TAS Talks Term 2 Week 4

TAS COSTUME ROOM WORKING BEE – THIS SUNDAY

You will have received an email in the last few days calling for assistance at the TAS Costume Room Working Bee this weekend from Mr Andrew O’Connell.

I, and other parents, have seen the state of the costume room under the Centre and it is indeed in desperate need of a team blitz. Definitely far too much chaos for the teachers to stare down on their own, especially on a Sunday!! So, I encourage you to attend, especially if your child has enjoyed being part of any of the fantastic productions that have graced the stage at the Hoskins Centre over the last few years.

I know it’s a busy weekend but the Creative Arts department at TAS does so much for our children and the more people that turn up to help the easier the job is.  It’s also a great way to meet people and I’m sure that even with the dust, odd shoes, weird hats and other dramatic paraphernalia you’ll have a great time.

So, please come and support them to make ready for the next fabulous show, whether it’s for half an hour or the full catastrophe. It’s on Sunday 26 May and starts at 10am.

NEXT P&F MEETING WEDNESDAY 12 JUNE – ANNUAL FUNDING MEETING

Come and help us spend the money you’ve helped us raise at the Funding Meeting on Wednesday 12 June at 7pm in the Maxwell Meeting Room.

If you would like to come along and help us determine where the money we have raised in the past year should be allocated we’d love to see you there. Meetings are open to all parents… but to vote you need to be a Voting Member – just fill in that form!

Alternatively, if you wish to put forward a proposal for the use of funds please send these to Mr Jones as soon as possible (and by no later than Wednesday 5 June) so all proposals can be evaluated prior to the meeting.

Funding proposals should be costed, justified and seek to help a significant proportion of school. Any proposal should also be for things that are tangible, something that school wouldn’t normally pay for and on the ‘really nice to have’ list.  If you have any queries about the funding process please contact me on pandf@as.edu.au

RUGBY HOME GAMES THIS SATURDAY

Our next rugby home games are against St Joseph’s this Saturday 25 May. We will be running our usual BBQ on Backfield (or in McConville if the weather is really bad).  A coffee cart will be available behind Middle School as usual to ward off the chill.

Mrs Rachael Nicoll
P&F President

Stage 5 Electives

Mrs Seonia Wark
Director of Studies

Japan Study Tour 2019

Land of the Rising Sun, Land of Culture, Land of Experiences, Japan a trip like no other.

This trip will be remembered by all. The experiences that were given to us will not be forgotten, from catching a bullet train across the country to being welcomed with open arms by Japanese host families and experiencing first hand Japanese culture at its finest. Flying into Tokyo we started our journey exploring what this large city had to offer full of neon lights and oddities unique to Japan. After our time in Tokyo we criss-crossed the country, traveling over mountain ranges with snow-capped peaks and catching the end of the cherry blossom season with all of its amazing colours. In country Japan, we met people who were happy to show us their towns, we saw temples hidden in the sides of mountains and ate some amazing food. We met our host families welcoming in Otoyo where we got to truly dive into a traditional Japanese experience. We had sombering experiences in Hiroshima where we saw what war could do and we also presented our 1000 paper cranes at the statue in the Peace Park. We also went and looked at the schooling system in Japan through an international student’s eyes at Meitoku.

This trip gave everyone who went on the trip a new insight into a completely different way of life and gave us some very memorable experiences. We saw a completely different religion, schooling system, culture and most importantly, great food. We improved our Japanese language skills especially at our homestay and we went to places in Japan that tourists don’t even go to. We saw a city with deer who ran free and even bowed if you gave them food. We travelled on a bullet train multiple times and stood on the platform as a bullet train going past at 320km nearly knocked us of our feet and shared so many experiences together that won’t be forgotten any time soon. This trip challenges our view of society, and throws you into new environments. As you can see this trip is full of many different experiences from all across Japan. Thank you to Mr Moore and Ms Lo for organising such an amazing trip and a memory that will last a lifetime.

Hugo Catterall, Frank Perrottet and Lachlan Hey

Year 8 Maths Day

Last Friday over 60 schools from across our region competed in the New England Maths Association Year 8 Maths Day held at UNE. TAS entered two teams of four. It is rare that Year 8 students get the opportunity to spend a whole day doing Maths – and believe it or not, this is a treat for some. The students enjoyed the challenge of solving problems, identifying patterns, constructing models and working as a team.

