EXPERlENCE lS THE BEST TEACHER

issue n0 1/2 2014
Experience is the best teacher
Musical enrichment
Advocates for
empowerment
contents
2
Focus on
Arden
Pg.8
Experience is the best
teacher
Outdoor education and tours
take classroom into real world.
Primary
Musical enrichment
Musicians experience WOW
moments and extend their
repertoire through tour and
camp opportunities.
Play to your strengths
Students discover their personal
strengths and strategies for
maximising them.
Advocates for
empowerment
Social Justice Group
empowers the needy through
micro-financing loans and
awareness raising.
Front Cover Photo: Year 12 students
(left to right) are Claire Downing,
Kirsten Parker and Georgia Brown.
Pg.17
Pre-School
Pg.16
Students write book
Gifted and Talented students write
book in a day to raise cancer funds.
Vegetable patch lessons
Creating their own vegetable garden
inspires Pre-Schoolers natural
inquisitiveness and facilitates their
learning.
Celebrating cherished
relationships
Grandparents’ Day celebrates the
importance of special relationships.
Primary sport
Swimmers and cross country
athletes strive for success.
friends of arden
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Secondary
Pg.20
Developing the Arden
Graduate
Engaged learners participate
enthusiastically in school life and
enjoy success in HSC and beyond.
HSC students shine
2013 HSC students celebrate solid
HSC results, equipping them well
for the future.
cloudy but fine
Technology has made a
quantum leap at Arden recently,
with cloud-based storage just
one development.
Girl and boy power in action
Girls’ Night In and Boys Bash
raise awareness of important
adolescent issues whilst raising
funds for charity.
Creating a sustainable
environment
Environment Group members learn
more about environmental issues at
Earth Hour Breakfast.
Sports Stars shine
Swimmers and athletes represent
School at the highest levels.
Community
Alumni
The benefits of involvement
Bruce Kelly shares his motivations
for being involved in the P&F and
the rewards this brings.
Reconnections
Amanda Power (alumni) and
Rosemary Vandore (teacher)
rediscover their connections.
Pg.29
Pg.30
July
August
September
24th
Sherprize Day
(Secondary)
Recess and lunch,
Epping campus
8th
Kindergarten – Year 6
Athletics Carnival
8am – 1.30pm
Dunbar Park, Marsfield
3rd
Secondary Sports
Presentation
Assembly
1.30pm – 2.30pm
St. Albans Church Hall,
Epping
8th
Visual Arts Showcase
Opening Night,
6pm – 8pm
Cambridge Senior
Studies Centre
5th
Gala Performance Evening
7pm
Concert Hall
The Concourse, Chatswood
Chatswood
14th – 15th
Readers’ Festival
Guest speakers at
both campuses
15th
Readers’ Festival Breakfast
7am – 8.15am
Junior School Library.
Guest speaker is Jacqueline
Harvey
22nd
Secondary Music Ensembles
Evening
7.30pm
Colin May Centre
Beecroft Campus
17th
Year 12 Valedictory Dinner
6.30pm for a 7pm start
The Epping Club
19th
Pre-School Athletics Carnival
9am – 12pm
Coming
Up
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Staff Profile
Mrs Gabrielle Ritchie
Head of Information Services
Why are you passionate
about your role?
The Library/Resource Centre should be
the heart of a school. My role provides
an opportunity to guide and encourage
students in their various literacies,
including Information Literacy. Students
in this Information Age need to develop
particular skills to navigate the vast
amount of information on offer to
them. They also need to be encouraged
to see the wonder and delight that a
good book can give them. The library
provides students with a creative haven
where they can be inspired or relax,
where they can work with others or
read alone, where they can receive help,
encouragement and enrichment with
their work or where they can just escape
into another world for a time.
What does your role involve?
I support teaching and learning through
the provision of resources, both digital
and hard copy, and through co-operative
teaching with staff to ensure students
attain the best outcomes in their
research. Guided inquiry is the means by
which we encourage students to work
through their research assignments.
Another central role of the library is to
encourage reading across a wide range
of fiction and non-fiction and in all types
of media.
What attracted you to this role?
I began at Arden in Term 2, 2011. The
prospect of a future refurbishment of
the library and a chance to put new
systems and procedures in place was
very appealing.
How has the role of librarians in
schools changed in recent years?
Technology is a very important part
of libraries, but it still gives me great
pleasure to encourage students to read
books. Resourcing for the Australian
Curriculum is driving our book buying at
the moment and adapting to the student
use of iPads is another challenge. Getting
e-books into our collection or onto iPads
is our next consideration.
Students in this
Information Age
need to develop
particular skills
to navigate the
vast amount of
information on offer
to them.
focus on arden
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your
say
We attended Arden’s 2020 strategic
planning update session towards the
end of first term and were impressed by
what we heard. As a new family joining
the school the session reinforced the
reasons we chose Arden. This session,
combined with how both the children
and our family have been welcomed into
the school, have confirmed that it was
the right decision.
Thanks to Matthew Mallison for the time
he gave discussing our child’s move to
Arden midway through Term 1. I really
liked how Matthew got our child to
think about what moving schools would
mean, how he would make the transition
and what was expected from him. I
appreciated the time and the many
questions he posed and that our child
was the centre of the interview.
It was clear that a lot of work has been
put into developing the plan and making
sure it reflects the present needs and
future hopes of parents, children and
teachers. The progress and results to
date are a credit to the Arden teachers
and management. It is refreshing to see
some ‘meat’ behind a mission and vision,
making the vision of ‘well known, well
cared for and well taught’ a reality now
and into the future needs this sort of
planning and focus.
The message we have heard from Arden
is an impressive one. Clearly there are
many good things happening with the
students’ welfare at the forefront of
everything you do. A great model.
We left the session impressed with the
professionalism of the team, excited
about the work being done with Gallup,
and 100% sure that is the right place for
our children.
Liana Mawston (Kindergarten and Year 3
parent and new parent to school)
Name withheld by request,
new parent to school
We were so happy for Liam when he
received his HSC results and ATAR.
During his HSC year he pursued a full
program of study and extra curriculum
activities. His teachers were always
supportive of his pursuits and passions
in and out of the classroom. Their
guidance and skilful instruction
helped him to achieve so much in 2013
and as a result in the coming years.
Congratulations Team Arden.
Brigid Readford and Andrew Marsden (Year
12, 2013 parents)
Have your say
Please share your thoughts on
Friends of Arden or anything else
you think appropriate by emailing
Editor, Friends of Arden
[email protected]
Mrs Wendy Mulder
Editor, Friends of Arden
Reminder
School resumes for students
on Wednesday,
16th July (3 Day Pre-School,
Kindergarten – Year 12) and
Thursday, 17th July (2 Day
Pre-School).
UPCOMING EVENT
Don’t miss the Visual Arts
Showcase Opening Night on
Friday 8th August, 6:00pm
– 8:00pm at the Cambridge
Senior Studies Centre.
