Over 140 years some things don’t change

It’s been another great week at school with one thing that I have especially enjoyed is the sound of the children rehearsing their house cheers and chants leading up to next week’s Athletics Carnival. The enthusiastic noise is wonderful! I love the above image that was taken at a Claremont College sports carnival in 1925…  close to 100 years ago. I think it’s amazing that our students have been loving their sport, cheering for friends and classmates, and celebrating the achievements of others over these past 140 years.

Despite its size, Claremont has always had a rich sporting tradition. One sport that our school was ‘famed’ for in the 1920’s and 1930’s was tennis. I am so pleased that every week some of our students continue to enjoy morning tennis at Coogee. Swimming continues to be one of our school’s great passions. Across the past century we have had an ex-student who was an Olympic silver medalist in swimming, Mina Wylie (Stockholm Olympics 1912) as well as a close affiliation with ocean swimming and Nippers. So many of our students are currently involved in weekend Nippers and some are NSW State Champions including Charlotte B (3), Scarlett C (5), Angus B (5) (State Rep), Marnie L (5) (State Champion), Gia G (6) (State Rep).  Did you know that the Coogee McIvor (Women’s) and Wylies Baths are both named after ex-Claremont students and families? (I will provide further information in the coming weeks.)

Perhaps the most surprising sports offering at Claremont College was the Girls’ Miniature Rifle Club. Yes, for a time students actually fired guns here at school, for Sport, using live ammunition. It’s a fascinating snippet of our history and a short story has been included in this Newsletter for your interest and enjoyment. Feel free to let me know if you’d like to see this re-introduced (ha!).

As I wrap up this short reflection on some moments in Sports at Claremont, I draw your attention to Mr Geering’s work as Head of PDHPE and Sports. Thank you for all you do Mr Geering. We are all very excited about next week's Carnival. I encourage our readers to always check Mr Geering’s Weekly Sports updates in this Newsletter. (In this weeks’ update, there has been a change to the transport to the venue, so please don’t miss this.) I encourage the children to always participate in Sport and to aim to be fit and healthy. What’s most important is that they ‘give it a go’, demonstrate sporting spirit and teamwork, try lots of sports, grow in confidence, and importantly I encourage them to persevere and be disciplined in growing their specific talents and skills. On the back of Australia’s incredible success at this week’s Commonwealth Games, I have every confidence that some of our students in the not too distant future could well be standing on podiums around the world. Children, aim high, enjoy your sport, and always remember to thank your parents for the countless hours, early mornings and many other sacrifices they make for you to have every opportunity to be successful and enjoy the many benefits that come from participating in sport. Three cheers for Claremont and see you next week at the carnival.

Claremont College Concert ‘140’ Rehearsal 

We are very excited to inform you that on Wednesday 17 August, the whole school will be travelling to The City Recital Hall in Angel Place for a rehearsal of our School Concert. Please see the attached event note which provides specific details and to provide your child/ren with permission to attend. 

Concert Rehearsal Event Note

Please note that there will be no parent viewing during this rehearsal.

Doug Thomas
Principal

Follow us

Website: www.claremont.nsw.edu.au 
Instagram: @claremontcollege
Twitter: @claremont2031

The return to school for Term 3 coincides with a significant rise of COVID-19 infections, as well as ongoing flu, colds and respiratory illness. With this in mind, we will continue to provide our school community with timely updates, maintain our high standards of health and hygiene practices and expectations, and ask you to not hesitate getting in touch with us if you need to discuss your family context or any concerns/questions. 

As the children return to school, our safety measures will remain in place, including:

• Students and staff staying home if they are unwell, and parents refraining from visiting the school if unwell
• The wearing of face masks is highly encouraged.
• Good personal hygiene practices
• Vaccinations up to date (including flu shots)
• The ventilation of our spaces
• Physical distancing and the consideration of how events and gatherings are held

Should this current COVID-19 wave escalate, we will update you with necessary information as it comes our way.

The school has plenty of RAHT kits available. If your family requires any additional kits, please collect them from the school office.

Mrs Alanna James & Mr Doug Thomas

The Claremont College Miniature Rifle Club

Why someone did not get shot!

During the decades before the Great War (WW1), tensions were rising across Europe. What would be the Australian response to an attack on the British Empire?

