The new H Building
I am pleased to announce that a new H Building is to be constructed on the site of the current H Block. The old building will be demolished at the end of this year, and the new two-storey building erected during 2025. When completed, the lower storey will house our Year 6 classes, a Junior School library and the Junior School STEM Lab; the upstairs classrooms and Lecture Theatre will be the domain of the Senior School’s English Department.
This is an exciting development for the School, and I am confident that this building will have a positive impact on our students’ learning.
On 20 September 2024, TIGS Foundation will launch its capital appeal for the new H Building. This evening will be an opportunity to hear more about the building plans and fundraising efforts. View more information about the event and RSVP here.
Here is an initial image of what the new H Building will look like:
Languages from Pre-Prep to Year 12
At The Illawarra Grammar School, the teaching of foreign languages is highly valued. Not only does this study provide valuable cognitive stimulation, the teaching of languages is a notable feature of a traditional “grammar” education. Furthermore, the ability to travel easily around the world with language proficiency is a wonderful skill for our graduates, many of whom will live and work overseas.
Some changes are being made to our languages program to enable our students to:
- study the most widely-spoken global languages of Mandarin and Spanish (and English, of course)
- select the language that is currently proving to be a popular language of choice in NSW schools (Japanese)
- transition sequentially, and beneficially, at Illawarra Grammar from Year 6 to Year 7 in the study of languages.
As many parents will already know, the Junior School at Illawarra Grammar offers Japanese to our students from Kindergarten to Year 6 with French being offered to our students in The Piper Centre. From 2025, Japanese will be offered from Pre-Prep until Year 6.
From 2025, students in Year 5 will have the opportunity to switch their language study from Japanese to Chinese (Mandarin) if they wish.
In the Senior School, students in Year 7 choose one of the following three languages: French, Chinese (Mandarin) and Japanese. From Year 8, students can continue the study of their chosen language until Year 12 if they so wish.
From 2025, the language classes in Year 7 will be streamed. This means that students who have already acquired enough proficiency in one of the three languages prior to Year 7 will not be in the “Beginners class” but will be in a more Advanced class for that language in Year 7. The teacher of the Advanced class will tailor the teaching programs to build upon the fluency of the Year 7 students in that class.
The Languages Department at Illawarra Grammar School is keen to provide opportunities for the further development of interested students in their chosen language. Proficiency testing will be available for students in Years 8 to Year 10 to undertake the appropriate level for the DELF (French), HSK (Chinese) and JLPT (Japanese). These certifications will support and extend students’ language learning, as well as providing a powerful credential for students to take with them to study language at universities in Australia and overseas where the target language is spoken.
And, excitedly, in 2026 we will be introducing Spanish Beginners as one of the subjects for Year 11 and Year 12. This course is ideally suited to students who enjoy European languages and South American culture.
Junior School News
Head of Junior School
Thank you for your active participation in our recent student-led conferences. It was wonderful to see so many of you engaging with your children’s learning journeys and celebrating their progress.
As we reflect on these conferences, I want to emphasise the importance of our partnership in achieving your children’s learning goals. Growth and achievement are most likely when it’s a collaborative effort between School and home. Your involvement and support play a crucial role in helping your child succeed, not just academically, but also in developing confidence, responsibility and a love for learning.
Thank you for your support in establishing homework routines that ensure that your child completes their weekly tasks. We are noticing an increased shift in students’ capacity to be responsible, independent in their organisation and proactive in requesting clarification and support from their teachers. For our younger learners, we encourage you to make contact with your child’s classroom teacher, through the school diary, if you have any questions.
We are proud of our students’ continued growth and development. Thank you for being such an integral part of our school community and for your ongoing dedication to your child’s education.
Mrs Naomi Sheriden – Director of TIGS Prep
We are thrilled to have commenced our school readiness program to prepare our students for Kindergarten. Literacy and phonics are fundamental skills that lay the groundwork for a child’s educational journey. Between the ages of 3 and 5 years, children are at a critical stage in developing these skills. Their brains are incredibly receptive to language, and they begin to make connections between sounds, letters and words.
Phonics is a method of teaching reading by helping children understand the relationship between letters and sounds. For children aged 3-5, phonics education typically starts with learning the alphabet and the sounds associated with each letter. This is often done through playful activities such as singing the alphabet song, playing with letter blocks, or engaging in interactive apps and games that focus on letter recognition.
