International Grammar School’s weekly
e-newsletter
Term 2, No. 1 • 28 April 2017
COMING EVENTS
TERM 2
WEEK 2
Principal Shauna Colnan shares a special moment with Year 4 as they reflect on
the sculpture Sacrifice at the ANZAC Memorial in Hyde Park yesterday
From the Principal
REMEMBERING ANZAC DAY
In my address at Wednesday’s high school
assembly, I spoke about the Gallipoli
truce that took place one month into the
campaign as well as the Christmas truces
that sprang up along the Western Front
in 1914.
At 7.30am on 24 May 2015 at Gallipoli
the ANZACs and the Turks came out of
their trenches and exchanged buttons,
coins and chocolates. They laughed and
communicated with one another in sign
language. A more solemn task saw them
help each other bury their dead. By 4pm
the men shook hands, waved goodbye and
climbed back into their trenches.
The stories of the awful conditions of
Gallipoli are well known: the bullets, the
shrapnel, the grenades. This year I wanted
to share with our students a different
perspective.
Soldiers’ first-hand accounts from the First
World War shed light on extraordinary
moments when a strange hush fell over
ANZAC Cove. These were moments of
humanity and camaraderie among men
and across No-Man’s Land.
The soldiers’ accounts indicate that in the
few minutes of silence that followed, there
was wonder, exuberance and melancholy.
At 4.45pm a single shot rang out, followed
by a barrage of machine gun fire. The
fighting was on again.
The story of the Gallipoli truce is not
dissimilar to the story of the unofficial
Christmas truces that occurred along the
Western Front in 1914. On Christmas
Eve, German soldiers placed candles and
small trees along parts of their line and
continued next page ...
Term 2, No. 1- 28 April 2017
Monday 1 May
IGS Shakespeare Carnival Presentation: 11am1pm
Tuesday 2 May
Year 8 Drama - The Popular Mechanicals:
Sydney Theatre Company, 9:45am – 2:15pm
Year 7 Parent / Student Evening: 6pm
Wednesday 3 May
CDSSA Netball Gala Day
Year 2 Artworks - Displayed at the Light Rail
Stops (3-14 May)
Thursday 4 May
Stage 6 PDHPE Camp
Friday 5 May
Language STEAM Incursion (K-6): the Hall,
2-3pm
ORFF NSW Conference (All Music Staff)
WEEK 3
Monday 8 May
Year 11 “Impact of Choosing the Right
Mathematics Course: 5.30-6.30pm, the Hall
Presenter: Professor Mathas
Tuesday 9 May
NAPLAN Test: Year 7 and 9
CIS Girls Knockout: 12.20-5pm
PTF Community Update Meeting: 6-7.30pm
Wednesday 10 May
NAPLAN Test: Year 7 and 9
CLP Early Learning Forum: Raising an Ethical
Child, 9.30-10.30am
Thursday 11 May
NAPLAN Test: Year 7 and 9
Early Learning Information Morning: 9.3010.30am
Friday 12 May
NAPLAN test Make Up day
NSW All Schools Swimming Carnival
Editor: Rosemary Pryor
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continued from page 1
as darkness fell, the German and British
soldiers sang Silent Night and O Come All
Ye Faithful.
These were moments of peace, kindness
and graciousness in the face of the tragic
and confounding circumstances in which
these men found themselves. The truces of
WWI are a testament to the power of hope
and humanity in a particularly dark hour of
human history. They are just some of the
stories of the First World War that inspire
and astonish us still.
At the assembly we stopped to reflect
on the profound words of Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk, that great Turkish leader who
led his troops to victory at Gallipoli. In
1934 he penned these words which are
inscribed today on a large monument at
ANZAC Cove:
“Those heroes that shed their blood and
lost their lives …you are now lying in the
soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest
in peace. To the mothers who sent their
sons from far away countries wipe away
your tears. Your sons are now lying in our
bosom and are in peace. After having lost
their lives on this land they have become
our sons as well. Today we honour the
men who fought on both sides at Gallipoli.
