Staff Insights
From Louise Wallace-Richards, Acting Head of Secondary School
Dr Adrian Johnson has begun his first term as Principal at Trinity Anglican College in Albury, and I have begun my Semester 2 role as Acting Head of Secondary School of Radford College. It has been a busy first two weeks, watching weekend sport, leading staff briefings, meeting the families of new students, conducting new student interviews, and working with Mrs Nerida Dyne, Executive Assistant to the Head of the Secondary School, on planning assemblies and key events, from new student orientation days to Year 12 Graduation and the end-of-year Celebration.
I am particularly enjoying the increased opportunities the role brings to meet and work with students, given my usual role as Assistant Principal works towards improving teaching and learning opportunities while working with teaching staff in the Secondary School.
We have only just begun the term and already have news that two of our students have received recognition of their achievements in the academic and service realms.
Lara Parsons, Year 10
Lara has received a “Highly Commended” for her entry in the Simpson Prize competition. The Simpson Prize is a national competition for Years 9 and 10 students focusing on the service of Australians in World War I.
Anna Charlton, Year 9
Anna has been awarded a medallion by the branch of the ACT Order of Australia. This award recognises outstanding student community service. For almost two years, Anna has been a volunteer two afternoons each week at Flossie's Kitten Rescue in Flynn, caring for homeless cats and kittens. Anna will be awarded her prize on 25 August at the Royal Canberra Golf Club.
In the past two weeks, the College has held several significant events, including the Year 12 Revue, at the end of Week 1, and the Winter Concert, at the end of Week 2. I have seen many Revues over the past 17 years and have always enjoyed a student-led show that captures their reminiscences about their time at Radford. This year’s performance entertained us through clever caricatures of staff, effective staging and lighting, and a toe-tapping musical score that made you want to sing along, particularly This '80s Child.
The Winter Concert, a regular Radford event, showcased student music performances from the Junior School Warblers choir to the Bernstein Secondary School Big Band.
One of the highlights for me was the energetic performance by the Warblers, led by Bronwyn Potter. The audience looked on with delight while the students sang and danced to their music pieces. Similarly, the Secondary Chorale choir’s singing of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody had the audience singing, if only to themselves, so as not to interrupt the performance!
Dylan Mordike, Head of Co-curricular, eloquently ended the evening on behalf of Kirsten Knight, Head of Co-curricular Music. In particular, he paid homage to Kirsten; Nick Akhurst, Head of Co-curricular Drama and Dance; Tim Minehan, Co-curricular Media Crew Coordinator; and all the Music Managers who are teachers across the College.
Our House group sessions started successfully this term, with a presentation prepared by Jake Bailey, Kurrajong House Leader, focusing on building student and staff understanding of disability issues.
There are a couple of House challenges this term that will earn points towards the House Cup competition. One is the debating competition, with the Senior grand final between Boronia and Acacia to be held this week, on the topic That private schools should be banned. The other is the “Spelling Bee”, with all Houses last week conducting a “Bee” to begin the process of determining who will be the spelling champions to go through to the inter-House rounds. Words like fluorescent and even jewellery stumped some students – the American influence on our culture leading many students to spell the latter word minus one <l> and one <e>!
Finally from me this week, is a comment on the Year 10 interviews conducted last week by all Secondary Executive members, Heads of Year and some Heads of Department. I always find these interviews to be such a valuable opportunity to speak with Year 10s about their progress over the past three and a half years at Radford, and for those who started in the Junior School, even longer.
In the interviews we all seek to help students to see how far they have travelled academically, celebrate their co-curricular and service learning involvement, and help them to make some decisions about what they may like to study in Years 11 and 12, and even, for some, their plans for when they leave school in 2024. Some students are already committed to a career path mid-way through Year 10. Most are unsure but have some areas of passion that they hope to do further study in at university. It is certainly a lot to ask of children at 15 years of age to think about their career path. Schools have always had to ask this of their students, but I believe that at Radford, these one-on-one interviews go some way to help them to make informed decisions. Thanks to James Rodgers, leader of the Academic Executive Admin staff, and his team, as well as Lindy Braithwaite, Assistant Principal Curriculum, and Nick Moss, Assistant Principal Staff and Senior Studies, for all their work in organising these interviews.
IMPORTANT: Secondary School Parent/Teacher/Student Conversations in Weeks 9 & 10 will all be ONLINE through Teams meetings.
