Mr Scott Baker

It’s that time of year when thoughts and planning turn towards the refreshment of the Tara Senior School student leadership team, starting with election of the Year 12 2021/2022 Senior Leadership Team later this term. Most of the students nominating themselves for these positions have been working towards contributing to the School in this manner by holding formal leadership positions in younger years, gradually building their skills, experience, and evidence of service to the Tara community. This is a point worth noting as in any one year there are approximately 160 positions of formal ‘badged’ leadership available to Tara Senior School students, not counting those who sit on committees and support initiatives by working hard behind the scenes. Being involved, actively contributing, pursuing passions, building friendships and connections, developing skills, and making Tara an even better place to grow and learn are all benefits to being a School leader.

Working alongside and nurturing the growth of amazing Tara young women is one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching at Tara. The commitment of teachers to supervising and mentoring the many clubs and groups through shared passion for specific areas of interest is an invaluable element in the leadership journey of all Tara students. In particular, the inspired leadership of Mrs Losco who aligns and coordinates the Student Leadership Program cannot be overlooked. I can’t thank enough all of the teachers who give up so much of their time and contribute their skills and knowledge in supporting Tara students beyond the classroom.

The overview below illustrates the scope of leadership opportunities that are on offer in 2021. I encourage all students to consider becoming more involved and pursue their own personal growth and service to Tara and the wider community by nominating themselves for these positions when the time comes, as well as taking seriously their role in electing people into these positions. I’m hopeful that the articles relating to student leadership in this edition of Tara News might inspire some into action.

Come and join the Tara Dad's Club at the General Bourke, Parramatta, upstairs on 9 June at 7pm. All Dads welcome, to register (numbers only) click here. Meals and drinks paid individually at the venue!

Tickets are selling fast!

28 August, 2021

The Novotel Parramatta

6:30pm

Cost: $150 pp which includes sparkling wine on arrival with canapes, three course dinner with drinks, photo booth and entertainment.

RSVP: 20 August, 2021

Bookings at www.tara.nsw.edu.au/book-events

Come along and enjoy a night of fun and laughs!

Saturday 17 July

7pm until 10pm

BYO Alcohol and soft drinks

Senior School Hall

$30 per person which includes grazing board

Dress up in your favourite 80's gear. Prizes for the best dressed table and person.

Click here to book www.tara.nsw.edu.au/book-events

Numbers are strictly limited!

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is now underway.  Any parent who wishes to supervise their daughter’s reading for this challenge is welcome to contact Mrs Gwyn Bromhead in Junior School for a username and password for their daughter’s online entry.  Please email gbromhead@tara.nsw.edu.au to request a username and password.   

Usernames and passwords remain unchanged from previous years.  If students are participating with an existing username and password then please let us know by email so that we can send a reminder to conclude on time if needed.  All online reading records must be completed well before the website closing date of 20 August 2021. 

For comprehensive information, rules and booklists visit the PRC website: www.premiersreadingchallenge.nsw.edu.au

For the second unit of inquiry in Year 5, our girls focused on the transdisciplinary theme ‘How We Organise Ourselves’. They inquired into iconic structures and events, the roles of significant people in shaping our nation and how national identity is constructed and refined. A gallery opening in the Year 5 classrooms welcomed community members of Tara to view carefully considered portraits, creative artefacts, engaging pecha kucha presentations and informative biographies, which were formed by each student for an assigned significant Australian. Year 5 enjoyed the opportunity to discuss their learning with visitors which included parents, teachers and ELC. The girls developed their confidence and perseverance throughout the process which involved researching, writing, designing and communicating to a formal audience.

Students in Stage 3 had the wonderful opportunity of taking part in a creative writing workshop with children’s author and former Tara Junior School teacher Tim Harris on Thursday 27 May. Covering a variety of areas from ideation to characterisation to grammatical features and much more, students were equipped with many ways of making their writing more engaging, while also having a lot of fun in the process!

