Jottings

Volunteers go to Lismore

The recent catastrophic flooding at Lismore on the Far North Coast of NSW peaked at a record high of almost 14.5m and nothing could have prepared the residents for the degree of devastation that it caused.

Our own Warren Cree, Deputy Group Captain Northern Beaches District NSW RFS, had already been discussing with the School the possibility of deployment to the region when the call came in for his RFS district to send a Strike Team. Twenty-four volunteers were quickly assembled, including Warren as the Strike Team Leader, his son Mitchell Cree (OS 2021) and Blake Dutton (OS 2014) and they set off on Thursday 3 March.

On Friday they were briefed and put to work in the Lismore CBD.

As Warren relates: “Our mission was to prepare hotels and motels to take people from the evacuation centres. This involved performing a Rapid Damage Assessment on the buildings, cleaning them out, and getting them up and running again.

“Our crews hosed and mopped out premises as best they could for three full days, always remaining alert to the dangers of snakes, COVID-19, Japanese encephalitis, and sewage. It was not a very pleasant task, but the resilience of the locals was inspiring. Amongst all the filth, I saw one group of locals having a beer in the street and singing happy birthday to someone.”

Warren’s team were flown home on Monday afternoon after a replacement crew came in to take their place.

The day after returning from Lismore, Warren was out until midnight with the RFS doing flood work on the Northern Beaches followed by an assignment in the Nepean/ Hawkesbury River area.

Warren continues: “I visited Wiseman’s Ferry for a day, leading eight appliances tasked with cleaning up a caravan/water-ski park. It took an entire day, working in ankle deep silt and muck, to empty caravans, hose them out and cart rubbish away.

“The whole experience has certainly left a lifelong impression on me.”

Dean of Sydney appointment

Canon Sandy Grant (OS 1986) has been appointed the 13th Dean of Sydney, a post with a history stretching back to 1858 when William Macquarie Cowper became the first Dean.

From 2004, Sandy was the Senior Minister of St Michael’s in Wollongong where he was involved in a wide range of social issues. He chaired the Diocesan Task Force on Domestic and Family Violence over the last seven years and led the Diocese in addressing this critical issue, including through the adoption of wide-ranging policies and practices for responding to domestic violence in the church. He was a passionate anti-gambling advocate and he also promoted indigenous reconciliation locally in Wollongong and through the Synod, including as a member of the Diocesan Social Issues Committee.

Sandy remarked that “It has been a privilege to provide a voice to the city of Wollongong in the name of Jesus and his followers, and I look forward to trying to offer the same perspective to the great city of Sydney, where I grew up.”

A prolific author

Dr Luke Harley, a Housemaster and English master at College Street, is also a writer; his work has been published widely in the USA, UK, France and Australia. Notable works by Harley, a former London-based music journalist, include An Apollonian Scream, Words that Bleed Music, Poetry as Virtual Community, Searchlight Intelligence: Barrett Watten’s Critical Poetics, Music as Prod and Precedent, and his series of interviews with the language poet Ted Pearson.

In June 2021 Harley’s work appeared in Nathaniel Mackey, Destination Out: Essays on His Work, a new book from University of Iowa Press. Mackey, winner of America’s National Book Award in 2006, has been the subject of feature articles in The New York Times and The New Yorker of late, and Harley was the only non-American author invited to contribute to this first book of essays on Mackey’s work. Harley’s essay, Wariness Notwithstanding, draws upon personal experiences with the poet, including time spent together at a conference in Paris in 2016. It specifically focuses on the musical aspect of Mackey’s poetry and prose, in particular his collaborations with musicians such as Don Cherry, Hafez Modirzadeh, Royal Hartigan, Marilyn Crispell, Henry Grimes, Vattel Cherry and Sid Richardson.

OSU Scholarship

The OSU has had a long history of supporting boys at the School through the OSU Scholarship. The process and award of the OSU Scholarship is part of the OSU’s unwavering commitment to the School, following a long tradition and support of outstanding representatives of the School. The 2021 Scholarship was a difficult choice as the six boys selected were all excellent. However, the committee decided the award would go to Mackley Stalker (V). Mackley has achieved excellent academic results as well as being a keen sportsman, particularly in rowing. Mackley has consistently demonstrated high levels of leadership skills at the School as a Cadet, a Peer Support Leader, Second Prefect and, more recently, as a discussion group leader for the Form III tutorial on consent, as part of the Future Leaders Programme. We congratulate Mackley on his award.

Mr Walter MacCallum (OS 1987), Mackley Stalker (V) and the Headmaster

Constructing cajones

Upon return to school after a lengthy lockdown, Year 6 boys at St Ives constructed their very own Cajones during their Term IV Visual Arts lessons. The Cajón is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front or rear plywood faces with the hands, fingers, or sometimes various implements such as brushes, mallets, or sticks. Cajones are traditionally played in Afro-Peruvian music but have made their way into flamenco, contemporary jazz and funky rhythms as well. Construction was frenetic but it was such an exciting and enjoyable end to each boy’s time in the Art Room.

