What s On at GMAS. Georgiana Molloy Anglican School A school of The Anglican Schools Commission (Inc) FOR YOUR DIARY

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1 Georgiana Molloy Anglican School A school of The Anglican Schools Commission (Inc) P O Box 920 Busselton WA Friday 13th March 2015 FOR YOUR DIARY Monday 16th March OLNA testing Yr 8 Immunisations MAC English & Science Tutorials Yr 7-12 in Library pm Tuesday 17th PP-Yr 6 Assembly pm OLNA testing PTO opens for bookings for Year Parent Night English Essay Skills Tutorial (ATAR only)rm 30, pm Wednesday 18th OLNA testing Maths Tutorial Rm 36, Yr pm Thursday 19th OLNA testing SWPSA Swim Carnival SWSC Bunbury SOSE Tutorial in Library Yr pm Friday 20th OLNA testing Themed Dress Day Yr 3-6 Chapel pm PP-Yr 2 Chapel pm Term 1 Concludes Thursday 2nd April Term 2 Commences Wednesday 22nd April Student Absentees studentservices@gmas.wa.edu.au Administration Student Services Registrar Accounts Dept Uniform Shop Café UNIFORM SHOP HOURS Monday am Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday pm Foundation Day celebrations. This is a celebration for our school community to acknowledge the life, mission and vision of the school. We celebrate our Patron, Mrs Georgiana Molloy gaining an insight into a remarkable lady who had a passion for natural history and botany. I hope you have the opportunity of joining us on our 12 th birthday. Last Sunday, 8th March celebrated International Women s Day. The Day celebrates women s achievements across the globe and calls for greater equality in all that we undertake. How fortunate this year that the day coincides so closely with our Foundation Day celebrations when we celebrate a remarkable mother, Georgiana Molloy. I had the pleasure of attending a Rotary Bunbury meeting with guest speaker Mr Richard Goyder. Mr Goyder is CEO of Wesfarmers Group and has transformed Wesfarmers with the successful acquisition of the Coles Group of Companies in Outside of his commitments to the Wesfarmers Group, he is an AFL Commissioner, a Director of the Business Council of Australia and on the University of WA Business School Advisory Board. He has a plethora of achievements and holds a number of qualifications, backing his aptitude for business. He has a Doctor of Commerce and a Bachelor of Commerce from UWA and has completed an Advanced Management program at Harvard Business School. Mr Goyder chose Bunbury as one of the few destinations he visited in Australia to hold business conferences. Some of the topics covered related to the impact from decisions taken at the G20 in Brisbane on the economy in the South West. Mr Goyder spoke of growing up on a farm in the Western Australian wheat belt, and his first-hand knowledge of issues facing youth in such areas along with concerns now faced by primary producers in regional areas. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is responsible for Australia's national reporting program, which includes My School. Based on My School data, and using a detailed methodology, Georgiana Molloy Anglican School has been identified as demonstrating above average NAPLAN gain compared to schools with similar students. This gain is deemed to be statistically significant and worthy of highlighting and acknowledgement. Congratulations to staff for continuing to seek improvement in student outcomes and striving for excellence in teaching learning. Well done everyone. ACARA has updated the My School 2015 website. The year's Junior and Secondary Interhouse Swimming Carnivals were held in wonderful conditions with a fantastic student participation rate. It seemed on the days that students thoroughly enjoyed themselves and participated to the best of their abilities. Congratulations to all of the students who participated and supported their House, Health & Physical Education staff who organised the Carnivals, teaching and support staff, GMAS Swim Club, parent helpers and the many parents and grandparents who attended the Carnivals as spectators. I know the students appreciated your attendance and support. It is still on our radar to campaign for a 50 metre pool in the City of Busselton to assist our swimmers in competing at high end events such as the ACC and State swim club events. Taking the kids on an off-peak school term holiday will now be more difficult, under national changes to school attendance protocols. Holidays taken during the school term will now count as unexplained or unjustified absences under the new Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) National Standards for Student Attendance Data Reporting (ACARA Attendance Standards). These standards were finalised in November 2013, but have only been recently been implemented. Such defined absenteeism can have serious ramifications as students are required to complete a minimal number of hours of instruction per year in some courses of study, particularly in the senior years. Mr Ted Kosicki Principal PRINCIPAL Secondary Swimming Carnival molloyanglicanschool?ref=hl

