TAS Talks Term 1 Week 7

I frequently talk about the wide range of opportunities available to students at TAS, and while there was nothing out of the ordinary about this week’s Middle and Senior School assembly, it struck me as a great snapshot of the breadth of talent and interests of our students. All of our assemblies begin with an Acknowledgement of Country, a name from the Book of Memory and a hymn, followed by a reading, reflection and prayer. This week also saw academic colours awarded to Year 10 and 11 students, Duke of Edinburgh and Tri-star awards presented and a fitting acknowledgement of our senior rowers in particular before they head to NSW Schoolgirl and Schoolboy Head of the River this weekend.

Varied musical performances are always a highlight of assemblies and this week we enjoyed two; an instrumental and a vocal performance. I would like to take this opportunity to remind parents that next Monday evening TAS will host the first twilight concert of the year, featuring students from Junior, Middle and Senior Schools performing in Memorial Hall.

Tuesday was also Pi Day, always celebrated on March 14 (3.14), a date representing the first three digits of pi. Prizes for a number of maths competitions were awarded at the end of the Assembly and in addition to plenty of pi(e) themed food throughout the day, students and staff were encouraged to speak about the use of maths in everyday life throughout their classes.

Last week the TAS Regional Tour for 2023 began and, along with Mrs Jo Neilson and Mr Jamie Brauer last week and Mr David Drain this week, I have very much enjoyed meeting a range of future TAS students in Moree, Narrabri and Gunnedah to date. Visiting the regions our boarding students come from is one of my favourite activities each year. The tour provides us with a wonderful opportunity to catch up with our parents (present and past) and alumni in their hometowns and I look forward to visiting Tamworth at the end of this week and reconvening the tour again in Term 2.

Dr Rachel Horton
Principal

We have less than four weeks remaining in Term 1. From experience, I believe this period of ‘almost there but not quite’ to be a critical one in determining the success of the term.

It has become evident that many are understandably being impacted by fatigue. Reflecting back on the past six weeks, this is not a surprise with the many extraordinary opportunities provided. Schools are most certainly a human endeavour, often and unfortunately, the first casualty of fatigue is relationships. In the last week alone there have been some isolated instances of personal standards dropping in how we interact, approach learning and follow expectations. This is certainly not widespread or cause for concern but rather a timely reminder that it has been a long term, people are fatigued and there is pressure from a range of areas.

Rather than ignore this and hope we all get through to the end of term unscathed, it is better we call it out and address it. It is timely that we all check in with ourselves to identify the levels of fatigue and stress we are under, reengage with strategies of self-care, remain focused on achieving our goals and indeed be proud of what we have achieved so far this year. 

For all staff, students and myself I believe three important constants need to be at the forefront of our minds for the remainder of the term.

1. Being in touch with our own state of mind and developing strategies for self-care.
2. Seeking to maintain and even strengthen the relationships we have invested time and effort into. 
3. Ensuring the work we have done translates into meaningful results.

To relieve pressure and provide a healthy break from any ‘ruts’ we have found ourselves in, we have some exciting events to look forward to. Head of the River, the Blue Week Activities and Mufti Day are being coordinated by our Prefects for Week 8, The Coffs Ocean Swim, the first Bivouac for 2023 in Week 9 and of course the holidays commencing on Thursday 6 April.  

I have been impressed with the staff and students alike at TAS this year; the enthusiastic and optimistic approach is a credit to the positive intent all have commenced the year with. As we finish Term 1, it is fundamental that we maintain the positive relationships we have worked so hard for and look after ourselves and those close to us. 

Mr Ray Pearson
Deputy Principal

Our reading for Assembly this week was from Psalm 19: 1- 4 and Psalm 8, which can be found here https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+8&version=NIV