The competitive nature of the event is not really promoted. Students are not so much trying to beat each other but to beat themselves; to develop their skills, extend their understanding and exercise their brains. Both TAS teams were in the top 25 per cent with our number 1 team placing 6^th. They are keen to bring what they have learned back into class and to share the fun!

Mr Will Caldwell

Choir Night

Once again it was a privilege to attend the Armidale Eisteddfod Choir Night. It was a night of entertainment where the audience are more than spectators; time stands still as we escape the chaos of our lives, to share the passion and joy of young (and old) voices. It is wonderful to see the growth in Choirs at TAS and the Eisteddfod is just one of the many opportunities to hear them sing. I thank all the students and staff for their dedication and sharing their gifts with us.

Summer Sporting Colours and Medallions

Congratulations to year 11 and 12 students who were recognised with Colours in Assembly yesterday, for their achievements in Summer Sport. Medallions will be awarded next Tuesday for similar accomplishments by students in years 6-10.

The Sports Council will reconvene in September to deliberate and discuss nominations for Winter / Full Year Sports, Creative Arts and Public Speaking Awards. This is a rigorous process and I thank those involved for sharing their experience and expertise.

A Prelude to the Long Weekend

The Annual TAS v Farrer Fixture is scheduled for the afternoon of Thursday 6 June, at Farrer. Students will compete in Basketball, Chess, Debating, Football, Mountain Biking, Rugby, Shooting, Table Tennis and Tennis. Games will commence at 1pm. Most will finish by 5pm whilst the First and Second XV rugby will play under lights. A full draw will be published in next week’s TAS Talks.

Managing Head Injuries

Our knowledge and understanding of Head Injuries continues to grow. We are much more aware of both what constitutes a potential head injury and its potential to cause concussion or a more severe injury to the brain. Potential head injury or concussion must be considered possible whenever a person receives an injury to the head, either from a direct blow or indirectly.

Concussion Management

The 6 steps to concussion management applied to all sports at TAS are:

Recognise and Remove

Any player with signs or symptoms of a potential head injury or concussion must be removed from training and playing and not return to sport or physical activity on the same day.

Refer

Any player with signs or symptoms of a potential head injury or concussion must see a medical doctor as soon as possible. This doctor should have experience in the management of concussion.

Rest

Players diagnosed with concussion must rest until all signs and symptoms of concussion have disappeared.

Recover

The concussed player must first recover from all concussion signs and symptoms at rest and return to activities of normal daily living before starting hard physical exercise.

Return

Follow the graduated return to play (GRTP) protocol after being able to participate in activities of normal daily life, progressing to contact training after receiving a medical certificate from a medical doctor.

The alternative management plan is to abolish contact sport; to remove the risk altogether.  However, life is full of risks. Sport teaches us to manage risks and to weigh up the physical, psychological, social and emotional benefits against them; to balance comfort and protection with the opportunity to grow.

Mr Will Caldwell
Director of Co-curricular

Shooters on target at Grafton

TAS shooters were right on target on Saturday at the Grafton Rifle Club’s annual invitation shoot, involving competitors from TAS, NEGS, Grafton and Kyogle-Casino Rifle Club. Competitors gained points in two ‘deliberate’ format matches – 10 shots from 300m and 15 shots from 500m. Thomas Deshon came first in the Juniors and was second overall on the day, with Jack Waters placing 2nd in the Juniors and Luke Rorke 3rd. Thanks to the efforts of TAS shooters, Armidale also retained the ‘Wollomombi Stump’, a competition between Armidale and Grafton. (Photos courtesy Casino Kyogle Rifle Club.)

A big week for debating

TAS hosted PLC and NEGS for the first round of the Middle School Tri Schools Shield last Wednesday in an afternoon that saw experienced debaters practicing their craft and others being ‘blooded’ for the first time.

