The Barker #132

Issue 132 Spring 2021 ISSN: 2204-938X

Spring 2021 Issue 132 Issue 132 Spring 2021 ISSN: 2204-938X

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Thriving Online The Digital Learning Team, like all teachers and staff at Barker (and elsewhere around the state, for that matter), commenced this period firmly positioned in survival mode.

Inside this issue

The Regulars 07

14

16

18

24

36

Junior School Cybersafe Learning Teaching and Learning Virtual Barker!

Visual Arts Insignificant Moments Design and Technology Why is it Important to Seek Help?

Music The Masterpiece Concert Alumni Profile Simone Allan (Channells, Class of 1984)

The Features 01 From the Head of Barker

Phillip Heath AM

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03 From the Chair of Council

David Charles 55 OBA President’s Message

Angus Abadee

Life Beyond Barker Allan Bruty Class of 1984

Heights Day

10 34 38

The Journey has Begun Strongly

FRC Dean’s List 2021

Kurrajong Heights Day 2021

Dhupuma Barker opened at the start of Term 2 and our students are going from strength to strength.

Suzanne Brian (Year 11) was recently awarded the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Dean’s List Award for the Pacific Region.

Paradoxically, the Term 3 COVID-19 restrictions have freed us to do life differently, to consider what is true and important about the human condition and highlighted the need to develop a rich inner life.

Editor-in-Chief

Editor

Assistant Coordinators

Print Production

Art Direction

Phillip Heath AM

Julie McAllister

Mandy Loomes Karina Drummond

Ian Lindsay

Glenn Quevedo

From the Head

To Do Something Good and Beautiful in the World Something momentous has been happening at the School. The opening of Dhupuma Barker in North East Arnhem Land at the start of Term 2, 2021, marked a daring new partnership between an Indigenous community in remote Australia and Barker College in our 132nd year.

At a recent assembly after I shared a few images of the unforgettable commencement ceremony, which occurred on 19 April 2021, a Year 7 student asked me the profound but simple question: “Mr Heath, why did we do this?”

“Why did Barker do this?” was exactly the right question to ask. Gunyangara is a small community of around 200 Indigenous people over 4,000 kilometres away from Barker College in Hornsby. We already have made connections with the Darkinjung people on the Central Coast of NSW and, in January 2020, we established Ngarralingayil at Wollombi in the Lower Hunter Valley region. Isn’t this enough? I loved the simple honesty of the Year 7 student, voicing the thoughts that no doubt were being contemplated by many others.

The short answer to the question is that we were invited, which is no small honour for our School. We were asked to participate in delivering a vision for autonomy and agency amongst remote Indigenous communities. Aware of our work at Darkinjung and Ngarralingayil, the organisers of the annual Garma

Festival, invited me to share our story at the Education Forum at the 2019 Festival at Gulkula in the Northern Territory. Barker College subsequently partnered with the Yothu Yindi Foundation to create an education pipeline in remote Australia, one that allows children to remain in their communities without losing access to the opportunities excellent schools in more developed parts of the country can provide. The result is the formation of the Dhupuma Barker School in Gunyangara in NE Arnhem Land, a bilingual school for Primary years children. The Indigenous leaders are the guides, the protectors and the custodians of Yolngu Matha (language) and Yolngu Rom (lore), with Barker providing the delivery of the Australian Curriculum, supporting the children to walk in two worlds to the enrichment of all. There is so much more to share than space in The Barker magazine allows.

Perhaps the Year 7 student would not find it satisfactory alone to say that the reason for Dhupuma Barker was that we were invited. The reason to join this mighty work unfolding at such a distance lies deep within the heart of our purposes, of our Mission and our Vision. When the Rev Henry Plume established

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From the Head

Photo by Che Chorley

Barker College in 1890 in Kurrajong Heights, he sought to provide students with a first rate education in a Christian setting that would enable them to matriculate to the University of Sydney and to make their mark on the world. Importantly for that time, among his early students were the four Bowman sisters, who were some of the first women to graduate from the University. Barker College seeks to do something good and beautiful in the world.

The writer James, believed to have been the brother of Jesus, reflects on the link between faith and action: What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:14-17 The gift of an education at Barker should equip our students and graduates to develop a vision to create something good and beautiful in the world Beyond the Mint Gates.

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Evidence this is more than an aspiration but is deeply embedded in our DNA at Barker is found in the truth that the financial support that enabled us to form the three campuses for Indigenous children in regional (Darkinjung), rural (Ngarralingayil), and remote Australia (Dhupuma) came originally from the generous conscience of members of our Old Barker Association.

Securing an impressive ATAR or achieving renown in the Creative and Performing Arts and Sports endeavours has a higher purpose for a Barker student – to demonstrate their capacity to make something good and beautiful happen Beyond the Mint Gates.

We expect no less of ourselves as a School. The pages that follow are a celebration of this same spirit as it shines in the darkening challenge of this time of COVID restrictions.

Peace Phillip Heath AM Head of Barker College

From the Chair of Council

To be Human is a Skill Barker’s students are encouraged to look Beyond the Mint Gates, Gates an aspiration to develop practical and adaptable Global Competencies.

Machines (eg computers) have significant cognitive capabilities and can do many jobs. It is possible that up to 40% of Australian jobs will not exist in 10 – 15 years.

The good news is we all have competencies anchored in what makes us human, such as our creativity and our curiosity, which enable skill sets to set us apart from machines. They might embrace, for instance, the arts, or perhaps some wonderful new ideas in the sciences, in philosophy, in great literature, or in an innovative business strategy. It might also be about our ability to show empathy and tolerance to others or to be a good communicator, or it might be about our capacity to perform a highly unpredictable role.

The Head reports consistently and comprehensively to the School Council on these matters. We know how important it is for students to find an activity or experience which helps them grow emotionally, spiritually, physically and socially, so they can feel connected by particular groups/clubs/events and so they can contribute to a sense of belonging to the whole community.

It also helps students to develop their capabilities and to identify their competencies in the context of employment opportunities well beyond their schooling years. This is why Barker has a Careers and Counselling Service open and available to support students as needed.

School Education is about future proofing students with these Global Competencies for an increasingly complex world:

Drawing upon their time at Barker, we want students to have an optimistic mindset about occupations to which they are best suited within a Jobs Cluster:

• Critical thinking and problem solving;

1. The Generators – interpersonal interaction, retail, sales, hospitality and entertainers;

• Communication; • Creativity and imagination; • Collaboration; • Citizenship; • Character.

The School Council works in conjunction with the Head and his Executive so that there are resources and facilities within the Barker community to equip our students with the six Cs. In respect of the curriculumbased learning domains in the Pre-K to Year 12 teaching programs, Barker strives for integration and collaboration, and for the programs to be complemented by a diverse range of student cocurricular activities and experiences; eg in the various summer or winter sports, school leadership positions, Cadets, Performing Arts, Robotics, Duke of Edinburgh, Crusaders, Debating, School clubs, or in student participation in social justice, community service or international opportunities.

2. The Coordinators – administration and service tasks; 3. The Informers – information, education or business services; 4. The Carers – mental or physical health and wellbeing of others including medical and personal support services; 5. The Artisans – manual tasks related to construction, production, maintenance or technical customer service; 6. The Designers – science, mathematics and design to construct or engineer products or buildings; 7. The Technologists – skilled understanding and manipulation of digital technology.

It is very much a case, as British columnist and radio presenter Katherine Whitehorn, once put it: 'Find out what you like doing best and get someone to pay you for doing it.'

David Charles (75) Chair of Council

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From the Chaplain

Endurance Endurance can only be grown when we stretch ourselves. We may want difficult times to end quickly, but endurance is only developed when challenges are stretched out.

Sydney lockdown was announced in the middle of the June holidays. By the time of writing it had been extended to include all of August and we find ourselves in an extended period of online learning.

Here are some reflections on this experience, inspired by the Olympics.

One of my favourite Olympic flashback moments is the story of the Tanzanian marathon runner John Akhwari. He competed in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, which were held at altitude. Having not trained in those conditions, Akhwari cramped midrace, later he fell, badly wounding his shoulder and dislocating his knee. It was more than an hour after the winner broke the tape that Akhwari entered the stadium. The crowds had left, and the medal ceremony had commenced, yet a buzz rippled through those who remained as Akhwari dragged himself around the track. Upon finishing he said to the eager news crews, “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”

With news of an extended lockdown, you may feel like Akwari felt mid-race, but as we grow through this we grow in endurance, which equips us for every other aspect of life. We build habits, a mindset and a strength that we can only develop when things are challenging.

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And when we feel empty, here is a prayer from Romans 15:5-6 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus endured suffering and the cross with the knowledge that he was being obedient to God and loving others. It was his love for others that strengthened him to endure the darkest hours of history on the cross. So, as we serve our families and care for those around us (including ourselves), may God grow endurance in you.

We will finish this race, we might have many kilometres to run yet, but we will finish and we will finish it together.

Rev Peter Tong Senior Chaplain

Junior School

Junior School East – An Exciting Space For Senior Primary Classes

In Term 1, the new Junior School classroom precinct for senior primary classes opened with ten new classrooms, four refurbished classrooms and two new teacher hubs.

These spaces have been ideally designed for the open and flexible learning environments required for effective inquiry teaching.

The senior primary classes have settled well into the new spaces. New furniture has been included in each classroom that is innovative and adaptable to suit the learning needs of students and the nature of the learning tasks.

Late in Term 2, the additional outdoor spaces associated with the project were also handed over to the School. These spaces include the playground, with equipment and gardens, the bridge to Rosewood Oval from Level 2, the new tennis court surfaces on Courts 1 and 2 with access points to the Junior School, the undercover bus waiting bay on the south side of the building and the car park underneath the building.

This new facility completes the classroom profile as we move towards the final year of the transition to full coeducation with girls in every year group from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12. In the Junior School in 2022, 39% of the student cohort will be female. The transition has been extremely successful and with ratios of girls at well over 40% in each of the Pre-K to Year 2 grades, the overall ratio will reach 45% across the Junior School very quickly.

We are extremely fortunate to have wonderful classroom facilities in the Junior School with all classrooms now in the one precinct and linked together. The classrooms are well designed and appointed to support learning and provide every opportunity for connection, engagement and learning growth. We are grateful for the support of School Council in realising the Master Plan for the Junior School.

Martin Lubrano Head of Junior School

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Junior School

Peachy the Therapy Dog

In 2020, the Junior School introduced Peachy the therapy dog to the Barker community.

Peachy and I (the dog handler) continue to train with Dr Brad Rundle, founder, director, and head trainer at Therapy Animals Australia. Dr Rundle has a PhD in Zoology and Genetics and is an expert in understanding and modifying animal behaviour. He is a qualified teacher and highly experienced in the school context which enables Peachy’s training to be targeted to the Barker College school environment.

Therapy Animals Australia specialises in training assistance dogs to provide emotional support and companionship to students in schools. Therapy dogs must enjoy human contact and be content to be petted, cuddled, and handled by unfamiliar people.

We continue to train Peachy in preparation for her to become a certified therapy dog. Dogs are not able to be authorised until they are one year of age. Peachy is now one and is working towards her certification assessment.

Peachy really enjoys the company of others and in particular the students! Her training includes her showing good manners, demeanour and how well Peachy and I can work together. As the dog handler,

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there are certain commands that must be given to Peachy for her to respond to. Certification is the final hurdle in a dedicated process toward Peachy becoming an authorised therapy dog, and one which includes temperament assessment and command training. Once Peachy is authorised she will be promoted from her ‘in-training’ harness to an ‘Authorised Therapy Dog’ harness!

A therapy dog is only able to work a maximum number of hours a day. Even for Peachy who is ‘in training’ this applies to her. It is important for Peachy to have a space where she can rest and play when on campus. Peachy has a purposeful space in the Junior School where she can do this. Peachy’s Playground is a designated area for Peachy and a place where students (and staff) can visit, say hello and spend time with Peachy. Peachy’s Playground is a happy place not just for Peachy but for all the visitors that come by to say hello.

Yvonne Howard Deputy Head of Junior School

Junior School

Cybersafe Learning We are privileged to share partnerships that provide expertise to support our students, families, and staff. We aspire to be a community that supports the growth of individuals as we embrace our shared values and activate the attributes of learning, which oftentimes engages with technology.

URSTRONG’s whole-school friendship strategy has improved the social climate in schools around the world, connecting over a million children, parents, and teachers with a common language of friendship. The Junior School partnership with URSTRONG has provided access to a wealth of possibilities in support of the development of our students, staff, and families.

During Term 2 2021, we loved connecting with Dana Kerford from URSTRONG. Dana met with teachers and families via online workshops. We first connected with Dana and URSTRONG in 2019. Since then, all grades across the Junior School have worked with intent to import the language and skills as our students learn to make and maintain healthy friendships. Connecting with URSTRONG provides families with access to the wealth of resources available to support a shared and common foundation in partnership with school.

The ubiquitous access to internet enabled devices see our children develop expertise that is in many ways intuitive. Through years of intentional planning, reflection, and implementation of digitally delivered learning tools, our Junior School teaching practice provides a safe and secure framework for student learning. Cultivating the positive culture for learning is directed by the Barker College Digital Learning team, supporting both students and staff in the practical implementation of skills to promote the evolution of practice for learning.

ySafe is a trusted eSafety provider working with schools and educators. Uniquely offering insights from clinical child and adolescent psychologists, ex-police officers and teachers. ySafe's award-winning team of cyber safety experts have provided online safety education to over 350,000 students across Australia.

Yasmin London from ySafe visited the Junior School during 2020 to speak to all children from Kindergarten to Year 6. As we looked to 2021, we had planned to provide a parent CyberSafe Learning Seminar on site.

Entering lockdown across NSW, required this opportunity to be moved to an online seminar with the support of the Barker Institute. Yasmin shared alongside Jon Chivers from Family Zone and Paul Harmon (Digital Learning Leader Pre-K-12), to share Junior School practice, highlight the role of parents in caring partnership with their children’s online lives and outline the support that Family Zone provides the Barker College community as a digital infrastructure to manage safe and secure life online.

We are blessed to benefit from these connections with expertise that provides an important asset in caring for our students in all dimensions of their school experience.

Martin Conway Junior School Director of Students

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Junior School

Learning Outside the Mint Gates

The sudden shift from classroom-based to online learning at the commencement of Term 3 was certainly not the start we were expecting.

The change in learning structure requiring swift adaptation by teachers and students. As a school our aim has been to maintain strong connections with the School community by remaining connected, happy, and safe.

Daily Routines Each morning commences with a Teams class meeting for each student. All staff across the Junior School are involved and interacting with students. We see it as imperative to ensure the continuity of learning and to support the ongoing maintenance and reinforcement of essential literacy and numeracy skills.

Our regular Programme of Inquiry has been modified to support the online learning platform and we continue to embed the IB learner profile attributes inclusive of international-mindedness. When learning in any context, what does it mean to be knowledgeable, principled, reflective, open-minded, balanced and caring through times of global challenge? How can we be a thinker, a communicator, a risk-taker and an inquirer when not in school?

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PreKindergarten to Year 2 students are using the Seesaw online learning platform that encourages creativity and feedback supporting students and nurturing their excitement to learn. Year 3 to Year 6 are using Canvas Online. Canvas allows students and teachers to work on class pages and share teaching and learning opportunities.

We continue to deliver all key aspects of our teaching and learning program including Christian Studies, Specialist lessons, Chapel and Assembly. It is through these programs that we are able to provide ongoing support for the development of approaches to learning (skills) as our students learn outside of their regular learning environment.

Lisa Bonazza Director of Primary Curriculum (PYP Coordinator)

Junior School

Celebrating Country and Culture Our cool, foggy, frosty mornings are a beautiful sight in Wollombi. By recess the sun is shining, reminding us of how lucky we are to learn in such spectacular surroundings. Ngarralingayil has a way of making you feel grateful and happy, inside and out.

We have been working together on new Acknowledgements. They are still a work in progress, but students are adding an individual touch by choosing words from their heart and they are very proud. Each morning, an eager student shares an Acknowledgement. It can be their own, our school one or even one we have learned in sign language.

National Sorry Day, Reconciliation Week, Mabo Day and NAIDOC have brought deeper discussions about culture and what it means to us. Our primary students led our Sorry Day assembly and shared their own thoughts and research through posters and art. We listened with sadness to Archie Roach singing Took the children away.

The theme for Reconciliation Week was ‘More than word’. We continually make it ‘more than a word’ through sharing our culture, each, and every day. Our knowledge deepens and becomes strong and we can then share this with family and friends in the hope of creating a ripple. Our Geography units have connected beautifully with the 2021 NAIDOC theme, ‘Heal Country’.

We started K-2 ‘Exploring Places’ and 3-6 'The Earth’s Environment' with the picture book, ‘My Country’ by Ezekiel Kwaymullina. It explains the relationship and

sense of belonging a young girl feels for her country.

We have been talking about Country, what it means to us and how it connects everything around us. Country makes our spirit feel alive. We have talked about important places and recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ sacred places. This led to a great discussion and artwork on Uluru. Primary students have been learning about natural disasters with a focus on bushfires and how they affect our animals on Country. We have also discussed the famous Dorothea Mackellar poem, ‘My Country’.

We had an amazing trip to the Hornsby campus, with a swimming lesson, a tour of the beautiful Chapel with Rev Brown, and attended the wonderful NAIDOC Assembly. What an amazing sight that was to look around and see the whole of Barker Hornsby Pre-K-12 on the hill, respectfully acknowledging culture.

We have been learning how to keep our spirit strong and enjoy what the world around us has to offer. If you take the time to look around, the colours of Country that surround us, even in winter are amazing!

Mandy Shaw Lead Teacher - Ngarralingayil Barker

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Junior School

The Journey has Begun Strongly Dhupuma Barker opened at the start of Term 2 and our students are going from strength to strength.

