International Grammar School’s weekly
e-newsletter
Term 3, No. 7 • 29 August 2014
COMING EVENTS
TERM 3
WEEK 8
Monday 1 September
Year 11 Exams all week
AICES Athletics Carnival
Tuesday 2 September
Year 9 Spanish - Guest speaker
Wednesday 3 September
Year 11 Academic Excellence
Thursday 4 September
9am Meet the Principal Information Morning
Friday 5 September
Year 12 Careers Interviews
Year 9 Wheelchair Basketball
Laptops assist learning at the Primary School’s Cybersafety workshop (2013)
From the Assistant Principal – Primary School
IT in the Primary School – finding the best fit
Colin Bird is Assistant
Principal of IGS’s
Primary School and
Co-ordinator of the
School’s IT Committee.
This week, Colin
provides an update
on how the School’s
plans for provision
of IT in the Primary
School are going ...
which technology to use is not the correct
approach. The focus must remain on what
we want the students to learn and the
skills they need to develop.
There are several broad frameworks of
how IT might impact on teaching and
learning. Currently, the most popular of
these is the SAMR model developed by
Dr Ruben Puentedura.
IGS is currently finalising decisions around
The Substitution, Augmentation,
the question of Information Technology
Modification, Redefinition Model offers
(IT) provision in the Primary School.
a method of seeing how computer
Importantly, we are making these
technology might impact on teaching
decisions around the type
of learning that provides the “The focus must remain on what we and learning. It also
shows a progression
want the students to learn and the
‘best fit’ for our students
that adopters
and the teaching that would skills they need to develop ...”
of educational
support it.
technology often
follow
as
they
progress
through teaching
We have spent a great deal of time visiting
and
learning
with
technology.
other primary schools to see how our
planning compares to schools that have
embarked on student-provided 1:1 devices;
school- only provision of shared devices; no
IT at all; and a range of other combinations
around this area.
What is clear is that (as with so much in
education) there is no one answer that will
work for all schools and that to focus on
Term 3, No. 7 - 29 August 2014
Substitution is simply using computer
technology to perform the same task as
was done before the use of computers.
For example, typing a story instead of
writing a story.
Augmentation is when computer
continued ...
WEEK 9
Monday 8 Sepember
Year 10 High Resolves Working session 8
Tuesday 9 September
7pm PTF School Community Meeting and Presentation
by IGS Board Chair
Wednesday 10 September
CIS Primary Athletics Carnival
Thursday 11 September
9:30am Early Learning Information Morning
6pm PTF Thought Forum 3: Paul Dillon
Australian Interschools Championships Snowsports;
Perisher
Friday 12 September
Year 12 Cocktail Party
Year 11 Exams conclude
TERM DATES 2014
TERM 3:
Friday 19 September
Last Day term 3
TERM 4:
Tuesday 7 October
First day Term 4 - all students return
Tuesday 2 December
Picnic Day
Editor: Rosemary Pryor
4-8 Kelly Street, Ultimo NSW 2007
Locked Bag 1022, Broadway
NSW 2007
Ph: 9219 6700 Fax: 9211 2474
e: [email protected]
... from Page 1 continued
technology offers an effective tool to
perform common tasks. Students taking
a test using a Google form instead of
using pencil and paper, voting in student
elections or parents booking
parent-teacher interviews online would be
such examples.
question related to important concepts.
Examples of this already at IGS include the
Year 5 Study of Eminence, languages films
and the Year 6 IRT. There is additional
scope, though, for teams of students to
take on different subtopics and collaborate
to create one final product.
Modification is the first step over the line
between enhancing the classroom and
transforming the classroom. Common
classroom tasks are accomplished through
the use of computer technology. For
example, the Year 6 IRT Study of Eminence
project in which all students complete
similar writing skills. The reality of an
authentic audience gives each student a
personal stake in the quality of the work.
Computer technology is necessary for
this classroom to function, allowing peer
and teacher feedback, easy rewriting, and
audio recording.
The important concept to grasp here is
the level of student engagement that
is created by provisioning technology wisely
across all aspects of the SAMR model.
Finally, Redefinition allows for new tasks
that were previously inconceivable, for
instance, a class being asked to create a
documentary video answering an essential
You could measure progression along
these levels by looking at who is asking
the important questions. As one moves
along the continuum, computer technology
becomes more important in the classroom
but at the same time becomes more
invisibly woven into the demands of good
teaching and learning.
As a step in our progression, we have
recently begun a trial using tablets in
Kindergarten. A progression that will no
doubt continue as teachers work hard
to link the use of technology to what
In the High School, tablets (above) enhance
music composition, and in other instances,
laptops are popular (below, left)
we believe is essential for students in
Kindergarten as a base, and also allowing
technology in learning across K–6 .
Our IT resources are aging and new options
must be implemented so that the level
of student engagement and learning can
continue to progress.
The options of school-provisioned devices,
student BYO and combinations of the two
approaches will be made clear to parents
in the coming months.
