It is with great pleasure that I announce the Leadership Team for 2020/2021.

The Hake House Team would like to invite the Junior School girls to join them in thanking some of these special people by taking part in our service learning initiative:

‘The Thank You Project’

All our service learning at Tara encourages students to enact the slogan:

"Service for others - hearts and minds in action.”

Why should we express gratitude?

The Bible encourages us to cultivate a spirit of gratitude:

The apostle, Paul wrote, “Show yourselves thankful.”

Lasting happiness comes not just from saying thank you occasionally, but from having a grateful disposition.

When we express sincere gratitude, we make the giver feel valued and appreciated. Even strangers respond warmly to people who sincerely thank them for doing a kind deed!

For ‘The Thank You Project’, each class will consider to which individuals or groups they would like to send a special thank you message.

Messages will be crafted and finalised by the end of Term 2, ready to share with the rest of the Junior School before they are sent to the intended recipient/s.

We look forward to seeing your creative and sincere messages!

We are collecting:

• Non-perishable food items 
• Good quality second hand sneakers 
• Good quality second hand warm things eg blankets, throws, and NEW socks, scarves, beanies

The charities we will be partnering with this time include:

• Team Jesus and Vinnies Youth - Food 
• Shoes for Planet Earth - second hand runners and sneakers
• Street Buffet (homeless) - warm things, and Wrap with Love blankets, from Year 8

Team Jesus - is the initiative and focus for the Tara Dads Club - headed by Mrs Kathryn Dickinson for TDC/Community, and Prisca - Head Girl.

Vinnies Youth - the initiative and focus by Ruby - Social Justice Prefect.

Shoes for Planet Earth - coordinated by Mari - Environment Prefect and driven by the P&F.

Street Buffet - headed by Bella - Deputy Head Girl, partnering also with Year 8 with their knitted blankets from ‘Wrap with love’ service component of the Mentor Program from Term 2. 

Instead of all doing something different, we are combining resources, marketing, donation points, and energy. 

We would LOVE you to be involved, and offer any of the above categories for this appeal, as donations for charities have been lower than usual, due to the world situation, but need is great. Drop any of the items off to the Chapel foyer from Monday 22 June - 8am. 

Campaign commences on Monday 22 June, and will run until Week 3 of Term 3.

Donations can be left in the Chapel foyer, from 8am - 4pm every day during term time.  

We hope this initiative will make a positive difference in the lives of many people.

Thank you in advance for any support you can offer.

At the commencement of the period of isolation the focus of pastoral programs was adapted to meet recommendations of best practice with each of the following areas receiving specific attention:

• Establishing a sense of routine and academic purpose
• Physical wellbeing 
• Gratitude 
• Service for others

Year Coordinators provided guidance on ways by which students could follow the school timetable, organise their workspaces, communicate with teachers and manage their time during the school day in order to maintain a sense of purpose and academic direction. 

In addition, the girls were given challenges designed to encourage physical activity away from their laptops. Scavenger hunts around the house, physical challenges based on the names of students, dance routines and mindfulness activities all played a part in pursuing this objective.

Some students were encouraged to keep “gratitude” diaries or simply to indicate to their Mentors factors in their lives that they were grateful for receiving. Needless to say, more time with family, increased means to communicate with friends and personal safety during this time were high on the list amongst the students. Some side benefits were to emerge such as waking up slightly later due to less travel time, not having to wear uniforms and spending more time with pets!  

The goal of Service for Others encouraged girls to consider ways by which they could contribute to the running of the household and care for those they were unable to visit. In this context students were given the opportunity to create and write cards of encouragement to elderly residents in local Nursing Homes. The response to this initiative was outstanding with girls sharing their experiences of isolation with messages such as the following:

Year Coordinators have run online Year Meetings which have proved to be instructive and interactive. These have enabled students to respond and ask questions as course material was presented. These meetings, as well as surveys sent to the girls, provided a welcome opportunity for student opinions to be acted upon in order to refine the online learning experience and support for students. 

Throughout the period of online learning, Mentors were in daily communication with the girls and based on this feedback were able to coordinate appropriate follow-up measures.  In Week 2 of Term 2 all the girls had the benefit of individual Mentor Meetings to review their goals and to discuss strategies for reaching these in a challenging context. These issues will be revisited with parents from Years 7-10 as part of the planned Mentor Meetings and Academic Learning Conferences at the commencement of Term 3.

The Counsellors have continued with outstanding support of girls throughout the period of isolation by holding individual TEAMS meetings with students to provide advice and outline personal coping strategies. In addition to this, Megan Cotterill made a series of videos addressing topics such as motivation, stretching to do between classes, social connection, a school holiday guide and  staying sane at home that were disseminated to students. It was particularly helpful that during the holiday period Counsellors and some Coordinators continued to provide additional services and individual meetings where needed. 

