CHRISTMAS CHAPEL & FAREWELL MRS GRAYDON // It was a BIG day at Mamre yesterday with our annual Christmas Chapel service being combined with the farewell of our much loved Principal Mrs Cathie Graydon, which was followed by a wonderful picnic afternoon for the whole school community. Students from Junior and Senior School presented multiple musical and choral items focusing our minds on God's great Christmas gift of his son Jesus to all people. Mary and Joseph (performed by two Year 10 students) and baby Jesus made to special appearances during the service. Talks by Mrs Gillespie and Rev Statheos helped us all to understand the true significance of Christmas. During Mrs Graydon's farewell, students, staff and representatives of the School Council and the parent body paid tribute to Mrs Graydon and her tremendous work for Mamre during her eight years as Principal. Her love for the students and staff, her love of learning and her love of God are hallmarks of this time. In a beautiful sign of gratitude, Years 2 & 3, supported by the remainder of the Junior School, sang a special song written by our own Mrs Travis 'Unto Your Path' to Mrs Graydon. Thank you Mrs Graydon. You will be greatly missed! #mamrelearning

ROYAL MEETING // Congratulations to Year 8 student Wesley who was today presented to HRH Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, in recognition of his award of NSW RFS Young Member of the Year a few months ago. Wesley was a fine ambassador of both the RFS and our school. Well done! #mamrelearning

ROBOTICS ENRICHMENT // Over the last couple of weeks 40 students from Years 5-8 participated in a Robotics Enrichment Day as part of our High Potential and Gifted Learners program. Using LEGO Mindstorms EV3, the students designed, built, coded and refined their robots to conquer a range of challenges. The Mamre value of tenacity was certainly on display! #mamrelearning

INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC SUCCESS // Last term a small number of our students participated in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools, conducted in 41 countries. Students were assessed in a range of subjects. Today we recognised our high achieving Senior School students who were awarded Distinction, Credit or Merit certificates. Congratulations to Aryan, Charli, Georgina, Jhobe, Benjamin, Ruku, Marrissa, Lily, Jason, Marcus, Ava, Christine, Ethan, Mikayla and Koby! #mamrelearning

WHAT A WEEK FOR YEAR 6! // Last week was one of new adventures and lots of activities for Year 6. On Monday to Wednesday they participated in our very successful three day 2024 Year 7 Orientation Program, along with new students joining us next year. While they enjoyed all activities, their time spent cooking in the food Technology Kitchen was definitely a favourite. Thursday and Friday was then spent in Canberra on a two day camp. Here is Mr Nott’s summary of Day 2 of Camp: “An early start today with a visit to The Australian Electoral Commission where the students learnt about the voting system in Australia. Second stop was at the Royal Australian Mint. Things added up throughout this leg of the trip. Our final destination was the much loved Questacon. The students had an absolute blast.” #mamrelearning

YEAR 6 CANBERRA SNAPSHOTS // Year 6 has had an absolutely amazing first day in Canberra. At Parliament House students were able to listen to Senator Pauline Hanson debate amendments to a bill about the rising cost of living. They even had a wave from the Honourable Chris Bowen who was sitting in the Prime Minister's seat in The House of Representatives. This afternoon students headed to the War Memorial to hear about the sacrifices that many have made for us. The day culminated with a long awaited visit to the Australian Institute of Sport. Students are now preparing for a good night's rest ready for another day of exploring our Nation's Capital tomorrow. #mamrelearning

CAPITAL LEARNING JOURNEY // Year 6 have arrived in our national capital after a very early morning departure. After this quick stop at Mt Ainslie, they will be visiting several significant places in Canberra over the next two days. #mamrelearning

PASSING THE BATON // After eight years of wonderful service to Mamre Anglican School, our Principal Mrs Cathie Graydon will be leaving us at the end of this year. We will be celebrating her vision, leadership and passion for educating young people on 1 December. Mr Ross Whelan will be joining us as Principal from the beginning of 2024. A lifelong educator, Ross has been the Principal of three Sydney schools - Thomas Hassall Anglican College, Oran Park Anglican College and Inaburra School - and a teacher and leader in both the public and private sectors. He is married to Lynn, who has also been a teacher, and they are parents to two adult children and families. Ross has spent most of his professional career in the south west of Sydney, and has worked previously with staff at Mamre. In 2016, just as Mrs Graydon was starting at Mamre, Ross led the review of our School on behalf of the Anglican Schools Corporation, so he is well aware of Mamre, our community and programs. He has served in several leadership capacities - as the National Chair for Christian Schools Australia; as the founder of a youth directed Not-For-Profit; as an Anglican church warden; and as a council member of an Anglican School. Ross attended our new students' orientation day today and spoke to all our students and staff in both the Junior and Senior Schools. Ross is keen to get to know our students, staff and families, and is passionate about every aspect of school education. #mamrelearning

MORE WISHES COMING TRUE // Tonight’s Year 10 Charity Ball is the culmination of several fundraising activities that have resulted in a $1500 donation to Make-A-Wish. These funds will make more wishes come true for children with life limiting illnesses. Well done Year 10, and enjoy the rest of your evening! #mamrelearning #makeawish

BEST DISCO EVER // Last night our Junior School Disco was a great success, with some students calling it “the best disco ever”! A big shout out to our parent helpers and staff for setting up and running such an enjoyable activity for our community. What was you favourite song and dance? #mamrelearning

THAT’S A WRAP YEAR 12! // The final HSC exam for 2023 has just finished and our Food Technology students celebrated by ringing the school bell for the last time. Thank you to all our graduates for your great contributions to our community for so many years. Please stay connected and we pray that God will richly bless you all! #mamrelearning

DODGY KEBABS ON TOP AT PARLIAMENT HOUSE // Eight of our Year 8 STEM students had a great day at NSW Parliament House competing in the Cross Schools Challenge. Students were placed in mixed school groups and collaborated to come up with a solution to a given persona’s lifestyle, needs and interests. The winning group at the end of the day was announced and it was Group 22 ‘The Dodgy Kebabs’, which included our very own Luke Allen. Congratulations to all the competitors and well done Luke! #mamrelearning

CHICKEN LITTLE IN PRE-K // Earlier this week our Pre-Kindergarten children welcomed some eggs into their classroom and now they are hatching! Seven chickens have already hatched, with more expected soon. And next week we are expecting the ducklings! #mamrelearning

STUDY CLUB // While our Year 12 students have been doing their HSC exams since last week, our Year 7 to 10 students are busy preparing for their Yearly Exams in Week 4. Many students have been using our Study Club held in the Library on Monday and Wednesday afternoons after school to do focused study and to receive individual assistance from the teachers who volunteer their time at Study Club. Remember, regular study for short periods of time is more effective than long periods of "cramming" the night before an exam. If you have 90 minutes available for study, do focused work for 25 minutes then have a 5 minutes break, and then repeat this for the rest of your allocated time. #mamrelearning

NSWPSSA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUCCESS // At the end of Term 3, Year 6 student Chloe represented Mamre and the CIS at the NSWPSSA Girls Softball Championships. A huge congratulations to Chloe who has now been selected for the NSWPSSA team at the Australian Championships! #mamrelearning