Sometimes things just catch your eye. This was certainly the case when I walked past the Religious Education notice board last week and saw an assignment that had been posted on the board. The assignment was the work of James Neethling (Hunters Hill).

In RE, the boys have been studying “School and Church Communities” and therefore, much of their focus has been learning about Joeys and the history and traditions of the school. The assignment that the boys had to complete was to produce an “eye-cathing” and innovative poster and brochure about Joeys. Well, there is no doubt that James’ poster was “eye-catching”. I have taught the Year 7 RE course and therefore marked many posters for this topic. I can tell you that I have no doubt that James’ was the most innovative that I have seen. I think that the photo gives you a pretty good idea of the amount of time and effort that James put into the assignment. You may like to click on the photo to get a full-size view of it – you will notice that James has created his poster in the shape of a Joeys Blazer! I am sure that the work of all the other boys was of a similarly high standard!

This topic is always a great one for the boys to start on here at Joeys as there is just so much for them to learn about the place and so many stories to be told. You may have seen the photos of boys on top of the main building in our photo gallery – this “Tower Tour” is all part of the experience of Joeys and just one step along the path to learning the history and traditions of our College.

Photo 1: James Neethling (Hunters Hill) and his teacher Ms Deb Phillips holding James’ outstanding work.

I am continually amazed at the enthusiasm and love that our Year 7 boys show towards their study of History here at Joeys. Having said that, I shouldn’t be surprised as they are fortunate to have some amazing teachers whose passion for the subject can’t help but rub off onto the boys.

As you know, all the boys have now attended the Art Gallery of NSW as part of their History study. Ok … time to confess … my knowledge of history is not so great (and I greatly regret not having studied it at school). So, I thought I would turn to a far wiser source of information for this article … one of the boys. Below, Ben Smith (Putney) sums up the first few weeks of History and the excursion which the boys have all been on. Thanks to Ben for saving me on this one!

In history we have been on excursions, watched movies and played some educational games to make the term as fun as possible. So far what we’ve done is watch a movie on ‘’The Body in the Bog’’ , ‘’The Immortal Emperor’’ and ‘’Otzi the Iceman’’.

At the moment we are studying about Ancient Egypt and the great pharaohs. We have been set many small topic tests and have received one assignment on embalming King Tut which we are currently working on. The movies were informative and very interesting to watch and help us realise that this or that has or might have happened.

We went on an excursion to see the Real Life Terracotta Warriors at the Art Gallery of NSW. The “Warriors” were were discovered by a man working on a farm to build a well to retrieve water when he fell down a cave and stumbled into what is known as the “discovery of the century”. The excursion was intriguing as we saw for the first time the mysterious artefacts and jewellery  from ancient China. My favourite part of the trip was the fact that the terracotta warriors were positioned so that they were always staring at you with evil squinting eyes. All in all the excursion was a massive hit with the students and the visitors around us as they got to meet a Joe-boy for the very first time and were gobsmacked.

So far history has been exiting and new and I and all the other students can’t wait to find out what is in store for us.

Photo 1: The boys soak in the atmosphere of the Art Gallery of NSW.

Photo 2: Daniel Copping (Gladesville) and Hunter Currie (Lane Cove) play dress-ups at the Gallery.

Not many days pass where teachers don’t contact Peter Ross and myself about the wonderful efforts that various boys are putting into their classwork. It may be a particular work that a boy has submitted or simply a recognition of his efforts. Acknowledging this is very important and last week Peter focussed on several boys who had worked to a level that convinced their teachers to let us know!

Not only were these boys our first award winners but they were also the first boys in the school to receive one of our new certificate folders. These folders are a high quality folder which we hope that the boys look after and store any certificates over the coming six years.

Congratulations to these boys for putting in a wonderful effort!

Pictured in Photo: Jack O’Brien (Walgett), Mr Ross, Jacob Goodwin (Dubbo), Chris Thompsett (St Ives), Tim Wang (Sefton), Patrick O’Farrell (Longueville), Sam Phillips (Roseville), Archie Tait (Marourba), Tarkan Gursel (Henley), Luke Hanigan (Connamble), Max Tassell (Denistone), Tom Brennan (Drummoyne), Jack Mahony (Mascot), John Keesing (Neutral Bay), Tim Hallion (Summer Hill), Ben Smith (Putney), Joshua Ho (Hunters Hill), James Hill (Denistone), James Neethling (Hunters Hill), Henry McKewen (Mosman), Alex Crotti (Gladesville), Johnny Garrick (Tennyson Point), Spencer Fay (St Leonards) and Josh Bass (Marsfield).

Like all subjects that the boys study here at school, the staff at Colo write reports for the boys who visit. It was wonderful to read so many positive comments in these reports and parents will receive these comments and grades when the half-yearly reports come out at the end of Term 2 (or Term 4 for the groups that go later in the year.

In each group that visits Colo, the staff also nominate boys who deserve special recognition and award these boys with a Merit award. Congratulations to our merit award winners for the first group at Colo. Through their group contributions and efforts in all the activities, they have certainly set the standard for the groups that go to Colo after them!

