2023 Term 1 Week 6 10 Mar 2023

Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,

This week our Preschool to Year 6 students took part in URSTRONG workshops to build positive friendships. Building positive friendships is something that needs to be worked on, and can often be a source of anxiety as children learn the skills they need to develop and maintain positive friendships. Tyson Greenwood from the URSTRONG team led some valuable sessions in support of positive friendships at Lindisfarne.

International Women’s Day was celebrated across our school earlier this week. Our Year 4 female students celebrated with a Mum, Aunt, Grandparent or other special friends to mark the day. Morning tea, and arts and crafts, provided a special time for connection in supporting these important relationships. 

Our Senior School students were blessed to hear from some remarkable women as part of the assembly. The panel comprised musician Ashleigh Spencer, Ironwomen and alumna Lily O’Sullivan, First Nations Cultural Coordinator Narelle Urquhart, and Student Leader Olive Theobold. The panel was led in discussion by Zia Mowbray and Naiya Boschma-Wagner as they shared their experiences and challenges around the importance of equitable access and opportunities for women. Special thanks to Year 12 student Yasmin Scott for her leadership in the organisation of the event. 

As part of our ParentEd program Dr Kaylene Henderson presented to parents on how they can support all children to tackle anxiety and build resilience. Parents heard how anxiety presents in different ways, what can trigger anxiety in childhood and practical strategies to help their child tackle anxiety and become more confident. We were fortunate to have such a highly regarded expert be able to come and present to our parents as part of the ParentEd program.

Our next ParentEd event will be held on Tuesday, 14 March at 6.30pm. Parents will be able to hear about the Friendly Schools program.  With over 20 years of extensive research in Australian schools, Friendly Schools is recognised nationally and internationally as one of the most comprehensive and thoroughly tested approaches to enhancing student wellbeing. During this presentation, parents will have the opportunity to learn how, through its focus on social-emotional learning, Friendly Schools provides a unique and effective approach to supporting students social and emotional wellbeing. Parents can register for this important ParentEd event via this link. 

Good luck to all the teams that are participating in the Parents and Friends Trivia Night this Saturday evening. This event is always well supported and is always a fun-filled night of friendship and fellowship as we support the work of our dedicated Parent and Friends volunteers.

In less than two weeks we welcome former Australian cricketer, Michael Kasprowicz to the School as our next speaker at the Lindisfarne Business Breakfast. Michael has uniquely established himself as a leading business professional specialising in the business of sport, and the parallels with the sport of business.

Michael was a professional cricketer for 19 years and then served as a director on the Board of Cricket Australia (CA) and was highly active in the governance of CA for nearly nine years. After completing an MBA at UQ he developed Venture India, a consulting company specialising in business with India. Bookings can be made via https://www.trybooking.com/CFVAO

The recent changes to the bus pick-up area have had a positive effect on the traffic flow in and out of Mahers Lane in recent weeks. Our Mahers Lane families will need to be aware that Tweed Shire Council will undertake roadworks on Terranora Road. These works will be completed between Sunday, 12 March and Wednesday, 22 March. Whilst the roadworks are scheduled to occur at night, please be mindful that there may be disruptions when travelling to events outside of hours.

Charlotte Lush
Deputy Principal

We have had a big couple of weeks here at Lindisfarne including celebrating International Women’s Day with the theme “Embrace Equity”. I had the privilege of being on a discussion panel in the Senior School, whilst also speaking and facilitating an art workshop with mothers and daughters in the Junior School. Both sessions highlighted the importance of our women here at Lindisfarne and beyond, there was also a strong focus on diversity and inclusion.

Another important event was having Dr Richard Mathews come in and speak to staff about “Racism In Education”. It was an insightful session that highlighted everyone’s part in how we are the change agents for the communities in which we live, work and play. I felt that our Lindisfarne staff showed courage, wisdom and hope in what can be a difficult conversation.

We continue to share our First Nations knowledge and practices across both campuses. This is an exciting time for staff and students as we grow our relationships with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters with purpose, respect and care.

Lindisfarne recently had the pleasure of welcoming Katrina Graves onto campus to do a session with the Year 10 Food Tech students. Katrina is my youngest daughter.

Katrina is a Wiradjuri woman with ties to the Bundjalung Nation, she is an accomplished artist and successful businesswoman. Katrina came to Lindisfarne to share her knowledge on bush foods whilst giving our students a variety of foods to try, including finger limes, native jams and damper. Katrina also bought some foods from BSKT that has licensed her artwork for their Native product range. 

I have also had the pleasure of heading into some classes of the past few weeks including year 12 Ethics and Religion, Year 11 speaking on Sacred Sites. Year 5 Art Session. Year 5, My Story through Poetry. Also, year 3 History, and Story-Telling.

In unity.

Narelle Urquhart
First Nations Cultural Engagement Coordinator

Dear Students, Staff, Parents and Guardians,

Happy International Women’s Day 2023

These words of Elizabeth Johnson came to mind as we celebrated in our two campuses this week for International Women’s Day 2023:

"Because God is the creator, redeemer, lover of the world, God's own honour is at stake in human happiness. Wherever human beings are violated, diminished, or have their life drained away, God's glory is dimmed and dishonoured. Wherever human beings are quickened to fuller and richer life, God's glory is enhanced." (Elizabeth A Johnson, She Who is)

I join my voice in wishing all the inspiring, tender-hearted, kind, smart and strong women of our School community a very happy, joyful and wonderful celebration. May we all keep walking the journey of gender equity and justice in the spirit of courage, compassion and kindness.