2 Page 2 DEPUTY PRINCIPAL Camp preparations It is getting close to preparing your child for camp. If you have not already received it, you will be sent home a list of clothing recommendations and other items to bring. There may also be a few items of what not to bring. The lists are prepared for a purpose. There are specific skills that the camp wants to instil in students. Your help and cooperation in making sure the requirements are met is very much appreciated by the camp staff and camp providers. If there are some queries about the list, please contact the camp organiser. They can fill you in on why the requests have been made. As an example last year, one group were specifically asked not to pack mobile phones. All contacts had to be done via the camp leader and senior staff. Some students, with parental backing, snubbed the request. Their phones were confiscated and returned once we arrived back at school. Camps take lots of time and effort to plan and coordinate, please work with the guidelines set. There are some opportunities for parents to come and help out on camp. It is a wonderful opportunity to see your child go through their paces in the specific activities and challenges. Please consider helping out. One final point, naming items of clothing and equipment is really helpful because named items can be returned to the rightful owners. It is awful to see how many items are left after campeither at the camp venues or on the student's return to school. It is time consuming to name the items, but it is time well spent. Happy Birthday Georgiana Molloy Anglican School This Friday will see us give thanks for our wonderful school and celebrate our 12th birthday. The school has mushroomed in size, physical space, students and staff since it was officially opened. We began with 128 students ranging from Kindergarten to Year 6 and 8 class teachers, a couple of specialist teachers and a few office staff. We had a whole school photo taken with the Foundation students and staff. Unlike our 10th birthday photograph (which had lots of scaffolding) this photograph was taken on the lawn outside the Year 2 classrooms. To get height, the photographer stood on the top of his 4 wheel drive with his camera perched on the roof! This photo is still pride of place in the foyer of the main office. A special Eucharist service for the whole school with Bishop Allan coming to preside and bless our new buildings will be a highlight. Also, this will be one of the last years where the Foundation Students (the students who came to GMAS in our first year of operation) will be able to lead the procession for this celebration. They will have special seats at this service. No birthday can pass without cake. There will be a piece provided for every GMAS student on the day. Parent Teacher night for Years Year students will be bringing their reports home next week. Parents have the opportunity to talk to their child's teacher in the MAC on Monday 23rd March from 4pm- 7.00pm. Students are also encouraged to be part of the interview. Inside the envelope with the report will be details about the On Line Booking system called PTO. Parent codes and passwords will be provided to activate the booking system. Meeting times will be 10 minutes in length. You will need to note down what time you book the meeting times with teachers. Next term, Years 7-9 and K-6 report evenings will held. Watch this space! Past students achievements: Jessica Hovell has been awarded the AMD Chartered Accountant s Prize Awarded to the South West High School graduate who has displayed outstanding academic excellence and is enrolled in the bachelor of Business at ECU South West Campus. CAFÉ ROSTER MONDAY 16TH MARCH Laura Pola, Fi Edwards, Nikki Hammond TUESDAY 17TH Tania Adams, Chantelle Pirikahu WEDNESDAY 18TH Halga James, Heather Jenkins THURSDAY 19TH Ros Sapsford FRIDAY 20TH Robyn Feutrill, Aleisha Whitehouse, Pauline Christian Secondary Swimming Carnival Ms Jo Burns Deputy Principal Jessica proudly displaying her certificate SENIOR SCHOOL Year 12 ATAR Revision Programs Academic Task Force run ATAR Revision Programs in the April holidays at 3 locations (North and South of the river) in most ATAR subjects as well as general revision and essay writing skills. They also run courses later in the year. 10% early bird discounts apply to applications up to March 23 rd. For more information go to or see Home Room teachers who have fliers and application forms. (NOTE: these courses are additional to the 2 other companies I have previously distributed information on. And there will be more!). There are also Revision courses running in Bunbury in these coming holidays (by "Master Mind") for Year 11 and 12 students. Students have also been handed fliers regarding these courses. Congratulations - To Ryan Hopkins (Year 12 Prefect) for being the first Senior School student to reach Bronze level in the House Merit Points system. continued

