THE HART
Term 2 - Week 9
In this newsletter
Principal's Message
Mr Frank Monagle
Term Two Celebrations: Anzac Day / May the Month of Mary & Mother's Day
Ms Jenny Hoare
Mr Paul Murphy
Ancient Artifacts Excursion
Miss Marie Yeo
Sport for Life
Ms Jenny Hoare
Mr Paul Murphy
Technology
Mr Ian Mejia
End of Semester Awards
From the Chaplain
Fr Paul Grant
Father & Son Camp - Save the Date!
Compass
Principal's Message
Mr Frank Monagle
Principal
Dear Parents, Boys and Friends,
With this newsletter Semester 1 comes to a close. It has been an exciting time for Hartford to come into existence.
The staff are looking forward to a well-earned break. Many of us have been wearing many hats as noted by the school inspectors from NESA two weeks ago. The boys also deserve a break from the usual routine. They have been presented with many challenges. As they have come different educational environments, they have experienced the three years of COVID disruptions to their schooling progress. We have found that many have lacked the habits that are essential for sound academic advancement. Nevertheless, by and large, we are very happy with the progress they have made.
The holidays will be most appreciated by those that are the earliest risers and the hardest workers. Holidays are a chance to rest. But rest does not mean idleness. To help them continue to make progress it is important that they continue to grow in good habits and to not go backwards. Having more time at away from school should be seen as a chance to work on other skills. Reading should not be seen as associated with schoolwork but as true recreation and personal development. Exercise and hobbies are also good uses of leisure time. It would be good to have an agreement about a daily timetable that may involve for sleep but with an agreed time to rise and a flexible timetable for each day. It would be a tragedy if these weeks were wasted. Help them set some goals, some activities, some new skills and some time for friends. Critically, it is great to have their buy in on the amount of screen time that lets them make progress in other areas of human development.
Well done all round!
I hope we all come back well rested and ready for Semester 2.
Term Two Celebrations: Anzac Day / May the Month of Mary & Mother's Day
Mrs Jenny Hoare, Years 6 & 6
Anzac Day
The Hartford College Community participated in a solemn and meaningful ANZAC Day Commemoration Service at the start of the term. The students gathered to remember all Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. The students were involved in reading the Acknowledgement of Country, the history of ANZAC Day, prayers, readings, the Gospel and Poems that honoured the memory of all those who have fallen in battle, those who have mourned them and of all who have been the victims of armed conflict. The service concluded with the Ode of Remembrance, the Last Post, the Rouse and the National Anthem. This was the first time the Hartford Community had gathered for an ANZAC Commemoration Service, and it marks the beginning of an important tradition that will continue at Hartford College.
The students in Years 5 and 6 created beautiful ANZAC Day poems and artwork in honour of this great tradition.
May the Month of Mary & Mother's Day
Throughout the month of May, the students have been learning about the Catholic tradition of honouring Mary. The custom of dedicating the month of May to Mary dates back to the 13th century. Mary has a unique and privileged place in the Church. Because she responded yes to becoming the Mother of God, she is our first model of discipleship and our model of grace and trust in God. The students have been learning about the Rosary and the many feasts of Mary in May, most importantly, the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians (May 24th). On this day, we acknowledge Mary as the Patron of Australia. The infant church in Australia had a special reason for turning to Mary. No priests were sent to the colony in its early days, and Mass was not allowed except for one brief year until 1820. It was largely the Rosary in those early days that kept the faith alive. Catholic Australia remained faithful to Mary and was the first nation to choose her under the title Help of Christians as principal Patroness.
St Mary’s Cathedral was dedicated in her honour by the Irish pioneer priest, Fr John Therry, who arrived in Sydney in 1820 and assumed responsibility for the planning and initial construction of the Cathedral.
It is fitting that we celebrate Mother’s Day in May. The students in Years 5 and 6 thoroughly enjoyed making surprise gifts for their Mothers to celebrate Mother’s Day. A 'special thank you' to Michelle Loye( Mother of Winter), who came into our class to teach the students how to make beautiful chocolates. Michelle’s expertise, patience and generosity made the experience exciting and memorable. We hope that the Mums had a wonderful Mother’s Day and know how special they are.
Ancient Artifacts Excursion
Miss Marie Yeo, Registrar & School Secretary/Music & Latin Teacher
This term, our boys explored Sir Charles Nicholson’s collection of Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman Artifacts at the Chau Chak Museum in the University of Sydney. They were guided by one of the museum’s knowledgeable curators and had an opportunity to handle small artifacts of all sorts, including axeheads from the bronze age, ancient roman lamps and pottery, mosaic fragments, and Egyptian embalming hooks.
The year 7s had an opportunity to transcribe Roman numerals etched into various displayed tombstones and stone steles. Mr Monagle showed them Isaac Newton’s Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica aka Principia – containing the equations of motion and the law of universal gravitation – one of only four copies of the most important scientific books ever written in history. The latter was quite a find!
After having lunch amongst the neo-gothic architecture of Sydney University’s quadrangle, the boys attended mass at St Benedict’s Broadway, experiencing liturgy within one of the eldest churches in Australia.
It was a nice trip back to school, discussing various things that the students had learnt that day. No doubt this trip would be a substantial boost in their education and the boys enjoyed it as much as the teachers!
Sport for Life
Mrs Jenny Hoare
Years 5 and 6
Rugby Union skills and Football Skills have been the focus of Hartford’s Sport for Life Program throughout Term Two. The NSW Waratahs Development Team provided two experienced coaches, current players, to teach the boys passing skills, agility drills, strength drills and fitness games. Although Rugby is not necessarily their sport of choice, the students have embraced the new skills and enjoyed its challenges. It’s great to see the boys playing touch rugby during lunch breaks!