Bibles for Kindergarten Students

Every year our School gives Bibles to our Kindergarten students, asking that God’s word be ‘a lamp for their feet and a light for their path’ (Psalm 119:105) as they journey through Lindisfarne education. It was a great joy to join Mr Marquardt and the Junior School Staff to give these Bibles last Monday to the 2023 Kindergarten students.

HOPE House

You might remember that last year a group of Year 10 students initiated a vision of HOPE House to help address one of the root causes of homelessness -mental illness. The HOPE House steering committee is looking for new members to work with the students this year to find partnerships, and broad community and government support to bring this vision to reality. If you’d like to read about HOPE house please click here and contact The Reverend Constantine Osuchukwu or Principal Stuart Marquardt for more information. We specifically need people with experience in the following areas:  property development, ideally affordable housing; legal / finance expertise in Not-For-Profit (NFP) organisations and Not-for-profit (NFP) governance. 

Love All God’s Creation

Our Bush Regeneration Year 8 students reflected on this quote by Fyodor Dostoevsky as we continued our work this week of removing the weeds in our beautiful rainforest:

“Love all God’s creation, both the whole and every grain of sand. Love every leaf, every ray of light. Love the animals, love the plants, love each separate thing. If you love each thing you will perceive the mystery of God in all; and when once you perceive this, you will then grow every day to a fuller understanding of it: until you come at last to love the whole world with a love that will then be all-embracing and universal.”

I wish you a refreshing and relaxing weekend full of love, peace, joy and happiness.

The Reverend Constantine Osuchukwu
Chaplain

URSTRONG - Day of Friendship

What an amazing day our Preschool to Year 6 children had on Monday taking part in the URSTRONG workshops. 

Friendships can be a source of great angst and anxiety throughout the school years.  Lindisfarne are proud to have partnered with the URSTRONG team to provide some amazing tools for our children to negotiate these challenges.  We were pleased to have Tyson Greenwood from the URSTRONG team lead us through some fun interactive workshops to build our Friendship skills.

Years 1 and 2 Fuzzies and Friends:  Through fun role-play with their teddy bears, our Year 1 and 2 children learned The 4 Friendship Facts, qualities of a Green-Zone Friendship, and how to use the Friend-o-Meter to reflect on how they are feeling in their friendships. They also learned how to put out Friendship Fires by Talking-it-Out. Our Year 1 classes then had a chance to practise their new skills with a Teddy Bears picnic in the paperbark forest. 

Years 3 and 4 Heart of Friendship:  Years 3 and 4 also used their teddy bears to explore The 4 Friendship Facts and learned the WWW strategy to get strategic in your friendships. Using the Friend-o-Meter, they reflected on healthy (Green-Zone) and unhealthy (Red-Zone) friendships. Learning the difference between Friendship Fires and Mean-on-Purpose moments, they practised putting out Friendship Fires by working their way around the Friend-o-Cycle, and when and how to use a Quick Comeback.

Years 5 and 6 Friendship Fires:  In this workshop, students learned what to expect in their friendships through The 4 Friendship Facts, applying these ‘truths’ in friendship to their real-life. They also learned what trust and respect look like in-action and what happens when mistrust and disrespect seep into a friendship. Using the Friend-o-Meter, students reflected on the health of their friendships and Friendship Groups. They learned how to manage conflict (in-person and online), exploring the different approaches for responding to Friendship Fires® versus Mean-on-Purpose behaviour.

Preschool and Kindy: Our Preschool and Kindy children also had some special Friendship time. Using their cuddly friends, classroom teachers and teacher aides guided them through some fun activities to reinforce the Language of Friendship. A great start to their friendship journeys.

Now it’s your turn to join the URSTRONG team

Lindisfarne and URSTRONG are pleased to present a free online Parent-Child workshop.  On Monday, 20 March sit yourself down with your child and learn the concepts that they were taught at the URSTRONG School workshops.  Be part of their team, be able to reinforce the “language of friendship” at home and support them to put out their “Friendship Fires”.

We are proud to be a URSTRONG School and are committed to empowering your children with friendship skills.  You are invited to take advantage of a FREE Parent Membership to access hundreds of resources. This will allow you to learn the same language & strategies taught in the workshops. We believe that empowering our students with these skills will create a culture of kindness at our school and we hope that, together, we can support your children to have healthy, feel-good friendships.

Expand the article below to see some of the photos of our students learning these important lessons.

Julie, Emmalene, Susi and Sarah
Lindisfarne Wellbeing Team

Introduction to the Friendly Schools Program

Tuesday, 14 March at 6:30pm in the Mahers Lane Lecture Theatre

At Lindisfarne we are committed to building an environment that fosters the wellbeing of our students, staff, and school community.

In working towards achieving this shared goal, we would like to invite you to join us in learning more about Friendly Schools, the student wellbeing initiative is being rolled out at Lindisfarne this year.

With over 20 years of extensive research in Australian schools, Friendly Schools is recognised nationally and internationally as one of the most comprehensive and thoroughly tested approaches to enhance student wellbeing.

During this presentation, you will have the opportunity to learn how, through its focus on social emotional learning, Friendly Schools provides a unique and effective approach to supporting student social and emotional wellbeing that helps reduce problems with depression, loneliness, anxiety and stress as well as bullying and other socially aggressive behaviours.

