Futurum Autmn 2007

futurumSt Paul’s Grammar School Penrith No. 41 Autumn 2007

w: www.stpauls.nsw.edu.au | e: [email protected] | p: +61 2 4777 4888

THE SCHOOL RECOGNISES THAT learning takes place in as many different ways as there are people. Angela and Joanne, the two Aboriginal girls in the photo above from Uluru who joined the school for a term late last year, learn differently from many others. All of us have a natural love of learning, but not all of us find standard classroom practice the easiest way to learn.

In the original documents connected with the founding of the school, the first chairman of the school council Michael Barratt expressed his vision for a learning support building at the school in the recognition that all of us have been created by God differently and learn differently and the school should cater for these differences. Increasingly since then, the school has resourced learning for those who need alternative pathways. But only now, more than 20 years after the school was established, are definite plans afoot for a discrete learning support building. On the eve of this building being erected, FUTURUM here interviews some of the members of staff who work in this area, starting with Mrs Erica Galbraith, Special Education Coordinator K-6: I keep coming across parents who are sending their children to the school because we provide

AT THE END OF ITS INSPECTION for registration in September last year, the head inspector said that the Junior School was ‘the best Junior school I have ever seen’. Behind this successful outcome was a lot of work and expertise, as Mrs Jenny Mahoney, Stage 1 Leader and Curriculum Coordinator, makes clear: Originating and putting together the K to 6 policy and curriculum documents for the inspection began at the end of 2004 and was complete by March 2006. As the overview developed, all programs were reviewed to reflect the overview. As it needed to reflect the aims of both the NSW Board of Studies and the International Baccalaureate, the documentation was a complex process.

From March to September 2006, teachers had the completed curriculum documents to implement in class before the inspectors came. The inspectors were thorough, going through every book in every pile of children’s books. In the end, they gave the school the best possible report card: no extra work was required.

The school congratulates then Head of the Junior School Mrs Christine Roberts and Junior School staff members who put in so much effort to achieve registration.

FOR YET ANOTHER YEAR, STPaul’s Year 12 students have achieved the best results in the school’s history in their final examinations and assessments. Four of the happy successful students are seen in the photo above. Over one-quarter of students were in the top 5% of the State, well over one-third, 42 in all, were in the top 10%, and seven students, with UAIs above 99, gained places in the top 1% of the State, the top students, Sarah Hellyer and Annika Lees with 99.85, equalling the best results the school has ever received.

While there was a full range of responses by the Year 12 students to the results, some 90% of those the school was able to contact were happy with their UAI and an even higher percentage have been able to get into their course of choice. Of the small number of students whose career prospects did not depend on a UAI, most are happy with their apprenticeships and TAFE courses, ranging across electrical apprenticeships, drafting, event management and interior design. Others are doing TAFE courses in remedial massage, accounting, communications and music. Mitchell Wearn’s has a slightly different twist: ‘I will go to a YMCA Sport and Recreation Leadership camp in Canada in 2007, do some

Learning by alternative pathways

‘The best Junior School I have ever seen’

New benchmarks in Year 12 results

- continued page 6 - continued page 2

futurumSt Paul’s Grammar School Penrith

fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

2

year 12 results2006

travel and do construction at TAFE next year.’ Sarah Hellyer felt her 99.85 was ‘a good result’. I kept working right through. I chose subjects at school I had always been interested in – languages and other Arts subjects. I plan to do Arts and Social Work at university, a combination of subjects I have always been interested in and a career option that I would like. I may take a year off in 2007 to do volunteer social work.

Annika Lees is equal first with an IB UAI of 99.85. She will defer for a year to spend time in France, partly to work on her French language, and then take up a place in international studies and possibly law at Sydney University in 2008 – she would like a job with an international agency like the United Nations. Marie Deroussent was happy with her UAI of 99.45, particularly with her Maths, Geography and Psychology results: I am interested in a career in accountancy, and plan to do a combined Commerce and International Studies degree – I think my French will be useful. Jemima Trappel’s 99.45 was better than she

had expected: I would have been happy with a UAI of 96. I only needed about 75 for the course I want to do, an Arts/Fine Arts double degree, the only course I could find that offered both French and Fine Arts, subjects I feel I can do really well. Following on from the creativity of my home schooling up to Year 10, the IB Diploma has broadened my education, particularly in History, Biology, Maths and Composition in Music. I came to the school in Year 11 because I wanted to, not because I had to, which one teacher told me was a refreshing approach.

Natasha Herbert’s 99.15 was also better than she expected: I put my success down to working constantly, staying on top, not leaving things until the last. I’d like to become a clinical psychologist, and will do a Bachelor of Psychology degree. I developed an interest in Psychology when I did the subject as part of my IB Diploma. Haley Estreich’s interest in Psychology also came from doing the subject at school: My 97.05 UAI is well and truly sufficient to get me into the Psychology degree course. I hope to do two

years’ work experience in the army, and then hope to work with children who need the help of a clinical psychologist. Elena Farry’s UAI of 97.75 was better than expected: I studied hard and had a positive attitude. I’m going to do a degree in international studies in 2008, majoring in French, and will spend 2007 in Europe getting some work experience. I am particularly interested in human rights, the United Nations, international law, World Vision and a number of international charities. I have a cousin in Eritrea and my parents are lawyers who are involved in these areas, so I have some background.

Tristan Mestroni on a UAI of 97.75 is doing a degree in Theatre Arts: I am especially interested in filming and hope to get into directing or special effects. Luke Taylor on a UAI of 98.8 will do a degree in Science: I will do the Advanced course and hope to do postgraduate Medicine. I am particularly interested in neurosurgery. Joshua Serov with his UAI of 97.75 is taking a similar path in Advanced Science and Medicine: I want to do Medicine because I’d like to do something

New BeNchmark IN Year 12 reSultS

Happy Year 12 2006 faces (from left) Hayley Estreich, Lauren Grimson, Annika Lees (joint dux), Tristan Mestroni, Janice Roche and Sarah Hellyer (joint dux)

fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

3


that is a service to others – perhaps I could specialise and become a surgeon – that is my dream. And, if that doesn’t work out, a general science degree gives me other options. Joshua Powell’s real interest is to be a fighter pilot: I need more life experience before I am accepted as a pilot, so I’ll use my UAI of 96.2 to do an Aeronautical Engineering degree in the meantime as a preparation.

Matthew Anderson has a fascination with Chemistry and Computing: I hope to use my UAI of 95.4 to study for a degree in Biomedical Engineering – my parents are in medicine – I have a fascination with that area of knowledge. Damanpreet Grewal is happy with his 96.2 result: I studied harder in my hard subjects and it worked. I have a cadetship from McLean Chartered Accountants in North Parramatta – I saw the advertisement in the paper which involves full-time work and part-time study. I was interested because it offers security of employment and lots of opportunities.