Also open on Monday 11th
August, 8:30am till 12:30pm.
REMINDER
Parents: We greatly
appreciate the important
partnership between the
School and home. Please
consider how you might
like to be involved in the
Arden community this
year. For example, the P&F
Committee meets on the
fourth Tuesday of the month
during term time and is
always keen to welcome new
members. Likewise, there
is always a need for helpers
in the canteen and reading
groups. Volunteering sets a
wonderful example to your
children and can be very
rewarding.
principal’s welcome
Welcome
There is nothing unique about the common
encounter at the end of a school day when the
response from any student to the interested
parent’s question: “What did you do at school
today?” and the answer is given: “Nothing.” You
will be pleased to know this is not an uncommon
encounter, yet the reality is usually markedly
different.
Each day there are enriching experiences for our students at
Arden and sometimes there are absolutely peak experiences
that will be the highlight of a schooling life. It would be
presumptuous of me to highlight anything in particular but
there is no doubt that camps, tours and unique occasions can
rise above everything else over 13 or 14 years of school.
Currently our Year 5 and 6 students are preparing to tour New
Zealand; our Year 11 students are preparing to tour Cambodia
and Vietnam; our Secondary music students are reflecting
on their wonderful music tour of China. There is no doubt
these are or will be enriching, peak experiences. They will be
highlights of twelve plus years of schooling.
I wrote in a recent Green Note about the horror of the current
world problem of slavery and human trafficking, highlighting
that up to 30 million people are trapped in slavery around the
world and that human trafficking is the fastest growing and
second largest global crime. Through Arden’s recent “Slave
Day” the School raised money for The Freedom Project, whose
goal is to eradicate human trafficking and slavery, and was
well educated on the ways our students may be able to assist
with this work in future in order to fight human slavery; and
that our school community will help the disadvantaged, the
hungry, the homeless and the helpless.
Recently the Tiananmen Square massacre was commemorated
on its 25th anniversary, an event where peaceful protest was
met with forceful and violent opposition. How wonderful that
our music students had the opportunity last holidays to tour
China and to stand in Tiananmen Square. For many of our
students the music tour will be the peak experience of their
schooling life. It is enriching experiences such as this that will
contribute to building our students as compassionate people
who will be inspired to make change in the world around
them. We should be thankful to God for the freedom that
we have in this school: to learn, to be curious, to have robust
conversation and to express opinion. We should embrace the
opportunity for the development of our fine students at Arden
in being, under God, the courageous and compassionate
people who will transform communities in the future.
Mr Graham Anderson
Principal
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focus on arden
Experiential
learning the
best teacher
8
friends of arden
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When students think about camps
and tours, words that spring to
mind include exciting, fun,
relaxing, challenging, different,
yummy food and developing
friendships. Staff consider the
benefits of developing the whole
child, stretching children out of
their comfort zone by exposing
them to different challenges and
experiences, teaching them skills
(including team work, Cooperation
and study skills), and providing
opportunities to develop and
strengthen friendships.
Arden holds a large number of camps,
outdoor education and tours. This
semester students have enjoyed the
inaugural Junior Band Camp, Year 4
Crusaders Camp, Year 5 Bathurst Camp,
Year 6 Crusaders Camp, Secondary
Music Camp, Year 7 Camp, Year 8
Camp and Year 11 Leadership Retreat.
Secondary musicians ventured on the
inaugural China Music Tour and later
this year there will be the Junior School
New Zealand sports tour, Cambodia
and Vietnam Mission, Europe tour, Year
9 Duke of Edinburgh Camp, Secondary
Crusaders Camp and more.
Students bonding and extending themselves at the Year 7 Camp.
With so many camps and tours on offer,
it raises the question: Why does Arden
have such a strong commitment to
providing camp and tour opportunities?
As Mr David Watkins, Head of Junior
School, summarised after returning from
a visit to the Year 6 Camp, “I love camps,
field trips and outdoor education. I love
hands on, experiential opportunities to
‘do’ things. To me, outdoor education
is like ‘taking the classroom’ into the
real world.”
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The Year 6, Year 7 and Year 8
Camps and Year 11 Retreat all
offer a great time of learning and
fun for students.
Mrs Kathy Bush, Duke of Edinburgh
Coordinator agreed. “For Year 9
students Outdoor Education involves
undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh
Award Scheme. It is commonly thought
that the Duke of Edinburgh Award
is all about expeditions and physical
achievements. This is far from the
truth as the expedition and physical
components of the Award are only
a minor part of it. Through outdoor
education students learn about their
own strengths and weaknesses and how
persistence in extending one’s often selfimposed limitations can bring success
in the most challenging of situations
be that physical, emotional or social. It
also provides simple physical exercise,
healthy living and an opportunity for
staff and students to interact and build
strong relationships on “neutral ground”
away from the classroom. It can support
and reinforce pastoral curriculum in
the most practical of settings. Students
working together in groups develop
leadership, followership, inclusiveness,
values of working towards a common
goal and the recognition of the unique
attributes each individual can bring to
the team.’, Kathy said.
Mr Simon Przydacz, Head of Senior
School and another passionate
supporter of camps shared: “The Year
11 Camp is a great way to link all the
students in the year, but also serves to
motivate, encourage, provide skills and
strategies, advice from former students,
have fun and align the students to their
Year 11 and HSC studies. This year’s
sessions’ highlights included ideas from
Glen Gerryn (The Oxygen Factory) on
motivation, goal setting, study skills,
dreams and commitment. The advice
provided by recent Arden alumni on Year
11 studies, the HSC, major works,
co-curricular balance and leadership
was very valuable and practical. The
students also received Strengths
coaching from Mrs Rebecca Hall, helping
them to develop a deep connection
between their individual Strengths and
the way they learn, work and develop as
young adults.”
Arden’s annual Cambodia and Vietnam
Mission is a striking example of
experiential learning. Now in its eighth
year, the mission involves sending a
group of committed Year 11 students
and staff on a two week mission
experience. Mrs Catherine Bradshaw,
2014 Mission Coordinator explained:
“The aim of the mission is twofold: to
provide genuine and practical support
to those in need, whilst educating Arden
students about the important role they
can play in making a difference in the
world at a grass roots level. At the same
time, the Arden students also have the
opportunity to learn about history while
experiencing a new culture. The Extra
Mile is about building communities
both here and abroad. It’s about
transformation but the transformation
that starts with our hearts.” Mitchell
Howard (Year 11) is eagerly looking
forward to this year’s mission,
commenting: “I want to be physically
within these places, not just staring at
an image on a television screen. I am
positive this experience will influence
my actions to help improve the world.”
