Mrs Susan Middlebrook

It has been a wonderful start to the year as we have welcomed Tara girls and families to the School. ELC, Kindergarten and Year 7 students together with new students across the School in other grades have been warmly welcomed and are settling in well. We began the year with a service for the whole School in the gymnasium and it was so good to be together as a School for the beginning of the year. There has been a great deal of discussion amongst the staff, about how this year feels different and there is more excitement as we are able to plan a full program of events for the students now that all restrictions from the pandemic have been lifted.

Having said that, the virus is still with us and it will continue to be important to take reasonable precautions for a very long time to come. As an example, masks are no longer compulsory but if you would like your daughter to wear one in enclosed spaces, then of course this is fully supported by the School. If your daughter does contract the virus, please keep her at home until she no longer tests positive and is well enough to return. I realise this is a request that is beyond the current NSW Health requirements, but it will be very supportive of keeping everyone in our community safe.

Tara Anglican School for Girls will be attending the Hills' Expo on 4 and 5 March 2023.

If you have any friends or know anyone who would like to find out more about Tara, please tell them to come visit and have a chat with us. 

When:
Saturday 4 & Sunday 5 March 2023
10am to 4pm both days

Where:
Harvey Lowe Pavilion, Castle Hill Showground
Doran Drive (Off Showground Road)
Castle Hill NSW 2154

To ensure the School has the correct contact information for you and medical details for your daughter, we ask that you log on to the Edumate Parent Portal and use the 'update personal details' link to check and update yours and your daughter's information. 

If you have more than one daughter, switch between their profiles to complete. Please ensure you check and update each tab before you click the Submit changes button. If you Submit before you finish, you will not be able to submit any further changes until your previous submission has been processed on our end. Medical information is used to ensure the health and safety of your daughter during the day, excursions and Camps etc. 

Note: you can only log on to Edumate and complete this task using a PC. 

To assist you, please use the link https://cloud.tara.nsw.edu.au/documents/A_Guide_to_Edumate.pdf

Parents are invited to attend an Anxiety in Students with Learning Difficulties Workshop.

This workshop is run by the Learning Difficulties Coalition (LDC) and will be held on Tuesday 28 March from 10-12pm via zoom if watching live or later by video link. The cost is $70.

The presenter is Maria Ivanka Milic. 

For primary and secondary students, growing up involves the important skill of building awareness of feelings, learning skills to tolerate experiencing and speaking about the negative feelings, and learning skills to take care of one’s negative feelings. As well, they need to build strategies to manage negative feelings in different contexts and in interactions with others who may also have their own way of expressing and managing their feelings.

This workshop will aim to increase teachers, parents and other professionals understanding of anxiety in students, and provide a repertoire of cognitive and behavioural strategies that can be used to support them in managing their anxiety at school and home. 

Registrations are now open. Please see the Learning Difficulties Coalition website www.ldc.org.au

Imogen - Deputy Head Border

In celebration of the new year and to encourage sisterhood and friendship in the Boarding House, each term begins with a compulsory in-weekend. This year, we kicked off Friday with a competitive trivia night, where the girls were able to share banter and laughter, finishing the night off with a movie night. Saturday was an action-packed day at Raging Waters spent in the lovely sunshine. It was so wonderful to see the girls enjoying the rides together and forming new relationships, since many students were completely new to the Boarding House. At night, the girls wound down with a pampering spa night wearing facemasks and getting pedicures. To finish off the weekend, Sunday was spent again in the sun on an inflatable water slide and practicing our Boarding House cheer for the upcoming swimming carnival. 

Overall, the weekend was an exciting few days, packed with fun, sisterhood and bonding, which couldn't have been done without the help of Mrs Cocks, Mr Cocks, Mr Redford and the Boarding staff!

The Tara Uniform Shop is open during Term time:

Monday to Friday 7:30am-12:00pm

(closed between 12pm and 1pm)

1:00pm-5:00pm

First Saturday of each month (Term time only) between 9:00am-12:00pm

For more information or to book an appointment please call 02 8838 2646

Second hand uniforms are in demand, particularly summer uniforms.

If you have any good quality second hand uniforms, please complete the form located in the Tara Uniform Information Book available via this link and drop them into the uniform shop.

The Tara Parents & Friends Association (P&F) is the School’s parent organisation.

Every parent of a current Tara student is a member. In general, the P&F creates a focus on social, service, care and fundraising activities and are committed to providing support of our School, students, staff and community. Termly P&F meetings provide an opportunity for parents to discuss information about the operational aspects of Tara and raise questions regarding any sector of the School. The Principal, Mrs Susan Middlebrook attends the meetings.

