Term Dates 2016

TERM DATES 2016

TERM ONE

Thursday 28 January to Friday 8 April
Classes commence Thursday 28 January
11 week term followed by a 2 week break
SPD Day – Thursday 24 March
Good Friday Public Holiday – 25 March
Easter Monday Public Holiday – 28 March

TERM TWO

Tuesday 26 April to Friday 24 June
Classes commence Tuesday 26 April
Anzac Day Public Holiday – Monday 25 April
SPD Day – Friday 10 June – No students
Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday – Monday 13 June
9 week term followed by a 3 week break

TERM THREE

Monday 18 July to Friday 23 September
Classes commence Monday 18 July
10 week term followed by a 2 week break

TERM FOUR

Monday 10 October to Thursday 8 December
Classes commence Monday 10 October
Annual Prize Giving 3-6 – Thursday 8 December

Sausage Sizzle Day

Donut Day

Literature Festival

Excitement is starting to build for the Newington Literature Festival for 2015. The dates to mark on your calendar are Wednesday May 6^th, Thursday May 7^th and Friday May 8^th. As in the past, we have a stellar line-up of authors and illustrators who will both inspire and share their ideas about writing with the boys.

This week, in Library lessons, the events of the 2015 Literature Festival were officially launched. Authors Tristan Bancks, Michael Gerard Bauer and Libby Gleeson were introduced to the Year Groups who will be participating in presentations with them. Over the next few weeks we will be looking at the complete line-up and work of all the authors and illustrators who will be visiting Wyvern, in preparation for the sessions the boys will have with them. For a complete list of these authors and illustrators, for details about the Character Parade and for all other Festival Information, please click here. Please remember to check the Literature Festival 2015 page in Spaces page regularly as more information about the Newington Literature Festival will be added when it becomes available.

Joanne Barnes
Librarian – Wyvern House

International Competitions & Assessments for Schools (ICAS) Years 3-6

Dear Parents,

Please find information regarding the annual ICAS Competitions for Years 3 to 6. If your son would like to participate in these OPTIONAL assessments, please return the completed permission slip, click here to Wyvern Office by 27th March, 2015.

Extra copies of the information and permission forms can be found in the bookstand near reception.

Wyvern Office

Wvyern House School Leaders 2015

Wyvern House School Leaders 2015

Back Row
Mr Ian Holden (Head of Wyvern House), Vincent de Souza (Howe House Vice Captain),
Christopher Mina (Howe House Captain), Jean-Paul Gonios (Williams House Captain),
Will Rumi (Lucas House Captain), Gabe Poidevin (Lucas House Vice Captain),
Fletcher Jakes (Williams House Vice Captain), Ms Sandra Gray (K-3 Deputy), Mr Richard Baker (4-6 Deputy)

Middle Row
Callum Latham (Coates House Vice Captain), Henry Armstrong-Bailey (Coates House Captain),
Jaxon Jarvis (School Officer), Charlie Papps (School Officer), Gaelen Dorigo (Music Captain),
Addison Eastway (Music Captain)

Front Row
Jack Purkis (School Officer), Thomas Hirst (School Officer), Conor Corcoran (School Vice Captain),
Samuel Eagleton (School Captain), Tom Alscher (School Vice Captain), Fallon Fotaras (School Officer),
Angus Churchin (School Officer)

Oshclub – Wyvern’s Before and After School Care Program

Wyvern’s Before and After School Care Program is run by OSHClub. Enrolment for all students is recommended and allows parents to easily manage their before and after school care needs via an online account. Visit  www.oshclub.com.au to use the free enrolment service.

For all late bookings, please contact the Coordinator, Eleanor, on 0428 131 700. OSHClub’s head office number is (03) 8564 9000 Click here for the OSHClub Information Flyer.

For OSHClub Newsletter Term 1 – Week 6, click here

Oshclub Program 1

Oshclub Program 2

Kind regards
OSHClub Team

Newington Crested Ware

There are a range of crested ware on offer at the Black and White shop. They range from memorabilia, clothing, keepsakes as well as an exclusive Sesquicentenary line which can be found on the Sesquicentenrary site. For more information about crested ware, please contact Kylie Ann Mayer at kylieann@mayhemcorp.com.au

To download the crested ware catalogue and price list  click here

To view the crested ware page on the public website, click here

Hunters Hill Junior Rugby Union

Flyers in Bookstand

Martial Arts

• Kung Fu Action at Wyvern

Clubs and Co-curricular Activities at Wyvern

• Co-curricular (Before and After School) Activities at Wyvern

Swim Squad

• Term 1 Swim Squad

Cricket

• Term 1 Years 3/4 Cricket Development Sessions
• Term 1 Years 5/6 Cricket Development Sessions

Basketball

• Term 1 Basketball Skills Sessions

Women of Wyvern Dinner (WoW)

Dear Women of Wyvern,

Please join the Wyvern Parents & Friends Association for a fabulous night out at the Women of Wyvern Dinner which will be held on Friday 20th March at Dedes on The Wharf, Pier 2, 13 Hickson Road, Sydney.

