Transition
I recently asked the boys what concerned them most about entering High School, and the top three concerns were finding classrooms, homework and getting used to so many different teachers and their routines and expectations. As a result of these concerns, Year 7 Formation Leader, Sharon Jones and Assistant Formation Leader, Kotoni Ale will lead a Q & A session with the boys next week. As well as this, the Year 6 boys will have the opportunity to walk around and familiarise themselves with the College classrooms and locations (many of them never visited at their time at the College) with their PDHPE teachers as part of the unit of work on ‘change’ which they are studying at present.
It is hoped that this immersion and transition program will ease nerves and lead to a smoother transition into High School.
Celebration of Excellence
Next Wednesday 5 December at 9.00am, the Primary School will celebrate the effort and achievements of many boys in the Primary School. Parents and friends are invited to attend as we commence proceedings at 9.00am in the Brimson hall. If your son is receiving an award you would have received an email on Wednesday 28 November. As a fitting culmination to the year, boys will be awarded first place in individual subjects as well as application and effort awards over the past two years, Religious Dimension awards, The Danny Karas Memorial Award, Sportsman of the Year Award, the Augustinian Awards as well as the Dux and Proxime Accessit (2nd place in the year) in each year.
Character strengths
Congratulations to all award winners and just as importantly congratulations to all boys, whether they are an award winner this year or not, for displaying the character traits of integrity, empathy and humility. These awards are given each week during our Primary School assemblies by nature of class merits and Attollo awards. At our final Primary School assembly next Monday morning, we will announce the three merit award winners from each class. This is a tremendous achievement and calculated by combining the Gold, Silver, Bronze and encouragement awards over the course of the entire year. Our top three place getters are recognised for their consistent behaviour, positive attitudes, brilliant manners and happy dispositions.
Year 6 Pizza Lunch
As a way of saying thank you and good luck to the current Year 6 boys, the College would like to provide a pizza lunch for them next Wednesday. They have been a wonderful group of young men who have represented the College with distinction academically, on the sporting field and more importantly through their positive relationships with their teachers and each other. With lunch provided next Wednesday, boys only need to bring their recess, unless of course they do not like pizza and would therefore need to bring lunch as well.
Letter to our new boys
Next week each of our current Year 5 boys will write a letter to one of our new Year 5 boys for 2019. They will introduce themselves and highlight what to expect when they begin at the College next year. These letters will be sent the old-fashioned way, by mail and will give the new boys a friendly point of contact for when they begin next year.
Awards
Read Aloud with Grandparents Morning
It was wonderful to see so many grandparents take part in our annual read aloud morning. With over fifty grandparents reading picture books and sharing stories, it was a terrific morning, promoting the joy of reading and the importance of relationships. The boys love hosting this event and to see the pride they had introducing their grandparents and showing off their school makes events such as these so worthwhile. Thank you to Megan Cashman for coordinating and for the Penny Mason and the Kitchen staff for the lovely muffins.
Terry Walsh
Head of Primary School