Please confirm your attendance via this form.

Susi Meyers
School Psychologist

The Lindisfarne Business Network is proud to welcome Michael Kasprowicz as the next Business Breakfast speaker.

To book your ticket or a table click on this link.

Wednesday, 22 March in Ngahriyah, Mahers Lane campus.

Michael has uniquely established himself as a leading business professional specialising in the business of sport and the parallels with the sport of business.

For more than 30 years, Michael has been involved at the highest levels of the national sport of cricket. Firstly as a professional cricketer for 19 years and then as a director on the Board of Cricket Australia and highly active in the governance of the national body for nearly 9 years.

Following an extensive career as a professional cricketer, Michael completed his MBA at the University of Queensland and developed Venture India, a consulting company specialising in business with India. Through this time, Michael spent 5 years on the DFAT appointed Board of the Australia India Council.

In 2016, Michael served as the interim Chief Executive Officer of Queensland Cricket before returning to the Cricket Australia Board. Michael has also successfully completed a residential Australian Institute of Company Directors course and recently worked with a number of well-known advisory firms in developing their sports advisory practices. 

Michael combines his experiences as an athlete, director and administrator of one of Australia’s largest sports to bring a truly unique perspective to the challenges of both sporting and non-sporting organisations.

Just a reminder that NAPLAN commences next week.

All students in Years 7 and 9 need to ensure that they have updated their devices and that they are fully charged before each session. They also need to remember to bring their headphones. The Testing Schedule for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 can be found here for your reference.

Caroline Jeffries
Dean of Studies

The Regional Final of the Lions Youth of the Year was hosted by the Ballina Lions Club on Saturday 4 March. It was pleasing that of the eight regional representatives, three were from Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School. Other students participating in the competition were from Alstonville, Casino, Kyogle, Ballina and Banora Point. Our representatives were Trishul Sivabalan (Year 12), Mia Harris (Year 11) and Mia Wilkinson (Year 11).

Each student had to impress a group of judges at a panel interview and then complete the public speaking component of the competition. The impromptu topics were: 

• Should more effort be put into providing affordable housing in our region?
• What do you think are Australia’s greatest strengths and weaknesses? 

These topics might seem easy. However, when you are standing in front of an auditorium and the questions are read to you twice and then you are supposed to speak on each for two minutes, with no prior preparation, it can be a little daunting. 

Our students spoke fluently and with authority. They were immaculately groomed and represented the School with confidence.

After this segment, they presented a five-minute prepared speech. Mia Wilkinson spoke about perseverance, Mia Harris focused on reimagining education whilst Trishul discussed the future of conversation.

Trishul Sivabalan, Mia Harris and Mia Wilkinson

The adjudicators commented on the calibre of every student and their prowess in the panel interview and also the public speaking section of the competition. Lindisfarne is very proud that Mia Harris was selected as the Public Speaking Winner as well as the Overall Winner of the Regional Final.  

Suellen Walker, Mia Harris and Kylie Wharton

Mia Harris will now proceed to the District Final of the Lions Youth of the Year Competition which will be held in Brisbane on Saturday, 18 March 2023. 

Our appreciation is extended to Mrs Suellen Walker who worked tirelessly with our students to prepare them for this excellent opportunity. 

Kylie Wharton
Director of English

Dates for Term 1

Please find below Term 1 - Junior School key dates to add to your calendar.: 

• Friday 24 March (week 8) - FUN Cross Country Carnival
• Tuesday 4th April - Yr 3/4 Rugby Gala Day 
• Thursday 6th April - Year 3-12 Cross Country 

FUN Cross Country

The FUN Cross Country for PreSchool, Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 will be held on FRIDAY, 24 March on Arkinstall Park next to the Junior School Campus Sunshine Avenue. The day will be about 'Fun and Participation' and all races will be in year levels. 

All students in Preschool, Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 2 will be participating on the day. 

For Preschool families: If your child does not attend Preschool on this day you are most welcome to come along with them so they can join in the fun. A parent or caregiver must stay with the child.

Parents and carers are more than welcome to come and watch on the day. Parents wishing to attend are asked to park in the Arkinstall Park car park.

An outline of the events are as follows:

• 1.15pm Official Opening Jeremy Godden
• 1.20pm: Preschool – (200m)
• 1.35pm: Year 2 Boys (1km)
• 1.50pm: Year 2 Girls (1km)
• 2.05pm:Year 1 Boys (1km)
• 2.20pm:Year 1 Girls (1km)
• 2.30pm:Kindergarten Boys (500m)
• 2.40pm:Kindergarten Girls (500m)
• 2.50pm: Close and Home (parents are free to take students home)

Total Football Academy - After School Program 

The Total Football Academy after school program is well underway and will continue until Week 10 Monday, 3 April. 

Mr Croft will meet all participants on the Basketball Court after school to mark the roll. Students will have the opportunity to eat a snack and change into some training gear if they would like before the session starts.

Runners Club

So far we have had over 40 students and carers join us in the morning to get active and clock up some KM’s. The runners are going great guns amassing a collective total of over 300 kilometres.     

Runners Club days will be Monday and Wednesday mornings for students in Years 1 to 4. The training sessions will begin at 7.30am sharp and will conclude by 8.15am. Runners should meet Mr Croft at the Arkinstall Park back gate by 7.25am. 

Students will be required to bring along their school uniform to change into after the completion of the session. Students will be given time to change and have something to eat before the first bell at 8.45am. 