Learning through experiencing is the
best teacher, as it embeds knowledge
and experiences more deeply, practically
and meaningfully into the students’
learning experiences. Mrs Karen Moss,
Head of Geography, summed it up
nicely when she explained: “At Arden
experiential learning occurs in a variety
of ways, such as students undertaking
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fieldwork in Science and Geography
to develop a deeper understanding of
their environment, or even learning/
understanding servant leadership
through involvement in groups such
as the Green Planterns and Social
Justice Group. Yet, camps and outdoor
education programs remain two of the
most powerful ways for students to learn
new physical, intellectual and social
ideas and skills. For the adolescent
learner these concrete experiences are
accessible and fun, which makes the
transforming of these experiences into
knowledge easier.”
“Outdoor education is like ‘taking the
classroom’ into the real world.”
Mr David Watkins
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Enriching musical
moments
Arden’s Music Tour members enjoyed an experience of a
lifetime. The China Wind Ensemble is pictured lined up
on a bridge as part of the Summer Palace in Beijing.
Arden’s vibrant music program
recently reached a new
crescendo, with China Music Tour
musicians sharing an experience
of a lifetime, whilst Primary
musicians strengthened their
musical foundations through
opportunities such as the
inaugural Band Camp.
The China Wind Ensemble and Touring
Big Band embarked on the inaugural
China Music Tour for 12 days in
April. The Year 8 – Year 12 musicians
were involved in exchange concerts
with similar aged students as well as
having opportunities to perform at the
Australian Embassy in Beijing for the
Australian Ambassador to China and
also a concert on the Great Wall.
The tour was a long-held dream of
Coordinator of Co-Curricular Music and
China Tour Coordinator, Mrs Philippa
Wood. She shared: “The process of
preparing musically for a tour has a
significant developmental impact on the
ensemble: the skills of the individual and
of the group as well as a bonding effect
on the ensemble.” Arden’s Head of Music,
Ms Elizabeth Moore, agreed, saying:
“What an extraordinary personal and
musical opportunity for our students
to experience the wonders of another
country, spend time with friends and
play in a top quality musical ensemble.
This will be an experience that will stay
with them for a life time.”
Behind such a tour comes a lot of hard
work and well-laid foundations. These
commence in Arden’s Junior School in
the vibrant music program offered to
students. Recent music highlights have
included the beautiful performance by
Kindergarten – Year 2 on Grandparents’
Day; which was masterminded by Mrs
Elisabeth James, Primary School Music
Coordinator; as well as the various
ensembles that opened their doors for
parents to come and watch them in
action during Open Rehearsal Week.
Primary School musicians had a taste
of the great enjoyment that comes with
a band camp, with their inaugural In
School Band Camp held in April. Mrs
Jenny Rodgers, Instrument and Band
Coordinator, shared: “It was really
exciting to hear music all around the
school and then to have all the bands
combined to play their first piece was
spine tingling. For those students
who had just started at the beginning
of the year it was truly inspiring.” She
continued: “When students were asked
for the highlights of the day, the joy of
learning their different parts and then
coming together to perform and playing
with their friends was the common
theme. For those students who had just
begun to play at the start of Term 1, they
had a wonderful taste of the thrill of
being part of a ‘real’ band.”
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13
Student
reflections on the
China Music Tour
Nathan Carr (Year 10)
The China Music Tour was an
incredible experience. We got the
opportunity to do things that only
come around ‘once in a lifetime’... This
tour helped me to see the purpose of
what we do as musicians, the reward
for the endless hours of rehearsals,
practice and preparation that goes
into a tour. To go to China and
perform for people – mainly students
– we have never seen before and
will probably never see again, and to
see the pleasure they have listening
to an Australian band performing
in their backyard, was an amazing
experience.
Being on a music tour meant we were
in China as professional musicians
performing to large audiences
(up to 800 people). We were very
fortunate to get the rare opportunity
of performing on the Great Wall
of China. The feeling was surreal
when we played Waltzing Matilda to
onlooking tourists, whilst looking up
to the top of the Great Wall, a WOW
moment to stare at a true wonder
of the world. It was something that
words cannot describe.
The Primary Band Camp gave Arden’s budding musicians
a taste of the thrill of being part of a ‘real’ band.
Emma Spiritosanto (Year 10)
What I’ll remember most will
probably be all the great company.
The teachers are all amazing, and
our band is amazing. We all had a
wonderful time. The tour has changed
me as a musician because it has
made me love and appreciate being in
our band more than before.
The Touring Big Band and String Ensemble
Workshop Day helped musicians fine-tune their
skills, in preparation for the China Music Tour.
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14
Advocates for
Empowerment
Social Justice Group members baked up a storm to raise funds for
The Good Return Project. Pictured ( from left to right) are Bethany
Cliff, Hannah Andriessen, Ella Cliff, Tessa Marsden, Kate Fereirra,
Lauren King, Bethany Friend and Ally Neale.
Baking a cake for a school stall
may not initially seem to be
impressive when it comes to
being champions for change.
However, when the money raised
from selling this cake is used to
provide micro-finance to women
in less developed countries
through The Good Return Project,
suddenly the whole equation
changes. This is just one of the
practical activities carried out
by Arden’s Social Justice Group, a
group of passionate Year 7 – Year
12 students, which has been
meeting weekly since late 2013.
The group is an initiative of Arden’s
Christian Outreach and Social Justice
Prefect, Alexandra Neale (Year 12).
Ally explained: “I was motivated to
create a group which allows students
to share their opinions, discuss global
issues and work together to instigate
change in our local community and on a
global scale. I am hopeful that the group
will become a beacon for equality in our
school and community, and that our
meetings result in increased awareness,
prompting students to continue to
explore their ability to change the world.”
When asked “Why did Arden go with
the micro-financing model?” Mrs Karen
Moss, Head of Geography, explained: “As
a group we had been exploring the issue
of poverty and studying the millennium
development goals and it became clear
to the group that women’s poverty was
of significant concern. While students
acknowledged the importance of child
sponsorship and education programs
as an important way to address these
poverty issues, they began to realise that
empowering women through business
was another way of addressing poverty.
They particularly liked this idea because
it empowered women to care for their
own families - thus increasing their
dignity and sense of self-worth. The
Good Return Project, an Australian aid
organisation, allowed our social justice
group to select the woman we wanted
to microfinance. This in itself was a
friends of arden
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“I think there’s something really
powerful about seeing the face
of someone, reading the story of
someone who lives in poverty, and
knowing that you can make a real
impact on that person’s life.”
Ally Neale, Year 12
The cake stall proved popular with the Arden community.
wonderful learning opportunity; what
constituted the most need? In the end,
because of the large amount of money
raised, we were able to select two rural
Cambodian mothers, Ly and Chantha,
both on less than $2.50/day. Ly wanted
to increase her family’s farming output
by investing in additional workers on
their farms, with the profit spent on
educating her children. Chantha wanted
to hire a tractor to increase her farm
yield and income in order to buy a motor
bike, the aim being to increase their
mobility and thus connectedness as her
family live in a very remote area
of Cambodia.
Group member, Hannah Andriessen
(Year 12), commented: “What attracted
me most to The Good Return Project, is
the way that the money invested in the
women almost recycles itself, when the
women can use it to move forward with
their business, pay it off, and can then be
reinvested into another women in need.
