Category: Duncraig

Farewell to staff

April 4, 2017

Words are inadequate to express our gratefulness and appreciation of the incomparable work performance and attitude the following staff have displayed during their tenure with St Stephen’s.

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially to people who have been such valued team members.

We wish you all the best now and into the future.

 

Head of Learning AREA – Health & Physical Education Nerina Cordner

Nerina joined St Stephens 21 years ago in 1996. She leaves us for an overseas teaching post.

“Our fingerprints don’t fade from the lives we touch.” – Judy Blume

 

Senior Math Teacher Frank Bell

Frank joined St Stephen’s in 2009, eight years ago. He is retiring and about to embark on a long overseas trip.

“You’re off to great places. Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.” – Dr Seuss

 

Head of Learning Humanities & Biblical Studies Matt Lovell

Matt joined St Stephen’s in 2013, three years ago. He is moving on to a promotional position at another independent school.

“I have loved working with a great team of professional teachers – I have learned so much and grown more than I could have imagined. Thanks everyone for being part of my journey!” – Matt Lovell

 

Nessa Carey English Teacher

Nessa joined us a year ago and she is moving to a promotional position at another independent school.

 

May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be ever at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall softly on your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God, hold you in the hollow of his hand.

 

Yiyili Aboriginal Community School (YACS)

April 4, 2017

St Stephen’s partnership with Yiyili Aboriginal Community School (YACS) in the Kimberley has seen us loan some e-books to the local students this term.

Great to see the learning opportunities this partnership is bringing for SSS and YACS.

End of term wishes

April 3, 2017

Dear Students and Parents

The end of a busy term has arrived – along with the end of the semester. This term has been filled with camps, carnivals, inter-school competition, clubs, tours, music and drama. You only have to scroll down to see the photographs and descriptions of many of the events and to celebrate the positive attitude and vibrancy of St Stephen’s School.

A highlight over the past 2 weeks has been the process of interviewing prospective families for places for Year 7 in 2019. Two things that characterise the families seeking places at Stephen’s School for their children seemed to be (1) wanting a place where their values would gel with the School and the families here, and (2) wanting to be in a place where like-minded people want similar things for their children.  Over and over again I heard similar statements: “I know people at St Stephen’s”; “I have met children from St Stephen’s”; “I want my child to be like the students I have met from St Stephen’s”, and “I want a place which understands there is more to my child than his grades” (even though the grades were very good!)

We have something remarkable in common at St Stephen’s School: we have a like-minded community of families wanting the best for their children and teachers wanting to engage and excite those children. This incredible synergy comes from the fact that everyone in this place is here by choice and because our choices are underpinned by commonly shared hopes for our children. This morning I was wandering around the School after a staff devotion in Timae: as I encountered and greeted students on their way to their first class, I was reminded of how courteous and kind our students are and how easy it is to like them. The families our students come from do such a good job of raising their children. The fabric of our School is woven in the homes of our students.

As we approach the break and Easter, I would like to wish each family and every student and every staff member a blessed and safe Easter. If you are travelling take care. We look forward to seeing you next term.

Regards

Bruce Titlestad

Year 7 HASS Speed Notetaking

March 31, 2017

Good note-taking and effective reading are among the most basic skills for students.

Taking notes serves one simple purpose: to help you remember information.

Here are Mrs Cunninghame’s Year 7 HASS class doing speed notetaking while others read.

 

St Stephen’s Libraries – The Heart of 21st Centry Learning

March 30, 2017

The school library is integral to the teaching and learning process.

The library facilitates the work of the classroom teacher and ensures each student has equitable access to resources.

While the role of the school library remains constant, its design, digital platform, strategies and tools change as pedagogy and technology changes.

Our thriving school libraries provide a social space to meet, collaborate, research, learn, share and relax.

 

“The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.”  – Albert Einstein

HAVE SUM FUN MATHS COMPETITION

March 28, 2017

Recently, St Stephen’s School has had groups of maths students from years 7 to 12 competing in a quiz style maths competition at various schools across the local area.

They took part in teams of up to 6 answering 8 maths problems of varying difficulty over 4 rounds within a time frame of 20 minutes per round.

There were around 20-25 schools competing and the students represented themselves and the school fantastically well and seemed to really enjoy the evening.

The students were lucky enough to explore various exciting problems as well as developing their team working skills.

For those of you who would like an example of the questions then here you go:

Year 7 & 8

  1. A car-wrecker counted 167 tyres on the cars in his yard. He found that not one car had a spare tyre and that 5 cars had at least one tyre missing. What is the greatest number of cars that he could possibly have in his yard?

Year 9 & 10

  1. The head of a fish is 12cm long. The tail is as long as the head and half the length of the main body. The main body is as long as the head and tail together. How long is the fish?

Year 11 & 12

  1. Barry has a drawer containing 12 black, 12 brown, 12 blue and 12 green socks which are not properly paired. He takes socks out of the drawer at random in the dark without replacing any. How many socks must he take out to be certain he has a matched pair in each of the four colours?

I, Adam Merrifield, would like to thank the students and staff involved for giving up their time for helping these evening sessions run smoothly.

Bring on next year!

“Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.” – Albert Einstein