Dear Parents and Friends of SGS,

I have been delighted to see young people around the school

who are excited about their learning and making wonderful

progress. It is also pleasing to see them positively engage with

other students, staff and visitors in a positive manner. We have

delightful students in our school and we are very proud of them.

We need to continue to work together to promote this healthy

approach to school and to life, encouraging each and every

student to see themselves as important for who they are.

The new building continues to progress; the first floor slab was

poured this week. The builders are on schedule and we expect

they will be finished by the end of August.

We come to Easter and it will be an opportunity to take a big breath after a very exciting

and positive start to the year. I would encourage you all to take time to consider what

Jesus did for us all on that first Easter, the sacrifice that he made which underpins the

Christian faith that our school has at its foundation. Rev Nate took an interesting slant of

the Easter message in Chapels this week, asking students to consider what would be

different if we erased the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection from history. This was a

thought-provoking approach to considering Easter.

Have a happy and blessed Easter!

Paul Smart

Principal

Primary News from Mr Feeney Congratulations to all students who participated in the UHSC & Kia-ora Youth Music Camp last week. It was such

a delight to share in the Camp Concert on Friday evening and to watch the enthusiasm and enjoyment of all the

students as they performed. From marimbas to dance, to strings, to percussion, to keyboards, to the soloists, the

choirs, the band, and the amazing finale; it was all just superb! Special congratulations to those students who were

awarded commendations, or scholarships to further their musical interests and skills. I’m sure these will be

wonderful opportunities to encourage and enable many more exciting musical adventures.

I would like to particularly acknowledge and thank the SGS staff (and former SGS staff members) who supported the

students throughout the week; Mr Buckley, Mrs Saunders, Miss Thomas, Mrs Cooke, and especially those staff

members who helped out on Friday afternoon/evening - Mrs Brice, Miss Dowdell, Mrs Davidson and Mrs Wright. Your

generous assistance was a great blessing. Thanks again!

I’m still getting over the excitement of Oprah’s visit to SGS last week during the

fortnightly Primary Assembly. Thank you Year 3 for your most entertaining and informative

assembly presentation. I’m certainly going to treasure my ‘selfie’ and my brief moment in

the sunshine with Oprah.

Congratulations to Charlotte Kelly, who was selected last week in the HRIS Primary

Girls’ Netball Team. This is an outstanding achievement, and very well deserved. We

wish Charlotte all the best as she now prepares to represent HRIS at the NSWCIS Primary

Netball Championships, to be held at Netball Central, Sydney Olympic Park, on Friday, 6

May 2016.

Please ensure all registration forms are returned by Thursday, 24 March, for any students in Years 3-6, who are

participating in the 2016 ICAS Subject Competitions. Information has gone home recently about this

opportunity.

The Term One K-6 Open Classroom Afternoon will be held next week, on Thursday,31

March. Classrooms will be open for visits by parents with their children, between 3:30pm-

6:30pm. Don’t miss this valuable opportunity! Information has been emailed this week

with further details.

Primary Parent/Teacher Interviews will be conducted in Week 11, on Monday, 4 April

and Wednesday, 6 April, in respective Primary classrooms and the MPR. Information has

been emailed this week with further details.

It was great to hear the news from our Primary Chess teams after their season launching exploits at the NSW

Junior Chess League competition held at Muswellbrook HS last week. I am encouraged to see the numbers of

younger students showing interest under Mr Holden’s leadership, for this very valuable and enjoyable activity.

Congratulations to the Primary team who finished in third place, and especially to Nick Gallagher who earned the

highest point score for SGS players.

As you enjoy time together as families over the Easter break, I do wish you a safe, and very refreshing faith-filled

holiday weekend. I encourage you to make time for reflecting on God’s amazing gift to us in Jesus, and Jesus’

amazing gift to us through His sacrificial death on the cross, that we might ‘have life, in all its abundance’. God bless!

Good Humour for the Week

I was so inspired by the Music Camp, I wrote a song about a tortilla. Well actually, it’s more of a wrap.

I also thought I’d start a band called 999 Megabytes - unfortunately, we haven’t gotten a gig yet.

What do you call a dinosaur with an extensive vocabulary? A thesaurus.

Congratulations to James Haydon Wicks (Year 5 Gold), Sofia Edlington (Year 4 Blue), Joshua Chopin (Year 3 Gold),

Clayton Porter (Year 4 Gold), Giles Murehwa (Kindergarten Blue) and Rory Moore (Year 1 Blue), who are all

celebrating birthdays this week. I do wish these students all the best as they enjoy this special milestone and share

the time with family and friends.

