The Shuttle and Now Year 12 Showcase Opening Schooltv

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In this issue From the Headmistress Is this really a catastrophe? Headmistress Fabulous tips from Liz Cannon, our Director of Wellbeing Chaplain Mrs Megan Krimmer | Headmistress Community Liz Cannon was guest speaker at our Year 7 and 8 Mother/ Daughter Breakfast this term and I am so pleased to share Junior School Mrs Cannon's fabulous tips for the wellbeing of our girls with our Senior School whole community. Please see below. Boarding 'I was delighted to speak at the Year 7 and Year 8 Mother/ Featured articles Daughter Breakfast earlier this term. This was a great opportunity for me to outline my role and to reinforce the importance of wellbeing within the Abbotsleigh community. Events I was also able to provide some take home tips to hopefully enhance the wellbeing of our girls and to continue to foster the special mother/daughter relationship. Upcoming events As Director of Wellbeing and Counselling, I work with a wonderful team of Tutors, Year and Boarding Coordinators, Senior Leaders and our teachers to provide support and wellbeing programs that help the girls develop social, emotional and academic skills Monday 27 August for life. As a school psychologist I provide counselling and support for the girls to help ELC Fathers’ Day breakfasts them work through any issues they may have – big or small. The girls know that they SSA cross country championships are always welcome to email me or to pop by my office. Tuesday 28 August Parents are also supported in caring for their daughters. Amongst other frameworks, ELC Fathers’ Day breakfasts we have our parent seminars series, wellbeing articles in The Shuttle and now Year 12 Showcase opening SchoolTV. SchoolTV is a parent resource on the Parent Portal which provides Wednesday 29 August information and advice for parents to help support their daughters. Parents are also ELC Fathers’ Day breakfasts welcome to contact me for parenting advice or concerns regarding their daughter. IPSHA Athletics Carnival Tip no. 1: Navigating the 'speed humps' Keep things in perspective. Don't sweat the small stuff and the minor setbacks in life. Abbotsleigh Christian Fellowship I call these minor setbacks 'speed humps'. Speed humps are part of the ups and parent prayer meeting downs of life that we all experience from time to time. Thursday 30 August How do we deal with these setbacks? At school we teach the skills to help girls ELC Fathers’ Day breakfasts bounce back from speed humps; to use the hump as a stepping stone rather than an Primary Music Concert obstacle. This is extremely important because if girls do not learn this skill they may Friday 31 August not develop the resilience to cope with bigger difficulties that can impact on their ELC Fathers’ Day breakfasts wellbeing and mental health later in life. K and 3 father daughter breakfast I spoke about girls experiencing setbacks such as a disappointing mark in a test, not Saturday 1 September being picked in a team, or not invited somewhere. I asked the girls and mothers to put GCSG exhibition opens: this setback on the 'catastrophe scale' of 1-10, (reminding the girls that it is unlikely to be an 11/10!) to try to keep things in perspective. Unconscious Places – Photography and History Parents can certainly help their daughter to gain perspective and build resilience at home. Current research (Frydenberg, 2018) emphasises the significance of good parent/child relationships in helping to build resilience in children. In particular, the importance of parents being 'available, good listeners'. If your daughter comes home and is disappointed, please listen, really listen to your daughter when she talks. It is important that your daughter knows it is okay to express disappointment or sadness appropriately and calmly. Parents, please try to validate their feelings, brainstorm and problem solve with your daughter and work out an action plan for what to do next time and what she can do now to bounce back, move on and build resilience. Parents, please try not to judge nor jump in to solve and rescue wellbeing as it is focusing on the positives and the joys in life. minor setbacks, otherwise your daughter will not have the Perhaps you could start the tradition tonight (without phones chance to build resilience and confidence in her own ability at the table). to deal with speed humps. Major issues will of course require Frydenberg's research also emphasises the resilience building increased parent help, intervention and support. factor of enjoying family celebrations, having family fun For me, resisting the natural urge to 'rescue' my own children together and reminding each other of the good times they was one of the hardest things when my children were growing have shared. Frydenberg's article 'Teaching your Child to Cope', up because we, as parents, want to fix things for our children. was first published on Pursuit. Read the original article. When they were little and for example, fell over, we could pick My hope for the Year 7 and 8 girls (and all our girls) and them up, put on a band aid, give them a hug and the tears mothers is that when they reach the Year 12 Mother/Daughter would soon disappear. As we know, it is not so easy with Breakfast, that they will still be using these skills of keeping emotional hurt. As parents it is important that we remember perspective, building resilience, positivity and gratitude and that our children are still learning how to learn and how to that your girls will be thriving, and your mother/daughter navigate difficulties. They will make mistakes – this is how relationship will be flourishing. they learn and grow. If I can support you or your daughter in any way, please contact Tip no. 2: Focusing on the positives me on 9473 7836 or [email protected].' It is vital that we focus on the positives, which are plentiful and permanent in our lives and show gratitude. Our thinking Congratulations to our IGSSA athletics team sometimes focuses on what is going wrong. We need to It was a great pleasure to join our girls at the IGSSA Track and replace the ANTs (Automatic Negative Thinking) with POTs Field Carnival yesterday. Our girls represented Abbotsleigh (Positive Optimistic Thinking). To always Hunt the Good Stuff superbly and the team spirit, determination, resilience and good (HGS) and discuss WWW (What Went Well). sportsmanship that every girl demonstrated was inspirational Why do we need to do this? Research tells us that looking for and we congratulate our athletics team on their outstanding positives and showing gratitude can enhance our wellbeing. In 2nd place. The girls were amazing with several medals won and fact, Fredrickson (2013) outlines that we need three positive several PBs achieved! Our thanks go to our wonderful sport emotions for every negative emotion to help us flourish and be staff and coaches for their time and support. well beings. Year 7 girls also represented their school brilliantly. Led by So how can we do this? At school we try to focus on WWW Year 11 leaders, they were an outstanding cheer squad who and HGS – looking for positives and serving others, showing constantly encouraged our team. gratitude and experiencing joy and purpose in life. Well done to Pymble Ladies' College on their 1st place and to At home, if you don't already do this, perhaps you could set up Roseville College for coming 3rd out of 24 schools. a tradition to share What Went Well during the day and show gratitude – preferably around the dinner table (boarders on the phone at night and dinner in the holidays). I encourage you to have dinner together as a family as often as possible. This family time together will provide a protective factor for Chaplain

