However, it has frequently been observed that for girls, and especially as they navigate adolescence, managing relationships may pose a particular challenge. A change in interests and values often leads to transitions in friendships, and these may sometimes seem to end for no apparent reason. This process can at times be hurtful and girls require both skill and resilience in managing any such situation. As with any process of significant change, girls may need support and understanding as they adjust to any such changes in their “tribal” relationships.

In this context the section on Forming Positive Relationships provides some useful information and guidance:

• How do I make new friends at school? 
• How do I cope with changing friendships?
• What makes a good friend?
• How do I ask my friends if they are OK?
• How do I deal with toxic friendships?
• How do I deal with peer pressure?
• How do I deal with conflicts amongst friends?

The following advice, provided by REACHOUT.com is particularly useful in providing some tips on how girls can cope with changing friendships.

1. Give it some time

Changing or leaving school, clashes in study or work schedules or new relationships can make it much harder, or even impossible, to catch up regularly with your former bestie. Seeing less of someone you’d come to rely on to always be there for you, and you for them, can really leave you feeling not quite yourself.

You might feel confused, sad or even angry. Give yourself time and space to work through any emotions that come up. Change is a natural part of life, but that’s not to say it’s always going to be easy to accept. It’s completely possible to maintain the strong friendships you have made, but it might require some adjustments.

Allow yourself and those around you some time to get used to all the changes that are happening. Most big changes tend to get us thinking and feeling a lot. It’s totally normal, and actually very positive, to reflect on different stages of your life. You might find yourself thinking about the impact a friendship has had on you, which can raise some big questions.

• What did this friendship teach me?
• What do I look for in a friend?
• What kinds of friendships are important to me right now?

This could be a good time to focus on you and to think about what you need right now.

2. Try to see the situation from a different point of view

When someone disappears suddenly from your life, you might find yourself thinking they don’t care about you anymore or wondering if you did something wrong. If you find yourself stuck in this sort of negative thought loop, it can really help to try and see things from another perspective.

“I think it can be helpful to reflect on why they've drifted away, and to realise that it's not always our fault. … It can also be helpful to focus on existing friendships.” – Lokifish

To help get a fresh take on what’s happening, try:

• reminding yourself that a changing friendship doesn’t mean you’re a failure or a bad person – it’s a hard, but normal, part of life
• reflecting on other past friendships that changed but led to your making new friends
• reconnecting with friends you haven’t caught up with recently

3. Talk about how you’re feeling

Whenever you go through some big feels, it’s a good idea to talk with someone. Keeping it all locked inside can make you feel like you’re carrying around the weight of the world. Whether you spill it to your journal or a mate, know that getting stuff off your chest will ease that pressure.

“Something that has personally helped me is recognising that people can “outgrow” each other. I've had to end a lot of friendships with people who were just using me or couldn't be bothered staying in touch. Writing about my feelings also helps me “– Hozzles

It could be a good time to reconnect with an old friend or a different friendship circle you’re part of. Going outside your core group reduces the risk that a mutual friend might pass on your private thoughts about the change in your former friendship, which might result in some drama!

You could even open up to a trusted family member or counsellor about how you’ve been feeling.

While it’s not easy, you could consider sharing how you’ve been feeling with the friend you’re not seeing so much of anymore. Let them know how you feel about it. You might find they feel the same way and you can work out a way to stay a part of each other’s lives. 

4. Be open to meeting new people

We’ll be the first to say that this step isn’t always the easiest one. Just the thought of having to make new friends can make you want to vomit. Even though it’s hard to push past the initial awkwardness of meeting new people, it’s possible, and it’s definitely worth doing.

Life is full of opportunities to meet new people. Taking up different jobs, hobbies and study usually gives you the chance to make new friends.

It’s worth remembering that everybody feels nervous about social situations at times, but there are some practical ways you can overcome those initial awkward moments. Asking people questions, and taking an interest in them, can go a long way in turning new people into potential new friends. Some young people we spoke to shared what worked for them.

If you’re finding this hard, though, there are many different ways of connecting with others. Just know that you’re not the only one who feels this way. 

While is hard to notice that a friendship is changing, it can also be an opportunity to discover which friends you can rely on and to make new friends who better reflect who you are today.