On Tuesday 7 February, over 50 parents and carers gathered in the Bowern room for the first P&F meeting of 2023. After a brief introduction about the group and it’s sub-committees, Mrs Cross, President of the P&F, introduced Mrs Middlebrook who gave a run down on Community events planned for 2023. With the first full year post COVID lockdowns, the focus this year will be on making connections. Please mark your diaries with the following confirmed dates:

Sunday 14 May: Mother’s Day Classic, Parramatta Park 

Saturday 20 May: Mother’s Day celebrations (details TBC)

Saturday 4 November: Colour Run

Saturday 25 November: Carols in the Colonnade

Interested Alumni are invited to register their interest to join a register of graduate babysitters and tutors. This information will be published in the Tara Newsletter Community pages on a fortnightly basis for parents and carers to access.

Whilst Tara Anglican School for Girls will provide a conduit for display of this information, all transactions will be negotiated between the Tara graduate and the family seeking the service. Tara does not endorse the accuracy or otherwise of the information therein.

If you are a recent graduate and would like to join the register please complete the following form: Babysitting and Tutoring Register 

Parents/carers are invited to revisit the Community pages of the Newsletter in the coming weeks for further information.

The Tara Dads Club (TDC), enhances every Tara girl’s Tara experience by nurturing the Dad and Daughter relationship, creating opportunities for Dads to contribute to the Tara School Values and fostering a spirit of Community.

The Club:

• Organises activities that Dads and Daughters can participate in together
• Raises funds which are donated to Tara for the benefit of Tara girls
• Provides various forums for Tara Dads to interact with one another, allowing Dads to become active participants in the Tara Community and support network

To join the Tara Dads Club please follow this link - Tara Dads Club - Membership 

The next Tara Dads Club meeting will be held on Wednesday 15 February, 7:30pm in the Glass room below the Chapel and we invite any interested dads to attend. 

If you have any questions about Community or have ideas to share, please email the Community Liaison Manager, Mrs Cate Redman at community@tara.nsw.edu.au

We would love to have parent and carers views on social and fundraising opportunities. 

Class parents are an invaluable resource within the School and play a vital role in welcoming new families; organising social events for their year group/class and volunteering to assist and help rally troops to organise and staff community events. For 2023 we are seeking expressions of interest from parents and carers who would like to sign up as class parents for each year in Junior School and Year 7 (a main point of entry for new parents/carers).

Class parent activities will depend on the needs and suggestions of each year group. Generally, Class Parents are asked to attend, once per Term, a Class Parent Network meeting with the Community Liaison Manager to plan class parent activities; to help welcome new families who enter Tara during the year; to create social opportunities for parents; to share information and reminders of class activities, School and P&F events and, if able, attend P&F meetings to gain updated School information and contribute to discussions and decision-making.

To register your interest, please complete the following form: Class Parent Sign Up (office.com)

Click the link below to book:

Year 7 Parent Welcome Tickets, Tara Anglican School For Girls, North Parramatta | TryBooking Australia

RSVP - 17 February 2023

Click the link below to book:

ELC to Year 2 Parent Dinner Tickets, Cropley House, Baulkham Hills | TryBooking Australia

RSVP - 22 February 2023

Students can borrow:

• ELC – 1 book
• Kindergarten, Year 1, and Year 2 – 2 books
• Year 3 – 3 books
• Year 4 – 4 books
• Year 5 – 5 books
• Year 6 – 6 books

Loans are for two weeks but books can be returned before school (from 8am) or at lunchtime every day of the week except for Fridays when we have a stage 3 book club running. New books can also be borrowed during these times.

All borrowing must be accompanied by a library bag to protect the books going home and returning to school.

Students will have a library lesson with their class each week. In this lesson, we will explore various literature, digital and print resources they have access to, the library catalogue, research skills, information literacy skills and academic honesty.

Students have access to various games and activities during their lunchtime, and we also highlight various events during the year with special activities.

Students from Year 3 to 6 are invited to become student librarians and can complete service opportunities during lunchtime and before school on days they are available.

Students from Kindergarten to Year 6 are encouraged to challenge themselves by completing the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge. This opportunity opens on 27 February. 

If you would like your daughter to enter this year, please email Mrs Svetlana Paul, the Junior School Teacher Librarian spaul@tara.nsw.edu.au for her unique username and password.

If you completed the challenge last year, your username and password remain the same.

For more information about the challenge, please click the link below:

NSW Premier's Reading Challenge 2023 

The Junior School Swimming Carnival was held last Tuesday at Auburn Ruth Everuss Aquatic Centre.

Students in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 as well as a few keen and capable Year 2 swimmers, were bused across to Auburn. They entered the centre with streamers, banners, posters and for the first time in carnival history, drums!! Having needed to be seated separately in previous years due to meeting Covid Safe policies, it was a real buzz having all houses grouped closely together.