Any thoughts and perspectives from
parents would be welcome – see my
contact details below.
Colin Bird
Assistant Principal – Primary School
[email protected]
IN THE MEDIA
Assistant Principal – Academic Programs Jacqui Baker featured in a recent Sydney
Morning Herald article (21 August 2014) on technology in the classroom – excerpts
from the article by digital news reporter Eryk Bagshaw follow ...
... Both private and public schools across the
state have moved towards “bring your own
device” (BYOD) policies and when parents
and kids have been asked to choose, laptops
have been the overwhelming favourite ...
... At the International Grammar School,
the assistant prinicipal, Jacqui Baker, was
surprised to see far more laptops than
tablets once the school implemented its
BYOD policy.
The school surveyed both staff and students
from Year 5 and above and found that
students had a strong preference to bring
their own device, said Ms Baker.
Term 3, No. 7 - 29 August 2014
“We had been expecting tablets, but
laptops are proving to be the most
popular,” she said.
“We are more interested
in how the device could
enhance learning, rather
than learning the device”.
Mrs Baker believes that seamless
integration and ease of use are the two key
drivers behind the BYOD scheme.
“We are more interested in how the
device could enhance learning, rather than
learning the device,” she said ...
IGS is finding that preference for a device
very much depends on the learning at
hand – e.g, tablets can suit projects such
as music composition
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SNAPSHOT – HSC Music Showcase
Bravo!
Last night’s HSC Music Showcase
entertained with a wonderful repertoire
from classical to rock.
Performers included Ben Grover (drums),
Rachael Parle (flute), Robert Johnson
(guitar), Jeremy Booth (trumpet), Ella
Fitzpatrick-Lubowitz (voice); Karl Rembel
(piano), Jack O’Neale (voice), Hestea
Cook (voice), Joshua Winestock (piano),
Nicola Irvin (violin), and Alec Finley
(bass). (photos by Lesley Rodgers)
More photos coming soon on
our website gallery!
Term 3, No. 7 - 29 August 2014
3
LEADERSHIP LINES
Year 12 2015 student leaders announced
Our Year 12 2015 student leaders were announced this week. I would like to congratulate the following students:
Baado
Phoebe Finlayson-Cook
Meagan Lewis
Andrew Pillari
Kailesh Reitmans
Gura
Gloria Duong
Ruby Learoyd
Noah Samir
Max Saunders
Bamal
Frances Cowap
Jordan Pardoel
Ringo Taylor
Luke West
Kuyal
Mollie Beehan
Marie Harrowell
Charlie Morgan
Andrew Salkeld
Our new leaders will be inducted at a special assembly on 17 September.
Michael Maniska
Principal
HSIE NEWS
Year 11 Ancient History students explore Tutankhamun’s Tomb
through the various steps of mummification
in a recent class, for practical reasons, they
simply performed just the wrapping of the
mummy. Instead of fine linen, we used soft
toilet paper.
A lot of fun and enjoyment was had by
all as they realised some of the intricacies
and difficulties that would have faced the
ancient Egyptians as they performed such
a task.
When the mummies were wrapped, the
students chose someone to perform the
Opening of the Mouth Ceremony, so that
the soul of the deceased, otherwise known
as the Ka would leave the body in search of
nourishment.
Maky Tsomis
HSIE Department
On Monday this week, Year 11 Ancient
History classes took turns in measuring out
the size of Tutankhamun’s Tomb in the
Mountain Street quadrangle.
Students volunteered to be engineers,
architects and some of them just poles as
they calculated the area of Tutankhamun’s
tomb – this included the entrance and the
four main chambers inside his tomb. Blue
ribbon was used to mark this area and
that allowed the students to visualise and
comment on the size of his tomb, which
was not particularly large.
The students then placed themselves in
groups of three or four and chose a victim
among them to mummify. Having been
Term 3, No. 7 - 29 August 2014
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HISTORY HOTSPOT
There will be a Cadbury 200gr Chocolate prize to the first correct answer to the Quiz below. Answers are to be emailed to Mr Tsomis at:
[email protected]. All welcome to participate. Prizes can be collected from the HSIE/English Staffroom.
HISTORICAL EVENT OF THE WEEK:
Pizarro executes the last Inca Emperor, 29 August (today) 1533
Indian civilisation in South America, Pizarro
formed an alliance with fellow conquistador Diego de Almagro in 1524 and sailed
down the west coast of South America
from Panama. The first expedition only
penetrated as far as present-day Ecuador,
but a second reached farther, to
present-day Peru. There they heard
firsthand accounts of the Inca Empire and
obtained Inca artefacts.
Atahuallpa, the 13th and last emperor
of the Incas, dies by strangulation at the
hands of Francisco Pizarro’s Spanish conquistadors. The execution of Atahuallpa,
the last free reigning emperor, marked the
end of 300 years of Inca civilisation.
High in the Andes Mountains of Peru, the
Incas built a dazzling empire that governed a population of 12 million people.