We are excited to have Mrs Cook from Kindergarten join us in Elanora and Marana on Friday mornings to support our children in their literacy and phonics development and strengthen our transition-to-school program, building stronger pathways into Kindergarten. Last Friday, Mrs Cook engaged the children in a small group focusing on syllables. The children in Marana and Elanora listened to the beat of their name and repeated the beat through tapping. The children also danced to music to learn more about syllables in a variety of words by clapping, jumping and stomping out the syllables.
We look forward to supporting our Prep children and helping them develop the foundational skills they need for future reading and writing success. Through play, repetition, and exposure to language, our Prep children can begin to embark on a lifelong love of reading and learning.
Parent-Teacher conversations are set to take place this term, and these will be important opportunities to learn more about how you can best prepare your child for their transition to Kindergarten.
On Thursday, inspired by our Australian Olympians, students from Kindergarten to Year 2 took to the Junior School track to compete in the K-2 Athletics Carnival. Students joined together into their school houses, some for the very first time. The posters, cheering and house spirit were phenomenal!
Students rotated through sprints, egg and spoon races, sack races, ball games and throwing events. Finally all students came together in huge house relays where every student ran their fastest for their house.
Thank you to all the supporters for cheering our youngest athletes on and to our staff and Year 6 leaders for running the day so successfully. A special thank you to Mr Jorgensen-Hull, Stage One Coordinator, Mrs Kylie Cook, and our Kindergarten to Year 2 teachers for their careful organisation to ensure a successful day.
The Illawarra Grammar School performed well at the recent CASA Athletics Carnival, finishing in a commendable second place overall.
The day was filled with excitement and remarkable achievements as our students showcased their athletic talents across various track and field events. All team members contributed to the result, showing great teamwork, sportsmanship, and determination throughout the event. Their hard work and dedication were evident, and they should all be proud of their achievements.
Standout performances were achieved by Ava Leung, Hudson Rayner, Oscar Sheppard, and Nissi Adu-Amponsah. Ava sprinted into the record books with a blistering time of 28.98 seconds in the 200m. Hudson soared to new heights in the Junior High Jump, setting a new record of 1.34m. Oscar showcased his exceptional endurance, placing first in the Junior 1500m in a record time of 5 minutes and 22 seconds. Nissi demonstrated her all-around ability and was named the 10-year-old Age Champion, with strong victories in the 100m, 200m, Discus, and Shot Put events.
Congratulations to all the students who represented The Illawarra Grammar School with distinction. TIGS will send a team of over 20 athletes to the CIS Primary Athletics Championships which will be held at Homebush on Friday 6 September.
A special congratulations goes to the following Age Champions:
- 1st Jnr Girls – Nissi Adu-Amponsah
- =2nd Jnr Boys – Ethan Bottele
- =2nd 12yr Boys – Jasper Horky
- 3rd 11yr Boys – Thomas Silins
We are excited to begin celebrating Book Week on Monday when the multi-award-winning author Nat Amoore will inspire Junior School students in a series of entertaining author talks. During the week, our classroom door displays based on the Book Week books will creatively take shape. Students will also enjoy daily lunchtime Book Week activities in the library including live music and singing by Junior School students, a scavenger hunt, art activities, and more.
Friday is our Dress-Up Day and is inspired by the “Reading is Magic” theme or a love of reading theme. Please remember students are to wear covered footwear and have appropriate accessories.
The P&F warmly welcome Junior School fathers or father-figures to join us for the Father’s Day Breakfast.
Friday 30 August
7.00am – 8.00am
Rees Hall (Junior School)
Please note there will be no onsite parking for this event. You will need to park in surrounding streets and walk down through the Senior School.
RSVP by Friday 23 August here.
Father’s Day Stall:
On Thursday 29 August, Junior School students will have the opportunity to shop for a Father’s Day gift.
Each present will cost $15 with part of this going toward P&F School fundraising.
Please remember this is a voluntary event and not compulsory for students to participate.
All purchases must be made ahead of time here and students will select gifts on the day.
