Newsletters
Important Dates
Week 2 Term 2
Monday 9th May – Year 7 ACC Basketball & Netball Super Series
Tuesday 10th – Friday 13th May – NAPLAN – Years 3, 5, 7 and 9
Friday 13th May – Year 4 One-Day Camp – Bickley
Wednesday 18th May – Senior School Revealed Event
Friday 20th May – Junior School Walk Safely to School Day
Friday 20th May – PP-Year 12 Inter-house Cross Country
Friday 27th May – Year 5 Assembly
From the Principal
Ms Peggy Mahy
A different Term 2
With the complexities of Term 1 now behind us (for now), it is with a sense of excitement that we look forward to enjoying a more normalised school life during Term 2. Obviously, the challenge of negotiating COVID-19 remains present, and this will affect individual decisions about mask wearing and each person’s commitment to personal hygiene, but it also continues to affect our management of people, spaces and programs. I therefore ask parents to continue to collaborate with us as we make health-based decisions about our programs and the opportunities on offer. Your support has been terrific so far.
This term I am pleased to see a largescale return to Tranby’s provision of co-curricular offerings, evident in both the Junior and Senior Schools. Please contact your class teachers in the Junior School or House Mentors in the Senior School to find out what is on offer this term. Importantly, from a student wellbeing perspective, Inter-school sport is back, and this means that our sporting teams will be able to engage in authentic sporting competitions, especially through RKAS competition for the Senior School and IPSHA in the Junior School. Additionally, Basketball Clinics through the Grace Academy, our Badminton Club and Fitness mornings are also examples of how Tranby students may take advantage of physical and personal challenges in Term 2.
Parents/Guardians, please note we are holding, for the first time, a Pre-primary – Year 12 Inter-house Cross Country Carnival on Friday 20th May and that you and family friends are welcome to come along and cheer-on our students. There will be a sausage sizzle and coffee van available, but feel free to bring a picnic to enjoy the carnival atmosphere.
Throughout the College, outdoor learning returns through camps and experiential learning programs, with Year 4 having their Camp on Friday 13th May and the Year 12 retreat on Wednesday 1st June. The performing arts are also back in full force with the Arts Cup being contested across Houses in the Senior School, Junior School rehearsals taking place for Madagascar – A Musical Adventure JR. and the senior students are engaging in clever ensembles for their inventive film reconstruction to celebrate 25 years of Tranby productions.
I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can face-to-face in the weeks ahead. There are several events planned for the remainder of this year, with a special emphasis on highlighting our Senior School through the ‘Senior School Revealed’ information evening on Wednesday 18th May and ‘Taste of Senior School’ events coming up soon on the 24th and 25th May for students in Years 5 and 6.
As our enrolment numbers grow and the continued interest in the College is high, we have unfortunately hit a shortfall of stock in the Uniform Shop. This is also, in part, due to stretched supply lines. Please bear with us as we seek to address this challenge.
I wish you all good heath and a happy Term 2.
Deputy Principal
Mrs Emily Goforth
Throughout 2022, we will be working closely with The Resilience Project to support the wellbeing of our school community. The Resilience Project delivers emotionally engaging programs and provides evidence-based, practical strategies to build resilience.
Our Partnership Program consists of online presentations and weekly lessons for students, professional development for staff, and a Parents & Carers Hub (inc. digital presentations) for our parent and carer community.
Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing the Parent & Carer Hub with you. The videos are 5-10 minutes long and will walk through the key pillars of resilience: Gratitude, Empathy & Mindfulness. You’ll hear stories and be introduced to activities to show how these strategies can support our students’ learning and development and support you as parents and carers.
This program is an important part of our College’s effort to look after the mental health of our community.
View the first presentation of the series here: Part 1: Meet Hugh and learn about The Resilience Project. In this presentation, Hugh shares a personal experience about his sister’s battles with mental illness.
Note: This video contains a story about an Eating Disorder that may be triggering. Please consider this before watching. For mental health resources and support information, visit The Resilience Project’s Support Page.