This week in our assembly series on people who have impacted and influenced our world because they follow Jesus, we learnt about Professor John Lennox. Professor Lennox is a Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University (emeritus). He was born in Northern Ireland in 1943. He was raised by Christian parents who encouraged him to read widely and think deeply about worldviews other than Christianity. When he started university, he was convinced by the Christian worldview, but his world view was not well received by some. While studying at university, he was on one occasion bullied by three senior academics who demanded he give up his faith in God if he wanted a career in science. He respectfully refused and went on to achieve many great things in academia. He studied at the Royal School Armagh, Northern Ireland and was Exhibitioner and Senior Scholar at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University from which he took his MA, MMath and PhD. He worked for many years in the Mathematics Institute at the University of Wales in Cardiff which awarded him a DSc for his research. He also holds an MA and DPhil from Oxford University and an MA in Bioethics from the University of Surrey. He was a Senior Alexander Von Humboldt Fellow at the Universities of Würzburg and Freiburg in Germany. He is an internationally renowned speaker on the interface of science, philosophy and religion. He often teaches at many academic institutions, is Senior Fellow with the Trinity Forum and has written a series of books exploring the relationship between science and Christianity. Furthermore, in addition to over seventy published mathematical papers, he is the co–author of two research level texts in algebra in the Oxford Mathematical Monographs series.

Professor Lennox helpfully argues that the Bible and science are not in conflict with each other. Throughout his books, lectures and debates he shows that the Bible and science are answering different questions about life. Big questions, important questions, but different. The Bible answers the ‘Who’ and ‘Why’ – Who is behind the creation of the world and humanity’s purpose in it, such as Psalm 8 tells us. Science answers the ‘How’ and ‘What’ questions in life. Professor Lennox believes that this view is truer to the spirit and essence of both science and belief in God, and far more fruitful than the misconception that you have to choose between the two.

Mrs Jo Benham
Assistant Chaplain

P&F Meeting

The P&F meeting is this Wednesday 15 March from 7 pm. We will meet face to-face in Upper Maxwell as well as have a Zoom session running for those wishing to attend remotely.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://as-edu.zoom.us/j/2155172798?pwd=Z1VRMTRrcjZoVStLYlFKOG5CdVovQT09

Meeting ID: 215 517 2798

Password: parents

Parent Volunteers

We always need parent volunteers to assist at P&F events throughout the year.

The TAS Rugby Carnival is coming up soon on the  22 and 23 April. TASRC is the biggest event on the calendar annually for the P&F which requires an army of volunteers. Please reserve this weekend to help out at the event either at the BBQs or at kiosks. We will also have baked goods available for sale at the event and will be asking for donations soon.

Registration sites will soon be active for you to pledge your time and baked goods for TASRC. Thank you in anticipation.

Contact P&F Executive

If you have anything you would like to raise with the P&F Executive, please send us an email at pandf@as.edu.au

Mr Paul Gaddes
P&F President

NAPLAN

A reminder that NAPLAN is running in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 this week and next week. Today marked the start of this assessment period with ‘Writing’ taking place this morning.

Students are reminded that this is a low-stakes test aimed at offering one aspect of insight into our students’ literacy and numeracy progress. Academic staff use the data that comes from these tests to inform our teaching. As such, all students should apply themselves and produce their best work in these tests, so the results are an accurate reflection of their ability in these areas of learning.

Extended Day and Tutoring Program

It is great to see our day and boarding students benefiting from the Extended Day Program offered in the Hub. This is our after-school hours academic support program and runs both in the afternoon and evening on Monday to Thursday. I write today, to remind families of the opportunities available to them in this space and encourage students to utilise the rich program overseen by Mr Arndt in the Hub. This is a productive and quiet space, and the program is working effectively to allow time and space for students to make progress and seek support in academics, but also in digital literacy or broader technology support.

Afternoon session: 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm (Monday to Thursday)

• A school-provided tutor works in the Hub to offer academic assistance across different subject areas; this is available as on a ‘drop-in’ basis.
• Both day students and boarding students are welcome, and this timeslot is predominantly used by Year 5 – 8 students.
• Our IT Department are always available for technology support, and students can book in with Mr Arndt for targeted support in research skills or digital literacy (such as organising your desktop)
• Supervised study is also an option at this time, students may or may not need assistance from our staff members. They are welcome to simply use the space to work on prep, revision or assessment work completed in a quiet, pleasant space.
• Throughout the afternoon, private tutors (see below) operate in the glass break-out rooms with students who have an ongoing arrangement with them.
• Parents are encouraged to contact Mr Arndt if they have any questions about the afternoon program.