Senior School News
Head of Senior School
In last week’s Senior School Assembly, six Year 11 students shared their experiences from a recent visit to the Nganambala community in the Northern Territory. During the holiday, Mrs Neal, Ms Lokys and 26 senior students flew to Darwin where they took a crocodile cruise on the Adelaide River before taking “one of the bumpiest drives of our lives” en route to their final destination. During the course of their stay with the people of the Nganambala community, students were shown how bush honey is collected from inside trees, taken to see historic cave paintings that powerfully bore witness to the community’s connection to land and enjoyed the opportunity to sleep out underneath skies alive with shooting stars.
Illawarra Grammar has a long and highly valued connection to this community and I would like to extend our ongoing gratitude to the Nganambala community for, once again, making us so welcome and for sharing their culture and history with our students.
The Works is a special event on the Illawarra Grammar calendar in which completed Year 12 HSC Major Works are displayed or performed prior to being submitted for external assessment.
The Works 2024 is scheduled to take place on Thursday 22 August, from 4.00pm until 7.00pm and is open, as it is each year, to students, family members and members of the wider TIGS community.
This year, the event will be taking place in both the IGC (where there will be a gallery display of Visual Arts, Industrial Technology Timber and Design and Technology pieces) and the Recital Room (where English Extension 2 and Society and Culture works will be presented prior to a Music Concert showcasing our HSC Music students’ talents).
Every year, a number of Illawarra Grammar students participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Through completing activities linked to volunteering, skill development, physical activities and expeditions, students can achieve Bronze, Silver and Gold awards.
Last weekend, Mr Edgerton led a Silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition that involved camping and kayaking in the Kangaroo Valley. During the October holiday, there will be an opportunity for Year 10s who had previously missed out to join the Year 9s for a two-day bronze hike in Heathcote National Park. At the end of Term IV, an intrepid group of Year 12 students will be undertaking their final expedition required to achieve their Gold award.
If you would like to learn more about the Duke of Edinburgh program at Illawarra Grammar, please contact Mr Edgerton.
“Teens who limit their use of mobile phones and social media are more likely to develop resilience and better coping mechanisms, as they learn to handle boredom and stress without turning to digital distractions”*
A reminder that students in the Senior School are welcome to bring a mobile phone to School but it should not be on their person at any point during the school day. Mobile phones should be secured safely in a locker and can be retrieved at the end of the day, before students leave the School site. Should your son or daughter require lunch from the canteen, please ensure that they are able to pay with cash or a suitable card. Families are also free to pre-purchase canteen lunches via the Flexischools app.
*Odgers, Candice L., & Jensen, M. R. (2020). “Adolescent Mental Health in the Digital Age: Facts, Fears, and Future Directions.” Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
A group of students from our School will be participating in the 40 Hour Famine and invite you to join them. Sign up at 40hourfamine and join The Illawarra Grammar School Team Page.
The 40 Hour Famine raises money for children facing famine. An estimated 50 million people across 45 countries are on the brink of famine and more than half of them are children.
Everyday Australians participate in a challenge to go without food (or other options) for 40 hours to help raise funds for World Vision’s famine-fighting programs.
Whatever challenge you choose, you can help end the hunger crisis for vulnerable children.
On Tuesday 22 October, we will induct our new Year 11 and Year 12 school leaders into their roles and invite parents to attend this special occasion. More details will be provided closer to the date.
General School News
Mrs Tina Suka – School Psychologist
During the past few weeks, Year 10 has participated in a series of social and emotional learning sessions with the School Psychologist. These sessions took a particular focus on social connectedness. Social connectedness is the experience of feeling close and connected to others. It involves feeling loved, cared for, and valued, and forms the basis of interpersonal relationships. The connections we make through relationships, places, and social activities can build a safety net for our physical and mental health. Healthy connections with family, friends, partners and co-workers are known to lower levels of anxiety and depression and raise self-esteem.
The presentation slides are linked on the Senior School OLLE page. We encourage you to look through these with your child, watch the videos together, and have some conversations with your child about their social and emotional wellbeing. You may like to discuss how socially connected they are feeling and explore what they can do to enhance this. Some information from the slides is detailed below to assist you in your conversations with your child.
Social behaviours that increase social connectedness:
Social behaviours that decrease sense of social connectedness:
Prosocial behaviours
Prosocial behaviour is doing something to benefit, help or care for someone else because you believe that other people’s feelings and experiences are important.
For example, prosocial behaviour might be:
We hope you find this helpful as we partner together to enhance your child’s social connectedness.