From the Chaplain

It seems like only a short time ago we were celebrating Christmas… but I love Easter! Easter is the time of the year

which gives meaning to all the other days of the year; especially Christmas time. This is because Easter explains

‘why’ Jesus came to earth. At Christmas time each year, Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, where God became

human. Jesus’ birth changed the way that people relate to God. Rather than seeing God as some far-off, distant,

unapproachable being, removed from time and place, God was now firmly in the world, inserted into human history.

Fast forward some thirty or so years and we learn that Easter changed everything for the followers of Jesus. At

Easter we remember that on Good Friday, after Jesus died on the cross, His great mission seemed to have come to

an undeniable end. And though believers today know how the story ends, the horrified disciples did not. But after

Easter Sunday, when Jesus is raised from death, they suddenly become bold proclaimers of the Gospel, ready and

willing to stake their lives on the truth of what they believe.

Easter changes everything for Christians today, too. We know how much God loves us because we know how far

Jesus went to take our place on the cross so that we could now be friends with God. We know what it means to

experience new life. We know, because Jesus completed His mission, that nothing is ever beyond the power of

God’s grace. Is this a truth you know and feel? Easter is for all. Easter; the time of the year that gives meaning to

all of the other days of the year.

Weekly Chapel Bible passages and relevant links can be found at twitter.com/sgschapel

In Prayer this week:

Reflect on: Romans 5:10

Give thanks for: The joy of Easter!; God’s faithfulness in many answered prayers; our school building project; the

gift of ‘teachers’ in our young people’s lives; the many opportunities to be involved in diverse school activities.

Pray for: The Van Es family and their recovery; Staff, families & students who are ill or struggling at the moment;

For Year 3 & Year 10 students. (Specific prayer requests can be sent to prayers@sgsnsw.edu.au to be prayed for by

our weekly prayer group- not published in newsletter)

Rev’d Nate

Duke of Edinburgh Award and other Activities. Bronze and Silver Award Expeditions.

22 Bronze students and 6 Silver students completed their Duke of Edinburgh Award preliminary expeditions in

The Barrington Tops last week. The Silver group started their expedition on Wednesday 16 March and the Bronze

group the following day. The Silver group, known as “FAM” hiked out to Junction Pools on the first day in wet and

quite cold conditions. This was a testing time as they donned wet weather gear, pitched tents and cooked in

adverse conditions. On the 2nd day they walked to Carey’s Peak, where normally you can see as far as Bayswater

Power Station and Newcastle in the opposite direction, but unfortunately, the heavy mist limited their viewing to

5 metres in front of them. The country in this part of the “Tops” is quite open and it allowed the students to use

their recently acquired map and compass skills to navigate back to camp. The last day was a hike back to Polblue.

Congratulations to Noah Folpp, Chloe Flanagan, Phoebe Smith, Lleyton Hails, Luke Edwards and Sara Simpson for

planning and executing a well thought out expedition.

The Bronze students missed most of the rain. They camped at Gummi Falls and Little Murray. The 3 groups all

walked along the Tuburruca Rd and then went their separate ways. “Team Taco” took the tricky manoeuvre

around the Pine Plot and across the ford that allowed for some survival skills and self preservation to happen.

Gummi Falls is a beautiful place to camp and the students erected their tents really well except the boys put

theirs up in a very dirty spot. “Sierra Romeo and “The Avengers” eventually met up at ‘Little Murray’. They made

an early start the next day to complete their hike. The students were; Eloise Blayden, Lachlan Buckley, Josh

Caban, Alex Catzikiris, Marcus Collins, Braden Cook, Victoria Duggan, Lily Dunn, Conor Edwards, Olivia Hamson,

Natasha Holz, Nicola Holz, Riley Knobbs, Matilda Magner, Ky McGrath, Rosie O’Brien, Sophie O’Brien, William

Price, Philip Ritter, Tom Scowen, Matt Smart and Aspyn Tanner. Lots of lessons were learnt and it hoped that

these will be remembered when the students prepare for the Qualifying Expedition next term.

Outward Bound

BHP and Outward Bound have combined to offer part scholarships for Year 9 and 10 students to take part in their

leadership courses that take place in May. Time is running out to apply for these courses. Please see Mr. Berry

asap for an application form.