Evening session: 5.00 pm to 9.00 pm (Monday to Thursday)

• A Hub supervisor is on duty for this session.
• A school-provided tutor is available on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings from 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm – MS boarders and Year 11/12 day or boarding students can access this service.
• Year 9/10 students can apply to be part of this system or can be referred by staff. Requests for this need to go through Heads of House for boarders, and for day students, this should come through teachers, Advisors, or Year Level Coordinators – Mr Arndt will oversee this.
• Throughout the evening, private tutors (see below) operate in the glass break-out rooms with students who have an ongoing arrangement with them.
• Middle School Prep runs from 6.00 pm – 7.00 pm as part of our regular Middle School boarding program.
  • On Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, Middle School boarding staff and extra teaching staff attend the evening session in the Hub.
  • MS boarders are welcome to stay for an extra hour from 7 pm – 8 pm
  • On Wednesday evenings, Middle School boarders have in-house prep and will not be in the Hub.
• Year 11 and 12 Study runs from 7.00 pm – 9.00 pm in the Hub with extra support available if needed or quiet supervised study as the alternative.
  • Wednesday evenings (from 5.00 pm – 9.00 pm) is supervised study for Year 11 and 12 only; private tuition also runs in the evening for students with ongoing arrangements.

Private tuition – 3.30 pm – 9.00 pm (Monday to Thursday)

• Mr Arndt oversees this program – parents can contact him directly regarding private tuition requests – garndt@as.edu.au
• All external tutors must contact Mr Arndt to request room bookings and ensure they meet school protocols.

All students are encouraged to access the Hub as part of the Extended Day Program, and as always, they are encouraged to continue to seek guidance and feedback from their classroom teachers as a first point of support.

Mrs Gill Downes
Director of Teaching and Learning

Help bring some character to the new Ag classroom!

Dear TAS Community

With the completion of the Agriculture teaching facility at the TAS Ag plot ‘Meadowfield’, we are now seeking to give it a bit of character that showcases the history of Agricultural development in Australia.

To this end, I am seeking donations of any old agriculture-related equipment, particularly historical material from old disused woolsheds. Our aim is for the classroom interior to almost replicate to an extent, the ‘feel’ of a classic Australian woolshed.

Of interest would be any old timber especially slabs that could be dressed and line the walls; old handpieces or hand shears, wool bale stencils, really old wool presses, timber gates or rails from catching pens etc. Perhaps old belt-driven overhead gear, rabbit traps, old rusty plough shears or other equipment, bullock yolks, old leather equipment, old (but clean) tins with readable labels, perhaps even historical black and white photos of life on TAS family properties from before the 1950s. Think Tom Roberts’ famous painting ‘Shearing the Rams’.

Any donations would be displayed with an accompanying acknowledgement.

Please feel free to contact me if you think you have anything of interest – it would be nice to give it another life at TAS than rusting away in a paddock or deteriorating in a shed that may be falling.

Regards,

Mr Mike Ball
mball@as.edu.au
0428 427 417

Legally Blonde continues to gain momentum. Last weekend students, staff and parents came from near and far to create and assemble the set. I commend the cast and crew, led by the energetic Mr O’Connell for his enthusiasm and ability to engage the wider TAS community in what will be a truly spectacular musical, be sure to get your tickets as they become available in the coming weeks.

The Activities Program starts in two weeks’ time with our first Bivouac (Thursday and Friday 30/31 March). This is an opportunity for students to engage in the great outdoors and challenge themselves in a range of activities. More information to follow on the details of each program in the weeks ahead.

Last weekend our First Cricket team’s season came to end at the hands of Hillgrove. Led by their Captain, Johno Phelps, this team has shown commitment, determination, and considerable development during the season. Their impressive post-Christmas form saw the team win five of their six games securing a finals berth in the Armidale Second Grade Competition. I thank Mr Dobson for his coaching and overall management of the team. It is exciting to think that the majority of this team will be back next year.

In assembly this week we wished our rowers well as they compete in their respective Head of The River Regattas on the weekend. Much of what our rowers do is unseen but their level of commitment and improvement over the season has been commendable.

“There’s a difference between interest and commitment.  When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit.  When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.” – Art Turnock

Summer sport continues this week and I remind all students that Summer Sport takes preference over any preseason winter sessions. Every attempt has been made to minimise and ensure all commitments can be met.

If you are interested in Refereeing Football, PLEASE click HERE.