We would love to see more parents and carers come along and join in the fun, 'win the morning, win the day' with a little exercise and spending time with your kids. 

Nathan Croft
P-4 PE Specialist

Tracy Foyster
Sustainability

ParentEd - Introduction to the Friendly Schools Program

A reminder for Tuesday, 14 March, Mrs Susi Myers, School Psychologist will be running a very important session titled, Introduction to the Friendly Schools Program. This will be a face-to-face session, held in the Chapel at Mahers Lane from 6:30pm (NSW time).

Introduction to the Friendly Schools Program is an evidence-based, whole school approach to social and emotional wellbeing and bullying prevention. Friendly Schools help build critical social and emotional skills, create positive, safe and supportive learning environments and significantly reduce bullying in primary and secondary schools.

ParentEd - UR STRONG Language of Friendship Parent-Child Workshop 

This online session will take place from 6:00pm - 7:00pm on Monday 20 March.

School Psychologist, Mrs Jule Henry, will guide participants through interactive parent-child activities. Parents will learn language and strategies to support their child to create healthy, feel-good friendships. This session will review concepts taught at the UR STRONG school workshops that ran in school on March 6. This workshop reinforced a common “language of friendship”.

NAPLAN

From Wednesday 15 March, Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will begin NAPLAN testing. The NAPLAN testing window will be open from March 13 - March 24. Please read carefully the following dates:

• Wednesday 15 March - Writing - Years 5 and 7
• Thursday 16 March - Reading - Years 5 and 7
• Friday 17 March - Conventions of Language - Years 5; Reading - Year 7
• Monday 20 March - Numeracy - Years 5; Conventions of Language - Year 7
• Tuesday 21 March - Numeracy - Year 7
• Wednesday 22 March - Years 5 and 7 - Catch Up
• Thursday 23 March - Years 5 and 7 - Catch Up
• Friday 24 March - Years 5 and 7 - Catch Up 

Backflips Against Bullying

On Friday, 17 March, there will be an incursion for Middle School students in Year 7 and 8. The program is called Backflips Against Bullying. This is an evidence-based and educative, high-energy, acrobatic performance with a very important message about anti-bullying.

The Backflips Against Bullying programs feature 3 entertainers, who use their incredible acrobatic skills to captivate and engage students, earning their respect, their attention, and using that to make a difference within primary and high schools. Parkour and Acrobatics is one of the fastest-growing trends today, so they engage students with Backflips, and teach them about Bullying.

Cathy Cox
Head of Middle School

International Women’s Day

On behalf of the Senior School, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Year 12 students, Naiya Boschma-Wagner, Yasmin Scott and Zia Mowbray who organised a forum for International Women's Day. Your efforts and commitment to this cause are highly appreciated. By creating a platform for open dialogue and discussion, they not only raised awareness about the challenges faced by women but also inspired others to take action. Their initiative has brought us one step closer to achieving gender equality and equity. I would also like to thank our guest panellists, Narelle Urquhart, Ashleigh Spencer, Lily O’Sullivan and Olive Theobold who each brought their own unique experiences to the discussion.

ParentEd - Dr Kaylene Henderson

As a school, we understand the best way to support student success is through effective communication and collaboration between home and school. We believe that when parents and teachers work together, all students benefit. Thursday evening’s presentation by child-psychiatrist Dr Kaylene Henderson was an invaluable piece in the School’s ParentEd Program that sought to strengthen these connections and help us work together to respond to each student’s individual and collective needs. Kaylene’s insight and experience into “Tackling Anxiety and Building Resilience” gave parents concrete examples of how to support their children. Lindisfarne looks forward to maintaining their relationship with Kaylene in the future,

Understanding Racism in Education

The Mahers Lane staff had the great privilege of hearing from Bond University’s Dr Richard Matthews on Tuesday. His workshop about racism in education provided an opportunity to gain valuable insights into the ways in which educational systems can perpetuate and exacerbate racial inequalities. The discussion highlighted the need for educators to be aware of the ways in which systemic racism can manifest in their own classrooms and institutions, and to actively work to dismantle these structures. By raising awareness of these issues and providing strategies for combating them, Dr Matthew’s workshop has the potential to help create a more equitable and just educational system that benefits all students.

The Rite Journey

Next week we look forward to undertaking the next stages of The Rite Journey Program - the Calling and Departure. Students will take part in the Calling Ceremony which will be held at Fingal Headland where they will have the opportunity to reflect on their childhood and bond with their peers. Students are encouraged to share and appreciate their childhood and are called to embrace their journey to adulthood. The next morning’s Departure Ceremony will be shared with parents and carers as we welcome the dawn. All information regarding the arrangements for The Rite Journey has been shared with parents and carers; however, more information is available from the EA to the Head of Senior School, Mrs Justine Diver via email at justine.diver@lindisfarne.nsw.edu.au

Kate Cornell
Head of Senior School

Kingscliff Triathlon

A reminder that the Kingscliff Triathlon is on Sunday, 19 March. Click below to enter the event in which you would like to compete. Please email Mrs Foyster if you have entered.

Kids Triathlon

7-9 yrs - 100m swim, 3km cycle, 0.5km run

10-12 yrs - 200m swim, 6km cycle, 1km run

Tempta Triathlon

13+: Pinky - 200m swim, 6km cycle, 1km run

Tempta - 300m swim, 10km cycle, 2.5km run

Sprint Distance

14+:750m swim, 20km cycle, 5km run Triathlon and training times are Wednesday and Friday mornings from 7.15am. Contact Mrs Foyster - tfoyster@lindisfarne.nsw.edu.au for more information.