Making a mess in chapel David persevered because he knew God to be his rock and the Rev Jenni Stoddart | Chaplain God who keeps his promises. Ultimately, this promise is kept in Jesus, who makes a path through the worst mess of life, death This week one student told me that chapel smelt like Bunnings. itself, that we might have a relationship with God and the hope of She was right! My key teaching tools were bottles of tomato and life eternal with him. barbecue sauce. I drew with them and made a right royal mess. If your daughter is in Senior School, I encourage you to ask her In the Senior School we have been studying the life of King David, how I made a path through the mess of barbecue and tomato who was chosen by God to lead the Old Testament people of Israel. sauce. I used a simple trick, but what Jesus did was no trick. He David was told he would have this role when he was a very young destroyed death itself that we might look to him in hope no matter man, but the path to his coronation was long, dangerous and how messy life appears. messy. It is a story that reminds us that the God of the universe doesn't always work neatly. It shows us that just because life is Psalm 18:2 messy, doesn't mean God is not in control. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Community

Year 7 2020 scholarships A scholarship examination will be held on Saturday 15 Mrs Colleen Fenn | Registrar September 2018 for Year 5 students wishing to apply for a Year 7 2020 scholarship. Online registrations are now open and To acknowledge and encourage excellence, Abbotsleigh offers close on Friday 7 September 2018. Click here to register. a number of scholarships to day and boarding students in Year 7. Criteria such as school reports, examination results, financial The examination will be held in the Senior School from need, personal interview and in the case of music scholarships, 8.30 am-12.30 pm. performance, are used to award scholarships. For more information, please email Colleen Fenn or call 9473 7744.