Adventurous, exciting, and glorious illusions of battle, and the idea that cadet training would prepare boys for war, were central beliefs fostered among the cadet corps of the public and private boys’ schools of Sydney before the Great War. Boys had to learn to shoot straight.[1]

The British Empire was portrayed in red and known as the Empire on which the sun never set.

It is very odd, however, that Claremont Girls College had a Miniature Rifle Shooting Club from 1905. On Empire Day, 24 May, every Claremont pupil and teacher was given the Empire Badge. The girls played tennis and other sports: including the first recorded rifle-shooting competition. In 1907, again on Empire Day, Minnie Stubbs and Ruby Storey won prizes for shooting. Later that year several girls went shooting in the basement of Randwick Town Hall.

This Club coincided with the establishment in 1907 of the Sydney Ladies' Miniature Rifle Club (1907-1919). An identical club had been established in Brisbane in 1901.

In 1901 the Queensland Ladies’ Miniature Rifle Association held the first full-bore Ladies Matches in Australia

The Claremont Club held meetings every Friday afternoon: the shooting went on to 9:30pm. Club membership embraced the Principal, Miss Fullerton as President, teachers, the College Captain Queenie Stubbs, and several students including Ruby Storey, whose father David Storey was also a member. On 5 December 1907, the end of year ‘break-up’ was celebrated by a shooting competition won by Claremont student Miss Janie Hey.

Why?

Curiously the Claremont Club was associated with the National Defence League, (NDL) a South Australian anti-Labor Party organisation which became a national political party called the Liberal Union. The NDL founded a branch in Sydney in September 1905. It preached universal compulsory military training for boys and adult men and the establishment of an adequate and effective system of national defence. Randwick was at the forefront of this movement and was long associated with rifle shooting. The NSW Rifle Association organised its first annual match at the Randwick Racecourse in September 1861.[2] In 1891, the Randwick Rifle Range was developed near Maroubra Junction.

Not to be outdone by the boys, Claremont College formed its own chapter of the Defence League, indicating its affiliation with the conservative professional, political, farming and business class which dominated the parent body.[3] Miss Fullerton was the president of this chapter.

While the girls learned to shoot, this club was not training them for the army. However, they may have been preparing to help the Defence League to protect Australia from the feared depredations of industrial and social strife by the ‘socialists; of the Labor Party: further evidence that the masculine tasks of battle were not beyond the capabilities of girls, no longer regarded as frail, at least with a rifle in their hands.

These girls celebrated Empire Day with the same vigour as the boys, singing Soldiers of the King as heartily as did the opposite sex who joined the cadet corps in their schools thus making the transition from the masculine dream of athleticism to the reality of militarism.

The Claremont Club was active into the 1920s, but no longer at Randwick Town Hall. The shooting was in a classroom in Claremont House. The girls fired at a target pinned to a wooden block. As one old girl commented:

“I often wonder why someone did not get shot coming in the front gate, as some of the shots were wild and wide of the mark, but some of us became quite proficient.”

One girl thought the club was formed because of the Russian scare. What scare?, you may ask. There was no threat from Russia in 1905 when the Rifle Club was formed.[4] This changed after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917: once again the threat of international socialism may have coalesced with the supposed challenge of unions, communism and the Labor Party in the 1920s. The girls were largely unaware of the politics surrounding the Club: they enjoyed shooting, as many of their brothers did at Sydney’s private boys’ schools.

________________________

[1] For example, at Newington College, 632 ex-students volunteered for the Great War of whom 110 were killed in action. The Shore School produced 261 servicemen, of whom 29 died in the Great War.

[2] In Sydney 1903, a match was held at Randwick on 26 May between Australian and Japanese sharp shooters. It was a ‘running man’ match, with 13 men a side at 300 yards firing as many shots as possible as the target ‘ran’ for 50 yards, with bull’s-eyes counting for five and other hits for four. The Japanese were outclassed, scoring only 170 against the NRA of NSW’s team score of 285.

[3] The nationalist Labor man, Billy Hughes was also a supporter of the Defence League.

[4] There was a view that “the Commonwealth has no force at present (1904) powerful enough to resist invasion,” (SMH, 29 August, p. 6.) however, the Russians suffered an embarrassing loss to Japan in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.

