On Monday, our Year 6 student leaders participated in a dedicated training day to prepare for their roles as captains. The students engaged in meaningful activities focused on key leadership qualities, particularly service and teamwork. They collaborated in groups to explore scenarios and brainstorm innovative ideas for improving our school community. The day concluded with a well-deserved pizza lunch, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. A special thank you to Ms Hutchins for organising such a successful day. We look forward to seeing our captains lead with confidence and positivity throughout the year.

Our Year 6 Captains for 2025:

• School Captains: Paulo Lu and Elliya Barrett
• Vice Captains: Yuqiao Ren and Rayna Chieng

House Captains:

• Aranda: Alexandre Lahore-Lahitte and Anouk Megalla Kunz
• Coligan: Liam Black and Ronika Haghparast
• Kogara: Max Avery and Shiqi Wang
• Wolgal: Liam Clark and Kirra Oxman

Student-Identified Captains:

• Leo Gao and Johanna Huda
• Charles Hughes and Amelia Cook
• Ishaan Shivakumar H and Bertie Talbot
• Marlow McQuestin and Michelle Li

Thank you to everyone who attended our Parent Information Sessions. These gatherings provide a valuable opportunity to learn more about our Numeracy and Literacy programs, initiatives, and plans for the year. For those who couldn’t attend, the comprehensive presentation is available on your child’s grade page on OLLE.

We are proud to commence the year with a highly skilled and dedicated teaching team:

• Kindergarten: Mrs Rachel Gallina, Mrs Meri Anastovski, Mrs Kylie Cook (Early Stage 1 Coordinator)
• Year 1: Miss Rachael Gargett, Miss Jemima Boswell, Mrs Michelle Tierney
• Year 2: Miss India Bowden, Miss India Johnson, Mr Oscar Jorgensen-Hull (Stage 1 Coordinator)
• Year 3: Mrs Maddison Cunningham, Mr Andrew Carroll, Mrs Clair Sheppard (Stage 2 Coordinator)
• Year 4: Mrs Lennea Grace, Mrs El Rowe, Mrs Natalie Liddiard-Gray
• Year 5: Miss Brooke Marcinkowski, Mrs Effie Duncan, Mr Jarrod Reid, Mr Jonathan Larkin
• Year 6: Miss Priya Pather, Mrs Dorothy Segar, Mr Pete Agnew, Mrs Rebecca Young (Stage 3 Coordinator)

For further information about specialist teachers, support staff and the executive team, please refer to your child’s OLLE page. Our staff are always available to support you and your child—please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher with any questions or concerns.

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual national assessment for all students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Students are assessed in Writing, Reading, Conventions of language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy. All tests will be completed online during class time with the exception of Year 3 Writing which remains a pen and paper test. To see the types of questions and interactive features of NAPLAN Online, visit the public demonstration site.

The NAPLAN testing period for 2025 is Wednesday 12 March to Monday 24 March 2025. 

In the Junior School, it is planned for students to participate in NAPLAN tests on the following days:

If a student is absent on these days, catch up tests will be arranged where possible before the end of the testing period.

A Junior School information session will be held in the 5D classroom on Thursday 20 February from 4.00pm to 4.30pm. The presentation will be uploaded to OLLE for anyone unable to attend. 

General information about NAPLAN is available on the NESA website.

Illawarra Grammer values  student achievements, so we understand how important it is to celebrate the efforts of all students in meaningful ways. However, due to the frequency and number of awards distributed, we have made adjustments to how and when these acknowledgements take place.

Previously, a significant portion of the Assembly was dedicated to distributing awards. This limited our ability to engage students fully in other meaningful activities. To address this, we have made the following changes:

• Grade or Stage Meetings: Certificates and awards are now often presented during grade meeting times, allowing for a more personalised and efficient acknowledgement of student achievements.
• Assemblies: A4 certificates and other significant awards are still presented at Assemblies, ensuring key moments of recognition remain public celebrations.

This shift allows us to balance time during Assemblies while continuing to honour the efforts of our students in special and meaningful ways. With our growing community, these adjustments ensure that every child has the opportunity to be recognised fairly and appropriately.