USyd

31%UTS

16%

UWS

32%

UNSW

10%

2%CSU

Defence Forces Academy

6%MacU

2%1%Wollongong

uNIvErSITY OffErS TO YEAr 12 2006 STudENTS

. . . and (from left) Angela King, Eliza McCorquodale, David Dujmovic, Blake Fomiatti, Patrick Taylor and Jenna Cormack


fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

4

Year 122006

Year 12 2006 results

NAME UAI COURSE(UNIVERSITY)

Sarah Hellyer 99.85 BArts/Social Work (Sydney) Annika Lees 99.85 BArts History (Sydney) Marie Deroussent 99.45 BCom/IntStudies (UTS) Jemima Trappel 99.45 BFine Arts/Arts (UNSW)Si-Di Zhou 99.45 BLaw (UNSW) Natasha Herbert 99.15 BPsych Clinical Psychology (Sydney)Linna Li 99.15 BCom (Sydney) Vanessa Thomas 98.8 BScAdv (Sydney) and Medicine Luke Taylor 98.8 BScAdv (Sydney) and Medicine Julian Parise 98.3 BLaw/IntRelations (UTS) Douglas Wright 98.3 BCom (Sydney)Eliza McCorquodale 98.3 BDesignVisComm/BAIntStudies (UTS) Elena Farry 97.75 BIntStudies (UNSW) Joshua Serov 97.75 BScAdv (Sydney) and MedicineAngela King 97.75 BALang (Sydney) Tristan Mestroni 97.75 BTheatre Studies (UTS) Hayley Estreich 97.05 BPsych (Sydney) Kate Power 97.05 BLaw/Psych (Macquarie) Angela Pullicino 97.05 BCom (Sydney) Lauren Sayer 97.05 BPublic Commerce/Law (UTS)Geoffrey Winters 97.05 BLaw (Sydney) Damanpreet Grewal 96.2 BAcc (UTS) (cadetship) Belinda Gatt 96.2 BInt. Design and IntStudies (UTS) Joshua Powell 96.2 BAeronautical Engineering (Sydney)Janice Roche 96.2 BBus/BAIntStudies (UTS) Matthew Anderson 95.4 BBiomedical Engineering (Sydney)Alicia Harriman 95.4 BIntStudiesJuan Qian 95.4 BScNutrition (Sydney)Rebecca Bates 94.8 BArtsPsych/Health Emma Webster 94.5 BInterior Design/Int. Studies (UTS) Amy Corry 94.0 BArts/Law (Notre Dame) Michael Norris 94.3 BSc Oceanography/Marine Science (Sydney)Phillip Marathakis 93.15 BEngMech (Sydney)Laura Cummins 94.3 BPropertyEc (UTS)Anish Malesu 93.15 BScMolecBiotech (Sydney) Art McGee 93.1 BEc (UNSW) Ingrid Wright 92.8 BFashion Design (UTS) Daniel Richardson 90.4 BArts/Com (UTS) Peter Ringwood 90.4 BEng (UTS) Ben Rashleigh 90.4 BCom Journalism (UTS)Jenna Cormack 90.4 BPharm (CSU) Chris Lovi 90.4 BComp Sc/Law (Wollongong) David Robinson 89.7 Australian Defence Forces Academy Patrick Taylor 89.35 BBus/Law (UWS) Jessica Cameron 89.25 BLaw (UWS) Kelly Gee 88.85 BArch (Sydney) Elizabeth Rooney 88.8 BLiberalStudies (Sydney) Emma Corry 88.8 BMedSc Occupational Therapy (Sydney)Kelly Chiu 88.8 BDesignArch (Sydney)Lauren Grimson 88.8 BArts (Sydney) Sam McLean 87.8 BACommStudiesSocialSc/Law (UWS)Wei Han 87.0 BEc (UNSW)Lui Lo 87.0 BEc (UNSW)Thomas Pollett 87.0 BEc (UNSW) James Kirk 85.2 BBusAc (UWS) (cadetship)Fei-Ping Xiang 85.2 BDesign (UTS) Todd Rennie 84.95 BBusFin/Law (UWS) Nicholas Rouggos 83.5 BEng (UTS)Chi-Hei Kou 83.15 BResourceEc (Sydney)Qian Xia 83.15 BScNutrition (Sydney)Ming-Hua Zang 83.15 BHealthSc/MNursing (Sydney) Alex Huxley 81.0 BArts Psych/History (Defence Forces Academy) Lindsay White 81.0 BEng (Sydney)

The following students were in the top 20% of the State:

fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

5


THE PRINCIPAL MR JOHN Collier looks at the connection between pastoral care and academic success: Should a school like St Paul’s focus on academic achievement or pastoral care? Often parents of younger students are more concerned about their children being happy, while when the students are in the senior years, the parents also want them to be academically successful. It is not really possible to provide only for academic achievement or pastoral care in a school for the following reasons:

• Students learn best when they feel safe, happy and secure. Increasingly, with the breakdown of some other institutions in society, schools have accepted a larger role in pastoral care of students.

• Students, to be able to negotiate later life with a sense of fulfilment and self esteem, need acceptable pathways for work and lifestyle. In order to achieve these goals, they need access to academic success, and through this, articulation into worthwhile study or training beyond school, which will open doors to further life opportunities.

For this reason, education which just aims to keep students happy and content in the short term, without posing them with challenges that will help them grow academically and in other ways, actually short changes them

by not preparing them adequately for the future.

• There is a synergy between academic achievement and pastoral care. Academic achievement assists self-esteem, and increases options for later satisfying pathways. Pastoral care provides an effective context in which academic achievement can occur.

• Part of a Christian mission is to attempt to pastor students as a means of shepherding them to adulthood. Our exemplar, Jesus, described himself as The Good Shepherd.

Pastoral care at St Paul’s is in the hands of specialist staff such as school counsellors, the school pastor, and, in the High School, Year coordinators, tutors and House masters.

However, all teaching staff members maintain a responsibility for the pastoral care of students, particularly those with whom they relate as class teachers, tutors (High School), sporting coaches, and co-curricular activity leaders. Pastoral care is a very important part of our focus. Exit surveys from Year 12 students and their parents have consistently shown, over a decade, the appreciation of those departing for the generosity of staff in ‘going the extra mile’ in pastoral care.

from The principal

PaStoral care IN a chrIStIaN Grammar School

The Principal addressing the school on Speech Night 2006

Year 12 2006 results

IngridWright’sspeechatYear12graduation

The Principal Mr John Collier commends to the school community 2006 HSC Dux Ingrid Wright’s speech at the graduation ceremony in February 2007, extracts from which are given here:

It was once said, ‘There are three stages in the work of God: Impossible; Difficult; Done.’ For me at times Year 12 seemed impossible; much of the time it was difficult; and now, I am relieved to say, it is done. Some people may be encouraged to hear that you can succeed despite the odds being against you. At the beginning of Year 11 I was diagnosed with a high frequency hearing loss. I have had this disability my whole life. However, by the grace of God and with his guidance I have been able to achieve academically. I may have had to work a bit harder than other people to keep up, to hear what is being said, but in the end it didn’t stop me.