As always at Tara, Mentors, Year Coordinators, the Facilitator of Student Wellbeing and the Director of Student Wellbeing are available to assist girls in talking about relationships and parents are encouraged to support their daughters in seeking advice as they grow through these experiences.

“I tend to believe that people appear in your life for a reason, and I always like to keep an open mind about who might reappear”– Hozzles

Source: https://au.reachout.com/articles/4-steps-for-coping-with-changing-friendships

The uncertainty of not knowing what will happen next may have an impact on many students and their families. There is a concern that mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and substance abuse, will increase, especially amongst young people. In the coming weeks, it will be vital for adult carers to reduce the stress levels at home and make life seem more manageable. 

As an adult carer, it will also be essential to look after your own wellbeing during this time. Ensure you make time to de-escalate your own nervous system and maintain your sleep routine, healthy eating habits, get some regular exercise and reach out virtually to friends and family.

In this Special Report, families are encouraged to embrace the guidance offered to help minimise the impact of this corona coaster. We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this Special Report, and as always, we welcome your feedback. 

If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Click here to access the special report 

Students can collect a participant pack from the Junior School Library.

Students are asked to seek sponsorship for the books they read during the readathon.

Sponsors are asked to make all payments online at https://readathon2020.tear.org.au/tara 

All proceeds go to the work of TEAR Australia, in particular projects that support basic education. 

Unit 1, 4 Solwood Lane, Blackburn VIC 3130 

Post: PO Box 164, Blackburn VIC 3130 

Phone: 03 9264 7000 or 1800 244 986 (Free call) 

For further information on student participation please refer to the Readathon letter here.

For information on TEAR Australia please click here.

A few children found a stack of cups and decided to challenge themselves. First they developed a hypothesis “if we push the cups, they will fall over.” Together these girls got to work stacking the cups to form a large tower.

“It’s as tall as I am” one of the girls exclaimed!

Once the tower reached their desired height the girls revisited their hypothesis.

Together they counted “1…2…3.. PUSH.” The tower came tumbling down causing a loud bang. One of the children made an extra impact by kicking the cups instead of pushing them, she discovered that kicking the cups made them go further. 

The girls are looking at extending their experience by drawing their cup tower! We welcome any suggestions on how we can further explore this exciting interest. 

Please remember Vacation Care applications go out on Monday 17 August - there will be limited numbers available. 

The sun was shining and the air was a buzz with excitement as girls in ELC, Kindy, Year 1 and Year 2 prepared for their athletics afternoon. Some girls had even spent their lunchtimes throughout the week practicing their running and jumping techniques. There was house spirit aplenty as girls cheered and encouraged their peers. The afternoon was run by Year 6 who delighted in leading the girls through a range of jumping, running and throwing activities. 

The Year 3 to 6 Athletics Carnival was another beautiful sunny day. This carnival is designed to enable all girls to participate in each event. All girls are commended on their commitment, enthusiasm and encouragement of their peers throughout the day. Some would say it was one of the most exciting days of the year! 

Congratulations to the following girls: 

Junior Runner up – Leila O

Junior Athletics Champion – Eden W

Sub Junior Runner up – Ashleigh F

Sub Junior Athletics Champion – Ruby O 

We have now combined the house points from the Year 3 to 6 Athletics Carnival and ELC to Year 2 Athletics Carnival and the House Champion for 2020 is Crawford! 

We decided that we could make self-care packs for the ladies at the women’s shelter as a way of supporting them. Many women come from crisis situations and having to uproot your entire life in such a short space of time is incredibly stressful. Not to mention having to figure out food for the week, new schools, clothes, fees and everything else that comes with moving so suddenly and it is all on top of the emotional strain of dealing with an abusive relationship. The massive amount of stress put on these women often means that self-care and looking after their own wellbeing is pushed aside to deal with the constant overload of things to look after. We decided that making these self-care packs would be a way of supporting them and encouraging them to take some time out for their own wellbeing. 

So the frantic emailing and calling began! I emailed and called around fifteen different companies, which taught me a lot about how to deal with rejection when companies said no. But Bliss Skincare, The Body Shop Chatswood and Nice Pak Products kindly donated products for our self-care kits. We would really like to thank them for their generosity towards our cause, it really helped us! 

Year 10 ourselves also contributed to this project, with $154 raised and over 100 products collected from the grade. It was a really great effort, considering that we collected all of that in just one week! 