I hope that the money raised this year,
through events like the cake stall, will
continue to assist Ly, and her husband,
family, and workers develop a better
lifestyle for themselves. I also hope it
empowers Ly, the strong women she is
who continues to work in the rice fields
at age 50, in order to support her family.”
Kate Ferreira (Year 12) agreed, saying:
“We hope that the lady we sponsor will
use our money to hire workers within
her business, bringing her family one
step closer to being released from the
perils of poverty.”
To raise funds, the group held a cake
stall on 1st April at school. Mrs Karen
Moss shared some of the other plans
the group has, saying: “The focus of
the group in Terms 2/3 is upon World
Vision’s 40 Hour Famine. The group
wants to change the way the school
approaches this important poverty
reducing initiative, encouraging not
only individual responses but an Arden
community response. The 40 Hour
Famine is more than fundraising, it
is about changing mindsets about
deprivation, encouraging students to
‘step inside’ the physical and emotional
hardships that come from not being able
to fulfil your most basic needs. We want
our community to develop a deeper
understanding about the debilitating
effects that food insecurity has upon
individuals. The group intends to run
an awareness campaign during school
assemblies on the hunger situation in
Rwanda, which is the World Vision’s
2014 40 Hour Famine focus, hopefully
inspiring each and every student to
become an agent of change.”
The final word comes from Ally Neale,
interviewed for May’s Southern Cross
magazine: “I think there’s something
really powerful about seeing the face of
someone, reading the story of someone
who lives in poverty, and knowing
that you can make a real impact on
that person’s life. I think people see
poverty as something overwhelming
and impersonal, really far away. We are
interested in showing people that it’s not
the case, that it affects people and their
families in really specific ways, and that
as individuals and communities we can
help make a difference in that.”
secondary news
16
Pre-School News
Pre-Schoolers proudly display their ribbon and the superb spinach which won first prize at the St. Ives
Show. Pictured (left to right) are: Levi Macri, Leo Boorman, Evan Koo and Andrew Marler
From the Vegetable Patch to the Table
Bringing learning alive
is one of the goals of
every educator.
Capturing the children’s
interest and then
facilitating learning
using a Pre-Schoolers
natural inquisitiveness
are important
components of what we
aspire to in our
Pre-School.
Earlier in the year, the PreSchool children created their
own vegetable garden (with a
bit of help from the teachers).
Once the crop started to
grow, the children’s natural
curiosity took control as they
regularly viewed as well as
reported on the changes and
developments. The garden
appeared to be in the perfect
spot and the vegetables were
thriving.
Other special projects have
also grown out of the garden.
One of the crops planted was
spinach. We are fortunate
to have our own Pre-School
Chef – the talented cook, Mrs
Williams. She organised the
children to cut the spinach
from the garden. It was
then used to make spinach
quiches for our Mother’s Day
afternoon - delicious treats
for our mums to have for
afternoon tea. The quiches
all disappeared very quickly
from the table. Everyone
agreed the quiches were
delicious!
The spinach had one further
special project in which to
be involved. To add further
purpose to the children
learning to be city farmers,
it was decided to enter the
spinach into the horticulture
section of the St. Ives Show.
The spinach won first prize!
The children also planted
tomatoes, eggplant, parsley,
capsicum and cucumber.
We are sure that over the
coming months there will be
more learning opportunities
through our prize winning
Pre-School garden.
Mrs Linda Bialous
Pre-School Director
17
Primary School News
India Lister (Kindergarten) is enjoying her Arden educational journey.
Mr David Watkins
Head of Junior School
“Strengths”
‘You need to play to
your strengths’ is
probably a saying mainly
associated with a coach
or a captain
summarising the team
approach on the
sporting field. The
coach’s message to the
team would be to look
at what they have, to
use it to their advantage
to help achieve a
winning outcome.
In the Junior School, ‘play to
your strengths’ has begun to
take on new meaning. The
phrase points to encouraging
everyone to understand
what they really enjoy
doing. This started by the
staff and children being
encouraged to put a drop
into someone’s bucket – give
another person a compliment
about something which is
special about that person.
This process started to alert
people about things that they
might naturally do well –
their Strengths.
This focus on Strengths has
developed from the School’s
relationship with Gallup.
This journey started with
all Arden Staff completing
an on-line questionnaire
which identified a list of
each person’s Strengths. This
has given everyone a better
understanding of how they
can better approach more
difficult tasks, as well as
realising why they really
enjoy doing certain aspects of
their role.
The students in Year 5 and
Year 6 have completed a
similar on-line survey. The
children have been provided
with a modified version of
their Strengths. I was excited
to hear children proudly
letting me know that they
had ‘Relator’, ‘Competition’,
‘Arranger’ etc. in their top
three Strengths. Every
student was clearly proud
of their Strengths. Every
student had a sense of
worth and an appreciation
of themselves being each
uniquely special.
I look forward to the staff and
children of Arden continuing
to ‘play to their strengths’ – to
look at what they have, to use
it to their advantage to help
develop their own
winning outcomes.
Mr David Watkins
Head of Junior School
primary news
18
Students write book to raise
cancer funds
Students write
book to raise
cancer funds
Pictured clockwise from front left are: Scarlett Prowse, Brandon Lam, Chloe Lam,
Sophia Duddle, Charlie Kairaitis, Mrs Katie Carruthers (Information Technology
Integration Teacher), Laura Penn, Miss Tiali Fraser (Arden’s Director of Teaching and
Learning, Primary), Andres Scott, William Massey, Isha Jain and Kathryn Jankiewicz.
Ten talented Year 4 – 6 students had twelve hours
to write, edit, illustrate, review and print a 2,000
word novel suitable for children aged 10 – 14 years
in the Sydney Children’s Hospitals. This challenge
was the focus of the Write a Book in a Day
competition. Entering for the first time, the Arden
team raised $1,320 for the Kids’ Cancer Project.
They were given the setting, three characters and
some key words to use at 8:00am and needed to
finish their book, Revenge is Sweet, by 8:00pm. The
students loved the experience, sharing:
“ It was interesting to work
as a team and see our book
miraculously come together
as one.”
Charlie Kairaitis (Year 6)
“ I absolutely loved writing the
story because it was like you
were controlling little people
and you could make them do
anything you wanted.”
Chloe Lam (Year 4)
“ I had a great day and it was
great for me to see what it is
like to write and publish
a book.”
Sophia Duddle (Year 5)
Dr Gabrielle Oslington,
Arden’s Junior School
Gifted and Talented
Teacher commented:
“Providing opportunities
for children to write for an
authentic purpose is a great
motivator. Arden actively
seeks opportunities for our
students to solve real life
problems, enter competitions
with other schools and to put
their efforts towards altruistic
causes. The Write a Book in
a Day Competition meets all
these criteria, and the task
commitment, effort and team
cooperation shown by our
students was outstanding.”
friends of arden
Special
moments
shared with
grandparents
Grandparents’ Day is
always popular with
Arden grandparents,
special friends and
Lower Primary
students, who gather
to celebrate the
importance of
grandparents and
share some special
time together.