More information to come soon.
By Rev. Dr Katherine Rainger, Senior Chaplain
https://www.dirrumfestival.org
Dirrum Festival 2022 is fast approaching, one of the highlights on the Radford Community’s annual calendar.
Students have been working extremely hard to pull together an evening of acclaimed speakers, local food and wonderful music.
Dirrum is a truly inspiring event, and we encourage you to purchase tickets and not to miss out on this year’s festival.
Tickets are available for in person (with mask wearing advised) or for live stream, and are selling fast. Tickets, along with information about the festival, can be found here: https://www.dirrumfestival.org/cbr22.
BOOK NOW: Live and stream options available
2022 SPEAKERS (left to right above)
- Aunty Violet Sheridan – a Ngunnawal Elder who will offer a Welcome to Country
- Anastasia Radievska – Ukrainian-Australian poet and activist
- Ben Farinazzo – advocate for mental health, veterans, and the healing power of sport
- Jahzeel Campbell – performance poet and warden of All Saints College
- Dr Richard Harris, SC, OAM – 2018 Thai Cave diver and rescuer
- Dr Brad Tucker – Astrophysicist/Cosmologist
- Thomas Mayor – a Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man, advisor for the From the Heart Campaign
- Professor John Minns – academic and refugee rights campaigner
- Julie Tongs OAM – CEO of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services
- Janine Hendry – architect, founder of Women’s March4Justice
Also present will be:
Australian Youth Climate Coalition – State organisers are attending to talk about their movement
Altina Drinks – Local non-alcoholic drink company
Fairley Good Foods
– Local food truck
and live music from local artists Stewart Barton and The Voice’s Xanthe Campbell.
BOOK NOW: Live and stream options available
News
From Nick Martin – Assistant Head of Junior School Learning 3–6
It was another busy week in the Junior School, with students involved in a wide range of experiences. It is amazing to think that we could fit all the following experiences into just one week.
- Year 1 students visited Tatum Farm
- Year 6 students visited the National Museum of Australia
- Pre-K students participated in a Footsteps Dance program
- Year 6 students participated in sporting programs at UC, Canberra City Gymnastics and the Radford Rowing Shed
- Year 5 students participated in a program at Sirens Cheer Gym
- Year 4 students engaged with Olympic Sports at UC
- Students competed in the Jamie Pearlman and Sue Geh Basketball Cups, as well as the ACT School Futsal Titles
- We were thoroughly entertained by our talented musicians at the Radford College Winter Concert.
What a week – and this list doesn’t include all the experiences undertaken within our classrooms this week. Our students certainly are fortunate to have the opportunity to develop themselves through such a wide-ranging collection of experiences. I would like to thank the Junior School staff for their dedication in providing enriching learning for our students.
The Toddle Journal and Learning Summary working together
As an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School offering the Primary Years Programme (PYP), we are committed to a process of constant review and development. Over the past 18 months, we have shared with families a journey of growth in the way that we communicate with families about learning. We have attempted to move away from the traditional ‘end-of-semester report’ being the primary method of reporting and move towards a more personalised and dynamic approach that aligns more closely with learning and teaching in a PYP school.
For an overview of this renewed approach – please enjoy this video summary.
Some of the intentions behind this change have been to:
- provide families with a window into the feedback their child receives at school during the semester
- communicate with families when the learning happens, rather than waiting until the end of the semester
- personalise the feedback to ensure families are aware of what their child can do and how their child could improve, rather than simply a grade against year-level expectations.
In essence, our intention has been to move towards a more student-centred, personalised, and informative approach for families.
Predominantly, the Toddle Journal is the vehicle for achieving this renewed approach to reporting. We have been excited to support families to connect and access their child’s Journal and have been excited to see the engagement increasing throughout the semester. We do have some families who have not yet accessed their child’s Journal. For instructions on how to access Toddle, please see this previous Nexus post: https://nexus.radford.act.edu.au/news/3823
To supplement the ongoing feedback shared through the Journal, during our most recent term break we were delighted to share, for the first time, the Learning Summary. These summaries were shared with families through Nexus. If you have not accessed your child’s Learning Summary – please see this Nexus post for step-by-step instructions: https://nexus.radford.act.edu.au/homepage/2697
The Learning Summary is designed to provide an overall summary of each child. This summary includes a statement from the classroom teacher that describes the child as a learner. These statements aim to value and celebrate the unique strengths and areas for growth of that child. The Learning Summary also provides grades against the Australian Curriculum year-level expectations. These grades are useful for families to understand where their child is achieving, relative to the expectations of the Australian Curriculum. It is important, however, to view these grades together with the rich, specific, ongoing information shared through the child’s Journal. Together, the Journal and the Learning Summary provide a comprehensive summary of each child’s achievement.