3 Page 3 WACE Winners Seminars - These Seminars will be particularly beneficial to Year 11 and 12 students interested in applying for an Assured Pathway to Medicine at the University of Western Australia, and give high achieving high school students the chance to learn from those who've already walked in their shoes and succeeded beyond their goals. This year they are offering a seminar specifically for students interested in pursuing an undergraduate or postgraduate career in Medicine, Dentistry or Health Sciences. All three presenters are current Medical Students at UWA from first to final year and are also Fogarty Scholarship recipients. The seminar seeks to demystify the medical profession and medical education and provide attendees with an inside look of life in Medical School. The seminar will be held on March 22nd at the State Library of Western Australia. Bookings can be made online via ECU Bunbury - ECU Bunbury is once again offering the Uni Choice Program in This will allow them to reach out to 60 Secondary School students throughout the South West who may be considering courses at ECU after graduation. Students who would like to take part should contact me to get a detailed package of information about the program, including application forms and a more comprehensive timetable of activities which aims to enable students to: learn how accessible University education in the South West can be, irrespective of their background, educational or prospective career circumstances, discover the many different pathways that can lead them to University, be informed about ways to minimise the financial impact of the journey on themselves and their families through scholarships and community sponsorships, gain a better understanding about what they should achieve at school to take this next step in their life-long education journey, realise that continuing their personal learning journey towards a tertiary qualification can be a rewarding and fun experience! Communication AT GMAS we value the 3 way partnership between students, parents and staff. Three important avenues for this are: Home Room notices, the student diary and the What s On (which is ed to parents, students and Home Room teachers every week). Please ensure that you (and your sons/daughters) are receiving these messages and that diaries are being sighted and signed each week. Recent important messages and information have included: camps information (for Week 9) and permission slips/what to bring/special secret information required for Year 12 Retreat, first assessment results (which will be reported on in Interim Reports) and a host of information on Scholarships, ATAR Revision Courses and many other things crucial to Year 12 (and 11) students. As a tester for this communication, the secret code word for this week is "Minties" (and this may cost me ). Students fronting to my office next Monday morning, with a signed diary, will discover how important this code word (and the value of keeping abreast of communication) can be. Please form an orderly queue! Mr Steve Treloar Head of Senior School SENIOR SCHOOL continued The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. George Bernard Shaw MIDDLE SCHOOL YEAR 8 SCHOOL BASED IMMUNISATION PROGRAM 2015 This is a reminder that Year 8 immunisations will take place on Monday 16 th March during Periods 1 and 2 in the MAC Viewing Room. GRIP LEADERSHIP CONFERNCE On Monday 9 th March I had the privilege of taking the Middle School Leaders to a GRIP Leadership Conference at the Perth Conference and Exhibition Centre. The students were a credit to the school and everyone came away from the conference with lots of skills and ideas to put into practice. Below are two reports from Middle School Leaders regarding their perspective of the conference: The GRIP Leadership day was an excellent and recommendable experience that helped mould our team into better leaders. The Middle School Leadership team were up early ready to enjoy this brilliant day, all bundling into Dr. Mosen-Lowe s and Mrs. Farmer s car to whom we are very grateful for volunteering their time and effort for our co-curricular event at 5.45 in the morning. Still half asleep and sitting in different cars, we all knew this would be a great day for all. Schools attending were greeted by a particularly exuberant man called Rowan. He told us what we would be doing throughout the day; we would attend the mandatory sessions which helped us to understand building great team DNA. The elective sessions were very informative and helpful to the type of leaders we wish to become. There was a choice of two elective sessions to choose from. I chose How to Improve Communication as a Leader and How to Keep Up Momentum as a Leader. Student Leaders at the GRIP Conference continued