On the return to school some aspects of the above focus areas have remained as a component part of the current programs. At the same time there has been a particular emphasis on providing students with the opportunity to reconnect with their peers whilst maintaining social distancing and adjusting to the “new normal”. 

The inaugural B Kinder Day, held on June 22 prompted girls with the opportunity to connect with each other by writing affirmations for peers. This initiative by Year 12 students Skye (Community Prefect), and Ashleigh (Deputy Head Boarder) was inspired by the memory of a young girl, Billie Kinder. By completing messages on cards girls were encouraged to spread expressions of kindness, to promote empathy and compassion and to generally reconnect.

It is obvious that we continue to experience challenging times with both ongoing and far reaching impacts for many of our girls and families. At the same time we are confident in embracing these challenges and the new opportunities which they present! 

This STEM-based, open-ended project began while the girls were working online.  They started by selecting and researching an animal of their choice that would appear in a zoo, finding out about their diet, habitat, behaviour and physical attributes. Intricate papercraft patterns were accessed as each student constructed one or more animal for her enclosure. The next step involved taking the background knowledge on the chosen animal and using it to design and make an enclosure, taking comfort and needs into consideration. The making process involved much discussion and consultation among students as they developed and refined their ideas. The final step in the process was to consider how curate the displays in way that made the zoo accessible and inviting to visitors.

Approaches to Learning (ATL) in the areas of research, communication, social skills, thinking and self-management are developed through the PYP. After some reflection, the 3 Tommy girls reported that the following skills were needed for the zoo task:

• Tiana - creativity and artistic skills were needed to help us do fine cutting as we made our paper animals 
• Kushi and Tiasha - thinking skills were important to make sure we had everything our animal needed in the enclosure
• Jada - it was good to communicate with others to generate ideas
• Laurina - by looking carefully at the work of others’ you got ideas to make your enclosure better
• Sanjana - it was best to organise all your equipment before you started so you didn’t have to keep getting up
• Vellesca - I needed good fine motor skills to cut and glue my paper snake
• Olivia - you needed neat origami skills to make the paper animals. I called on my parents and family to help when I needed it
• Bethany, Nadya and Elsa- we needed to concentrate, have patience, and keep trying without giving up while we made the animals and the enclosures because it was tricky
• Chloe - we had to concentrate really hard while we made the animals and the enclosures

ChiFUNese is one of the most innovative and popular Chinese language programs held at 70+ locations around Sydney. Our students feel happy and inspired to learn because it’s fun and easy!

Classes at Tara are held on Tuesdays 3.30pm-4.30pm . To enrol in the existing class or to express interest in a brand new class, please email to moakley@staff.tara.nsw.edu.au. Get FREE access to online learning simply by expressing your interest at www.chifunese.com/eoi/

The ChiFUNese difference:

• Fun, multi-sensory learning through games and hands-on activities;
• Clever mnemonics for remembering pronunciation and characters;
• Small classes for maximum engagement and participation;
• Cultural enrichment through Chinese festival celebrations;
• Multimedia online learning for additional practice at home;
• Support and feedback to parents including student reports;
• Team of professional teachers who are experienced and passionate.

admin@chifunese.com | www.chifunese.com | www.facebook.com/chifunese

Mental Health Opinion Piece
By Jemma S - Year 8

Mental health is a prominent topic in today’s society, the third-highest rated issue of personal concern for young people. Are we really accepting the magnitude of this problem, when 54% of people with mental illness do not seek any help, even though three-quarters of those receiving help improve notably?

So what really is mental health? It can be defined as a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises their own potential, can work productively through the normal stresses of life and is able to contribute to the community. This issue has never been more relevant than in the current times of COVID-19.

Seven times the amount of money spent on mental health promotion is spent on treatment facilities and programs. While treatment of people with a mental illness is crucial, spending more money on the promotion of mental health and the prevention of mental illnesses in the short term will provide more benefits in the long term.

I believe that the best and most effective way to reduce mental illness and increase mental health is through a government-funded mass media campaign specifically targeting adolescents. A unified and inclusive approach is needed to have the maximum impact possible, combining the content and images of multiple organisations to create a well-known, widespread, accessible and accessed resource.

As part of this campaign, a wellness app would become available to monitor your health, whereby you answer questions or rate yourself depending on how you are feeling, for each component of wellbeing [physical, mental, social and spiritual]. Depending on your results, different activities would be suggested, and you would be directed to a helpline if any aspect were particularly bad.