Perhaps the greatest indicator of this is the substantial increase in school attendance. Many of our students have gone from attending very few days a term at their previous schools, to joining us almost every day at Dhupuma. This is a great sign that the students are feeling comfortable and happy in their new school environment. Some djamarrkuli (children) are so keen they are waiting at the school gate every morning when I arrive at 7am.

The students spent Term 2 settling into the routine we have established. On arrival, they get changed into their uniform, have some bacon and eggs if they haven’t eaten already, then head to the basketball court to shoot hoops before school starts. The morning session begins with our school prayer in Yolŋu Matha (language) and English. Students are then placed into small groups for literacy activities.

Initially we focused on word recognition (sight words), and we now have literacy rotations. Some students are learning initial sounds, others are blending words together, some are reading books from our library.

We use lots of games to learn sight words. Anyone who visits Dhupuma Barker will find it very difficult to beat the djamarrkuli at a game of ‘Go Fish’ – they seem to have different rules in East Arnhem! The most pleasing part of our morning sessions has been the effort the students put in to learning to read and write in English and Yolŋu Matha.

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After our literacy sessions we focus on numeracy. This is taught as a whole class and it’s wonderful to see the older students supporting and guiding the younger ones. The djamarrkuli really enjoy hands on activities, so where possible we make our own resources to engage the students. We always finish with a game where the students take great pleasure in beating Mr Tom! Yolŋu cultural education is the core of our daily life at Dhupuma Barker. The Yolŋu Assistant Teachers and Cultural Advisors teach the djamarrkuli the Yolŋu way.

There is a big emphasis on making sure the djamarrkuli know and understand who they are and where they belong. It is most important that students learn their Moiety, skin name, totems, homeland and clan group. Raypirri (discipline) is a big focus in and out of the classroom. Raypirri begins before you are born and relates to words and actions – no teasing, helping each other, no fighting, working together, respect everything and everyone around you. Raypirri is discussed daily in the classroom. We also regularly leave the classroom for on-Country activities at the beach or in the bush, including storytelling, care for the environment, and students performing Buŋgul dances of significant animals.

Junior School

We have been lucky to have many fantastic visitors to Dhupuma Barker in our first term. We’ve had nutritionists from Flinders University working with the students and discussing superfoods vs sometimes foods. Miss Bev from Apple has joined us several times to help the djamarrkuli make ebooks, and we have had lessons on crocodile safety and safe camping. We also welcomed Ben Roarty, former Melbourne Storm player, who spent time with all the children from Gunyaŋara. The djamarrkuli love sport and we try to get out once a day for a whole school game. Basketball, AFL and tag are the highlights and always bring a smile to the students’ faces. I am still trying to convince them to follow the Penrith Panthers or Sydney Swans!

Dhupuma Barker is one of the highlights of my teaching career to date. I am extremely proud of the behaviour, focus and engagement of the djamarrkuli.

My family and I have moved to Gunyaŋara, about 1km from the school. The whole community have made me, my wife Jacqui, and our three children feel very welcome. We love driving down Yunupingu Drive as

the djamarrkuli scream “Mr Tom” and run over to the car to say hello. My youngest child now refers to me as “Mr Tom”. One of the Dhupuma students has spent time with my son, teaching him and playing the yidaki (didgeridoo) with him. Just another great moment we get to experience.

We very much looked forward to Term 3 as we welcomed Lori Cross as the second classroom teacher. Lori Cross has been a part of the East Arnhem community for close to 30 years. I am excited to work with Lori and wish her and her family all the best as she begins her Barker journey. Together we look forward to watching our students continue to grow as students and Yolŋu people.

Manymak!

Tom Spencer Teacher, Dhupuma Barker

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Junior School

Connection to Culture Connection to culture has always been a core focus at Darkinjung Barker. Our connections within the community builds understanding and experience and provides an opportunity for the children to grow and thrive.

In June, Darkinjung Barker was asked to be a part of the Graduation service of the current students attending NAISDA (National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association). NAISDA Dance College is Australia’s premier Indigenous training college established in 1976, with a proud tradition of producing the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers.

On behalf of the NAISDA Board, Staff and Developing Artists, a huge thank you to our amazing Darkinjung Barker presenters. You were all outstanding. We were so impressed with how beautifully you represented yourselves, parents, teachers and Darkinjung Barker. We look forward to welcoming you all back to NAISDA soon.’

Kim Walker – CEO NAISDA As educators, we always look at ways to continue to grow and develop. Finding a need and then upskilling is of great importance. During Term 2, Miss Scheermeijer was able to attend a one-day

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course focusing on Aboriginal Art Therapy. She was able to expand her appreciation, approach and understanding protocols when exploring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Art. In working with Uncle Gavi from DLALC, Miss Scheermeijer has been able to guide the children and help them gain clearer understanding when discussing local artists and artworks.

Michelle Nixon has joined the team as Administration Assistant for both Darkinjung and Ngarralingayil Barker. She comes into this role with not only a proven record in administration but also a significant connection to the local Aboriginal community.

Michelle is a proud Wiradjuri and Gamilaroi woman who has lived on the Central Coast for a long time.

Jamie Shackleton Director of Aboriginal Campuses

College of Teachers

Growth and Development

The College of Teachers. Evolutionary programs to develop a coaching culture in the School.

In the spirt of growth and development, the College of Teachers in 2021 has embarked upon a set of strategies focused on the continued consolidation of coaching and mentoring together with advancing the skills and competencies of existing coaches.

Growth coaching continues with its focus on arriving at a solution to a range of issues or problems arrived at through conversations, where the solution is owned and arrived at by the coachee through a distillation process between the coach and the coachee.

From a coaching perspective the School has added to the existing solutions-based growth model, instructional mentoring and coaching. Instructional coaching is focused on improving the pedagogy of teaching with the strategic intent of improving the learning outcomes of the students. It is about having conversations about one’s teaching practice about what, how and why they teach the way they do. Each conversation is underpinned by trust, transparency, and collaboration. It is these coaching and mentoring co-construction conversations that are seen as catalysts, having the capacity to foster and change teachers’ mindsets about how they teach.

From strategic and longevity perspectives, the establishment of a coaching development program “Champion Coaches” is seen as a part of an evolutionary process to firmly embed a coaching culture into the School. Ten people were selected as coaches to attend a series of workshops drawn from the Junior and Senior School over a period of ten weeks. Under the leadership of Jacqui McLachlan, this program has taken the discussion about coaching to new levels of affirmation, understanding and thinking.

Len Nixon Commercial Studies Teacher, Teacher Coach

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Teaching and Learning

Virtual Barker!

The Term 3 lockdown saw the Secondary School move to a model for online learning that was centred on two principles: keeping it simple and as ‘normal’ as possible.

However, Barker is not just about teaching and learning but also includes the wider co-curricular program; a multitude of students working in the performance space as well as through an extensive club program.

We aimed to replicate as much as we could to the online world. Here’s a snapshot of how we made virtual what was once done face-to-face.

Replicating Teaching and Learning Online The core principles behind Barker’s online learning program are simple – we value the structure that the existing school timetable brings, and the ability of teachers to maintain connections with students and continue explicit teaching via Microsoft Teams (for up to 30 minutes per lesson, recognising the need to limit screen time).

Within these core principles, teachers are utilising many tools to enhance the online learning experience. Microsoft OneNote helps teachers to create and distribute notes, and students to annotate them – much like the whiteboard and student notebook in a physical classroom. Breakout rooms in Teams allow the formation of smaller groups of students, facilitating better discussion and promoting group work, while the teacher can easily move between groups – much like how the learning environment in a classroom would be organised.

While we all long for the return of face-to-face interactions, continuing to facilitate the important link between the student and their teacher remains the focus of online learning.

Kester Lee (Director of Studies)

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Replicating Clubs Online As students and staff settled into a rhythm of online learning, several staff turned their attention to the co-curricular clubs that they would normally offer at School. Some clubs attract many students, others only a few.

Regardless of the number of attendees, the clubs are an important part of the weekly routines of many hundreds of students. A notable example of this is the bee keeping club run by Dr Gates. The aspiring beekeepers were the first group to connect online and with great success. Dr Gates reported a desire to connect and collaborate, with students keen to share their stories of what they had learnt about beekeeping from various social media sites and other online outlets. This really emphasises the importance of maintaining connections beyond online lessons. The beekeepers have the chance to enrol in a free online course that will prepare them to work with the hives when they return to School.

Students will also be able to use their beekeeping expertise to contribute to their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. It’s safe to say that there is a ‘hive of activity’ online!

Greg Longney (Director of Teaching and Learning) Alison Gates (Agriculture Teacher)

Teaching and Learning

Replicating PDHPE Online The PDHPE skill domains of self-management, interpersonal and movement are essential pillars in online learning. Using these as the foundation, new experiences with elements of choice were designed for PDHPE lessons that aimed to get students enthusiastic about moving.

PDHPE Lessons Using Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality Apps such as HomeCourt, Plaicise, Active Arcade and Swing Vision were used to promote a sense of fun, challenge, social interaction and choice. Opportunity to “battle” friends live is always popular with students in a world of gamification.

PDHPE Lessons “Choose your own Olympic Adventure” The timing of the Tokyo Olympics led to the design of a Middle School “Choose your own Olympic Adventure.” Each week three sports were released with levels, each with a specific focus and range of activities, including a beat the teacher challenge.

These were; • Bronze - fitness, getting the heart rate up.

• Silver - skill development.

• Gold - combining fitness and skill.

• Gold Medal Mindset- sports psychology including motivation and relaxation.

• Athletes Reflection Journal.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we live, learn and play. Positively, it has provided a unique opportunity to innovate, as teachers seek to facilitate the Physical Education component of PDHPE in an online environment.

Replicating Music Rehearsals and Tuition Online Our 50 or so instrumental, vocal and musicianship teachers started teaching their 600 odd lessons shortly after lockdown commenced, and like the students' classroom lessons, they have largely gone without a hitch. We are grateful to our visiting music teachers (VMTs) for their dedicated work with the students in what can be a challenging acoustic environment. Many of them work at more than one school and every school has its own technology and protocols, and everyone from the technological dinosaurs to the tech-savvy millennials, has taken on the (unfortunately not entirely) new opportunities. The lessons are done in exactly the same way that normal classes are done with lessons scheduled in Teams. The lesson/meeting between the visiting music tutor and the student are recorded allowing the student to revisit instructions provided by the tutor through the week. Both parties work from the comfort of their own homes with the teacher demonstrating technique and style and the student then demonstrating their understanding by playing back to the tutor. Despite the separation of lockdown the students appreciate having the continuity of their lessons and the opportunity to continue to develop their skills. The response from both students, parents and VMTs suggest that all parties are pleased to "meet" someone outside of their home bubble.

Simon Smith (Head of Music)

Jeremy von Einem Head of Curriculum

Alex Butt and Morgan Armstrong (PDHPE Teachers)

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Visual Arts

Insignificant Moments This term is always a busy term for most students, but particularly for Year 12 students.

The Design Centre is usually a buzz with Design and Technology and Visual Arts students engaged in the completion and refinement of the projects they have spent many months realising. It is mid-term now and the building is almost empty and unnervingly quiet. I am surrounded by Bodies of Works from the 2021 Visual Arts cohort - personal, meaningful, engaging artworks that represent countless hours of work.

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My gaze is drawn to a series of paintings by Manxi Zhang called The Weekender. A young woman, the artist herself, sits on a large worn leather couch, which could be mistaken for the couches from old boarding days. So familiar that one could almost hear the old leather as she shifts her body slightly.

“What is she thinking?”

Visual Arts

I am sure I hear the frozen clock tick behind her and then I realise it is the identical clock in the classroom I am standing in, indicating the passing of time.

Next my eye is drawn to the painting of the girl, resting on a bannister, staring out a sash window and I am transported back to my school days, gazing out windows and contemplating my future. But as I look at this carefully painted window the scene is unmistakably Barker College with its iconic purple jacarandas.

The third painting depicts two girls laying on sunlight dappled grass. I can imagine them carefree, chatting and laughing. They could be anywhere, but the utilitarian rail and pathway gives the location away.

“In ‘The Weekender’ I sought to illuminate simple moments within a series of paintings and drawings.

Left as a memory, each vignette is a miniscule version of my own. I saw merit in remembering these ‘insignificant moments’ whenever light shines at a day’s end.”

Manxi Zhang (Year 12)

These poignant paintings have indeed captured simple moments in time, ‘insignificant moments’ that now feel so significant.

Tara Jongsma Head of Visual Arts

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Design and Technology

Why is it Important to Seek Help?

With students in Year 12 (Textiles and Design, Design and Technology and Industrial Technology) nearing the completion of their Major Projects, Term 3 is a time to reflect on the quality of work they have produced and celebrate their achievements.

There are several factors required for students to be successful in their project. These include; sound research, creative idea generation, good time management and the skilful application of tools and machines. Another significant factor that does not always come to light is the ability for a student to connect with industry experts. It is a significant step for a student undertaking a project to reach out to others in their community and seek advice on what might be the best way forward. Students who place themselves in a vulnerable position of admitting they need help, also demonstrate they are able to take responsibility and autonomy for their project in seeking information to drive their project forward – not simply relying solely on their teacher. Several of our Senior students have connected with industry experts this year and it has made a significant impact on the success of their projects.

Liberty Jacobs in Design and Technology has interviewed physiotherapists and elderly people to clarify their needs for improving mobility. The walking poles she has designed for the elderly incorporates 3D printed suspension technology into the foot of the poles and has been achieved by her working closely with Wojciech Wawrzyniak from Konica Minolta.

Nick Heberden in Design and Technology has worked closely with Ben Larsen (Owner of Pedals Plus, Gordon) to better understand the needs of cyclists when riding and the range of bicycle designs that the safety technology he has developed, could be

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implemented for. The experience and reassurance that Nick has gained has been encouraging from Ben. “It makes perfect sense for you to produce your design as you are combining essentially three products into one, being a camera, a light, and a Varia (a sensor) as long as you are able to get the size and battery life right”.

Ben Lam in Industrial Technology is producing a traditional violin and he has worked closely with Raymond Howes, who has produced violins and other strings intruments for over 30 years. This project has taken over a 160 hours to complete and Ben would not have been able to complete such a project without the guidance and mentoring provided to him by Raymond on the multitude of specialised processes required in the carving of spruce, maple and ebony, the testing of resonance and the techniques used for inlaying purfling, producing joints and gluing components using traditional hide adhesive. This is the second student Raymond has mentored – (Rachel Liang – violin, 2018 who went on to study Architecture at Sydney University) being the first. We are extremely grateful to Raymond for the time and wisdom he has imparted to our students.

Darren Woodrow Head of Design & Technology

Design and Technology

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The Drama Barker Institute

Year 11 Play: Metamorphoses I have been recalling the essence of the play now more than ever. That being, change.

The central idea of Metamorphoses is change, stemming from the root form ‘Metamorphosis’ being the process of change.

I thought the choice to incorporate the water was very brave, but perfect in the end, it was vital to the play and added depth to the story - Emily Whiting

As we approached week eight of lockdown, change seems to be something we and our students will have to persevere through.

These students embraced the challenge and worked as a ‘well-oiled machine’ (Nick Fazl), to ensure the stage was safe, the actors were dried, and the water could be used in multiple ways; to create a storm at sea, moment of drowning, raining water from above in the underworld, or a dinner table with floating candles. Ben James, who played one of the most challenging characters Ceyx; a drowned sailor at sea had the following remark:

Metamorphoses is a play adapted by Mary Zimmerman from the classic Ovid poem ‘Metamorphoses’ whereby humans ‘ask for the help of the Gods to… change me, help me glimpse the secrets and speak’. It is these Gods who are usually found in Greek Mythology (Zeus, Aphrodite etc) that take pleasure in watching, manipulating and at times inflicting disaster on the humans below to teach them lessons of morality.

Through fantastical staging the Gods appear, puppeteering human kind to remind us of the effects of our actions and the rewards that come from living a life of humility and generosity. The final pair show us what it looks like to ‘welcome a stranger’ and the blessing that comes when ‘we see and seek the divine’. Prayers are answered, and mortality is no longer uncertain but an expression of love. I think it is important for our young people to see that morality is not something ‘old fashioned’ but something to learn from now. Bringing these stories to life by the poolside we are reminded that it is not always the powerful, rich or strong that live happy, long lives, but those who are generous, humble and sacrificial in their love for others.

My version of Metamorphoses moved it from the ancient world into a modernised flashy resort pool.

A version that provided our Barker students with one of the biggest changing challenges, a full body of water on stage for the entire show! Some of the cast members remark on this choice: The idea of having a working pool on stage, combined with the extravagant set and costume completely seemed completely impossible to me.

- Ben James

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‘At first it was definitely a challenge to put my trust in everyone in the ensemble, especially surrounding safety when getting lifted out of the pool, however as the production developed, I could always trust in my peers no matter what. It taught me how to push my boundaries in what I do and the benefits of taking risks creatively’.

It certainly was one of the most creatively challenging productions I have ever directed, and I am thankful for Dugal Parker and Andrew Mallam for saying ‘yes’ to all the wacky ideas I had. I can’t say I will ask students to perform in a pool again, but I am certain I couldn’t have done it without such a brave, collaborative and passionate group of students, like the honest Sam Byres who said: Throughout the play I was experiencing my own personal growth, making some rehearsals challenging, however I quickly found rehearsals a safe place to hang out and forget about my day-to-day stresses.

Theatre truly has a way of changing us.

To the cast and crew of Metamorphoses thank you for so bravely embracing the changes and challenges this year has given us.

Claire Yeomans Director

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The Barker Institute

Drama

Year 10 Play: The Happiest Days of Your Life It was wonderful that before the Delta Variant Lockdown on Term 3 struck, a talented cast of Year 10 students performed one of the most loved pieces in the repertoire of English farce, The Happiest Days of Your Life.

