issue no. 08

Issue No 8 – 3 June 2016

Ultra Masculinity

There is a societal mood out there that is both encouraging and worrying. It has to do with acceptable forms of masculinity.

On the one hand, society is giving a very clear message that ultra-masculinity expressed in power play, intimidation, and insensitivity towards others is unacceptable. If that doesn’t wake some boys up, then the law can help. Bullying, aggression and misogyny can land you in gaol.

The ‘boys will be boys’ line is no longer a defence for inappropriate behaviour. Neither will ‘just having fun’ be an acceptable excuse for sexual harassment. A failure to understand, ‘no means no’ and that unwanted sexual activity can be classed as assault, can lead to criminal charges being laid.

Some boys just don’t get this. They snigger at the thought of having to conform to societal correctness gone mad. Wake up! Society hasn’t gone mad. Boorish behaviour, sexual buffoonery and mistreating girls has never been acceptable.

Just in case a few are still looking for some wiggle room on this matter, being drunk, being led astray by others and being dropped on your head as a baby, are not accepted as excuses for anti-social behaviour.

So – let the message be clear. Society wants a demonstration of masculinity based on acceptable behaviour. This is not to promote the sexless man or an androgynous wetness in boys. Masculinity, with its attendant virtues of courage, enterprise and strength must be allowed to flourish. However, ultra-maleness with its attendance vices of intolerance, domination and abuse, needs to be condemned.

Having noted the above, some have gone too far in their characterization of the contemporary male. Generalisations are being made that are as unhelpful as they are inappropriate. Maleness is being equated with evil. Condemnation has gone beyond the:

Girls have their faults, boys have only two. Everything they say and everything they do …

sort of teasing. The anti-male sentiment has sometimes become visceral.

The columnist, Miranda Devine, wrote recently:

In this era of women-only parking, women-only trains, women-only apartments and transgender bathrooms, it seems the only acceptable man is a man who wants to be a woman.1

Devine goes on to deplore the government’s new domestic violence campaign as being totally unacceptable because it portrays all boys as ‘aggressive mysogynists’ when most boys are not.

1 Devine, M (2016), Stop telling boys to act like girls, The Daily Telegraph, 23 April 2016

HEADMASTER

The King's Herald Issue No. 8 – 3 June 2016

Society needs to recognise that being male is OK. Society needs to be reminded there are some great blokes out there. Society needs to acknowledge that males are part of the glorious ying and yang of humanity.

However, society is not going to accept this truth if those of us possessed of the Y gene don’t commit to honouring women and engaging in behaviour that doesn’t cause distress to others. Let’s be strong and resilient. Let’s be courageous and daring. Let’s display a masculinity that society has every right to expect.

Dr Tim Hawkes

CENTRE FOR LEARNING & LEADERSHIP

CiteMaker Online Reference Generator This most recent addition to our Senior Library online resources is a tool that is of value to all students. Once the hard work of research work is done for a task, the icing on the cake is adding the bibliography or reference list, where appropriate acknowledgement of all sources is made explicit. This task is best done as each resource is used, thus avoiding a rushed job at the end, sometimes with the loss of some citations.

CiteMaker is a tool that makes referencing standards clear. Defaulting to APA formatting, as required by the School, it also offers a scaffold approach, leading boys through the process. Each student can register with CiteMaker using his King’s email, thus allowing extra features and the ability to save citation lists for specific tasks.

CiteMaker is accessed through the CLL iLearn pages, linked from the CiteMaker banner. http://www.citemaker.com/kings.nsw/

SUBMISSION OF HERALD ARTICLES

Please note that all submissions must be forwarded to Susan MacDonald by 4.00pm on the Tuesday

preceding the publication date, as per below. Suitable items with minimal formatting and of no more than half an A4 page should be emailed to

[email protected]. Please note that this includes Membership forms,

function invitations and the like.

Deadline and Publication Dates for The King's Herald Terms 2 and 3 2016

Issue Deadline Publication Date 9 14 June 17 June

10 26 July 29 July 11 9 August 12 August 12 23 August 26 August

Additional Performance Sunday, 19 June at 6.30pm

Come and see King’s boys Blake Cavalera-Sivis,

Jordan Brown, Tom Mapplebeck and Ben MacLeod in this production.


ACTING DEPUTY HEADMASTER

It is a pleasure to be Acting Deputy Headmaster again, whilst Dr and Mrs Parry are enjoying some well-earned sabbatical leave in Europe. Visiting his alma mater (Cambridge University), several schools and exploring the educational system of Tuscany (amongst other studies) I wish Andrew and Jo every happiness for the remainder of their trip.

Under the baton of Mr Ben Crocker, TKS Head of Bands, The King’s School Symphonic Band performed John Barnes Chance’s “Variations on a Korean Folk Song” at our last assembly. A complex and challenging work asking for a full deployment of virtuosic skill, it was played at a standard of which any professional orchestra would have been proud. That our band can perform at this level is a tribute to the boys, their conductor and our incredible Music Department. I do hope you will have an opportunity to hear this band and our many other musical groups perform. Such an opportunity exists next Wednesday night, 8 June at our annual bands’ event here at the School. You will not be disappointed.

Other successes celebrated at the assembly include Luke Osborne’s (Year 12 Britten) selection in the NSW Under 20 State of Origin Touch Rugby Team and our Senior A Debating Team’s success in reaching the semi-finals of the ISDA Debating Competition.

