Head of Junior School
Success of Our Boys
The past two weeks have been a very busy and very successful fortnight for the Junior School. Our boys have entertained, learned and competed in a number of forums and all have done us proud.
Speakers Challenge
The Year 5 boys have written speeches on topics dear to their hearts. They have practiced their delivery and shared their speeches in their classes to their classmates. The final five from each class then went on to compete in the Inter-House Speaker's Challenge. This is the second year of our own speakers challenge competition. The quality of the boys' speeches and the confidence with which they delivered them was excellent. The boys from Years 1 to 4 were entertained and challenged with speeches that covered topics as:
How to be lazy? Why purchase a remote control car? The top ten children's movies Why Zoos are good for animals Why life is wrapped up in a football game? Cars Why Batman is better than Superman Black Holes Disgusting food and food records Deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest Goldilocks and the Three Bears | Andrew Stegena Thomas Simich Mitchell Hyde Julius Kain Seamus Walton Alex Bateman Ben Bredan Henry Cooper Matthew Coutts Jonathan Dunlop Hugh Fellows-Smith |
All the boys did a fantastic job but only three could be selected to represent the College at the IPSHA Speakers challenge on Wednesday 1 July at Carmel School. Congratulations to Thomas Simich, our overall winner, Mitchel Hyde (2nd) and Julius Kain (3rd).
Inter-House Cross County Competition
On Friday, the Junior School held its Annual Inter-House Cross County Competition. The boys ran well to represent their Houses, earning points for the overall competition. Mr Whiston changed the course this year and presented a wonderful day for our boys. I was surprised at the quality of the running. Winning boys in Year 1 and 2 run sub five minute kilometers and our Year 5 champion ran two kilometers in 7 minutes 30 seconds. The boys in all years levels ran very fast times.
The challenge of the running was met head on by all the boys. Some ran for times, others ran to finish, but all were champions. I wish to congratulate all boys for the efforts and Mr Whiston for organising an excellent event for our school community
Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB) Violin Exams
Two of our violin students, Nathan Liu (Year 3) and Emanuel Radici (Year 5) have recently completed their Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB) violin exams with both receiving A grades with honours. These are outstanding achievements.
ICAS Writing
On Monday 15 June, a group of talented writers from Year 3 to 5 entered the ICAS writing competition. Independently, the boys wrote a book review about a well-loved book or an imaginary story, with the intent for it to be posted to their College's website to persuade fellow students to read it. Mrs Turkich prepared the boys for the challenge through special sessions to help them with their writing. Well done to the following boys who represented the School:
Year 3 James Tan Alex Hudson James Winch Year 4 Matthew Graham Noah Lewis Alasdair Orr Ryo Hiraiwa Max Mackay-Coghill Alexios Panagodimos Arnaud McVicker Nicolas Langsford | Year 5 Hugh Fellows-Smith Seamus Walton Fletcher O'Connell James Moffat-Clarke Henry Cooper Jack Frazer Alex Russell-Weisz Henry Vaughan Julien Montandon Gianluca Mastrocinque Julius Kain Alex Bateman |
Maths Association of WA 'Have Sum Fun On-Line' Competition - Second Place
The Year 5 maths group entered in the Maths Association of WA 'Have Sum Fun On-Line' Competition. The boys had to complete 30 challenging problems in a set time. The team with the highest score in the fastest time won. Teams across the State and country took part. Of our three teams entered, the team of Hugh Fellows-Smith, Alex Russel-Weisz and Julius Kain came second overall. This is an excellent achievement. The maths boys from Year 3, 4 and 5 will compete in the second Maths Association of WA 'Have Sum Fun On-Line' Competition in the Winter Term.
Tim Winton Writing competition
Over 70 boys from the Junior School have being working on original pieces to enter into the Tim Winton writing competition. Their compositions were entered on 14 June. We will find out later in the year how our boys have done.
Year 5 IPSHA Performing Arts Festival
Our Year 5 boys have once again done us proud. Under the leadership of Miss Samson, the boys performed a beautiful dance routine entitled 'Illuminate'. Our boys closed the show and stole it as well. Their performance was opened by a bagpipe solo by Chris Watts, followed by an inspired and moving modern dance by the talented Year 5's.
Junior School/Middle School Mid-Year Concert
The boys from Year 5 and our other talented musicians and singers wowed parents and friends at the Mid-Year concert. The night showcased the talents of these fine young men. I had to keep reminding myself that some of the boys performing were only 8 years old. The quality of the performances was outstanding and the risk taking attitude and confidence and ability of the boys was on display for all to see. Well done to the team of talented music teachers who worked so very hard to teach and prepare the boys for this wonderful night.
2W Writing Talents
Our boys in Year 2W shared with me some poems they had written. To inspire them, Mrs Webster took them outside to look at the sights of our college. They recorded what they saw, trying to describe them as best they could. On returning to the classroom, they used this inspiration to write amazing poems about our school. The quality of the work across the class was outstanding. Reading their poems, the reader can easily picture in their mind what the boys had seem. Selecting four to share with our community was a challenge as all the poems were so beautifully written. Please enjoy these samples.
All of the boys mentioned here should be very proud of their efforts. They have been risk-takers and have also demonstrated their commitment to their learning and enthusiasm to have a go. All boys on our College have enjoyed some success recently, whether it has been for challenging themselves in the Inter-House Cross Country, entering a competition or trying hard in class. I am immensely proud of all of the boys and they should be proud of themselves.
Mr John Stewart
Head of Junior School