Life.

It was a true delight to direct this work and I cherished every moment with the cast and crew of Year 10s, in whose hands the future of Barker Drama is secure.

Written and performed first in 1947, this work was translated in 1950 to be one of the most celebrated comedies of British post-war cinema featuring Margaret Rutherford as Miss Whitchurch and Alistair Sim as Mr Pond. The same directors of the 1950 Happiest Days movie later collaborated to create the vastly popular St Trinians series of films. The stage play of Happiest Days by John Dighton provided exhilarating comic relief from the darkness of World War Two and offered the British public the gleeful opportunity to laugh at themselves.

The stage genre of “farce” is described in the Cambridge Dictionary as theatre in which characters “become involved in unlikely situations”. In the story of Happiest Days… this is an understatement. With missteps, poor choices and downright bad luck, the characters move from thinly veiled incompetence to downright hysteria, with hilarious results. In classic farce, the only people who know the whole story is the audience! There are cases of mistaken identity, love trysts, duplicitous devices, half-truths and exaggerated characters.

The only element lacking, which is a common device by playwrights in this genre, is the appearance of a dead body. Mind you, if the character Mr Billings in this play had his way, a dead body might have been the result of Miss Gossage’s attentions.

British farce has established itself in the theatrical traditions. Purists would regard many elements of Shakespearean comedy as “farce” in the sense of mistaken identity and coincidences.

More recently, Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, The Vicar of Dibley, Black Books and even The Office amongst many others owe something to the tradition of British farce and its offspring.

It was a delight to work with Year 10 performers in this production. Entering Senior School brings many challenges and staging a production of this kind was no small achievement. We were all very proud of their accomplishments.

To provide more opportunities for performers, our production created alter egos for characters including Gossage, Billings, Rainbow, Barbara and Hopcroft.

Our cast did so well with this script that it would be difficult to imagine the story told without the energy and humour these characters added. Our cast has been so creative, bringing the story into a new light at times with a clever modern twist.

The constant talents of our Drama production team, particularly Pia Midgley and Dugal Parker, have enabled our students to create a marvellous experience of theatre both for themselves and for you, the audience, who delighted in viewing our work.

The title The Happiest Days of Your Life refers, of course, to one’s school days. We had some of our happiest days preparing the work for the audience.

The memory of performing to sell out houses was something we will always cherish. Thank you to everyone in our community who made this marvellous memory possible.

Phillip Heath AM Director

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Music

The Masterpiece Concert Barker’s major concert this year saw its senior ensembles make a triumphant return to the wonderful Concert Hall in The Concourse at Chatswood. The College’s resurgent choirs, splendid wind symphony and awesome orchestras dazzled and delighted.

It was barely months ago. But from the twodimensional world of long lockdown, it seems like another era.

For once, reality exceeded the promise for the thousand-strong crowd, and the most frequent comment from excited audience members - from parents via emails, from colleagues and members of the School Executive – was: “I could not believe it was a school concert.” This reflected not only the technical attainment of the students in the eight ensembles, but also the quality of their musicianship and their mature ensemble skills. The smooth flowing professionalism of the show was also due to the outstanding work of Barker Music’s backstage team.

Another standout feature of the concert was the emotional range of the repertoire. The entire program was made up of music that was composed – with the exception of Brahms – in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Senior Percussion Ensemble was exciting, the Wind Orchestra’s performance was evocative, the Chamber Choir’s ethereal, the Chamber Orchestra was dynamic and expressive, and the first half concluded with the Symphony Orchestra’s joyous Brahms and edgy Shostakovich.

The music flourished even during the interval, as the foyer crowd was treated to the angelic voices of the Junior School’s Copeland Choir.

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The second half opened with a swinging start from the Jazz Orchestra, followed by the Senior Choir’s diverse set, which featured an Australian premiere and many student soloists. The concert concluded with two monumental works performed by the Wind Symphony.

Special mention must be made of the two featured soloists; Deron Yip (Year 9) whose compelling performance of the Shostakovich Cello Concerto no 1 had won him the Barker Concerto Competition, and vocal soloist Greg Alexander (Year 5), with his solo in the Wind Symphony’s Angel in the Architecture.

A delightful touch came from the two Day in the Life videos which gave us a behind-the-scenes look into the Barker music program. These clips underlined what we could already see from the students on stage - they love their music.

David Saffir Director of Strings

Music

Barker’s Secondary School rock bands put on a terrific event that demonstrated the continued importance of live contemporary music in the culture of the School.

Following the hiatus of live music in 2020, students were excited to demonstrate their musicianship and entrepreneurial nous. After successfully auditioning in front of a panel of Music Captains, students from 20 bands in Years 8 to 12 acted as their own promoters and ticket sellers. They careened down corridors and across the playgrounds of the Campus at lunch times trying to outdo each other in scenes reminiscent of the Battle of Britpop. They easily sold out The Atrium, an historic and much-loved Barker Music venue, while the top-selling bands vied for the coveted last slot of the night. As the long-awaited evening arrived, band members and music fans enjoyed a sausage sizzle while the winter air grew thick with nervous excitement and anticipation.

From the opening notes of the first band, the roar of the crowd filled the air, and songs that had only known the inside of practice rooms suddenly exploded from the stage with life. Students were treated to classic rock hits and drum solos, a punkpop version of “Lord Of The Dance” from Yooniversal (Year 11), a stirring crowd-backed rendition of “You Raise Me Up”, and the first ever Barker performance of an all-girl Middle School rock band.

It was also an emotional night for The Shrooms (Year 12), a true institution of the Barker rock community, who formed in Year 7 and gave their last ever Coffee House performance that evening. As always, many students demonstrated a range of expressive dance moves, but were ultimately outdone by rock aficionado David Giltrap, whose shouting grew more insistent and inspiring as the night went on.

Of course, the event would not have been possible without the smooth sound desk operation of Dean Lovell, the expert roadie skills of Graham Hunt, and Sam Thomlinson’s wise tutelage on safe moshing technique (“Up not sideways”). As we stare into the uncertainty of both the present and the future, we can all remember Coffee House as an ode to music’s ineffable power to bring people together and help us to remember who we are.

Alex Hone Music Teacher

Digital Learning

Thriving Online I write this at the end of our third week of online learning, looking down the barrel of at least four more weeks. The Digital Learning Team, like all teachers and staff at Barker (and elsewhere around the state, for that matter), commenced this period firmly positioned in survival mode.

We had a good set of tools and strategies in place, but nothing can overcome the feeling that we just need to “get through the week”.

Inevitably, we reach a point where we become more comfortable and familiar with our new modus operandi. It is here where we can shift the focus from surviving online to thriving online. Thrive, as a concept, has been a part of the lingua franca at Barker since Phillip Heath introduced the Barker Thriving Framework (consisting of four domains: Inquiry, Rhetoric, Gratitude, Service). Thriving online follows this example, placing wellbeing together with academic virtues.

Thriving Online represents a guide to good teaching and learning in an online context from Pre-K-12. The framework includes five domains: Wellbeing, Design, Agency, Interaction, and Feedback. Interestingly, these don’t just make for good online teaching; they represent good teaching, period.

help students feel a sense of belonging in their class, establish routines and norms, and emphasise individual goal-setting.

Design Like face-to-face learning, online learning should balance the need for teachers to engage in good direct instruction and the ability for students to learn independently and from each other. In the online environment, teachers can create this balance by conducting targeted video meetings on Teams to explicitly introduce and scaffold ideas, provide worked examples, and check for understanding. However, we also know that students then need opportunities to think and connect their ideas. For this reason, we keep our video meetings under 30-minutes and allow students time in lessons to develop their understanding.

Agency Wellbeing A common phrase in education circles is Maslow before Bloom. This refers to two models prevalent in education and psychology: Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs and Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive engagement. Put simply, Maslow before Bloom means teachers must ensure students’ basic needs are fulfilled before learning can commence. While some students might flourish learning online, for others, it can be isolating and daunting. Having an awareness of this spectrum is vital. To thrive online, teachers

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Feedback from our online learning experience in 2020 revealed many students valued the ability to work through activities at their own pace. This is one area we will continue to develop this year. When students are well prepared, we know they value the ability to pick up where they’ve left off and work through an activity or project at their own pace. Agency can also come from more unexpected places, like the ability to watch, pause or rewind video content or from having the choice of several activities or topics from which to work.

Digital Learning

Interaction

Conclusions

Interaction is often seen as one of the most challenging areas to tackle in online learning. We are lucky to be teaching and learning in a time where technology continues to make interaction and communication more accessible. Many teachers use breakout rooms in Teams to provide students with the virtual space to communicate and collaborate.

Microsoft Teams has also become a real hub for asynchronous communication with students and teachers communicating over chat. Our focus for thriving online is to continue to look for ways where interaction, collaboration and communication are developed through learning activities.

Teachers and staff learnt a lot from our previous experience of online learning. While we learn more about the nuances of teaching and learning online every day, we are well-positioned to make the most of the challenges that are thrown our way. In 2021, we must set our sights on providing excellent learning opportunities for our students, no matter the context.

Andy Mifsud Director of Digital Learning

Feedback Feedback in online learning takes on new meaning and importance. In a face-to-face classroom, feedback can happen so subtly, almost subconsciously. When working online, students look for different cues from their teacher to make sure they are on the right path. Using tools like OneNote has helped by giving teachers access to student work as it is being completed. In our next phase of online learning, we will continue to develop feedback options by encouraging individual goal setting, self-assessment, and peer feedback.

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STEAM

Science puts the in STEAM!

Left to right “May the 4th”, Science staff on playground duty; Build time at the Year 7 STEAM challenge; Year 9 iSTEAM rollercoasters.

2021 has been quite a year already and it is a privilege and an honour to serve Barker as the Head of Science & STEAM. I have been part of the Barker community for many years in a number of roles. Firstly, as a Science teacher, then the inaugural Head of Girls Boarding in the early 1990s. I returned to Barker in the late 1990s and since then I led the Biology teaching team and the STEAM initiatives across the School.

I am passionate about science education and scientific literacy. It is essential that all our students finish their time at Barker College with a rich understanding of scientific principles and that they can use this understanding to make wise choices in their lives and in the matters that they will work in and vote on in their adult lives.

Science at Barker goes from strength to strength, with a vibrant talented team of over 30 teaching staff and six science technicians. We offer six different courses in Stage 6, with students in the Science Extension course of 2020 going on to win some significant international prizes for their research projects in early 2021.

Laura Redman and Alex Gray entered their work into the Young Scientist competition in late 2020. Laura’s work on filtration using the xylem vessels in Casuarina species to remove E.coli from water went on to be a finalist at the Australian Stockholm Junior Water Prize.

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Alex’s project, A General Vector Theory of the Dynamics of a Rapidly Rotating Top won fourth prize at International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

Both students developed their work under the careful guidance of our talented staff, Dr Alison Gates, Dr Matthew Hill and Dr Katie Terrett.

We were thrilled to start 2021 with a fabulous two-day STEAM event for the Year 7 students. This was a purposeful event, where the students competed in House teams on a Faraday Challenge to build a table tennis launcher. The students learned practical, digital, design and collaboration skills whilst engaging in some serious science and engineering challenges. It was a fantastic two days of high energy, fun and serious competition. It was a wonderful opportunity for the staff from each of the STEAM faculties to work together on a cooperative project and to bring together their many talents and strengths to work on the event. The very talented Kevin Jones has joined the Design and Technology team in 2021 and he was pivotal in writing and designing this program whilst he was working in the United Kingdom. We are exceptionally privileged that he is a part of our Barker STEAM team!

Barker Science has been fortunate to have 11 new

STEAM

Photo Build time at the Year 7 STEAM challenge.

Barker Science has been fortunate to have 11 new laboratories added to our faculty from Term 2 and these are an extraordinary asset. We have one small, specialised research laboratory for student work in Science Extension, and five specialised laboratories for each of Earth & Environmental Science and Biology.

The laboratories have interconnecting doors and the space is able to be utilised for cooperative learning and school-wide STEAM and Science events. The Science Quad, SQ, now has 15 laboratories in total, with the existing four laboratories repurposed and specialised for Agriculture and Middle School Science.

The iSTEAM course in Years 9 and 10 continues to be a solid elective, with clear connections to each of the pillar faculties of Science, Computing, Design and Technology and Mathematics. STEM is a key driver of innovation and NESA has now re-endorsed this course for 2022 and beyond. The Year 9 students showcased their engineering roller coaster challenge at the end of Term 2 where they applied their understanding of physics and motion. They are currently working on an automated green house as they investigate feeding a hungry world, while the Year 10 students are working on a biomedical technology stream.

The Barker Drone Academy is continuing to be developed under the careful guidance of Nathan Dumbleton, CO of the Tech/PR wing of the Barker Cadet Unit and chemistry coordinator in the Science department. 2021 has seen a change in our partnership company and some significant work done with the Barker Cadet Unit, setting up an online UAV training course and accreditation. It is anticipated that this STEAM initiative and course will finally be available to the wider school community by 2022.

As 2021 continues, the very talented team of teachers in this faculty are endeavoring to keep our students connected with active learning in Science and STEAM, in both the online environment and in our classes at school.

Virginia Ellis Head of Science & STEAM

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Maths

Girls Do the Maths

Early on a cold winter’s morning, 11 Year 10 girls embarked on a journey to UNSW. Catching the train and light rail gave the girls a taste of university life.

What lay ahead was a day filled with interesting speeches and interactive activities.

Key speaker, Virginia Wheway, gave an inspiring speech on how she has used data science in her career. From studying black box data while working for Boeing, to analysing online behaviours to target ads when working for Koala, she showed the girls there are endless opportunities for work if you have a degree in Mathematics.

Various activities demonstrated the practicalities of maths throughout history while working with likeminded students from other schools. The students looked at how the area of land was calculated using sticks, string and the 3, 4, 5 Pythagorean triangle in a time before computers and calculators.

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They were also fascinated by various counting techniques and how different problems are interlinked.

The girls finished the day feeling inspired and full of knowledge on the importance of mathematics in our lives and the opportunities that lie ahead.

Jess Iles Mathematics Teacher

Global Studies

The Bigger Issue Global Studies is a Year 9 and Year 10 subject unique to Barker. We explore current global issues through a solutions-oriented lens.

An important part of learning about global issues is to experience them through primary material sources and by learning from people who have experienced these issues first-hand.

On 15 June, all Year 9 and Year 10 Global Studies classes travelled into the city to learn first-hand about global issues. While each year group visited the same venues, the Big Issue and the Sydney Jewish Museum, they were exposed to different approaches to solving global injustices. The Year 10 group learned about the value of creating businesses as social enterprises from a Big Issue vendor, while the Year 9 group learned about the causes and potential solutions to homelessness. The Year 10 group learned about how Jewish people resisted the Holocaust, while the Year 9 group learned about the causes of genocide and potential prevention methods applicable to all genocides.

Here’s a report from Year 9's Eric Jiang on his excursion experience: The two Year 9 classes spent the most enjoyable and informative day out in the city. First stop was The Big Issue, a magazine business. We learnt they were more

than just that; it is a non-profit social enterprise helping people experiencing homelessness. This NGO taught us all about the causes, effects and experiences of homelessness. Hearing from someone who had actually experienced homelessness but now earned a living selling magazines, was really inspiring.

After a quick food stop – lollies – was a visit to the Sydney Jewish Museum. Yet another inspiring speaker, Yvonne, presented her memories of surviving the worst genocide in history, the Holocaust. Her main message was to forgive but never forget. A quick tour of timeless artefacts, like parts of the Torah and Nazi propaganda, demonstrated the effects the Holocaust had on the Jewish people at that time. A final talk about documents and attempts that define, prevent and criminalise genocide prepared us for our new topic in class, Preventing Genocide.

Liza Hildreth Global Studies Coordinator Eric Jiang Year 9

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Languages

Languages Immersion From cooking demonstrations to a Latin Study Day and learning more about the last days of Pompeii and life during WWI in France, our Language students enjoyed several incursions and excursions in Term 2.

Year 7 Languages Cooking Incursion

Year 9 French WWI Excursion

Year 7 Language students immersed themselves in a culinary incursion. The students were taught how to prepare Chinese dumplings, Japanese Yakiudon noodles, French chocolate balls and ‘salt and pepper’ pasta, as developed by the ancient Romans.

Our two Year 9 French classes enjoyed a unique opportunity to travel to the Alliance Francaise in the city, where they spent a morning in near total immersion with native French speakers.

Each student enjoyed the hands-on experience of preparing a meal, using their knowledge of the language and consuming the fruits of their labour at the end of the day! The event provided everyone with an opportunity to reflect upon the deep influence that both Asian and European cultures have exercised on Australia’s modern cuisine and lifestyle.

Thanks must go to the teachers from the Languages Department and the presenter who provided such an engaging, authentic and delicious language learning experience!

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The chosen topic was the First World War in France.

Students learned extremely interesting facts about how civilians and soldiers went through these terrible years. They also discovered who the unknown soldier was through a mystery box game with clues given in French. During the entire workshop the students had to complete activities in French-like quizzes, multiplechoice questions as well as some speaking exercises.

It was an enjoyable learning experience, which ended with some students eating French food from the Alliance Café. Everyone offered a hearty ‘merci’ to teachers Sabine Kieken and Ashley Rickman for organising such a great day out.

Languages

Year 12 Latin Study Day The annual Year 12 Study Day at Barker saw over one hundred Latin students from around the country, gather in person - and online - at the end of Term 2.

The students enjoyed lectures on texts such as Virgil’s Aeneid, Cicero’s prosecution of Catiline and the genre of Roman Lyric poetry.

The day was an opportunity for students and teachers alike to revel in the drama, mystique and romance of the ancient world. Each presentation powerfully resurrected Roman cultural icons, entombed by 2000 years of literary history: Aeneas – the hapless and reluctant founder of Rome; Catiline – the seditious monster who brought the city to her knees; and Catullus and Lesbia – epitomising the agony and ecstasy of love in the first centry BC. The program supported the Barker students’ preparation for the HSC as well as providing an insight into the journey of life-long learning that an ancient language can provide.