Mr Huon Barrett
Director of Co-curricular

TAS to be represented at Lions Youth of the Year State Final

Having won at club and zone level, Fred Kearney is off to the State final of the Lions Youth of the Year competition after being named both Public Speaking and Overall winner of the District Final hosted by Urunga Lions Club at Urunga Bowling Club on Saturday.

Representing the Armidale Dumaresq Lions Club, Fred was one of five regional finalists, the others coming from Gunnedah, Coffs Harbour, Quirindi and Taree. Judging started on Saturday afternoon with a panel of five judges interviewing contestants on academic, sporting, cultural, leadership and community involvement.

The public speaking component of the competition, which accounts for 30 percent of overall marks, was held that evening during a dinner attended by regional members of Lions Clubs as well as family and supporters of the five finalists. Each speaker was given just seconds to deliver a two-minute speech responding to two topics – the first on how to measure individual success, and the second asking what three items they would take if they were to be isolated on a desert island for three months, and why. This was followed by a five-minute prepared speech on a topic of the contestant’s choosing.

Drawing on the record drought of 2018-19, Fred’s prepared speech questioned the notion that tough times should make people tougher. Instead, he proposed that allowing for vulnerability to seek help for yourself and others will ultimately make for healthier and stronger individuals and communities.

His efforts were rewarded with him being awarded both public speaking and the overall winner and will now represent District N1 at the State Final in Bathurst on 1 April.

Mr Tim Hughes
MIC Public Speaking & Debating

Pictured with Fred are Armidale Dumaresq Lions Club representatives Mr David Dorrian and Mr Robert Holloway OAM who were among those who travelled to Urunga to support Fred

TAS Cattle Team - Walcha Show Report

A small but dedicated group of extremely novice cattle handlers prepared and presented TAS Poll Hereford stud cattle on Friday and Saturday at Walcha Show. Whilst we managed a bag full of minor ribbons in the classes, the girls took all the ribbons to see if they could sew a blanket. Our best result was a broad ribbon with Reserve Senior Champion Cow and Calf.  Ribbons aside, success at the show can best be measured by just how much most of this team overcame. To put cattle first before themselves, get over the smell of manure and have the confidence to lead a massive animal into a show ring, many for the first time,  was a huge accomplishment for most of them. I was extremely proud.

Students involved were: James Pearce, Megan Cory, Blair Eichorn, Amelia Erby, Lily Grieve, Sophie Hardin, Banjo Lawrence, Tom Leitch, Albe Macfarlane, Lachlan Sedon, Caitlyn Taylor, Claire Watt and Emily Wamsley (NEGS).

Mr Mike Ball

TAS Kayakers

When new staff member and former TAS student Hugo Catterall commented about the ‘good old days’, when TAS Kayakers would jump on a Sydney-bound Rowing bus and bounce along to the White Water Stadium at Penrith, little did the Year 12 Kayakers know that this tradition would soon be re-established. Having shared a civilised coach journey and schnitty with the ‘other boat team’ on the evening of Friday 3 March, the grey and overcast Penrith Saturday morning brought a little trepidation when surveying the slalom course pumping out 14 cumecs of water per second and guaranteeing each of the eight rapids was a minimum of A grade three over the 320m course.

We felt a little safer knowing the SES were on hand, having a training day on the rapids practising their water rescues. Whilst our instructor for the day, Sara Seprenyi, had competed in the World Championships and assured us she was confident in our abilities. The session was a great success, although some may have spent more time in the rapids than on them. Even Harry Turnbull and Pierre Morcellet sacrificed one of their water shoes each to the Slalom Course Gods and did little to tame the unforgiving but seriously fun rapids. Clearly, we have a little way to go, as we also had the opportunity to watch current Olympic C1 Champion, Jessica Fox, and many other members of the National team train at the White Water Centre.  Surprisingly, they were not as experienced as the TAS Kayakers at abandoning their kayaks and floating downstream. Each attempt of the course saw greater dexterity, management and ultimately confidence from the kayakers. After a leisurely lunch, where more time was spent watching current and future Olympians negotiate the former Olympic course. We meandered back to watch the ‘other boat team’ continue to paddle in the wrong direction in their afternoon races.