Congratulations to Year 12 students Jordan, Sarah, Chyna, Macayla, and Sophie who have received their Gold Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award while still at School.

Iain Hoy - Head of Performing Arts

ENCORE is a program of outstanding performances and compositions by students from the HSC Music examinations presented by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). This year the HSC ENCORE Concert was delivered online as a package with the virtual version featuring filmed individual performances and compositions by HSC 2020 students selected for the showcase. We had 5 Girls nominated for ENCORE with Sarah Vandenberg being selected for her performance of ‘Lush Life’ by Billy Strayhorn. She was one of only six Music 1 performances in the package, while Paige Yan also appears on the HSC Honour Roll in the Program for her outstanding Musicology Viva Voce’s. Normally we would attend the ENCORE Concert at the Sydney Opera House, instead this year we had a special viewing of the ENCORE Concert in the Tara Theatre with many students and staff attending to watch the performances that had been recorded and prepared as a specially curated package. Sarah and Paige were able to join us for the viewing along with other members of the Music classes from last year, to watch the performances and compositions by Music 1, Music 2 and Music Extension students. It was wonderful to have them share their knowledge with the girls and be able to share in their success!

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is now underway.  Any parent who wishes to supervise their daughter’s reading for this challenge is welcome to contact Mrs Megan Wade-Ferrell in Senior School for a username and password for their daughter’s online entry.  Please email mwade-ferrell@tara.nsw.edu.au to request a username and password.   

Usernames and passwords remain unchanged from previous years.  If students are participating with an existing username and password then please let us know by email so that we can send a reminder to conclude on time if needed.  All online reading records must be completed well before the website closing date of 20 August 2021. 

For comprehensive information, rules and booklists visit the PRC website: www.premiersreadingchallenge.nsw.edu.au

Strong connections foster a sense of community and improve wellbeing. To create a more integrated Tara community the 2020/21 Leadership Team has introduced Thursday Lunch with Leaders. Every Thursday lunchtime there is an organised activity being run in the Quad, whether that be an event or music. The attendance of all members of the Leadership Team assists in building relationships across grades. Thus far, notable events have included a Tug-of-War Competition, Handball Competition and Trivia, which were a great success as evident by the many smiles. All students are encouraged to submit suggestions for suitable activities and to keep joining in on the fun.

Mackenzie C - Community Prefect

Tara Ambassadors are an integral part of the Tara Community, who represent the Tara student body to guests and act as leaders and role models to other students. They work closely with our registrar, Ms Walker and our Principal, Mrs Middlebrook, on regular weekly tours to present our School to parents. On these tours, they answer any questions which parents and their girls have, providing an authentic student perspective and giving their own experiences as a Tara girl.

To book for this free event please click here www.tara.nsw.edu.au/book-events/

The Student Representative Council (SRC) is a fundamental branch of our School community, enabling the opportunity for student voice and student led activities.

Each group is comprised of one girl from each mentor group in their grade and together they are mentored by two leaders from the Leadership Team. The groups are working towards achieving two SRC led events that are important to each grade, including Tara’s Greatest Morning Tea, Wellbeing Week and Jersey Day later this year. The SRC are also involved in running the weekly Thursday Lunch with Leaders, with Year 9 hosting a friendly game of whack-a-mat for this week (week 6) in the quad.

The SRC are a group of enthusiastic and determined girls who are incredibly excited to put events on for the community. We are so looking forward to being involved in their events and seeing what they achieve!

Coming up in Week 9 we have our Leadership Elections for the 2021-22 Student Leadership Team.

In preparation for this busy and intense week the leadership team prepared multiple What you need to know? sessions. The aim of these lunchtime meetings was for Year 11 to ask questions about the unique roles and responsibilities of the different positions within the team, the leadership election process and the emotions which come along with it.

Asmi C - Social Justice Prefect

In light of the COVID crisis in India induced by the second wave, the Social Justice Committee held a fundraiser on Wednesday 26 May.