Everyone enjoyed the
beautiful singing from
the Year 2 Choir and
each grade kept everyone
entertained with poems,
dance and songs. After a
delicious morning tea our
special guests visited the
classrooms. Thank you to
everyone for making this an
exceptional community day.
19
Primary Sport
The Swimming Carnival
was once again an array
of colour as the
students hit the water
in traditional and
novelty races.
Following this carnival,
40 of our strongest
swimmers competed at
the IPSHA Carnival, with
Euan Liney (despite
having a broken arm!)
competing at the NSW
CIS Carnival to place
4th in the 50m
Backstroke Final.
The Cross Country Carnival
was another great afternoon,
with plenty of chants and
support from spectators
on the sidelines. All of the
children had been preparing
during PE lessons and Stage
Sport and their preparations
were evident with some
great times, and a reduction
in the number of ‘Social
Competitors’.
Congratulations also to
Scarlett Prowse (Year 6),
who is a Hornsby Advocate
nominee for the Newslocal
Young Achiever of the Year
award for achievements
in athletics.
Mrs Jo Graham
Head of Lower Primary
and Learning Enrichment
The Primary Swimming Carnival.
All focus is now turned to the
Athletics Carnival where I am
confident we will have more
strong competition in the
final chance for the Houses to
take home sporting glory for
the year.
Ms Eliza Monaghan
PDHPE Teacher and
Sports Coordinator
20
Middle School News
Mr Matthew Mallison
Head of Middle School
Arden students have embraced the exciting
technological developments at their School.
Cloudy but fine
For those who are a
little less tech-savvy
you might be wondering
why everyone seems to
be talking about the
weather and why people
want to store
information in ‘the cloud’!
Technology has made a
quantum leap at Arden over
the past 12 months, with
cloud-based storage just one
development amongst many.
Students from Year 4 through
to Year 9 have a one-to-one
iPad program and older year
groups are heading into
Bring Your Own Technology
(BYOT) territory that has
spurred on significant
development of technology
infrastructure to support
this initiative.
Year 7 – 9 students have
all their textbooks preloaded on their iPads and
can communicate with
their teachers through the
intranet or school email.
The Secondary campus runs
completely on the latest
wireless devices running
the new AC11 protocol and
students are integrating
cloud-based storage in
conjunction with their
school email and regular
network access. The latest
servers have replaced existing
devices at both the Primary
and Secondary campuses and
the microwave link between
them has been upgraded
to ten-fold its original
capacity. Further fibre optic
cabling and wireless work
is scheduled for Beecroft
to cope with the increasing
demands as students
develop a greater affinity
with technology in their
classrooms.
includes the integration of
a completely new database
system that will support the
most up to date Learning
Management System for
teachers and students and
which will work seamlessly
with a new Parent Portal
and website. Technology is
synonymous with change and
Arden continues to ride the
wave of development to best
support our students in their
learning in the 21st Century.
These are just a few of the
developments that have
happened recently, but you
may be asking where are we
heading? The next phase
Mr Matthew Mallison
Head of Middle School
friends of arden
21
Year 5 students enjoy the Taster Day, which gives them an
opportunity to prepare for the transition to high school.
A grade in a day
Year 5 students now
know what it is like to
be in high school.
They spent one “Taster Day”
morning moving from class to
class like the older Secondary
students. They studied
Ancient Egypt, with a very
practical demonstration of
mummifying a few students;
they created and cooked (and
sampled!) choc chip biscuits
in the Food Technology
room; making music made
easy was the focus in their
Music class using xylophones;
and they carried out a very
comprehensive workout on
a wide range of apparatus
in the gym. Meanwhile
parents enjoyed a relaxing
morning tea and a tour of the
Secondary campuses. The
students thoroughly enjoyed
their time and many of the
fears and unknowns of high
school have been removed –
now they can’t wait to start!
Mr Matthew Mallison,
Head of Middle School
22
Senior School News
Year 12 Arden girls had fun posing at the Photo Booth at the Girls’ Night In.
Mr Simon Przydacz
Head of Senior School
Developing the Arden Graduate
Over the past two years,
the School has been
developing the tangible
characteristics that
define curiosity,
courage and compassion
in our graduates.
The curiosity of our learners is
evident in so many aspects of
Arden life. High engagement
in learning is mirrored by
enthusiastic participation
in co-curricular activities
such as our relatively newly
formed Science Club and
Film Group and our inaugural
China Music Tour. Students’
Strengths are encouraged
and honed in these and
all other activities that
complement the academic
curriculum. Courage has
been evident in our Prefect
leadership team, as they
embarked on an audacious
project of adding the Boys’
Bash ( for beyondblue) to
the highly successful Girls’
Night In (Cancer Council
Pink Ribbon) fundraiser. The
success of both these events
lies not just in the strength
of leadership, but also in the
depth of student support for
their Prefects as well as their
engagement in their School
and learning. Compassion
has been seen in many areas.
The ongoing determination of
our Cambodia and Vietnam
Mission Tour Teams, our
Social Justice Group, the
Prefects’ support of The
Freedom Project, Green
Planterns and in so many
other areas is an absolute JOY
to be involved in.
The HSC results celebrate
the outcomes of academic
engagement and leadership
from our graduating
students. Their ability to hone
and focus their curiosity
and passion for learning
in their formative years
resonates distinctly in the
results. Sustained work and
commitment to their studies,
whilst balancing a breadth
of leadership, co-curricular,
social justice, service and
mission opportunities,
provides a broad platform
for both academic success
and the preparation
required to transform future
communities in which our
graduates will live, study and
work. This Vision permeates
throughout the various
cohorts, modelled by our
most senior students, and
carefully nurtured in our
junior cohorts; key steps
which develop them into our
future Arden graduates.
Mr Simon Przydacz
Head of Senior School
friends of arden
23
HSC students shine
Arden is proud of our
2013 Year 12 students
and their Higher School
Certificate results.
The School’s ATAR scores
have continued Arden’s
fine tradition of achieving
solid HSC results, providing
students with access to
a wide range of tertiary
courses. Please visit Arden’s
web site to view the HSC
results flyer. Highlights
included:
•
4 0% students achieved an
ATAR of higher than 80
•
2 2% students achieved an
ATAR of higher than 90
•
9 8.45 was Arden’s highest
ATAR
•
7 0% of Arden’s 30
on-campus course results
were above the State mean
•
7 9% of students achieved
a Band 5, Band 6, or
equivalent award,
showing the depth,
strength and consistency
of the students’ results
•
3 1% students made the
Distinguished Achievers
list for achieving a Band 6,
E4 or equivalent award
•
8 4% of Arden students
surveyed received offers
of places in tertiary
courses through
Universities Admission
Centre (UAC).
testimonials
What parents
say…
uth and Bill Peirson
R
“One of the distinguishing
qualities of Arden is the
concern for individual
students shown by the
teachers.”
iona and Sim Mead
F
“We have been delighted
with how Arden has
educated our children,
encouraging them to ask
questions and debate ideas,
not just in order to pass
exams but in order to learn
to think critically.”