L–R: Alexander Thomas and James Mizens (both Year 6)

Edgecliff ISDA

Edgecliff entered two teams in the ISDA (Independent Schools’ Debating Association) competition. Our teams were prepared, strong, energised and ready to debate. But this year was quite a different experience for our two teams, not surprisingly because of COVID-19. Instead of travelling to different schools and debating face-to-face, they debated over Zoom. Once each topic was announced, our debaters, naturally curious and eager to learn, flew into action preparing for the arguing back and forth, rebutting and explaining what was ahead. Our two Year Six teams made the most of the experience, despite the challenges of online debating, and remained exemplary role models within the School.

An invitation to Old Sydneians

Since retiring from her position as Headmaster of St Ives, Mrs Rowena Lee has continued to share her passion for books and reading with teachers, parents and pupils.

When speaking to parents, Rowena highlights the important role reading aloud plays in developing children’s vocabulary, comprehension and imagination. She also suggests that parents can enrich their children’s lives and learning by making books and reading part of home culture.

Last year, Rowena returned to St Ives for a presentation titled ‘How to raise Readers and Writers’. In it she explained the role of fiction and non-fiction texts, how to recognise and assist reluctant readers and the importance of developing writing skills.

In 2022, the current Headmaster, Mr Ian Stephens, wants to extend an invitation to Old Sydneians and their families to attend a similar presentation about books and reading, and a tour of the Preparatory School.

All Old Sydneians are most welcome to attend, regardless of their association with St Ives. The presentation is designed for families with children aged 0-14 years and will include reading guides as well as strategies to develop positive reading habits.

For further details and to register interest, contact Mrs Edwina Alexander at St Ives Preparatory School.

RAHT testing blitz

As COVID-19 case numbers exploded over the summer, the State Government was determined that the pupils should nonetheless return to school onsite for Term I. To do this safely required staff and boys to wear masks and to be regularly tested. Supplies of Rapid Antigen Home Testing (RAHT) kits were scarce in NSW and were only delivered to the School on the Tuesday afternoon preceding the boys’ return on Thursday. This gave one day – Australia Day – to get the kits out to boys and staff. A dedicated team worked well into Tuesday evening to unpack, sort and label the RAHTs so they could be collected by parents and boys from the College Street and Stanley Street gates the following day. Staff were able to collect their kits from designated areas within the School.

In the end, the operation progressed smoothly and enough kits were distributed to allow boys and staff to test themselves twice a week for the first few weeks of school. More kits have subsequently become available and have been distributed.

Procedures also had to be developed for the registering of positive test results and for the use of Zoom by any affected boys or staff. It has been a busy start to the year!

A warm thank you to Mr Tom Watkins, Mr Klaus Ossowski, Mr Greg Whitbread and the team for working so tirelessly to meet this particular COVID-19 challenge.

In Gallant Company

Dr Philip Creagh’s (OS 1965-1966) book honouring the Old Sydneians who died in World War I is now available. This book includes short biographies of each Old Sydneian who didn’t make it home. To purchase the book, go to the Humanitix online payment site at events.humanitix.com/book-in-gallant-company. For further enquiries, please contact the Archives and Alumni Office on (02) 9332 5833 or (02) 9332 5843 or email SGSArchives@sydgram.nsw.edu.au

Australian History Competition

Form II Mandatory History classes took part in the Australian History Competition back in June 2021. This required participants to answer multiple-choice questions on a range of areas of Australian history and was intended to foster greater interest in history across the country.

We were very pleased to hear that one of our boys, Xavier da Cruz (II), achieved an equal first in the Year 8 division for the state and we congratulate him on this achievement.

Rowing training in lockdown

COVID-19 presented some challenges for our rowers at the start of 2021 summer season, but we did manage to host a number of online training sessions. Many boys zoomed in from the comfort of their homes for general fitness and strength conditioning with the Sandhill Warrior. Others jumped on their ergs to work on their technique and regain some stamina after an extended break from organised sport. All the sessions were well attended and we hope that they provide a much-needed booster for the upcoming season.

St Stephen’s choral scholarship

St Stephen’s Uniting Church on Macquarie Street offers choral scholarships to soprano, alto, tenor and bass tertiary singers each year. The scholarships are normally only granted to tertiary and vocal pupils at the Conservatorium, but Ben Sweeney (V) auditioned nonetheless, hoping to be considered even though he was only 15. The audition was successful, and the audition panel were particularly impressed with Ben’s outstanding sight singing. Apparently, he sang one sight singing excerpt in the audition more accurately than any tenor applying has in the past - including Masters vocal pupils at the Conservatorium. The scholars sing with the choir on Sundays and boost the sound of the choir, leading their sections from within.