We will be in touch to share the remainder of the program, including research and wellbeing activities to integrate into day-to-day life.
Director of Learning and Innovation
Mr anthony britza
NAPLAN
On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday next week, students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will be participating in the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), and it will be undertaken as an online format by the students, except for Year 3 Writing, which remains a pen and paper based test.
A reminder that students doing NAPLAN must bring their headphones and fully charged devices to each test session.
One of the main benefits of NAPLAN online is that it uses tailored (or adaptive) testing. This means that students receive questions better suited to their abilities, so they can show what they know and can do. Online testing also allows us to provide a wide range of accessibility options to support students with disability in accessing NAPLAN.
Feedback from students is that they find the online test more engaging.
For more information about NAPLAN Online, please go to https://www.nap.edu.au/online-assessment.
NAPLAN assesses literacy and numeracy skills that students are already learning at school. On its own, NAPLAN is not a test that can be studied for, and students are not expected to do so.
NAPLAN is just one aspect of a school’s assessment and reporting process – it does not replace ongoing assessments made by teachers about student performance; however, students and parents may use individual results to discuss progress with teachers. At Tranby, we use the information from NAPLAN to help with our ongoing review of teaching and learning.
We expect that our students give their best efforts on the day, but for them to understand that one single assessment does not define them or their future. We value the whole child and that their success will come from them trying their best in all things made available to them at Tranby.
Head of Senior School
Mr Chris Bolton
Welcome back to our Senior School community for Term 2 in what is traditionally a very busy term for our families. Couple this with the recent liftings of COVID-19 restrictions, introduction of the Inter-house Arts Cup, the return of an extensive co-curricular program, all whilst academic assessments increase in vigour, it is going to be a very big 10 weeks.
Earlier this week, all students, staff and parents took part in a Cyber Safety presentation, through industry leading facilitators, ySafe. The Tranby community learnt about digital footprints, cyberbullying, respectful relationships as well as the internet and the law. Part of our desire to holistically develop the students of Tranby is to also provide resources for families. The presentation students took part in has led ySafe to generate a Cyber Safety Hub. Parents of Tranby students can now visit a live website Tranby Online Hub I encourage all parents to head to this free resource and have a look at the various pieces of information.
On the back of the highly successful Inter-house Sports, Term 2 sees the launch of the inaugural Inter-house Arts Cup. This program is being led, initially by Ms Hutchinson, and facilitated by our House Captains to draw students into the Arts domain. Thanks to the Arts team for their preparation of material and willingness to promote the learning area.
Our revised Co-curricular Program will commence in Week 3 with opportunities for students to participate in a range of activities including: sport, arts, drama, music, academic enrichment, gardening, and robotics to name a few. More information on these activities will be made available to students in due course. As mentioned earlier, the new health restrictions will see a return to our camps program. Please note, these programs will be communicated with all families once availability of venues become clear.
On the academic front, there are a few areas of interest this term:
- Week 3: Years 7 and 9 – NAPLAN
- Weeks 5 & 6: Years 11 and 12 – Exams
- Weeks 6 & 7: Years 9 and 10 – Exams
In an interesting metaphor, I encourage our students to “shop early to avoid the rush”. As a husband and father, I regularly leave Christmas shopping until the last minute – it’s always busy and I don’t execute as well as intended. This year, I intend on getting to the shops earlier to avoid the rush and ensure I get the best results for the family. I advised students that this is the same with their examination blocks – by commencing their exam study early, they will avoid the disappointment of not receiving the marks they may be capable of.
Head of Junior School
Mrs Cheryl Taylor
New Play Equipment
Welcome back everyone! It is with great excitement that I share with you our new additions to the Pre-primary playground. During the holiday break a giant gumnut, springy raft and climbing log were delivered. These additions to the play space have been very well received by our Pre-primary students who have been enjoying creative play in and on the new equipment. We have also received other fun and interactive pieces which will be placed in the Pre-primary playground, and in the Year 1 and 2 play space. Many thanks to Stockland Shopping Centre for their kind donation of the items.