We would really wish to take this opportunity to thank the Rowing Team for being so welcoming and great company in Harbour City and Rowing MIC Mr Ben MacDougall for all his management of logistics.  Kayaking Captain Harry never did find his shoe but assures me it was well worth the experience.

Mr Doug Fawcett
MIC Kayaking

Angus Wallis, Pierre Morcellet and Harry Turnbull at the course

The rapids!

Over the weekend we made a huge leap forward on Legally Blonde thanks to the massive team of volunteers who came to build the set at Saturday’s Working Bee. With plenty of construction, painting, cleaning, and furniture modifications, it was a full day but a fun day for all involved. So much progress was made that the cast was using all the major set elements on Sunday at rehearsal. The show is now in an excellent position so far out from our May performance dates and I know we will keep lifting and lifting. With the marketing elements being finalised we are hoping that the release of tickets is not far off – given the popularity of Legally Blonde, and the size of the cast and crew, I’d expect tickets to sell quickly so make sure you keep your eyes on TAS Talks and the school socials for the release date.

Next Monday 20 March in Memorial Hall we have the first of the Twilight Concerts for the year. There will be two sessions, the first with younger performers from 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm and the second featuring older students from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm. Here is the full list of the performers who will be featured at the Twilight Concert:
Bella Lucas, Belle Meyer, Chloe Chen, Edward Minter, Elsie Caulfield, Emily Thompson, Essie Lindeman, Ethan Wooldridge, George Quast, Gita Rajendra, Harriet Coupland, Harry Turnbull, Jack Wood, Jayden Chen, Katie Hynes, Maddie Meyer, Maya Kauffman, Meg Earle, Nithya Rajendra, Peter Evans, Raymond Wang, Sam Guppy, Sam Yu, Tommy Burnett, William Minter, TAS String Trio

Last week was a busy one for our Music students, with two different composition workshops honing their songwriting skills. Those who participated will do a much better job telling you all about it, so we have two student reports below.

Mr Andrew O’Connell
Head of Creative Arts

Composition Workshop @ TAS
The composition workshop held at TAS was a very informative and renewing experience. Mr Matthew Minter and Mr Benjamin Thorn provided a surplus of composition tips and techniques, with many useful rules like “the finished version is never finished” and “not be afraid to scrap an idea because it doesn’t work”. This, combined with their explanations on how to identify what’s missing by asking yourself questions and how to add colour and texture to a piece to bring it to life gave the students present a thorough understanding of why it is important to keep changing and editing things even when you think it’s done, as it can always be improved. They both provided examples of their own compositions and a comprehensive analysis of the steps they took to take it from the beginning ideas and motifs to the end piece of work, accompanied by written score drafts and final versions. Mr Minter talked in depth about finding inspiration for a piece, and how a concept or idea can drastically change and/or improve a composition as finding a theme or style brings it to life. He spoke about writing about things important to the composer, such as his composition that was reflective of his farm and the joys it brought him, or the Chinese culture in his family that inspired a pentatonic progression through his piece.

Mr Thorn covered the questions a composer needs to ask themself as they compose – is there enough harmony? Is there too much harmony? is the rhythm right? Are there enough rests? Is it too dissonant? Too harmonic? All of these questions allow the composer to change and add or remove compositional devices to improve the quality of the piece – for example, a minor 2nd is more strongly dissonant than a major 2nd, so it can soften the sound. He also mentioned that a piece should have the right amount of music for its duration, not too much crammed into a short amount of time, but not too spaced out and boring.
Overall, the workshop was an extremely informative and helpful experience, providing insight into the minds of composers and answering all the questions I had on how to compose, plus more.
– Holly Dauparas

APRA & AMCOS Songwriting Workshop @ NECOM
The workshop was really fun and beneficial for all of the people involved. It was really interesting to see how people individually adapted their style to work with others. It was a great collaboration exercise and it was so great to work with people from other schools. The other people who went from TAS were Clare Wilkinson, Lilla Menzies, Bella Lucas and Prue Black.
We created and recorded one song each and then began to create another song at the end of the third day. It was amazing to see how the song was developed and adapted throughout the recording and production process. We can’t wait to receive our finished songs and share them with people.
– Scarlett Buntine

NAPLAN – Year 7

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a ‘point in time’ assessment of essential literacy and numeracy skills; skills which children will use throughout school and into their broader life. Each year, students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 participate in tests for writing, reading, conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and numeracy.