For the remainder of the term, the students thoroughly enjoyed improving their Football skills with the help and expertise of two dynamic coaches from Sydney FC. Many of our students play Football for their local clubs, so seeing their skills and talents in action was terrific. We will be continuing Football for the first three weeks of Term Three.
Fitness has also been a priority in our PDHPE Lessons. The students have been practising their one-kilometre running times, maximum sit-ups in one minute, and push-ups in thirty seconds. We encourage the students to practise these disciplines often to help improve their performance in our testing week.
The students participated in our Annual Cross-Country Competition at Rowland Park on the last day of term. Seeing the Year 5 and 6 students run three kilometres and the Year 7 students run four kilometres was fantastic. Congratulations to the following students on their excellent placings.
Years 5/6
1st - Jaydon Hancock
2nd - Ben Mitchell
3rd - Jonathan Madouris
Year 7
1st- Matias Giraldo-Ruiz
2nd - Matthew Hiu
3rd - William Brown
Technology
Mr Ian Mejia
Deputy Principal / Technology Teacher
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We are excited to share some incredible achievements from our students in the technology class, where they have been exploring the world of programming and computer science through the popular platform called Scratch. Over the past few weeks, our budding programmers have embarked on an adventure of innovation and creativity, surpassing expectations with their exceptional projects. Ask your son to take a look at what he has been up to!
Scratch, a user-friendly block-based programming language developed by MIT, has proven to be an exceptional tool for introducing our students to the concepts of coding, logical thinking, and problem-solving. It offers an interactive and visual environment, enabling our young learners to create their own stories, animations, and games by simply dragging and dropping blocks of code.
Our students have shown tremendous dedication, enthusiasm, and aptitude in their Scratch projects. They have unleashed their imagination, transforming ideas into digital realities while building vital skills that extend far beyond the realm of programming. Through their journey with Scratch, they have honed critical thinking, collaboration, and perseverance, qualities that will serve them well in their future academic and professional endeavours.
From the very beginning, our students eagerly embraced the challenges presented to them, engaging in activities that fostered their understanding of coding concepts. They have demonstrated impressive problem-solving abilities, iterating on their projects, and finding creative solutions to any hurdles they encountered along the way.
Furthermore, our students expanded their horizons by developing interactive games using Scratch. They exhibited great ingenuity in designing captivating gameplay mechanics, scoring systems, and intuitive user interfaces. These games not only entertained their peers but also demonstrated their ability to craft experiences that require strategic thinking, problem-solving, and quick reflexes.
And just as our students have embraced cutting-edge technology, so have I! This entire article has been written by Artificial Intelligence.
What an exciting world our students will face!
End of Semester Awards
Congratulations to these students who received these awards in our end of semester assembly.
Joseph Wong
Year 5 Academic Excellence Award Semester One 2023.
Winter Loye-Blinkhorn
Year 5 Class Achievement Award for consistent application across all Key Learning Areas.
Ben Mitchell
Year 6 Academic Excellence Award Semester One 2023.
Patrick Piromalli
Year 6 Class Achievement Award for consistent application across all Key Learning Areas.
Cooper Cobden
Creative Arts Award for outstanding artwork in Semester One 2023
Matthew Hiu
Year 7 Academic Excellence Award Semester One 2023.
William Brown
Year 7 Class Achievement Award for consistent application across all Key Learning Areas.
Isaac Nakhl
Hartford Citizenship Award Semester One 2023
From the Chaplain
Fr Paul Grant, Chaplain
24th May was a feast day which can have a helpful impact on all Australians and we at Hartford College celebrated this anniversary in our own quiet way. It was the Feast of Day Help of Christians. Our Lady under this title is the patroness of Australia. Intervention by Our Lady has a long history. In the early days of the Colony, there were no priests to say Mass so the Catholic faith and devotions was kept alive, and helped to flourish by the reciting of the rosary in the various homes in the Colony and asking for her help to overcome the troubles occurring in those early days.
Besides, Our Lady help of Christians was the most popular devotion among Catholics in Europe when European settlement began in Australia so it was only natural that when the first priest arrived Fr. John Joseph Therry, he would name our first Church St. Mary's Cathedral after her and make her our Patroness. Australia is the first country in the world to have Mary help of Christians as Patroness.
It is wonderful devotion. If we want to overcome any kind of feeling down or lack of enthusiasm it is good to ask Our Lady, the Patroness of Australia for help. She makes each day a brighter and more enjoyable one. A good phrase to encourage us is the one recommended by St. Josemaria. It is his point 513 of the booklet the Way "Before by yourself you couldn't, now that you have turned to our lady, how easy it is".
Important Announcements and Reminders
Compass Information
Your son’s semester reports are available on Compass. If you have not already done so, you can download the app here.
About
THE HART is Hartford College's newsletter for parents and students. Here you will receive all the latest news for what is happening around the school.
The name 'THE HART' refers to a mature stag of more than five years old. Its use is now considered in a more poetic form deriving from the Middle English word hert.
The word hart can be found in many classic texts such as the Old English epic Beowulf, which names Hrothgar's royal hall Heorot after the Danish word hjort meaning "deer".
J. R. R. Tolkien uses the word hart in his book The Hobbit, especially in the scenes traveling through Mirkwood Forest.
Shakespeare's uses the word in his plays, particularly the Twelfth Night as a pun between 'hart' and 'heart'.
It is in the spirit of these great works that we decided to name our newsletter THE HART since we want our boys to grow into mature and wise men like a faun grows into the stag or hart.
This newsletter will go to the heart of what is happening at our school by sharing news, stories and events.