Year 8 Latin Incursion: the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius In Term 2 Year 8 Latin students learned about the last days of Pompeii through the eyes of Caecilius and his family. Daniel Woolley and Dr Brent Koppel from Barker’s Science Department showed students the School’s collection of igneous rocks and talked about the type of explosion that took place from Mount Vesuvius on on 24 August 79AD. Tom Nolan demonstrated great knowledge of rocks that originated from volcanic eruptions. Students recreated the eruption using a mixture of vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, detergent and red food dye which caused a rapid pyroclastic flow. This gave Year 8s a hands-on feel for the story of Mount Vesuvius which both Gail Cunnigham and Julia Anstey had recounted during class.

Matthew Ross Head of Languages

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Robotics

FRC Dean’s List 2021 Suzanne Brian (Year 11) was recently awarded the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Dean’s List Award for the Pacific Region.

The award celebrates students who demonstrate technical expertise and make significant contributions to their team and their wider community, all while maintaining academic excellence. Lael Grant, Barker’s Robotics Coordinator, caught up with Suzanne to find out more.

Congratulations on winning the FRC Dean’s List Award for 2021! We are so proud of all you have contributed to Barker Robotics and beyond. How did you get started?

I have a long history with Robotics, especially at Barker! My brother joined the team in late 2014 so I travelled as a family member to the 2016 FRC World Championships. I met Daiane and Jeser who started teaching me the basics of FRC and inspired me to compete. Of course, I was in Year 6 and “officially” too young and couldn’t go to Barker yet, so instead, in 2017 I took it upon myself to start a team at PLC, my previous school, with Barker’s help. Then in 2020 I transferred schools and teams to the Barker Redbacks.

What is the significance of the Dean’s List Award to you?

I am thrilled and humbled to have even been put forward in the first place. I recognise that even to be nominated, mentors must write an essay of recommendation. Out of around 801 teams who selected students, I was honoured to be one of six winners in the Pacific Region.

Looking at my history with Robotics, I’ve also participated in many different Robotics outreach activities and given more speeches than I can recount.

I’ve collaborated with many students over the years who have inspired me, including previous Dean’s List awardees from the Barker Redbacks; Alastair Pilley (16), Sean Zammit (17) and Ben Schwarz (Year 12).

Because of this, I was especially grateful to be nominated, being able to win and count myself among their ranks was quite special.

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What does a Robotics student’s commitment look like at Barker, and where do you find your motivation?

A typical Robotics season for Year 9 - 11 students runs from early January to April and again from September to December. During this time, the Robotics room is open six days a week including most school holidays.

Most students attend up to six days a week during the FRC build season and at least twice a week during off season after April. Many of us spend over 200 hours on Robotics in January alone.

For me, being a part of Barker Robotics is like having a second family at School. It is a group who has each other’s backs and are ready to celebrate the highs and commiserate the lows together. Especially in the past year where we’ve seen the cancellation of multiple planned international competitions and the world championships. I think that support is part of what’s motivated me in recent times to keep coming back and pushing to achieve my best. My commitment to not only create the best robot, but also to my teammates who I’ve gone through so much with over the past two years.

Congratulations, you’ve achieved so much in a short time. What are your future plans?

I am currently looking at university courses in mechatronic and/or biomedical engineering for a future career in the engineering and robotics space. I guess the answer should be – stay tuned.

Lael Grant​ Robotics Coordinator & Computer Science Teacher

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Alumni Profile

Alumni Profile Simone Allan (Channells, Class of 1984) is a successful businesswoman with a passion for helping people.

Simone recently chatted with Director of Alumni and Community Relations, Mandy Loomes, about her career.

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Alumni Profile

What was your journey after finishing at Barker in 1984?

I completed at University of Sydney an Arts Degree, Psych Major and Post Grad in HR. I commenced a career in Sales, had fun selling vacuum cleaners on TV! By accident I landed in recruitment and executive search in 1994, when headhunted for a role and the recruiter enticed me to join Morgan & Banks. This is where I found my real work passion.

Working closely with people to discover their commercial skills and attributes, to align with companies and their capability needs. Tons of fun, no day was the same and meeting thousands of people.

In 1998 I started my own Consultancy, Mondo Search (www. mondosearch.com.au) now 23 years in operation. Placing more than 2800 leaders in Business.

During this time I was fortunate to be invited to join the Barker School Council as I had been running careers nights for Year 11 and 12 for many years. This was a great opportunity and a privilege at a young age to see how a School Board operated.

In 2012 I found one common trait when recruiting great leaders they all had mentors and I realised how much mentors had helped me along my way.

In 2014 I offered the Old Barker Association a pilot program to match past students with younger students leaving school and setting out on their path. This proved impactful, so I set up The Mentor Evolution - a mentor matching platform and engagement/ leadership program for Corporations and School Alumni. www.thementorevolution.com In 2020 my business experienced Covid Coma and I had space to focus on my true North, The

Women’s Resilience Centre, a place of hope and healing for women who have suffered domestic abuse.

How have you combined your previous work experience with the Women's Resilience Centre?

Offering a resilience program to move women off the “trauma trail”, with a buddy/mentor program of Survivor to Thriver.

I have engaged people around me and a really capable Board with a passionate and hands-on Chair, Dr Maree Gosper. We have great weekly rituals - we walk and talk once a week for a solid hour. All my work is related, and I enjoy it.

What inspired you to start work in the field of recruitment and mentoring?

I found recruitment was a great blend of my skills in connecting with people, psychology and business development. Mentoring was a common factor in all great leaders and in my own journey, mentors were critical to the decisions I made.

Why do you think mentoring is important?

Mentoring shines a light on parts of you that you will never see in yourself. Mentoring is so powerful, allowing you to navigate decisions with a more balanced approach.

I loved a recent comment by my Mentor: “What do you know now, that you will know in six months’ time?” Mentoring helps you to listen to your gut and trust that you do have foresight!

Tell us about the Women's Resilience Centre?

The Women’s Resilience Centre (WRC) is a place of hope and healing. It provides much needed medium-term accommodation, after short-term crisis care, (as crisis care can only provide accommodation for up to 12 weeks). WRC offers a longterm resilience and capacity building program to help women find their agency and move ahead, supported by mentors and buddies. Impacting generations ahead. www. womensresiliencecentre. com.au

How do you fit two busy companies into your very busy life?

Go to bed and rise early. Good planning and daily rituals.

What do you do to relax?

Ten years ago I discovered the power of yoga. It allows me to “defrag” and I call it “Drycleaning the body” - it stretches out both my mind and my body and is deeply energising. It allows me to stop and connect my mind to my body. Also I love the ocean and sitting in the sunshine. I love cooking (providence) and losing myself in pottering (great for mental health). Love chatting to dear long-term friends, as well.

From what you have learned in life, what would you say to your 16-year old self?

Love your little self! Look at the lessons from your pain and you will find your purpose.

What advice do you have for today's Barker students?

Listen to your gut, it will best guide you. Look for mentors around you. Don’t listen to that “crazy negative flat mate” in your head!

Daily journalling will help you write out the crazy thoughts. Cherish your family and friends. Do yoga, exercise, sleep and eat well and meditate.

Spring 2021 • Issue 132 • The Barker • 37

Heights Day Paradoxically, the Term 3 COVID-19 restrictions have freed us to do life differently, to consider what is true and important about the human condition and highlighted the need to develop a rich inner life.

Junior School The focus for the Junior School day was for our students to reflect on how they are demonstrating the Learner Profile Attributes during this time of online learning. This occurred through a virtual chapel service, sport, and student creation of their own representation of how the Learner Profile Attributes apply to them. Their representations will be collated to form an art installation encompassing the central idea of "Historical moments can be captured, shared and reflected upon". This is a unique moment in our lives. It linked in beautifaully with the School’s Round Square and International Baccalaureate vision of reflecting and connecting with local, national and global experiences and understandings.

The art installation will be unveiled at the Year 6 PYP Exhibition and showcased in the School for years to come.

The day also allowed opportunities for students in Years 3-6, and their families, to enjoy various speakers of interest from the Secondary School conference program.

Secondary School After the conference launch and introductions from Phillip Heath AM, Head of Barker College, and David Charles, Chair of Barker Council, The Hon Matt Kean, Member for Hornsby and Minister for Energy and Environment gave the plenary address entitled “The role of young people in changing the world”.

Following the plenary session, attendees had the chance to listen to a combination of 12 invited speakers in concurrent sessions throughout the day.

Sessions typically ran with an initial 15-minute talk from the invited guest, followed by a discussion with a Barker staff member who posed questions from attendees to the guest.

38 • The Barker • Issue 132 • Spring 2021

Scan QR codes to view recording.

Phillip Heath AM Head of Barker College

David Charles Chair of Council The Hon Matt Kean Member for Hornsby Minister for Energy and Environment The role of young people in changing the world

Professor Vanessa Hayes Geneticist leading research at the Garvan Institute The future of precision health Marcus West Australia’s leading presentation skills coach The elevator pitch Sarah Curran Volunteer bat rescue and rehabilitation specialist and advocate Bats: Superheroes of the night sky Dr Benjamin Zander Conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra The transformative power of classical music

Matt Burke Australian Rugby Union player, Sports presenter on Ten News First How rugby shaped my life Dr John Dickson Speaker, writer and thinker Where is God in the pandemic?

Dr Carlos Bacigalupo Locally based international astronomer A voyage to the edge of the universe

Jonathon Dallimore Professional Officer for the History Teachers’ Association of NSW The Great War – What’s to remember?

Associate Professor Peter McGilchrist Associate Professor of Meat Science at UNE How to master the selection and cooking of meat Mark Morrison OAM Former Principal of the Macleay Vocational College Keeping ourselves safe

Michael Griffin Choral conductor, educator, speaker, author Performance and motivation

Sue Williams Bestselling author and award-winning journalist and travel writer Writing your world

Thousands of households joyfully participated in the various offerings throughout the day. As well as watching, learning, moving and creating with their assigned activities, some Junior School students enjoyed attending the Secondary School conference talks with their older siblings or when it met their curiosities.

Across the Secondary School conference sessions there were over 4600 logins throughout the day from students, teachers, parents and carers, whole families, and those beyond Barker in the wider community.

Over 1000 questions were asked to stimulate conversations between Barker hosts and guest speakers, creating a unique opportunity for an event bespoke to the Barker community of greater benefit than merely watching a previous online video from the guest.

Truly this was an opportunity seized by the Barker community to look out and beyond the normal, to enrich the mind, and to refresh and renew the heart.

“I really enjoyed learning more about bats in Sydney!”

– Junior School student “I think after listening to Carlos, I’d like to keep working on my Science skills and maybe become an astrophysicist.” – Junior School student "I wanted to say thank you to EVERYONE who was involved in putting together today’s Kurrajong Heights Day/21. It was absolutely wonderful and I got so much out of the sessions I listened to. The presenters I listened to were informative, engaging and made their topics very interesting." – Barker staff member "Just wanted to thank the Junior School and Barker College for this great initiative. We’ve just listened to the talk by Dr Benjamin Zander and loved it. It was just mind blowing and the best talk we’ve ever listened to and definitely looking forward to listening to the other talks this afternoon." – Junior School parent Julia Anstey Visiting Academic Fellow Dr Matthew Hill Director of the Barker Institute

Lisa Bonazza Junior School Director of Primary Curriculum/PYP Coordinator

Spring 2021 • Issue 132 • The Barker • 39

Reflections

Reflections From Beyond the Mint Gates Israel Dedeigbo graduated from Barker College in 2020 and recently took time to reflect on his schooling experience.

“I really enjoyed my time at Barker for a multitude of reasons. The School provided opportunities to attempt, progress and excel in all areas of life. These areas included sport, faith, friendship, outdoor education and academic which was something I really loved.” Israel said.

The Dedeigbo family are a big part of the Barker community with Israel’s five siblings also attending, or about to attend, Barker.

When asked about Barker’s Indigenous campuses including Darkinjung, Ngarralingayil and Dhupuma, Israel expressed his gratitude for the equal opportunity being made available to more Indigenous Australians.

“I think the Darkinjung, Ngarralingayil and Dhupuma Barker campuses are all great initiatives that help to effectively provide quality education and an array of opportunities to Indigenous children. The effort and extent Barker has gone to incorporate and balance culture into the academic program means a lot and reflects in accommodating for all. Additionally, being able to experience first hand the opportunities being provided by Barker, I can definitely appreciate the beneficial impact this can have upon the lives and futures of all these students.”

Israel draws inspiration from Australian athletes Cathy Freeman (Olympian) and Josh Addo-Carr (NRL player) and explained why he looks up to them and how he remembers the first time he also took to the 400m track at Sydney Olympic Park like Cathy Freeman.

“Growing up I had always known of the famous 400m Olympic gold medal that Cathy Freeman won at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. In 2014 I had the honour of running on the same track for my 400m State Little Athletics event. This led me to read her autobiography which provided me with a great insight into the struggles she faced growing up and brilliantly revealed the determination, courage and perseverance she displayed to achieve her goals. Josh Addo-Carr is another excellent Indigenous sportsperson whom I think should be recognised for his heroic efforts in turning his life around and achieving many great things, through sheer perseverance and determination.”

Israel is studying a Bachelor of Construction Project Management at University of Technology and has just been awarded a cadetship at a construction management firm.

Reflecting on his favourite memory from the School he recounts attending the annual Barker and Knox Rugby fixture which brings the School community together.

“The annual Barker vs Knox sporting fixture particularly in Rugby and Football is also a memory that I’m sure I’ll never forget. Being able to watch such a high quality game while also enjoying the feeling of being a part of a community that displays such pride in representing and supporting their school is an honourable memory I’m sure I’ll forever hold onto,” added Israel.

Hannah McGrory​ Social Media Coordinator

40 • The Barker • Issue 132 • Spring 2021

Barker Global

The Waratah Project Programs for First Nations students at Hornsby are funded by a grant from the Association of Independent Schools.

The AIS Waratah Project seeks to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students by supporting schools to implement their own strategies and programs in 12 key outcome areas. Alongside improved literacy and numeracy, Barker’s 2021 focus is on improving staff cultural competency and building broader community engagement with, and respect for, First Nations cultures and issues.

In Term 2 we were able to have guest educators Rosalyn Thomas and Wayne Cornish spend time with us at Hornsby as part of this project. Both Rosalyn and Wayne spent time educating staff and students and sharing their experiences with the broader Barker community. Rosalyn, who is the AIS Aboriginal Education Consultant and a Dunghutti woman, met with Barker staff during National Reconciliation Week for a professional learning session on reconciliation in the classroom. Afterwards she presented at a community forum on this year’s National Reconciliation Week theme, Reconciliation: More Than a Word, where she shared her personal story and spoke about the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its potential role in the reconciliation process.

Wayne Cornish, Operations Manager at Muru Mittigar, visited us during Barker’s celebration of NAIDOC Week. Wayne spoke to Studies of Religion classes about Aboriginal cultures and spiritualities and ran a session for staff about building their cultural competency and creating a culturally safe classroom.

Wayne also addressed all Barker students at our NAIDOC Week Assembly, with a focus on this year’s NAIDOC Week theme Heal Country! At the end of a very busy day, we were delighted to have over 150 members of the Barker community join us around the campfire as Wayne spoke about First Nations land management practices and the importance of healing Country for our future as a nation.

The Waratah Project also allows us to continue running Yarn Up (peer support) and Wingaru (academic support) for First Nations students, and to hold events such as the Programs and Partnerships Evening. At this event, representatives from Jumbunna (UTS), Walanga Muru (Macquarie University) and TAFE NSW presented to First Nations students and families from Barker and surrounding schools about the programs they run and the opportunities available through tertiary studies.

We are grateful for the time and expertise of Aboriginal educators and the support of the AIS on our journey as a School that seeks to promote and contribute to reconciliation.

Sophie Mynott Director of Barker Global Partnerships Molly Glendenning Barker Global Research Assistant

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Spring 2021 • Issue 132 • The Barker • 41

Indigenous Education

This article appeared on 17 July 2021 and is reproduced with the permission of The Weekend Australian Magazine.

An Exciting Model for Indigenous Education Photo Elder Valerie Dhamarrandj with students at Dhupuma Barker School.

A wealthy Sydney private school teams up with the Yothu Yindi Foundation to teach kids in remote Arnhem Land. Could this be a model for the future?

A little girl, no more than six or seven years old, wanders into a dusty demountable classroom in one of the most remote parts of northern Australia, looking anxious that she’s arrived so late in the day.

The teacher, sitting in a circle on the ground with his students, looks up and his face breaks into a wide grin. “It’s Keira!” he exclaims to the group. “Yay! Great to see you!” He leans over and high-fives her and then applauds. The other kids follow his lead, clap and cheer, and slap their palms on hers as she moves around the circle. Before long, she’s all smiles. “Here, Keira,” the teacher gestures to a place by his side.

“And I’ve got your top.” He pulls a polo shirt over her head in the colours of one of Sydney’s most exclusive private independent schools. She sits on the floor, basking in the glow of such a warm welcome.

42 • The Barker • Issue 132 • Spring 2021

Later that afternoon, teacher Tom Spencer laughs about the excitement of Keira’s arrival, two hours late.

“I’m just so happy to see her coming to school and I need to encourage her to keep-coming,” he says. “For these kids, it’s a very big deal. When we started, we had no idea if anyone would come. So it’s about celebrating them when they make the decision to attend.” Keira and the 15 other young Indigenous children gathered here in the makeshift classroom in north-east Arnhem Land, a bone-shattering 11-hour dirt road drive east of Darwin, are oblivious to the stark contrast between this scene and the school whose colours they wear, Barker College on Sydney’s wealthy Upper North Shore. They have no idea they’re playing a critical role in an ambitious experiment to “close the gap” in education.