Clubs and Activities – Term 2
This week saw the return of our Co-curricular Clubs and Activities for Term 2. New regulations now permit us to run the clubs with mixed ages and year groups which enables us to extend our offerings. Just a reminder that placements in clubs end at the end of each term (excluding choir and cheerleading). Parents are required to contact the relevant staff member for a place and priority will be given to students who missed out on a place in Term 1. You will be advised if your child has secured a spot.
Mother’s Day Stall
The Mother’s Day stall was held earlier in the week in the Junior School. Students from Kindergarten – Year 6 visited the stall to purchase a gift for their mothers and/or mother figures in their lives. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience of choosing a special gift and it also provided an opportunity for the students to use money for a real-life purpose. Some even managed to go home with change in their pockets! Many thanks to Mrs Stacey for co-ordinating the event this year and to our helpers, including the Year 12 Prefects who assisted on the day. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all mothers and mother figures a wonderful Mother’s Day and I hope whatever you do that you are thoroughly spoilt.
Deputy Head of Junior School
Mr Ben Viviers
Welcome back to our wonderful Junior School students and families. I hope that you have all experienced a peaceful break this past Easter holidays.
Community Event – Walk Safely to school day – 20th May
Whilst some of our events had to be postponed in Term 1, there is a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks. One of these exciting events is the annual Walk Safely to School Day (WSTSD), which will take place on Friday 20th May. Students from Pre-primary – Year 6 can participate in this event.
The Junior School will be providing a healthy breakfast to students who walk to school on this day, which is designed to promote a healthy diet in conjunction with regular physical activity. WSTSD asks that we all consider our transport habits and try to incorporate more walking as part of a healthy, active way to get around. Keep a look out for the additional information which will be sent out via email, allowing you to confirm your child/children’s participation in this event, if you wish.
The Resilience Project
After a highly anticipated start to the year, I am happy to report that our last cohort is about to immerse themselves in The Resilience Project; this term our Kindergarten students will commence their own specialised program.
As previously mentioned, the program consists of online presentations and weekly lessons with fun interactive activities for students, professional development for staff, as well as a Parent & Carer Hub (inc. digital presentations) for our parent and carer community.
Over the coming weeks, we will be sharing the Parent & Carer Hub with you. The videos are 5-10 minutes long and will walk through the key pillars of resilience: Gratitude, Empathy & Mindfulness. See Deputy Principal, Mrs Goforth’s newsletter article for links.
This program is an important part of Tranby College’s effort to look after the mental health of our community. The first presentation of the series will be shared with parents and carers in the coming weeks, so please keep an eye out for this.
Assemblies
Last but certainly not least, it is my pleasure to announce that we will be reconvening our ‘normal’ Junior School assemblies. I trust that you have been enjoying our modified virtual assemblies, but there is nothing quite like being present or part of the assembly in person and the excitement it brings. Our Year 5 students have already started with their preparation for their upcoming assembly scheduled for Friday 27th May. We are excited for parents and carers to join us in this long-awaited moment!
Student Achievement
Tremaine Roberts - Year 6
Tremaine Roberts, Years 6 is a member of the Coastal Bay Sharks Little League Team which qualified last week to represent WA at the National Little League Baseball Championships. The team are off to compete in Western Sydney from 6th – 17th June 2022.
Congratulations on your selection Tremaine, we wish you and your team the best of luck.
Madagascar - A Musical Adventure JR
Our Junior School students are busy rehearsing every Wednesday after school for their upcoming performance of Madagascar – A Musical Adventure JR, which will hit the stage in November of this year.
Students and staff are extremely excited that the restrictions have been lifted, allowing this performance to go ahead.
Student Achievement
Liam Smallridge - Year 10
Congratulations to Liam Smallridge, Year 10 who has made the final team to represent the U15 WA Rugby Union Team at the NSW Rugby Union 2022 Championships.
The team will be touring to NSW from Thursday 9th June – Tuesday 14th June.
Liam is extremely excited and has worked incredibly hard to get to this position in Rugby for both himself and his club.