Aligned with our ongoing cycle of growth and development, we will continue to reflect and refine our approach to ensure it is as effective as possible. As a school, we welcome feedback from families in relation to how we communicate information about learning, so that we are meeting the needs of our community. Please reach out to your child’s classroom teacher, Nick Martin or Jo O’Brien if you have feedback to share. Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support.
By Nick Ewbank, Head of History, Philosophy and RaVE
The Radford team of Pippa Humphries and Edi Lupton (Year 10), and Terry Yang, Olivia Wang and Holly Todd (Year 11) participated in the Australian Ethics Olympiad on 27 July, having qualified by topping the ACT event earlier in the year.
The team’s participation on Wednesday was particularly notable, as two of the five members – Edi and Terry – were at home in COVID isolation.
Thanks to the event being online, both were able to join in and, as ever, made a series of highly effective contributions to the team’s efforts.
An Ethics Olympiad is where teams ‘face off’ over identified ethical scenarios – e.g. making the entry system to universities fairer for people from less-advantaged groups, cheating in the Paralympics, or ‘killer art’ – art which involves physical or psychological damage to humans or other animals. Students have had access to the scenarios for some time, but they are also required to think ‘on the spot’, responding constructively to the ideas of the other team.
While these events sound like they might be combative, the aim is to examine and discuss the ethical issues in the scenarios to try and reach a deeper and better understanding. There is also very much a teamwork ethic, as students within a team are expected to work together both in preparing and presenting their arguments, and augmenting the points made by other members of the team. In this way, the event promotes the idea of reasoned discussion in a civil society (something that appears often lacking in contemporary politics!).
Overall, our Radford ‘Ethletes’ represented the College admirably and can be very proud of their participation, not least as they were placed sixth out of the 20 participating schools [which included eight international schools (from India, NZ, Canada and Hong Kong)].
A fine effort, well done!
From Rachael Hind and Gemma Wilson, Junior School Library
Last Monday, Year 3 and 4 students were expecting a visit from Kate and Jol Temple. While that occurred, they also brought one of their favourite characters with them: the Bin Chicken. What great excitement that created for our students. The Bin Chicken found itself in the wrong place and our students loved engaging with it and helping feed it hot chips and calamari.
Year 3 and 4 students have been exploring Kate and Jol’s books in recent library lessons. Kate and Jol’s books are serious yet funny; silly yet poignant. From exploring exclusion and inclusion in Room on Our Rock and Move that Mountain, to the endless dog puns in The Underdogs, their skills as writers are impressive.
Kate and Jol talked about how animals are influential as characters in their books. Kate shared some of her new book, to be published in November. She was very impressed that we’ve had a sneak peek through a proof copy, and many students are eagerly waiting for that to arrive.
Meeting authors and hearing them talk about their work is a valuable tool to help students develop as writers. How lucky we are to have met Kate and Jol and had their books brought to life for us.
Book cover images from: http://katejoltemple.com/books
By Kirsten Knight, Head of Co-Curricular Music
Our Winter Concert was held in TB Millar Hall on Thursday 28 July.
Nine of our co-curricular music groups performed, involving students from both Junior and Secondary schools. All groups displayed excellent musicianship at their various levels, and it was an enjoyable evening for all involved.
My thanks go to our:
- conductors
- accompanists
- music managers
- music directors
- music captains
- Performing Arts administration team
- staff who worked on the technical aspects of the evening.
and to the Media Crew, for their outstanding camera work.
By Gemma Wilson, Junior School Teacher Librarian
Term 3 is the most exciting term, because we celebrate Book Week!
This year’s theme is Dreaming with Eyes Open. Imagine how much dreaming you can do through books.
For the first time in many years, the whole school, Pre-Kindergarten right through to Year 12, will dress up to celebrate Book Week on Wednesday 24 August.