Lewis and Linda Neal
“Arden has exceeded our
expectations in providing a
balanced education.”
What students
say…
The Class of 2013.
Alice Peirson
“Arden definitely gave
me the balance I needed
between academically
learning and all the other
aspects needed in my life
for maturing. Therefore,
I have left Arden not just
extremely happy with my
ATAR, but feeling confident
in my emotional and
spiritual maturity for the
next stage of life.”
secondary news
24
Girls share wisdom while
raising funds
Arden was abuzz with
excitement on Friday 9th
May when 145 Secondary
girls plus 12 staff
members gathered to
enjoy the annual Girls’
Night In.
This year the theme of the
evening was ‘1920s: Great
Gatsby’. Discussing the
importance of this event,
Mr Simon Przydacz, Head
of Senior School, shared:
“Girls’ Night In is our annual
fundraising night run by
our girl leaders and senior
students. Months of planning,
liaising with local businesses
and community, draw
together for one major night
of fun, sharing and learning.
Whilst women’s health issues
are central to the night, it
is the subtext of student
leadership, mentoring,
encouragement and
engagement of community
amongst our girls that shine
so brightly. This year the
girls raised $3,000 for the
Cancer Council Pink Ribbon
Fundraiser.”
The Prefect girls decided
to invite guest speakers to
speak on the topic of ‘The
challenges I have faced’, for
five minutes each. Arden’s
female School Captain Kate
Ferreira shared: “The aim
was to provide the girls with
an opportunity to listen
to different women from
various ages reflect on issues
common to many high school
aged girls.”
Clare Lawrence (current Year
12 student), addressed many
of the challenges associated
with beginning high school,
creating a balance between
study and co-curricular
activities as well as
addressing many highlights
and events to look forward to
throughout high school.
Matilda Lamb (Year 12, 2012),
addressed the stress of the
HSC, pressure to choose a
university course as well as
giving some advice to senior
students for when they leave
school. Mrs Samantha Allen
(Music Teacher), addressed
the struggle of living with
anorexia, sharing her own
experience. Finally, Ms Jeanne
Hope (Music Tutor) shared
her experience with breast
cancer via a video message as
she was unable to attend on
the night.
Mrs Jo Webb, Arden’s Year
12 Coordinator, supported
the girls in organising the
night. When asked what
top three messages were
communicated with the
girls and how the girls were
encouraged to model these
pearls of wisdom in their
lives, she said: “The girls were
encouraged to embrace the
changes that life brings and
to not be afraid of them. They
were inspired by Matilda
and her stories of what she
has done since finishing her
HSC almost two years ago,
showing that you can pursue
your dreams in many ways.
Another strong message that
was communicated was that
beauty is not defined by your
physical appearance which is
such an important message
for young women to hear.”
On the night, the girls also
participated in a variety of
activities, including makeup,
nail painting, headband
making, glitter bowling and
dance competitions.
Kate Ferreira concluded:
“Girls’ Night In was a very
worthwhile event to hold,
as not only did it raise
crucial funds for breast
cancer research and affected
Australian women, but it
was also instrumental in
uniting the senior girls at
Arden. We had a blast doing
it, and were unable to wipe
the smiles off our faces when
we saw 145 girls enjoying
themselves. Overall the night
was a lot of fun filled with
inspiring speakers, yummy
food, dancing and fabulous
makeovers.”
Year 12 Arden Prefect Girls and their
inspirational guest speakers at their
recent Girls’ Night In. The speakers
were very inspirational, imparting
some wisdom and advice for girls,
as well as encouraging them in their
journey as young women. Front Row:
Ally Neale, Kirsten Parker and Claire
Downing. Back Row: Ally Turner, Mrs
Samantha Allen, Clare Lawrence,
Matilda Lamb, Kate Ferreira and
Georgia Brown.
friends of arden
25
Boys Bash aims to beat the
blues
On Friday 4th April Arden’s
male Prefects hosted the
first boys-only event to ever
be held at Arden; a highlyanticipated event. As School
Captain James Dimarco (Year
12) shared: “After hearing how
successful Girls’ Night In had
been for as long as I had been
at Arden, I was excited to be
a part of organising the first
fundraiser for all the boys at
Arden and it is my hope that
this event becomes an annual
tradition.” The afternoon
involved the boys playing
in a video games room,
duelling in an inflatable
gladiator ring, and eating
from an oversupply of fun
snacks. This proved to be an
ideal way to raise money for
beyondblue, a charity which
was chosen by the Prefects
due to the prevalent nature
of depression and anxiety in
young men.
The night was a big success
raising $5,000 for beyondblue
and supported by more than
half of the boys in the entire
Secondary School. With
comments such as “It was a
sublime night hanging out
with the other gents!” (Aaron
Norved, Year 9), it looks like
more “Boys Bash” events will
be organised in the future. As
Mr Simon Przydacz, Head of
Senior School, commented:
“The night was highly
successful, both in terms of
the raging success in raising
money for beyondblue and
the engagement of boys in
our School community with
each other.”
Creating a sustainable
environment
Green Plantern members were inspired by the input they received at the Earth Hour
Breakfast. Pictured are Year 11 students Samantha Wiltshire (left) and
Priscilla Evans.
Members of Arden’s
Environment Club, The
Green Planterns,
attended “Earth Hour
Breakfast” on 18th
March. This large
inter-school
environmental meeting
provided students with
an opportunity to
share their school’s
environmental
programs and listen to
speakers on
environmental issues.
Some of the highlights
for Arden’s two Year 11
representatives, Priscilla
Evans and Samantha
Wiltshire, included
listening to a selection of
guest speakers including
Freshie company founder
Andrew Campion. Andrew
discussed his concerns
about the damaging effect
of disposable plastic
bottles littering the ocean
and his efforts to make a
difference through creating
a drink dispensing machine
whereby students’ own
drink bottles are filled
with drinks from the
machine, thus reducing
plastic wastage. Samantha
Wiltshire commented: “The
talk on plastic water bottles
by Andrew Campion was
very inspiring. He built
on our understanding of
oceanography from Year 9
Elective Geography and
gave us the tools necessary
to implement change at
our school.” Other speakers
included Engineers Without
Borders as well as keynote
speaker Chris Andrews,
co-producer of Habitat
the Game. His underlying
message was: “Local actions
to create global change.”
Priscilla Evans concluded:
“We have learnt about
several initiatives that will
help us to initiate ideas
that will create a more
sustainable environment.
We are also very excited to
be a part of a change.”