Term 2 Integrated Sports Options

The Sports nominations for Term 2 Integrated Sport will open Tuesday, 14 March at 7.00pm. Due to some recent headwinds with the payment portal, we are trialling adding the chosen sport costs to student fees. 

The Sports Department is also going to stagger the opening times as follows:

• Year 7 to 10 Tuesday, 14 March at 7.00pm 
• Year 11 and 12 Tuesday, 14 March at 8.00pm (for those interested) 
• Years 5 and 6 Wednesday, 15 March at 7.00pm.

Please explore the sports choices for Term Two:

Years 5 and 6 

Years 7 to 10

Year 11 and 12

Please have a look at the NEW instructional video -here. Hopefully, the user experience is a nicer one with the payment section removed!

Hockey

On Friday, 3 March, two of our school's hockey teams travelled to Lismore to compete against other Northern NSW schools at the Combined High Schools Gala Day.

The senior boys' team won all three of their games with skill and finesse. Their unwavering determination and teamwork paid off and they were a force to be reckoned with. The mixed team consisted of Years 7 to 9 students who also gave a commendable performance, winning two out of their three games. Their hard work and dedication to the game were evident on the field, and they showed great sportsmanship throughout the day.  Both teams played fantastic hockey and displayed great skills, dedication and teamwork.

The 'Far North Coast All Schools Hockey Tournament' shield, will be engraved and live in the cabinet at the Far North Coast Hockey clubhouse.

The first plaque will have the following:

• Senior Boys - Lindisfarne
• Senior Girls - Trinity/CHS
• Juniors - CHS

Shinade Edwards
Hockey Coach

Cricket

The Lindisfarne Open Boys Cricket team took to the field on Monday to play the next round of the NSW Douglas Shield against Hunter Valley Grammar School.

Playing at Macksville’s Phillip Hughes Oval, Lindisfarne took to the field to give one of their finest bowling and fielding performances to date. Team bowling proved outstanding, but it was Tate Marquardt who led the charge taking an impressive 4/16 off 7.2 overs.  Tate was ably supported by the efforts of Josh Marsh (2/4 off 2), Rupert Fahy (2/14-7) Harry Kershler (2/32-10) and Kai Croft (0/13-7).

Chasing 118 for victory, wickets fell early and often in the Lindisfarne innings, with Harry Kershler and Tate Marquardt stemming the flow for 20 overs with their calm demeanours and gritty determination. The boys were also well supported by some mature batting from Eli Veldhoven.

This brings to an end this year’s Douglas Shield campaign. We would like to thank the young men from year 12  (Brodie McDowell, Tate Marquardt, Rupert Fahy, Kai Croft, Dan Lamb, Eli Veldhoven and Blake Archer) who have been an instrumental part of the squad for so many years. It has been a genuine pleasure to work with these students and watch them play cricket and represent Lindisfarne so proudly, so often. Well done gents - thanks for your contribution and for laying some very strong foundations for the future.

Touch Football

Our superstar Touch Football coach Miss Davis is competing at the Nationals this week, so she will do a write up about NCIS Touch Football in next week's newsletter run. 

Our U15 Boys and Open Girls won the tournament, and we had lots of students make representative honours. Further details  - here.

Mountain Biking

Australian Mountain Biking Interschool Championships in Thredbo 2023

Part One: Years 7 and 8 Competitors

It has been a massive first few days here at Thredbo for the Interschools Mountain Biking Championship. Fast trails and fine weather greeted the competitors for the first day of official practice on Sunday. 

Unfortunately, the weather was to play a big part in this year's championships. The Bureau of Meteorology issued a strong wind warning for the region with winds up to 125 km per hour forecasted for Thredbo Top Station. This meant a slight adjustment of events. Sabrina Harris, representing Lindisfarne in Division 3 (Years 7 and 8) girls, was our only competitor to race on Monday in the Fox Flow Motion. Sabrina raced exceptionally well and placed 38th. That was to be the end of racing for the day as strong winds put a hold on all lifts. 

Tuesday saw the Osprey Cross Country race held at Friday Flats. The strong winds were still present so with no lifts working, it was all up to pedal power. Sabrina Harris again raced hard in the Division 3 girls. We also had some great results in the Boys Division 3. Lucas Fox finished in 55th place, Oliver Amos in 63rd place, Otis Harrison in 66th place, Lachlan Goodwin in 71st place, Jackson Lord in 78th place and Finn Juric in 152nd place. This was out of 215 competitors, a great result!!

Wednesday’s weather wasn’t much better. Less wind but the temperature dropped to 2 degrees at the top of the mountain and 4 degrees down the bottom. A total of 302 riders completed The Fox Flow Motion held in the morning and again we had some great results. Oliver Amos finished in a time of 5 min 56 seconds to finish in 72nd place, Jackson Lord recorded a time of 5min 59 seconds to finish in 81st place and Arlo Boyd finished in 158th place. Finn Juric and Marcus Fox battled hard against the freezing conditions and did extremely well to finish the course.

With the changes in the schedule due to the high winds on Tuesday unfortunately we only had three students complete in the Cannonball Downhill race. This was completed in possibly the worst conditions of the day, driving rain, arctic winds and slippery surfaces. Well done to Marcus, Fin and Arlo for completing the course. I’m sure it will live long in their memory.