With our Year 10 Drama performances finishing tonight (Thursday), boys off to the Northwest Equestrian Expo at Coonabarabran next week, preparations for the TKS Cadet Corps 150 Years celebrations (Friday, 17 June) and Passing Out Parade (Friday, 24 June), Gold Duke of Edinburgh preparations, winter sports, (and a host of other activities) it is clear that our boys are very busy. What an extraordinary range of activities they have to pursue. Most of our boys are fully engaged. I am sure that those who are not will regret not having participated fully in the many co-curricular activities on offer at the School.

Sitting in the Deputy Headmaster’s chair always reinforces the importance of the School and home working in concert when it comes to inculcating values and developing character. Mixed messages create confusion in boys’ minds. In most disciplinary encounters parents are supportive of the School’s actions. Often, the boys who have the most difficulty accepting punishment and correcting their behaviour, are those boys whose parents

challenge (sometimes aggressively) the punishments given to their son. The danger of this is that boys find it hard to accept that their behaviour has been inappropriate. I give sincere thanks to the majority of our parents who are supportive of the School’s actions and who reinforce our desire for their son to accept the referee’s decision and not to challenge it at every opportunity. We encourage parents to discuss these issues with us but in the end, punishments are the School’s call, based on the relative behaviours of hundreds of other boys. Our blessing is that most of our boys do the right thing the vast majority of the time.

Mr Rob Chandler

DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SERVICES

Food Surveys Results of the Term 2 Food Surveys have now been collated. It is pleasing to be able to report that the level of student satisfaction has increased this term for boarders and day boys across all meals surveyed by between 8% & 12%. The Food Committee met this week to review and revise the new menu using the survey results and the house food diaries in each boarding house. Feedback that is both timely and specific is always the most useful. To this end, I aim to appoint a “food spotter” each week who agrees to provide a detailed commentary on each meal for a week. If any boy is interested in taking on this role, I invite him to email me.

One of the challenges for the Food Committee is the analysis and interpretation of boys’ responses in the food surveys. For example, the Swedish Meatballs with Rice served at lunchtime on Tuesday 24 May was listed by 30 day boys as among their least favourite dishes. However, another 19 day boys listed it amongst their favourite dishes in the same survey! This is where the Food Committee has a key role to play in advising Alliance and the School.

The boys on the Committee ultimately determine whether a particular dish is retained on the menu or not.

Flu Vaccinations Any boarder or staff member who is wanting a flu vaccination this year should arrange for it to be done at the Health Centre by Thursday, 9 June.

Malcolm Powys


DIRECTOR OF STUDIES

Curriculum Matters Academic Tips No. 8 Subject Selections for 2017 Next term, students who are currently in Years 7, 8 and 10 will be entering online their subject selections for 2017. For some students the decision about which subjects to choose is easy, but for others it can be very difficult.

Key considerations about which subjects to choose are: • Choose the subjects that you enjoy. • Choose the subjects in which you have shown

some ability • Chose the subjects that you are motivated to

study because they interest you or because they may relate to what you would like to do when you leave school.

Do not choose subjects based on: • What your friends are choosing • How you think a subject may scale.

Students who are not sure about which subjects to choose should make use of: • The Guide to Junior Courses or Guide to Senior

Courses (available on the Curriculum Matters ilearn page: https://ilearn.kings.edu.au/homepage/6523

• Further information on courses is available from teachers including Heads of Department and the Careers Advisor, Mr Anthony Attard.

Parent/Teacher Afternoons

Year 10 Friday, 29 July Year 11 Friday, 5 August

On these two afternoons I will be giving a presentation to parents on Subject Choices for 2017 and the HSC Course respectively. The presentations

will be held in the CLL Auditorium at 5.30pm.

Subject Choices for 2017 Details of the online registration for boys in

Years 7, 8 and 10 will be emailed to the boys in the first week or two of Term 3.

Year 7 The Year 8 (2017) Subject Choices - completed online by Friday, 29 July. Year 8 The Year 9 (2017) Subject Choices - completed online by Friday, 29 July.

Year 10 The Year 11 (2017) Subject Choices - completed online by Friday, 5 August Year 11 The Year 12 (2017) Subject Choice Form (distributed Term 3) - completed and returned to tutors by Friday, 9 September (Week 8 Term 3). Information will be emailed to Year 11 boys and their parents in the first few weeks back in Term 3.

University Prerequisites (applies to students currently in Year 10 and below) Recently the University of Sydney announced that it will be introducing mathematics prerequisites for some courses from 2019. Students wishing to apply for certain courses will be required to have studied the Mathematics (not Mathematics General) Course and will need to achieved a Band 4 (70%) or higher. Further information on this announcement can be found at: http://sydney.edu.au/study/admissions/apply/entry-requirements/undergraduate-academic-requirements/mathematics-prerequisite.html It is possible that other tertiary institutions will consider similar initiatives, so students are advised to look online at university requirements when considering subject selections.

Justin Walkden Brown


CHAPLAIN

Pride comes before a fall! (Proverbs 16:18) There are some beautiful things in our world that warm our souls and there are some ugly things that cause us distress. The Bible highlights the attractiveness of humility but the awfulness of pride.

