Winter Term Wind Up
This is the last newsletter of Winter Term. It has been a busy term that brought not only its share of rain but also a major consolidating block of learning time. It was a term that started with the extremely valuable and well-attended goal setting and three way conferences between parents, sons and their teachers. These goals have been important but will become significantly more so as we move into our final term. Winter Term also included NAIDOC Week, Athletics Carnivals, Book Week, a fabulous Bring a Family Member sports afternoon and the final rotation of our Baristas, Bakers and Waiters enterprise. Your support for us at our events, assemblies and community service endeavours is hard to quantify, please know that it adds significantly to what we do and is most gratefully appreciated.
Year 7 Immersion Week
Year 7 boys are furthering their intercultural knowledge and skills this week through their participation in Immersion Week. Immersion Week has evolved from the Singapore Tour for approximately 50 boys nine years ago to a horizon broadening intercultural opportunity for all students in the Year 7 cohort. Immersion Week sees 40 boys in Singapore, 70 boys involved in a paralleled Singapore tour here at school, 40 boys on a French language immersion program and 15 boys on an Indonesian language immersion program. The range of activities boys will be able to talk about and share is quite amazing. From a French cooking class, to a gamelan workshop, tai chi sessions and parkour workouts to travelling on a 'bum' boat to Pulu Ubin in Singapore. These are just some of the intercultural experiences our boys will use to reflect on repositioning themselves in their growing world.
New Middle School Building
Perhaps the biggest news from Middle School as we head toward the term break is the announcement that Middle School will resume on day 1 next term in our new building. Exciting times! It has been a remarkable effort by EMCO (our builders) to meet this deadline. The upside I am most pleased about is it will allow the students, particularly the Year 7 boys who have lived alongside the site for the past 18 months, the opportunity to experience that "new home", "new car" feeling before they head to Senior School next year. From Tuesday 15 October Middle School will be located in the new building.
Access to the new building will be via the new underpass, via the Saunders Street entry and up the pathway leading from MacKellar Hall. Pick up and drop off will continue to be at the steps of MacKellar Hall.
We have scheduled an open house / orientation tour for interested parents during Week 1 of Spring Term. Year 7 parents are invited to meet the Head of Middle School in the foyer of the new building from 2.30pm on Thursday 17 October for a guided tour with light refreshments afterwards at 3.15pm. Year 6 parents are invited for a similar tour at 2.30pm on Friday 18 October. We will send out a reminder invitation at the commencement of Week 1.
Richard Ledger
Head of Middle School