Indigenous Education

This school, Dhupuma Barker, has been set up as a pioneering partnership between Barker College and the Yothu Yindi Foundation, two groups on opposite banks of the great divide with more than 4000km between them. Their aim? To ensure these kids in the 200-person Yolngu community of Gunyangara, 14km from Nhulunbuy, receive a decent education. Beyond that, they hope their joint venture will provide a template for Indigenous education in remote and rural communities.

“It’s been quite the journey,” says Denise Bowden, CEO of the Yothu Yindi Foundation and director of Garma. “We have a generation of kids who haven’t been getting a good education in numeracy and literacy in a way that could be understood and acknowledged. So this kind of school has been a dream of ours for a very long time. We wanted an independent school to partner with us, away from the government, and we were lucky we found Barker and were able to forge a very respectful relationship.”

It’s a tiny school by any standards, with only one classroom where everyone learns together or is divided into smaller groups, either sitting on the floor or on stools gathered around low tables. There’s a single whiteboard at the front of the class, and a section screened off at the back with beanbags and shelves of books on the wall that functions as the library. Individual iPads – a gift from Apple – are handed out for quiet reading times or game-playing.

The reception area has tables, pots and pans where meals are served.

A film of a rocket ready to launch lights up the board in the classroom, and Spencer, 36, a Barker teacher who moved here to head up the school, leads the increasingly boisterous countdown to lunchtime. The children, aged between five and 14, stream out into the passageway to help themselves to sausage stew and rice. Then they all bolt for the basketball court. In the hot sun they toss basketballs around and right in the middle of the throng is a tall, very white man, catching balls thrown to him, hurling them back. “Mr Heath!” “Mr Heath!” “Mr Heath!” is the constant cry to catch his attention. After 20 minutes, Phillip Heath, Head of Barker College, steps off the court to catch his breath. “Isn’t this wonderful?” he gasps. “These children have come such a long way since we opened.

It’s brilliant to see their progress.”

Outside, the basketball court is the major attraction, and kids can often still be seen playing there till sundown. For there’s little else for them in this blinkand-you’d-miss-it township with its wide dusty lanes and sprinkling of homes (some of which back directly onto the beach) with washing-draped fences and fridges sometimes on the verandas. One resident claims he has a “pet” saltwater crocodile that he regularly feeds leftovers.

The school’s opening in April this year comes 40 years after Dhupuma College, the original Northern Territory government school in the area, abruptly closed without warning when funds allocated to replace its dilapidated buildings were diverted elsewhere, leaving the community in shock. Later, some graduates of that school set up the award-winning rock band Yothu Yindi, famed for its chart-topping anthem Treaty, and founded The Garma Festival of Traditional Cultures, Australia’s largest annual Indigenous gathering. But back home, they wanted their children and grandchildren to have the educational opportunities they’d enjoyed. Instead, their school-age kids were drifting, occasionally attending a school in one of the towns nearby, but more often not. So, three months ago, after many years of planning and searching for a partner, the community opened Dhupuma Barker school. And so far, so good.

The NT wouldn’t be the NT without talk of crocodiles, and these kids are no exception. The next special guest in the classroom, Ranger Stacey Kessner from NT Parks and Wildlife, is warning of the importance of being croc-wise – Baru-aware – in this homeland on the shores of the Arafura Sea. Afterwards, everyone races down the red dust pathway to the beach for a series of maths lessons, drawing in the rough sand with sticks and rearranging shells – just as previous generations had done. At various points, however, kids dart away to wade knee-deep in the sea, forgetting what they’ve just been told. Heath looks pained but two of the four female elders from the community who work with Spencer at the school shout at them to get out. “Sometimes they just don’t listen,” confides Valerie Dhamarrandj, 61, “but they are so much better than they were. Tom is such a good teacher and very patient, and they love him. We’re all so happy to see the kids doing their lessons and enjoying learning. And we are very grateful to Mr Heath.”

Spring 2021 • Issue 132 • The Barker • 43

Indigenous Education

Left to right High hopes, a student at Dhupuma Barker; Dhupuma Barker teacher Tom Spencer with a student; Head of Barker College Phillip Heath AM on the basketball court with students from Dhupuma Barker.

For Heath, this all started 17 years ago in Sydney, when he was the Head of St Andrew’s Cathedral School and followed, with horror, the riots sparked by the death of a 17-year-old Aboriginal boy in 2004 in Redfern, two train stops away. “It was extremely distressing and I was distressed too that they had almost no impact on St Andrew’s,” he says. “I think detachment wasn’t an option for me. Redfern is the heartland of so much black politics in Australia and there was so much entrenched bitterness around law and order and, somewhat naively, I wanted to do something.”

The next year, Heath attended a school principals’ conference in South Africa and visited a well-to-do independent school in Johannesburg that had set up a series of smaller schools for impoverished children from Soweto, with a focus on achievement and celebrating moments of triumph in literacy and numeracy. “I thought maybe I could do something similar,” Heath says. “The evidence here shows that Indigenous children can be up to four years behind other children in literacy and numeracy, which puts them at a huge disadvantage for the rest of their lives.”

In 2007 he set up Gawura, a school within his school, for children from Redfern. The school now caters for Aboriginal children from a wider area and employs 10 Indigenous staff. One former student is now studying medicine at the University of Sydney, another is doing her MSc at Oxford University. In 2020 it was voted Australian School of the Year at the Australian Education Awards.

When Heath started at independent Anglican day and boarding school Barker College in 2014, he was keen to extend his vision. While Indigenous children were frequently offered day and boarding scholarships at

44 • The Barker • Issue 132 • Spring 2021

schools, including his, this time he also wanted to establish a school “on Country” so younger children could be educated in their own area, in their own culture, in a strong relationship with community elders.

“If the Commonwealth is prepared to invest heavily to assist students to board in large independent schools in metropolitan areas,” he asks, “should the government not at least consider the option of empowering local communities to lead local schools?”

Two years later he founded Darkinjung Barker on the site of a former one-teacher primary school in Yarramalong on the NSW Central Coast, in partnership with the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council and through philanthropic support from the Barker Community. For Barker’s Head of Junior School Martin Lubrano, one of the most touching moments of his career came when a nine-year-old Year 4 boy handed him a note in straggly handwriting: “I luv the school. Please teech me to rite.”

Last year, Heath started another offshoot, Ngarralingayil Barker in the former Wollombi Public School in the Lower Hunter Valley, in partnership with the Kiray Putjung Aboriginal Corporation in Cessnock.

Both schools cater for 20 Indigenous children from Kindergarten to Year 6, when they can choose to continue their education with a scholarship, travelling down to Barker Hornsby, or to move to a local school.

“When I first started at Darkinjung Barker, I was two or three years behind in everything,” says Jaiden, 16, who’s now at Barker Hornsby. “I’m a quiet kid so in my other school, no one noticed I wasn’t doing the work.

But Barker really helped, and everyone was so supportive and now I’ve caught up to where I’m meant to be. I’m now planning to go to uni for either an arts or business degree.”

Indigenous Education

While the two new schools have Aboriginal culture and language embedded into all the teaching, learning and playing they do, those values have also become a vital part of the main Barker campus.

Non-Indigenous students are taught Aboriginal history and culture, and there are regular visits between the three schools to learn from each other, a pen pal system for kids of similar ages, and sports days where they all come together. “There’s a mutuality there between non-Indigenous children and Indigenous children,” says John Slack-Smith, the chair of Barker’s Foundation Board whose four sons attended Barker.

“The benefits flow both ways. The Indigenous pillar of Barker College is so exciting for us. The opportunities are not only in terms of Indigenous education but also in opening the eyes of the other boys and girls to another culture and giving them the chance to experience other parts of Australia.”

And then, this year, came Heath’s most audacious project yet: opening a third offshoot college in one of the most remote parts of Australia.

It’s 7am and Berry Hetharia is driving a 12-seater minibus around East Arnhem Land to pick up kids for Dhupuma Barker. Some of the students are waiting for him; for others, he knocks on doors or windows to wake them. He has a store of mini KitKats to lure his passengers, and dinner leftovers to keep stray dogs away. Kids on the bus jump out and help round up others. “At first, they didn’t want to come so much,” says Hetharia. “Some of the parents didn’t get an education themselves so they don’t understand what it is, or why it’s important. But now everyone’s much more on board and understand what we’re trying to achieve.”

On the opening day of Dhupuma Barker (Dhupuma is a Yolngu term meaning, “Look up, look beyond”), neither Heath nor Spencer had any idea of what to expect. Then they heard voices and clapsticks in the distance and watched, enthralled, as the community celebrated the school’s arrival with a huge display of singing, dancing and ceremony. It brought tears of joy to Heath’s eyes. “It was a wonderful day,” he says. “It was then that I realised this could really work.”

The venerated figurehead of the community, 1978 Australian of the Year Galarrwuy Yunupingu, gave a welcome speech, then drove around the area for the next two days exhorting any child he came across: “Go to school! Go to school every day!” At the beginning, the attendance rate ranged from 22 to 32 per cent of the 40 or so school-age kids in the area.

Now it’s between 80 and 97 per cent. Keira, for

instance, hasn’t missed another day of school since that late arrival. Another girl, Whitney, 10, attended only sporadically for the first three weeks of the school’s opening, and even when she came she would often abruptly stand up and walk out. Now, she’s one of the school’s most dedicated pupils, arriving at 7.30 every morning and invariably the last to leave. “She’s making incredible progress,” says Spencer. Amanda, 10, seems to speak for many of her mates. “We like it here,” she says. “Mr Tom is so nice, I call him Father.

We’re learning and having fun.”

Not far away, in his home at the end of a dirt road by the old Yothu Yindi recording studio, Yunupingu is also pleased to see how the school is faring. “It’s going well,” he says, nodding. “It’s so important for our children to go to school and they have to be able to stay in their own community, with their own families, while they’re being educated.” The school has a strong commitment to Indigenous culture, with lessons run in English and the local tongue, Yolngu Matha, and the Australian curriculum wrapped in Yolngu learning.

Spencer has so far learnt 60 Yolngu words but is helped in the classroom by multilingual elders who can interpret for him and his students. The aim is to make the youngsters fluent in both languages.

Breakfast, lunch and a meal before leaving are all supplied, as are the Barker polo shirts, freshly laundered each day. Each child also receives a self-care pack with toothbrushes that frequently double as make-believe microphones for playtime song-and-dance routines. The upper age limit is supposed to be 12 but “no child will ever be turned away”, says Heath. “If they want to be here, we want them to be here.”

The Principal has a band of vocal supporters among parents, old boys and philanthropists, and they’ve been joined by even more influential admirers.

Leading Indigenous advocate Noel Pearson says he loved the idea of Gawura and the schools that Heath established with Barker. “I have been in awe of their progress over the past decade,” he says. “They’ve established an exciting model. It’s one of the best things going on in Indigenous education, no two ways about it.

“These partnerships between the country’s most ‘great to excellent’ schools and what we would call ‘poor to fair’ schools are the way of the future,” Pearson says.

“Much respect to the Darkinjung and Barker for proving up this model. We have to move on from the 100 per cent public school model for Indigenous students.

Spring 2021 • Issue 132 • The Barker • 45

Indigenous Education

Left to right An elder teaches a beach lesson; The school provides three meals a day.

It isn’t working and hasn’t worked in the past. It’s just consigning Indigenous students to underachievement.

We need to develop partnerships between the best schools in the country – including potentially the best selective public schools – and Indigenous communities, to close the achievement gap and stop wasting these precious lives.”

Pearson believes this kind of model needs to be replicated on a large scale and the Federal Government appears, at last, to be paying attention.

Education Minister Alan Tudge is also on side. “I think it’s very impressive what Barker has done and I have great admiration for Phillip and his commitment to schools for Indigenous students,” he says. “I think it’s a model that could now be replicated and that’s something we’ve been thinking about for some time, in terms of wanting some of our larger, wealthier independent schools to follow their lead and do similar things. This can make a very significant contribution to the future.”

Meanwhile, Heath is sitting on a tiny stool in a circle with the kids in Arnhem Land, giving out his trademark handwritten birthday cards and Freddo Frogs – something he does for all Barker students, wherever they are – to anyone who’s had a birthday in the last few months. He hands out awards and prizes, for writing nicely, for doing sums, for attendance. And then Spencer joins the circle. “Hey, and who’s coming to school tomorrow?” he calls. “Me!” “Me!” “Me!” the kids shout back, doing another round of high fives. “That’s awesome!” says Heath, wreathed in smiles. “Just deadly!”

Sue Williams Author, Travel Writer, Journalist ___________________ Photos by Che Chorley

46 • The Barker • Issue 132 • Spring 2021

Outdoor Education

Expanded Grange Programs Earlier this year at The Grange we were able to complete a full season of expanded Year 8 programs – now five day’s duration.

This extra day provides the opportunity for all students to be challenged on an action-packed activity day of mountain biking onsite and rockclimbing on nearby sandstone cliffs.

The mountain bike trails at The Grange allow skills progression from the introductory skills park on the beginner loop to more advanced trails. On the Trek X-Calibur mountain bikes, our qualified staff guided students through these challenges with valuable life experience in making appropriate safe choices on two wheels. Students practise taking calculated risks whilst maintaining self control in a rapidly changing environment.

Similarly, on the cliffs at Mount York, students choose their level of challenge during the rockclimbing or abseiling session. Several students initially seemed overwhelmed by the challenge but they ultimately showed tremendous perseverance and resilience as they gradually scaled the ancient sandstone cliffs. They were encouraged by the support of peers and guidance from the expert Grange instructors.

The abseils nearby, on the days with more inclement mountains' weather, also proved a test of courage and commitment by several students. Each year at The Grange, students progress to new levels of challenge and associated rewards in the outdoors.

This year also enabled us to return to Newnes campsite in the Wolgan Valley. This area was drastically burnt during the Gospers Mountain mega blaze in December 2019 then affected by floods in 2020 and was subsequently closed for many months to allow regeneration. In 2021, Grange students were again able to hike up to the Glow Worm tunnel and enjoy lunch on the nearby pagodas as well as brave the snap frozen conditions each morning before the sun hit the campsite. Some great memories were formed around the cooking stoves and campfires at night.

Also new in 2021 was the introduction of a fantastic new adventure ‘Juggler Canyon’ to the expanded five day Grange program. A committing and physically challenging full day expedition, Juggler is a “dry” canyon and perfect for our winter programs. A series of increasingly difficult abseils beside or over small waterfalls and rock pools lead students back in geological time and down 200 vertical metres into The Grand Canyon near Blackheath.

The expanded and improved outdoor education programs in Term 1 and 2 this year have enabled our expert Grange staff to inform, inspire and instruct many students in several amazing outdoor pursuits in stunning and challenging environments easily accessible from The Grange.

Meanwhile at The Grange we have opened our newest dorm in the garden and welcomed ten new resident campers. The Poultry Palace harks back to the days of the original owner Lord Richmond Piddington and the subsequent guest house owners. The Middle School students enjoy collecting the fresh eggs to be brought to the kitchen for the day’s batch of muffins. This is a great addition to sustainable education resources at the Grange.

Scott Manwaring and Liz Charlton Co-Directors of The Grange

Spring 2021 • Issue 132 • The Barker • 47

Service Learning

The Barker Institute

Service Learning

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Mother Theresa Bob ‘Tug’ Wilson Walk for Kids with Cancer Sixteen members of Holt House participated in the Bob 'Tug' Wilson charity walk on Sunday 23 May, to raise money for The Children's Hospital at Westmead. Holt House has chosen to support the Children’s Hospital as its House charity and has been participating in this event to raise vital funds for the oncology ward for a few years.

This year the walk began at 6:30am at Circular Quay and saw participants walk for 27km finishing in Manly with some tired legs! It is a very scenic walk and despite the early start, all students really enjoyed the event. The team did a fantastic job at encouraging donations this year with Holt House managing to raise $4,110.50.

I would like to thank all the students and staff who participated in this year’s event with special thanks to the Holt House Captains Bayden Little and Sophia Garouniatis for their support and encouragement. I look forward to continuing this great tradition next year.

Lee Batchler Senior School Head of Holt House

Clarke Road School In May, Barker College hosted the Clarke Road School’s Athletic Carnival on the Main Oval. Over 20 of our Senior students helped their students warm up, compete and enjoy the fun activities.

Many friendships were made and it was wonderful to see the competitive spirits of both schools shine in the athletic events. Our students continued their support of Dignity by donating hundreds of home cooked meals every fortnight. We appreciate their support of this and many other service learning initiatives at our school. Some reflections on their experiences follow: My time at the School not only helped grow my confidence, but developed my empathy and connectedness to the Hornsby community. Walking into that classroom each week truly filled me with such joy and happiness, and I will never forget the time I spent with them and the way they welcomed us into their lives.

Lucy Johnson Year 10, Wilson House

Serving at the Clarke Road School was a fulfilling experience as I got to create friendships with the Clarke Road students and assist them with their learning and social development.

Oliver Uy Year 10, Butter House

Dignity dishes is a wonderful program that encourages people to give up some time to help people in need. Cooking meals at home for members in our community has helped me realise how lucky and fortunate we are to have basic necessities like food and there are people in our neighbourhood that might be going through a hard time.

Hugo Abe Year 9, Bowman House Sherobhi Rajamantri Coordinator Service Learning

48 • The Barker • Issue 132 • Spring 2021

Barker College Parents' Association

BCPA Running Track There are many roles the BCPA plays in the life of the School. One is to continually drive diversity and inclusivity within Barker.