In the five years before the Spanish arrival,
a devastating war of succession gripped
the empire. In 1532, Atahuallpa’s army
defeated the forces of his half-brother
Huascar in a battle near Cuzco. Atahuallpa
was consolidating his rule when Pizarro and
his 180 soldiers appeared.
Francisco Pizarro ... became a soldier and
in 1502 went to Hispaniola with the new
Spanish governor of the New World colony.
Hearing legends of the great wealth of an
Returning to Panama, Pizarro planned an
expedition of conquest, but the Spanish
governor refused to back the scheme. In
1528, Pizarro sailed back to Spain to ask
the support of Emperor Charles V. Hernan
Cortes had recently brought the emperor
great wealth through his conquest of
the Aztec Empire, and Charles approved
Pizarro’s plan ...
... In 1531, he sailed down to Peru, landing
at Tumbes. He led his army up the Andes
Mountains and on November 15, 1532,
reached the Inca town of Cajamarca, where
Atahuallpa was enjoying the hot springs
in preparation for his march on Cuzco
...Pizarro planned an ambush, setting up
his artillery at the square of Cajamarca.
On November 16, Atahuallpa arrived at
the meeting place with an escort of several
thousand men, all apparently unarmed.
Pizarro sent out a priest to exhort the
emperor to accept the sovereignty of
Christianity and Emperor Charles V., and
Atahuallpa refused, flinging a Bible handed
to him to the ground in disgust. Pizarro
immediately ordered an attack. Buckling
under an assault by the terrifying Spanish
artillery, guns, and cavalry, thousands of
Incas were slaughtered, and the emperor
was captured.
Atahuallpa offered to fill a room with treasure as ransom for his release, and Pizarro
accepted. Eventually, some 24 tonnes of
gold and silver were brought to the Spanish
from throughout the Inca Empire. Although
Atahuallpa had provided the richest ransom
in the history of the world, Pizarro treacherously put him on trial for plotting to
overthrow the Spanish, for having his halfbrother Huascar murdered, and for several
other lesser charges.
A Spanish tribunal convicted Atahuallpa
and sentenced him to die. On August 29,
1533, the emperor was tied to a stake and
offered the choice of being burned alive
or strangled by garrotte if he converted to
Christianity. In the hope of preserving his
body for mummification, Atahuallpa chose
the latter, and an iron collar was tightened
around his neck until he died.
Quiz Question: What was the capital
city of the Inca Empire?
The answer to the last question concerning
“which four countries controlled Germany
and Berlin after the end of WW2” was
United States, Great Britain, France and
USSR.
PTF NEWS - Next Thought Leadership Forum
Teenagers and alcohol: How much influence do parents really have?
Thursday 11 September
6pm –7.30pm
IGS Learning Centre,
Level 2, 4 Kelly St Ultimo
Presenter: Paul Dillon
This presentation focuses on alcohol and
provides the latest data on Australian
drinking behaviour and how patterns
of drinking have changed over time. It
aims to empower parents with a positive
message and assist them in having open
and honest family discussions in this
complex area.
Term 3, No. 7 - 29 August 2014
About the presenter
Paul Dillon has worked in the drug
education field for almost 25 years.
Through his own company, Drug and
Alcohol Research and Training Australia
(DARTA), he has been contracted to
provide information on a range of drug
issues to many different audiences.
To reserve your seat, please contact
IGS reception 02 9219 6700 or email
[email protected]
Paul Dillon
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CAREERS CORNER
MUSIC NOTES
University Open Days
Australian Catholic University (ACU) North Sydney Saturday 6 September 8.30am-2.30pm.
ACU Strathfield Saturday 13 September 8.30am-4pm
Macquarie University Saturday 13 September 9am – 4pm
Notre Dame University Saturday 13 September 9am - 3pm
UNSW Open Day Saturday, 6 September, 9am – 4pm.
University of Sydney Saturday 30 August 9am – 4pm
UTS Open Day (City campus), Saturday 30 August 9am - 4pm
UTS Open Day (Kuring-gai campus), Saturday 6 September, 11am - 1pm
University of Western Sydney, Sunday 31 August 9am – 4pm
Calling IGS community
singers!
The Music Department would like to invite IGS
parents, staff and alumni with a love of singing
to join our student choirs to perform a special
30th anniversary choral work by Australian
composer Paul Jarman.
Rehearsals will take place on Tuesdays from
7.30-8.30am, however we fully understand
that your busy schedules may not permit you
to attend all rehearsals. We just ask that you
attend at least a dress rehearsal on the days
of the performances (and of course also the
performances themselves!), dates for which are:
• Music Showcase Night (13 November @
6pm, St Barnabas Broadway) and
• Speech Night (1 December @ 7pm, State
Theatre Sydney)
To register your interest, or for enquiries,
please contact Head of Music Alison Housley at
[email protected]
SOCIAL JUSTICE NEWS
IGS’s Internationally-acclaimed book for online sale now
Head to the site below and buy your copy online now:
trybooking.com/FMDX
Term 3, No. 7 - 29 August 2014
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