Volume 54 No. 12

Subject Choice Evening for Form I

This event for Form I boys and their parents looking ahead to Form II 2019 will be held on Thursday 13 September at 6.00pm in the Alastair Mackerras Theatre.

The evening is designed to help you and your sons make Form II subject choices. Mr Hesketh and Dr Stevens will talk about a range of relevant matters, including structure of secondary schooling in NSW, the HSC, courses offered at the School, and recent HSC reforms. We look forward to seeing you then.

NAPLAN results for Form I and Form III

NAPLAN 2018 results will be delivered to schools from mid September 2018 (date is to be confirmed depending on the ACARA release of results data).

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

Two Form II Mathematics classes are required to take part in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in November this year. TIMSS is an educational research project investigating student achievement in mathematics and science, and more than 60 countries participate. TIMSS provides perspectives on how students in Australia are performing in comparison to their peers in other countries.

The selected boys will complete an assessment in Mathematics and Science and complete a questionnaire about their experiences at home and at school. There is no need for students to study specifically for the assessment, as it will not affect the boys’ grades or progress in school.

More information will be provided to the families of those boys taking part in Term IV closer to the date of the assessment.

All data will be kept strictly confidential and no individuals or schools will be identified in published data or reports.

Dr AD Stevens

Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme

A reminder that all hike permission forms for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme Adventurous Journeys (to be undertaken in the upcoming September/October holidays) are due by Friday 31 August. Any forms received after that date run the risk of not being processed in time and hence, the hike may not be counted towards a boy’s award. Parents of boys in Form V should take special note of this hike deadline as your son will commence his Annual Examinations the following week. All qualifying expeditions must be undertaken with direct supervision under the management of the Collaroy Centre*, Camp Somerset**, The Outdoor Education Group, Southbound Adventures or NSW Sport and Recreation. Parents should book and pay for hikes directly with one of the providers listed above and then complete the SGS hike permission form and submit this to me by the due date.

*Please note: a briefing session is compulsory for anyone doing their first hike at Collaroy Centre, no matter which level. The next briefing session is Thursday 27 September (the first day of the school holidays).

**Camp Somerset – I have clarified with the Assessor that all SGS boys MUST do a Preliminary Training combination hike. If you have booked a practice hike or “All in one” without the Preliminary Training, it will not be approved.  See me urgently if this is the case.

Please refer to the School website under ‘Other Clubs and Activities’/Duke of Edinburgh for further information or boys can come and see me in my office, opposite WM3. The hike permission form is also available on the School website (please download the current form).

Boys in Form VI are reminded that they need to complete all components BEFORE they finish school either by the end of this term or after the HSC examinations, otherwise they cannot be signed-off by Sydney Grammar School. I need to know which option boys are taking so any Form VI boys intending to complete their awards should see me urgently if they have not already done so.

Ms RM Fin

Term III Concert

On Thursday 30 August at 6.30pm many of the School’s large ensembles will be performing in the John Vallance Hall. This concert will include the School Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, School Choir, Sheldon Strings, Stringendo, Seymour Orchestra, the Alastair Mackerras Chamber Orchestra, Grammarphones and the Percussion Ensemble I. The concert is approximately two hours long, including a short interval. The Middle Playground will open for parking from 6.00pm. Refreshments will be available in the Foyer of the John Vallance Hall before the concert and during interval. Entry by donation.

Cross Country concluded its ten round season with the AAGPS Championship held at Sydney Park on Saturday 18 August.  Congratulations to the Opens team for winning the championship and to Elliot Metcalf for being named GPS Open Champion for 2018. In addition, the U16s and U14s both had very successful seasons with each team placing a commendable second place in the GPS.

Elliot Metcalf, Thomas Davies and Oliver Freeman attended the Australian National Championships in Queensland last weekend. Elliot finished sixth in the 18/19yrs event and the NSW Team won the Team Championship event. Thomas Davies and Oliver Freeman both finished within two minutes of the winner of their respective events and represented their state and School proudly.

The fencing club has had a very successful season across all age divisions. Most recently, the U14 divisions competed in the AJ Rae team event and Grammar dominated the podium.