On our Friday year meeting, we presented these kits to Tania and Jacinda from the Parramatta Women’s Shelter. Tania is the Centre Manager of the shelter and told us a lot about her experience of working with women’s shelters. Jacinda is a Child Case Worker and she shared stories about how the women cope with moving suddenly and how the children adapt to the shelters. 

This service project has been an incredible opportunity to give back to our community. We wish these ladies the best of luck as they rebuild their lives and we hope that these self-care packages help them to relax during stressful times. 

Dr Estelle Lazer, an archaeologist who is affiliated with the Classics department at the University of Sydney, spoke to Year 12 Ancient History over TEAMS about her work on a collaborative project called the Pompeii Cast Project. Year 12 were able to ask questions about her current work on the human victims of Pompeii from the 1st century A.D. They were also able to review issues of conservation and new technologies used at both Pompeii and Herculaneum. Similarly, Year 11 (accelerated)/12 Studies of Religion students have connected with Sandy Hollis over TEAMS, an expert in Jewish marriage, feminism and ethics from the Sydney Jewish Museum. Here the students were actively engaged in the learning process, rather than just passively listening to a lecture.

Year 10 and Year 11 History Debating has too moved to Microsoft TEAMS in 2020. The students have used TEAMS to plan together, connect with competition schools (Year 11 debated St John the Evangelist School in Nowra) and to discuss their feedback with adjudicators. It was a fantastic way to continue their journey and extend their learning in all things History! 

We look forward to meeting with past HSC History Extension students over TEAMS in Week 7 to assist students with their study routines for their HSC examinations. We also look forward to discussing the nature and construction of History with historian David Hunt in Week 9, as we talk about his book True Girt.

The Community Problem Solving Competition develops critical thinking skills as students recognised and proposed possible solutions to overcome obstacles to make a positive difference in our local community.

As a student driven initiative, teams were mentored by Year 11 and 12 leaders who guided their thinking process. After much consideration, two teams have been selected to enter into the next qualifying round. Thank you to Mrs Elizabeth George and Mrs Rebecca Wood for assisting in the judging of each proposal and congratulations to the following students for their excellent presentations: 

• Year 9 Team 2 (Siya P, Alisha V, Gemma Q, Ashley K, Imogen B and Keisha L) 
• Year 8 Team 2 (Hayley J, Hruthika D, Ella W, Gabrielle M, Stephanie H and Grace M) 

Aspire Canvas Page 

A quick reminder to students who “aspire” to extend their learning beyond the classroom are encouraged to use the Aspire Canvas Page to investigate the many opportunities that offered by each department in the Senior School. From competitions, podcasts and online university courses from around the world, there is always something on offer for all the curious thinkers at Tara. 

Students attended four workshops throughout the day, where they developed skills in the overarching principles of the PDHPE course; developing health literacy skills, valuing movement and reinforcing a strengths based and critical inquiry approach to improve their own and others health, safety and wellbeing.

The workshops included:

• ‘Cyberia’ a drama performance and discussion session with Brainstorm Productions;
• “For your Protection” presentation from Trent Southwell relating to personal safety,
• “Life Skills” by Paul Wade on Overcoming Challenges and
• ‘Wheelchair Sports’ presentation and practical activities. 

Two Year 9 students; Ashley and Carmen have reflected on two sessions they enjoyed on the PDHPE day;

"The most memorable session of PDHPE Day was participating in Paul Wade’s session. Paul Wade is the former Socceroo’s captain and we learned about his career and his life. During the session, he showed us all of his jerseys he had collected from his opponents, each of them having their own personal story. Along with this, Paul Wade also addressed how to manage stress and spoke about one of his own experiences – when he marked Diego Maradona in the FIFA World Cup play-off. He also shared his journey with mental health and epilepsy. It was truly amazing to see how much experience and progress he made and the knowledge he gained. I was inspired to take in his life lessons and to always have a positive and happy mindset. One thing he said that resonated with me was: 'Today is the first day of the rest of your life!'. Also, even though I do not usually play, I even enjoyed playing soccer on the oval and I also enjoyed Paul Wade’s fabulous dad jokes."  