ArtsFest auction and 'buy it now' – everything Everyone's taste has varied, validating the saying 'Beauty is in you need to know the eye of the beholder'. Ms Kathy Campbell | APA President Each piece of student collaborative artwork is available for parents to buy through silent auction. In addition, the mystery The ArtsFest exhibition is an amazing display of artwork! masterpieces can be purchased through 'buy it now' at $100 each. This sentiment has been expressed all week by visitors to the Click here to view all the incredible artworks. gallery – students, teachers, parents and artists alike. The auction and 'buy it now' opens at 6.30 pm Friday 24 All students from the Junior School have had an excursion to August and closes at 3.30 pm Saturday 25 August. Pick up the gallery to see their collaborative works in the exhibition, of artwork is between 3.30-5 pm on Saturday. many of them with a pen and paper to write down which piece mum or dad should buy! Senior students have visited the An email with auction hints has been sent to all parents. gallery during their Art classes, according to their timetable. The APA wishes you all the best with your purchases. ArtsFest – some help still needed Ms Kathy Campbell | APA President The ArtsFest market is tomorrow Saturday 25 August 10 am-4 pm. Please take the time to visit the market (outside the Senior Library/ ARC) before or after you've browsed through the exhibition at the Grace Cossington Smith Gallery. The event will go ahead, rain or shine! Food stalls include: • It's Lit food truck (firecracker prawns, ribs and pulled beef, all with chips) • Yum cha (run by the APA) • Gozleme • De Wafel (Belgian waffles and ice cream) • Coffee van Art stalls include: • Koolart sand art • Make your own leather bag tag or cuff (jewellery) • Roll your own candle (initiated and run by the APA) • Studio ARTES (you can try weaving on a loom) Can you help? Volunteers are still needed for the candle making stall. Candle rolling is really very enjoyable! If you can spare an hour (ask a friend or your daughter to join you) please sign up here for candle making. Please come along to the market and be part of our warm community.

Junior School

When does homework work? • Older children, who can self-monitor and independently Ms Sally Ruston | Head of Junior School sustain concentration benefit more than younger students. • Teacher involvement in homework is paramount to its If one gives credence to the frequent writing of educational success. The nature of the task needs to be tailored to student experts and media reports this year that homework makes no learning needs, feedback needs to be timely and expectations difference, then why is it that good schools and diligent parents need to be high regarding the quality of the work and the value persist with the task of distribution, supervision and marking of attributed to the exercise. school work done at home? As always, I am interested in the research and go to the meta So when doesn't homework work? Too often homework is given analysis undertaken by Professor John Hattie on the topic of to children that is a one size fits all and is the same for the homework. If one looks simplistically at his research, then the entire class. Such tasks rarely meet the learning needs of the benefit (or effect size) of homework is low for primary school child as they are either too difficult or too easy; neither of which students. Yet, a more in depth analysis of this data and my enable pertinent practice to be achieved. Some tasks can be so own experience of more than 30 years of educating leave me challenging and beyond the scope of the curriculum that they are believing it is very much a matter of what type of homework and impossible for the child to complete unaided. I have been made the characteristics of the children that determines whether or not aware of parents hiring architects to make the models of Inca homework is a valid and worthwhile pursuit. civilizations all in the name of homework! Given we are talking about discretionary after school time, what Activities can be set so far in advance in a 'contract' format is it that we as educators can do to ensure that such activity that it is difficult for the tasks to be differentiated to meet the maximises benefit and outcome for each child. The following immediate learning needs of the child. Other tasks can be so attributes and factors are those necessary to see time spent on open ended and nebulous that intent and direction are lost. homework being worthwhile and resulting in a positive impact on A failure to mark homework and give targeted feedback also student learning. contributes to negative effects. It is true that poor quality • Task orientated activities are beneficial, where the child homework abounds, but it is wrong to then label all homework is engaged in review, revision and rehearsal independently. as ineffectual. Such activities build fluency, competence and confidence that Worthwhile learning experiences, whether in the classroom or is difficult to achieve in a busy school day. Conversely, open beyond, don't happen by chance. They require the expertise, ended tasks in which the child has to navigate their own creativity and innovation of an experienced educator to devise, learning pathway show low benefit. deliver and then give feedback. When time on task is extended • Short, sharp and frequent bursts of homework that is by differentiated homework pertinent to each child's needs, then differentiated and closely aligned to student ability see the benefit to academic success is manifold and positive. good benefit. IPSHA Saturday sport in Term 4 Year 4 Parent Information Night Mr Paul Guirreri | JS PDHPE Coordinator Ms Sally Ruston | Head of Junior School Information has been sent home this week to To ensure that all Year 4 parents are fully informed of the changes and sign up for IPSHA Saturday sport in Term 4. broadening of opportunities available next year as the girls move to Year 5, a Available to all girls in Years 4-6, the sports parent information night for Year 4 parents will be held on Tuesday 4 September on offer in Term 4 are basketball, cricket and at 7 pm in the Year 5 classrooms. tennis. If your daughter wishes to participate, This meeting will give information about the manner in which the girls will be please complete the online form no later assessed later this year and how and why we go about grouping to best meet than next Thursday 30 August to guarantee specific needs. Mrs Donna Moffatt, Director of Learning Innovation and I will be inclusion for Term 4. present to speak with parents.