Our wonderful staff, who are equally passionate about their houses as the students it seems, donned house coloured hats, shirts, banana costumes and even dinosaur suits. The carnival began with our serious competitors swimming the 100 metre freestyle races. The rest of the day was filled with 50 metre events in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. Students also had the opportunity to swim on a nice warm day in races where kickboards and pool noodles could be used as they splashed and dashed across 25 metres.

The day concluded with the always exciting relay races and it was Waugh who took the title of the combined 3 to 6 house relay champions in 2023.

Thank you to parents and friends who supported us on the day and to all girls who were real go getters in the water. We look forward on presenting age place ribbons at assembly in Week 4 and announcing and recognising our champions and runners up at the special awards assembly in Week 9. 

Keen readers in Senior School are invited to keep a record of their 2023 reading by creating a Personal Reading Journey keyring. This is a collection of mini book covers on tags, resulting in a tangible display of personal reading throughout the year.

All readers (students and staff) are encouraged to claim their own keyring and start collecting mini book covers for each book read in 2023. 

Submit your images using the link on the front page of the Oliver Library Portal. 

In Senior School, we encourage Year 7 to 9 students to participate in the 2023 Premier’s Reading Challenge which opens on 27 February and concludes on 18 August. Please contact Mrs Megan Wade-Ferrell to register.

The Learning Resource Centre (Claridge) in the Senior School is open from 7.30am to 6.00pm every day. Our direct phone number is 02 8838 2672. Parents are welcome to call us after school to convey messages to their daughter/s. Students are allowed to keep their mobile phone switched on in their school bag and can receive or make calls about transport in the lounge area. 

Book Club

Every Wednesday at lunchtime in Claridge there is a Book Club that any student can attend. Here, the girls talk about the books they are reading and also there are games and activities that revolve around books and reading. Girls can sign up for Book Club at the Club Expo on Thursday 16 February. 

Genre Challenge

As part of Book Club activities this year, students will participate in a Genre Challenge. Over the year students are encouraged to read widely, trying genres that they may not have read before. Students who complete the challenge will receive an award. This challenge will also be available to any other students who are interested.

Financial Literacy is a subject studied by Year 10 students with the core focus of teaching the steps to secure your financial independence and preparing our students for their financial future.

This year students have purchased Victoria Devine’s book ‘She’s on the money’. Victoria is a financial adviser who is transforming the way young people think about money. Financial Literacy is a specially designed course taught at Tara to target this important area of our lives.

The course has been developed and is taught by the Social Science staff who are passionate about students developing a financially independent future. 

Miss Christine Abadier and Ms Jane-Marie Talese - ICT Integration Coordinators 

This year, Senior School students are considering the message and importance of Safer Internet Day. 

Safer Internet Day is a global event that brings together communities, families, schools and organisations from more than 200 countries to help create safer online spaces. 

Technology has evolved dramatically in the past two decades and the benefits have been huge. These developments have also exposed us to many risks with real-world impacts, making online safety awareness even more important. 

This Safer Internet Day, we are encouraging our whole school community to start up a conversation about how we can Connect. Reflect. Protect. 

Connect safely 

• Keep your personal information private on apps and games 
• Only share passwords with trusted adults 
• Be kind and caring to others online like you are in person 

Reflect before you act 

• Think of others’ feelings before you post, like or share content 
• Ask someone if it’s OK before you take or share a photo or video of them 
• Be curious and ask questions about what you read or watch online 

Protect yourself and others by taking action 

• Be a supportive friend if you see someone who needs help online 
• Ask a trusted adult for help if something doesn’t feel right. 

Parents are encouraged to engage with the resources provided by the eSafety commissioner. In particular, please consider attending the free live webinars for parents: https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/webinars

Carmen - Academic Prefect

I’m Carmen, the Academic Prefect for 2022-2023 and I am excited to announce the return of Tara Tutors in 2023. Tara Tutors is a student-led initiative providing a free tutoring service for girls at School. There is a great selection of Year 11 and 12 tutors with a range of strengths who would love to help younger students with any questions, homework or assessments. We aim to provide a collaborative environment where students feel comfortable asking for help from people who have been through the same experience.

This year, Tara Tutors is running every Monday after school and every Tuesday and Thursday lunch.

We have had a slight change of location this year, moving into the main area of the library to make it more open and inviting for the girls. Look out for the signs on the tables for which subject you need help with. 

The first session of Tara Tutors this year is on Monday 13 February from 3:30 – 5:00pm.

We hope that students will enjoy utilising the great program to enrich their learning and make some new friends along the way!

On 30 January, whilst most of the School was still on holidays, it was the Year 7’s first day! With the help of their Peer Support Leaders the day was a success, and the girls were welcomed into the Tara community. Below are some of the highlights shared by our Year 10 Peer Support Leaders.

