binghiISSUE 190 – TERM 3 2020 INSIDE: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ACADEMIC SHOWCASE SPORTS WRAP Middle School's Pandemic creativity Winter success 20th Anniversary in HSC works around the grounds FROM THE IN THIS ISSUE HEAD OF SCHOOL From the Head of School 2 Middle School turns 20 3 Traditions in a changing world Valedictory Week 4 Term 3 is always a very full and demanding one and in 2020 that has been Academic Focus no different, despite the circumstances so much has been written about. For 'What Matters' Writing Competition .......................6 our senior students this has especially been the case as important study and Miss Lo off to Oxford .....................................................6 exam periods have been managed alongside the demands of the sharp end Students selected for NYSF ........................................6 of the winter sporting season, a range of inter-house competitions and, for Final Note music showcase .........................................7 Year 12, all that goes with finishing school. We have enjoyed HSC showcases Nomination for Encore .................................................7 in Music and Drama; winter sports competitions have been able to be held; Drama students stage Curtain Up ............................8 teams have thrashed it out in the National Virtual Debating competition; a Visual Arts students share their work ......................9 number of athletes performed to their best at the GPS championships and a Technology students reveal innovation .................10 Passing Out Parade was able to be staged. Co-Curricular Life The presentation of such an eclectic array of activities says a good deal Debaters off to National finals ................................. 11 about TAS culture. It not only represents the breadth of interest and appetite Lawrence Campbell Oratory ..................................... 11 for such things in our students, but also expresses our belief that the aim TAthletes take to AAGPS track.................................. 12 to engage with people in active pursuits, that challenge as much as they Shooter makes AAGPS team ..................................... 12 reward, can be achieved in many ways. I know that our staff commit to this Footballers net wins in CIS knockout .................... 13 purpose because they see the difference it makes to our students as they Girls hockey finish on top .......................................... 13 grow through their time at school and I am very grateful for that. First XV win regional competition .......................... 14 Girls rugby makes solid debut ................................. 14 Academically, both our Primary and Middle Years Programmes were under Netballers wrap up season ........................................ 15 the microscope during Term 3 as International Baccalaureate representatives ‘Sideshow’ workshops skills ...................................... 15 undertook a standard review and reflection of our practice. These meetings Leadership, Service & Adventure involved not only staff but also the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Board, to Passing Out Parade ..................................................... 16 whom I extend my thanks. Congratulations to Rachel Piddington and Rachel AIEF Graduation ............................................................ 17 Holford for their work with MYP and the Middle School and Veronica Waters Dame Marie Bashir Prize win .................................... 17 as co-ordinator of PYP and the entire Junior School staff for the absolute Middle School News success of these evaluations. Debating finals flourish .............................................. 18 Quiz Litz winners ........................................................... 18 Throughout all of 2020 our Year 12 cohort have represented their school in Jane & The Giant Peach takes to the air ................ 18 an exemplary manner and set a fine example for the younger students in Junior School News confronting adversity, and I thank them for it most wholeheartedly. Their PYP Exhibition ................................................................ 19 Valedictory Week was very different to the traditional format that has been Year 2 sing in sign ......................................................... 20 followed since my time at TAS due to the pandemic and the limitations Science Week fun .......................................................... 20 therein, however we were delighted to welcome back Ashoor Khan (OA Activities Day productivity ........................................ 20 2005) to be special guest at their prize giving assembly. It, along with other From the Archives 16 hallmark events such as the Lining of the Drive and the Valedictory Service, were livestreamed to our Year 12 families. Whilst all would have preferred it A visit from the Prince of Wales 21 to have been otherwise, these milestones were no less meaningful to Year Old Armidalians' News 22-24 12s, their families, staff and the School as in previous years. Binghi is a production of The Armidale School published at the Another significant milestone marked on the final day of term was the end of each school term. 20th anniversary of Middle School. Students welcomed back Mr Dennis Editor: Tim Hughes Dempster, the inaugural Head of Middle School, who spoke (along with Layout and Design: Donna Jackson Ashoor Khan) about that first year and the continued relevance of middle Contributions for inclusion are most welcome. The submission schooling. deadline for Binghi 191 is 30 November, 2020. The world our students will be walking into has changed very much, some Photography: Tim Hughes, Simon Scott, Christian Nexo, David Slade, Emma Channon, Michael Taylor, Will Caldwell, Alice Hudson, commentators say irrevocably. However, we have been able to demonstrate Veronica Waters, Tania Hardin, Inga Brasche the strength of our community, maintain our rituals and traditional events and adapt to ever changing conditions in a manner that has bound us The Armidale School together and perhaps even made us stronger and more resolute as a Locked Bag 3003, Armidale NSW 2350 School. Tel (02) 6776 5851 | [email protected] | www.as.edu.au Cover: Passing Out Parade, 2020 (Photo by Tim Hughes) HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIDDLE SCHOOL MIDDLE SCHOOL 2020 In 2000 one of the first middle schools in Australia welcomed its first “It seems like only yesterday that Seonia Wark, Ian Lloyd, Walter Sprinkle students – and 20 years later, it was the current students who welcomed and I were welcoming our first group of Middle School students. Not to back some of the founding staff. be forgotten, the fifth Beatle, Pip Warrick, standing in the wings ensuring that all went well. On the last day of term, the 20th anniversary of TAS Middle School was celebrated with a sense of pride, optimism and a continued belief that the model is as relevant as ever in offering differentiated teaching and residential programs for those in early adolescence. Celebrations started “What an incredible day it was following two years with a whole school photo before students were entertained with the of planning by a dedicated group of people who filmed Middle School radio play ‘Jane and the Giant Peach’, an adaptation believed in the importance of having a program of Roald Dahl’s book that was originally to have been performed on stage but took on a different format due to COVID restrictions. specifically designed for students in their middle Later in the day Year 8 leaders Henry Kirton and Bella Fernance years of schooling,” said Mr Dempster. compered the official proceedings. Current Head of Middle School Mr Mark Harrison spoke about the current offering including the IB Middle Years Programme; Old Armidalian Ashoor Khan who was in Year 7 in 2000 shared some of his memories and founding Head of Middle School As Archie Pengilley and Gus Sevil played the bagpipes, students packed Mr Dennis Dempster reflected on the educational and pastoral benefits a time capsule with all sorts of things from 2020 for the future (including of middle schooling, paying tribute to the vision of Headmaster Murray several items to remind future historians of the pandemic). Henry, Bella Guest. and Ashoor Khan then buried it near a large rock in the Middle School garden. And what sort of birthday would it be without cake – devoured enthusiastically by the current crop of TAS Middle Schoolers. Attending the celebrations were Therese and Dennis Dempster, Former student Ashoor Khan buries a time Ian Lloyd (founding Head of Middle School Boarding), Ashoor capsule assisted by Henry Kirton and Bella Khan, Head of Middle School Mark Harrison, Seonia Wark Fernance (former MS teacher), Head of School Alan Jones and former Binghi 190 – 3 Director of Enrolments Pip Warrick Valedictory - a week of farewells “What you do matters, but who you are is what really counts. And being That night house dinners were held on campus, commemorations true to yourself. Give yourself some permission to evolve, try some culminating the following day, the journey of Year 12 symbolically things that challenge you, take some risks and do not be afraid to fail. ending with the Valedictory Walk down the front drive lined by And remember you will never please everybody in life, so do not worry the School, to their final chapel service and the candle ceremony. too much about what other people will think. In the end, the people Afterwards at a formal lunch in the Dining Hall, Year 12 signed a new who care about you most, will be proud of you when you