Click here for flyer and payment instructions.

Uniform Shop

Wyvern Uniform Roster Term 1 Week  7 and 8 Click here

Wyvern Uniform Shop Order Form, Click here

Wyvern Uniform Shop Summer Price List 2015, Click here

Tuckshop Menu, Roster & Online Ordering

Dear Parents,

As a parent volunteer working in the Tuckshop can you please make sure that you adhere to the rules and regulations regarding appropriate footwear – closed in footwear with a rubber grip sole (ideally leather trainers). No sandals, thongs, open toe shoes or fabric trainers (fabric shoes may bring bacteria) may be worn.

If your son suffers from an allergy it is imperative that you advise the Wyvern Office and the Tuckshop so that we are aware of it. Click here for the ‘Alliance Catering  – Food Allergens Advisory Statement’.

Please click here for the Spotless Food Safety Information for Volunteers Guidelines

Tuckshop Menu and Roster for Term 1 Weeks 7 and 8, Click here

Donut Day Flyer, Click here

Sausage Sizzle Day Flyer, Click here

Everyday Menu and Price List, Click here  

Online Ordering Instructions, Click here

Online Ordering FAQs, Click here

Term Dates 2015

Each year much thought goes into term dates to ensure the most appropriate balance across the year with a focus on the boys’ learning from Kindergarten to Year 12. This process, conducted by the College’s Senior Executive, takes many hours to ensure all options are considered. By now, you have probably realised that next year we have only a 2 week break between Terms 2 and 3 and a 3 week break between Terms 3 and 4.

Every year the calendar gets challenged by a number of factors. They include when Australia Day lands, when Easter lands, not wanting to start too early when it is hot, not wanting to finish too early at the end of the year with working parents, ensuring state school holidays coincide with our holidays, getting a balance of days between each Semester right (the aim is for 92 in one and 93 in the other), and finally getting maximum time possible for Year 12 for Terms 1, 2 and 3.

This balance is illustrated in the following summary:

2014 – Semester 1: 92 and Semester 2: 93

2015 – Semester 1: 93 and Semester 2: 92 (based on 3 week break between Terms 3 and 4)

2016 – Semester 1: 92 and Semester 2: 93

2017 – Semester 1: 93 and Semester 2: 92

Given the unusual situation of 2015, if we had a 3 week break between Terms 2 and 3 it would have resulted in 88 days in Semester 1 and 97 days in Semester 2 and Year 12 would have effectively lost a week.

It is important to understand that each school has different organisational and learning structures and requirements, thus the difference between other independent schools next year.

Please note that the change in holidays is only for 2015.  In 2016 we will return to a 3 week holiday break between Terms 2 and 3.

TERM DATES 2015

TERM ONE

Thursday 29 January to Thursday 2 April
Classes commence Thursday 29 January
10 week term followed by a 2 week break

TERM TWO

Monday 20 April to Friday 26 June
Classes commence Monday 20 April
Staff PD Day – Friday 5 June  – No students
Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday – Monday 8 June
10 week term followed by a 2 week break (for 2015 only)

TERM THREE

Tuesday 14 July to Friday 18 September
Classes commence 14 July
Staff PD Day – Monday 13 July
10 week term followed by a 3 week break (for 2015 only)

TERM FOUR

Monday 12 October to Tuesday 8
Classes commence Monday 12 October
Annual Prize Giving 3-6 – Tuesday 8 December

Sport

For all Saturday morning sport at Newington Senior School, parents are requested to park off site along the street. The schools onsite car park is maintained for officials, emergency vehicles and staff only. With the summer sport season upon us, the car park area can become very busy early in the morning. Please consider this simple request to ensure the smooth management of Saturday morning sport at Newington.

Wyvern Sports Draw, Click here

Wyvern Sports Newsletter, Click here

Wyvern Sports Results and Match Reports, click here

Sporting Venue Addresses, Click here

2015 Sports Handbook, Click here

P & F News and Events

Hello!

The Uniform Shop has been running well and we have been careful with our money, so the P&F Executive had a very positive and robust discussion about finances when we met recently. We are currently investigating different ways of distributing funds in addition to the cost of running the social events throughout the year.