Junior School students
will be having a Character Dress Up parade, beginning at 9:00am on Wednesday 24 August.
Students are encouraged to dress up as their favourite book character, with an emphasis of recycling, reusing and recreating. There is no need to purchase a costume.
Secondary School students
will celebrate all week. As well as dressing up as their favourite book character on Wednesday 24 August, there will be activities in the Secondary Library every day at lunchtime.
Take a walk past the Library for inspiration of character and costume ideas. Students are encouraged to think widely and consider an accessory or literary t-shirt.
More details will follow closer to the date, so keep an eye on Nexus. In the meantime, start brainstorming which character you will dress as!
NOTICE OF SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING 2022
Date and time: Thursday 25 August 2022 at 6pm
Venue: Zoom and Morison Centre, Meeting Room 1 at Radford College.
Please email P&F@radford.act.edu.au for Zoom login details.
Full details in the attached notice
See also copy of the Constitution with proposed changes marked
In addition to the Special General Meeting on 25 August, there will be three major P&F events in Semester 2:
- Saturday, 3 September – Gala Ball
- Friday, 16 September – Trivia Night
- Saturday, 5 November – Twilight Fete.
Be sure to save the dates and join in these great community occasions!
Gala Ball
DATE Saturday, 3 September
VENUE Hotel Realm, 18 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600
TIME 6:30pm Pre-dinner drinks, 7:00pm 3-course dinner
DRESS Formal / Masquerade
TICKETS $165 pp* or table of 10 $1,600. Please advise of any dietary requirements when purchasing your tickets.
[* If booking individual tickets, please specify your seating preference (year group, collegian etc.) by emailing radfordcollegegalaball@gmail.com]
**Over 18s only event**
Trivia Night
DATE Friday, 16 September
VENUE TB Millar Hall, Radford College
TIME 6:30pm to 9:30pm
DRESS Prizes for best table decoration and team costumes.
TICKETS $15 pp BOOK NOW online.
BYO drinks and food. Tables of 8 and 10 only.
**Over 18s only event**
Twilight Fete
DATE Saturday, 5 November
VENUE Radford College
TIME 3:00pm to 7:00pm
STALL & SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES: p&f@radford.act.edu.au
See the latest Fete News in this edition
Twilight Fete
DATE Saturday, 5 November
VENUE Radford College
TIME 3:00pm to 7:00pm
STALL & SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES: p&f@radford.act.edu.au
Stall convenors needed
We are currently looking for volunteers to oversee the following Stalls on Fete Day:
- Fairy Floss
- Tornado Potato
- Champagne & Oysters
- Show Bags
- White Elephant.
Please contact Mari – radfordfeteconvenor@gmail.com – if you would like to know more about what is involved.
Call for food van operators
The latest craze is urban 'street food' and the Fete Committee are keen to have some food trucks or vans at this year's upcoming Twilight Fete. We are encouraging families to contact us at p&f@radford.act.edu.au if you own, or know of someone who runs, a commercial food van and would like to sell food at the Fete this year.
We are seeking vendors who provide a wide range, yet simple sophisticated food options, such as pork dumplings, Mexican tacos, steamed filled buns or Indian curries (just to name a few delicious options).
Call for raffle sponsors
We are always on the hunt for new prizes to include in our Monster Raffle, and after two years without having a fete we want to make this raffle bigger and better! If you would like to know more about being involved in donating prizes for the Monster Raffle, please contact the P&F Administrator on 02 6162 6217, or via email at p&f@radford.act.edu.au
Classic Sports & Car Show
Do you have a classic car? A great way to participate in the Fete is to be part of the car show. Set up your car and picnic on the JA Mackinnon Oval. To register, send your details and your car's make, model and year to radfordcarshow@gmail.com
Kate Daly, 2021 College Vice-Captain, is featured in an article on the Collegians website. She is once again taking part in the Santa Speedo Shuffle.
Funds raised from the Santa Speedo Shuffle go to Cystic Fibrosis ACT, a Canberra-based non-profit organisation that provides essential medical equipment, nutritional supplements and sports grants to local families with a child or adult living with cystic fibrosis.
You can donate to Kate and her team here.
COLLEGIANS REUNIONS
Register to attend: https://events.humanitix.com/radford-collegians-reunion
Enquiries: cate.mcdonald@radford.act.edu.au
