumental and Vocal Tutor Coordinator
Library News
Canteen
All orders must be received at the canteen before 9.15am.The canteen will operate Monday to Friday.
All orders must be received at the canteen before 9.15am.
Please place the money in a paper bag of sufficient size to fit all of the lunch items.
If you are ordering a drink with your lunch please provide two (2) bags. Please write the information on the LOWER half of the bag. If money is short we will substitute items to the value received.
REMEMBER, if ordering RECESS, you must have a separate recess bag.
RECESS: Name, Teacher, PC Class, Recess Order
John Smith, Mr Falvey, 3A
Recess
Cheesymite Scroll
Pack Sultanas, Small
LUNCH BAG 1: Name, Teacher, PC Class, Lunch Order
John Smith, Mr Falvey, 3A,
Lunch
1 Snack Pie
LUNCH BAG 2: Name, Teacher, PC Class, Drink Order
John Smith, Mr Falvey, 3A,
Lunch
1 Orange Juice
Any change required will be placed in the bag for return with the lunch order.
Christine Hall
Canteen Coordinator
Community News