The U16 divisions competing in their individuals competition had some upset wins with boys performing strongly. In Division 2, the final podium finishers were first place Alexander Chin, second place, Ian Yip and third place, Lucca Coiera. In Division 1, there were no major upsets. Lachlan Blair secured first place in Division 1 with Christopher Dandolo and Michael Chang finishing equal third.

In the National School Intermediate Championships (Individual and Teams) held on Friday 24 August at the NSW Fencing Centre, Grammar fencers, Christopher Danolo finished first and Lachlan Blair and Alexander Chin, finished equal third in the Individuals. The 16A team of Lachlan Blair, Christopher Dandolo and Kyran Verdickt won gold and the 16B team of Alexander Chin, Simon Tan, Austin Guo and Ian Yip finished second in the Teams event, defeating teams from Newington College and Melbourne Grammar School.

The football club has had a successful season with thirty-four football teams playing this season. The football club played a total of 392 games with 912 goals scored and teams winning 64 % of their games. The most outstanding age group were the Opens, who accumulated 69 wins during the season.

We acknowledge the service of Oliver White and Christopher Matthews for playing three years in the First XI. Their effort and commitment has been outstanding. Acknowledgement also goes to Stephen Marinos and Timothy Scott for making GPS teams. Stephen was selected in the Opens GPS team and Timothy, the U16 GPS team, which also competed in the CIS competition and were undefeated throughout the competition.

The Fred Raine Memorial Cup, awarded to the most successful football team, was won by the 14A XI team with eleven wins and only one loss throughout the season.

Information regarding summer sport training can be found on the School website. Summer sport training commences on Monday 3 September. Boys involved in swimming will not commence training until term IV. Please note that athletics training takes priority over all summer sports trials. Please check the School website for summer sport camps and trial fixtures for Open teams organised during the holidays at the end of this term.
 

A tennis camp programmed to accommodate boys of all levels will be run from Tuesday 2 to Friday 5 October. This is a great opportunity to accelerate the acquisition of skills in an instructive and fun environment. The sessions will cover the technical, tactical, physical and psychological aspects of the game. Preparatory School boys will be required to attend from 9am until noon each day, while College Street boys will be asked to attend from 1pm until 4pm. The number of positions is limited and application forms are available through the School office or you can email Mrs Jo Thame at jmt@sydgram.nsw.edu.au.

The Parents and Friends of the Boat Club Association invite all parents of current rowers and prospective rowers to their Annual General Meeting, to be held at the Sydney Grammar School Boatshed (73 Wharf Road, Gladesville) on Tuesday 4 September at 7.00pm. Please forward any nominations for President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary to the Boatclub email: sgsboatclub@gmail.com.
 
The Parents and Friends of the Boat Club Association support parents of boys in the rowing program. The Association assists the School by being involved in barbecues at the boatshed, the Boatshed Open Day and functions such at the End of Season Dinner. If you are unable to attend the AGM meeting but are willing to help in some way during the season, please contact the current Secretary; Jenn Hempton at sgsboatclub@gmail.com. Information about the Association can be found on the School website (click here).

The Headmaster warmly invites you to attend the official opening of the 2018 Exhibition of HSC Artworks on

Friday 31 August
Drinks 5:45pm - 8:00pm
Level 6, Stanley St entrance
Limited parking will be available on the Middle Playground

Exhibition open for general admission Monday 3 - Thursday 6 September from 9am - 6pm.

The Blake Matthews Memorial Prize

The deadline for submissions is Friday 21 September. This writing competition is open to boys in Forms V and VI, and the writer of the winning entry will be awarded $200 for an essay, novella, short story, series of poems, short film, video or play. Please contact Dr Hughes for more information.
 
2018 Sydneian Writing Competition

Junior Division: Forms I – IV: prizes $100, $75, $50
Senior Division: Forms V – VI: prizes $100, $75, $50

The subject is open to individual choice, but entries should be suitable for publication in The Sydneian, i.e. not more than 1000 words. Please submit entries as Word attachments to jjh@sydgram.nsw.edu.au. The deadline for entries is Friday 21 September.
 