Overall a great few days for our Year 7 and 8 Mountain Bikers. They should all be very proud of the way they represented themselves and the school. 

Stay tuned next week for the next report that covers the Year 9 and 10 boys.

More Mountain Bike photos are in the gallery at the bottom of the report.

Spotlight on Jeff Dunne

Jeff went to Japan to compete in the World Breaking Series - Breaking For Gold.

Jeff was the youngest person attending in amongst the top boys in the world and he scored really well. To qualify through to the top 64 Jeff had to make the top 48 as 16 boys were already preselected.  After his prelims, he didn't make it but we weren't sure of his overall ranking as to where his round placed him.  The next day they put up the full rankings and Jeff was ranked at 50 just missing by two sadly.  There were 121 boys from around the world invited.  From Australia he was one of two boys invited so getting this result was awesome at being only 15 to come in at 50 was a big deal (he was competing against adults who have been competing for 15-plus years)

Jeff was of course happy and annoyed at himself that he missed qualifying by just two other guys ahead of him. At the end of the day it was a great result for Australia as we are definitely the underdog coming into these comps. By getting Jeff out there on the World Stage, he is being recognised and put Australia up there to say "watch this space".

Jeff leaves for Vietnam where he will compete in the U16 Junior 7 to smoke, the 4x4 crew battle and 2x2 battle.  We look forward to hearing how Jeff goes upon his return and will make a slot in the Senior Assembly to showcase his exceptional talent.

Damien Clucas
Head of Sport

RECENT GAMES

Somerset - U13,  U15 and 1st XV

On Monday this week, our squads travelled up to Somerset College, who are an established and very strong rugby school, to participate in our annual inter-school trial. 

1st XV 5-55

This was a very physical game for our 1st XV and despite periods of excellent play, we were handily on the wrong side of the scoreboard. One major take-away from this trial was the need to improve our set-piece defence with 5 tries being scored from this phase of play. Despite this, there were a number of promising signs for the 1st XV for this upcoming season with our U16 players all standing up and making themselves counted in the trial. Alongside this, Will Sullivan, (who scored our only try of a set piece lineout move), Mason Duke, Charlie Gately and Flynn McCullough were amongst the best from either side on the field. 

U15

Somerset provided a challenging fixture for the team who are continuing to develop as a team as we work towards the big fixtures of the Ballymore Cup and Term 2 Len Diett Cup. The final score was a 15-20 defeat with Somerset scoring two tries in the last 3 minutes to steal the win. Whilst the defeat was slightly disappointing, the style and patterns of play we are aiming to hone began to show some promise which bodes well for the coming season. 

U13

Another game against Somerset in our final trial match on Monday and once again the boys continued to improve with more experience winning 50-15 and scoring some beautifully worked team tries. The forwards really stood up with some rigid defence and strong ball carries allowing the backs to get on the front foot and weave their magic.

KEY DATES

Please see upcoming key dates for our boys’ and girls’ program below. You can find the full list of key dates HERE.

Boys 

Girls

UPCOMING FIXTURES

Gold Coast Super Schools Cup v Pimpama SHS - U15

The Gold Coast Super Schools Cup continues for our U15 boys with a game v Pimpama SHS at Nerang Bulls Rugby Club at 1700 NSW time on Wednesday.

Collingwood College (Canada) 

We will be hosting Collingwood College, who have travelled from Canada with their 1st XV and U16 squads, on Thursday next week.  Kick-off time will be 1300 and there will be 4x20 min played.  Despite this being mainly a 1st XV fixture, we will be making up an U16 team to play in at least one quarter of this game. Parents and students are more than welcome to attend if they have the time and we would love to have as many supporters on the hill as possible.

OTHER ITEMS

The Ballymore Cup

The Ballymore Cup is Queensland's largest schoolboy rugby competition which has been running since 2003. It is a state-wide competition for all schools that presents non-traditional rugby schools and schools from regional areas with the opportunity to compete at a higher level.  Here is a short video of the highlights from the 2021 Ballymore Cup:

All players and staff will travel together and stay as a team in accommodation at St Joseph's Nudgee College. 

Alongside playing in the Ballymore Cup, we will also be taking the students to watch the Queensland Reds vs Canterbury Crusaders Super Rugby match at Suncorp Stadium on Friday evening. 

Registration for the Ballymore Cup will cost $195 and includes:

• Tickets for the Reds v Crusaders Super Rugby game on Friday, 31 March
• Five games of rugby from the 1st - 3rd April pending draw
• Three nights’ accommodation for all players at Nudgee College
• Food for duration of tournament (i.e., all meals/snacks from breakfast on Saturday 1st April - lunch on 3rd April)
• Transport to and from the school on Friday 31st March and Monday 3rd April

For a draft itinerary of the weekend, please check HERE.  

We can only carry 25 players in each squad (23 active players for each game and 2 non-playing reserves) and we will be finalising our squads by the 21st March.  Please note we will need all players available for this Friday - Monday and if you will not be able to attend, please let us know as soon as possible.

2022 Team Photos (1st XV, U15, U13 boy and Open Girls’ 7s)

The 2022 rugby union squads’ photos should arrive by next week and fees/collection will be arranged once at the school. 

NCIS Trial

It was disappointing that the NCIS trial was cancelled due to low numbers but congratulations to the Lindisfarne students who have made the NCIS team to attend the AICES trials in Sydney in May. We will have a team list and further details in the next newsletter. 