We honour the countries from which they
came, but above all we honour the
spirit of peace and friendship which has
proved to be an enduring legacy of the
Gallipoli conflict”.
ANZAC day is such a sad day on our
national calendar and it continues to have
an important place at IGS. It’s a day to
learn about our history and to honour and
respect the fallen. As a nation we have
suffered losses too great across all theatres
of war at which Australians have fought
and continue to fight to this day. Some
of our students have also been touched
directly by war, and this week we pay our
deepest respects to those students and
their families.
Here at IGS each year at this time, we
pause to learn about history and to
remember stories of loss and courage in
war. Our youngest children read picture
books like Anzac Ted and Lest We Forget.
Some of you may have seen these books
in our Little Free Library at the School’s
entrance this week. Discussions and other
teaching and learning activities occur in
primary and high school classrooms as
we enact the NSW History syllabus.
Yesterday Year 4 students were guided
through the ANZAC Memorial in Hyde
Park. A formal ANZAC Day assembly takes
place each year.
Through all of these opportunities for
learning, we encourage our students
to think, to reflect on our history, to
contemplate stories of individual courage
against adversity, to meditate upon the
heartbreak of war, to think of others, and
finally to play their part, no matter how
small, to develop a much-needed vision of
peace for us all.
In the wake of this week’s
commemorations, we now look forward
to a wonderful term ahead with a sense of
gratitude for all that we have.
Shauna Colnan
Principal
Connections through History
At the assembly on Wednesday, Claire Thom (Year 11) related the story of her
great grandmother, Marjorie Allgrove, who was on the HMS Giang Bee, known
to have had the same fate as the Vyner Brooke, which sank in 1942. Vivian
Bullwinkel, who was on the Vyner Brooke, made it ashore at Radji Beach on Banka
Island and was the sole survivor of the 1942 Banka Island massacre. Bullwinkel was
struck by a bullet and pretended to be dead until the Japanese soldiers left.
Claire’s great grandmother (Marjorie) died at the time, but another woman who
was on the Vyner Brooke with Vivian Bullwinkel, Nell Hannah, survived the sinking
of that ship and later married Claire’s great grandfather who was a rubber planter
in Malaysia and a prisoner of war in Singapore during the war. Nell told the story
of how she ‘saved Vivian’s life’. Nell survived the sinking of the Vyner Brooke and
was fortunate not to be washed up on the same shore on Banka Island (near
Sumatra), where the 22 nurses were massacred.
Nell was taken captive elsewhere and was one of the first to see Vivian in the
prisoner of war camp. She noticed the bullet hole in Vivian’s tunic from the gun
shot that was meant to kill her. Nell immediately took it and fixed it up, knowing
that if one of the Japanese officers saw it, they would know she was from the
massacre on the beach and would kill her.
Claire Thom talked about her connection
to Vivian Bullwinkel
Read more about Vivian Bullwinkel here:
https://www.awm.gov.au/people/P10676383/
Vivian’s tunic is on display in the War Memorial in Canberra and one can clearly
see the bullet hole.
Term 2, No. 1- 28 April 2017
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REMEMBERING ANZAC DAY - Continued
As part of this week’s commemoration, Ms Colnan accompanied Year 4 to the
ANZAC Memorial in Hyde Park.
“The ANZAC Memorial - we go there to remember those who
didn’t come back from the war”. Year 4 learning about the
memorial in Hyde Park
ANZAC Ted
Year 4 in Hyde Park
Our Early Learning children were also initiated to ANZAC Day. In class, they read Anzac Ted and what
stood out for the children was that Anzac Ted was hurt - they were very concerned about this. It was
a good opportunity to talk about how war and fighting hurts people.
Anzac Ted is the powerful, poignant story of a little boy’s teddy bear that was passed down to him
from his grandfather. Battered, torn, missing an eye and an ear, he might look scary but he’s got a
great story to tell. For Anzac Ted went to war, keeping soldiers company and giving them comfort.