This initiative was put forward by Trisha R - Year 11. Myself and a team of Year 11 girls started organising the event with the help of Mrs Liney. At lunchtime on Wednesday, the Social Justice Committee helped with selling bangle bundles and samosas. Each bangle bundle came with a reflection card with each colour of the bangle representing a different prayer for those suffering. We also gave girls the opportunity to write messages of hope and encouragement for health care workers in India which will be sent to them to give them some support through this tough time. So far we have raised almost $1000 with donations still coming in from the wider community and the fundraiser will also take place in the Junior School.

All proceeds are going to UNICEF's special appeal to send oxygen concentrators to hospitals and cities in India. If you would like to donate to this cause please click on the link below.

https://www.unicef.org.au/appeals/india-covid-19-crisis

SPOT members spent their first sessions this term creating a solar powered model of our solar system. Students researched their planet to find key information and photos before donning their creative hats and painting the models. The planets have been installed around the Senior School with a scaled distance between planets. Equipped with solar lights, they will be visible during both day and night.

In Term 1, girls from Years 7 to 11 joined over ten thousand students from across Australia by participating in the National Computer Science School Challenge. The girls performed very well and showed lots of initiative as they developed their ability to program in Blockly and Python, and completed challenges to show off their skills.

Basketball

Round 4

S02 Tara 1 vs Kambala 1, Loss, 36-40
S11 Tara 2 vs Kincoppal Rose Bay 5, Win, 23-9
S16 Tara 3 vs Kambala 4, Loss, 20-30
S17 Tara 4 vs Loreto Normanhurst 13, Loss, 15-20
J03 Tara 5 vs Monte 6, Loss, 10-19
J06 Tara 6 vs St Vincent’s 2, Loss, 17-28
J08 Tara 7 vs PLC Sydney 8, Win, 44-16
J10 Tara 8 vs PLC Sydney 9, Loss, 23-36
J11 Tara 9 vs Wenona 9, Loss, 16-22
Y702 Tara 10 vs Monte 8, Loss, 23-28
Y705 Tara 11 vs SCEGGS 12, Loss, 17-23
Y709 Tara 12 vs Ravenswood 18, Loss, 11-41

Sophie B - Cross Country Captain

On May 14, Tara’s Cross Country Team competed at the annual IGSA Carnival in Frensham. The day was an enjoyable event for all involved and we are very proud of the girls who represented our School on the day. Each Tara competitor ran to their best ability and encouraged girls in the other age groups by cheering them on! We are extremely proud of all the girls for participating in the event and a special congratulations to Zayla T for placing 37th in the 13 years age group and especially to Belita K who placed 12th in the 12 years age group, which is an incredible achievement!

Overall, Tara placed 22nd in the event, so congratulations to the girls for their efforts. A very big thank you to Ms Musto, Mr Bickersteth and all the Tara Coaches for helping prepare for the day and for accompanying us to the event, ensuring that we were all able to enjoy a successful day.

Ms Rachel Weiner - Head Coach Rhythmic Gymnastics

Congratulations to Cherie G, Jessica R, Felicity M, Linda H, Olivia W (Junior School) and Nikhita G and Janice Y (Senior School) for their performances at the Club PERO In-House Meet held on Saturday 22 May at SCEGGS Darlinghurst.

This was the first time the gymnasts have performed in front of judges and a live audience since 2019. All girls performed their new routines with confidence, and the coaches look forward to seeing their progress and development throughout the year. Well done!

Mrs Michelle Williams - Careers Coordinator

Girls are to refer to the Careers pages on Canvas for links to current prospectuses from institutions, early entry programs and closing dates, scholarships etc. 

The information contained in the newsletter link below is intended as a guide only. Please confirm all details on relevant websites. Information provided by JobJump Pty Ltd which takes no responsibility for the accuracy of this information.

Careers Newsletter - 20 May 2021
Careers Newsletter - 27 May 2021

For more information please contact Mrs Michelle Williams via email.