"The most enjoyable part of PDHPE day was taking part in wheelchair basketball, which was brought to us by Wheelchair Sports NSW, which is a charitable organisation which aims to enrich the lives of people who have a disability. We started the session by learning a bit about how to use a wheelchair and what it's like to live without being able to use your legs. The instructors encouraged us to think about the difficulties of being in a wheelchair and how it is different from our daily lives. It was interesting to hear about how people go about their day and it made me appreciate everything that I have. Afterwards, we split off into teams and played a few games of wheelchair basketball. It was nerve-wracking to get in the wheelchair at first but after getting started, it was very fun! I would highly recommend wheelchair basketball and would definitely do it again. It was a fun team-bonding experience and it made me think about how others live, and how lucky I really am." 

Writing as journalists for the print magazine Junkies, students developed a double page feature article. Their target audience was young people who are socially minded and interested in seeking out effective ways to affect positive change in society. Year 8 used the guiding question - 'Which form is most effective at engendering change in the values and behaviours of its audience?'

Selected students had their articles read by Selena Buckingham, editor in chief of Junkies magazine. Below is the email correspondence from Selena.

Dear Annabelle, Dana, Caitlin, Grace and Jemma,

Clearly you have all put a lot of time and energy into the layout and content of your articles. Great insights into the benefits and disadvantages of the documentary and novel forms. I encourage you all to keep writing! 

We loved all your work so much we have made a blog post on our website, which shows our readers your wonderful work.😀 

Kind regards,

Selena Buckingham

Links Below

https://www.re-think.com.au/blog/school-project-on-climate-change

https://www.re-think.com.au/blog/fight-for-planet-a-the-show-putting-climate-change-on-mainstream-tv

*Tara 12, 13 & 14 did not have a game in Round 1. 

This weekend was a great start to the season for netball, as girls were eager to take the court and return to sport after such a long break. Despite the new no spectator rules, all of the girls played really well and should be proud of their efforts.

Tara 1 began their season the best way possible, with a win over MLC and a consistent performance throughout the match. Sarah F did a great job in defence, blocking her opposition and gathering multiple intercepts throughout the game. Chyna T also played very well in Wing Attack, feeding the ball into the shooters and making strong drives for the centre passes.

Tara 2 also won their first match of the season against Roseville. Emma H did an amazing job in defence, gathering multiple rebounds and helping her team bring the ball down the court. Emma K also played an excellent game, scoring many goals for her team and dodging away from her opposing player.

Tara 3 had a loss this weekend, but played a strong match and focused on their teamwork. Piper H did a great job in driving towards the ball and being an option for her teammates to pass to. Emma M was a strong shooter throughout the match and rebounded many balls as well. Our junior teams also had a strong start to the season and were excited for their matches.

The Junior Firsts didn’t win their game, but had a very strong second half of their match, almost catching up to their opposition. Jessica C played a phenomenal game as Goal Keeper, intercepting many passes and putting in all her efforts.

The Junior Seconds played against Roseville and although they lost, the girls all enjoyed themselves and worked together to bring the ball down the court. A special mention goes to Georgia H, who played Goal Defence and was able to gain multiple intercepts for her team. Well done! Congratulations to everyone for a great start to the season and good luck to all of the Tara teams for their upcoming matches. 

Netball - Round 2

• S03 - Tara 1 vs Loreto Normanhurst 2, Loss, 28-35
• S06 - Tara 2 vs Abbotsleigh 4, Loss, 17-34
• S08 - Tara 3 vs Queenwood 5, Win, 14-12
• S10 - Tara 4 vs Brigidine 6, Loss, 7-37
• S14 - Tara 5 vs Loreto Normanhurst 10, Loss, 6-51
• S20 - Tara 6 vs SCEGGS 10, Loss, 6-7
• J03 - Tara 7 vs Pymble 19, Loss, 10-16
• J05 - Tara 8 vs Abbotsleigh 21, Loss, 3-24
• J08 - Tara 9 vs Frensham 13, Loss, 10-25
• J12 - Tara 10 vs Brigidine 16, Loss, 8-19
• J14 - Tara 11 vs Ravenswood 17, Win, 25-4
• Y702 - Tara 12 vs St Vincent’s 18, Loss, 10-38
• Y703 - Tara 13 vs Danebank 11, Loss, 2-24
• Y707 - Tara 14 vs Ravenswood 24, Loss, 1-13