Cadets
Our Emergency Services Cadets worked in teams this week. Cadets worked on learning the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, survival when lost at sea, camp charades and drill.
We had some very interesting conversations as to what is most important when lost at sea! There were lots of nervous giggles learning how to do drill (march). We have some fantastic actors in Cadets as we acted out our charades.
It was such a fun afternoon, and we can’t wait until we are all back together.
Student Achievement
Lauren Healey - Year 10
Lauren Healey, Year 10 was selected to represent WA at the U15 National Australian Hockey Championships held in Newcastle, NSW from 7th – 14th April 2022.
The WA team was the only side in the competition to win all five pool matches and their Semi Final game. They successfully secured a place in the Grand Final, where unfortunately Queensland were too strong, leaving the WA team with the Silver Medal.
The team had a fantastic tournament and Lauren individually finished equal highest goal scorer for WA, with a total of six goals over the tournament.
What an amazing achievement Lauren, congratulations.
Happy
Mother's Day
On Tuesday the Junior School held a Mother’s Day Stall, and as you can see there was lots of excited faces purchasing something special for their Mum.
Wishing our Tranby community a Happy Mother’s Day.
Senior School Revealed - 18th May
Parents/Guardians of students in Years 4, 5 and 6 please remember to RSVP by Friday 13th May to our Senior School Revealed event, which is being held downstairs in the Senior School Administration Building on Wednesday 18th May from 5.30pm – 7.00pm.
RSVP: rsvp@tranby.wa.edu.au with your name and the students name and year.
This interactive evening will provide a great deal of information as to what is on offer in the Senior School at Tranby College, with presentations, talks and displays for you and your child/children to enjoy. You will have the opportunity to meet teaching staff, existing students, and parents of current Senior School students. Light refreshments will be served.
Learning to Cope
Stephen Morrison – College Counsellor
CONSIDER THE CONTEXT
How do we learn coping strategies?
- What we have tried ourselves.
- What we have learnt from others.
If we have not had the experience in the past, we may not know how to cope with it. Additionally, if we have not had people in our lives to model healthy and appropriate coping strategies, then we may choose harmful ones, while we are trying to learn what works for us. To complicate the matter further, all of us have individualistic needs when it comes to our distress.
For example, when distressed: I may crave food, you may not. I may socialise, you may not. I might hate exercise, you may love it. I may stay at home, you may go out. I might hate sand, you may go to the beach. I might listen to music, you may prefer quiet. I might want screen time, you may avoid it. All of this may change over time, sometimes with no predictable or consistent pattern.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO LEARN?
The best time to learn our coping strategies is generally not when we need them. However, the paradox of distress is that when everything is going well, exploring how we cope is not likely to happen, due to not being relevant, therefore not compelling enough for us to give it any attention. To summarise I am going to offer you a light-hearted example of what I mean:
- Mr Morrison: ‘What helps when you are sad?’
- Student: ‘I don’t know what helps when I’m sad, but can I tell you what I was just thinking about?’
- Mr Morrison: ‘Sure, what were you thinking about?’
- Student: ‘Funny cat and dog videos on YouTube!’
Suffice to say this conversation veered a little off track, but we got there in the end. I often say that if we are distressed, we need comfort (whatever that is for you), though if we are too comfortable we need some distress (burpees?). If you are currently feeling ‘comfortable’ (hard with so much going on around us), I believe that spending time reflecting on how we cope with challenging situations and emotions, even though it may hurt, will allow us to function better in the future. If you are willing and able to do some of this difficult work, here are some things to consider:
- What do I need if I feel angry, anxious, ashamed, rejected, lonely, grieving etc.?
- If I feel down what helps to bring me up?
- If I feel escalated what helps to bring me down?
- If I’m distressed, what do I find comforting?
- If I’m distressed what are some harmful behaviours/activities that I need to be cautious of?
If I’m distressed, do I want:
- People or not?
- Quiet or noise?
- Inside or outdoors?
- Activity or stillness?
- Sleep or awake?
- Food or not?
- City or nature?