The difference between humility and pride was clearly seen by me when I first entered college. I was educated at a local State School and I was meeting other students from Schools such as King’s. Trinity, Shore, Scots etc. I had never even heard of many of these Schools. I admired some of the students who attended these schools for they went about their business with a quiet confidence that included others. At the same time, I was repelled by some who went to these schools as they acted liked they owned the place and everyone else was there to serve and applaud them. There seemed to me to be a fine line between the humility and arrogance that Schools such as ours can produce.

Pride is a characteristic with which God cannot work. Pride simply focuses on oneself and does not let anyone else in as a person builds up their own world with their own resources and taking all the credit for it. Humility is not a sense of worthlessness or hopelessness, but it is having a sober view of oneself and your abilities, realising that not only do you need others in your life but whatever we may achieve is not solely for our glory but to be shared by others who helped us in the first place.

A story of the beauty of humility: In his book Humilitas, John Dickson speaks of the life of Sir Edmund Hillary who conquered Mount Everest with his Sherpa friend and guide, Tenzin Norgay and consequently, in that same year was knighted.

On one of Hilary’s many trips back to the Himalayas he was spotted by a group of tourist climbers. They begged for a photo with the great man, and Hillary obliged. They handed him an ice pick so he would look the part and set up for the photograph. Just then another climber passed the group and, not recognizing the man at the centre, strode up to Hillary saying, “Excuse me, that's not how you hold an ice pick. Let me show you.” Everyone stood around in amazed silence as Hillary thanked the man, let him adjust the pick, and happily went on with the photograph.

Proverbs 11:2 … When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

Christians should follow their saviour’s example, as Jesus was willing to “humble himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8) Rev Stephen Edwards [email protected]

CHURCH@KINGS

Church@Kings + Church@theChapel One for all. All for Jesus.

This term we are working our way through the Old Testament Book of Exodus, hearing how the Lord sets us free in order to worship him. All are welcome as we meet in the CLL at 9.30am and in the Chapel at 6.00pm.

Our morning service includes Kid’s Church with excellent groups for children of all ages!

Radiate, our new youth group for students in Years 7-10 continues this term. We meet in the Old Gym at The King’s School from 5.00-7.00pm. Boys from Kings, girls from Tara and youth from other schools have been meeting together with a great team of leaders, having heaps a fun and learning how to radiate light in this world.

Rev Scott Tarrant


ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Writers’ Festival On 17 May, the English Scholars classes of Years 7 and 8 set out on a journey to the Sydney Writers’ Festival. We awoke early in the morning to get to the turning circle promptly to catch a bus to Riverside Theatre, where the festival was being held.

When we arrived, we were directed by the teachers to enter the main theatre. There we were introduced to the first speaker, John Boyne, and Irish composer who is well known for his novel, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. This book followed the story of a young German child by the name of Bruno and his unexpected friend, an Auschwitz prisoner by the name of Shmuel. He explained to us about his sudden inspirations for war stories. He also told us about how differently he approached writing The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, as rather than spending long months on the book, he actually completed the first draft in about a week! Soon after, he read us an excerpt from his new book, Boy at the Top of the Mountain. Boyne explained to us about how this book and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas were linked, through the use of main characters who saw each other between the books.

Next, we had an American writer by the name of Michael Grant. Michael Grant was a very funny man and he was extremely entertaining. He showed us the book trailer of his new book series, Front Lines. The book was about the idea of girl soldiers on the front lines of World War One, and about how they coped with it. He also spoke to us about the Gone series of books, about a world where when children turn 15 they suddenly vanish, leaving only those under 15 behind. His speech was very entertaining. It was also very interesting to hear his critical opinions on Donald Trump!

Then we had a lunch break. During this time many boys also went back inside the theatre to the atrium to buy some of the authors’ books and get them signed by the actual author. Afterwards, we all went back into the theatre to listen to two more authors. The first author was Vicki Wakefield. She spoke to us about her childhood, which was rather challenging. She spoke about little stories of her childhood, oddly named, Suicide Forest, and, My Friend who was a Murderer. Whilst it was sad, she presented in a rather comical manner that really helped deliver her ideas.

Finally, we had another female author by the name of Claire Zorn. She gave a very entertaining presentation. She also spoke about her childhood, as well as two of her most well known books, The Sky So Heavy and The Protected. Overall, it was an engaging talk and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you very much to the teachers for organising the excursion and taking us to the Festival. The Sydney Writers’ Festival was a very interesting and amusing experience and we definitely recommend it to all students who have not been there.

Kavin Sivanathan and Miles Stewart

Paul Jarman Choir Workshop On Monday, 6 and Tuesday, 7 June, renowned Australian composer and conductor Paul Jarman will be at the Prep School working with boys in Years 5 and 6 to create a song for performance at the opening of the PYP Exhibition in Term 3.

On the evening of Monday, 6 June at 7.30pm in Horrocks Hall, Paul will be working with the King's Camerata, the community choir of the School and I would like to open up this workshop/rehearsal to all members of the School community. Two years ago Paul ran a similar workshop and many members of the community came along and enjoyed an evening of fine singing and inspired musical leadership.

If you are interested in attending this workshop, please email Jonathan Todhunter for further details [email protected], or simply turn up on the night!

Jonathan Todhunter

Braeside Shop

The Braeside Shop will be closed for the Queen’s Birthday long weekend and will reopen on

Tuesday, 14 June.


EXCELSIOR PROGRAM

Enrichment The Confronting Concepts public speaking day will be held at King’s again this year early in Term 4. This is an event open to schools across Sydney in which schools select their top speaker with all students competing as they deliver a prepared speech from a set of topics.