Vic Branson
1 August 2022

Let’s help clean up our playground and learning spaces. It’s important that we put our rubbish into the correct bins by recycling what we can. When you have finished helping to keep our environment tidy, don’t forget to wash your hands. 

Thanks everyone for doing ‘your bit’ to help our school and environment.

Mrs Larissa Cameron
Deputy Principal

Congratulations to the following students who received either a Gold Certificate or Pennant at Monday’s Merit Assembly:

Gold Certificates

Year 1 - Ariana A, Cameron F, Priscilla W, Scarlet M
Year 2 - Chloe H
Year 3 - Aleksandar P
Year 4 - Isabella L, Harriet N, Aidan S

Pennants

Year 2 - Camille C, Aidan W
Year 4 - Magnus R

2022 Term 3

Term 4

The P&F warmly invited all Claremont fathers along with your children to the annual Father's Day breakfast. The breakfast will be served by our wonderful Claremont mothers at the school's playground on Friday 2 September from 8am. Please book your tickets now on Flexischools by Wednesday 31 August.   

School Concert Rehearsal Permission Note

Updated School Athletics Carnival Registration - note this is an important change to transport arrangements

Year 1 Excursion to Taronga Zoo Event Note

The ICAS Competitions will be held in Weeks 5 (ICAS English) and 7 (ICAS Mathematics) at Claremont College at the dates and times below. For each test, the sitting window is the entire week (Monday to Friday). If your child is absent on the date specified, please contact their classroom teacher/s to organise an alternative sitting. Please note that dates to purchase ICAS via the parent Payment System closed on the 1 August.  

Week 5: ICAS English

Week 7: ICAS Mathematics

Renee De Rossi
Head of Learning

St George Girls High school in Kogarah is once again offering their highly regarded MindQuest program after three long years. Thirty-three exciting courses for gifted and talented students in Years 1 to Year 6 will be provided on Saturday 17 September, and Sunday 18 September, from 9:30am to 3:30pm. The course fee for the program is $230. A list of courses is provided on the MindQuest website. If you are interested in registering your child, or would like to know more about this event, please collect a brochure from the Claremont office. It is anticipated that many of the courses will be full before the closing date, Friday 19 August. 

Renee De Rossi
Head of Learning

Event Note - Excursion to Taronga Zoo

Year 3 Learning Festival

On Wednesday afternoon, Year 3 celebrated their Learning Festival! It was a fun-filled afternoon, with many parents able to join us. Our lessons consisted of Writing Appreciation, Science Orbits, Visual Arts and STEM. The parents and special visitors were also given an opportunity to participate in our ‘Daily Review’, which has been a new addition to our teaching following the school's participation in the ‘Early Literacy Project’ this year. 

Read a couple of recounts from this special day:

"I thought it was amazing as this was my first time partaking in a Learning Festival. My mum was really happy with my writing." - Dylan A

"It was really fun. My favourite bit was when we were sitting down doing the Daily Review. This was my mum’s favourite bit too." - Georgia O

"My family had a good time at the Learning Festival. They liked the Manga drawing the most. They also enjoyed seeing all of the other activities as well." - Oliver H

"It was very exciting and when I saw my mum I knew I was going to have a great time. Our favourite part was the Science station because my mum really wanted to learn about space."-  George P

"It was so fun and exciting to see my parents and everyone else’s parents. It looked like everyone was having lots of fun. It was also very fun for me too!"-  Cooper S

"I was so happy to be able to show my mum some of the things that I have been learning in class. It was amazing!" - Charlotte C

It was wonderful to be able to gather together and thank you to all of the parents and special visitors who joined us. We hope that you enjoyed the afternoon as much as we did!

Miss Sinead Kelly, Mrs Adelaide Marquet, Mr Darren Oen, Mrs Michelle Parker & Mrs Nicole Nunn
Year 3 Teaching Team

On Thursday 18 August, the school will be celebrating Indonesia’s Independence Day. An assembly with special guests will be held before the students participate in various Indonesian Games during the day. Students are requested to wear their Sport Uniform.

The canteen is offering a special menu for the day. See the flyer above.