The BCPA does this each and every day through the wonderful work done by our volunteers. The volunteer roles within Barker enrich the fabric in the life of the School and help to support our students from Pre-K to Year 12. That support includes help with Duke of Ed, in the Tuckshops, in the classrooms, in the Learning Support Department, being part of the School’s Supporter Groups, being a Class or Year Group Parent, coordinating events including the Spring Fair, and of course being a part of the BCPA. Our School is uplifted by the actions of these deeply held values of inclusiveness and community.

Another important area for the BCPA to help the School is coming together in order to give back to provide excellent resources for all our students.

The BCPA offers an invaluable service to provide resources and learning and teaching amenities and facilities for our students. All funds raised are donated back to Barker to fund projects that are outside the School’s budget. There have been many projects over

the years that wouldn’t have happened without our support. The most recent donation from the BCPA was for the new running track on the Rosewood playing fields which sits in front of the Rosewood Centre and runs alongside the southern boundary.

This running track, which will be of benefit for all our students, is 5 x 100m sprint lanes and covered with a red Spurtan BV synthetic surface. We look forward to officially opening the running track and continuing to support the School!

Through all our work we always honour the past and continue to work with the School to provide for the future.

Warren Davis BCPA President Barker College Parents’ Association

Sports

Athletics Carnival 2021 What a great finish to Term 2, the School Athletics Carnival!

Full of colour, team spirit and high performance.

Age Champions

Place

Girls

Boys

12-13yrs Champion

1st

Milla Lawrence

Callum Cook

2nd

Jessica Bradford

Tyson Neal

3rd

Alexandra Hicks

Zachary Hymers

1st

Kiera Yerbury

Tim Furrer

2nd

Emily Paterson

Ben Heytman

3rd

Lucy Mead

Marc Lambert

1st

Grace Pellarini

Ryan Ng

2nd

Taya Yerbury

Josh Riddle

3rd

Zoe Paterson

James Barrett

1st

Latecia Lolohea

Michael Ashworth

2nd

Alyssa Hodge

Jono Lee

3rd

Zoe Samios

Van Habgood

1st

Jada Crawshaw

Max Zihlmann

2nd

Jess O’Bryan

Eli Sagala

3rd

Danielle Thrum

Charlie Bennett

1st

Jess Forster

Andrew Kelly

2nd

Roisin Dengate

Hamish Windybank

3rd

Hannah Maxwell

Bayden Little

14yrs Champion

15yrs Champion

16yrs Champion

17yrs Champion

18-19yrs Champion

Amongst the results several NEW Records were achieved; Age Champions

Name

Girls 16yrs 100m Hurdles 18.93

Latecia Lolohea

Girls 12-13yrs 90m Hurdles 19.22

Angelina Barnsdall

Girls 15yrs 400m 64.86

Grace Pellarini

Girls 14yrs 400m 62.01

Kiera Yerbury

Girls 12-13yrs 1500m 5:32.86

Jessica Bradford

Girls 14yrs 1500m 6:30.14

Emily Paterson

Girls 12-13yrs 200m 29.06

Caitlin Russell

Girls 14yrs 200m 28.08

Kiera Yerbury

Girls 14yrs 800m 2:38.04

Kiera Yerbury

Girls 12-13yrs 100m 14.21

Caitlin Russell

Girls 14yrs 100m 14.21

Kiera Yerbury

Girls 12-13yrs Shot Put 9.62m

Tayla Moore

Girls 14yrs Shot Put 8.54m

Lucy Mead

Girls 16yrs Shot Put 11.60m

Breanna Harris

Boys 17yrs Shot Put 15.22m

Maxi Zihlmann

Girls 12-13yrs Discus 34.66m

Tayla Moore

Girls 14yrs Discus 19.52m

Emily Paterson

Boys 15yrs Discus 49.09m

Brodie Waldock

Boys 17yrs Discus 42.98m

Maxi Zihlmann

Girls 12-13yrs Javelin 24.58m

Amelie Armstrong

Girls 14yrs Javelin 21.58m

Skye Turner

Girls 14yrs Long Jump 4.45m

Kiera Yerbury

Girls 14yrs High Jump 1.40m

Kiera Yerbury

50 • The Barker • Issue 132 • Spring 2021

Sports

Mollie Dive Championship

After a disrupted 2020 year, the Barker Senior 1st Hockey team had the privilege of again playing in the Mollie Dive Hockey Competition.

In its 27th year of competition, the event is played against local independent schools. Whilst Barker has come close to winning the competition in recent years, the last time Barker was victorious was last century – in 1999!

After a rollercoaster of a start during the rounds, Barker entered a 4th vs 5th playoff match against Monte Sant Angelo for a place in the semi-finals.

Convincingly winning this match, 7-0, Barker advanced to the semi-finals and faced the fierce competition of PLC Pymble.

Having completed a ‘Champions of the Mind’ session which focused on collective capacity, the team was fired-up and ready to compete. Not only did the team compete, but they ‘dominated’ (a word used by coach Robbie to unite the players together). The team had their game of the year and it was truly incredible to witness. Every student executed plays exceptionally and the team’s energy lifted 110% on previous matches. With this newfound energy, confidence and drive, the team won against Pymble 3-0. This established a pivotal turning point for Barker Hockey, particularly given that Pymble has consecutively won the Mollie Dive Competition for the past 16 years!

On Tuesday 15 June, Barker played Abbotsleigh in the grand final. With a renewed goal to win the competition, the team united together and entered the field as one. The opposition was strong, and their speed had the team running back hard to defend at the start. However, Barker pulled together and hit the

‘red zone’ targets, scoring in the first five minutes of the game. At half time, the score was 2-0 to Barker and the team knew they needed to continue with consistency to secure the victory. The second half saw some fatigue, however, reminders about the ‘red zones’ allowed the team to push hard when necessary, with some fantastic goals scored and Barker’s defence as strong as ever. Barker finished with a convincing 5-0 win and the winners of the 2021 Mollie Dive Championship! It was a special moment witnessing our captains, Jess Fraanje and Holly Cusick, lift the trophy for the first time since 1999.

The School is very proud of all players for their commitment to the sport and who are deserving of the win! A special mention goes to Maddie Henry and Georgie Phipson who took on the challenge of playing goalkeeper in an incredibly tough competition despite both being in Year 8! On behalf of the team, appreciation and thanks are extended to coach Robbie for his commitment in preparing the team, Alex Butt for her work on team culture, Greg Bayne for his pastoral support of the students, David Giltrap, Adam Watson and Cam Anderson for their support and finally NSBHA for organising the competition.

Barker looks forward to the 28th year of the Mollie Dive Competition in 2022 and hope to enter an inaugural junior team, in addition to our senior team.

Morgan Armstrong PDHPE Teacher

Spring 2021 • Issue 132 • The Barker • 51

Virginia Ellis, Head of Science & STEAM at Barker has been the recipient of two Foundation Travelling Scholarships.

These Scholarships are offered twice a year to Barker's staff to provide opportunities for them to learn, develop and broaden their skills that can be shared and implemented in the classroom for Barker's students. Virginia has been instrumental in advancing STEAM at Barker and has used many of the skills she learned through the Foundation's Travelling Fellowships.

We recently chatted with Virginia about this program.

How did you benefit from the Foundation's Travelling Fellowship program?

I am privileged to have been awarded the Foundation Travelling Fellowship twice – first in 2011 and again in 2017.

In 2011 I took the opportunity to travel to the USA and work with some of the innovative Science Centres and Museums on the west coast. I was able to develop my understanding and skill in community-scale science engagement activities and interactive displays. I was able to work with the educators at Tinkering Studio at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, visited a variety of schools to look at their programs and worked for a week in a primary school in Seattle. The second fellowship in 2017 was a targeted opportunity to continue to develop these skills and expertise as I joined with a group of other highly motivated teachers

52 • The Barker • Issue 132 • Spring 2021

from across the education sector on an Innovation in Learning tour across the UK, Scandinavia, Germany and Spain. I was able to work with educators and visit inspiring innovative learning spaces across a variety of education institutions.

How have you been able to implement what you have learned?

Science communication has always been my passion.

I am committed to ensuring that the students who pass through my care, and by extension their families, have an excellent grounding in scientific literacy. Can they understand the basic principles that “run our world” and can they make informed decisions based on objective and factual information? Do they look at the world with awe and wonder, and understand the pressures that it is under? To that end, these experiences have aided the development of my community-scale communication skills, and with my team of talented teaching and support staff, we have been able to run many Science and STEAM festivals for the whole school community. In 2019, this saw over 1000 people gather together for an evening of Space Science to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the moon landing. (Sadly, the global events of the past year have seen the cancellation of both of our next festivals!)

My experiences on the Innovation in Learning tour has helped me in the work I have done in the redevelopment of the Maths classrooms into the 11 new Science labs in the newly named “Science Quad”.

These labs are flexible learning spaces, most with large operable doors and walls so that they can become large learning laboratories. They have only been open since Term 2 and have already provided our students with space for creative learning in Science and STEAM and will allow us to run large presentations and workshops. We have also been able to design a small research laboratory for the use of our Science extension students and their long-term project work.

is not one of large means, but we are committed to giving to those in our community who need an extra helping hand. The Barker Foundation provides excellent stewardship of their funds to make education available to many who would not otherwise get the opportunity.

You have been a regular donor and supporter of the Barker Foundation. What has inspired your philanthropic journey?

John Slack-Smith Foundation Chair

What would be your philanthropic wish for Barker?

That through the generosity of the School community – parents, families, staff and students – we are able to make a difference in the lives of even a few children, who without our support, could not access the quality of education that they deserve.

I have been a regular donor and supporter of the Barker Foundation across the many years of my time at Barker. I am committed to support their endeavours to provide opportunities for education that would not be available to so many without their hard work. My family

Spring 2021 Spring • 2021 Issue •132Issue • The 132Barker • The Barker • 53 • 53

Inside this issue 55 OBA President

67 Community Events

56 Olympic Journey

70 Personal Notes

58 Life Beyond Barker

72 Community Chaplain

60 OBA Groups

73 Obituaries

56

60 Archives Old Barker Association Contacts

School Contacts

email: oba@barker.nsw.edu.au

Director of Alumni and Community Relations Mandy Loomes (02) 8438 7229 mloomes@barker.nsw.edu.au

(Please note that the number in brackets after a name is the graduating year) President Angus Abadee (07) 0433 108 525 Honorary Vice-President Emily Tutt (09) 0433 711 664 Honorary Treasurer Andrew Hassall (86) 0412 610 434 Assistant Honorary Treasurer Benjamin Ho (09) Honorary Secretary Josh Grace (90) Assistant Honorary Secretary Anna Sutton (05) General Committee Vanessa Bennett (91) Georgia Breckenridge (18) Gemma Dywer (Davies 09) Declan Flaherty (16) Anthony Hearne (90) Jenny Kalaf (Melville 78) Lachie Lloyd (18) Nominees to School Council Michael Brodie (79) Tony Gamson (78) David Trayner (84) OBA Annual Patron Sandy Hollway (64) OBA Seniors Contact Ian Pont (63) oba@barker.nsw.edu.au OBA Support for Life https://landing.mymirror.com.au/old-barkerassociation

Talk to an online psychologist today

Alumni Reunion Coordinator Karina Drummond (02) 8438 7283 kdrummond@barker.nsw.edu.au Archives Jackie Rossington (02) 8438 7291 archives@barker.nsw.edu.au

Upper Hunter Charles Cooke (65) (02) 6545 8141 (w) charles_cooke@esat.net.au Canada, Ontario George Darling (70) gdarling@sandstormgold.com Hong Kong Vacant

Interstate and International Barker Contacts

Japan Carl Bastian (93) carl@rwo.okinawa

Adelaide Lane Hinchcliffe (00) 0412 130 935 (m) lane@lkggroup.com.au

Middle East David Baker (85) +965 9950 1657 drwbaker2002@yahoo.co.uk

Brisbane Andrew Wilkie (01) 0412 779 383 (m) andrew.wilkie@morgans.com.au

New Zealand Michelle McLachlan (Dooley 96) +64 27 838 7838 mmclachlan@trustwave.com

Canberra Andrew McColl (74) 0422 985 281(m) as.mccoll@icloud.com

Oceania (Fiji) Neil Underhill (75) (679) 336 3968 (w) neilunderhill@connect.com.fj

Melbourne Murray Anderson (65) 0457 000 407 (m) murray@capricorngroup.net.au

Papua New Guinea Johnson Kalo (83) (675) 305 6703 (w) jhnsnka03@gmail.com

Newcastle Nicholas Bedggood (88) 0410 565 101 (m) nickbedggood@yahoo.com.au

Philippines Steven Robinson (77) steve.robinson@dfat.gov.au

Northern Rivers Jim Poulos (61) 0413 087 412 pamio@bigpond.net.au Perth Gus Elliot (92) 0416 298 774 (m) gus.elliot14@gmail.com

Old Barker Association is supporting you with 3 sessions with My Mirror online psychologist.

Contributions Welcome Please send contributions to Mandy Loomes, Director of Alumni and Community Relations, 91 Pacific Highway, Hornsby NSW 2077 or mloomes@barker.nsw.edu.au For further information please contact Mandy Loomes on 8438 7229.

Personal notes are published in good faith, as a service to the Barker Community.

54 • The Old Barker • Issue 246 • Spring 2021

Sunshine Coast Phil Benjamin (61) pandj.benjamin@bigpond.com

Singapore Carly Switzer (94) carlyswitzer@yahoo.com.au UK, London Annette French (Slattery 88) (44) 1732 382 281 (h) annette.e.french@sky.com USA, East Coast New York Alex Skellet (94) (917) 251 3361 (h) alexandraskellet@gmail.com USA, West Coast Phoenix, Arizona Digby Cook (56) (623) 523 4321 (h) digbyhcook@gmail.com

From the OBA President

OBA President’s Message At our Annual General Meeting we launched our 2021-2024 Old Barker Association Strategy.

The Strategy is a blueprint for what we want to achieve and what we will be accountable for.

I’d encourage everyone to visit our website (www.oba. net.au) to have a look through the Strategy, which will inform our future Financial Strategy.

Underpinning it are the key themes of delivering quality services and support that our members want, and strengthening our enduring connection with our members and the School. We will do other things and have flexibility but this document will give us a direction.

We are looking forward to reinvigorating some of our programs and initiatives that have been impacted by COVID, including our alumni networking and mentoring program. This program will help OBA members of various years, professions, interests and career stages to network and learn from each other.

Make sure to join our Official Barker College Alumni LinkedIn page to keep track of what we are offering to support you.

At our Annual General Meeting we had the opportunity to thank members for their support over the past year, including our outgoing Secretary Andrew Davis (78) and Committee Members Pip Hurley (85) and Martin Donaldson (00). We also announced the inaugural winner of the President’s Award to recognise a member of the OBA who has gone above and beyond.

As the inaugural winner, I would like to congratulate David Trayner (84) in recognition of his steadfast commitment to the Support for Life program and the ongoing welfare of the members of the Barker community.

It is fitting that David was our first recipient as we have taken this our Support for Life program to a new level by partnering with an expert organisation, MyMirror.

We are all in this together, the entire Barker community, and this new service offering helps us to

achieve this. You will see some re-branding as a result of us transitioning to the new platform and we are eager to hear from you on your thoughts on the transition.

While COVID continues to impact us all, we hope that the OBA is able to help you, and that we can get back to delivering services for you as soon as possible. We are focused on continuing to hold some of our flagship events later in the year, including the OBA Golf Day and Annual Dinner, as well as our affiliates events, including a hopefully rescheduled performance from OBA Theatre.

In this vein, if there is some way that we can help you through COVID please reach out. Our team has been reaching out to members throughout the lockdowns and we want to hear from our members, including those running businesses that have been impacted by COVID, on how we can help.

Finally, I’d like to reiterate my and the Committee’s thanks to the support we receive from Phillip Heath, Mandy Loomes and all staff at the School. Their commitment to ensuring that we are a community for all – a community for life over the past 12 months has allowed us to keep doing the things that matter. We appreciate and support their work to keep the School focused on delivering the best experiences for students across all campuses despite the pressures we have all collectively faced over the past 18 months.

Angus Abadee (07) OBA President

Talk to an online psychologist today Old Barker Association is supporting you with 3 sessions with My Mirror online psychologist.

Spring 2021 • Issue 246 • The Old Barker • 55

Olympic Journey Old Girl, Rachel Lack from the Class of 2012 was Barker’s fifth Olympian when she competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as part of the Australian Softball team. Here Rachel shares her Olympic journey.

We are in awe of your achievements, can you tell us what the experience was like?

athlete, but you can definitely prepare your mental game and your routines to help you get to your goal.

These Games were different from any other as COVID definitely had its impact on the whole experience. My brother put it in a way that really made sense; picture the best school camp you ever went to - and multiply it. That's what it was like, all these athletes from all over the globe interacting with each other and competing.

We don't get a lot of people at softball, so no crowds were not an issue. In saying that, not having my family and friends there was tough. Thank goodness for technology!

I had to keep checking in with myself that I was there as an Olympian as well (which is still odd to say!). A lot of Aussie athletes such as Kerri Pottharst, Kim Brennan, Suzanne Corry, all said that the Games are a different thing altogether, and they were right. You can't really prepare for what the Olympics can do to you as an

56 • The Barker • Issue 132 • Spring 2021

What I'll remember most is the general atmosphere at the Aussie camp, athletes from different teams hanging out and watching the other Aussies compete. That was pretty cool. The interactions between all of us were so genuine and supportive.

Olympic Feature Foundation

You’re the fifth Barker Olympian to take to the world stage, all the hard work paid off. How did Barker assist you in achieving this dream?

Anne Horne, a teacher at Barker, coached Rachel when she was at Barker and is proud of all her achievements.

Here Anne shares her thoughts with us:

Barker provided the opportunity for me to develop my life skills. They seem so ingrained in my life now, but it took a lot of practice and repetition to nail it. Time management, goal setting, communication - just a few skills but so important to help you get to where you want to be. I believe that Barker was my first real exposure to these skills and the consequences that happen if you don't have them. Same as in sport - if you don't show up at training, if you don't do your homework on other players and teams, it's detrimental.