Previous years have seen topics such as: • Generation Y – why not? • Here are a few pointers for our politicians. • Sports people are paid millions of dollars. Let

me tell you a few things. • Intellectuals do not matter.

The aim is for speakers to inform and entertain, but also most importantly, to confront their listeners. Boys in Year 9 will be invited to make their expression of interest soon if they would like to compete to represent King’s. Trials will be held early in Term 3.

The NSW University ICAS Writing Competition will be held on Tuesday, 14 June in Period 1. Boys who applied to participate earlier have been emailed details. Please put the day in the Diary as it follows the long weekend and might be easy to forget!

Acceleration Acceleration is sometimes used to advance a student beyond his age group into another year cohort. This can be in one or more subjects as might be suitable. Cases of acceleration are considered individually on their merits.

One model that can work well is to complete Year 10 work in Year 9 and then advance into Year 11 when at the Year 10 age. If parents of Year 8 boys in particular would like to discuss how this might work, please contact me.

Nick Green [email protected] Co-ordinator


HEAD OF LEADERSHIP STUDIES

Senior Leadership Applications for Year 11 It's hard to believe that boys in Year 11 are already beginning the process to apply for formal leadership roles. This week I have had the opportunity to speak to all boys in the year group, to outline the process and provide a time line for Term 3 when they will gradually assume the mantle of our School leaders from the current Class of 2016. This process is one we take very seriously and it is one primarily owned by the students, as ultimately they are responsible for the leaders they choose to represent them and our community. Each boy in the Year 11 cohort has been invited to present a letter of application and resumé at the beginning of Term 3 to be considered for the role of School Monitor.

For the remainder of this term they have been challenged to reflect on their experience of leadership, seeking feedback and direction from those that know them best. An essential element of leadership is for young men to have a good understanding of their strengths and to work on areas that they may feel deficient through thorough self evaluation. The VIA (Values in Action) Character Strengths Survey, available for free at the following link, is a fine place for boys to start their reflection. http://www.viacharacter.org/www/Character-Strengths-Survey

The letter of application enables boys to outline their perspectives on leadership, whilst a resumé provides practical examples of experiences where leadership has been demonstrated. All boys complete a resumé as part of the Boys to Men program in Year 10 and this project of application enables them to update and adapt it, a vital tool for University applications and for those seeking employment in the short term.

An extended process of evaluation follows for those who apply, roughly three quarters of the cohort from previous years’ experiences. Detailed feedback on a set of criteria is sought from Housemasters and tutors, whilst all staff and students are invited to vote on the suitability of candidates. With all of this data collected, a short list of boys is compiled before interviews are conducted with the Deputy Headmaster and recommendations for roles are made to the Headmaster, Dr Hawkes. This is an exhaustive and comprehensive process that provides all boys with an opportunity for evaluation and self-reflection and one which we believe provides a strong framework for the appointment of our next batch of School Leaders.

Whilst this process occurs, similar activities are being conducted within Houses for the appointment of Captains and House leaders in various areas. It takes a good deal of courage to open oneself to evaluation and to put oneself "out there" for consideration for leadership roles.

I wish all the boys in Year 11 all the best and I look forward to assisting them with this process.

Dr Steve Middleton

LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT

On Sunday, 29 May four Year 11 Chinese language students represented The King’s School in the 9th Chinese Bridge Competition for Secondary School learners of Chinese, held in Sydney.

All four boys, under the guidance of Mrs Petrova together with the help of Miss So and Mr Xu, each put on an exceptional performance ranging from a speech to a Chinese cultural performance. Amay Jain came first in the competition! Matthew Gillis came third and Excellency awards were also received by Kalvin Fernandez and William Giang. All four boys should be congratulated on their presentations.

The First Prize winner, Amay, will head to Beijing later this year to participate in the international semi-final competition, where he will compete against students from various backgrounds. It will be a valuable and memorable experience for him.

The boys should all be commended for their effort and hard work in preparing for this competition - Dreams Enlighten the Future.

Winnie So Year 11 Chinese Teacher


CAREERS

The Old Boys’ Careers Night Congratulations to Year 10, 11 and 12 students for your excellent participation in the successful Old Boys’ Careers Night that was held at School last week. Many positive comments have come in, praising your involvement, your interest and the respect that was displayed. A special note of thanks to Mrs Khoudair, the Secretary of the Old Boys’ Union for all of her work behind the scenes, and to Mr Whittington, the Old Boys’ Union President.

Thank you also to Mr Kennett and the Science Department for the use of the Science Centre. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the stars of the show – the Old Boys. It is their immense generosity in giving time to speak to our students that makes this night so helpful to the boys. Old Boys who presented: Dugald Storie (‘87) Kieran Yee (‘91) William Shang (‘14) Adam Warnock (‘99) Brad Lewthwaite (‘08) Zac Cox (‘13) David Hosking (‘71) Andrew Steele (‘06) Andrew Cooper (‘05) Tom Fry (‘84) Timothy Strong (‘97) Adam Currall (’97) Jarrod Pendlebury (‘95) Phillip Krok (‘06) Brian Rocks (‘97) Warwick Holmes (‘79) Colin Sutton (‘59) Tom Ragg (‘01) Michael Thomas (‘97) Alex Deane (‘06) Aaron Malouf (‘83) Alan De Jong (‘77) Henry Lin (‘09) David Parry-Okeden (‘62)

Tertiary Awareness Night 2016 The second Careers night staged by the School for 2016 will be the Tertiary Awareness Night on 15 August. This night is open to King’s and Tara students from Years 10 to 12 (especially Year 12!) and features representatives from close to 50 Universities, Colleges and employer groups.

