Principal's Message
Another academic year has ended, and I am filled with a sense of pride and gratitude for all that we have accomplished together. The Presentation Ceremonies highlighted the depth and breadth of talent in our school from music to sport, to academics and service. Check out the photos and stories below of the events our students have been involved in as we celebrate another year of learning and community at Wahroonga.
Thank you, parents, for your engagement in your child’s learning - it is a delight to see the growth in each child. I also take the opportunity to thank the staff for their commitment to empowering our students to explore, question, and discover their full potential.
As we reflect on the year gone by, let's not forget the countless memories we've created together – some of which you can see in the annual Connections Yearbook that your child took home yesterday.
Over the summer break may you have time to recharge, reflect, and return with renewed energy for the adventures that lie ahead. God bless you and give you joy as this Christmas.
Mrs Julia Heise - Principal
Upcoming Events
Calendar of Upcoming School Events & Term Dates
You can access the list of upcoming School events and term dates via the link below. The School Calendar is also available under the Parent Information tab on the School website.
Whole School News
Farewell to Staff
We say farewell to some staff and wish them God’s blessing.
David Parmenter has taught PDHPE and Bible for two years and is moving to Avondale School next year which is closer to home. His compassionate heart and focus on holistic Christian living have been a blessing for us all. No doubt we will see him at basketball tournaments between WAS and Avondale.
Alex Hokin has been teaching at our school for three years and we have appreciated Alex’s passion for science and maths. Alex has also been a great help in AV for school events and has been an active supporter of social justice in our community.
Emma-Lee has ably stepped in to fill the role of Learning Support Coordinator while Mrs Sutton was on leave these last two terms. We have appreciated her insights and interest in helping student succeed.
Hayley Carnie has worked at the primary school for two years in a part time capacity in Year 1 and Year 3. Her students have particularly enjoyed the drama and dance classes with Mrs Carnie, and her gentleness has been appreciated by all. Mrs Carnie is moving to a teaching position closer to home and we may see here at future Days of Worship.
Bronwyn Pye commenced in the Canteen at the beginning of 2021 and we are very lucky and grateful to have her as part of our team on our busy Fridays. She will be sadly missed but will remain an active and valued member of our parent community.
Mrs S has been with the school since the first days of the Secondary School in 2016 teaching in a little demountable containing just 2 classrooms. Renee championed these foundational students, encouraging, supporting and guiding them through to their final year in 2021 with our first graduating HSC students. She is passionate about education and this has shone through in her dedication to all of the students in her classes. We wish her every success and happiness as she leaves us for new adventures.
Child Safe Program
Our Child Safe Program provides us all with a transparent process to keep our children and young people safe. It is the responsibility of the whole school community to know about these public facing documents so we can assist in keeping our children and young people safe.
Our Child Safe Program is based on the NSW government child safe standards and you will find documents that cover the Child Safe Policy, the Codes of Conduct for adults and for children and young people on our school website. Along with these documents there is information about the process of reporting any child safety incidents and concerns that may arise. These public facing documents assist in the management process of investigating the evidence and resolving the issues associated with incidents and concerns.
For your convenience please find a link accessed via the button below. Access to this page is also available through our website in the About Us section.
Opening of the COLA
Whilst the COLA has been extensively enjoyed over the last term we have now officially opened this newest facility. A number of important guests were in attendance for the event. Mrs Rhonda Belson, (Director of Education for the Greater Sydney Conference - GSC), Mrs Nadelle Manners (Chief Financial Officer, GSC), Mrs Jo Medbury (Associate Education Director, GSC), Mrs Michelle Roberts (Home & School President) and Mr Mark Godbier (Project Manager for school construction projects), Mrs Alyssa Potts (Business Manager) as well as Mrs Julia Heise (Principal) and Mr Michael StMart (Head of Secondary).
The opening provided an opportunity to thank the Home and School as well as Mrs Michelle Roberts for the massive financial support provided by the Home and School to make this development a possibility.
It was a pleasure for all who attended to commemorate this important milestone of the addition of a very functional structure to the school facilities. Thank you to all who attended and to the students who facilitated during the ceremony.
Year 6 Gift for School
Traditionally, each year, students from Year 6 raise money to purchase a goodbye and thankyou gift for the school. This year was no different with over 32kg worth of coins lugged to the bank from the 'Coin Snake Challenge' during Week 4 of this term. The official tally was $865.70 and these funds have been used to purchase a 3m x 6m marquee, with school branding, suitable for protection from the elements during school events. A huge thankyou to Year 6 for their efforts as they have contributed something special for the entire school community.
Primary School News
Primary Presentation Morning
Reflection on the year, celebrating with music and recognising achievements is always a highlight of a school calendar. Our music students talents shone with performances from the Infant Choir, Primary Choir, Primary Strings and several individual students.