None of this is learnt over night and a lot of us have not had the experiences or guidance to know how to cope effectively. Though if we can all do some of this difficult work we will be better equipped to model and teach a range of healthy coping strategies so others can learn from us. The better we all cope with hurt, pain, suffering and distress the less damage will be done as a result.
It is important for me to say that our ability to cope with distress is, and always will be, a work in progress. I am not perfect. I hate when I project my distress onto others. Though the least we can all do is reflect and work on it to make it less likely in the future and become better people as a result.
School Fees
are Due
A friendly reminder that term 2 school fees are due by Monday 9th May. If you have a direct debit or payment plan in place they will continue as usual.
All payments details are on your statement. If you have any queries or would like to make a payment please contact the Finance Department on 9523 3108.
Years 7-12 Sport
ACC SWIMMING RESULTS
Our Senior School students had the opportunity to participate in an Inter-school Swimming Carnival that was conducted by ACC in an alternate format this year. Students had to be registered members of a swimming club and meet specific cut off times to be nominated into this event. Congratulations to the following students who represented our College incredibly well in their Age Championship Carnival: Charlotte Vreeken & Imogen McRae – Year 7, Toby Hughes & Jamie McRae – Year 8, Alyssa Shackles & Aaron Rocke, – Year 11, Zoe Shackles – Year 12.
This carnival removed the barriers of divisions and allowed students to swim in a highly competitive carnival. A special mention to Aaron Rocke who put Tranby College in 5th place with 36 points across his events and Zoe Shackles collecting 8 points with her events allowing the College to sit in 10th place in the U17 women’s team scores.
ACC ALL STARS SWIMMING TEAM
Due to Aaron’s achievements at the ACC Swimming Carnival he has now been identified as an ACC All Stars Swimming Team member for 2022. This is a tremendous achievement and we congratulate him on his efforts.
ACC REPRESENTATIVE CRICKET
Corey Wasley was not only selected into the ACC Representative Cricket Team but was nominated as the Captain. The ACC team played the Combined Government Schools’ team at Murdoch University Cricket grounds on Thursday 17th March and Corey performed to a very high standard, he took 3 wickets and made 114 runs.
INTER-HOUSE SPORT
Students have been participating in a variety of sports on Wednesday afternoons playing: badminton, basketball, volleyball, spikeball, lacrosse and ultimate frisbee. This was a fantastic opportunity to not only enhance physical, social and emotional health but also allow students a change to connect as a year group and build a sense of House Spirit.
To conclude the Inter-house sporting competition the overall House order is:
- 1st Bilu – 247 points
- 2nd Budjar – 234 points
- 3rd Karla – 215 points
- 4th Marra – 193 points
Congratulations to Bilu for winning the Inter-house Sport tournament.
Update from the
Art Room
2022 KIC Youth Art Awards
Congratulations to Alysha Bender, one of our very talented 2021 Visual Art ATAR students, who won the Kwinana Industries Council President’s Award at the annual KIC Youth Art Awards for her artwork ‘Freedom’. Congratulation also to Ellen Rattray, Year 11, who received a Highly Commended in the 2D Visual Art category for her artwork ‘Blooming Lust’. With 12 participating schools and over 110 artworks entered for the exhibition this is a huge achievement and a fantastic reward for their hard work and dedication.
Other students who were selected for the exhibition and had equally impressive work on display were former students Nicola Duckham, Amy Greenash, Isabelle Hardwick and Rhiannon Mills. Alongside current students Kelsey Waddington, Keara Braedon, Lucca Kent and Hannah Awang.
Congratulations to all the students.
To see the student artwork please open this link.
Footpath Installation
Arpenteur Drive
Tranby Community – please be aware we have been notified by ‘Dowsing’ that they are proposing to install a footpath along Arpenteur Drive, outside the College between the dates of Monday 9th May – Tuesday 17th May (weather permitting).
Traffic control will be in place for the duration of the works. If you have any queries about this process please contact Dowsing on 9353 1820.
Thank you for you co-operation in this matter.
Support Tranby College - Give Mum even more this Mother's Day with an Entertainment Membership!
Coached Teague!