Year 12 Work Experience 2017 Year 11 Non-Corps students are reminded that

Work Experience placement for 2017 needs to be sorted out by the end of this year. If you need any assistance with this -such as finding previous employers that have accepted King’s students – please come and see me. A comprehensive and fully certified RSA/RCG/Barista/Food and Hygiene training course is also available during the Work Experience week. If interested please send me an email and your name will be added to the list.

University Scholarships 2017 Year 11 and 12 students are reminded that the scholarship window is now open. Students are encouraged to visit University Websites and examine the plethora of scholarships that are available. Students are advised to print off any application forms and tackle them in the old fashioned way – via pen and paper. Take your time and employ the “fresh eyes” strategy. This can be done in two ways. I have seen many an outstanding student over the years “forget” exactly what they have achieved. A delay and a re-read or someone else looking at your application can make the difference.

Important University Admission Dates Year 12 students are encouraged to visit the following website – http://www.uac.edu.au This is the UAC (Universities Admission Centre) website and it is the one that students will use later in the year to apply to University in NSW. An early look can be quite revealing, especially a look at the SRS (Schools Recommendation Scheme)

Free Tickets I have free tickets for any students interested in attending the following Careers market: *The Western Sydney Careers Expo, Sunday, 19 June at Olympic Park –www.westernsydneycareerexpo.com.au

Free Job Guides Free copies of the 2015 Job Guide are available from the Year 12 study room in the CLL.

Professional Cadetships Australia Students interested in Engineering/Technology Careers are encouraged to consider the cadetship opportunities offered by Professional Cadetships Australia. Visit the following website: www.businesscadetships.com.au

Useful Website Check this as part of the process of exploring Universities http://www.topuniversities.com

Anthony Attard


DEBATING

The Senior A Debating team, consisting of Arunan Brabaakaran, Dougal Cameron, Ben Hines, Hamish Foung and Matthew Joyce, entered the first round of the ISDA playoffs on 20 May. The boys travelled to Ravenswood, where they argued the topic ‘That we should ban Australian tourism to countries with a poor human rights record.”

In a very heated debate, the 1sts argued for the need to cripple such countries both economically and morally to provoke reforms. Ravenswood put up a strong opposition by outlining how the restriction of tourism would be damaging to both Australia and the countries in question.

Though both teams’ arguments were strong, with the support of the King’s crowd the 1sts were able to successfully claim a victory against Ravenswood. As a result, they progressed to the quarterfinals, which took place against Ascham School on 26

May.

The 1sts were to affirm the proposition “That we should disqualify political candidates who perpetrate hate against minority groups”, a topic very much relevant to the Trump presidential campaign in the US. They outlined the impetus for immediate action and how the platform of political campaigning was incredibly harmful. Ascham proved to be a formidable opposition, citing the need for candidates to be transparent and labelling our model as weak.

Ultimately, though, it was our team again that emerged victorious, boosted by the support of an enthusiastic and supportive King’s audience. As such, the 1sts Debating continue their strong season, preparing to debate in the Semi-Finals against St Ignatius’ College and hoping to be the first King’s team to debate in the Grand Finals since Heath Sloane, Harley Milano and Scott Bennett in 2012.

The Semi-Finals will be held this Friday night at Shore at 8.00pm. The support thus far has been overwhelming, and the team would be incredibly appreciative of anyone spectating the debate. Special acknowledgement must go to several Year 12 Monitors, Ms Smith, Mrs Pagano and parents for their attendance throughout the play-offs.

The King’s debating legacy endures. Can we restore the crown?

Arunan Brabaakaran Captain of Debating

ARCHIVE SNIPPET

Thank you As the School looks forward to celebrating the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Cadet Corps, this week especially we should remember those Old Boys who served as Cadets and went on to serve their country as a member of our Armed Forces.

On Thursday, 2 June, 30 families from around Australia will welcome home at the Richmond Air Force base, the remains of their loved ones lost during the Vietnam War. For eleven of those families, the following day will see them laid to rest at Rookwood Cemetery Sydney. For the family of one Old Boy, John Gregory Stinson Pearce (‘62) this day has been a long time coming. John was the eldest of three sons of Douglas Charleston Pearce (‘36). John like his brothers Robert (‘66) and Jeremy (‘65) boarded firstly in Thomas House and then Baker, with Robert also spending time in Harris House.

Not long after leaving School, at the age of 20, John was conscripted into the Army. This was the time of the Vietnam War lottery where you were conscripted if your birthday date was pulled out of the barrel. Following his initial training, John was selected for officer training at Scheyville. Although at first unsuccessful, he was asked to repeat the course and John joked that this was identical the second time around even down to the gags told by the trainers. He decided that that he could serve the Army more successfully by taking the rank of corporal and becoming a weapons instructor. This he did for the next two years and the men he trained would eventually be sent on a tour of duty to Vietnam. John was very conscious of the fact that he would finish his National Service without seeing active duty like those he had trained, so by pulling a few strings, he enlisted in the Regular Army for a further 12 months so he too could tour Vietnam. He flew to Saigon with the 1st RAR advance party on 17 March 1968 and less than two months later was killed by a sniper. He was just 22.