4 Page 4 GRIP LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE continued These two sessions strengthened my knowledge of how I should get the student body involved and how I can maintain my authority in leadership and my appreciation of leading our Middle School. One of the highlights of the day was a rather dynamic duo who called themselves the Loud Noise Boys. They included some fun into the mix, a particular activity towards the start which I was lucky enough to go up on stage to be actively involved. This activity involved working as a team with students from other schools. We all had to wear quite silly oven mitts with big A4 laminate letters on them, the Loud Noise Boys would call out a word and we would have to spell it, it was a great idea to incorporate some fun into the otherwise serious event. I particularly enjoyed meeting students from other schools and I appreciated that at the end we were asked to go and get people s contact details to stay in touch with friends we had met on the day. I was also very proud to admit that our uniform definitely stood out as one of the best and I was proud to wear our school emblem. Overall, it was an excellent day and I would definitely be interested in promoting it for leaders to come. Thank you. Mazey O Reilly On Monday 8th of March the Middle School Leaders attended a GRIP Leadership convention in Perth at the Perth Entertainment Centre. This convention allowed the Student Leaders and I to improve our work as leaders and also how to lead (with different techniques for different situations). Topics included: Making the most of our events, Keeping momentum as leaders and What factors are within a group and how to balance out these factors for the most successful results. For example we were taught that it s good to have ideas and plenty of them, but you should focus on turning the most important and best ideas into goals and work hard on completing them. The day was long, but well worth it! I met other leaders from schools in the Perth region and have been in contact with them, discussing our future events and goals, and what they re doing to make school more enjoyable and what events have been a hit. Overall it was great fun. I learnt how to make the most of my time being a leader and I would definitely advise the leaders next year to attend. Hudson Spooner Dr Linda Mosen-Lowe Acting Head of Middle School MIDDLE SCHOOL continued Middle School Disco Friday 20 th March, is the Middle School Disco to be held in the MAC. This will run from 6-8pm. Parents can drop off and pick up their kids at the back of the MAC using the back car park into the school. A $5 ticket will include entry and a drink, students will not be given any pass outs of the event. Some sweets and other refreshments can be purchased throughout the evening. Tickets can be bought at school during Home Room time in the week prior to the event. Camp Information Session Thursday 19 th March at 5pm in Room 35, I will run a camp information session. I will be going into some more detail about the itinerary and the required list of items to bring that week. It is not a compulsory session, but just one for parents who require further information in regard to the week. Also, as a parent, if you are interested in coming along for a part of the camp, please attend this session to find out more. Miss Stephanie Creswell Year 7 Coordinator YEAR 7 COORDINATOR Students participating in a Study Skills Incursion CALLING OUT TO ALL GMAS BUSINESSES Looking for a worthwhile and fantastic cause to sponsor in 2015? Well look no further the Cambodia Service Trip 2015 is looking for CORPORATE SPONSORS. For $1500 you will have a house built in Cambodia in your business's name. Your company's logo will be printed onto our tour t- shirts, we will take a photo of your house with your logo on it AND we will say AWKOON TOM TOM (Thank you big big) in our newsletters and at our very popular quiz night. For more information please Miss Louisa Stefanou and have a look on the Tabitha's website programs/house-building.html Miss Louisa Stefanou and Ms Marian Rowe Cambodia Service Trip Coordinators

5 Page 5 JUNIOR SCHOOL LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE The big message that resonated with me this week was that provided by our Camp Quality Puppet Show on Wednesday. Despite tackling the difficult topic of kids and cancer, it was the importance of laughter that stuck with me. There is no doubt that we all lead busy, complicated lives. However, sometimes it is important to put our own little problems into perspective. A day in the life of a toothbrush might sound pretty horrendous, but looked at in comparison with a day in the life of a toilet brush, the toothbrush has it pretty good! Sometimes we need to be thankful for what we have; as Head of the Junior School, I am thankful for the 350 or so wonderful kids at GMAS in Years 3 to 6. Their laughter around the school is indeed the best medicine! RESPECT The theme at assembly for the past couple of weeks has been respect. Within our website under the Discipline Policy, the school rules are as simple as: Respect ourselves; Resect others; Respect GMAS It could not be simpler, however, we need to continually send this message to ensure it becomes a part of our culture at GMAS. The teachers seek to do this in