The Armidale School Rugby Carnival 2023 - U12 boys

We have closed registrations for The Armidale School Rugby Carnival, which is the biggest primary (U12) school rugby carnival in Australia and runs from Friday 21st April - Sunday 23rd April this year. More information will be provided shortly to all players and families regarding the tournament.

Stack Team APP

The Lindisfarne Rugby Union program’s main form of communication for our Boy’s U13, U15, 1st XVs and 7’s and Girl’s 7s will be the Stack Team app with email being used as minimally as possible. The Stack Team app will host news and updates to schedules, live scores, player availability, important documents and links to our sponsors. 

Note, both parents and Boy’s U13, U15, 1st XVs and 7’s and Girl’s 7s students who have parental permission for smartphones will need to download the app and join the relevant squad in the app (e.g., 1st XV, U15 XV, U13 XV, Girls 7s).

To download the Stack team app, use the following links:

● iOS: https://www.teamapp.com/ios-ap...

● Android: https://www.teamapp.com/androi...

Once downloaded, please search for 'Lindisfarne Rugby Program' and request to join. We will be approving the requests from students and parents in the coming weeks as we roll out the app in more depth.

Integrated School Sport Selections

The integrated school sport selections for term 2 will be opening next week. Please note if you are currently in rugby union for integrated school sport in term 1, you will be automatically enrolled in rugby union for term 2 and you will NOT need to make a selection.

More Information

If you have any questions about the above, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Coyne (jcoyne@lindiisfarne.nsw.edu.au).

Sian McGilligan has been a Lindisfarne Lion since joining the school as a Year 4 Student in 2018.  Whilst continuing to play, Sian also started her umpiring journey in 2020 becoming a Red Bib Umpire working towards becoming a Green Bib Umpire.

Rithika Sivabalan also moved up to her 'Green Bib' following her consistent efforts in umpiring. The Umpire Coordinator noted Rithika's steady improvement and her willingness to make every effort to improve as she has developed her confidence and skills. Congratulations Rithika.

Danielle Watters
Strategic Director of Netball

The final introductions for the English teaching team this week are for Mrs Kate Cornell who is, not only the Head of Senior School, but also a key player in our Senior English teaching team. Mrs Amy Camer has joined our team this year and works with our Year 7 students. Both Mrs Cornell and Mrs Camer have a passion for drama and theatre and our students are lucky to learn from their areas of expertise.

Embracing NAPLAN

Year 7 and 9 English students at Lindisfarne commence their NAPLAN testing on Wednesday 15 March. In order to mitigate the fear that some students have around any form of testing, English teachers have given students an opportunity to view and attempt portions of the NAPLAN Demonstration site: https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/public-demonstration-site

NAPLAN comprises of three parts - reading and language components of the test as well as an extended written response. On the day of the writing section, students will find out whether they have to compose a narrative or a persuasive response. As such, students had an opportunity to attempt the beginning of a creative task. The stimulus for Year 7 students was:

After only five minutes to plan their narrative, 7D English students came up with the following opening lines:

Lillia Abbey

I was falling. Falling down an endless canyon. I screamed, my throat raw, to no avail. I was still falling, falling, falling …

I lurched up, covered in sweat, the sheets sticking to me. A nightmare, just a nightmare. Nothing else. But it felt so real. The wind rushing past my face, the rock walls of the abyss flying past. I scowled. I was being a chicken. Good people don’t get scared, as my father told me. Only worthless people do. I wanted to be brave. I wanted to make my dad proud, to have him smile at me, to hear him say my name in anything but scorn. To make him love me.  

Ajay Arun

Two days were all that were left. He had been practising and practising so much! But still, he couldn’t get it completely right. He had the potential and he (and everyone) knew it, but something was wrong. It was fear. Fear that he would lose. Fear that the good name that he had earned for himself would crumble to pieces.

Charlie Buchan

Fear. That’s all there is. That gut-wrenching, spiralling sense of terror. The rickety plank bobs up and down, as if telling me to run, while I still can. I look down and immediately regret it. Water sloshes  around the pool, the smell of chlorine pervading my nose. I look around. Faces of joy, war where fear is fighting courage. And fear was winning. I look back to the expectant face of the lifeguard urging me on and the children waiting in line, waiting for me to jump, but I can’t. I turn around once more and climb down the seemingly endless ladder.

Niamh Glasson

Shapes morph and change, creating a nightmare landscape. Alex knew nothing about this should be scary - it was only colours, twisting and moving. No normal 13-year-old would be scared of something like that. It was only her. The shapes continued to twist, starting to create a dome around her. Closing in. Alex held her breath, knowing what was about to happen. She would be suffocated by the mysterious beings, and then that sensation, the one that Alex knew all too well, the one that felt like falling, would come. The colours were getting closer and closer, covering her in a goopy mess. And then falling, falling, falling.   

Grace Reid

“I remember his hands, and the way the mountains boom.”

Ben turned the radio up louder to block out the sound of his protesting against the football player that had recently come out. His Aunty Beth, who had down syndrome, clapped and started singing along. Ben smiled and increased the volume.

“Light like diamonds, shone from his eyes.”

‘Gay.’  Ben practised saying the word out loud. He was, of course. He had known since he was three. Unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly an option in his household, His homophobic father had mocked them for years. But Ben was nearly eighteen. His mates said they already knew for years, and they were cool with it. Ben knew it was time.