There are some great initiatives being undertaken by the school to which we would like to contribute. We will consider our options and our finances, and present this year’s round of grants in the Term 2 P&F meeting. Additionally, in order to be more efficient, we will also be reviewing 2016 funding in Term 3 so that we can provide parents with a good overview of how we plan to support the Wyvern community at the AGM in Term 4. Finally, we also thought it would be nice to give these grants a name – the Wyvern Community Grants.

I’m fairly confident there are many parents thinking that their son’s belongings are gone forever when in all likelihood our boy didn’t quite make it to checking lost property because the playground was beckoning… I recently received an email from a Year 4 mum, which echoed my own thoughts about distribution of the labelled clothes in lost property. Thanks to her initiative in emailing me, I raised the idea with Mr Holden and he is going to organise for lost property to be cleared out regularly. Don’t tell your boys…it’s still a good idea to make them look for what they have lost!

Finally, the Women of Wyvern dinner is almost sold out. We only have a handful of tickets left so if you haven’t yet bought one and you’d like to, please hurry to secure your place.

Until next time, be well and happy

Natalie Mina
President, Wyvern P&F
natalie.mina@accenture.com; 0414 850 455 

FORWARD P&F DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Next Two Weeks

Faith Matters

Second Chances

Once Winston Churchill was asked what experience had best equipped him to deal with Hitler leading up to and during the Second World War. To the interviewer’s amazement Churchill recalled the time he’d been forced to repeat a year at school:

“You mean you failed a year at school?”
“I never failed anything. I was given a second opportunity to get it right.”

As John Ortberg writes, “Failure is not an event, but rather a judgement about an event. Failure is not something that happens to us or a label we attach to things. It is a way we think about outcomes.”

Was Winston Churchill a failure? Or Sir Edmund Hillary? Ortberg continues:

Sir Edmund Hillary made several unsuccessful attempts at scaling Mount Everest before finally succeeding … Every time Hillary climbed, he failed. And every time he failed, he learned. And every time he learned, he grew and tried again. And one day he didn’t fail.

God is the God of second chances. Instead of seeing apparent failures as stumbling blocks perhaps we should see them as stepping stones.

Peter Morphew
Chaplain

Clubs and Co-curricular at Wyvern 2015

Dear Parents,

Click here for the Clubs and Co-curricular at Wyvern 2015.

Artist of the Week

K – 2 Artist of the Week

This week’s Artist of the Week is Emosi Tuqiri. Emosi was able to create a very thoughtful 3D version of Hokusai’s ‘The Great Wave’. He used cut and folded paper neatly and carefully in the process and included a sea washed background to give extra effect.

Emosi Tuqiri – 1W

Debbie Bourke
K-2 Art Teacher

3-6 Artist of the Week

Year 3

Year 3 have been studying amphibians. In art, students have been looking at patterns and how to draw frogs. The boys have been working hard using their ‘noticing muscles’ to draw the different aspects of frogs then hiding them in a ‘Zentangle’ landscape.

Nicholas Toskas  – 3M

Year 6

Year 6 boys have working on cartoon/graffiti book covers before they begin the challenging task of completing their ‘Wyvernbald’ entries. Some very amusing and interesting book covers!

Well done to Joel Ludski, Gabe Poidefin, Philip Blanken and Flynn Gannon from Year 6 who were the winners of the ‘Book Cover Challenge’.

Joel Ludski – 6H

Gabe Poidevin – 6B

Philip Blanken – 6R

Flynn Gannon – 6K

Meredith Buining
3-6 Art Teacher

Achievement Awards

House Points

A Message from Mr Holden

It seems hard to believe we are entering the last weeks of the term, however, it is good to report that the start of the 2015 academic year has been very positive with Wyvern students settling to their very full agendas with focus and determination.

One key area for a successful partnership between school and parents is communication. To assist in providing greater clarity around this area I attach, via the following link, Wyvern’s Home School Communication Policy. This summarises the main communication channels, as well as key contacts for various issues. I thank the P&F executive for their helpful feedback throughout the drafting process.

ANZAC DAY 

This year Anzac Day falls on a Saturday, therefore, there will be no public holiday on Monday 27th April as previously indicated in your son’s student diary. Apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

CAR PARK

Finally, thank you for observing our key safety rules when using the drive through facility which has led to improved efficiency in this area. I do remind parents that it is important not to arrive at the car park too early as this causes major congestion on Harrow Road. The earliest times you should arrive at the car park are:

• 3:05pm – K-2
• 3:20pm – Years 3-6

We continue to work closely with Marrickville council on all traffic issues around the campus.

Ian Holden
Head of Wyvern House