Bu Jill

New Fiction Titles To The Collection

Diane Lucas, Ben Tyler and Emma Long share their knowledge and love of the Top End in this enchanting and accessible book about one of Australia’s most ancient and beautiful ecosystems. The illustrations by Emma Long are beautiful and full of detail.This title has been shortlisted in two categories of the CBCA awards this year. This book is recommended for children aged 6 years and older but will be enjoyed by all ages.

This year, Indigenous Literacy day will be held on Wednesday 7 September. The Library registered earlier this year to once again support The Great Book Swap. This is an initiative that the Indigenous Literacy Foundation started several years ago. This is a national book industry charity that aims to reduce the disadvantage experienced by children in remote communities across Australia, by lifting literacy levels and instilling a lifelong love of reading. By raising funds this organisation has gifted over   636,000 new books to over 400 remote communities.

I have already mentioned to students that this event will take place during library borrowing sessions of Week 8. Students have been asked to support this initiative by simply bringing in an old book, preferably one that is in reasonable condition and suitable for students in their grade. On the day, all the donated books will be set out on display in the library and everyone will browse for a book they would like to take in exchange for a gold coin donation. These books can be brought into school any time from now. I will place donation boxes for each grade in the library. If you are unable to donate a book, it would be wonderful if your child could donate a gold coin towards this important initiative. 

Thank you in advance for supporting this Indigenous Literacy Day event.

Mrs Susan Kesur
Librarian Assistant

Australian Girls Choir Workshop

On Monday 5 September, the Australian Girls Choir will be visiting to conduct a workshop with our girls. The workshop will run for 30 minutes during class time in the school hall. 

This is a wonderful opportunity for the girls to see what it’s like to be in the Australian Girls Choir and receive feedback on their participation during the workshop. 

All girls should have received an information letter and permission slip this week to return to school before Wednesday 17 August. Only students who register to join will be allowed to take part in the workshop. 

I look forward to seeing the girls there!

Mrs Yasmin Davis 
Music Teacher

Key Dates

Important Dates for Term 3 

Claremont Athletics Carnival  @ Hensley Athletics Field
Friday 19 August 

IPSHA Athletics Championships @ Homebush
Monday 29 August

Claremont Athletics Carnival

The Claremont Athletics Carnival will be held on Friday 19 August at Hensley Athletics Field. It will be great to have a ‘proper’ carnival with parents attending for the first time in a long time due to COVID. Years 2-6 will attend for the whole day, while Kindy and Year 1 will only attend for a small part of the day to compete in sprint races and novelty events.

Please see the attached program for further details about how the day will run. 

PROGRAM

Thank you to those parents who volunteered to offer assistance on the day. You will receive further details at the beginning of next week with how you can help on the day.

As mentioned earlier in the newsletter, due to a shortage of buses, there has been a change in arrangements for how students will arrive and depart the carnival. The expectation is that students will NOW make their own way to the carnival (arriving between 8:30am-8:45am) and will be collected at 2:30pm. Please do not drop your child off without seeing a Claremont Staff member. 

Please make sure you fill out the updated registration form if this is not possible for your family, and your child will still need to catch a bus to and from the Carnival. 

AIS Heads of Sport Conference 2022

We like to think of Australia as a bit of a ‘Sporting Nation’. Our recent success at the Commonwealth games would seem to reinforce this perception. But are we a nation who loves to play sport, or just loves to watch sport? It might surprise you that a recent worldwide study ranked Australian teenagers 140th out of 146 nations in the world for their physical activity levels. It might also surprise you that there is about a 30% drop off in sport participation once children reach about 12 years of age.

Earlier this week, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the AIS Heads of Sport Conference in Canberra. What I’ve mentioned above was just one of the many issues presented at the conference. The overwhelming reason that young people choose to participate/or not participate in Sport is enjoyment. At this age sport should be about fun, enjoyment, making friends and building confidence. The research also suggests that primary school aged children should be exposed to a range of different sporting opportunities and that they should not be specialising in one sport only. 

At Claremont we aim to provide a sporting experience that reflects this current research. Through our PDHPE programs, Wednesday and morning skills sport programs, we aim to increase awareness and enjoyment of physical activity. This is done by offering students a wide range of sport and physical activity opportunities. Some will be team/individual, indoors/outdoors, competitive/non-competitive or even just recreational/leisure and it is important for students to experience ALL of these types of sporting and physical activity opportunities.  