As host school TAS provided two teams in every year group to debate each school. The topics were all connected in some way to policies or ideas linked to the Federal Election, giving students the opportunity to engage in bigger issues – from the minimum age of voting, the diverting of water inland, sustainable energy and quotas for women in parliament. In the end each school won two debates and every speaker worthy of credit for their confidence and participation. We look forward to PLC hosting the next round, in Term 3.

In other debating news our Year 11 team were narrowly defeated in their second round debate in the National Virtual Debating competition against last year’s champions, Canberra Girls’ Grammar. The team (Jack Nivison, Lachlan Reiss-Wears, Rick Nutt and Lucy Ball) were the Negative on the topic ‘That refugees should not be granted citizenship of their host country’ and built a successful case that such a position would have denied hundreds of refugees such as Richard Pratt, Anh Do and Frank Lowy the opportunity to contribute to society – and who would dare question their ‘right to citizenship’ now? However Girls Grammar’s superior technical skills and ability to speak to time handed them the debate by just a single point. Having won on forfeit in Round 1 it was the first time two of the team had debated in this format (and the first time the team had debated together), so it was a fantastic result and it is pleasing that they have another opportunity in this double elimination competition.

The Year 12 team have their second debate, against Scotch College Melbourne, next week.

Meanwhile in preparation for TAS hosting the Northern NSW Philosothon next month students were introduced to the Socratic method to ponder a big issue at Speakers Club on Tuesday morning. It was great to see the various perspectives on the topic ‘Is it right to steal intellectual property’ flow as students encouraged each other with different scenarios.

Mr Tim Hughes
Debating and Public Speaking Coordinator

This Sunday we have the great Costume Room Working Bee to tidy up our valuable stores underneath the Hoskins Centre and return that space to much-needed order. We’re inviting anyone with some spare time to join us from 10am as we give that space an overhaul and sort through our enormous costume stock.

My congratulations to the huge number of students, staff and members of the school community involved in the mammoth spectacle that was the Choirs Night of the Eisteddfod last night, both as part of TAS choirs or the many other community groups. We saw an amazing debut of the TAS Senior Acapella group, the enormous TAS Community Choir delivered an incredible rendition of Paul Jarman’s ‘Long White Sails’, the TAS Chapel Choir sounded angelic as always, the TAS Secondary Choir performed with such confidence, and finally the TAS Choir won the New England Choral Championship to the incredible delight of all involved. It is an exhaustive one but the joy and spirit that everyone performed with has proved to be the true hallmark of TAS. And to the many other amazing individual and group achievements in these early stages of the Eisteddfod I commend you for your hard work and passion for performance – and best of luck to all those still to perform in Music and Drama!

This Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm we have the epic rock stylings of Steve Thorneycroft, Steve Tafra, Sarah Thorneycroft, Dave Van Tongeren and Warwick Dunham in Edge of Sky. It promises to be a spectacular display of musical wizardry with the awesome sound of epic 70s and 80s rock. Stunning new arrangements will bring to life the fabulous sounds of great bands like Sky, ELP, Pink Floyd and more. Jump online to grab a ticket as this legendary show is not to be missed.

Every year ‘Listen Up Music’ hosts a nationwide songwriting competition inviting musicians across Australia to write and submit an original song in response to a mental health theme. This year’s theme is ‘Songs that heal’. The Listen Up Music judges will shortlist 10 songs from each region to perform at a Regional Semi-Final. The top three performances from each Semi-Final will then go on to perform at the Grand Final in Sydney, with one winner taking out The Songwriting Prize for 2019. As it closes in just four weeks I encourage you to get in contact with Ms Roobol ASAP if you are interested in entering this songwriting competition.

Mr Andrew O’Connell
Creative Arts Coordinator

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea

All our Parents and Friends are  warmly invited to join us at this year’s Junior School – Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea, from 10.15 am on Friday 24 May in the Undercover area in Junior School.

This has been one of our longest-running fundraisers and through the years, we have had great success supporting the Cancer Council. We would love to continue this.

This Friday, every Junior School student is asked to bring a small plate of morning tea to share with others and a gold coin donation.

We will be inviting Middle and Senior School staff and students to join us on Friday, in an attempt to raise as much as we can for this worthy cause.

Please remember we are a Nut Aware School – NO NUTS in any food please.