Netball - Round 3

• S03 - Tara 1 vs Danebank 1, Win, 47-30
• S06 - Tara 2 vs Pymble 5, Loss, 24-26
• S08 - Tara 3 vs Pymble 7, Loss, 12-27
• S10 - Tara 4 vs Queenwood 6, Loss, 21-35
• S14 - Tara 5 vs Pymble 11, Loss, 7-27
• S20 - Tara 6 vs PLC Sydney 10, Win, 14-11
• J03 - Tara 7 vs Meriden 10, Loss, 16-21
• J05 - Tara 8 vs PLC Sydney 13, Loss, 7-12
• J08 - Tara 9 vs Meriden 12, Win, 14-15
• J12 - Tara 10 vs St Vincent’s 16, Loss, 9-13
• J14 - Tara 11 vs Pymble 27, Loss, 12-15
• Y702 - Tara 12 vs Pymble 30, Loss, 7-30
• Y703 - Tara 13 vs Pymble 31, Loss, 3-27
• Y707 - Tara 14 vs Brigidine 23, Loss, 1-23

Week 3 had some successes. The Senior Firsts had a cracking match beating Danebank. A special mention however goes to Sam J for her constant efforts as a defender. She never gave up and continued to defend her opposing Goal Shooter, doing a phenomenal job. The Junior Firsts also played a strong match and although they lost, their teamwork was so great to watch. Well done to Marie B who played Goal Defence and did a great job in intercepting passes to give her team more opportunities to score.  The Junior Seconds played against PLC Sydney and should be proud of their consistent efforts throughout the game to work on things they had focused on during training. Victoria C should be congratulated for trying her very best throughout the whole match and leading the team well. The Year 7 Firsts team lost to Pymble, however a special congratulations to Anjali R who was an exceptional shooter for the duration of the match. Well done to all teams and good luck for the upcoming matches. 

Sophie B - Netball Captain 

Hockey - Round 1

• S05 - Tara 1 vs Meriden 1, Won 1-0
• S08 - Tara 2 vs Santa Sabina 2, Won 2-0
• J04 - Tara 3 vs Santa Sabina 4, Lost 0-1
• J07 - Tara 4 vs Loreto Normanhurst 5, Forfeit

We started off the season off with a magnificent result, with two of our four teams scoring a win. The Senior Firsts played at Tara versing Meriden. This game was tough as it was the first game back. As a team we did excellently. Erin S and Shara P took control of the ground, talking to one another and passing the ball back and forth all the way down the sideline to the goal, leading to scoring a goal. The final score was 1-0 to Tara. Junior Firsts played at Cumberland College Synthetic against Santa Sabina. This was a very tight game, resulting in a loss of 0-1. However, the girls played well as a team and showed brilliant participation throughout the game. 

Hockey - Round 2

• S05 - Tara 1 vs Frensham 4, Loss, 0-1
• S08 - Tara 2 vs PLC Sydney 3, Loss, 0-1
• J04 - Tara 3 vs Abbotsleigh 11, Draw, 2-2
• J07 - Tara 4 vs Monte 5, Loss, 0-1

All four Tara teams participated on the weekend, however, this week was hard resulting in three losses and one draw. The Senior Firsts played at Frensham. This game had excellent attacking play with a number of short corners being played out, unfortunately no goals were scored. The team worked well with great communication and positional play. Some girls were playing in different positions and did a great job being flexible. Our amazing defence players did a fantastic job to keep the score to a 0-1 loss. Junior Firsts played at Santa Sabina against Abbotsleigh. This was a very close game resulting in a draw of 2 all. The team worked well at passing the ball down the field and talking to one another. There were multiple short corners, which resulted in Alisha V scoring two goals for her team. 

Hockey - Round 3

• S05 - Tara 1 vs Queenwood 2, WET
• S08 - Tara 2 vs Pymble 4, Loss, 1-2
• J04 - Tara 3 vs Brigidine 5, WET
• J07 - Tara 4 vs Roseville 7, WET

This week three of our four teams were called off due to rain. However, Senior Seconds played at Pymble Ladies College. This game was a tough, as the wet grounds affected the play of the ball. The final score was a tight 1-2 loss, with Alexandra D scoring the goal for her team. 

Alexandria R - Hockey Captain