SNAPSHOT - Our little IGS firefighters
The School was in safe hands during the holiday. Our littlest IGS firefighters had some basic training
with vacation care guests from Fire and Rescue NSW
Term 2, No. 1- 28 April 2017
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EVENT
IGS hosts Digital Innovation Fair
IGS is hosting its first ever Innovation Fair on 24 May 2017. The fair will involve leading technology suppliers as well as a number of
IGS staff and clubs demonstrating the latest educational technology.
As members of the IGS community we would like to extend an invitation to you to attend the fair between 12-5pm and/or an
evening session which will include a panel of leading educational technology experts between 6-8pm.
To register, go to:
https://docs.google.com/a/igssyd.nsw.edu.au/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdfB4be1nIgJYKXeyxkqWALhqv-qG2Ey-IYeTlpv0BchTYmGw/viewform?c=0&w=1
Term 2, No. 1- 28 April 2017
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ENRICHMENT NEWS
Creative Sparks: Blue Carbon field trip and art workshop and
exhibition
On Thursday 27 April, 75 Year 2 students, teachers and accompanying parents from
International Grammar School went on an excursion to Johnson’s Creek, Annandale
and the Glebe foreshore to participate in the ‘Creative Sparks: Blue Carbon art-science’
education program designed and delivered by a local not for profit charity, Culture at
Work.
Students enjoyed an informative field trip led by scientists Dr Jeff Kellaway from
Macquarie University and Dr Alexandra Thomson, a marine scientist from the University
of Technology, Sydney - Faculty of Science. Jeff is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in
Environmental Sciences at Macquarie University.
‘Blue Carbon is captured by the world’s oceans and coastal ecosystems. The carbon is
captured by living organisms in oceans and stored in the form of biomass and sediments
from mangroves, salt marshes, sea grasses and potentially algae.’
The field trip began at Johnsons Creek and the students wound their way along the Glebe
Foreshore to the City of Sydney’s mangrove regeneration project where they stopped and
observed the mangroves when the tide was high. Students learnt about the ecosystem,
the values of wetlands and why it is important to keep carbon in the ground. The students
learned about how the ecosystems provides a habitat for living things including crabs,
plants and keeping carbon under the ground.
Today, Friday 28 April, the 75 Year 2 students from International Grammar School
participated in an art-science workshop with visiting Culture at Work artists Liz Shreeve,
Laura Jade Hindes and Sherryl Ryan. The artists shared their expertise in their field of
art in presentations before running the workshop. Students created recycled artworks
communicating the science they had learned on the field trip.
The 75 artworks will be on exhibition from 3 -14 May inside Paddy’s Markets at
the light rail stop
Paddy’s markets are open Wednesday to Sundays 10am to 6pm.
Community Learning Event - Raising an Ethical Child
Join us for our next Community Learning Program event on Wednesday 10 May from 9.30-10.30am called Raising an
Ethical Child.
Asking most parents about the personal qualities they wish for their child to develop will usually elicit answers relating at
least partly to themes of kindness, morality and empathy. These qualities, nuanced and growing in complexity with a child’s
development, are heavily influenced by environmental experiences from a young age. So how do we help to imbue our
children with these kinds of pro social attributes?
Join us as we discuss these ideas and practical parenting advice for encouraging the development of an ethical child.
Entry is free but bookings are essential. Please visit the following link to book: www.trybooking.com/OKST
Term 2, No. 1- 28 April 2017
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SPORTING NEWS
‘Monster’ Skater
Over the holidays, Toby (Year 4) was invited by Monster Skatepark in Homebush to participate in
daily skating demonstrations to visitors of the Royal Easter Show. Toby said: “The skateboarding
demonstrations were really fun and a great opportunity for me. To start with, I was a little bit nervous
in front of the spectators but I just focused on my tricks and pretended they were not there and then
everything went well!”.