Rach Lack is an awesome, wonderful person. She is humble and quiet. Never entitled, hard working.

I believe every team or program I've been a part of has helped me on my journey to the Games. Barker let me enjoy the sport. We had a good team when I was going through from Years 10 to 12, a great group of girls, I loved playing for Barker.

Who were your roommates in Tokyo? Did it take long to adjust to living with them?

We had a unit of five: Michelle Cox, Gabbie Plain, Ellen Roberts and Tarni Stepto. We were pretty used to living with each other by the time the Games came around.

We were fortunate enough to be in Japan from the beginning of June - so we were very used to being in close quarters.

It’s terrific the games went ahead, how did you manage the pressure of COVID testing and ensuring all athletes followed updated rules and regulations?

Again, I think we were lucky to be over in Japan for so long before the games. We went through daily temperature checks, PCR testing, and single rooms. We were very well set up in case anything happened. If anyone missed a step, our manager was on it. In the Village, we had to download an app and record our temperature and tell officials if we had any symptoms.

There was also the AOC doctor on site if anything came up.

She is a cool cucumber. She is a swan floating across the water. When she’s playing, she looks relaxed but what’s happening underneath is that everything is working at 100%. She’s chewing her mouthguard, and when I see that, I know she’s ready to go.

Rach’s parents spoke to me about her coming to Barker. I told them that one of the good things about Barker Softball is that talented students get to have fun playing softball, they’re not under high pressure and intensity like you get in other places. School sport brings out the best in the athlete because it gives them a shot at enjoying the sport.

This week has proven not many athletes get to go to the Olympics. It takes exceptional standards to make it.

She used to work out in the gym when she couldn’t sleep which shows her fibre. She said to me: ‘It’s not going to get the better of me it’s going to make me’.

Rachel’s profile on https://www.olympics.com.au/ olympians/rachel-lack/ reads: Rachel was crowned the Softball Australia Junior Female Athlete of the Year in 2013, after leading Australian U-19 team at the ISF Junior Women's World Championship. She was also named the Most Valuable Player after winning the 2013 U19 Women's National Softball Championship after she and the NSW team were crowned victorious at the tournament.

Like many of her Spirit teammates, Rachel played college softball at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

She has played almost one hundred games for the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine Softball team. She played just two seasons before returning home to Australia, where she is studying to complete her degree in Biodiversity and Conservation at Macquarie University.

What caught you by surprise when you got to Tokyo?

A couple of things surprised me when we were in Tokyo. The size of the city itself caught me off guard. I never realised how large it was. The people in the city also surprised me too. Whenever we were on the bus, everybody waved. That was a cool experience.

Any funny memories you will keep for life after these Olympics Games?

Maybe not a funny memory but I loved that the Aussies decided to take up the whole road to play some cricket - who else would do that if not Aussies?

Spring 2021 • Issue 132 • The Barker • 57

The Old Barker

Life Beyond Barker Old Boy Allan Bruty from the Class of 1984 chatted to Mandy Loomes, Director of Alumni and Community Relations, about his new venture to support Australia's Veterans.

What was your journey after finishing at Barker in 1984?

Are there any highlights from your time in the global media and communications area?

I went straight to work at a TV Production Company as a stage hand experiencing all areas of TV, commercials, and major live concerts and sporting events. I soon became a trainee cameraman and then full-time cameraman. I was fortunate to be trained by some of the best in the country. Not only how to “shoot” something but post-production, editing, special effects and audio. I travelled extensively filming some amazing productions, documentaries, sporting events and commercials. I also trained in underwater cinematography.

Being nominated Producer of the Year (SPAA) Screen Producers Association of Australia, as well as being nominated in New York and winning best music video in Australia.

I later moved to a Production Manager role, a Producer and then Executive Producer. I was also an independent Producer at FOX Studios in Sydney.

I left the film and TV industry to utilise my media, marketing and strategic partnership experience in the corporate world. Working full time and contracting for a number local and international organisations, agencies and major brands.

I also work with not-for-profit and conservation organisations. I am on the Advisory Panel for Sea Shepherd Australia and was on the Board of a charity at Westmead and Randwick Children's Hospitals. I also volunteer my time with Taronga Zoo at the Institute of Science and Learning.

58 • The Old Barker • Issue 246 • Spring 2021

Producing commercials for the Sydney Olympics was challenging, but also very rewarding.

I have been fortunate to work with artists, sports, directors, cinematographers, technicians, and designers including INXS, Kylie Monogue, Sting, Queen, Christine Anu, Rogue Traders, Chrissy Amphlett (Divinyls), Valerie Taylor (Shark dive) Sylvester Stallone, Danny Glover, Charlie Sheen and local and international TV networks.

Only a few people know that I was Josh Lucas’ body double on a major US film shot at FOX Studios and on location in the Flinders Ranges.

What inspired you to start your new venture working to support and help Australia's veterans?

I have always had an affinity with the armed forces.

My grandfather was awarded the Victoria Cross and Distinguished Service Order in WW2. My favourite photo of him is one with his “mates” outside Buckingham Palace after receiving the VC. I later found out they were members of the Dam Busters.

The Old Barker

Our men and women of the ADF do an amazing job, often in very challenging conditions. I have the upmost respect for them and their families, who also make significant sacrifices. Many friends and colleagues are ex-service men and women, including first responders.

Can you briefly tell us about your new venture?

It’s called Mission Bridge (MB), www.missionbridge. com.au, and is “coming soon”.

I established MB to assist ADF personnel secure long-term and meaningful employment opportunities helping them and their families as they transition to civilian life.

It has been very well received so far, from serving and ex-ADF personnel to some heavy weights in Canberra and many blue chip infrastructure and resources companies.

How does your previous work experience help you with this venture?

Strategic Partnerships and key account management are key areas of my experience. It was time to leverage my many senior level relationships to create and build something that I was truly passionate about.

What was it like for you and your family to attend the Invictus Games?

I did some media work with the Invictus Games, however the most rewarding part was attending the Games with my son.

We watched another tough battle fought out on the basketball court, with men and women often crashing into the opponents and each other at high speed. My son was sitting next to a returned serviceman, who had lost his leg in a conflict while serving overseas and they discussed a number of things together. Very inspiring.

What words of wisdom do you have for today's Barker students?

Be brave and back yourself! Never say No, just say Yes and work it out.

Keep learning, get out of your comfort zone, ask lots of questions, make mistakes, but always learn from them. Find the best people, the latest innovation, practise, break new ground.

Do something you love and you will succeed.

Don’t do something just because it pays well, that motivation soon becomes irrelevant.

Make a plan, consider all aspects (in and out of your control) from concept to execution. Communicate with all stakeholders, you can’t succeed just on your own, be a positive, contributing team player.

Do something for nil financial reward. Support a charity, Indigenous organisation, or conservation organisation and the rewards will be with you for ever.

And, you will meet some amazing like-minded people.

We watched the Wheel Chair Rugby finals with Australia playing Great Britain, a very inspiring, powerful and emotional event. The match was tight at the start before Australia showed their strength, winning the Gold Medal 23-17.

Spring 2021 • Issue 246 • The Old Barker • 59

OBA Groups

OBA Groups Old Barker Football Club Like much of Sydney life, season 2021 has come to a grinding holt.

The Club in its 30th anniversary year, has been riddled with injuries.

Optimistically, the season break has provided a much-needed reprieve from on-field duties for a threadbare squad.

Gohto Saikawa (11) is keeping legs ticking over with a series of Strava running challenges. For the third time this year, a goalkeeper has emerged as OBFCs fittest member.

Hats off to Oscar Samios (16), clocking in cracking times over the 5km and 10km disciplines. The general sense of shame, particularly from a supposedly fit midfield, compounded an early season drubbing from goalkeeper Michael Schamps. Schamps delivered a blistering 3:40/km earlier in 2021 over 5km.

The ebullient athleticism of our goalkeeping stock poses tough questions for gaffer Vedant (Tij) Tijoriwala (11). He’ll be asking whether the most athletic club members are wasted between the sticks? Fortunately for Tij, no such questions are raised for Chris Monsted (03), bucking the goalkeeper fitness trend. Mr Monsted, an elder statesman of OBFC, hasn’t yet delivered glittering fitness results in 2021… or for some years for that matter. However, with an over 35s squad shaping up for 2022, rumour has it that Mr Monsted has been buffing the gloves in private.

With eight to ten rounds remaining unplayed in 2021, there is little prospect of the season being completed. OBFC, like most community stakeholders, are happy to down tools for the benefit of public health. We wish all community members safe passage through these uncertain times and

are looking forward to being vaccinated to hopefully make a return to a more normal 2022.

Please reach out to the Club if you are interested in getting some outdoor exercise in 2022. We expect to be running pre-season fitness across some of Sydney’s most spectacular sites in January and early February before commencing trials in mid-February. OBFC caters for a variety of competitive and social playing groups, as well an over 35s squad commencing in 2022. If a group of women have an interest in forming the nebulus of a team, both the Club and Old Barker Association would love to provide the infrastructure and support to help re-establish women’s representation at OBFC. Please visit www. oldbarkerfc.com for more information.

Matt Vickers (05)

Barker Old Boys Cricket Club The Cricket season is almost upon us which means Barker Old Boys Cricket Club is back again for 2021/2022. This season we have 8-10 games including games against Knox and Aloys Old Boys with all games being played at Barker on a Sunday afternoon. The games are good fun where all players get plenty of opportunity to have a bat and a bowl. We are always looking for new players of any age. We are looking forward to welcoming the new old boys into the Club at the beginning of next season.

Please send me a text on 0416 685 944 or email me on lachielloyd1@ gmail.com to be added to our

Facebook group where additional information is available.

Lachie Lloyd (18)

60 • The Old Barker • Issue 246 • Spring 2021

OBA Groups OBA Netball The Old Barker Netball Club began in 2015 and is a registered Club with the Hills District Netball Association (HDNA). Lauren Kirkby (07) is one of the two founding members and is the current President. Due to work and other commitments, Lauren would like to pass the running of the Club to a new generation of Barker girls. If you would like to be involved and

Old Barker Rugby The camaraderie and team spirit of OBA clubs, like Old Barker Rugby, has been well and truly on display in 2021. We started the 2021 season with a record number of Colts, coached by Angus Blakemore (16) and Matt Nevison (16), competitive 1st Grade and 2nd Grade teams, more recently coached by Eddie Ellwood-Hall (13) and Joel Whitlock, supported by Tom McGregor (08). In true suburban rugby spirit, Old Barker Rugby joined forces with Mosman Rugby Club, for the Mosman Whales to field 3rd and 4th Grade teams with us.

Our Women’s 7s go from strength to strength under the leadership of captain Bianca Blake (15) and coach, Jordan Fowles. Old Barker Rugby W7s won their Round 4 tournament with wins in each of their games. They won 12 v 10 against Manly Blue with a nervewrenching one half that saw them down 10 points and then come back in the second half with tries from Annabelle Hendry (20) and Bianca Blake (15) and conversion from Tori Shepherd. Then a convincing win of 12 v 0 against Cronulla Sea Lice with tries from Liv McEwan (15) and Alana Sargant and Tori’s goal kicking. Big mentions to the solid scrum work and tackling from Laura McGregor (11), Baileigh McClelland, Jamie Brookes, Bronte-Lee Brook and Tess McCamley. Old Barker played Macquarie Uni in the final, winning convincingly! Bonnie McEwan, Emma Cunneen and Tayla Francis who were carrying injuries and couldn’t play, braved the rain and cold (and mud) to cheer on the

would like more information, please contact Lauren on 0414 837 992 or at barkeroldgirlsnetball@gmail.com.

You will always have the unwavering support of the Alumni and Community Relations Department at Barker as well as the Old Barker Association, so you are never alone.

Over the years, the Club has played in the night comp seasons along with the Saturday winter competition at HDNA.

team, together with parents and BOBs players.

We made it to Round 8 of Colts and Grade and Round 4 of W7s before lockdowns meant that suburban rugby was on hold. Lucky for us all, the Wallabies have continued to play and won the series against France, which is great for rugby everywhere and an important milestone as rugby rebuilds at all levels, including grass roots, leading into 2023, which will be Old Barker Rugby’s 55th year and an exciting Rugby World Cup year.

Old Barker Rugby was also able to hold its much anticipated Ladies Day. Hannah Milligan (15), Bianca Blake and Josh Ballard (09), supported by Nick Spencer, Laura McGregor, Jack Finnegan (14) and Joe Trinder delivered the perfect festival atmosphere, a huge supporter crowd, simply outstanding rugby, a great after party continuing the celebrations and importantly, a donation to Barker Barang for playground equipment and school resources for the 32 newest members of the Barker community at Dhupuma Barker.

We are hopeful that the Spring Night Comp Season may be able to go ahead if you are interested in playing or being a part of the club.

Please email barkeroldgirlsnetball@ gmail.com for more information.

Lauren Kirkby (07) President: 0414 837 992

Club. Now’s the time to think about playing with Old Barker Rugby and talk with: Grade – Jack Finnegan 0408 777 467 Colts – Angus Blakemore 0438 264 875 Women’s 7s – Bianca Blake 0401 551 676 We look forward to welcoming you to Turramurra Oval, when lockdown ends and we can celebrate the opening of our new Clubhouse and scoreboard. For more information, visit www.oldbarkerrugbyclub.com.

Josh Ballard (09) www.oldbarkerrugby.com

We’ve had fun in this short 2021 season, with Cluch TV filming the games and discovering hidden talents from our home grown commentators - W7s: Hamish Phipps (14) and Keith Francis (Tayla’s Dad); Colts and Grade: Joe Trinder/ Eddie Ellwood-Hall and surprise guest commentator Andrew (Jono) Johnson.

As the 2021 off-season and 2022 planning approaches, we are always looking for more players to join the Spring 2021 • Issue 246 • The Old Barker • 61

OBA Groups connected with like-minded people with an interest in Agriculture.

This is an invaluable network for careers, mentoring and keeping up with current and future trends in agricultural science, business and technology. This Society is being led and supported by Matt Nevison (16) and Barker’s Head of Agriculture, Scott Graham.

OBA Ag Society The OBA Agriculture Society has been created to provide our Alumni with the opportunity to stay

OBA Big Band Over the last few months, the OBA Big Band has done its best to roll with the punches. Prior to the lockdown, we had several performances that were either delayed or cancelled. This included our annual performance at Barker Swings as well as a private event at Roseville Golf Club. The OBA Theatre group even offered us a role in Candida! Although admittedly, we had no lines and only booked to play during the

OBA Christian Fellowship The OBACF has continued to grow since our Easter breakfast with many new members across lots of different year groups.

Unfortunately, our mid-year catch up was cancelled due to the Sydney lockdown but we will be hosting an in person event as soon as possible! Going forward, the OBACF is planning some mentoring opportunities, hoping to connect our multi-generational

62 • The Old Barker • Issue 246 • Spring 2021

Our vision is to develop a community to support recent schools leavers, university students and recent graduates in their journey of understanding industry, creating networks and finding meaningful careers. We want to provide an opportunity for those already in industry to share

their experience, knowledge and enthusiasm for agriculture with the next generation of professionals.

Sadly, our inaugural event had to be postponed but we hope we can get together later in the year.

All details will be posted in our Facebook group.

Joining the AG Society is done through our OBA Ag Society Facebook page: www.facebook. com/groups/2541392712616643.

More information is available here too.

Matt Nevison (16)

interval. Fortunately, the OBA Big Band has one new event on the calendar that doesn't require a crowd, our first professional studio recording! In late October the band will record six pieces at Yap Yap Studios in Coogee. Our goal is to release an album before the OBA Big Band becomes ten years old next year!

To find out more, visit www. obabigband.com.

Luke Davis (09)

network and provide a space for learning, spiritual growth and Christian fellowship, both in-person and virtually between members.

There are lots of exciting events and opportunities coming up for OBACF, so watch this space!

The OBACF aims to offer an opportunity for the multigenerational network of Barker Alumni to meet, connect and encourage one another in their faith journeys. We would love to grow our network even more. If

you are interested in joining, please join our Facebook Group or contact Mandy Loomes mloomes@ barker.nsw.edu.au or Rev Jeff Ware jware@barker.nsw.edu.au.

Georgia Breckenridge (18)

OBA Groups OBA Support for Life Access free mental health support as a Barker Alumni.

This year has shown us that taking care of our communities and our collective wellbeing is of absolute importance. New challenges have relied on resilience, connection, and developing skills to cope with changes. In the interest of being there for you on your journey beyond being a Barker student we want to offer you support for your mental wellbeing.

Support for Life, an initiative of the Old Barker Association that has been running for the past three years and has recently partnered with My Mirror online

Old Barker Association Theatre Group In line with NSW Public Health restrictions, we have been unable to rehearse or stage our show as planned. Having our rehearsals and show postponed likely over a month if not more, we have been zooming away behind the scenes to ensure that when we are all allowed to gather in a theatre again, we’ve got a gangbuster show for everyone to come and enjoy. It will certainly be a well-earned evening of entertainment for all those able to attend. Rest assured that we are full steam ahead to run our Candida for audiences when next available!

psychology to provide access to three videoconferencing sessions with an experienced psychologist at no cost to you. My Mirror is a leader in “online” mental health care and provides access to skilled professionals of many demographics with focussed specialisation in critical areas such as anxiety, depression, domestic violence, substance abuse, career difficulties and so much more.

My Mirror psychology sessions can be accessed from the comfort of home or from any device up to 21 hours a day, seven days a week. These sessions are available to anyone feeling like they would benefit from talking to someone to get on track with how they

are feeling and navigating life's challenges. You do not require a mental health diagnosis to access or benefit from My Mirror sessions.

My Mirror psychologists use evidence-based strategies to help you build skills and strategies for resilience and agency in your life.