Some of you may need to hear that it is important to lead a balanced life. I gave up representative netball so that I could concentrate on my studies. However, I played netball for school and continued to teach Sunday school. The exercise and break time did my brain no end of good! I won’t lie to you; you need to work hard to succeed in the HSC. You will need to make sacrifices and choices that may not be immediately desirable. Assessment tasks will almost certainly all be due at the same time and will continually flow in until just before exam time.

Despite all your differences, I believe that each of you will save a lot of heartache if you understand this: you are not defined by your UAI. That number is no measure of your worth. It is purely a means to an end. And if all doesn’t go to plan, no big deal. There are always other ways to get to where you want to go. And if that path is the one chosen for you by God, nothing can stand in his way. Corrie Ten Boom said, ‘Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.’

In the front of my folder throughout the last couple of months of Year 12 I had stuck in Isaiah 43:2-3:

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;And when you pass through the rivers, They will not sweep over you.When you walk through the fire, You will not be burned, The flames will not set you ablaze.For I am the Lord your God, The Holy one of Israel your Saviour.I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.

Though it may be easier said than done, don’t fear the future; the creator of the universe is waiting for you to trust his unswerving love.


fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

6

(. . . from p. 1) this program and are grateful for what we are doing for their children. I think the strengths of our program are the real love we show the children and the very careful methods we apply in assessing each student’s strengths, weaknesses and needs so that we can provide appropriate teaching and learning activities. Students may be assisted in the classroom or withdrawn for such purposes as small group work and individual programs. The programs are systematic and explicit, there is ongoing monitoring, and intervention is flexible, with students entering and exiting programs as needed.

We have a full-time support teacher, Mrs Anne Guest, on leave teaching in China at the moment; a part-time support teacher, Mrs Judith Judge; and four teachers’ aides. We work very closely as a team. I began working in this job at the school in 2001. I have a passion for research into special education and the school gave me the opportunity to put into practice what I had learnt in research. They showed faith in me. We are now directly helping 80 children – and indirectly many more. The numbers of children with disabilities have gone up because people hear how good the school is in this area and send their children here.

fuTurum then interviewed the team of three members of staff in this area in the High School, Mrs Margaret Howard, Learning Support Coordinator 7-12; and Miss Sandra Wood and Mrs Trish Mills, both Teachers’ Aides Special: Our learning centre is called ‘The Zone’ and through the programs and support we offer it is our intention that we will make a positive difference in the lives, personal growth and academic success of students, regardless of their background, stage of life, or abilities. Coming to The Zone enables them to build up their self-esteem and receive encouragement and affirmation, empowering them to go out into the world. As a learning support team we endeavour to show students that they are created by God to be themselves by helping them apply Christian principles to their everyday lives. We provide them with problem-solving strategies and instil in them a vision for themselves and their future. We strive to connect best practices for students with disabilities with best practices for all students, by providing instruction at all age levels that meets individual needs, by emphasising cooperative and activity-based learning, and by encouraging positive behaviour patterns that support learning.

Our staff members seek to ‘unwrap each student as a gift from God’. The numbers of students in our program have quadrupled in the last four years. Some parents of students with special learning needs have enrolled at the school because they are aware of our programs which offer care and support. It has reached the stage where students will encourage their friends to come to us for help. They enjoy coming to The Zone where it is safe, where they can let off steam and where they can get assistance – they will often give up their lunchtime in order to either have a chat or complete some classwork.

A large component of our program lies in the administration of the Board of Studies Life Skills courses for both the School Certificate and Higher School Certificate. This program allows students to access the curriculum at their own level. One student was able, because of this support, to complete a TAFE course and has been offered an apprenticeship. Another student with significant learning difficulties but good inter-personal skills gained a distinction in her people-centred TAFE course. The parents of these students are excited by the progress of their children and continue to encourage them to access many opportunities

learNING BY alterNatIve PathwaYS

Learningsupport

The High School learning support team (from left) Mrs Trish Mills, Miss Sandra Wood and Mrs Margaret Howard

fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

7


learNING BY alterNatIve PathwaYS

for learning in the wider community.

This year we have initiated a parents’ program. Parents of students in our programs meet once a term in a private home to network with each other and have a chat. Living with a disability – or loving and living with someone who has one – adds layers that may enrich life. Disability often also involves sorrow, wistfulness, uncertainty, frustration, logistical difficulties, continual energy drain, and financial hardship. It is our intention to provide encouragement and support for families. We also provide current information on such things as TAFE opportunities, employment/apprenticeship opportunities, disability standards and learning difficulties programs and support on a regular basis. Our gatherings also provide an opportunity for parents to share their stories and so gain support from each other.

At school we work closely with teaching faculties on many issues including: modifying assessments for students; providing support for students with special needs on excursions and camps; implementing and planning programs for children whose behaviour is challenging; providing social skill training for students whose relationships with others are hampered by inappropriate social skills; liaising with the careers adviser in order to provide work experience opportunities for students; withdrawing students from classes in order to provide additional assistance; providing steps and strategies involved in the thinking process; setting up individual learning programs in consultation with staff, parents and students; testing literacy and numeracy in Years 7 and 8 for all students. . . and, a special one last year: supporting the learning of Joanne and Angela, the two indigenous girls from Uluru who joined us for a term.

Our vision for the 181 students we support is that each student will leave school prepared to live independently; enjoy self-determination; make choices; contribute to society; pursue meaningful careers; and enjoy integration in the economic, political, social, cultural and educational mainstream of Australian society.

Mr Geoff Gannon’s road to his present role as High School counsellor began in his church’s drop-in centre after he had become a Christian at university:

I established links with para-church organisations that were reaching out to the counter-culture and who were looking at how God can change lives even in unlikely places. After university and two years’ teaching, I was a youth worker at youth refuges where I worked for eight years, just about a record! It was alongside-counselling, helping the runaways and throwaways of society. After I came to St Paul’s in 1985 to teach History and English, I was encouraged to get into counselling, something I resisted until the previous counsellor left and the Principal approached me.

I prayed about it, accepted and re-trained as a counsellor in 1991, the year I began counselling at the school, a position that moved from part time to full time gradually.

The difficulties I have encountered are twofold. The first is the difficulty of supporting adolescents who have little power in finding solutions. They are subject to parents, to financial restrictions and to maturity limitations. The second is the need to get the balance right in my life – the pressures and pain of counselling need to be balanced physically, emotionally and spiritually.

I enjoy reading, music and gardening; and church is a testing ground where I am encouraged to go on by people of integrity who are accountable to God. The highlights for me are students who show resilience – who are going through really bad things, but are shining and doing amazingly; of students who are supportive of each other as they go through difficulties; and of students who, while figuring out who they are, they find out what they are good at, they don’t fall into the traps, and they are building up their confidence to take on life in an authentic way.

the makING of a School couNSellor


fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

8

AS EDUCATORS AND CARING PEOPLE, members of staff know that students learn better when they feel cared for. The Rev. Peter Wilson, school pastor, indicates various ways in which this happens in the school:

Pastoral care is a strength of the school. In so many ways, multi-layers and networks of support are provided. There is the work of members of the school community who care for school families who are grieving or in crisis, of tutors and student members of tutor groups, of House masters, of Year coordinators, of teachers conducting tutoring after school for students at no cost, of prefects, of students and teachers in such voluntary groups as Christian Fellowship groups, of Junior School and Year 7 Core teachers, of gifted and learning support staff, of counsellors, of a careers adviser, of teachers who keep in touch with students who have left. Tutor groups are set up as microcosms of the family where the confidence and expertise of tutors provide modelling and mentoring. The emphasis is on seeing children as individuals rather than as members of groups and of developing pre-crisis relationships.