Jump Rope for Heart jump off Ms Sally Ruston | Head of Junior School This week was the final week of our Jump Rope for Heart program for 2018, which was highlighted by our 'jump off' on Tuesday where all girls, T-6, showcased their new skills to the rest of the Junior School. Lots of fun has been had over the past five weeks. Please keep the fundraising going for the next week or so. We will have a full report on our program and fundraising efforts in an upcoming edition of The Shuttle.

JS tennis singles and doubles Year 3 has a great day out at Gibberagong competitions Miss Brittany Black | Year 3 Coordinator Mr Paul Guirreri | JS PDHPE Coordinator The Year 3 girls thoroughly enjoyed Information was also sent home this week for the their adventure to Gibberagong 2018 Junior School singles and doubles tennis Environmental Education Centre on competitions. The doubles competition takes place Wednesday 22 August. They delighted on Saturday 15 September with the singles the in the opportunity to make their own following Saturday 22 September. If your daughter ochre and taste some bush tucker; the wishes to take part, please complete the online lilly pilly jam was a favourite. Students form no later than next Thursday 30 August. were in awe when observing Aboriginal rock carvings and enjoyed listening to Please note that if you wish for your daughter to the many stories that accompanied the be selected in a Term 4 tennis team for IPSHA engravings. All girls involved thoroughly Saturday sport, it is mandatory for her to compete embraced the benefits of an outdoor in the singles competition, as this is the trial for classroom. Overall, it was a fantastic team selection. We look forward to receiving many day of learning! nominations for our tennis competitions in 2018.

Scratching beneath the surface of coding Ms Jeanine Kobylinski | JS and SS IT Integrator On Wednesday the girls in Years 6 put their computational thinking and coding skills to the test to create their own billycart game using Scratch software. With the assistance of the IT Integrators, the girls were given the task of creating a two-player game that included a coding script using loops and variables. The girls successfully designed their own billycart and coded them to not only race around the track, but also to crash and burn when hitting the edge of the game. Next term these design and creative skills will move from the virtual world to the physical world when the Year 6 girls build a billycart to race around the Junior School Oval. A rewarding RoboCup for our robokids Mrs Bettina Strong | Sydney North West & Hills District Robokids On Monday 20 August, three teams of Year 5 and 6 girls who are enrolled in the AbbSchool Robokids program attended the RoboCup Junior NSW State Competition. The day began early and the bus trip to the University of NSW was quiet as we all sat in nervous anticipation of the day ahead. On arrival, the girls were shown to the 'students only' preparation area to do final rehearsals and check the programs they had written for their robot's performance. Each team took with them their robots, costumes and most importantly, the knowledge they have acquired over the last two terms. Each team was scheduled to complete two performances and an interview with RoboCup judges. As the time drew near for the performances, the girls were shown to the competition area. We were filled with joy and relief as we watched three perfect performances unfold, both in the morning and afternoon. In the interview, the girls had to present their robots and log books and answer many questions about their coding blocks, sensors and motors. At the end of the day the judges commended all our girls on their performances and the way in which they conducted themselves throughout the day. Congratulations to all girls involved, a very successful and rewarding day at our first RoboCup competition!

Senior School

25 August is Super Saturday when the universities will all be open to visitors again, before the Mrs Marg Selby | Careers Advisor Year 12 students have to lodge their final UAC preferences. Each year, every tertiary institution holds an Open Day to allow If interested in taking a course in a STEM area, two areas that senior students to ask questions and to see around their are currently in great need of applicants and in particular, female campus. This Saturday 25 August is a massive day of Open Days. applicants, are the aviation and surveying industries. Australia will have a shortage of between 300-500 pilots next year and In Canberra, all the tertiary institutions like ANU, the University this shortage will continue to grow. Similarly, in the surveying of Canberra, ACU and ADFA will be open. In Sydney, the industry, there will be a shortage of up to 7,000 surveyors over University of Sydney, Notre Dame and UTS will all open their the next few years. UNSW offers courses in both these areas doors and in Newcastle, the University of Newcastle will be on and they will hold their Open Day next weekend on September display, showcasing both their Callaghan and city campuses. 1. Newcastle University, which can be visited this weekend, Hence, it will be a big weekend of opportunity for students to offers a course in surveying. seek out courses and campuses that best fit their needs. For other careers information, including details of a seminar about If it is not possible for you to visit a tertiary institution this weekend, studying overseas, please visit the Careers page on AbbNet. then watch out for the advisory days that are held in December,