All students in Years 3 to 6 are required to have a blazer as part of their formal uniform. Blazers must be worn to Assembly, excursions and special events when the formal uniform is worn.

If your child’s blazer needs to be replaced or updated, please contact the Uniform Shop to arrange a fitting or purchase. Thank you for supporting our school uniform expectations.

Upcoming Events:

Thursday 20 February – NAPLAN Parent Information Session – 4.00pm in the 5D Classroom

Monday 24 February – CASA Swimming Carnival – Homebush – 1.30pm-10.30pm

Tuesday 25 February – Year 4 Drama Excursion – Sydney

Friday 28 February – Kindergarten & Year 5 Teddy Bear’s Picnic (Bring a Teddy)

Celebration of Learnings

• Wednesday 26 March – Kindergarten – 9:30am-10:15am
• Wednesday 26 March – Year 2 – 11:00am-11:45am
• Wednesday 2 April – Year 4 – 11:00am-11:45am

Assembly dates

Thursday 27 February – 6A hosting

Thursday 13 March – Year 1 hosting

Thursday 27 March – 4L hosting

On Friday 14 March, the P&F is running an outdoor movie night for Junior School families. The event will take place from 7.00-9.30pm on the Junior School Oval. Look out for more details in the next newsletter.

Rena Hamut (Year 11)

Welcome to 2025. We hope you all had a refreshing break. It’s been wonderful reconnecting with our school community over the past couple of weeks.

Our team is so excited for the year ahead and the opportunity to showcase the talent, achievements and diverse perspectives within our school community. Additionally, we are eager to start finalising our team for the year ahead and bring onboard some new Year 7 writers, once they have returned from Camp and settled into their first term.

As we begin the year, we want to highlight the core school value for 2025: Goodness. This value encourages us to act with kindness, integrity and compassion in all aspects of our lives, both in and out of School, even when it’s a difficult choice. This will be the central theme for our articles as we continue to highlight student achievements and activities within our School.

Finally, we’d like to conclude with a recap of the exciting Swimming Carnival, where we congratulate Kogara on their impressive win last Thursday. The determination and grit displayed by the House Captains were truly remarkable as they extended their winning streak from The Great Race. We’d also like to extend our congratulations to everyone involved: the volunteers who ensured the event ran smoothly and the competitors who demonstrated energy and enthusiasm throughout the day. And of course a big thank you to our teachers for making it such a wonderful way to commence Term I!

Saxon Parrish (Year 12)

As we begin 2025, it’s a great time to reflect on the past year and embrace the opportunities the new year brings. We can ask ourselves what went right, where we went wrong and how we can improve. At Illawarra Grammar, we are constantly encouraged to set achievable goals, and the start of a new year provides a fresh motivation to get things right. To make the most of this, it’s important to commit to learning from the outset and demonstrate grit, building habits that will carry us through the year.

Over the holidays, we hope you were able to connect with family, rest, recover and enjoy some relaxation before another year of hard work. This is especially important for Senior Students in Years 10, 11 and 12, and particularly for Year 12 students who face a busy year of upcoming HSC tasks. We hope to build on the fantastic results achieved by last year’s cohort.

During December and January, the many community celebrations, such as New Year and Christmas, were excellent opportunities for students across our School to connect with others – a key focus of our leadership. During this time, our School community came together through events such as the Christmas services and the Aquathon in Wollongong, where school spirit was evident even away from the School campus and prior to the school year commencing. In our first two full weeks back at School, we have already enjoyed the Swimming Carnival, which helped raise funds for our Year 12 charity, The Water Gift, with the support of students at our BBQ stall. To continue building on this momentum, we would appreciate any feedback or suggestions for school events and fundraisers from all students. This is now possible through the new SRC leaders in Year 10.

Finally, we would like to extend a warm welcome to our new Year 7 students, as well as those joining cohorts in Years 8 through to 11. We hope your transition into the Illawarra Grammar community is smooth, that you experience a warm welcome and that you will enjoy getting to make new friends and meeting your teachers.