I’m sure you agree that we have some excellent aspiring writers in our Year 7 cohort.

Kylie Wharton
Director of English

Olivia Sweetnam (class of 2022) is congratulated on being selected for the Social Fabric Exhibition at the Tweed Regional Museum, Murwillumbah. She designed and constructed a dress inspired by wildflowers and last year achieved the highest HSC award of Band 6. 

Her garment featured botanical printing by steaming flowers into the fabric's fibres and intricate crocheting, felting and embroidery details around the bust. Her dress will be on display from 28 February - 15th July. Well done Olivia. 

For more information on the exhibit follow this link.

Prue Smurthwaite
Textiles Teacher

How can we help to create an equitable society?

That is the question we were asked at the Round Square’s International Women’s Day “World Wise Conversation” Conference.

The first step is having a conversation. We must work together - challenging preconceived ideas, supporting one another, and encouraging men and women alike to take action against gender discrimination and disparity.

In the Round Square conference, six Year 12 students were accompanied by Ms Malone to participate in a discussion about “cracking the code” on a gender-equal future. This discussion was led by MLC in Sydney and included 14 schools across five different countries including China, India, Pakistan, USA and Australia, providing the opportunity to openly discuss a diverse range of experiences and how we can achieve equitable change in our schools and wider community. We questioned the systemic bias that has been ingrained into each diverse nation, dissected the severity of language and its impact on individuals, and realised the disparity of opportunity that is ever-present in our world. Through these conversations, it was revealed that our society will be freed from our socio-cultural inequity when we collaborate, truly listen and celebrate our differences.

“I encourage all students (of any gender) to take part in this eye-opening and diverse discussion about worldwide equity. It was an amazing immersive experience that opened me up to different global perspectives on where improvements to equity can be made and what we as women and a greater society can do to support each other in taking action against gender disparity.”

-       Addison Born

“The Round Square conference was truly rewarding, as it provided a powerful platform to both connect with like-minded individuals and learn from those with different experiences. I think education and awareness are at the impetus of an equitable future, so I really hope that no matter the day, we will continue to have these conversations that will widen our perspectives and futures.”

-       Ruby Stante

It is realising that we are stronger together that allows us to prosper together. 

Mike Lush
Round Square Coordinator

New Music Release – Seventeen, by Josh Geoghegan

Our first new release for 2023 is due to hit streaming platforms on March 31.  Seventeen, a song by Year 11 student, Josh Geoghegan, was recorded, mixed and produced in our school studio with the help of our talented music production students.  An accompanying music video will be released in the following weeks. This will be the first of many new singles, all written by our fantastic student songwriters, to be released on the Germinate Records label throughout 2023.

Save The Date – Germinate Records Live – April 5

On the evening of Wednesday, April 5, we will be holding our second annual Germinate Records Live gig at The Citadel in Murwillumbah.  The evening will be a fundraiser for Tweed Palliative Support and Wedgetail Retreat.  Several of our very talented young singer-songwriters will be performing with a special performance from our brand new – and yet-to-be-named – New Music Ensemble. More information, including booking details, will be available in the coming weeks. Please mark April 5 in your diaries and come along to support this wonderful cause and our talented students.

Brett Canning
Germinate Records

Some of our senior students provided some 'Words of Wisdom' passed on from the adults of today and displayed for our 'Women of Tomorrow'.

Mahers Lane Library Team

Unnecessary drama by Nina Kenwood

• Shortlisted, Young Adult, Indie Book Awards, 2023
• Longlisted, CBCA Book of the Year, Older Readers, 2023

From the author of the much-loved It Sounded Better In My Head comes a deliciously entertaining new rom-com, set in a run-down student-share house in Melbourne.

Eighteen-year-old Brooke is the kind of friend who not only remembers everyone’s birthdays, but also organises the group present, pays for it, and politely chases others for their share. She’s the helper, the doer, the guarder of drinks, the minder of bags, the maker of spreadsheets. She’s the responsible one who always follows the rules—and she plans to keep it that way during her first year of university. Her new share house is rules-lite. But ‘no unnecessary drama’ means no fights, tension, or romance between housemates. When one of her housemates turns out to be Jesse, her high-school nemesis, Brooke is nervously confident she can handle it. They’ll simply silently endure living together and stay out of each other’s way. But it turns out Jesse isn’t so easy to ignore…

Channelling the screwball comedy of New Girl with an enemies-to-lovers twist, Unnecessary Drama is a joyful story about leaving home, dealing with the unexpected complications of life, and somehow finding exactly what you need.

‘Adorable, this book made us laugh, cry and feel all the warm and fuzzies. We just loved every single page.’
Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus

‘Takes readers through the tumultuous uncertainty that exists on the cusp of transitioning out of high school into adulthood.’
Bohdi Byles, Books + Publishing

‘I laughed out loud several times and fell in love with flawed protagonist Brooke…Completely charming from start to finish.’
Karys McEwen

‘One of the most hilarious books I have read in a very long time…Pure magic and an absolute delight to read. Enjoy the banter, prepare to relate to some wonderful characters and don’t forget to keep the tissues handy to wipe away those tears of laughter and joy.’

Readings

‘This book had me crying tears of laughter! Nina Kenwood is rapidly becoming one of my favourite authors and Unnecessary Drama is a delightful gem!’
Booktopia

Mahers Lane Library Team