Angelina - Year 10

Running the first day of high school for Year 7 as a peer support leader was such a fun experience and one, I will never forget. It was so great to see all the new girls, get to know everyone, share stories from their holidays and build strong friendships within their mentor group, house and grade. Throughout the day my peer support partner Melanie and I ran ice breaker games for the mentor group to get to know one another, a few outside games during recess and lunch like handball and volleyball, and a well packed picnic of snacks to share.

Later on, the girls received their new laptops from IT, timetables and padlocks to their lockers, which I’ll admit took some time especially trying to teach the girls how to unlock their padlocks but eventually everyone got the hang of things and knew what they were doing. Mrs Madigan ran a competition of who can unlock their padlock the quickest, and it was quite funny seeing the girls stressfully turning the locks under pressure. By the end of the day, Year 7 had taken in heaps of high School information and were hopefully ready to begin classes the next day. Melanie and I ended the day with a debrief, asking the girls about the day and what they most enjoyed. It was so good to know that the girls enjoyed their first day and are excited to begin their new schooling chapter. The first day was such a great success! 

Keira - Year 10

The first day of being a peer support leader for the Year 7’s was amazing. We had such a great time growing connections with the girls just from spending the day with them. During some time with the girls, we asked them what their worries and excitements for the school year were and we gave them advice for it, and they found it extremely helpful. We took the girls on a tour of the School and later they got their laptops! They were really excited and my peer support partner Orchid and I were there to help them with any of their needs. Then came lunch where we had the best time-sharing stories and having lunch as a mentor group, then enjoyed playing handball and volleyball with majority of the Year 7 girls. After that, the Year 7’s received their timetables, planners and locks and we fortunately won the lock competition of which mentor group can unlock their locks the fastest. We then had time to unpack all of their things in their lockers and ended the day with a debrief asking if they enjoyed the day. We made sure to always tell them that we are here for them with anything they need, and we will always support them, and the girls already felt part of Tara Senior School. Everyone enjoyed the first day of Year 7! 

To join the Snowsports Information night on Tuesday 28 February 2023, 7pm - click the link below

Snowsports Information Night Meeting Link

The Friends of Tara Rowing are fundraising with The Entertainment Book!! 

Entertainment is the easy-to-use App, packed with incredible savings of up to 50% off and 2-for-1 offers, so you can save on takeaway, dining, shopping, groceries, gift cards, activities and more! 

And what’s even better, 20% of every membership purchased goes to support Tara Rowing. 

Please consider purchasing a membership using the link below

https://subscribe.entertainment.com.au/fundraiser/2143t72 

Cameron - Sport Prefect

On 6 February, Tara girls played their first ever Rugby 7s game held at Barker College. It was an amazing opportunity for the girls to get involved in a new sport the school has to offer, after a dedicated pre-season of training. Tara won their first game against Barker 2 which was an exceptional achievement as none of the girls had ever played before. The second game was played against Asquith High School which was another opportunity for the players to learn more about the structure and strategies of the game. The team looks to improve their understanding of the game in order to continue their success. Thank you to Ms. Musto, Mr. Bickersteth and Coach Ben for allowing Tara's first rugby team to be a success! 

Natalie - Rowing Captain

The first regatta of the term, the Roseville College Regatta, was held on 4 February in Iron Cove. The rowers faced challenging conditions of wind and rocky waters but still came out with some amazing results. Charlotte O and Caitlin I both placed first in their single sculls, earning themselves gold medals. There was also the Year 8 Quad consisting of Nicole, Sydney, Victoria, Eden and their cox Caitlin (Year 11) who placed second in their race, as well as myself placing second in a single scull. Another four 3rd places were earned throughout the squad. This is a result of the rower's hard work and determination through Term 4 and the holidays. It was a great start to the Term, and we are looking forward to seeing more of the excellent results from the girls. 

Cameron - Sports Captain 

At the end of Term 4, Tara hosted the Tara Kings Cup which had been on hold for years due to COVID. This year, the Kings boys joined the Tara girls on Mouleric for a game of touch football. This was such a fun event with both schools bringing instruments and cheers - even the Tara Tiger made a guest appearance! The game was tough as teams scored back and forth making it a pretty even match for the duration. In the end, the Tara Kings Cup was handed to the Kings school as they won by one try. Overall, the game was a great way to uplift spirit and enhance connections with the Kings school over a fun touch football match. 

Thank you to Ms Musto, the players and spectators, and all involved Kings staff for the assistance and co-operation in bringing the Tara Kings Cup back to life. We hope to see this tradition continue in future years (and hopefully bring the cup back home!)

All girls in Years 7-12 are encouraged to read this newsletter every week on the Canvas Careers page.

Careers Newsletter -  1 June 2023

For more information please contact Mr David Berridge via email - dberridge@tara.nsw.edu.au