From the Principal
Our Lady Help of Christians
Last Monday 24 May we celebrated the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians with a beautiful school Mass. This is an important Feast in Australia because Our Lady, under the title “Help of Christians”, is a spiritual Patroness of Australia. In the Opening Prayer for Our Lady Help of Christians, the Church prays that through Our Lady’s intercession God will “grant wisdom to our leaders and integrity to our citizens”, so that “under her protection Australia may be granted harmony, justice and peace”. Let us continue to pray for our country and all who are entrusted with her leadership. During this month, our staff and students have participated wholeheartedly in our Marian pilgrimages at Tangara, praying the Rosary and asking for our Lady’s intercession for all the intentions of our school community and our families.
Balance is key
It’s a busy time of the term with assessments due and exams taking place. In Primary in years 5 and 6, students are finishing their last exams today. In Secondary, our teachers have been preparing the girls and providing them with feedback in preparation for exams and their assessments for this term. Please encourage your daughters to use their time wisely, remove all distractions during study time and to have a good routine balancing study, exercise, sleep with a wholesome nutritious diet.
Simultaneous Story Time
One of my fondest memories when my children were younger was being immersed in a book, or two and reading to them. Last week, as part of Simultaneous Story Time, I had the privilege of reading to the Year 2 students. We delved into the world of space as we read “Give me some Space!” by Philip Bunting. Thank you Year 2 for allowing me the opportunity to spend the afternoon with you and reminding me of the joy of reading children’s literature.
Revised Carline Procedures
A letter went out last week outlining the revised carline procedures in response to recommendations made by Hornsby Council and Ryde Police. These new guidelines come into effect this Monday 31 May. Please remember there will be no parking on campus during school pick up time (except for Tangara Sport Coaches) and we ask that you arrive no earlier than 5 minutes before your child’s scheduled pick up time.
HSC Subject Selection Information Evening
In preparation for the HSC, our Year 10 students and their parents are invited to attend a HSC Subject Selection Information evening on Thursday 10 June at 7.30pm in the Undercroft. Profiles collated from the Morrisby Test, along with feedback from the Parent teacher interviews will assist students to select their course of study for the HSC. Our HSC teachers will also be present on the evening to answer any questions and to guide parents and their daughters with their subject choices.
It has been lovely catching up with you at various events and I thank you for your continued support and feedback.
From the Chaplain
In his 19 May general audience, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on prayer, speaking about distractions and aridity in our prayer. It is a very interesting and practical reading.
Let's finish the month of Our Lady joining our rosaries to the intention of the Holy Father: the end of the pandemic in the World!
129. Mary, Help of Christians
I am happy when we celebrate each year the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians on May 24. But I have always wondered why we make so much of this feast, which does not celebrate a great event in the life as Mary as do, for example, the feasts of the Divine Maternity of Mary, the Annunciation, the Assumption or the Immaculate Conception. Could you please explain why this feast is so important?
From the Infants School
From the Coordinator
What a busy fortnight it has been up at Infants. We all looked our best for Photo Day, enjoyed the Smart Start Incursion as well as our Pilgrimages, Open Days, National Simultaneous Story Time and Pentecost.
During the Smart Start Incursion, children learnt about money as a concept – its value and how to keep it safe. Guided by Captain Cash, children were excited about becoming superheroes with their money. By challenging children to 'Spend to their needs' and 'Wait for their wants', they learnt to distinguish between their needs and wants in order to prioritise spending money accordingly.
We joined the rest of the nation in participating in the National Simultaneous Story Time. The children listened to a story Give Me Some Space, which was being read nationwide, and then participated in craft activities. Thank you to Mrs. Chigwidden for reading to us!
In Religion we learnt about Pentecost and how the Holy Spirit helps us. Pentecost can be viewed as the birth of the Catholic Church, where the Holy Spirit came down with tongues of fire. Pentecost allowed the apostles to spread the good news of the Gospel to all the nations, the same good news of Jesus we still proclaim to this day. To honour Pentecost students made headbands with tongues of fire and read from the bible.