In recognition of “Earth
Hour” on Saturday 29th
March, Arden staff and
students decided to have
a day where they used no
lights or air conditioning
at school on Thursday
27th March.
secondary news
26
Sports stars thrive
Swimming
irnam were the clear
B
winners at our Secondary
School Carnival. A number
of our students broke
records throughout the day
and continued to show an
abundance of House spirit.
e Arden Swimming spirit
Th
and talent has certainly
been on show for 2014,
with a number of students
representing all the way
through the HZSA, AICES,
CIS and All Schools’ Carnivals
this year. There have been
some wonderful age and
runner up champions at the
HZSA and AICES carnivals.
We had a number of records
broken throughout HZSA
and AICES carnivals which is
a great achievement for our
dedicated swimmers.
e were very proud to have
W
a total of six relay teams
and a number of individual
competitors represent
at the CIS Swimming
Championships.
Of particular note is Justin
McLean (Year 9) who brought
home two gold medals in the
50m and 100m Breaststroke
events. Justin went on to
compete at the New South
Wales All Schools’ Carnival
where he placed 3rd in the
50m Breaststroke event and
2nd in the 100m Breaststroke.
A wonderful achievement
for this young and rising
swimming star!
friends of arden
27
Student Representation
Harry Belcher (Year 8)
Competed in the New South
Wales and Queensland
Inter-Schools Snow Sports
championships in the July
school holidays. He finished
18th out of 100 in the Giant
Slalom Ski for the Year 6 –
Year 8 division.
Arden awarded Hills Zone
Sport Association, Best
Performing School for 2013
2013 has been a wonderful
year of Sport at Arden. We
are very happy to announce
a number of Hills Zone
results for this year:
•Arden finished 2nd in
the Girls and 2nd in the
Boys Sport in the HZSA
competitions for 2013.
•Arden finished 2nd
overall for the Hills Zone
Champion School.
•Arden was awarded
the Hills Zone Sport
Association, Best
Performing School for 2013.
Photo: Thomas Lowe and Georgia
Brown with the trophy recognising
Arden as The Best Performing School
2013.
Swimmers ready at the start line at the
Secondary Swimming Carnival.
Cross Country
Justin McLean (Year 8)
Achieved his first Age
National qualifying time
in swimming for the 100m
breast stroke. He is now
eligible to compete at
National Age Swimming
Championships in April
Top:2014.
James Cason (Year 11) and
Liam Magee (Year 11) at the Cross
Country Carnival. Middle: Justin
Liam
Marsden-Readford
McLean
(Year
9). Bottom: Justin Kim
(Year
12). 12) and
(Year
Elise Webb (Year 10)
Competed at the Australian
Swimming Short Course
Championships in
September. Liam competed
in the 50m butterfly
swimming a personal best
time of 25.69 and in the
100m butterfly swimming
57.39 marginally outside
his personal best. Elise
competed in three relay
teams which all placed in
the top 10 for each event.
Christopher PurkisS
(Year 9)
Selected in the AICES team
to compete at the CIS
Carnival in October.
erm 2 began with great
T
sporting spirit as Birnam
won a second carnival for the
year. The Year 10 PASS class
did a great job in helping
to organise the running of
the Carnival as part of their
‘Event Management’ topic.
Arden finished 3rd overall
as champion school at the
HZSA Carnival. Additionally,
two of our student age
champions, Harry Stevenson
(Year 7) and Ella Cliff (Year
9), finished first in their age
groups.
placed 12th. Particular
mention must be made of
Harry Stevenson (Year 7)
who placed 1st and was Age
Champion for the 13 year
boys. These five students will
compete at the CIS Carnival
in June.
rden had 79 students
A
compete at the HZSA
carnival at Rouse Hill
Regional Park. Students
performed exceptionally well
with at least 25% of our team
progressing onto the AICES
Carnival.
This year we had 25 students
compete at the AICES
Cross Country Carnival.
Congratulations to Jaco Van
Wyk (Year 12) who placed
11th, Ella Cliff (Year 9) who
placed 6th, Olivia Cason
(Year 11) who placed 12th,
James Cason (Year 11) who
Gymnast Natalie Chen with her silver medal.
Matthew Jigalin
(Year 10)
Competed in the Australian
School Sport Australia
National Volleyball
Championships in Brisbane
in September as a player in
the New South Wales All
Schools’ Under 16 Volleyball
Team. He was also selected
in November for the New
South Wales Junior State
Beach Volleyball Team and
will compete at the 2014
Australian Junior Beach
Championships in Adelaide
in January 2014.
Natalie Chen (Year 7)
Competed in the Catholic
Secondary Schools
Association Gymnastics
Championships competing
at Level 4 Senior National
Stream. She placed on the
Vault 4th place, Bars 2nd
place, Beam 2nd place and
Floor 4th place. She finished
with a total point score of
53.4 and was awarded 2nd
place with a Silver medal for
the overall championship.
Oliver Moss (Year 8)
Chosen to represent in the
AICES 15 years Cricket
team.
secondary news
28
Above: Arden Cross Country 2014 Age Champions.
Right: Olivia Cason (Year 11).
Sports Stars
lise Webb (Year 11) was
E
nominated as a finalist for
The Northern District Times
Newslocal Young Achiever
of the Year award for
achievements in swimming.
Elise attended an awards
dinner for this accolade
in February. Whilst she
did not win the category,
she was honoured for her
commitment, dedication and
achievements in
her sport.
ooper Pascoe (Year 10)
C
has been selected as part
of the U16 Sydney AFL
Academy. Cooper has been
training with this elite squad
over the last few months.
omas Lowe (Year 12)
Th
received AICES colours and
Honours awards for his
representation at CIS and All
Schools Level
for Athletics.
iam Baker (Year 10)
L
received AICES colours award
for his representation at CIS
for Open Age Waterpolo.
atthew Jigalin (Year
M
11) was presented with
a CIS medallion for his
contribution and efforts in
the CIS representative team
for Volleyball. He was also
selected into the NSW U17
team which will compete
in the Australian Junior
Volleyball Championships in
July.
livia Cason (Year 11)
O
competed at the Junior
Australian Athletics
Championships in March
competing in the 400m sprint
and finished 8th overall in
Australia for U18 age group.
Olivia ranked 2nd in New
South Wales for this event.
tuart Duve (Year 10)
S
competed at the Junior
Australian Athletics
Championships in March in
the U17 110m hurdles and
finished 10th overall, placing
3rd in New South Wales from
this event.