So many of our students have achieved and reached for goals throughout 2023 with quite a number of them being recognised during the program. Wahroonga Adventist School's awards offer a broad range of opportunities for recognition including spiritual, citizenship, sports excellence, academic excellence as well as improvement and diligence, amongst others. Whilst these ceremonies do give recognition to students who have formally achieved, as a school we are proud of all of our students and recognise the work, dedication and perseverance that they show every day as they rise to the challenge of study. Congratulations to all of our students for their achievements during 2023.
Prep Orientation
Recently we had our new Prep students for 2024 come to visit for their Prep Orientation. They had a fantastic time participating in the activities, hearing some stories and completing some craft activities. They met Miss Yap their prep teacher and Auntie Janet and Auntie Rachael. We are looking forward to them joining us next year at ‘big school’.
Prep Graduation
Our youngest students have celebrated their Prep graduation at Wahroonga Adventist Church. It has been a wonderful journey to watch them grow and mature throughout the year. The students did an amazing job presenting some songs that they have been rehearsing. Thank you to Miss Yap, Auntie Janet and Auntie Rachael for making the event special for students and families.
Year 6 Graduation
How nice it was to celebrate with the Year 6 students at their Graduation and acknowledge their primary school journey. Looking back at their Kindy photos you can see their growth and development. Thank you to the Year 6 teachers for helping to create such a great memory for the students to cherish as they move into another chapter of their education journey. I wish them all the best!
Mrs Anne-Marie Deppeler - Head of Primary
Year 6 Dinner
Year 6 recently celebrated their end of year achievement and graduation at a 'Masquerade' themed formal at Hornsby RSL. The students looked amazing and very grown up in their masks and outfits. A huge thank you to the Year 6 parents who have spent many hours preparing for the event and on the day, to decorate the room and help create a night of memories for the students.
Junior Choir Performance at Elizabeth Lodge
The SAN Carols Choir had the privilege of performing to the elderly at Elizabeth Lodge, Adventist Aged Care - Wahroonga. The choir sang the three pieces they are preparing for the upcoming SAN Carols program being held on the hospital front lawn on December 10. The choir loved the opportunity to serve their community and get some performance practice at the same time, and you could tell from the smiling faces how much the residents enjoyed the performance.
NSW Fencing State Championships
On the 26th November, Victor K (6A) participated at the 2023 NSW Fencing State Championships. Victor was awarded the Bronze medal in the U12 Sabre and is Ranked Number 1 in NSW for his age group.
Secondary School News
Secondary Presentation Evening
Reflecting on the year that was 2023, celebrating with music and recognising achievements is always a highlight of a school calendar. Our music students talents shone with performances from the Chapel Band and Orchestra, Camerata Strings, School Jazz Band and the Choir.
So many of our students have achieved and reached for goals throughout 2023 with a number of them being recognised during the program. Wahroonga Adventist School's awards offer a broad range of opportunities for recognition including spiritual, citizenship, sports excellence, academic excellence as well as improvement and diligence amongst others. Whilst these ceremonies do give recognition to students who have formally achieved, as a school we are proud of all of our students and recognise the work, dedication and perseverance that they show every day as they rise to the challenge of study. Congratulations to all of our students for their achievements during 2023.
Year 10 Camp
Year 10 camp was a great opportunity for the students to connect with those in their grade. While the rain put a dampener on a few activities, most of the students were able to have a go at kayaking, mountain biking and bush walking. Wednesday was rained out so we went up to Thredbo and the students were able to play on waterslides at the leisure centre along with quality time playing board games, pool and table tennis back at camp.
Camp highlights include Thursday’s BBQ and s’mores, staying in dorms due to the rain and finding ‘speedy’ the local wombat. Changes to the program and accommodation were welcomed and embraced with a positive growth mindset and adaptability by the Year 10 students. Many of the challenges the weather brought were opportunities for the students to try something new or push beyond their comfort zones. Students enjoyed playing ‘frisbee golf’ and touch footy in the rain and searching for different animals on the campsite. Students leant many new skills like bike riding (through the mud!), how to use rain pants, and using the vacuum cleaners. Ask them to show you their cleaning skills at home, they did a great job cleaning the cabins! I’m sure they will be just as happy to demonstrate these skills at home.
Mr Ben Stewart - Head of Wellbeing
Maths Olympiad
Select students from Years 7 and 8 participated in this year’s Australasian Problem Solving Mathematical Olympiads (APSMO), a competition which requires students to attempt sets of five challenging mathematical problems within half hour time slots. Special mention goes to Rithwik Joshi and Declan Cheng, who each achieved a top 25% score, and to Aojie Liu and Max Lao, who each achieved a top 10% score. Congratulations Tiffany Liang on scoring the highest individual result for the team. Well done to everyone involved.
David Cordiner - Maths Teacher
Year 10 Work Experience
Students from Year 10 are offered opportunities to 'experience work' each year in a professional setting during their Work Experience week. This is a real world opportunity that can have a significant influence on decisions for future study or work pathways. The businesses that invite our students for work experience are very generous in offering their time and resources in showcasing their industry. Nathan R was generously hosted by Paragon Risk Engineering and he had a great week having a closer look at risk engineering.