Roll on the Eisteddfod

I have been really impressed with our choirs as they performed on Tuesday and today in the Choral sections of the Eisteddfod. Their singing was a real credit to them and they looked very confident relaxed as they performed. It was a real credit to both the students themselves and the teachers that worked hard to achieve such a high standard. We feel the benefits of learning to perform in choirs (and be an active member of an audience) far outweigh the occasional awkwardness felt by a few. They all looked and sounded wonderful.

Tezukayama Gakuin Visit in August

Arrangements for the TEZ visit to TAS are now taking shape. Thanks to those who have contacted the school so far – we are keen to hear from parents who are able to host a student or two during their staff with us. We are down on numbers at the moment so we would really appreciate your support. If you have any questions about billeting, please contact us at School.

School Spirit

Congratulations to the following students for receiving School Spirit Awards at last week’s assembly:

Oliver Maxwell, Isabelle Law, Rudra Tandon,  Azoz Alshammari, George Drain, Micael O’dell, Chloe Dennison, Andi Li, Will Ogilvie, Lachie Brett, Blake Whitehill, Mila Downes.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday this week to Tobias Holland, Jacqui DuBois and Mila Nexo

Mr Ian Lloyd
Head of Junior School

Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC)

We have registered 46 students to complete the 2019 PRC, which is fantastic!

I encourage all students participating to bring in their reading logs to the library during their weekly library lessons, so we can register the books you have already read.  If you need any help finding books which are in the challenge, please ask Mrs Allan or myself and we will be able to guide you in the right direction.

Students are encouraged to come to the library during their lunch break to return books and borrow more with their teacher’s permission – you don’t have to wait until your weekly library lesson to swap your books.

Mrs Allan and I will shortly host a reading of the book Alpacas with Maracas, which is this year’s National Simultaneous Storytime book.  The exciting news is that all challenge participants who attend the reading from Kindergarten to Year 5 will be allowed to enter this book on their reading challenge list (just for this year)!

Also, a reminder about the ‘series rule’ in the PRC; please be aware of it as it does catch out students – this is the rule:

In an approved series, any two (2) books from the series can be read as part of official PRC reading. Up to five (5) other books from the same series can be read as personal choice books.

Happy reading everyone!

Natalie Ramazani
PRC Co-ordinator

Junior School Upcoming Events

The Spirit of Inquiry

Many of our Junior School classes have commenced a new unit of inquiry this week. As part of the learner profile, students are supported in becoming ‘inquirers’. Inquiry aims to nurture curiosity and promotes enthusiasm for learning, which will last a life time. Throughout  initial lessons of the new units students will be encouraged to think, challenge and extend their ideas. This is an exciting time as there will many provocations taking place and students will be encouraged to share existing knowledge and ask their ‘burning questions’. These questions will allow students to move from their current understandings to new and deeper understandings. Part of this process could involve:

• exploring, wondering and questioning
• experimenting and playing with possibilities
• making connections between previous learning and current learning
• making predictions
• collecting data and representing findings
• establishing and testing theories (IBO, 2018)

Mrs Veronica Waters
PYP Coordinator

Football - U12 TAS Blue

Last weekend, the under 12 TAS BLUE played against the Guyra Spirits in Guyra. It was a wonderful day to play football as the sun was shining and there was no wind. With the support of the entire team, Oliver Goudge scored two goals and Angus Tydd scored one goal. TAS BLUE are keen players and we would have hated to forfeit our game. If it wasn’t for Sam Ford and Joe Fenwicke stepping up from the under 10 team that could have happened, so a huge thank you to them both. Joe was in goals for second half and saved many goals and Tom was a strong supporter playing in both front and mid field. Everyone appreciated Angus taking the kit home at the end of training and look forward to Lachie Hunter’s turn at captaincy this week. TAS was losing 4 to 1 in the first half and it was pleasing that in the second half we managed to pull back a little with the final result being 5-3 to Guyra. Everyone agreed that it was a fun game and that they had learned lots during the game, which is the main thing.

Written by Mitchel Evans (Year 5)

U12 TAS White

Blake, always busy in attack on Saturday on Adamsfield..

Hugo and Blake made a great combination in attack up front…

Football Round 4 (25 May)