Mrs Melissa Collins
Head of Sport and Dance
Coordinator
Arden Swimming Age Champions
Age Group
Boy Champion
Girl Champion
U12
Aylett de Grut
Alexandra Robertson
U13
Harry Stevenson
Anneka Shaw
U14
Justin McLean
Lucy Stevenson
U15
Thomas Chanekon
Brooke Matheson
U16
Liam Baker
Angela Zhang
U17
Liam Magee
Elise Webb
U18
Justin Kim
Kirsten Parker
Arden Cross Country Age Champions
Age Group
Boy Champion
Girl Champion
U12
Noah Moss
Amy Guo
U13
Harry Stevenson
Ali Paton
U14
Ben Mallison
Lucy Stevenson
U15
Aaron Norved
Ella Cliff
U16
Sebastian Madden
Angela Zhang
U17
James Cason
Olivia Cason
U18
Jaco Van Wyk
Claire Downing
Staff
Mr Hales
Mrs Odlum
29
Community News
P&F brings
community
together
Semester 1 has been
busy for the P&F, with
welcome functions at
both campuses, the
Trivia Night, and the
Mothers’ Day stall and
breakfast. Our March
“Holidays” Trivia Night
was a fabulous night of
fun, friendship and
fundraising. 140 people
attended and nearly
$4,000 raised on the
night, with the auction
of the coveted role of
Head of Junior School
for the day proving to
be popular.
In May our mums were
pampered via the ever
popular annual Mothers’ Day
stall as well as the Mothers’
Day Breakfast. Thank you
to all the people involved in
organising and supporting
our events – they would
not be possible without the
support of you, our dedicated
parents.
Spotlight on
Bruce Kelly, P&F member
Involved since his
daughter commenced in
2003, Bruce joined the
P&F to help the school.
His roles have included
general helper,
Director and Vice
President plus
functions helper.
“Trivia
Night was
a fabulous
night of fun,
friendship and
fundraising.”
Fiona Barry
Why have you been an
active member of the
P&F for so many years?
There is much personal
satisfaction in being
able to assist the School
financially, which in turn
improves the conditions
and opportunities of the
children. I have had many
laughs and made many
lifelong friends through the
P&F. I see my involvement
as being my personal
contribution to repay the
School for the wonderful
education, opportunities
and Christian values which
our daughter has been
privileged to experience
during her journey at Arden.
What would you say
to someone who was
considering becoming
involved in the P&F?
The P&F meetings provide
the opportunity to meet the
School Leaders and hear
what is happening and what
is planned for the School
as well as to meet many
people. One of the many
strengths of Arden has
always been the high degree
of community involvement
by the parents and friends.
I would certainly encourage
all parents to join and
become involved in the P&F.
Mrs Fiona Barry
Arden P&F President
Bruce Kelly ( far left) has always enjoyed helping out at P&F BBQ’s.
30
Alumni News
Amanda Power
Rosemary Vandore
Amanda Power
reconnects
with Rosemary
Vandore
They may live on opposite sides of the world, but
Arden alumni Amanda Power and her former Year 5
teacher, Mrs Rosemary Vandore, share a bond that
transcends time and place. Dr Amanda Power is a
Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the
University of Sheffield, England. She attended
Arden from Pre-School to Year 6 (1979 - 1987).
Amanda contacted Arden last year as she was keen
to make contact with Mrs Rosemary Vandore, who
had clearly been an inspirational teacher to her
and had helped instil in her an early love of
history. Here are excerpts from their
conversation…
Amanda:
Dear Mrs Vandore, I was
looking through some old
files and found two projects
that I did in your Year 5
class, one on Marco Polo
and the other on Columbus.
I had completely forgotten
about the projects, but was
delighted and amazed to find
them - as I now teach a 3rd
year undergraduate course
at a university in England,
in which the two men (and
other medieval travellers) are
major figures. When I wrote a
PhD (and the resulting book)
on a medieval Franciscan
scientist called Roger Bacon,
who was a contemporary of
Marco Polo, the same sort of
material appears. I thought
this might amuse you!
Rosemary:
Dear Amanda, I am thrilled
to receive your email. Wow!
To be honest, I cannot
remember these projects,
but I remember you and your
brother Tim with fondness. I
am impressed that you kept
your projects from all these
years ago. It is quite amazing
friends of arden
31
that there is this connection
between those projects and
your present career.
Memories from
Mrs Rosemary Vandore
Not only do I keep my body
active with exercise and
daily walks, but also keep my
brain active by tutoring three
days a week. Amanda, thank
you for making the effort to
contact me. You have made
my day.
Amanda:
Dear Mrs Vandore,
It is lovely to hear from
you, and to hear news of
so many of the people I
remember fondly and with
much gratitude. I did my
undergraduate degree at the
University of Sydney, and then
had a scholarship to work for
a PhD in medieval history at
the University of Cambridge.
After that, I stayed on in
Cambridge with a research
fellowship before being
appointed to a lectureship
in Sheffield, where I’ve been
since 2005. I’m married to
Tim who is a classical pianist,
and we have a son called
Giles and another child on
its way.
The projects that I did with
you were little booklets with
a whole lot of writing and
mathematical exercises based
around a topic. I remember
both the exercises that I did
(a conversation between
Marco Polo and Kublai
Khan in direct speech, then
re-written in indirect speech;
a formal letter in which I
applied to be taken along on
Marco Polo’s journey, and so
on: very educational) and the
way I imagined the distant
lands I was reading about to
write it.
“It is quite
amazing that
there is this
connection
between those
projects and
your present
career.”
Mrs Rosemary
Vandore
My first fond memories of
Arden are of the excellent
teaching my daughter
received, followed by my
delight at being appointed
as a Year 5 teacher. I
remember that Coral
French and I were the first
Arden teachers to take Year
6 to Canberra, as studying
“Government” was a topic
of the curriculum for Social
Studies. The worst decision
I made one year was to try
and teach Year 6 to knit. I
remember the long queue of
children with stitches which
had to be unravelled!
All the teachers with
whom I taught at Arden
were inspirational. They
are lifelong friends. My
approach to teaching was a
structured one. I was always
keen to inspire the children
with a love of literature,
especially poetry. I was fairly
meticulous about marking
maths and would take many
books home in order to
plan to have group learning
so as to further children’s
understanding of concepts.
Memories from Amanda Power
What was it that
made Mrs Vandore so
inspirational as a teacher
when you were in Year 5?
I remember that Mrs
Vandore had a reputation
for being a formidable
individual, and I found her
so in the best possible sense.
Her intelligence and high
standards, together with her
warmth, encouragement
and dry humour were a very
stimulating combination,
especially as I was reaching
an age when I was getting
more serious about learning
and beginning to think
about secondary school.
What are your favourite
memories of Arden?
I have a whole jumble of
images. Lots of visceral
memories of huge shady
trees, bark wood chip,
swinging on monkey-bars in
the adventure playground,
hot sun, games with a
parachute, the cheerful
cacophony of music lessons,
drinking out of bubblers,
sitting cross-legged on the
floor in assembly, making
things in craft with crepe
paper and gelatinous glue,
the over-excited running
around that we did before
thunderstorms, sentencemakers and work books.
I do now remember very
clearly working on the
projects that I mentioned to
Mrs Vandore.
pre-school and
primary school
39-43 Wongala Crescent
Beecroft NSW 2119
T. 02 9484 1146
Secondary
school
50 Oxford Street
Epping NSW 2121
T. 02 9869 2644
www.arden.nsw.edu.au