From the Head of Wyvern

This week we received Wyvern’s 2021 NAPLAN results which I am very pleased to report are very strong. It is pleasing to see that there has been growth in nearly all the areas assessed when compared to our very good 2019 NAPLAN results (note, in 2020 NAPLAN was not administered due to COVID 19). In particular, this year’s results for Grammar and Punctuation, Reading, Writing and Numeracy are most encouraging and point to the positive impact of our high-quality whole school teaching and learning strategies. I recognise and congratulate our Y3 and Y5 students and staff for their measured and calm approach in the NAPLAN assessments earlier this year. We are still waiting for individual student results but will send these to Y3 and Y5 families as soon as they arrive.

I am sad to report that Mr Richard Baker will be leaving Wyvern at the end of this year to take up a senior leadership position at Cranbrook School as Deputy Head of their Junior School. I congratulate Richard for his well-deserved appointment and thank him for his 8 years of exceptional service to the students, parents and staff of Wyvern House. Mr Baker’s deep commitment to our boys, his infectious enthusiasm for all things Wyvern and his wonderful leadership of many initiatives will all be missed. The Headmaster is overseeing the recruitment process for a new Wyvern Deputy and will update you about this in due course. 

As this is the last newsletter of the term, I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support of the Wyvern staff. These are challenging times, but it speaks volumes of the Wyvern community (both staff and parents) that we have been able to adapt and support our boys in such circumstances. I look forward to sharing the return to school plans early next term, but in the meantime, I wish you and your families a safe spring break.

Ian Holden
Head of Wyvern

Artists of the Week

Artists of the Week at Assemblies Term 3

Year 3

Year 3 have been completing works about ‘Abstraction’.  This included work inspired by John Coburn, and Indigenous art from the Western Desert region. Boys have been encouraged to see and make different types of Abstraction, from simplification and  ‘birds eye view’, to lettering used in an abstract way.

Year 4

Year 4 have been inspired by the topic of ‘Pirates’ stemming from their unit on ‘Exploration’. Boys have used a number of materials and forms to create images within this topic, such as Pirate ships on dispersing paper, Tropical Island silhouettes, and ‘The Kraken attacks’. I have been thoroughly impressed with the boys’ level of creativity and problem solving.

Year 5

Year 5 have been looking at the topics of ‘Space’ and ‘Surrealism’.  The boys have been influenced by Steampunk, Van Gogh, and Banksy. The boys were able to make some creative and interesting work, while experimenting with the materials they had in their art pack.

Year 6

Year 6 have been looking at the topic of War. They viewed artists responding to the 1^st and 2^nd World Wars, and also after the war. Boys made images based on the work of Albert Tucker, an Australian artist whose task it was to draw images of injured soldiers coming back from the war. They then were asked to respond to Fernand Leger’s images and the influence of Cubism and exciting mechanical inventions after the war.

Meredith Buining
3-6 Visual Art Teacher

Australian Reading Hour

Get Involved in Australia’s Reading Hour on September 14 2021!

Originally launched by Australian libraries and library associations for the National Year of Reading in 2012, the Australian Reading Hour began as an event for all Australians to set aside one hour on one day to read – whatever they wanted, wherever they were located, and however they chose to read. 

Now that we’re staying in more, it’s a good time to get reading

Books – in whatever shape, size, or form – are a great way to unwind, learn new things, discover new stories, and feel all kinds of emotions. Whether you’re reading fiction or non-fiction, periodicals or poetry, journals or joke-books, memoir or magical fantasies… your body, heart and brain all know you’re on to something special. That’s why Australia Reads is encouraging everyone to read a little bit more. (Or even a lot more!)

If that hasn’t convinced you here are a few more benefits of reading

1. Reading Makes You More Empathetic
   Reading is a way to escape your own life, and can take you to faraway lands, other times, and put you in other people’s shoes. By viewing the world from a point of view that is not your own, you become more empathetic.

2. Reading Keeps Your Brain Healthy
   Just as exercise helps your body stay healthier longer, reading is an exercise that helps keep your brain fit. As they say, use it or lose it!

3. Reading Reduces Stress
   If you could reduce your stress levels in under ten minutes by doing something you enjoy, would you? A popular study done by the University of Sussex showed that “stress levels declined by 68 percent after participants read for just six minutes”. A good book transports you to another place where your own stresses don’t exist, allowing you to relax.

4. Reading Helps You Sleep Better
   In this time of constant technological connection, our sleep is suffering. The blue light emitted from screens disrupts melatonin levels. By checking “one last email” you are waking your brain up when you should be relaxing. Then there is the stress of reading the news. As we now know, reading a book helps you to relax.

5. Reading Sets an Example for Kids
   Is reading important to you? If it is, it likely will be important to your children. It is proven that “parents are children’s first and most enduring educators and have a huge influence on their development”.

Host Your Own Australian Reading Hour Event With Your Family

Laugh Out Loud 
Host an event for your family and invite everyone to bring a book that has made them laughout loud. Share the joy of these books and take turns reading aloud from your favourite scenes.