On his headstone are the words “Fortiter et Fideliter” and it is this brave and faithful leadership, commitment to duty, selfless service, mateship and sacrifice of John and the many others from the ranks of The King’s School Cadet Corps we will give thanks for when John is at last laid to rest in home soil this Friday.

Jenny Pearce


HEAD OF THE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Reading Non-fiction texts There is a strong relationship that exists between the time spent in independent reading and the development of complex reading skills. Students with regular, sustained reading habits learn more vocabulary, become more proficient readers, find reading more enjoyable, and hence continue to read more and become better readers. On the other hand, poor readers tend to read less and their language and comprehension skills are less refined. Research by Cunningham and Stanovich (2001) found that students in the 90th percentile of reading volume read for an average of 21.1 minutes per day and encounter 1.8 million words a year. By contrast, students in the 10th percentile of reading volume read for an average of less than a minute per day, encountering around 8,000 words a year.

However, research into reading and language development in the past ten years has also identified that it’s not just how much students read, but also what they read. The research has shown the importance of student exposure to informational texts in a way that allows them to have equal fluency with both informational and fictional forms. Information texts or non-fictions texts include newspaper articles, reviews, literary non-fiction, letters, diaries, information leaflets, magazine articles, biographies, essays and so on.

Non-fiction informational texts have many benefits as they: • Foster the acquisition of vocabulary – children

encounter a wide range of words and related technical language

• Can often be paired well with fictional texts – for example, narrative texts that feature animals as lead characters can be teamed with non-fiction books that examine habitats, behaviour, predators, etc.

• Teach children about themselves and their relationship with the real world – they learn about themselves and their environment, beginning to form relationships between what they see in the world and what the read in texts.

• Promote thinking skills – non-fiction texts have depth, contain deep conceptual understandings and require readers to think critically about connections and relevance

• Introduce important book concepts – how books are structured and elements such as introductions and summaries, table of contents, glossary, index, charts, diagrams and photos.

Researchers have also identified that by reading non-fiction texts, children are further motivated to explore their interests. In doing so, it may help children to see that the real world can often be just as surprising and intriguing as make-believe. As our boys are encouraged to read regularly at School and at home, it is important to recognise the value and importance of exposing them to a variety of text forms which will broaden and refine their comprehension and language development.

Peter Allison


CROSS COUNTRY

Our Cross Country teams have continued to put in some very strong performances over the last few weeks. All team members have been training exceptionally well and this is beginning to reap rewards in competition each Saturday morning.

In the recent Barker Invitational our Junior team placed 1st, working together to out run our competitors. Intermediates continued their consistent effort finishing 3rd and the Senior team, low on numbers, big on heart, are relentless each and every weekend.

Last weekend’s Knox Invitational coupled as the CIS qualifier for the CIS NSW Cross Country Championships in a few weeks time at Eastern Creek Raceway.

Congratulations to the following boys who will represent the AAGPS and the very best of luck on behalf of the school community.

Jude Henshaw Aleks Sasic Michael Bai Mikey Koutsoukos Ben Moult Ollie Steele Park Cameron Forbes Darcy Penman Connor Sinclair Jye Perrott Vishal Ganeshan Keegan Halfpenny

TKS at The Balmoral Burn Last weekend we had four of our students compete in Balmoral Burn, King of the Hill Relay race, created to raise money for The Humpty Dumpty Foundation. It is a brutal 400-odd meter dash up the ridiculously step Awaba St. at Balmoral. Our boys finished middle of the pack, however, on a day that was raising money for such a great cause, winning was never really important.

I would like to congratulate Hughie Lewis, who worked hard behind the scenes to put together his team. Well done to the rest of the relay squad containing Jack Verman, Harry Bell and Harry Loxton. Hughie sent me an email after the event that said ‘Next year it would be great to see more King’s men running Awaba St …Shore had 18 teams’.

Hewie, I have no doubt that we can match the boys from North Sydney in 2017!

Ben Gavan Master in Charge


FOOTBALL

The Best Footballers are Made with Meaningful Practice While coaching over the years, I have been amazed at the number of teams that do not play football. By play football, I mean string a few passes together and try to build up an attack in resemblance to a good level professional team.

I had a very high level coach from Sydney FC in my office recently who I hadn’t seen for a while, he asked how we played at King’s. I told him how we liked to keep the ball and build a possession oriented attack. This particular coach had visited a good number of schools before King’s.

“Surely all teams say they like to keep possession”, I said. He told me that all but coach one had. I was surprised by this and asked what that one coach had said.

“He said that he liked to smack the ball over the top of the other team’s back four into the corners in order to pressure them so that they could win the ball close to the opposition goal”.

I thought about how honest that coach was and how many other coaches were not, because, I estimate that the majority of teams in the ‘A’s and ‘B’s and 1sts and 2nds play a very similar game to that. They would rather give away possession deep into the attacking third, than try to build up their attack. I would hate to be a midfielder in those teams because you get by-passed so often and are constantly sprinting up and down the field to support the ball or defend. I feel it has become the norm in youth football. It is bad for the game and I think that is becoming evident by the fact that our 1st XI team is being beaten by athletes, many of whom have no finesse and who play long ball football. (Of course there are those teams who have better players all round).