Mr Nigel Kleinveldt, Acting Head of the Junior School, outlines how pastoral care works in the Junior School: We emphasise individual needs and a concern for the common good – when one hurts, all hurt. In the 19 years I have been at the school, I have always appreciated its nurture and Christian focus. As the school has grown, it has continued to honour this focus. As Christians, all the teachers have a sharing, shepherding perspective and welfare and counselling structures are in place so that parents, teachers and students can work together in a cooperative environment. At the core is the welfare committee, made up of five strong staff members who are key welfare people in the Junior School, which meets weekly. Our Christian perspectives are fully integrated into all areas of our curriculum which gives the aspect of care and nurture a very strong impetus. Some of these programs include Personal Development & Health which incorporates the child protection and anti-bullying units; the Life Education Unit which focuses on drug education and nutrition; the learner profiles and attitudes in the Primary Years Programme; and a student counsellor. Other significant activities include chapel where many parents attend and students take the lead in bringing the Christian message to their peers; weekly Christian

Fellowship groups; father and son camps; and mother and daughter evenings. These activities enhance the learning environment and spiritual development of the learners. They are all closely monitored through our curriculum, welfare and executive committees.

Mrs Ann Gribble is Year 10 Year coordinator: I am there to offer an adult perspective, to be a caring adult who is not a mother. As I am responsible for 130 students, and have classroom responsibilities as well, the best I can hope to do is establish a connection, be a listening ear, give them strategies for achieving what they want, helping them deal with what they can’t have. My key strategy is to be as transparent with students as possible, to let them know as much as possible. On the whole, it is satisfying. I love dealing with kids. Students cannot have too many avenues of help – different people, students and teachers, have different styles and these suit different people.

Mrs Sandra Skinner is coordinator for gifted education in Years 7 to 10: Mentoring gifted students and those who have been in the extension classes in years 7 to 10 is an important aspect to students’ development. The students are interviewed regularly about

multIPle laYerS of care uNderGIrdING learNING

pastoralcare

Mrs Ann Gribble in consultation with a former Year 11 IB Art class

fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

9


their academic progress, social adjustments and organisational skills. Of the 45 or so students in each Year from 7 to 10 in our program, I spend most time with those in Years 8 and 9 because of time constraints. I support Maths accelerants in years 8 and 9; I test and screen to check students’ progress academically; I discuss students’ progress with teachers if there is a problem. Such problems could be underachievement or perfectionism. Students are given guidance as to how they can achieve to the best of their ability. If necessary I may refer them on to others who have particular expertise. Between all those offering children pastoral help, students are covered very well.

The Maths coaching program on Wednesday afternoon after school is organised by Mr Kevin Corke: I volunteered to take this over from Mr Paul Waddell last year. I love working with kids and think it great that they take an interest – 90% of them want to be there. The students bring along their problems to the session. Sometimes it is just a case of clearing up a simple problem or two. They are beginning to realise that this coaching is helpful. Mattthew Zamitt of Year 9 has been in the program since the beginning of last year: I’ve decided to pick up my act – I was given a chance in an advanced class and

started working again. I go for about half the sessions, when I have a problem. It is a good place to work without the distractions of home. Martin Cordoba of Year 10 first joined the program in 2005: I have found it helpful in solving complex problems. Mr Corke has provided me with templates for solving problems. My Maths has improved. From being in the lowest class in Year 7 I am now in the High Intermediate class. Amy Beaumont of Year 9 says she has always had trouble with Maths: I began coming to Maths coaching at the beginning of Year 8 – my parents found out about the program before I came to the school. Mr Corke has helped me with whatever I have trouble with.

The Christian Fellowship groups provide strong support, according to Nicola Parise: Because I have been with the same people, students and teachers, since Year 7 in 2004, I have been able to get close to them. Issues with faith, faith in general, stories from the Bible can be discussed. We pray each time we meet and it’s a time when we can share concerns for others and about ourselves without being judged. Each week, my faith is being consolidated. I have built up a great respect for the wisdom of teachers and my peers. God seems to be at work in all our

lives. Matthew Domars and Elizabeth Wilson in Year 8 find that support comes through praying together: We pray for families, for healing, for things in the news. This strengthens the connections we already have with each other and provides added support (Matthew). Support also comes through working out things we can do for one another as we study the Bible. It builds a base of people we can trust (Elizabeth).

School pastor Rev. Peter Wilson (centre) during last year’s school carol service


fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

10

SERVING OTHERS IS AN integral part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP). Each student every year is required to reflect on community and service (CAS) activities, indicating who is likely to benefit from them, whether or not these activities would work without volunteers, the main challenges and difficulties, and what was learnt about themselves and others from the activities. Sisters Jessica and Hannah Grant-Nilon outline their overlapping activities:

Our grandmother is active in church volunteer work and we assist her in talking to residents of a retirement village and a nursing home and in selling tea and coffee at Liverpool Court to raise money for the charity work of the Sisters of Mercy. We also raise money for East Timor school equipment and plan to do the same for an East Timor water system by busking (along with their other sister, Hannah plays the violin and Jessica the harp) and baby-sitting. We wanted to do something interesting in areas where we already have connections – through our grandmother and through a friend whose brother is in the army in East Timor. Why are we doing this? Well, we had to meet school requirements, but our real motivation is that life means more when we, who are so fortunate, help others. We have learnt many things, particularly that our God-given talents, time and strength can make a difference to others. Nurturing

others is valued by the school.

Benjamin Ross has been involved in three activities: I work with my Mum at the food barn at my church that assists by getting food to people at cheap prices, which enables me to communicate with people in a positive way. I also help out at the Bligh Park child care centre by reading stories to the children and helping to pack up – I enjoy doing this – I’d like to be a teacher. I also take part in World Vision’s 40-hour famine. Without the CAS program, I may not have done all this; but the rewards have been great – it is satisfying to be able to use God’s gifts in ways that are satisfying to myself and others; and it has helped me to see the world differently.

Zac Trappel feels that his Christian commitment and encouragement at school have motivated him: Over the four years since I became a Christian, I have developed an enjoyment in helping other people, which is expressed in the jobs I do at church. My pastor has encouraged me. I was also encouraged by my Year 9 subject last year, Reality Quest, which motivated me to make a difference. I value being involved in the 40-hour Famine, Open Day, the gymkhana and Clean Up Australia. I’ve also become interested in helping others in class to work quickly so that they have less of a homework burden. Two students now in Year 11 reflect on their four years to the end of 2006 working on the MYP CAS program: First, Justin Comfort:

At different times over those years I helped out at Winmalee pre-school, at St Paul’s Junior School Library, and in fundraising for the school’s rural fire service and for the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal. These CAS activities had many benefits: they contributed to my involvement in the school’s fire service, where I am now Captain; they enabled me to serve the community; and I got to know many people.