As previously mentioned in TAS Talks, NAPLAN has moved to Term 1 and will take place from Wednesday 15 March to Monday 27 March 2023. The reason for this change is so that results can be returned to schools earlier in the year which will support teachers to understand the learning needs of their students and plan accordingly.

For Year 7, please see below a copy of the assessment schedule.

• Wednesday, March 15 Periods 2/3 Writing
• Thursday, March 16 Periods 2/3 Reading
• Friday, March 17 Periods 2/3 Conventions of Language
•  Monday, March 20 Periods 2/3 Mathematics

It is essential that all students have a charged laptop to commence each of these assessments.

Student Work

Our Year 6 students have been exploring Fairy Tales as part of their work in Language and Literature. As part of the Year 6 “The Grimms live on” fairy tale unit the students were given the prompt:

Now the old lady was really a cruel witch who ate children. What happens next?

This week, we showcase the work by Maya Kauffmann in Year 6.

What Happens Next?

By Maya Kauffmann

In the small half abandoned town of Cheshire, there lived an old woman. She worked at the pizzeria down the road, and although they never got any customers, the old woman was always standing at the counter, an eerie smile plastered on her face. Now little did the children know, the old woman was really a man eating animatronic.

Jack and his friends parked their bikes outside the pizzaria. It was raining, and they thought they’d stop to look around, because the old building practically screamed, “Come in, this is totally not a haunted building,” to any fully-sane teenagers.

“Jack, are you sure we should go in?” asked Stephine, Jack’s little sister. She had insisted on coming along with them, even though Jack had warned her that it was her fault if she ran home crying.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Anyways, who would say no to pizza?”

They cautiously walked inside, their clothes dripping water onto the black and white chequered tiles. Jack was nervous, but he decided it was best not to let it show.

“Umm… you do realise no one is here… right?” said Daniel, one of Jack’s friends, sounding annoyed.

He was right… The place was unusually silent. The dusty red vinyl seats looked as if they hadn’t been cleaned in ages, and torn posters were littered on the floor. He leaned closer to get a better look at them. The retro style writing was old and faded but he could still make out a couple of words: Freddy, Bear, and Pizza, and there were also pictures of animal-like animatronics, their orange eyes seemed to be staring at him from the paper.

He felt a shiver run up his spine. Why was he scared? It’s just a normal pizzeria he told himself, although that was hard to believe.

“But the old woman is always here…” Jack mumbled. “She’s probably in the kitchen. I’m going to go and look.”

He walked across the room, his sneakers stirring up dust as he peered through the rotting door frame.

“Hello?” he called, his voice shaking.

No reply.

He stumbled amongst the cluttered shelves. Piles of food crates filled with rotting food was strewn across the floor, and the pungent smell of mould was making him light headed.

Suddenly he heard a crash coming from behind him. He spun around, expecting to see his little sister, but what he saw made him freeze in pure terror!

The old woman stood in the doorway, wires sprouting from her neck, and in her claw like nails she clutched a kitchen knife, its jagged edge dripping with something red. It must be pizza sauce, right? he thought, his mind reeling with terrifying ideas.

He tried to call out to his friends, but all that came out was a high-pitched squeak, as the old woman, or robot as he should call her, ran towards him with shocking speed. She raised the knife to his throat, and as his life flashed before his eyes, his last thoughts were, my friends are dead, and no one will ever find me here before everything went black…

Parent Teacher Interviews

Families will soon receive information regarding Parent Teacher Interviews for 2023. These will be held for Years 6-12 on:

• Wednesday 5 April from 4 pm to 8pm
•  Thursday 6 April from 8:30am – 3:30pm
• Monday 24 April from 8:30am – 3:30pm

For Middle School students, interviews will be available for teachers of core subjects (English, Maths, History/Geography, Science and PDHPE) as well as your child’s advisor. Please keep an eye out in due course for information regarding making bookings for these sessions.

Mr Luke Polson
Head of Middle School

Week 7

The internationally-minded IB student is a critical and creative thinker. They engage in global ideas and issues with humanity and compassion. The world can be unpredictable and challenging at times, but the IB student can break down problems and make ethical, reasoned and balanced arguments based on continual development. A part of developing students’ knowledge about the world in which we live is to watch Behind The News (BTN) in advisor. TAS is also a Round Square school, and has many opportunities that our students can undertake. Miss Macri and Mr Currell are looking after Round Square at TAS and often send out information. If students are interested in Round Square, they should reach out to either Miss Macri or Mr Currell. 