This unified campaign would combine the good work already being undertaken by many organisations in one easy-to-use place where all the information would be. This would encourage adolescents to use the resources there instead of searching around multitudes of organisations for the information needed. It becomes a one-stop shop for all wellbeing needs. As this campaign would be centred on the wellness app, it is perfect for young people who are heavy users of technology.

Currently, BeyondBlue, headspace and the Black Dog Institute are three organisations each trying to promote good mental health and make a positive difference. These offer resources, tips, facts, support, programs, services and initiatives. There are also events such as RUOK? Day on 12th September, World Mental Health Day on 10th October and Mental Health Awareness Month in October. These are all small parts that would have a much greater impact if combined into one approach, reaching more people, in more ways.

The most important thing that needs to change in our perceptions of mental health is people’s awareness and acceptance, so promotion needs to be used to raise awareness. Adolescents need to be educated on the importance of mental fitness in conjunction with physical fitness, and taught how to become mentally fit. This will contribute to a holistic view of wellbeing, which is essential during times of hardship, such as those we are experiencing currently.

Awareness and reducing stigma associated with mental illness prevents it from becoming a problem in the first place. Seeking help is okay, and doing nothing isn’t going to spread that message to young people. Promoting wellbeing for adolescents is not an issue to be taken lightly or ignored, so steps we take now may end up having vast benefits in the future.

This charity was formed after 12 year old Billie unfortunately passed away in a tragic horse accident in 2016. Billie was an extraordinary girl and had a gift of giving through her smile, her thoughtfulness, her constant acts of kindness and her amazing gift of words. With a play on her name, Billie Kinder’s legacy has become one of kindness through the B Kinder initiative. Through this initiative, we hope for the Tara community to become one filled with kindness and compassion, where we feel we can reach out to one another and act with kindness.

B Kinder Day is held annually on the 22 June and during lunch we played some music in the quadrangle and wrote affirming messages on hearts which Tara girls will share with someone they love. By doing this we are living out the Tara Values of Affirmation and Service for Others. Through Billie’s empathy and insight, her B Kinder legacy empowers, inspires and reminds us that our actions have the power to make a difference in the world through human kindness.

This course is a transdisciplinary journey through 13.8 billion years of History starting at the Big Bang and travelling through time all the way to the future. The 6-week online course covers 6 modules and is open to Year 10, 11 and 12 students and provides students 3 additional points on top of their ATAR for Macquarie University courses.

The online course focuses on analysing complexity, evaluating problems and creating innovation - equipping global learners with the skills to succeed in the workforce, improving their ability to solve complex global problems. 

“The Big History Scheme is an incredibly rewarding course, in developing foundational critical thinking and evaluation skills, in application to an interdisciplinary course. The course explores the existence of humankind, from the development of simple chemical structures, to the development of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East and beyond into the future. The course is enriching and rewarding in learning about our history, and how our past is crucial to a successful future.” Alexandra

“I would recommend other Tara girls to do this course to connect their studies from different disciplines … We looked at history from the Big Bang, to the Industrial Revolution to the future … the assessments were peer assessed which was really valuable.” Emily

For details about the Macquarie University ‘Big History: Connecting Knowledge’ course – please go to the Tara CANVAS “Aspire” page under History or visit their website at: https://www.mq.edu.au/bighistory/our-courses

Commerce looks at small business and their response to COVID-19 

Emily - Year 10

For my Commerce assessment, we were asked to write a business report on a business affected by COVID-19. I decided to focus on my mother’s business ‘Urban Spa’.

‘Urban Spa’ has been heavily affected by COVID-19 as they have had to shut down for a few months. ‘Urban Spa’ has had a significant decrease in profit and have had to rely on just online sales for April.  This assessment allowed me to review competitors businesses and determine what strategies ‘Urban Spa’ could implement to survive in this new climate. I was able to interview the business owner and a competitor which helped me in understanding how COVID-19 has impacted businesses and how these businesses have survived. This Commerce assessment has been interesting and important to do. It allowed us to focus on current problems facing businesses and how these businesses have adapted to overcome them. I have appreciated the opportunity this assessment has given me and the knowledge I learnt from it. I have to admit, I enjoyed having my mother home these past few months.

Social Sciences Gifted and Talented Conference

Evelyn - Year 10

I participated in the Social Sciences Gifted and Talented Conference, which was to help students improve their thinking skills, become intellectually creative, and think systematically and rigorously about relevant modern day issues.

We watched and participated in a series of lectures by educators and speakers Julie Arliss and Peter Baron. They identified issues within the environmental economy, education system, social physics, and even touched on topics based on what it meant to be human. I particularly enjoyed the “Aristotle 384-322 BCE and his Big Idea” lecture which talked about the psychology of humans, and how people became impacted by their childhood, and other various aspects. I already had an interest in psychology, so I thought that it was a great way to boost my understanding of the subject. Furthermore, we also completed a variety of quizzes, touching on the topics equitation, art, geography, history, literature, maths, music and space. They tested our knowledge on a variety of things within these subtopics and helped me to learn more about the world around me.

