According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare ( www.aihw.gov.au ), Australia is ‘ one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse countries in the world …’ Our celebration of Harmony Day on Thursday was a showcase consisting of an array of foods, cultural dances, songs, traditional clothing, etc. Our staff, students and parents collaborated to produce a wonderful celebration of our diversity and harmony at Wahroonga Adventist School and reflected what we widely enjoy in Australia. May we never take this for granted given the appalling examples of disharmony that exist around the world.

Schools are often reflections of culture, so it is no surprise that ‘ a diverse school workforce is the key to a successful school’ , according to a report released by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL), the country’s federally funded body for excellence in teaching and leadership. Having worked and lived in five countries, I praise God for providing us with such rich diversity in our school staff and leadership.

Thank you for the privilege to work alongside you as parents and caregivers to equip our child/ren to continue the harmony that we enjoy in our multi-faith and multi-ethnic Australia. It has been documented that our Judeo-Christian heritage has contributed much to our relative harmony. Bible verses like ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ or to ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you (the Golden Rule), etc. endorse our working towards harmony and teaching our children to do the same.

Deuteronomy 6:4- 9 (known as the Shema) outlines God’s instructions to parents (and teachers ‘in loco parentis’), which I believe we will all benefit from heading:

‘ 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.’ What a calling is ours! May God give us adults the courage and wisdom to obey God and equip the next generation to live in harmony with God and each other.

Last Friday, our new Year 7 band visited Hurstville Adventist School for our first chapel band tour. This visit was special as two of our band members were former students there. The experience was nostalgic and fun for everyone.

Our students loved performing and connecting with their peers at Hurstville. This event highlighted the importance of our partnerships with sister schools across Sydney, spanning all seven campuses (Wahroonga, Hurstville, Castle Hill, Mountain View, Auburn, Kellyville, Macarthur) Each year, ll 5 chapel bands tour to other schools, fostering community and shared faith across our region.

We are proud of our students and grateful for the warm welcome from Hurstville Adventist School. This tour demonstrated the power of worship and collaboration in strengthening our community.

As we continue to collaborate and support one another, let us remember that we are part of a larger family. Our collective efforts in serving and uplifting each other reflect the true spirit of our faith, making a profound impact on our city and beyond.

Pr Nick Kross

Lead Chaplain

STARTING WITH ART!

Teaching is in his blood, meet our new Design and Technology teacher, Mr Chad Myers! After being an art teacher for 20 years at Central Coast Adventist School for 20 years, Mr Myers has moved to teach Mandatory Technology and Design and Technology at our school. “The students and staff are so helpful, and it’s very welcoming here” Mr Myers said when two of the Communications Team interviewed him. After excelling in Visual Arts and Design and Technology during school, he initially wanted to be an architect. “I wanted to be an architect but didn’t want to sit in front of a screen all day.” So instead, he became a teacher! “I loved art and technology during school, so after it I went and studied both and teaching” So, what was it that inspired him to become a teacher? For starters, his mum was a teacher, and his dad was in Industry. Mr Myers admits he was “average” at core subjects but was excellent at Art and Industrial Technology. He has noted that he wanted to teach Art more than Design and Technology, but he went on to teach both! Students in his class look forward to his Tech classes with some artistic flair in the air every day; the graffiti style name writing on the board is especially inspiring.

After that “illuminating” conversation, we started on a lighter topic: “What’s your favourite canteen item” where he said, “A potato scallop, with chicken salt”. Looks like the two Technology teachers will be battling it out over some scallops in the next few weeks. Sorry Mr Coyte, you’ve got some competition now. When asked what we should add to the canteen, he came up with possibly the best answer a teacher could give. “Churros.” Excellent answer My Myers, and watch out Mr Coyte, he might steal your scallops.

By Elizabeth M - 9W

Harmony day, it's a day about celebrating diversity, community and embracing one another's culture and company. As I walked around, participating in the YMCA dance line, and singing along on the Village Green (Formerly known as the Synthetic Grass) to the song “Rasputin”, I could see smiling faces and could hear laughter and singing all around me. People from a range of cultures dressed up for the occasion. I saw Indian, British, Chinese, Cook Islanders, South Africans, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Italians and many more cultures dressed up, interacting as a single harmonious and multicultural community, actively representing the very spirit of harmony day. People of different cultures were eating Mr Tait’s Yorkshire pudding, which ironically while being British myself, was the first time I had tried it.