Next week we welcome our Kindergarten and Year 1 parents to Mass on Thursday 27 May at 9am. Unfortunately, due to the large numbers in these grades we are unable to accommodate the Prep school in the Chapel at this Mass but welcome them to attend on the following days:
· Prep Rust, White and Silver: Monday 31 May 12:15pm
· Prep Navy: Friday 4 June at 12:15pm.
Parents are most welcome to join their child at this Mass on the designated mass days.
1 White News
A few weeks ago 1 White were very busy and keen to learn about how to be kind in GIVE lessons. It helped them to prepare for the month of May, the month of Our Lady. .
From the Junior School
da Vinci Decathlon Success
Some of our Year 5 and Year 6 girls took part in the da Vinci Decathlon this year. The da Vinci Decathlon is an academic competition designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of students. Students competed in teams across 10 disciplines: engineering, mathematics and chess, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy.
Our Year 5 team were ranked 10th overall, 1st in art and poetry, 10th in creative producers, 5th in engineering and 7th in code breaking. Our year 6 team were ranked 12th in ideation.
GIVE Grow In Virtue Every day
The Virtue we are working on in the Junior School is: FRIENDLINESS
I am practicing friendliness when I:
· Smile and greet people with courtesy
· Have the courage to introduce myself
· Show interest in others
· Ask people about themselves
· Show caring when a friend needs me
4 Rust
During this Term, 4 Rust have working together to learn well in all areas. In Science we have been investigating forces where we have conducted experiments. In History we have been learning about convicts and the First Fleet. For one activity, the class was divided into two groups. One group was assigned the role of being the Europeans arriving in Botany Bay and the other group were assigned the role of being the Indigenous peoples’ first sighting of the European people. Each group wrote their own role play. In Math we have been discovering different ways to give change from a given amount. Our writing this term has had a focus on persuasive writing and we have written Discussion texts. We chose a topic and worked in a group of 2-3 people. We have also had an advertising challenge, coming up up with ideas for advertising new products. The information will be put on a poster.
By Year 4 Rust
From the Secondary School
da Vinci decathlon success
In Week 3, Tangara students from Years 5 to 11 competed in the annual da Vinci decathlon, hosted by Knox Grammar School. It is a state-wide competition designed to challenge the creativity and knowledge of each participant, with 10 categories, English, Maths, Art and Poetry, Ideation, Science, Engineering, Code Breaking, Creative Producers, Cartography and Legacy. Eight girls from each grade were up against hundreds of other schools, with almost 2000 total competitors each day. This year, for the first time, Knox organised for the event to take place online. It was a completely new experience for everyone involved, and we were so fortunate to have Mr Cohen Bosworth and Mrs Rasmussen taking care of everything technical, as well as Mrs Bannon and several other supervising teachers on hand to make sure things went smoothly.
Training took place at lunchtime every week, in which past papers and activities for each category were completed where the girls worked hard to improve their thinking and team work. On the day, we all learned so much about teamwork as each student utilised their different strengths. Everyone managed to work together to complete all the assigned examinations. Perseverance was particularly evident in working through the difficulties of each paper. Most of the content was not part of the content taught in school, as the tasks encourage students to stretch their problem-solving abilities and think outside of the box.
Overall, it was such a beneficial experience, as it enabled us to collaborate with other students in our grade, while also extending our expertise in each area. We enjoyed a breakfast together to celebrate our learning.
On behalf of all the participants, we would like to thank Mrs Dirckze (Years 7-11) for organising the teams and training sessions and making this opportunity possible.
Every student should feel proud of their performance.
Brigid Year 11
Now for the results
Year 11 Legal Studies Incursion By Alessi Y & Sara H
On Friday 30 April, as part of our unit of study this term, Year 11’s Legal Studies class was fortunate enough to be visited by a Solicitor from Legal Aid, Mr Andrew Marriott. He came to our class and shared with us about his experience as a Children's Lawyer and how they can help people in a court environment.