It is important for young people to play sports and stay active for their physical and mental health and wellbeing, and to develop their physical literacy. An early connection to sport can also encourage a lifelong love of sport and physical activity. We hope that students might develop an interest in some of the sports they participate throughout the year and then connect with some of the local sporting clubs in the community to pursue that interest further through the grassroots level. This also helps students to become more connected to their local community.   

For some further information from SportAUS about how parents can help nurture their child’s sporting development, please read here. 

Morning Skills Uniform

It order to help encourage participation during our morning skills session, students who have morning skills on a day that they do not normally wear their PE uniform for PE lessons or Sport, are now allowed to come to school in their FULL PE uniform for morning skills, and remain in that uniform for the rest of the day. It is expected that they wear their full PE uniform and not just part (e.g. just wearing sneakers with their normal uniform, or sports jacket with normal school shorts). 

Mr Joel Geering
Head of Sport and PDHPE

20% Discount on Sports & Co-Curricular Group Photos available until 24/08/2022

Dear Parents,

These school sports and co-curricular groups were photographed on 2 May and 3 May:

• Band
• House Captains
• Whole School (Waving)
• Captains and Prefects
• Junior String Ensemble
• Year 6 Muck Up
• Choir
• Senior String Ensemble

You can now view and purchase the group images listed above together with any individual or class images from this year or previous years. 

Images can be viewed by visiting www.advancedlife.com.au entering the code: 537 6V3 2EM and clicking on “Group Photos”. Please note the discount will be automatically applied at checkout.

Important

• Sports and co-curricular group photos can only be purchased online, PLEASE DO NOT return payment to your school
• If your child's group or team is scheduled to be photographed at a later date, you will receive an additional email notification when the images are ready to be ordered
• Photos will be returned to your school for distribution approximately six weeks after the discounted early order period has closed
• Past years' photographs including sports, co-curricular and representative groups are also available at your school's advancedorder and your child's advancedyou photo sites

Also, if you did not purchase your child’s photos and would now like to place an order, please follow the details above. If you have any questions, please contact advancedlife directly.

advancedlife would like to express our appreciation to Claremont College for placing your trust in us. Please remember we offer a 100% money-back guarantee on our products to ensure your peace of mind. We would also love to receive your feedback or resolve any issues you may experience, to ensure your satisfaction. If you have any questions, comments or feedback relating to your advancedlife experience, please contact us at www.advancedlife.com.au/contact

TeamKids Term 3 Week 4 Newsletter

Click HERE to read the TeamKids newsletter.

Term 3 Bookings

A reminder for ALL families to book and verify their bookings for Term 3. Also, if your child is away or will not be attending a pre-booked session, please assist by contacting Customer Service to cancel your booking on the day. Please note this has an impact on the service’s staffing for each session. 

Please visit www.teamkids.com.au to secure your spot! or call Customer Service on 1300 035 000.

We would like to make you aware that the NSW Government has given parents a $500 voucher to use at childcare centres. This is applicable to TeamKids and we encourage you to take advantage of this great scheme. Follow the instructions on the NSW Service website to apply. Then email or bring in the QR code on your voucher so we can scan and redeem it for you. This will be credited to your account to use until June 2023.

Out of Stock Items

Please note that the white sport polos in sizes 8, 10 and 12 are currently out of stock. We are currently waiting for new stock to arrive and all orders will be dispatched when the stock arrives. 

The Uniform Shop is run by Ranier on the school premises during school terms on the following days:

Monday: 2:30pm – 5:30pm
Wednesday: 8:00am - 11:00am 

Methods of Payment: Cash, EFTPOS, MasterCard and Visa

For new students, fittings are by appointment. Simply book online at ww.shop.ranier.com.au

The Uniform Shop is located within the main body of the School. Please access the Clothing Pool via Coogee Bay Road lower side gate.

CONTACT

Email: [email protected] 
Phone: 9213 0720

Responses will be provided during opening hours.

Note: The website can answer most of your questions at www.shop.ranier.com.au

For more immediate assistance, head office details are:

Online: ranier.com.au/contact
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 02 8337 7290