“One of the best days in the term”- Edward S.

Some highlights from the Harmony Day celebrations that I took away were the cultural dances, particularly the long-anticipated Cook Islander and Māori dances featuring our very own Mr Ah-you. The “Home Among the Gum Trees” was also one of my favourite performances sung by Miss Sutton, with all the funny actions such as sticking a piece of bread in a vegemite jar or fumbling a hot oven tray. The place felt almost alive, at least as lively as a school day gets anyway. The celebrations felt inclusive, welcoming and it was fun to sing and dance with friends to some songs, dance a little or even just hang around and try a little bite of another, newer food to your own.

“Harmony day was a day of celebration of culture and loads of fun”- Elizabeth M

I had a great time today experiencing and learning about cultures that normally I simply wouldn't get the chance to on a normal school day. For the single gold coin donation, I’d say that it was well worth it. “Loved the inclusiveness of the school community and a wonderful experience for students to express who they are”- Mr Tait

By Oliver L 9W

Join Us for our Term 1 Working Bee!

We’re calling on our wonderful school community to lend a hand at our Working Bee on Sunday, 30 March 2025, from 9:00am to 12:00 noon. This is a great opportunity to connect with other families while helping to maintain and improve our school grounds.

To assist with planning, please register your attendance by completing this form:

https://forms.gle/ZG456FPoJmuui34JA

Exciting News – The Chickens Are Returning! 🐔

Our beloved school chickens will be coming back to a brand-new chicken run! This upgraded space will provide them with a safe and comfortable home, and we can’t wait for students to be involved in their care again.

In even more exciting news, preparations have begun for our 2025 Royal Easter Show entry! Our students will be showcasing their chickens and fresh produce—stay tuned for updates.

Get Involved – Join the Garden Committee!

The Garden Committee, a part of our Home and School Committee, plays a vital role in maintaining and growing our school’s sustainability projects. We deeply appreciate the ongoing support from the Home and School Committee and invite parents and carers to get involved. If you have a passion for gardening, sustainability, or hands-on learning, we’d love to hear from you! Contact [email protected]

We look forward to seeing you at the Working Bee and hope you can support our growing sustainability projects!

Brad Crossman (parent helper) and WAS Garden and Sustainability Committee.

What a fantastic Harmony Day celebration we had this year! It was truly heartwarming to see our school community come together in such a vibrant display of unity and diversity. The sight of students and staff dressed in their beautiful cultural attire or the colour orange was a wonderful reminder of the rich cultures that make up our school.

Our Primary Harmony Day concert was a resounding success, filled with delightful performances of class songs, drama items, dances, and more. The talent and enthusiasm of our students shone brightly on stage, making it a memorable event for everyone. Congratulations to the Primary SRC students for doing a wonderful job hosting our concert!

The food stalls were another highlight of the day, offering a delicious array of items donated from different countries around the world. It was a great opportunity to taste and appreciate the diverse flavours of our community.

Following the food stalls, the secondary students gathered for a collective impromptu dance party on the Village Green to hits of past and present from around the globe. To see students from different stages coming together as a collective is always a special moment, and to see the joy that world music brings shine through all ages encapsulated the message of Harmony Day.

Our Secondary Harmony Day concert followed suit of the Primary, with an array of performance from our students (as well as some enthusiastic teachers). Through musical performances, cultural dances, informative presentations and competitive quizzes, they students embraced the opportunity to celebrate their differing cultures in a supportive, welcoming environment. Another resounding success that was enjoyed by all in attendance.

A special thank you goes out to our parent volunteers who generously donated food items and volunteered on the day. Your support and contributions are greatly appreciated and played a significant role in the success of our Harmony Day celebrations.

Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make this day a true celebration of harmony and diversity.

Georgia Ah-You & Matthew Tait
SRC Coordinators

Did you know that our school has an official Instagram account? We are excited to share this platform with our entire school community! Our Instagram account is a wonderful way to stay connected, celebrate our achievements, and showcase the vibrant activities happening within our school.

As part of our commitment to engaging our community, I am aiming to offer different styles of content across our social platforms. From behind-the-scenes glimpses of daily school life to student spotlights and event highlights, we want to ensure that there is something for everyone to enjoy.