Trip to India

I have received several ‘indications of interest’ from students in regard to the exchange programme we have with

Welham Girls and Boys’ school in Dehradun India. It is not too late to receive further information about this

exchange that is proposed for September 2016. Please email me at school, aberry@sgs.nsw.edu.au to indicate

your child’s interest.

Mr. Berry

Director of Activities

The Yellow Cottage Tales We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our families a very Happy

Easter. We hope you enjoy the four-day weekend and that you are able to

take time with family and friends to celebrate the real meaning of Easter. If you

are travelling, please stay safe. The children are all very excited about the

Easter Bunny coming to visit so we hope that your houses are full of lots of

chocolate smudged smiles on Sunday morning.

We have had a busy couple of weeks embracing the Easter Celebration. The children have enjoyed

Easter stories, songs, craft, a visit to Chapel and of course our Easter Egg hunts. This week our

playground has been filled with Easter Rabbits hopping around delivering coloured plastic eggs and

playing in our Easter Bunny Cubby.

On Friday we received a big parcel filled with glitter, sequins and feathers. We have ordered these to

use on the horses for our horse float entry into this year’s horse parade. The theme this year is the

"Horses go to Rio". We are all ready to get our best Peter Allen on for this entry. Please come and chat

to us if you would like to help us prepare for this in any way. We will get our horses underway in the

first week of Term 2. The Horse Parade is Saturday May 7 this year.

Our plans to create a sustainable cubby are still underway. We have purchased a weather station that

we will add to the cubby so the children can monitor the different aspects of the weather. Dee is also

planning to replant our vegetable gardens in the holidays. She has talked to the children about some

winter crops. We look forward to winter planting and produce. Thank you Dee for your initiative and

having such a green thumb. Growing vegetables and gardening with the children helps them learn

about nature, the environment and gives them the sheer pleasure of watching something grow. These

are all aspects of our commitment to implement sustainable practices in our everyday play

opportunities. Growing your own vegetable is also a great thing to do at home and we love hearing

stories from the children about things they have grown at home.

Enjoy your Easter long weekend and we look forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday morning. Thanks

again for a great week.

Important Dates for this term:

March 30 - Miss Amy’s Ballet concert in the Grammar School MPR at 1.30pm

March 31 - Newcastle Family and Sports Podiatry Screening day at SGS Multipurpose Room

April 8 - Last day of Term 1

Equestrian News

Entry forms are now due for the following events

Coonabarabran (North West Equestrian Expo)

Quirindi Horse Sports Day

Scone Horse Sports for Schools

Late entries to these events will not be accepted.

If you intend to Show Jump at Scone, a copy of a current Jump Card must be included with your entry.

Once again our Equestrian Team had a most successful day at the Willow Tree Horse Sports held on Friday, 18

March –

Chester Hall – 12 Year Boy Age Champion

Prunella Hayes – 12 Year Girl Age Champion

Angus Stanford – 11 Year Boy Reserve Champion

Finn Magner – 8 Year Boy Encouragement Award

Scone Grammar School – Highest Point Score for a Primary School

New Scone Grammar saddle cloths are at the Clothing Shop.

The Scone Grammar School Stockman’s Interschool Challenge meeting will be held next Tuesday, 29 March at

White Park at 5.30pm. We will meet directly after the Tuesday’s Horse Sports. This new event is planned for

Monday, 1 August following a two day school at White Park led by Allan Young. It will be designed to show case

the skills used on a daily basis on properties in the Upper Hunter. All horses are welcome to compete at this

event. Come along and find out more.

Anne Davies

Equestrian Co-ordinator

OPEN: Every Monday Morning

TIME: 8.15am to 9.30am

WHERE: Trade Training Centre

WHAT: Espresso Coffee and Baked Goodies available

SSAAVVEE TTIIMMEE..........OORRDDEERR OONNLLIINNEE VVIIAA TTHHEE SSGGSS AApppp// ee--FFOORRMMSS

HRIS Secondary Swimming On Wednesday, 9 March, our Secondary Swimming Team competed at the Division 2 HRIS Carnival. This year proved

to be one of our best years with a number of students placing in the top three in their events. Our school also placed

4th overall at the carnival, thanks to many talented swimmers giving it their all throughout the day.

Congratulations to the following students who achieved either a combined age champion or an individual champion

Combined Age Champion

13 year boys – Joseph Hamson, Charlie Brooks, Darcy Moore

Individual Age Champion

Joseph Hamson

Caitlyn Jones

Congratulations to the following students who placed in the top three out of 32 competitors and will now be heading

down to Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre to compete at the AICES Swimming Championships on Wednesday, 30

March.