the classrooms and on the playground; your support, as parents, is greatly appreciated. The Camp Quality puppet show Reese with her Year 6 buddies SETTLING IN REPORTS These will come home with your children at the end of week 8 and should provide you with an overview of how they are travelling. I encourage you all to use the PTO (Parent Teacher Online) booking service to make appointments with your class teachers. Details of how to do this will arrive with your reports. Mr Rob Whirledge Head of Junior School Camp Quality visited our EC this week and performed a puppet play. It was very entertaining and informative. Children learnt about the power of positive thinking to help them feel better when unwell, especially during childhood cancer. Students interacted with the puppeteers and asked a wealth of questions. If they have further questions that you may need help answering, have a look at the Camp Quality website They can even Kylie the puppet who beat leukemia using the super power of positive thinking and laughter. The pilot on-entry assessment with all PP students began this week. This assessment is for learning, rather than an assessment of learning. The main purpose of the program is to inform planning and delivery of targeted and intentional learning programs, reflective of each child s needs and capabilities one that supports each child s learning journey and enables the review of a child s progress over time. Assessments are due to be completed by the end of week 8. Teachers are busy writing Settling In reports, which will be sent home at the end of the term. It has been wonderful to see the growth in so many students already. Students are trying their best to listen and learn about all the interesting things in their classes. Well done everyone! This week I have been reading a discussion paper called The importance of Play by Dr David Whitebread from the University of Cambridge. It was quite a lengthy paper, but the most important points I took from it were these: When children play, they are given many opportunities for skill development, for example, language and social skills, gross and fine motor skills, sorting and sequencing. The benefits of play are related to its promotion of self-esteem, emotional wellbeing and resilience. Behavioural thresholds are lowered and children are able to try things out with selfset targets and goals. As a result, resilience and esteem grow and children develop the confidence to meet physical, intellectual and emotional challenges. I am very excited to advise you of a new partnership and service the GMAS Early Childhood and GP Down South are offering to our families. Community Child Health Nurse, Denise Hine will be available every Thursday for private appointments in the new Early Learning Centre. Please check out their website for online bookings. Denise will be available from Thursday 19 th March. I would like to invite parents with young children to come along next Thursday at 9am to meet Denise as she presents an information session on the services she will be able to provide. Please support this wonderful initiative, as it will be so beneficial for our little ones. Happy 12 th Birthday GMAS! Hip Hip Hooray!! Mrs Kathryn Campbell Head of Early Childhood EARLY CHILDHOOD

6 Page 6 CAREERS AND VET CALENDAR Thursday 7 May, 9am 2.30pm. BiG Day In IT Careers Conference in the Perth Town Hall. Click HERE to book your tickets, please all enquiries to kerrie.bisaro@acsfoundation.com.au or call (02) Thursday 14 th Friday 15 th May Year 10 Careers Camp to Perth Forms must be returned to Miss Hayden before the 23 rd of March. If you require any further information please contact Chantel Hayden via cha@gmas.wa.edu.au or call NOTICES Lattitude Global Volunteering Application for 2016 placements are now open. Seeking volunteers for a wide range of placements in Europe, America, Africa and Asia/Pacific. For more information speak to Miss Hayden in the VET Office. UMAT Program Students interested in pursuing medicine or other health courses need to sit the UMAT on the 29 th of July MedEntry offers discounts of 30% for groups, and numerous scholarships. Please visit for more information. Defence Force Roadshow The Defence Force is currently recruiting in a number of roles. For further information on military training and study at ADFA, and to attend an information session near you, please call to find out more. ADFA will be in Perth on the 17 th of March Central Institute of Technology Download all Central Institute of Technology (WA s Largest VET Institute) course brochures here. Gap Year in the USA (Au Pair) Become an Au Pair in the USA for your gap year. The program allows students to participate in a cultural exchange where they live with an American host family, care for their children and get paid for it! If you have any questions about the program please cha@gmas.wa.edu.au or visit APPRENTICE AND TRAINEESHIP VACANCIES The Apprentice and Traineeship Company has the following vacancies: Perth Mandurah Bunbury Busselton Apprenticeships Apprenticeships Apprenticeships Apprenticeships Cabinet Making Roof Plumbing Electrical Painting & Decorating Carpentry & Joinery Carpentry & Joinery Auto (light) Mechanic Signwriting Wall & Ceiling Fixing Wall & Ceiling Fixing Marine Mechanic Plumbing & Gasfitting Roof Plumbing Welding Traineeships Business Retail apply@gtsw.com.au admin.peel@gtsw.com.au admin.atcbunbury@gtsw.com.au admin.busselton@gtsw.com.au Applicants should apply by sending a cover letter, resume and copies of any qualifications, certificates and school results to the correct address as stated above. Mrs Sarah Taylor-Fuller Head of Department - Careers/VET Miss Chantel Hayden Careers/VET Administration