Sporting Mums!
In a few short weeks, Mother’s Day pops up on the Australian calendar.
In acknowledgment of all the wonderful parents out there, and as a
contribution to our community IGS Early Learning will be taking part in the
‘Women in Super – Mother’s Day Classic’ fun run event. This is a nationwide
organised charity event which will be taking place in locations across
Australia. The Mother’s Day Classic has a variety of different length fun runs/
walks, catering to all ages and stages with proceeds going to the National
Breast Cancer Foundation.
For the first time, Early Learning has registered a team to take part in the
event in Sydney. With the assistance of the children we have been named the
‘IGS EL Super walkers.’ We would love as many families as possible to join
with us to walk or run the event together with the hope of raising as much
money as possible for breast cancer research.
Why it is important:
Charitable contributions send an important message to children about
helping others and being part of a community. Starting in Early Learning
embeds compassion, empathy and normalises a culture of support and
giving, the more we do it. Ideally it brings our community together under the
umbrella of uniting to support others in need.
To donate and sponsor our IGS EL Superwalkers, go to:
https://mothersdayclassic17.everydayhero.com/au/igs-el-superwalkers-1
Term 2, No. 1- 28 April 2017
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SCIENCE SPACE
Upcoming Science Competitions
CAREERS CORNER
University Information evenings for
students and parents
UNSW and USYD Year 10 Subject Selection and
Information evenings
The evenings will cover a number of relevant topics including subject selection,
ATAR, scaling, bonus points, career pathways, what the difference is between
assumed knowledge and prerequisites and how the UAC admissions and
scholarships application process works. As these events are always extremely
popular, I encourage you to register as soon as possible.
University of Sydney: May 3 and 23. Registrations open. Apply online:
http://sydney.edu.au/study/admissions/events-for-future-students.html#sydney
UNSW: May 10, 23, 25 and 31. Registrations open in April Apply online:
https://www.futurestudents.unsw.edu.au/whats
Glynis Martin
Head of Library Services and Careers
[email protected]
Term 2, No. 1- 28 April 2017
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MEDIA WATCH
Get with the program, Get Arty!
Several students on IGS’s vacation STEAM camp run
by teachers Jane Martin and Melissa Silk in Term 2 last
year took part in filming for a new show called Get
Arty for the Seven Television Network. Well, the time
has finally come around to see the show!
Some of the segments went to air at 7am on Channel 7Two on Tuesday 18
April and Wednesday 26 April and another will air next Friday 5 May.
Once it has gone to air you can catch it online at Plus Seven in the Kids’
section.
These are only some of the segments we filmed at the School – Channel 7 will
be in touch again over the coming months with further on-air dates.
If you missed the Get Arty segments you can view all past episodes
on Plus7 - catchup TV for Channel 7. The IGS Library is also looking at
compiling some IGS segments on Clickview. Stay tuned!
DRAMA SPACE
Amazing new web series
Shakespeare Carnival
Our inschool carnival is on this coming Monday 1 May at 11am.
2017 EDITION
The first two episides of the 'Amazing Grace web series' will be
streamed next Tuesday after school on her YouTube channel,
and then every Tuesday until May 23.
Here is the third and final teaser for the series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4Uu6eQQ-cw
SCHOOL
C A R N I VA L
B Y M AY 5 t h
REGIONAL
C A R N I VA L
BETWEEN
M AY 1 5 t h TO 2 1 s t
STAT E
C A R N I VA L
JUNE 18th
More Drama News!
Don’t miss IGS Intermediate Theatresports Team
who will be performing at PLC Croydon on
Wednesday 3 May at 7pm.
Term 2, No. 1- 28 April 2017
A N SW S TAT E W I D E CO M P E T I T I O N
ACTING I MUSIC I COSTUME DESIGN & SETS I DANCE
S P O R T F O R J OV E .C O M . A U / C A R N I VA L @ S P O R T F O R J OV E .C O M . A U
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