If we as a school are to progress our players in their skill factor, we need to practice our passing, dribbling and build-up play, so that we can progress individually and improve our teamwork, (more touches of the ball for each player will improve their overall play) and this leads us not become a ‘hit and run’ team that just whacks the ball up-field then pushes forward.

If we as a team do give the ball away by losing possession in our passing build ups, that means that we need more practice at this. We should not say to ourselves, “We lost possession while trying to pass the ball so we should kick it long in future”. We should say, “We lost the ball in passing and

dribbling, therefore we need more practice at keeping the ball”.

How do we develop the next Lionel Messi when coaches persist in playing the biggest, strongest youth players who ‘steamroller’ the smaller more skilful player in their early ‘teens? We must, as coaches, encourage players with a flair for keeping the ball to do just that. Yes, it is frustrating when you have players in better positions on the field who do not receive the ball because one decides to dribble a little more; but we are coaching out natural talent by restricting players. Our national team needs players with flair. Which player would you pay more money to watch, Lionel Messi or Mile Jedinak?

Jose Mourinho, when he first went to England as coach of Chelsea said, “In England you teach your children how to win, in Spain and Portugal we teach our children how to play”.

I also believe that substitutions should be limited in order to keep teams from using athletes who can run up and down the field for a certain amount of time then be replaced by a fresh one, with their team exclusively playing high pressure and direct. This will force teams and coaches to mix their play and allow the ‘real footballers’ to shine. Keeping the ball and letting it do the work will come to the forefront because of the physical inability of players to keep up all that pressure for an entire game. Players will not be able to chase up the field for every long pass and then sprint back to defend the other teams long pass.

Watch a high level European match and tell me how many teams play a constant high pressure game? None do, except, perhaps for a very small section of the game. There will be spells in the game when they go with high pressure long ball football, but not for an entire game.

In the European Champions League Final between the two Madrid teams, Real and Athletico, on the weekend of 29 May, the only long balls played were diagonals that changed the point of attack and kept possession in a different area of the field. The reason is a simple one, most professional coaches agree that a team could not sustain an entire match of playing high pressure football. Nor could a team survive the up and down chase of playing a long ball forward and then defending a long ball.

Statistics collected by FIFA during the 2010 World Cup final series in South Africa showed that the winners, Spain, played more passes in keeping possession of the ball than any other team, and each player ran fewer kilometres than most other teams


there. The team that ran the most per match, per player, during the series was Australia!

Some coaches forget about teaching their players how to play ‘good’ football, because those coaches have to win or they get fired. Many of them start their careers as coaches trying get their team to play possession based football, but quickly get pinned in by a high pressure team and end up searching for results by way of the long ball.

What really upsets me are the youth coaches who sit around and talk about development. Then they go out on match day, thump it forward, and use the high pressure game for a win. At the end of the season they may have finished at the top of the table, and they will tell you what a good coach they are because of the trophies they have won.

If a player wants to learn football properly and possibly make a career out of it, it is our job as coaches to teach them the game as a whole. We as coaches are robbing a player of his potential and opportunities if we do not coach our teams to play a possession based game.

I attended a Real Madrid seminar and during the evening a hand went up from the audience, and the ensuing question was, “How much fitness work do you give your youth players at Real Madrid”? The answer from an incredulous coach was “None! When we are sure that a boy has all of the attributes to become a good player, and when he finally reaches the cusp of the first team, that is when we can get him fit. A player can reach top fitness with six weeks training, whereas it takes years to give him the touch and technique he needs to become a top player. Why waste time on fitness when we can use that time improving his playing skills”?

The sad thing is, that we have various people on the sidelines, who are purely results based, and want to see their team win at all costs, even if it means that Football as a sport and the players in it will not progress past ‘kick and run’.

Peter Denyer Master in Charge

SNOWSPORTS

Snow Social Night It was wonderful to kick off the snow season with a gathering on Saturday evening in the Senior School gym. The old ski families welcomed the new families and everyone shared their excitement for the season ahead.

Jordan Barlow and Jordan Denton were announced as The Senior Snowsport captains for 2016, with Orlando Denton taking on the role as The Prep Snowsport captain. We wish these boys all the best in their new roles and know that they will inspire, encourage and excite the ski team together. We also launched the new ski TKS Karbon jacket, which will look great on the slopes and keep the boys warmer.

Huge thanks to the committee for all their help and enthusiasm in not only raising extra funds for our club, but also for believing in our snow team. To Mark Bradford, Kim Selig, Michele Corin, Wendy Calabro, Sheridan Powell, Helen Keepkie, Jackie Kelly, David Prideaux, Mark Barlow and Simon Bedak we thank you for being such superstars! Thanks also must go to trainer extraordinaire Mandy Guinness, uniform guru Kate Rouse, Michelle Ashley, Dugald Loughnan and Grant Gerber for being such great supporters and colleagues.

With only six weeks to go until we hit the slopes, we hope and pray that we will be blessed will lots of white fluffy stuff … called snow! We know that our boys will try their hardest and do their school proud.

Jo Grinham and James Tyree Masters in Charge


RUGBY

The last two weekends of rugby have seen the School come up against the largest schools in our GPS competition, with firstly a home fixture against Joeys and then away to Riverview.