R.D. Fitzgerald Poetry Prize

The Fitzgerald Poetry Prize, named after R.D. Fitzgerald, an Old Sydneian and distinguished twentieth century Australian poet, was created to encourage boys to read and write more poetry.

The form chosen for this year’s prize is the sonnet. Boys are invited to submit one or more sonnets on a subject of their own choosing. They should be submitted as Word attachments to jjh@sydgram.nsw.edu.au by Friday 21 September. The winning sonnet will be awarded a book prize at Speech Day.

Dr J Hughes

For the past eight-days boys in the Form III and Form IV Academic Drama course have been enjoying the inspiring presence of Christopher Tomkinson from Bell Shakespeare, our Artist-in-Residence.

Christopher Tomkinson has been introducing Shakespeare’s plays and bringing them to life with exercises designed to lift the Bard’s words from the page and turn them into dynamic theatrical action.

Join us to see the exciting results of these boys' energetic exploration of Macbeth.

Meet us at the entrance to the Lower School, corner of Stanley and College Streets, at 6:30pm on Friday 31 August.

This is a roving performance. Please be prepared to walk around the school grounds and do not forget your jacket and scarf! The estimated finish time will be 7:30pm.

Mrs EC Kaufling

UAC Guide to University Courses for 2019

Boys in Form VI have been asked to pick up their copy of the UAC Guide to University Courses for 2019 from Mr Whild in SB10. Applications for Semester 1 2019 are now open. The early bird closing date for university applications is Friday 28 September 2018.
 
ATARs and Adjustment Factors

The UAC advises that universities have a number of schemes that allow for adjustment factors that may mean applicants receive an offer to a course even though they have an ATAR below the published cut-off. Examples include pupils with a strong performance in HSC subjects and those who have applied for consideration through an EAS (Educational Access Scheme). 
 
Scholarships

Application forms for University Scholarships are available online at:

University of Sydney

University of NSW (UNSW)

University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

Macquarie University

Scholarship applications generally close at the end of September or the beginning of October 2018. Once the application form is downloaded from the university website, a school statement of support may be required and this is obtained through a boy's Housemaster. As school holidays commence on Wednesday 26 September, boys must act now on their scholarship applications. If boys require a statement of support or reference from their Housemaster, the request must be made to their Housemaster by 3pm on Tuesday 4 September.
 
Educational Access Schemes

These schemes are for applicants to university who have experienced long-term (normally for at least six months) educational disadvantage. To qualify, applicants must demonstrate that their educational performance during Form V and/or Form VI has been seriously affected by circumstances beyond their control. Information and the application forms are at www.uac.edu.au.

UNSW Open Day

This Open Day is an opportunity for boys and parents to meet faculty representatives and tour the campus. UNSW Open Day (www.openday.unsw.edu.au) is on Saturday 1 September

Careers and courses information is available from Mr Whild in SB10. He can be contacted at pjw@sydgram.nsw.edu.au

Mr PJ Whild

There are still some spots available for the Hawaii Volcanoes Science Tour.

In the first week of the September/October school holidays 2019, Science Beyond the Curriculum is presenting Grammar boys, siblings and parents with an exciting opportunity to undertake an eight-day geological exploration of Hawaii.

Weigall Canteen

A big thank you to all our volunteers for their help this year at the Weigall canteen. The canteen could not operate without the generous donations and help from our volunteers. Thank you also to our two Old Sydneians, Callum Ellison and Fergus Miller, who diligently worked every Saturday. Lastly, a huge thank you to Anna Reed-Stephenson, who coordinated the Weigall canteen this year which included buying stock, organising volunteers, manning the canteen, banking and making those delicious home-made pies!

There is one more opportunity to volunteer (either in person or with food donations) at the House Sports Day on Wednesday 21 November. Further information will be provided in future newsletters. 

Weigall BBQ
 
A big thank you to all the fathers who helped out at 'Back to Weigall' Day. This was the last official home game of the season and the last winter sports BBQ. It was also one of the biggest we have had over the past few years with 850 rolls, over 38 dozen eggs, 650 sausages, 30kg of bacon and 30kg of sliced onions being consumed. Further donations were collected for the Buy a Bale relief fund, making the total contribution $3,438. Thank you to all for supporting such a great initiative.