Caitlyn Jones 12 year girls 3rd 100m Freestyle

Joseph Hamson 13 year boys 1st 50m Butterfly

1st 100m Freestyle

1st 50m Freestyle

1st 50m Backstroke

3rd 50m Breaststroke

Lauryn Crackett 17 year girls 3rd 50m Breaststroke

Maddy Hamson 18 year girls 3rd 50m Backstroke

3rd 50m Freestyle

Individual Age Champions - Joseph Hamson and Caitlyn Jones

HRIS Netball Trials

On Wednesday, 16 March, both the Primary and Secondary HRIS Netball Trials were held in Newcastle. These

trials are extremely tough with over 50 players trialing for a position in a 9 player team. I would like to

congratulate Anna Atkinson in Secondary and Charlotte Kelly in Primary for making their respective HRIS teams.

Congratulations also to Tori Duggan in Secondary for making first shadow. These girls will now go to the next level

to compete with their teams in either the AICES (for Secondary) or CIS (Primary) Championships.

We wish them luck and hope they enjoy the experience.

Miss Day

MOOSH and SOOSH Transport

As of Term 2 2016, all students travelling to MOOSH or SOOSH regardless of having a bus pass or not, will be

required to pay $1 per trip.

The Clothing Shop

The Clothing Shop will now be open in the holidays on Friday 22 April from 1 - 4pm if you need any last minute uniform items.

You can also order online over the holidays and those orders will be ready for collection from 3pm on 22 April or

on the first day back. Any questions, please contact Pip and the Clothing Shop on 6545 1220.

Scone Netball Club – Coaching Clinic

Want to improve your netball skills for the season?

If you are 7 years or older come along to Scone Netball Club’s coaching clinic.

Thursday, 14 and Friday, 15 April at the Scone Netball Courts, Bill Rose Sports Complex - 9am to 12pm -

Cost $20 per person/per day - Sausage and drink provided each day.

RSVP to Danielle Brown on 0407 157 645 by Tuesday 12 April

Come’n’try Gymnastics in the school holidays – or just get some extra time to perfect your moves! Monday and Tuesday 18 & 19 April

9-10am for 4-5 year olds, $15 per day or $20 for both days

10-11am for 6-7 year olds, $15 per day or $20 for both days

11-12.30pm for 8+ year olds, $15 per day or $25 for both days

To book a spot call Nicky Western on 0414 806 074

Community Notices & News Hockey Skill’s Training in Tamworth last week

For Your Diary WEEK 9 (A) Thursday 24 March Book Fair in Library Leaders’ Lunch Fri 25 March Good Friday Easter Week 10 (B) Monday 28 March EASTER MONDAY Tuesday 29 March Wednesday 30 March Gallop Student Poll- voluntary for students Thursday 31 March Foundation Meeting in Library 5.30pm School Council Meeting Primary Open Classroom afternoon 3.30pm–6.30pm Friday 1 April Cross Country - Whole School at Glenbawn Dam Week 11 (A) Monday 4 April Parent/Teacher Interviews Tuesday 5 April Year 12 PDHPE – Rowing Skills at Glenbawn Dam Wednesday 6 April Parent /Teacher Interviews Thursday 7 April Rugby 7’s at Tamworth U12s Friday 8 April Years7-12Christian Education 2016 Convention at Katoomba until 10 April TAS Rugby Carnival 1stXV U12s until 10 April Saturday 9 April National Primary Games - Tamworth End of Term 1.

Canteen Roster

Week 9 (A) Wednesday 23 March

Jenny Crackett, Bernadette Holz Thursday 24 March

Jenny Crackett, Jaymiee Allan

Friday 25 March GOOD FRIDAY

Week 10 (B)

Monday 28 March EASTER MONDAY

Tuesday 29 March

Fiona Bailey, Rachel Northam Wednesday 30 March

Fiona Bailey, Debbie Sadler Thursday 31 March

Jenny Crackett, Sarah Stanford

Friday 1 April Jenny Crackett, Cross Country at Glenbawn

Week 11 (A)

Monday 4 April Jenny Crackett, Julianne Christopher

Tuesday 5 April

Jenny Crackett ,XXXXX Wednesday 6 April

Jenny Crackett, Acey Firth Thursday 7 April

Fiona Bailey, Amanda Dowell

Friday 8 April Fiona Bailey, Karen Yelverton

Term 1 ends

XXXXX need helper