Second, Elizabeth Ash: I helped out at the Busy Bee Pre-School at Cranebrook, at the Salvation Army second-hand sales centre at Minchinbury and at the school front office; I worked on the school Ag plot during the holidays and I helped with the younger children at Sunday School and with morning tea after church services. I have actually got a lot out of this: it was a good learning experience and a lot of fun working with children; and I am interested in outside work in future, so I found the Ag plot work enjoyable. The CAS program is good for me and for everyone. We can make such a difference by helping out.

Many come into the program convinced that helping others is valuable. Some who are reluctant find greater meaning to life and learn that happiness comes not by focussing on it, but by helping others and stumbling upon happiness by accident, as it were.

Nurturing others is valued by the school

mYPCommunity service

Three of those who have contributed so much to and gained so much from the MYP community service program (from left) Elizabeth Ash, and Hannah and Jessica Grant-Nilon

fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

11


A LOT OF SIMPLE PLEASURE can come from one picture book. Mr Michael Smith, the teacher who coordinated the annual Infants Christmas concert on Tuesday 5 December last year, outlines how this enjoyable experience took place: I wanted to keep the concert as simple as possible so we chose a picture book, ‘The Owl and the Star’, which our librarian Mrs Margo Pickworth read while the children performed. The story tells of an owl and a star that witnessed the birth of Jesus which provided the springboard for the children’s dance, singing and drama performances. It was an enjoyable and worthwhile way of covering the creative and practical arts components of the Infants program. I organised the children of Kindergarten to Year 2 into five segments, each of which had to provide one performance as the story was read. Ben Wenzel was the owl and Christine Wotherspoon the star.

Ben Wenzel says what it was like being in the performance: Last year I chose to go in the concert where I was the bilby in ‘Wombat

the Vine’. I found it boring learning lines last year, so I didn’t want to go in it. But Mr Smith asked me to be the owl this year – and here we are! I decided to do it because I was especially picked and I didn’t want to let Mr Smith down. It wasn’t that boring this time, because I played soccer at lunchtime instead of learning lines – I like playing soccer – and learnt my lines at home instead. I had to learn three pages of lines. After practising three times, I knew my lines and could do it without making mistakes. My Mum made a star for me and a boy in Mr Smith’s class gave me a cloak. When I was saying my lines in front of all those people, I didn’t get stage fright. After, my Mum said it went really, really well. I enjoyed it so much I would do another acting job – but not in the movies, because I would get stage fright.

Claudia Day sang a song with about ten others, some from her 1M class and some from 1S: It was a Western song about the wise men coming to King Herod to find out where Jesus was born. We dressed in dark T shirts with country hats, boots and jeans. Mum

got mine ready. I went in it because my friends wanted to be in it. I like singing. I did it before in the Joan Sutherland Centre with the school and at school. I enjoyed it. I like Christmas – it is Jesus’ birthday and there are presents – and it was the best thing being on the stage with my friends. Mum and Dad thought it was good.

Mr Smith again: So many people – parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends – came for our performance at 6.00pm that we had trouble seating them all. There were close to 300 children and over 700 guests, packed into The Centre at the school. The best part for me was the communal singing of ‘Joy to the World’ – there was a real sense of communal spirit and participation about it. And there were no mistakes! I think it was such a good experience for the children to perform, to do something for Mum and Dad. I feel the real strength of the night was that it was kept simple.

infants’ christmas concert

Picture book pleasures

Performers in last year’s Infants’ Christmas Concert


fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

12

THE PRIMARY YEARS PROGRAMME (PYP) annual exhibition at the end of last year focused on the lives of people from other cultures and the fact that children today can shape the world in the future. An international approach and understanding of other cultures are paramount in implementing the PYP. Ms Ruth Adams, PYP coordinator in 2006, first outlines the steps leading to the exhibition of children’s work: The children first immersed themselves in global issues, Year 6, for example, having a newspaper wall in the classroom. What came out of this immersion was a focus on five child-centred issues: child labour, abuse, poverty, refugees and health. In reflecting on these, the children decided that what they had in common was the important role that education could play. How could they contribute in bringing about change? In collaboration with Tear Fund Australia, they looked at ways to help

build a community school in the Third World. They then looked at the skills, attitudes, concepts and actions that were needed to help in this task. Displays were then created and the highlight was the PYP exhibition where the students talked to the guests about their projects.

Michael Burke, Alexis Harriman and Stacey Manning, all of 6G in 2006, decided to focus on refugees: Our individual inquiry was done at home, where we focused on Morris Gleitzman’s book ‘Boy Overboard’, about a boy who left Afghanistan as a refugee. We looked at an encyclopaedia online to find out more about Afghanistan and at paintings by two refugee boys from Sudan, David Kumcieng and David Deng Aleu, and a boy from Somalia, Said Abdi Said to understand what it was like to be a refugee. We looked at what we could do to improve things in the

countries from which refugees have come. We learnt stuff we didn’t know before; we learnt about making PowerPoints, about looking up things and writing about them and about showing in our projects where we got our information from.

Breeanan Pedrana and Robert Munday of 2B in 2006 were involved in a display centred around a world globe: The globe idea with faces on costumes around it came from our teacher Mrs Bonazza. We were going to paint the people in costume, then decided instead to take photos of people in our class and use cutouts of costumes from different countries to ‘dress them up’. I was a girl from Paris (Breeanan) and I was a boy from China (Robert). Mrs Munday suggested we use coloured rice to make the world. 2O and 2G helped by colouring the rice and people’s clothing and stamping on the rice.

we caN ShaPe the future

Above, the coloured rice world globe, framed by Year 2 faces in various world traditional costumes; and opposite page (from left) Stacey Manning, Alexis Harriman and Michael Burke with their child refugee projects

pypexhibition 2006

fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

13


we caN ShaPe the future

Above, the coloured rice world globe, framed by Year 2 faces in various world traditional costumes; and opposite page (from left) Stacey Manning, Alexis Harriman and Michael Burke with their child refugee projects

Mrs Trippet stitched it all into a quilt and we used Velcro and hot gun glue to stick it on. We learnt lots about other countries. It took two months to do and it was very fun.

Jake Rivet of 6W in 2006 began thinking about the exhibition on the first day of 2006: I thought it would be exciting, but was a bit nervous too. I decided to concentrate on poverty and sent an email to the Prime Minister to see what Australia was doing. His reply mentioned charities, building schools, and a website that I could look at. I concentrated on Ethiopia. My Mum is very interested in it and she helped me a bit. She felt sad when she looked at a world map that showed Ethiopia black because so many people were dying there. I didn’t know about people in poor countries. It surprised me. In my project, I mainly talked about over-population, lack of education, use of

land and not many girls receiving education. Action that would help is building schools, sending people to help and helping them learn about God. When I spoke at the exhibition, people were really interested, particularly in the movie that my teacher Mr Wyatt helped get off TV.