High School Sports
Representing Samoa at the Pacific Games
During November Salani S (Yr 9) represented Samoa at the Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands. She received a silver medal placing second in the 200m Women's Backstroke. She has been grateful for the opportunity and thankful for the love from her family, supporters and coach who made it possible. Her parents are so proud of her amazing achievement and we have invited Salani to tell her story in her own words.
Why do you love swimming? Swimming first started as a treatment to prevent my asthma attacks as a child and soon turned into an outlet of tranquillity and challenge.
What was the hardest moment at the Pacific Games? Learning to respond and adapt to changes was something I was informed of before going in the trip, but I never expected the reality of this. Within the first days of arriving at Honiara I had lost my luggage, found out the temperature of the outdoor pool was 5 degrees over legal temperature, and began to learn to deal with 35 degree-sunny days, whilst being on Malaria medication (which makes you get sunburnt really easily).
What was your favourite moment at the Pacific Games? The lead up to the competition was the best time, where the intensity of competing didn't consume the energy of the team, and this left a solid five days of bonding between athletes and enjoying the Pacific vibes.
Australian Schools Basketball Championship
Over the past week, the Open Boys Basketball Team attended the Australian Schools Basketball Championship at the Gold Coast. This was the first time our school has participated in this event and it will not be the last! Our boys competed in six games across Monday-Thursday and competed to a high standard. The boys had an amazing experience of playing against some quality schools, bonding together and enjoying another school experience that they will remember! A shout out goes to Coach Jeremiah for his efforts for training the team.
Basketball Program
Notable mentions: Coach Jeremiah awarded the inaugural best male and female basketball players of the year. This was awarded to: Male - Jack Baker, Female - Ella Gale.
A selection of students were also awarded a Best and Fairest or Coaches Award from the basketball weekly competitions. Congratulations to all our basketball teams this year and the efforts that they have demonstrated.
Mr Ignatius Ah-You - Secondary Sports Coordinator
Library News
Book Returns
All library books should now be returned to the school library. For all unresolved overdue loans, a $25 per book replacement fee will be applied to your school account, or alternatively you can provide a replacement copy of the lost book to the library. Thanking you.
Library Bag Podcasts
Our Year 5 and 6 ‘Library Bag’ podcasts are continuing to be loaded onto the Library WebApp (bit.ly/waslibrary) - link below. There are 10 podcasts available to listen to on the library WebApp homepage or click on the link to be directed to the ‘Library Bag’ website where all the podcasts that have been broadcast so far are available. Please tune in as the students have produced some wonderful work.
Congratulations Samantha M (9S) and Peyton S (10W), who have achieved their Premier’s Reading Challenge Medallion for completing the challenge for each of the independent reading years.
Well done also to the following students who received a special certificate this year:
Gold (Completed the PRC 4 times): Harry A (3K), Evie B (3K), Sierra B (3L), Hugo B (3L), Harvey B (3L), Martina C (3L), Sabir C (3K), Jack C (3L), Jonas F (3L), Annabelle J (3L), Elsa K (3K), Brody L (3L), Jamie L (3K), Jax R (3L), Adit S (3K), Aarav S (3L), Ashton R (5C), Aaron Z (5C), Christopher D (6A), Ava D (6A), Zara X (6A), and Simarjeet G (7W).
Platinum (Completed the PRC 7 times): James C (6C), Sophie L (6A), Sarah L (6A), Ira S (6C), Jemima S (6C), Kyle S (6A), Elijah V (6A), Lukas W (6A), Oliver L (7A), Caitlin M (7A), and Peyton S (10W).
High School Textbook Sign-out
High School textbook sign-out was completed this previous Monday and Tuesday. Each student from Years 7-10 had been emailed a list of the books they need to return to ensure that they are all found and cleaned before sign-out day. A replacement fee of $35 for each textbook, or $25 for each novel/library book will be applied to the school accounts of all those who have failed to return their books.
Mrs Leonie Savage - Librarian
Uniform Shop
Uniform Shop Hours
The Uniform Shop is now closed for 2023. We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. If you have missed the cut off, we will be open the following dates and times:
Tuesday 16 January 2024 from 9am till 12pm OR Tuesday 23 January 2024 from 9am till 12pm
Please note during these dates the basement and front gate will not be open or monitored. Please enter from the back gate closest to the uniform shop and canteen.
Flexischools orders are encouraged through the website and can be picked up from Uniform Shop on the above dates and times.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email uniformshop@wahroonga.adventist.edu.au
Mrs Kelly Oldfield - Uniform Shop Manager
Home and School
Next Meeting
We welcome you to join us in the new year for our social events, parent masterclasses and much more. Come along to our first meeting in the beginning of 2024 and learn more about Home and School and our community of volunteers.
Mrs Michelle Roberts - Home and School President (homeandschool@wahroonga.adventist.edu)