By following us on Instagram, you can keep up with important announcements, view highlights from school events, and see the incredible work our students and staff are doing. We believe that your support is vital in fostering a strong sense of community, and we encourage everyone to engage with our posts, share your thoughts, and spread the word.

Let’s come together to create a positive online presence that reflects the spirit of our school. Follow us at Waroongaadventistschool and be part of our growing community. Your participation will help us feel the support of our school family, and together, we can make our Instagram account a vibrant hub of school pride, so visit our page! Follow us, like, comment and share!

Thank you for your continued support.

Tania Gonzalez

Marketing Coordinator

This year we launched a new initiative in the Primary School – Peer Support. Our Year 6 students have been trained as Peer Leaders and will lead small groups of younger students from Years 3-5 in fortnightly structured sessions.

The program explores four key concepts:

resilience, sense of self, connectedness, and sense of possibility.

Peer Support equips students with the skills and tools to build strong relationships and positively navigate life. Students learn the social and emotional literacy skills to better manage life’s ups and downs.

Our ‘Book Fair Blizzard’ Book Fair is currently in full swing in the library running until Monday, March 24 (8am – 4pm). A giant range of children’s books, novelty items and posters from the Scholastic Book Company are available for purchase. Choose books for your personal use, for gifts, or select books from your child’s class wish list and donate them to their classroom. Come and visit our Book Fair Blizzard ! – it’s cool!!

There will be no book exchange in the Library during the Book Fair so please keep your library books at home and return them once the Book Fair is finished.

The Premier’s Reading Challenge website is now up and running and we have made an outstanding start with 38 students already finished. The Premier’s Reading Challenge is achievable for all students, so please encourage your children to give it a go! Congratulations to Olivia K (KC), Yuvraaj S (KD), Elijah K (1B), Jaden K (2C), James B (4W), Hugo B (5C), Harvey B (5C), Aarav S (5C), Lambert T (5C), Ariya B (6Q) and Sunny K (9A) who have all completed the Premier’s Reading Challenge.  Keep up the great reading!

If you need your child’s username and password, please contact Mrs Savage at [email protected]

This week (Week 8) is the last week of borrowing for the term for our Prep students due to our Book Fair being in operation during their library class in Week 9. Please make sure all books are returned before the end of term so the Prep boxes can be changed over during the term break. Borrowing for all other classes will continue over the holidays.

Please email Mrs Savage if you would like your child to collect extra books for holiday reading (maximum of 10 books per student).

Monday CLOSED

Tuesday CLOSED

Wednesday 8:20 - 9:30 AM

Thursday 2.30 - 3:30 PM

Friday CLOSED

Please order through Flexischools for any orders where you know your sizing and what you may need. Flexischool orders will be collected from the office for High School and dropped to classes for Primary school on Thursdays and Fridays.

“Home and School are really excited to work with the Chaplains for the upcoming Easter Chapel on Friday the 11th April, starting at 8.45am at Wahroonga Adventist Church. We would love to see Grandparents, parents and carers come and participate in the school Chapel to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

You are invited to stay after the Chapel Service to share an Easter hot cross bun, have a cuppa and just be present in the school space with your children.

Remember to enter your Easter Colouring Competition artwork from Prep to Year 12 by Wednesday the 9th April so we can place them around the school for judging. Winners will be awarded gift cards during Easter Chapel! See the attached PDF to download Easter Colouring pictures.

We need a few extra helping hands with the event from 8am to 8:45am and with clean up from 10:00 to 10:30am. Sign up at https://volunteersignup.org/WTBTQ

Kuringai Youth Orchestra will be performing their ‘Fate and Fantasies’ concert on Sunday 30 March at the Peter Duly Concert Hall, Abbotsleigh, featuring Verdi’s Force of Destiny Overture, Koehne’s Forty Reasons to be Cheerful, Berlioz’s March to the Scaffold, Saint-Saens’ Marche Heroique and Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain.   The concert, starting at 3pm, will be approximately an hour long, followed by afternoon tea.

Adults $25, Concessions/students $15 and Children under 12 $5.   20% discount available in you book online at www.kyo.org.au .

Thank you for your support for KYO!