Four Abbotsleigh girls make it to the Archdale Rep team Ms Jennie Kelly | Debating and Public Speaking Coordinator We are very excited to announce that four of our girls have made the Archdale Representative Debating team for 2018! Winnie Yuan (Year 12) has been selected back into the team, along with Jessica Cejnar (Year 11) who joins it for the first time. It's particularly great news for Year 10 girls Satara Uthayakumaran and Brianna Ho, who have done outstandingly well to be selected at such a young age. The Archdale Representative Team is the only girls rep team in Sydney and they will debate against the GPS, CAS and Combined High Schools teams. To have four Abbotsleigh girls in the team of 12 is quite an achievement. A showcase of Year 12 works from Design and Technology, Extension 2 English, Extension History, Music and Visual Arts

Masterclass with Felicity Tsai London where she studied viola and chamber music. Felicity is currently a member of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as well Ms Louise Keller | Music Teacher as Coordinator of the Conservatorium High School Chamber Last week, Abbotsleigh Music Program. Felicity is also an Abbotsleigh parent, with her welcomed viola player daughter Hannah in Kindergarten at the School. Felicity Tsai to the School Felicity was impressed with the quality of the string players to give a masterclass at Abbotsleigh and, in the masterclass, she listened to to four of our violists. performances by Angelina Cheung (Year 7), Annabella Chen Felicity studied at the (Year 9), Heather Kim (Year 10) and Stella Leonardi, the Sydney Conservatorium 2019 Abbotsleigh Music Captain (Year 11, pictured). The girls of Music and was the were all extremely grateful to Felicity for her most valuable recipient of a Big Brother advice and encouragement. Scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music in

Chess Champs Juniors: Angelina Gao (Year 7) Gwyneth Leung (Year 8) and Caitlyn Tieu (Year 7) Mrs Julie Kerr | History Teacher and Chess Club Patron Each girl played intense matches during the course of the On Thursday this week, competition, which runs all day. nine chess players represented Abbotsleigh We had great success, with our Open A team coming 2nd, and at the NSW Girls Chess our Junior team won! Challenge at Strathfield. These are fantastic results against stiff competition from our The teams consisted of: traditional rivals – Sydney Girls High School, North Sydney Girls Open A: Amy Fox (Year 9), High School and James Ruse Agricultural High School. Anousheh Moonen (Year 9) Irrespective of where the girls were placed, they all played with and Katie Ord (Year 11) great sportsmanship and dedication. What was also lovely was Open B: Sophie Fox (7), that we were competing side by side with the Junior School Jennifer Riley (Year 8) and Elizabeth Moshirian (Year 10) (Jennifer teams, who also had great success on the day. and Sophie played in an older open team rather than a junior so Chess Club runs on Mondays and we are keen to welcome any they were playing up against much older girls – some in Year 12 new players or girls who would like to learn to play. and held their own despite not being placed in the top three)

Boarding

Boarding Family Dinner a meal together. Last Friday was our annual dinner and it was Rosie Meares | Head Boarder Prefect 2018-19 a great evening. The event began with a performance from the girls. We had been practising all week singing our rewritten The Boarding Family Dinner rendition of 'I still call Australia home', which became, 'I still call is a highly anticipated event Abbotsleigh home'. Although some of the high notes were a bit in the boarding calendar of a stretch, the girls performed beautifully, especially with Mrs each year where boarder Charlton on the piano to back us up and Kimaya and Alison from families come together from Year 11 leading. It was lovely to see parents and girls from all across all years to celebrate year groups mingling and enjoying each other's company; there our community and enjoy truly was a great sense of boarder community pride and spirit. ‘Be the change’ breakfast Ever been inspired by a TED talk? From a friendship formed on the Kenyan coast, a life Amazing things can happen when you embrace the changing organisation was born. challenge and dare to take a chance.