Captains Corner
Community Service in Term 2
During this term, Tangara has been looking to partake in new Community Service opportunities, never before provided to our girls.
On Saturday 15 May Tangara held a Buddies Day, where we worked with Vinnies to invite disadvantaged Primary School children from all over the State for a day of fun, relaxation and detachment from the usual troubles of their lives. The day was highly successful and rewarding, described as the best day of their lives, and the most fun they’ve ever had!
Following this, Tangara students gathered in the Library to design and create cards to be sent to Vinnies families with meals, care packages or any other support that Vinnies provides. The purpose of the card is to provide a message of hope to families during these tough times. Thank you to all the girls who were so enthusiastic to help out and contribute to this beautiful cause!
Over the next two weeks, Tangara will also work with Gunawirra, to help create care packages for aboriginal children around NSW. Their programmes focus on healing intergenerational trauma, trauma and grief through the influence of cultural identity, knowledge, and creativity. Each Secondary class has been asked to donate a specific item recommended by Gunawirra. With these items, the students will also be writing letters to go into each box, to help our students to better connect with the project, and the preschool children to feel as if their package has been more personalised and created with love and care.
7 Rust 1 Childrens toy
7 Navy Red hats
8 Rust Boys underwear (age 2-5)
8 Navy Girls underwear (age 2-5)
9 Rust Antiseptic cream/spray
9 Navy Toothpaste + toothbrush
10 Rust 1 x Aboriginal childrens book
10 Navy 1 x Aboriginal childrens book
10 White 1 x Aboriginal childrens book
11 Rust Activity books + crayon/pencils
11 Navy Face washer + bar of soap
12 Rust Pocket tissues
12 Navy Bandaids
Sports
Tangara Netball Update
As the weather gets colder and spectators put on more layers, our girls are feeling the heat as they head into Round 6 this week. We saw both Year 9 divisions go head to head in Round 5, and we can say it was a 'win win' on the sideline. This week our Under 12s, Under 15s and under 17 Ds continue to hold first position on the ladder with our 17Bs in second place.
Under 8s Netball
Our wonderful Under 8s had a fantastic Round 5 game with St Paul’s last Friday! The girls have all improved so much both on an individual and team level. I was particularly impressed with their ball handling skills. There were lots of good chest & bounce passes used to move the ball down the court. And lots of pivots!!
The ‘Player of the Week’ was Annie-Rose B for her defensive play and for proactively regaining possession of the ball. Well done Annie-Rose!
Match report for U10s, Round 5
Tangara vs. Glenhaven
The girls played well this week trying out new positions on the court. Amelia showed great energy as centre in the first half, supported by Isabella as WA who constantly found space for a pass. Lucia and Sarah were in circle defence for the first time and kept the opposition working hard to get the ball in the hoop. Olivia and Charlize darted around the court proving that height doesn’t matter, snatching the ball and intercepting passes. Sohana played hard in our goal circle for a whole game getting to the goal circle quickly and shooting hoops. Our captain this week, Simrat gave 100% as shooter and tried her hand at WD for the first time. She stuck to her opposition and remembered not to go in the goal circle. Shout out to Jade, who’s arms knew no bounds as GA, shooting goals and intercepting passes right to the end of the game. Player of the match was Lucia, new to the game this year and has improved dramatically each week. She played a whole game as GD, a new position for her, and she did a great job!
Final score 8-3 to Tangara. Well done girls!!
From the Library
NATIONAL SIMULTANEOUS STORYTIME
Every year, Tangara Library joins thousands of libraries, schools, and other locations around Australia and even internationally, to simultaneously read the same picture book to over 1 million children on the same day in May. The event, run by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) is now in its 21st year.
This year, the date was May 19 and the book was Give Me Some Space by Philip Bunting. We had great fun as Mrs Sakr read to the Year 2 classes in the Library, Mrs Chigwidden read to the Infants classes, and Mrs Ellis read to Prep.
We all learnt a lot about space, and celebrated the joy of reading!