MYP Award winners

• Chloe Dennison – Principled award
• Gita Rajendra – Thinker award
• Ethan Wooldridge – Communicator award

Mrs Rachel Piddington
MYP Coordinator

Junior School students delved into why mathematics is important and how it is used in our everyday lives yesterday on World Maths Day (known colloquially as Pi Day). Celebrations take place across the world on this day, with the date written as 3.14 in many countries, and our students enthusiastically joined in the fun through the creation of posters depicting why mathematics is for everyone. We invite all within our community to view some of the many entries that will be displayed outside the Junior School reception in the coming days.

Results of the Poster Competition

Winner
Patrick Bourke (Year 4)

Runners Up
Lachie Wood (Year 5)
Chloe Chen (Year 3)
Baxter Carruthers (Year 5)

We welcomed Senior Prefect Fred Kearney to our recent Junior School assembly where he spoke about the whole school Blue Tree initiative in an age-appropriate manner. All within our community are invited to paint a tree or stick blue in the coming weeks and to display this prominently to prompt discussions about mental health. Students have been delving into the concept that it is “OK not to be OK” within their classes and we welcome your support in this. Please see https://www.bluetreeproject.com.au/ for further information, and remember to send Mr Jim Pennington (jpenning@as.edu.au) a photograph of your child(ren) and their blue tree for inclusion in the TAS compilation.

The TAS TriStars is a wonderful initiative that encourages all Junior School students to challenge themselves. A scaled-down version of the Triple Crown afforded to Middle and Senior School students, it includes three separate activities – a swim, a walk, and an endurance activity using a wheelchair. All are encouraged to participate with registrations required before each event. The swim component takes place on Thursday 23 March in the TAS pool with participants required to swim between 100m and 500m dependent on their age. Kickboards and other swimming aids can be used, and swimmers are welcome to catch their breath at any point. Please contact Mr Jim Pennington (jpenning@as.edu.au) as soon as possible if you wish for your child to participate. Parents and guardians are most welcome to do likewise.

Year 3 and 5 students commenced their NAPLAN assessments earlier today, both completing the writing test. All assessments across the country are this year being conducted online and are adaptive, meaning the difficulty of a child’s questions may increase or decrease based on their previous answers. The data generated from NAPLAN is beneficial in the review of School programs and provides a snapshot of an individual child’s achievement at a single point of time on a given day. We wish all students undergoing these assessments well, and remind them that all anyone can ask is that they “try their best”. Individual results will be distributed to families later in the year.

TAS have once again registered to be involved in the Autumn Festival that takes place on Saturday 1 April. All Junior School students, together with those in Year 6, are warmly invited to join the festivities in the annual parade, with selected Middle and Senior School students performing in musical and dramatic showcases throughout the event. Further details will be disseminated once these are finalised.

It is with great excitement that we announce the appointment of Mrs Kate Moloney as our newest member of the Junior School teaching team, commencing at the start of Term 2 as we split our current Year 2 class. Kate has extensive experience in both public and independent education sectors. She began her career in Sydney where she worked at Woollahra Public School and a specialist independent school for students with specific learning challenges before moving to Calrossy Anglican School in Tamworth. Kate has most recently been teaching Year 1 and 2 students at NEGS after relocating to Armidale at the start of this year.

Happy Birthday

Best wishes to Elizabeth Collins, Elara Polson, Edward Pengilley and Patrick Rodgers for their birthdays this week.

Mr Scott Chittenden
Head of Junior School

Upcoming Events

PYP-Learning Environments

It is tremendous to see students actively involved in their learning and embracing the many learning experiences in class as they delve into their units of inquiry. The purposeful concept inquiry occurring in classes has engaged students actively in their own learning. It is widely known that inquiry nurtures curiosity. Looking around our Junior School it is evident that all classes have created safe and inclusive learning environments which inspire the imagination and creativity of learners.

Our learning environments support the development of approaches to learning and enhance connections between, across and beyond subjects within and outside the transdisciplinary programme of inquiry.