The fixture against Joeys also saw The Armidale School from Tamworth share the fixtures against King’s. King’s were victorious in all games against The Armidale School, except in the Opens, where their 2nd XV defeated our 5ths, and their 1st XV narrowly beating our 3rd XV 5-3 with a late try. The A fixture against Joeys was evenly contested, with the 16As and 14As recording wins, whilst the 13As and 15As going down.

In the 2nd XV match on the White Oval our boys lost a tight encounter 10-16. We were in the contest for the whole match, but failed to take our chances when presented. Ciaran Loh and Jack McKenzie-Wood led from up front whilst Eddie Poolman ran the ball strongly in the midfield. The team was disappointed that they did not get the points as Joeys were certainly beatable.

It was a very different result in the 1st XV fixture, with the huge crowd being entertained by a magnificent rugby match, with King’s winning 24-18 in a thriller. With both schools having compulsory attendance for this GPS match, the atmosphere was electric, with the chanting of war cries and drums echoing around the ground throughout the entire game. The game was played at an exceptional pace, with the ball moving up and down the field as both teams looked to score at any opportunity. The Joeys backline looked as dangerous as always, however, it was shut down with some superb midfield defence. King’s on the other hand looked likely to score through their mobile forward pack, with their tries coming through strong carries from James Lynch and Nick Brown. Kyle Brown continued with his good form with the boot, scoring 14 points.

Last weekend saw all teams playing Riverview away, except for a standalone fixture for our 3rd XV in their third round fixture against Newington. The 3rd XV have started their season strongly and were looking to continue their push towards the premiership. In slippery conditions and battling a heavily one-sided penalty count, the boys tackled as though their lives depended on it, and bravely held on to win 3-0. The 3rd XV have played every game this season with a fully committed approach to everything they do in attack and defence and deserve to sit high on their competition table, winning two of their three matches to date.

Unfortunately, victories at Riverview were much harder to win, with King’s only winning four games in the whole day. One of those victories came from the mighty 6th XV, who are the only King’s rugby team not to have tasted defeat this season. The 13As had a very tight game, drawing 17-17 all, however the other A teams all went down, including the previously undefeated 16As.

The 2nd XV were keen to reserve the previous weekends defeat by Joeys and had trained hard during the week in preparation for what would be a very hard game against the team second on the latter. Unfortunately they never got into the match, with some poor option taking costing them dearly in their 0-20 defeat. The team struggled to stay with their game plan and kicked too much possession away against an opponent who would utilize the opportunities that this extra possession provided. To their credit, they never stopped trying, with no better example of this than their Captain, Jack MacKenzie-Wood, who was tireless in his efforts all around the paddock.

With the 2nd XV going down and without too many victories in any other age groups, all eyes focused on the highly anticipated 1st XV fixture of the only two undefeated teams in the GPS competition. With another enormous crowd watching on, our 1st XV were certainly up for another big performance, however, we lost a ‘little wind in our sails’ when Riverview started with a bang. Two quick tries in the first eight minutes saw us down 10-0. However, we worked our way back into the game and after a scintillating individual try to Luke Osborne, we drew 10 all, with two minutes to go in the half. Unfortunately, we switched off in defence to allow Riverview another easy try which left the half time score at 17-10.

In the second half we kicked an early penalty to reduce the score to 17-13 but, unfortunately, that was as close as we got, with Riverview scoring another try, to eventually take out the game 22-13. The score however didn’t represent the difference in the teams, as they missed quite a few kicks at goal, which should have seen the score difference being more substantial. Our coaches and players will be the first to admit they played probably the worst game of the season last Saturday against a very big and fast opponent, but they also realise that they have the ability to reverse the tables when we host Riverview at home in Term 3.

This weekend sees the School travel to Northbridge for a round of fixtures against Shore.

Stephen James Master in Charge


SCHOOL DIARY SATURDAY 4 JUNE – FRIDAY 17 JUNE

Saturday 4 June Rugby v Shore (A), Football v SBH (A) 10.00am Cross Country, Centennial Park Sunday 5 June 9.30am Church@Kings, Auditorium 6.00pm Church@the Chapel 8.00pm Evening Service, Broughton Forrest and Bishop

Barker Harris Monday 6 June 2.30pm Cadet Corps Ceremonial training 7.30pm Basketball Club Meeting, Sports Centre Tuesday 7 June School Cross Country Carnival P3and4 Friday 10 June Pupil Free Day 5.00pm King’s/Tara Christian Camp (to 12 June) Sunday 12 June 9.30am Church@Kings, Auditorium 6.00pm Church@the Chapel Tuesday 14 June 9.30am Senior School Tour 7.00pm Cricket Club Meeting, Harrisford Room 7.00pm Snowsports Club Meeting, Prep Wednesday 15 June 2.30pm 150th Cadet Corps Parade rehearsal 2.30pm Community Outreach 7.00pm Parents’ Association Meeting, Governors’ Room Thursday 16 June CIS Cross Country, Eastern Creek Friday 17 June 3.45pm 150th Cadet Corps Parade Regimental and 150th Cadet Corps Anniversary

Dinner

THE KING’S SCHOOL

TUDOR HOUSE SCHOOL CRICOS No. 02326F

THEKING'S

SCHOOLSINCE 1831

BANDS CONCERTWEDNESDAY 8 JUNE 2016 – 7PMFUTTER HALL

STRINGS CONCERTWEDNESDAY 15 JUNE 2016 – 7PM

FUTTER HALL

issue no. 08

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