As the lecturer stated in “Oxbridge Interview Question: Here’s a Cactus. Tell us About it,” we have become very closed off to the world around us, and instead focus on our grades and achievements. Thus, the quiz helped me to gain an understanding of the beauty of art and literature, while also delving into other subjects. Overall, I really enjoyed participating in the Social Sciences Gifted and Talented Conference, as it was an engaging and interesting way to talk about the world around us. 

Promoting the Blueprint Competition

Aneesa - Year 11

In November of 2019, Western Sydney University held the Business Blueprint Competition, in which two of our own Tara teams were chosen for the finals, competing against four other schools.

The 'Zap It!' team consisting of Jordyn, Bianca, Natasha and Mary-Claire, placed third.

The 'XAP' team consisting of Aneesa, Georgia, Sabrina and Dhara, placed second.

This year, Professor Michael Lwin, whom we worked with last year when formulating our business plans, reached out to us to make a promotional video for the upcoming year of students in Year 10. We spoke about the valuable information we learned, the skills we gained, and how the competition gave us a taste of what Senior Business Studies would be about.

Overall, we were honored to promote the competition as it was a fantastic opportunity that truly enriched our senior learning and gave us information as to WSU's courses to look into in the future, to possibly study there after the HSC.

Students were able to design and create wonderful works which show the link between the beginning of Genesis and the ministry of Jesus Christ. The students particularly focused on the promise that God would not let the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve go undefeated, linking this promise to the final victory of Jesus on the cross. Examples of some of these artworks have been included below.

We continue to pray for all of our girls doing Christian Studies, that the impact of Jesus on the world and our lives would be made clear through our teaching.

We asked our students if they would like to say something about what Christian Studies has been like this year, this is some of what they had to say:

My year so far in Christian Studies...

"From the first class I had with my Christian Studies class, I knew that we would be learning a lot this year. Not only have we learnt a lot about the subject, but we have also learnt a lot about each other. From the time we have spent together, we have shared a lot and a lot of laughs and sometimes even some tears. I like how Christian Studies lessons are an open space for us to have lots of deep discussions about life. A word I would describe for Christian studies with Mr Janzen is LOVE, because he loves our class and teaching us about Christian Studies. A quote I would describe Mr Janzen as is 'love is not a feeling , it's an action'. This quote is about love and how we can spread kindness to each other. Christian Studies is one of my favourite subjects because I enjoy how it is a good change of pace compared to my other subjects. I am grateful for Christian Studies lessons because they have increased my faith in God and made me think deeper about God’s story and the Bible.” Holly

“Christian Studies is a subject where you can really feel comfortable. It is a great subject and you can ask any question without feeling embarrassed. You get to learn so much about the bible and the people who are in the bible. If you get confused about anything you can just ask the teacher and they will help you understand as much as you can. Christian studies is a different subject then any of the others. It is a subject where you have to look at things from a different perspective and can be hard to understand with our logical brains.  

Christian Studies is also a subject where you can be as humorous as you want. In our Christian Studies class, there has never been a period where we do not make each other laugh. The Bible is not all about rules and hero’s and Christianity is not this strict religion with only rules. God loves happiness and laughing is a great example of happiness. 

In Christian studies, we are learning about Genesis and the story of Adam and Eve and how they disobeyed God in the garden by eating the fruit that the snake told them to. This story is so important because this story tells us how sin came into the world. Christian studies is a great subject!!!” Priscilla

Last week in Chapel, the Student Leadership Team launched the new Love Your Neighbour Winter Campaign. An initiative brought up by Mrs Kay-Browning, the Tara Dads Club and the P&F Committee. This winter, we hope to extend our gratitude and appreciation for our comfort by focusing on one of the key Tara values of Service for Others.  

Over the upcoming holidays, we encourage you to look through your wardrobes for any warm winter clothes that you are willing to donate or any enclosed shoes (sneakers, runners) in good condition. These donations will go straight to Street Buffet, and Shoes for Planet Earth respectively, helping people who are less fortunate and are in need of these basic necessities. As part of this campaign; with a three pronged focus regarding clothes, shoes and foods, Tara will also be supporting two charities of Team Jesus and Vinnies; so over the holidays, we want you to think about what non-perishable food items you have in the back of the pantry or could purchase to help support this.  

This is an initiative we hope to continue in the upcoming years as we look to encourage future leadership teams to continue supporting these incredible charities! We hope you all have an amazing holiday and get a chance to recharge and rest before a busy term again next term!