7 Page 7 HEAD OF CURRICULUM SERVICES Canberra 2015 Just a reminder to parents of Year 9 students who are attending Canberra, that on the 18 th March between 3:30 and 4:30pm, there will be an opportunity for you to give staff either medication or spending money for safekeeping for your child. The location will be the upstairs area of the MAC. OLNA 2015 Can I please remind parents of the students that will be taking the OLNA tests in either reading on the 16 th or numeracy on the 18 th March, to reinforce with your child to make sure they have their laptop fully charged in the morning. This will ensure minimal disruption during the assessment. Mr Phil Deroost Head of Curriculum Services CO-CURRICULAR CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES Cricket Congratulations to our T20 Blast cricketers who have now finished up their season with a win in their last game. Well done boys and many thanks to their coaches for all their work with the boys this season. Our Under 12 and 15 Cricket teams have played all their Pink Stumps games as a fundraiser for the McGrath Foundation. Well done to the Under 12s who raised a total of $ and the Under 15s who raised a total of $ This is a great achievement from our GMAS cricketers and their families. Well done everyone. Equestrian Club Ms Leach and I held the inaugural meeting of the GMAS Equestrian Club this week. We had a great turn out of riders and discussed the upcoming competitions and a club uniform. If your child would like to come along to our meetings, please let me know and I can add you to our list. Good luck to the GMAS riders competing in the Capel and State Interschools events. Soccer Many thanks to all those who have nominated to play soccer for GMAS this season. We are still in need of Year 7 players. Year 8s born in November and December and also Year 8 girls of any age, can play in the Year 7 team. If you are interested in joining us, please let me know. AFL Towns and Wanderers Footy clubs are urgently needing Year 3 and 4 boys or girls to play AFL this upcoming season. To play for Wanderers, please contact Matt Weldon on matthew.weldon@bigpond.com or to play for Towns, please contact Travis Regan on travisandstacey@iinet.net.au Mrs Val Best Co-Curricular Sport Coordinator Year 10 Outdoor Education and Advanced Physical Education Surf Rescue assessment day Date: Wednesday March 25th Time: Start am Hawker Approach Finish pm ( to return to Period 5 ) Cost:$45 charged to school account Bring: bathers, swim shirt, towel, lunch, water, $10 for drink/snack from shop, HAT, pen Wear: PE uniform with bathers underneath Who: Year 10 OED and ADV PE classes with Mrs Anderton and Mrs Vogel Other: The 5 students in these classes who signed not to complete the assessment will go to normal classes for the day. For any enquiries please Mrs Anderton ban@gmas.wa.edu.au T20 Blast team with Coach Pete Donnelly Announcing the Theme for the P&F Ball is..... Hollywood Glamour

8 Page 8 GMAS Performing Arts Students Hit the Fringe Festival this Saturday For the first time, GMAS Performing Arts students will be presenting some of their work at the Fringe Festival which is held in Busselton every year at the Art Geo section of town. The students involved would love to have as many people as possible pop down to see what it is all about. The Year 12 Drama class will be performing Five Years with the Rodgers, an original piece written by the students, and some of the Year 10 class will be presenting their wonderful Living Statues. Year 12 students involved are: Madigan Spooner, Isaac Watkins (Lochlan Curtis may be standing in), Indiya Webb, Emily Wood and Tom Principe. The Year 10 Living Statues are: Grace Richmond, Lochlan Curtis, Kaleigh Brown, Ivana Boyes and Samuel Johnston. Five Years with the Rodgers will be performed at midday on Saturday in the stage tent and the statues will be standing around, posing, from to 2.30pm near the Art Geo building! Please support our wonderfully talented students and come on down. It is great experience for them to be involved in a professionally organised event, such as this, and we need to encourage their future participation. There are heaps of other great shows to see as well. Full program at < Mrs Sue Thompson Drama Teacher

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