Amelia Williams of 6M feels it is good to make a difference in the world: I didn’t realise there was such a problem of child labour in the world. 73 million children are working in hazardous conditions in countries like Brazil and India. Most of my research was done on the Internet. I worked on the research with my friend Pranita Dhanji and I worked on solutions with another friend Kate Chalker. We collected signatures and sent a petition to the government with over 50 names collected at the exhibition; we raised $2000 for Tear Fund to go towards building a

school and we sponsor with World Vision a child in Mozambique and one in Zimbabwe. I feel guilty in a country where I have such an advantage. There is a lot we can do. It is always good to be generous.

Mrs Adams made these concluding remarks: The success of the exhibition demonstrates the growth of PYP in the school in three or four years. The idea is that each student can engage at their own ability level. Students have such a positive attitude to learning and the teachers are getting the balance right of just how much help to give. I love seeing students doing things with their learning, seeing that learning doesn’t stop at the classroom. The PYP takes the mystery out of learning and puts it in a Christian framework where, even in a fallen world, there is hope.


fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

14

a PartNerShIP acroSS the world

SISu school shanghai a

Above, the SISU Shanghai students with Mrs Ruby Li and Mr Kevin and Mrs Anne Guest, against a familiar backdrop; and opposite above, the SISU students in class in China; and opposite below, out and about in Sydney

IN THE SHORT TIME THAT this partnership between SISU and St Paul’s has existed, it has flourished. One important step in this has been St Paul’s Junior School support teacher Anne Guest’s period of English teaching in SISU. Anne gives a positive picture of that experience: When I was told in June last year that St Paul’s was looking to send a teacher to SISU to teach English and so prepare the school’s students for study at St Paul’s, I knew I had to apply. I have travelled a lot and I have talked of teaching overseas, and when this chance came, I felt it was so right. I spoke to my husband Kevin who said he would take long service leave from TAFE and accompany me. He was to teach a couple of periods of computer, but his involvement became much more than that. Mrs Ruby Li, Chinese language teacher at St Paul’s, Kevin and I went in early September last year.

Kevin and I intended to stay until the end of the school year at SISU.

The closest town to SISU is Anting, 40 minutes walk from the school. Anting is about the same distance west of Shanghai as Penrith is from Sydney. When we arrived, we were very excited. We were made extremely welcome by students and parents. Two of the girls took us to Shanghai the first weekend and we have been invited into their homes for dinner.

Unexpected things inevitably happen, but we have been able to deal with that. Our motto is: be flexible; be prepared to change things at the last minute. The highlights of our time have been the tour that first weekend of Shanghai through the eyes of locals; the trip to Huang Shan, the Yellow Mountain, on the national day holiday; a

trip organised by Ruby Li and the parents to a place where Westerners seldom go; and the way the students have opened up and their English has improved.

When we took the students to the zoo in Shanghai, there was a feeling amongst some of the Chinese staff that experiencing in this way was not true education. Out of that came the idea that the class should take a trip to Australia. Some students were very excited; others were reluctant to come – their parents had to persuade them.

In the end, almost everyone in the class of 12 decided to come. They were here for a fortnight in February 2007 and want to come back to school at St Paul’s. The parents are keen, because Western education and learning English is such an employment advantage in China.

fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

15


a PartNerShIP acroSS the world

After we had been teaching there for a while, we knew it was right to come back to China for another four months after Christmas. Kevin has taken leave for that time from TAFE – he has been such an asset with his computer skills and he is a good role model for the kids.

We are living out our faith, rather than preaching it much. We are being Jesus to them. We were asked: ‘Why do you love us so much?’ and we have said, ‘God loves us; this is God’s love through us.’ A member of staff has said, ‘You treat these children as if they’re your family.’ So we are going back to see the job through, and then we want to be back here for them.

Edward Song Er Jer is one of the students who came to St Paul’s from SISU for a visit this February: I was born in Shanghai and

attended Pudong Foreign Languages School until I joined SISU in high school. I began learning English in Year 3. My father works in advertising in Shanghai. We have enjoyed our stay in Australia. We have done some study at St Paul’s and we have done some tours around Sydney.

I want to come back here and study. I’d like to study business at university. The food is very different here, but I like Australia – the air is clean, it is comfortable, and summer is not too hot.

Antonia Feng Jia Ni also came on the two-week trip: I was born in Shanghai. My father makes and sells bicycle parts. I attended Shanghai Foreign Language School until the end of Junior High when I went to SISU and have been learning English since Year 1. I want to come to St Paul’s to study

in September or October this year. I’d like to then go to university in Australia and perhaps do business so I can work with my father. Coming here would improve my English and I could study subjects like Business and Economics which are not in Chinese schools.

Australian culture is strange, perhaps because my English needs to improve, but Australians are friendly and life is good and full here. I’ll be telling my parents that every day in school here is busy; there is a lot to do. They will be happy to hear that, because they don’t want me to waste my time.


fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

16

THE INTERNATIONAL STUDENT program at St Paul’s has been of enormous benefit over the years, not only to the students who have come to the school from places like China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Korea, but to the students and members of staff at St Paul’s. Four of the present international students from China speak of their life in China and their time at St Paul’s. First, Cao Zhang ( Jeffrey): I was born in Tianjin, a city of 11 million people at the mouth of the Hai He River east of Beijing. My father is a lawyer and my mother a teacher. I attended No 42 High School Tianjin until Year 9 and came to St Paul’s in August 2005, where I joined the preparatory class. My parents heard about St Paul’s from a friend who attended a talk by St Paul’s people in China. I am now in Year 12 and in the International Baccalaureate (IB) I am doing Higher Level (HL) English, Chinese and Maths and Standard Level (SL) Computer Science, Design Technology and Business Management. I’m not sure what I would like to do after school, but my father would like me to do Economics. I have enjoyed the school, my homestay at Mulgoa and the opportunity to practise my English. I go home each Christmas – my family miss me and I miss them. What I have enjoyed most here is seeing a new country.

Qun Gu (Nick) comes from Shenzhen, a city on the border with Hong Kong where his father is an engineer and his mother is in business. With a population of 10 million (20 million

counting the peripheral area), Shenzhen is the fastest growing city in China: I went to Lian Hua High School in Shenzhen and left in August 2005 for St Paul’s where I joined the preparatory class. I came to Australia because it is a developed country and therefore a good place to study. My father found out about St Paul’s from his friend who knew Mrs Li [on the Chinese language staff of St Paul’s]. I am now in Year 12 and my IB subjects are HL Chinese, English and Visual Arts and SL Business Management, Maths and Design Technology. I hope to do business studies after I leave school. My homestay at Glenmore Park is fine. The best thing about being here has been that it is a different cultural experience.

Sai Zhang (Sally) comes from Jiang Xi, a town south of the city of Shenzhen where her father works as a manager: My father and mother live in Shenzhen and I went to school in Jiang Xi where I lived with my grandparents. My parents had come to Australia earlier and, when my father heard about St Paul’s from a friend of his who knows Mrs Beckett [the Personal Assistant to the Principal at St Paul’s], he decided to send me to St Paul’s. I came for the preparatory course and am now in Year 12 doing IB HL Chinese, English and Visual Arts and SL Maths, Music and Ecosystems. I would like to go to university; my parents would like me to do medicine, but I am not sure. School and homestay at Cambridge Gardens are fine. My best community service has been making trauma

teddies. I have enjoyed being part of a new culture.