Award Winners: Liam Ryan (Quambone), Justin Young (Concord West), Finn McMahon (Hunters Hill), Ethan Wilks (Middle Cove), Matt McEnallay (Mosman), Jasper Hooper (Turramurra) and Alastair Dunstan. (Putney).

Our first Colo group headed away in Week 4 and having the privilege of being the first boys in their form to experience this wonderful opportunity. There is no doubt that as the boys boarded the bus on the Monday morning they were excited to say the least. So what happened from that point onwards? Well, here is the report from our Colo staff:

Adventure Ropes Course:

Most boys appeared to be very confident at the adventure ropes course.  They approached all of the elements with enthusiasm.  The Flying Fox was the most popular high ropes element – nearly all of the boys jumped off the platform without hesitation and there were many triumphant screams as they hurtled along the zip wire. Once again, the Fidget Ladder proved to be a very challenging low ropes element; however, Jack Mahony, Adam Tse, Will Neilson, Jason Wiradharma and Liam Ryan did very well to reach the top.

Mountain Bike Riding:

The afternoon session on the mountain bikes was great fun and it was fantastic to watch the confidence and skills of the boys improve during the three hours of activity. There was a huge amount of enthusiasm amongst the group, in particular Liam Fogarty and Justin Young showed great determination as they mastered the see-saws and other obstacles at the skills park.  Jack Mahony was unstoppable and did countless laps of the course. Other standout performances came from Luuk Jonkman, Daniel Copping and Luke Schiliro as they demonstrated their natural abilities on two wheels, tackling the ‘burms’ and other exciting challenges that lay along the single tracks.

Orienteering:

A magnificent effort was made by all of the boys during the orienteering session with more than half of the teams finding the fifteen markers that are located on the course.  Mathew McEnallay and Justin Young set the fastest time for the group, which was 47 minutes and 40 seconds. Other outstanding efforts were made by Ethan Wilks and Jasper Hooper, Jason Wiradharma and Adam Tse, William Neilson and Tomas Brennan, Alastair Dunstan and Finn McMahon, as well as Luuk Jonkman and Jack Mahony.  These teams all managed to find 15 markers within the allotted time.

Campsite Competition:

The winners of the campsite competition were Luke Schiliro, Henry Murphy, Liam Ryan William Neilson and Tony Xu.  They did a great job in setting up their tents quickly, collecting firewood, digging the fire pit, cooking dinner, demonstrating a good understanding of minimal impact camping, being well organised, behaving safely and getting along with each other.

And as a final touch on the week, the boys in our first Colo group put together the following little poem:

Colo, Colo is so much fun

There is something here for everyone

If you’re trekking, hiking or mountain biking

Colo is for your liking

Photo 1: Tom Brennan (Drummoyne), Will Rhodes (Drummoyne) and Jack Mahony (Mascot) at the camp site.

Photo 2: Tony Xu (Burwood) and Henry Murphy (Botany) find a marker in the orienteering.

Photo 3: What an amazing lookout! Luke Scilliro (Hunters Hill), Finn McMahon (Hunters Hill), Jasper Hooper (Turramurra), Liam Fogarty (Wahroonga), Cooper Wilks (Crows Nest), Jack Mahony (Mascot), Jason Wiradharma (Hunters Hill) and Adam Tse (PNG) take in the amazing view of our Colo Outdoor Education Centre.

Our Year 7 boys have become an important part of our College history this year, being the first group to take part in our 1:1 Learning Program. On the second day of school this year, each of the boys received their brand new MacBook and started an intense two day orientation in not only their computer but also the network here at Joeys and the expectations that we have of them in the responsible use of their computer.

The orientation included the initial introduction to their computer on both the Mac side and also the Windows side. Having a dual boot computer has certainly enabled them to have access to a greater diversity of software and resources. The boys were taken through the College policies and recommendations with regard to their social responsibilities, cyber-bullying, social networking sites and lots more. Once they had their computer in front of them they were shown the ins and outs of it. There is no doubt that there is plenty more that the boys (and staff) will learn over the coming weeks and months, however, the orientation equipped the boys with the necessary skills to get started on their learning in such a technological environment.

Sitting at a computer for much of the day and also carrying it around puts different physiological stresses on the body. To assist the boys in looking after themselves, we had the boys take part in a one hour “physiocise” session. This session showed the boys the correct way to sit at their computer, the best way to carry it and also some stretches that can help relieve pressure in different areas of the body. This hour was certainly useful and entertaining for the boys as they worked on “lifting their dots”!

Educating is forever changing and there is no doubt that the boys in Year 7 and the staff who work with them are well-equipped to be on top of these changes as they occur. Where will technology be in five years time? Who knows? What we do know, however, is that the boys at Joeys will be right beside it!

Photo 1:  Sam ven der Burgh (Hunters Hill) learns the ways of his new MacBook.

Photo 2: The boys go through their stretches during their Physiocise session.

Photo 3: History in the making – 156 boys receive their new computers.