From the Head of Wyvern

Talking with your son about George Floyd

The recent appalling and deeply shocking event of George Floyd’s death, and the confronting news images of demonstrations and riots coming out of the United States are challenging but nonetheless important topics to discuss with children, especially in the upper primary years.  Some parents with sons in Years 5 and 6 have asked for guidance as to how to navigate these discussions. We are all aware that now, more than ever, news is saturated with powerful images which stir up all manner of questions and responses by young and old people alike. For primary aged children it is important to find material that presents the information in an age appropriate way. BTN is a reliable medium produced by the ABC with children in mind, to help our older boys understand and discuss the situation.

https://www.abc.net.au/btn/classroom/us-protests-against-racism/12308868

If you feel that this is something you would like to do, you and your son could watch clips like this together. It may help them understand the multiple perspectives of the different groups involved.

This below article from CNN also has some good material about talking to children about the issues.

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/01/health/protests-racism-talk-to-children-wellness/index.html

Life is not simple and understanding people’s actions and motivations is complex.  Our Headmaster, Michael Parker has put together some questions that our staff in the upper primary years have used to guide discussion in recent days and may also be useful for you to talk through with your son to build his understanding and perspective of this tragic series of events.

Some questions that could be asked about the current riots include:

• What do you feel/think when you see the images of the riots in these cities?
• What is a ‘proper’ form of demonstration that you agree with? Does it involve ‘complying’ with police orders? Does it involve peacefully breaking laws? Does it involve looting large department stores? Why?
• What do you think is going through the minds of some black people and some white people at the demonstrations? Does this help you understand people’s acts?
• What would you do now if you lived in the centre of one of these American cities and were 21?
• If you were the President or the mayor of one of the towns right now, what would you do?
• What more would you need to know to understand this better? How would you find it out?  

We all have a responsibility to work tirelessly to challenge, confront, reject and repel racist behaviour and disadvantage. Our focus in classrooms during Reconciliation Week (last week) has been a timely reminder of this; but for all societies and communities, ours included, there is much work to be done.

Ian Holden
Head of Wyvern House

Achievement Awards

 The following achievement award was awarded at Assembly:

Artist of the Week

K-2 Artist of the Week

Sebastian Palmiotto KW
Ted Ferguson KW
Thomas Tan KW

This term, Kindergarten have been exploring portraiture.  They have discussed the differences between a portrait and a self-portrait and looked at the work of artists that create both. For this piece, the boys enjoyed selecting random facial features from the container without peaking and used them to create their made-up portrait. Sebastian, Ted and Thomas have all used colour, line and pattern in an interesting and sophisticated way. Well done boys!

Yelena Rubie
K-2 Visual Art Teacher

3-6 Artist of the Week

Boys in Year 5 have been studying self portraits and the proportions of the face. They were then asked to imagine themselves as a person living in colonial Australia. If they had a phone and could take a selfie, who would they be? The boys became a variety of people e.g. magistrates, soldiers and sailors.

Congratulations to Callum Lau, Jamie Burgess, Roenin R and Luka Tomasevic for their excellent craftsmanship and patience.

Meredith Buining
3-6 Visual Art Teacher

CommunityOsh

Dear Parents,

Wyvern’s Before and After School Care Program is run by CommunityOSH.

To make a booking you must enrol here first. Once your enrolment is completed you can then book the dates you require on the monthly calendar. Please feel free to contact us if you require any assistance completing your enrolment or placing your bookings on 03 9977 3000.

Key information about CommunityOSH can be found here

Click here for latest Newsletter

International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) 2020

Dear Parents

Each year Educational Assessment Australia, a non-profit organisation operating out of the University of NSW, conducts a range of competitions in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Pacific in the areas of Digital Technologies, English, Mathematics and Science called the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS). Competitions are open to students in Years 3 – 6.

Participation in these competitions is voluntary. ICAS provides an opportunity for students in Years 3 – 6 to gain a measure of their own achievement in an external testing situation. In deciding whether you wish your son to enter, you may like to consider the following:

• these are competitions (not tests) that are designed to highlight students with particular talents; ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills, and therefore are set at a high level, with certain questions being above the capacity of many students at a particular year level;
• the competitions are NOT normed to the Australian population;

In 2020 Wyvern students in Years 3 – 6 can participate in the following subjects:

• ICAS Science on Tuesday, 18 August
• ICAS English on Monday, 24 August
• ICAS Mathematics on Monday, 31 August

*ICAS Writing (all year levels) will not be offered in 2020

If you would like your son/s to participate in any of the subjects listed above, please visit the online parent payment System before Friday 7 August. The cost is $15.95 inc GST per test.

**Educational Assessment Australia recommend Google Chrome**

The web link is: https://shop.unswglobal.com.au/pages/pps

Our school’s unique access code is: HRF852

IMPORTANT: Please enter your child’s name accurately into the system as it will appear on their ICAS certificate.

Please do not hesitate to contact the front office on 9568 9444 if you have any questions.

Kind regards

Richard Baker
Deputy Head Wyvern House 3-6

Newington History By Jed Robertson

During my COVID isolation I had to sit at the dining table and eat dinner with my parents every night. It was extremely boring until I found out that my great great great great grandfather, John Austin, was one of Newington’s first students. 

On 5th June I met with David Roberts the Newington archivist to talk about my great great great great grandfather. In 1864 he was Newington’s first divinity (RE) student and second chaplain. The school was situated on the Parramatta River at the time and he had to ride a horse and carriage to school every day. Imagine what it would be like to ride a horse and carriage every day to school. The first Principal was Mr Manton and he died soon after my grandfather went there. John Austin did the funeral service. 

After school John Austin became a Methodist minister and went to Samoa as a missionary. Eventually he got married and had children and then one of his children had more children and one of them was my Mum’s grandma. 

I know all of this because I have a book called Missionary Enterprise and Home Service about it. The book was written by him about his life and published in 1922 and has been in my family ever since. Mr Roberts was particularly interested in his life at Newington and what Newington was like at the time. The book describes everyday life which was really different to ours. From what I could tell it was all about praying! The Uniting Church didn’t exist yet but was later formed from the Methodist Church. 

After the meeting I offered Mr Roberts borrow the book to do some research. He found the original admission register. Here is the page with JS Austin’s entry, dated 11 April 1864. His and the entry for another theological student, Adin Parsons, are identified with a pencilled note “Wesleyan minister”, though their ages also stand out from the other entries.

By Jed Robertson 6H

Next Two Weeks

Sausage Sizzle

Term Dates 2020