Cen Ding comes from Wuxi, a city of over four million on the Grand Canal 130 kilometres west of Shanghai in southern Jiangsu province where her father is a manager: I went to primary school and Tianyi Senior School in Wuxi until Year 10. I decided to come to Australia because the education is good, I could improve my English and I could experience a different culture. We found out about St Paul’s through my father’s friend who is a friend of Mrs Li. I arrived last October and am now doing Year 11 IB HL Chinese, English, Maths and Visual Arts and SL Psychology and Physics. I am enjoying school and my homestay at Glenmore Park. I’d like to study psychology after leaving school. What I most enjoy is making friends – I hope to make a lot of friends.

The St Paul’s members of staff feel the program is going well, indicated by the rate at which their English has improved, the excellent results the students are achieving in their IB Diploma assessments, the number of them who have said things like ‘The longer I am at St Paul’s, the more I love being there’ and the success of the homestay program amongst the school community.

international students a

A program that is beneficial for all

International student Qun Gu (Nick) focused on one of his many studio work pieces in Visual Arts

fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

17


The Independent Sporting Association (ISA) 16s girls’ basketball 2006 team, with St Paul’s player Hannah Jurd (rear, second from left) and St Paul’s staff member coach Miss Shelley Chapman (front centre)

A program that is beneficial for all

Girls’Basketball

‘It’s a fun game!’

THERE IS A LOT OF ENTHUSIASM around girls’ basketball on the part of the coach and the players. Acting Sport Coordinator at the school Miss Shelley Chapman, a former student of St Paul’s, coaches the team and has had an association with the game since she was in Year 1: I was interested, so my parents joined me up at Penrith Park Stadium. Throughout Primary school I continued playing – in fact, I’d play any sport. For me, it was a social activity through which I established friendships. When I came to St Paul’s in Year 7, I continued basketball in outside competitions and in the Independent Sporting Association (ISA) competition at school. My skills were mainly in point guarding, attacking and shooting. I was captain of my age teams and, from Year 10 onwards, was in the school’s Open A team. From the age of 15 I had osgood-schlatters disease of the left knee, a rare complaint in which the bone is gradually chipped away, diagnosed some years later. While I continued playing a little sport after that, I switched my interest to coaching. I have coached basketball since I was in Year 11 and became an accredited Level 1 coach two years ago.

Since leaving school, I have done a lot of coaching, in 2005 being selector and manager for the State’s Open A ISA representative basketball team and in 2006 coaching (with Damien Gough’s help) the 16s girls’ ISA representative team (which went on to win the premiership), and facilitating the coaching of the St Paul’s sporting teams, including basketball. Four of our basketball girls – Sorcha McGee, Ellie Corbett, Hannah Jurd and Kate Webster – were

chosen for the ISA representative team and one – Sorcha McGee – was chosen from the ISA team for the Combined Independent Schools (CSI) team in 2006. Interest in the sport is growing, with 55 players in six representative teams in 2006. This was a great encouragement to me. I am passionate about sport and about teaching and it is a wonderful opportunity to be able to combine the two.

Ellie Corbett, who completed Year 12 at St Paul’s in 2006, had played basketball from a very young age: My brother interested me in playing from the age of 6 or 7. It suited me because I have always been tall. I picked the game up quickly and it has stuck with me. I began early playing competitive basketball at Castle Hill on a Wednesday afternoon. When I joined St Paul’s in Year 9, I joined the basketball teams straight away. The highlights for me have been my selection in the ISA team and being girls’ basketball captain in 2006. I think basketball is a wonderful game – it is competitive, it is a fun game to muck around in, it is good exercise and it is a great friendship-builder. I’d recommend that students join a team and, although there is travel to games on Saturdays, the advantages of playing well outweigh any disadvantages that may come with this.

Hannah Jurd, now in Year 11, also started playing when she was young: When I was six, through friends of the family, I began playing in a mixed competition in the Hawkesbury area, a practice I continued with until I was 12, when I transferred to a girls’ competition in Penrith. I loved the game. I always played centre, because I was the tallest. In

2005, I was selected to represent Penrith in the Sydney competition, in which we were runners-up. I came to St Paul’s in Year 7, and began playing competition basketball at school in Year 8, first joining the Junior As and four weeks later joining the Intermediates. I continued playing centre and, with Miss Shelley Chapman as coach, we were runners-up that year in the ISA competition. Again with Miss Chapman as coach, I was in the ISA Representative winning team in 2005-6. At the end of Year 9, I was selected with two others to be in the school’s Open team which were runners-up and the following season (Year 10 going into Year 11) I became captain due to the previous captain leaving the school. I have been a referee since the beginning of 2006.

As time has gone on, I have felt that my communication with the team has worked better and my new position on the field of point guard and centre has meant I have worked on and improved my dribbling. We have had to rebuild our team this year, having lost some experienced players at the end of 2006. All the present team love playing and are willing to make the necessary commitment of Saturdays for most of the day to places as distant as Bowral, Wentworth Falls and Sydney and training every Tuesday afternoon for three hours. Our parents are very supportive, but it would be good if more people could come along and watch. My best school experiences have been being runners-up in 2005, the New Zealand basketball tour in 2005 and the friendships I have made.

I play the game to keep fit, to make friends, because there is always something to learn and I enjoy that – and most of all, it’s a fun game!

fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

18

OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS, there were three successful school reunions, the 1985 and 1986 20 year and 21 year reunion, the 1996 ten year reunion and the 2001 five year reunion. On Saturday 4 November 2006, the Arts Quarter Foyer Gallery was the venue for the reunion of our St Paul’s Grammar School first Year 12 graduates (1985) and also the graduates of 1986. Although few attended, it was a memorable evening for those who attended, with students and teachers remembering the early days of our great school and remarking on its growth as they were taken on a school tour. Pictured above (from left to right) are Yvonne Duffy (1985 Year Master), Careena Barratt (1986), Dean Wright (1986), Guy Chamberlain (1986) and Adrian Lamrock (Principal, 1985 and 1986). Brogan Renshaw, graduate from 1985 also attended but had to leave early and is therefore not pictured. Apologies were given by Lisa Veenandaal (1985), Justin Epps (1986) and Patsy Beckett (staff ).

Preet Boparai provides this report on the 2001 reunion: ‘It’s hard to believe five years have elapsed since we left high school. From the days of wearing a ‘macca’s’ uniform, running from Z block to C block, demerit points for not doing your homework... to having mortgages, full time jobs and kids! About 30 people attended the reunion at Transistor Cafe in Parramatta.

The majority of us are now working full time, going on to do post grad studies or are planning to work/travel overseas. I am delighted to say that the majority of us are married, engaged or in long-term relationships. . . A few already have kids!