Silent Reading Hour
Ask everyone to bring a book of their choice along. Pour yourselves a favourite beverage (whether a cup of tea, bubbles or fruit juice) and enjoy the solace of reading silently alongside others, whether in-person or online. No phone calls, no social media, no chit chat, no internet. Before and after the hour you can chat about anything!

Mrs Mann and I will be participating in this year’s Reading Hour. I hope you will too!

Kind regards,

Mrs Mann and Mrs Barnes

Awards & Certificates

 The following achievement award was awarded at Assembly:

2021 Book Week

Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds

Dear Boys and Parents,

Please enjoy the photos of our 2021 Book Week Celebrations. Although a little different this year, the boys enjoyed participating in the various events visiting books from different worlds from the comfort of their homes.

The K to 2 boys attended the Mad Hatters’ Tea Party in the Other World of Wonderland. They created special hats to wear at the tea party and enjoyed an afternoon tea with special treats while immersing themselves into Alice’s World. I think you will agree that the boys did a fantastic job with their hat creations!

The Years 3 & 4 boys went to the Old World of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest. Before the day of their visit to Sherwood Forest, the boys each made Robin Hood hats to wear when they joined Robin’s Merry Men in an Escape Room activity during our Zoom session. At Maid Marion’s request, the boys had to solve six challenging puzzles to rescue Robin Hood who was taken to a secret location by the Sheriff of Nottingham. Fortunately, the boys excelled at solving the puzzles and Robin was rescued!

Our Years 5 & 6 boys entered the New World of Percy Jackson at Camp Half-Blood.  Camp Half-Blood is a Greek demigod training facility located on the north shore of Long Island. Here the boys participated in a digital escape room activity of Capture the Flag. This escape room challenge presented the boys with some very tricky problems to solve before they could be victorious and capture the flag for their team. I was impressed with the boys’ patience, perseverance and link making in order to complete these tasks.

Happy reading,

Mrs Barnes
Librarian

Distance Learning Art Work

Here are some wonderful art work submitted by boys in Years 3-6 during their Distance Learning in Term 3.

The Morning Fitness Show

The Morning Fitness Show

Every morning at 8.05am during Term 3, Mr Martin and Mr Wilson have enjoyed the opportunity to provide a live fitness session for Wyvern boys (as well as siblings and some parents) via Zoom.

During this time, the “Morning Fitness Show” has welcomed special guests including Miss Hastie with her yoga sessions, Miss Harding, Mr Holden, Mr Baker, Mr Pollard, Miss Buining, Miss Osborne, Miss Kitamura, Miss Bosch, Mr Botto, and even Miss Parkinson all the way from Tokyo. Our boys have enjoyed seeing various Wyvern staff join us for fitness in another sign that they cannot wait to experience a regular school day in Term 4.

We estimate well over 4000 active participants have joined us during this time to have fun, stay active, healthy, and fit. The show has a dynamic approach, incorporating workouts, music, physical challenges, “exotic location” giveaways, interaction and laughs! The boys who regularly join have kept Mr Martin and Mr Wilson entertained with their youthful exuberance and desire for activity and social interaction obvious to see.

We hope families will encourage boys to be physically active during the school holidays and proactively seek opportunities to remain active as a family during the upcoming school holiday period.

The link below is to the “Wyvern Warrior Physical Activity” spaces page. Here you will find some different ideas to stay active in and around home as a family. Included here are Sporty Activities, Helping Others at Home, Fun Activities at Home, Staying Relaxed and Healthy and Sport Training Resources.

https://spaces.newington.nsw.edu.au/wyvern/sport/pages/3262-wyvern-warrior-physical-activity

Flipgrid to Share Activity

Flipgrid has provided boys the opportunity to share their physical activity with staff and friends during Term 3. Wyvern staff have loved watching the boys perform amazing tricks, improve their fitness, complete physical challenges, compete in “Min It to Win It House Matches” and just have fun.

Please see our Term 3 Flipgrid Mixtapes link below.

https://spaces.newington.nsw.edu.au/wyvern/sport/articles/29248-physical-activity-at-home-weekly-flipgrid-videos-mixtape

Min It to Win It House Matches

Wyvern Sport House matches were competed for differently during 2021 with a distance learning method. Each House match sport involved a skill for boys to achieve their best score in a 1-minute duration. It was awesome to see so many boys contribute to their House scores in this different format. Despite the challenges at play, boys did not hold back the effort or pride to give their House a fighting chance. Congratulations to all participants!

 Boys received points for the following –

1. Participation
2. Bonus points for achieving highest scores 
3. Extra bonus points for wearing their Wyvern House uniform whilst completing.

Please see House Sport Results below:

Term Dates 2021

Term Dates 2022

Wyvern P&F STEM Festival

During Term 3, students in Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 have been working on a self-chosen individual scientific investigation as part of their distance learning for Science and Technology. Below are investigations and workshops which students and teachers participated in as part of the Wyvern STEM P&F Festival.