The night brought back wonderful memories and I look forward to sharing more wonderful stories in our 10-year reunion.

Keeping in touch with the school. . . Revelations, the weekly school newsletter, is a great way to keep in touch with what is happening at school.

SPEXS (St Paul’s Ex-student Association) is a way of keeping in touch with your former classmates.

Do you want to know more about SPEXS? Do you want to join?

If you would like to know more about SPEXS, or Revelations, or if you have information we could publish in FUTURUM about what you are doing, or if you are interested in organising ten year or five year reunions, please contact Angela Jovanovski on email [email protected] or phone (02) 4777 4888.

Above, the 1985-6 reunion attendees; and below, some of those who gathered at the 2001 reunion


St Paul’s Ex Students’ News

fu

Tu

ru

m

S

PG

S P

EN

rIT

H

19


SEVEN GALBRAITH CHILDREN have attended St Paul’s over the period from 1984 until this year – and some of their children are attending the school now. Mother of the seven and grandmother of others Erica Galbraith gives a family picture over the last 23 years: In 1984, my eldest child Douglas came into Year 9 and my second child Lizz into Year 7, the former now a fencer and the latter a dietiician. The reason we chose the school was because we were impressed when we heard chairman at the time Dr Michael Barratt speak and believed we should send our children to a school that Dr Barratt made clear was unashamedly Christian. Carolyn, Holly, Joanna and Jenny followed, respectively, the careers of special educator, marketing manager, nurse and journalist now. Josh is doing the IB in Year 12. Grand-children Sebastian (Year 8) and Samuel (Year 1) are now at St Paul’s. I have been teaching at the Junior School at St Paul’s since 2001. The school has met my husband’s and my expectations. I have been blessed.

Lizz Reay, Erica’s second child, travelled to school in 1984 in a hired bus from Richmond: We were in two other locations before coming to the present school site that year. There was only a shed (now the canteen) and The Hall. We froze in winter and were stinking hot in summer – and there was lots of mud and clay. I met my future husband at the school – he started the following year in Year 8 and we were an item by Year 11. By the time I left in 1989, the school had developed a lot – the mudbrick library was the best feature. It was my Biology teachers who inspired me to do food nutrition at university and get my Master’s degree in dietetics. I feel good about the school and we were happy to send our son there.

Joanna Gubbins, Erica’s fifth child, started in Year 7 in 1992: I met my future husband at the school – he started in Year 7 and we were going together before we left school. It was a good experience for both of us. The friendships we formed, the school’s Christian ethos, meeting my husband, the building of The Centre, a huge hailstorm –

these were highlights of my time there. We decided we’d send our children there – my first is now in Year 1. We want our children to pick up what we have picked up – to go to a Christian school, to be where teachers care for kids, to go to a school with a good academic record.

Joshua Galbraith, the seventh child, came to the school in Year 5 in 2002: I came from Bilpin Public School, a small school, to the very large St Paul’s. Its size meant it had more facilities and more of a community. Although I knew no one before I came, I fitted in quickly. The advantage of having so many family links is that everything seems so familiar about the school. My nephew, Sebastian, in Year 8 is in my tutor group. It has changed our relationship because vertical tutor groups encourage senior students like me to support younger ones like Sebastian.

A 23-YEAr SCHOOL LINK

The Galbraith family’s long-term school connection

Left, the Galbraith extended family; and right, the members of the extended family now at St Paul’s (from left) Sebastian Reay, Samuel Gubbins and Joshua Galbraith

a BuSY lIfe of ServIce

FUTURUM INTERVIEWED SCHOOL COUNCIL CHAIR Mr Don Harwin on a day he had driven from his home of 40 years at Peakhurst Heights to attend a three-hour property meeting and school assembly at St Paul’s, would be attending a school function in Sydney that night and expected to be at a finance meeting the next day at school. The bruising pace for someone who has been retired for ten years was not a concern to him: his only regret was that he was missing out on reading stories to his grandchild, his regular practice on that day.

Don Harwin, you grew up in Maroubra where your parents ran a mixed business during World War II? Yes. The business didn’t do so well and after the war, the family survived on my father’s storeman’s wage. I attended Maroubra Public School where one of my best memories was the scripture teacher I had. I became a Christian through the ministry of Rev. Dudley Foord, the catechist at St Andrew’s Sans Souci, where my future wife Evelyn and I were fellowship leaders – we married at ages 21 and 20 and have been together ever since. Such was the influence of that fellowship that ‘the golden oldies’ from those years meet a few times a year.

After your schooling at Sydney Technical High School, you did Science at Sydney University? Yes, on a teachers’ college scholarship which paid me an allowance. I would have liked

to have specialised in Geology, but I was bonded to teach. I taught first for four years at Deniliquin High where we started our married life and that was followed by stints at Kingsgrove North High, Bonnyrigg and Peakhurst schools (where I was Head Teacher of Maths), Hurstville Boys (where I was deputy) and Macquarie Fields and Menai high schools (at both of which I was foundation principal).

How did you feel about teaching? I always wanted to work in something that would help people; I wanted to put something back into the community – I thought about medicine at one stage. I saw education as a helping career. It was my mission in life, and I was able to develop relationships. I enjoyed each child I taught and was always sad when I left each school – I would shed a few tears. The experiences that stay most in my mind were the over 100 kids we had in the ISCF group I facilitated at Kingsgrove North High, and the fact that when I got to Menai High, the local clergy and I were able to do so much for the kids.

How did you get involved with St Paul’s? John and Kate Collier’s and my paths had crossed through the Anglican Youth Department, through being at Macquarie Fields High with John and when I spoke to staff at the school where John was foundation principal some years before he came to St Paul’s. Although our paths had diverged a little

before he came to St Paul’s, when I retired in 1997 I was asked by John if I would be interested in joining the council because of my educational skills. I was happy to do that. I had some concerns about not living in the area when I was asked to be chairman of the council after Adrian Fox resigned, but the school was reassuring about that.

What are you doing in your so-called retirement? I am a member of the Anglican Schools Corporation, a home Bible group leader and church treasurer, a member of St George Rugby League; I babysit grandchildren two days a week; I play golf on Wednesdays; I spend a couple of days a week on council matters: I keep myself busy.

Given that there are few obvious tangible rewards and you do this as a volunteer, why are you involved in the school council? I am able to give back to education what it gave me by using what expertise I have in this school. It gives me a chance to continue my association with young people and encourage them to have a faith that will sustain them through life, as I did at the school assembly this morning. I suppose I would have liked the opportunity to be a principal of a Christian school, but I thoroughly enjoyed my principalship of State schools and the chance to serve there.

international students

This edition of fuTurum has been prepared by Ken Goodlet & Daniel Weatherhead for St Paul’s Grammar School Penrith.

phone +61-(0)2-4777 4888fax +61-(0)2-4777 4841

[email protected]

staff retreat2006

futurumSt Paul’s Grammar School Penrith No. 41 Autumn 2007

Evelyn (front left) and Don Harwin (centre) and their extended family

mr dON HArWIN

Futurum Autmn 2007

Documents

Transcript of Futurum Autmn 2007