For more information and details on how to access these sessions please see link: https://landing.mymirror. com.au/old-barker-association.

The entire Barker community is all in this together.

Talk to an online psychologist today Old Barker Association is supporting you with 3 sessions with My Mirror online psychologist.

to the restrictions and continued to rehearse over video calls, mid-meal with a coffee in the morning and usually something stronger in the evening. Without the unwavering passion for theatre, this show would not be possible. And this cast and crew has it in spades, staying positive under the strain of hopeless news every morning at 11am.

Our partners in the Old Barker Big Band and Noyce Brothers Wine have also been incredibly supportive, and without their continued flexibility and support, we would not have the same vigour to have a crash hot show ready when the auditorium doors burst open.

One of George Bernard Shaw’s now lesser known plays, Candida is the second in his 1898 publication of Plays Pleasant. Littered with Victorian wit, flair, political and dramatic irony, and scathing emotional commentary, it is no wonder the show swept the world with “Candidamania” at the turn of the 20th century!

Keep up-to-date with our Facebook and Instagram pages for news around show dates and the tumultuous rehearsal process.

Tickets are on sale and will be automatically allocated to the show dates we are given (that’s if you’re erupting with excitement for the show!)

The wonderful cast and crew have been tirelessly dedicated to rehearsing in any way possible during lockdown. It started with exercise rehearsals as we’d go for a walk, run lines, and talk theatre and balderdash. We then adapted

www.facebook.com/oba.theatre www.instagram.com/oba.theatre obatheatre@live.com

We hope to see you in the audience in the very near future!

Adam Roberts (14) Spring 2021 • Issue 246 • The Old Barker • 63

OBA Groups

Kurrajong Society

OBA Seniors

If your children have left Barker and you would still like to support the School and be part of the Barker Community events, then the Kurrajong Society is for you.

We send a regular quarterly newsletter, Kurrajong News to keep you updated on what is happening at Barker College.

If you graduated from Barker 50 years ago you are now a member of the Old Barker Association Seniors. This is a social group who organise a number of events each year. We look forward to seeing you at our next OBA Seniors event.

The Barker Spring Fair has regrettably been postponed and the Committee hope to recommence planning for a Fair in 2022.

If you would like further information, please contact Mandy Loomes in the Alumni Office on (02) 8438 7229 or oba@barker.nsw. edu.au

It is with great pleasure of the Barker Fencing community to announce, publicly, OBA Fencing.

There have been many requests over the years for an OBA Fencing Club but it has only been made possible since Fencing’s recent transition to on-campus training.

Fencing, at a student level has fostered many long-term networks of friends well into their graduate lives, and such is the hope to return many ex-combatants to the fold.

64 • The Old Barker • Issue 246 • Spring 2021

Join our LinkedIn Group.

The OBA committee is working on ideas for alumni networking and mentoring. These initiatives will help OBA members from various years, professions, interests and career stages to network and learn from each other.

To help us facilitate communication via LinkedIn we would love you to do three things:

Ian Pont (63)

If you would like more information, please contact us at kurrajong@barker. nsw.edu.au.

OBA Fencing

OBA Careers and Networking

The Club will be headed by the current coaching staff, including the legendary Steve Augoloupis.

We support Foil and Epee but can facilitate Sabre in the future.

The Club will cater for both social and competitive sporting, with the hopes of continuing Barker’s ferocious and medal winning spirit.

The Club is anticipated to open in 2022.

Thomas Smart (18)

1. Join our group the Official Barker College Alumni 2. Switch on notifications so that you get our updates 3. Invite your other Barker LinkedIn connections to join as well so we build the community Of course, if you have information that you feel would benefit other OBA members, we'd welcome your posts in this group too.

Thanks in advance!

OBA Groups

OBA Committee: 2021/2022 Following the election at the OBA Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday 3 August the committee for 2021/2022 is: President Vice President Treasurer Assistant Treasurer Secretary Assistant Secretary Committee

Angus Abadee (07) Emily Tutt (09) Andrew Hassall (86) Ben Ho (09) Josh Grace (90) Anna Sutton (05) Vanessa Bennett (91) Georgia Breckenridge (18) Gemma Dwyer (Davies 09) Declan Flaherty (16) Ant Hearne (09) Jenny Kalaf (Melville 78) Lachie Lloyd (18)

The new committee would like to thank those who have now resigned from the committee and thanks them sincerely for all their hard work and dedication to the OBA. Our thanks and best wishes go to them their future endeavours: • Andrew Davis (78) • Pip Hurley (Webber 85) • Martin Donaldson (00) We welcome three new committee members Georgia Breckenridge (18), Gemma Dwyer (Davies 09) & Lachie Lloyd (18) and are pleased to introduce them to our community.

Honorary Auditor Council Nominee Council Nominee Council Nominee OBA Ambassador OBA Patron

Michelle McLachlan (Dooley 96) Michael Brodie (79) Tony Gamson (78) David Trayner (84) Chris Russell (70) Sandy Hollway (64)

Gemma Dwyer (Davies 09) I have many fond memories of my time at Barker, and not only those spent at Sultans between music rehearsals. At Barker, I was fortunate to take part in Cadets, Choir, Musicals, Cru and a variety of sports. I was, and still am, particularly fond of netball. After leaving Barker, I completed a Bachelor of Arts (English) at the University of Sydney and a GradDip (PR) at UTS. After six years working in Public Relations, including most recently at the McGrath Foundation, I commenced a Masters of Speech Language Pathology at the University of Sydney in February. I married in April with many former Barker students attending. I’m looking forward to serving on the OBA.

Georgia Breckenridge (18) Hi everyone! My name is Georgia and I graduated from Barker in 2018. I am currently studying economics and history at the University of Sydney. Before going to university, I took a gap year in 2019 and worked in an English high school, travelling to 30 countries across the year! Since coming back, I have worked at Barker as a Netball and Rugby 7s coach which has been very rewarding. Recently I have started a job as a student project officer for the City of Parramatta which I am excited about. I also run the OBA Christian Fellowship which is a network connecting our multigenerational alumni through their faith. I am very eager to continue being involved at Barker in the future!

Lachie Lloyd (18) After joining Barker as a Year 4 boy in 2010, I went on to spend an awesome nine years at School before leaving in 2018. Barker gave me so many opportunities whether that was in the classroom, on the sporting field or spending time with my friends that I’m so grateful for. Since finishing, I’ve been lucky enough to continue my relationship with the School by taking up a coaching role in the Football and Cricket programs. I’m excited to be joining the OBA committee and to assist in the great work that the association does.

Spring 2021 • Issue 246 • The Old Barker • 65

Barker Archives

Barker College Old Boys Union – A community ‘larger than the present enrolment’

In 1905 William Carter became Barker’s second Headmaster and he envisaged growing the School in both sports and academics, hoping to rival other well established independent boys’ schools.

Carter saw the School community as ‘larger than the present enrolment’ of just 50 boarders and their involvement as key to achieving his goal. With this in mind he started to invite past students to athletics meetings and football matches concluding these events with tea served in the School dining room.

By 1908 Carter’s events had become so well attended that he suggested the creation of an Old Boys Union to enable the group to meet and dine regularly outside of the College. The Barker College Old Boys Union adopted a constitution on 25 August 1908 and held their first dinner at Baumann’s Café on Pitt Street in April 1909.

Associated Schools (CAS), to the tradition of donating trophies and prizes, there is no doubt that without them Barker College would not have grown to where it is today. OBA members continue to be welcomed to community events and are as valued today as Headmaster Carter intended them to be.

From 1911-1950 the OBU News appeared in The College Barker magazine after which they decided to publish their own magazine, the Barker College Old Boys Union Magazine, producing 13 annual editions from 1951-1964. In conjunction with their magazine the OBU distributed a monthly newsletter, The Old Barker, from 1961-1988, before it was incorporated into the new quarterly school magazine The Barker.

Can you help?

Throughout the history of Barker College, the OBU, which became the Old Barker Association (OBA) in May 1975, has been an integral part of the Barker community. From the early days raising funds for the War Memorial Oval, which assisted the School to become a founding member of the Combined

Jackie Rossington Barker College Archivist

66 • The Old Barker • Issue 246 • Spring 2021

Barker College Archives has an extensive collection of School and student publications. We are currently looking for copies of the following to be donated: Old Boys Union Magazines 1955, 1965, 1966 and 1967 The Old Barker newsletters – 1963 and 1966

Community Events

Community Events The 121st Annual Ceremonial Parade for the Barker College Cadet Unit Colonel Warwick Young OAM (83) Commander of NSW AAC Bde was the special guest and reviewing officer at the Annual Ceremonial Parade, on 16 May 2021. Colonel Young was a member of the Barker College Cadet Unit from 1979 to 1983 and is currently responsible for domestic operations in NSW. Warwick had the opportunity to speak twice, as the reviewing officer during the Ceremonial Parade, and again at the Dining In Night to farewell the Year 12 Cadets and acknowledge their years of service to the Cadet Unit.

At the Parade, he reflected on his time in Cadets and shared some of his memories and wisdom.

He discussed the importance of the values and qualities learned through serving in the cadet unit and how these align with those of the Australian Army: Service, Courage, Respect, Integrity and Excellence. Warwick also focused on the importance of resilience and concluded with his personal adage “The world doesn’t say yes easily, be inspired by failure and not defeated but above all keep in mind your goal.”

In his evening speech, Warwick spoke of the importance of individuality, creativity, compassion and timeliness. He highlighted the challenges the world faces and the impact an individual can make by applying their unique talents to create a bright future.

Back to Barker Day

ever-developing environment.

On this fine May day, 30 members including some partners, commenced the day with coffee in the magnificent new Rosewood Centre.

A brief Chapel service was followed by a “Covid-safe” school lunchbox enjoyed in the John Griffiths Courtyard.

Following the warm welcome and inspection, manageable groups were formed and ferried to attend various classes and enjoyed the opportunity to witness teachers and students at work.

The chance to engage directly with students left us all highly impressed. The sample drama demonstrations were marvellous.

Always something new and different to see!

Stephen Lloyd (64/65) Vice President

One significant activity involved a robotics demonstration from the highly awarded team… just another great achievement in an

Spring 2021 • Issue 246 • The Old Barker • 67

Community Events

Alumni Parent Breakfasts Three of these wonderful breakfasts were held in Term 2 for Alumni Parents from the Classes of 1975 through to 1989. The breakfasts are always so special because our Alumni have the opportunity to share the morning not only with their Barker children, but with their peers, who also chose to send their children to Barker.

One of the highlights from these mornings is the photo presentation that showcases images of parents from their time at Barker highlighting the amazing changes in hair styles and fashion through the generations which is fun to see.

What doesn’t change through the generations though is the heart and soul of Barker’s students and families.

BCPA Trivia Night After the 2020 year of social isolation for many of our Barker families, when we opened bookings for our first major social and fundraising event of the 2021 year, the 450 Trivia Night tickets sold out within a couple of days!

The theme this year was ‘All Around the World’ – our committee worked hard in setting up the MPH to look like the boarding gates at an Airport, with Pilots, Air Hostesses and most importantly a ‘Covid safe’ Check-in counter.

With every year group from Pre-K to Year 12 represented on the night, table decorating started early for some, our first guests transporting us to the ‘Beach’ with real sand and swaying palm trees on their table, not to be outdone, the Americans were bold and flashy with their table winning a best dressed

68 • The Old Barker • Issue 246 • Spring 2021

theme, the delicious aromas of some of the international foods guests had prepared and shared at their tables, brought Phillip Heath across the road just in time to help select some of our lucky prize winners for their efforts in both dressing up and table decorating.

The BCPA committee would like to thank all those who attended on the night for a truly successful social and fundraising event, and what we now know is most likely our first and only major social event for 2021.

Michele Biet BCPA Vice-President

Foundation Dragon Boat Festival Luncheon The Foundation hosted the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival in June at Mama Mulan Restaurant in Chatswood. This luncheon was a celebration of this wonderful Chinese tradition for all our parents in the Barker Community. Phillip Heath welcomed guests together with the Chair of Foundation, John SlackSmith. Prior to the meal service, Elaine Xi from Year 12 played a beautiful music piece for guests, which was so delightful to hear.

During the lunch Phillip Heath had the opportunity to share an update on Barker’s Masterplan with guests.

The luncheon was a happy and festive occasion, with the funds raised going to directly support the School’s Building fund.

Spring 2021 • Issue 246 • The Old Barker • 69

Personal Notes

Personal Notes (Number in brackets is the alumni year)

Friendships forged in the old Barker Canteen In December 1989, we pulled down the shutter of the undercroft Canteen for the last time. The Canteen, left spotless and ready for the next day, and as there were no Canteen credit cards in those distant days, small change being canteen currency was totalled up before we left. Farewells said, we signed off, but it hasn’t stopped there, as we mothers of the Class of 89 still meet twice a year to lunch and catch up on news of our children and their children, some of whom are present and even former students!

New York based Alumni - Alex Pickford (09), Nick Hannon (08), Rachel Krust (11), Katie Wilson (10), Marcus Ap (06) and Ash Sohier (08) recently caught up for a dinner at Buddakan (famous from Sex and the City) making the most of the easing of COVID restrictions.

Old boys Adrian Brown (19) and Billy Pollard (19) were selected for the Junior Wallabies Squad in June 2021.

Adrian has also had his contract extended with the NSW Waratahs.

70 • The Old Barker • Issue 246 • Spring 2021

Congratulations to our Alumni Alexander de Montemas (19), Georgia Montgomerie (19), Ella Johnston (19), Holly Parker (19), Freya Klomp (19), Lucas Parker (19) and Aaron Auld (18) who received their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award at the official ceremony in May 2021.

Gemma Davies (09) married Erin Dwyer in April 2021 in the Hunter Valley. Several friends from the class of 2009 attended, including Elle Handel and Sascha Richardson (Harris) who were bridesmaids, Mitchell Davies who was an excellent and entertaining MC and David Bui, whose dance moves remain wonderful.

Incredibly, there were no COVID restrictions with family and friends able to attend from across the country and some international friends Zooming in.

Congratulations to Nick Fewtrell (12) and Rod McGibbon (96) who won Patrol Captain and Lifesaver of the Year Awards respectively at last Friday night's virtual Sydney Northern Beaches Branch SLS Awards of Excellence. Both came through Barker's SLS Program and are involved to this day, Rod is the Club President of Bungan Beach SLSC.

Personal Notes It was 15 years on the 28 May since we lost Sue Fear (80) in a tragic accident on Mt Manaslu, Nepal.

Dhading, Nepal after her which was completed in 2008.

John and my family had the privilege to visit the building site in 2007 prior to its completion. It now services the region in restoring sight to those who need it.

In 2005 Sue was awarded an OAM for her work in Mountaineering and Charity and as a result she became a good friend of the then Governor of NSW Marie Bashir a fitting recognition for what she had completed to date.

After the elation of reaching the summit of Mt Manaslu she fell into a crevasse on her decent only a few hundred metres from the summit and where a few hours earlier she passed the same track with her Sherpa on her way up to the top. Sue knew the dangers of her passion and on her death it was revealed in her Will she wished to be left there if she did fall into a crevasse.

Mt Manaslu was her 5th mountain over 8000 metres, which no other Australian female had achieved. Less than 50 female climbers worldwide have completed five or more mountains over 8000 metres including Mt Everest which she ascended in 2003 from the more difficult and technical north side via Tibet, making her the only Australian female to date to do so. These achievements are even more significant after all this time has passed.

Sue achieved so much in her short but inspirational life.

We recently got together with her close friends at my brother John’s (84) house to remember and celebrate her life. What really stood out in conversation was a common theme of her qualities as a person. There was a great respect from those who worked with her, and for her, she was extremely driven to be her best and push her limits, she had an amazing strength and resilience for whatever was thrown at her. Whether it was slashing vegetation through forests to make trails for future treks in South Americas or her tent and supplies blowing off the side of a mountain in storm winds. Her motto was “don’t sweat the small stuff” and just get on with it. Yet for all she had done she was still humble and treated everyone the same, from Sherpa through to high profile personalities.

Since we lost Sue in 2006 her legacy continues and our family couldn’t be more proud. She was an Ambassador for Fred Hollows Foundation and Australia Himalaya Foundation both dedicated to improving lives and education of those in countries who are less fortunate and where she travelled to so regularly for both work and leisure.

Sue worked for many years at World Expeditions guiding all over the world. They also recognised her work by naming their penultimate stop on the Larapinta Trail under the spectacular Mt Sonder (west of Alice Springs) “Camp Fearless”. Sue had spent several seasons guiding on the Trail so it was a fitting tribute to have a camp in her name in such a rugged yet scenic spot. We had the privilege to recently visit the camp in June with Ian Lanz (78) and his wife Diane.

The most recent accolade for Sue (of which she would no doubt be the proudest) was Barker acknowledging her in their recent renaming of houses with the intake of girls through all levels of the School. She visited many schools giving lectures and telling stories of what could be achieved if you put your mind to it and did it all for quite often only a gold coin donation to one of her charities.

Fear House – ‘Courageous Soul’ is a very apt motto.

Mentoring young people in achieving their dreams and goals against adversity was one of Sue’s favourite things to do.

In later years, I can’t tell you how many times in different situations where someone would come up to me who had contact with her or saw one of her information meetings and said “Sue encouraged me to follow my dream, I did it and I owe her for that”.

Our family still remembers her with great affection as that sometimes ‘tough exterior’ gave way to a very soft centre. This was exposed regularly when she babysat for our girls Rebecca (14) and Rachel (17) in the early years and she was quite often given up by her nieces for either staying up late watching TV or dishing out copious amounts of ice cream.

If you’d like to read more about Sue, we recently updated the website dedicated to her which outlines what she achieved in her life www.suefear.org Grahame Fear (78)

Sue had the privilege of meeting Fred Hollows before he passed and his first words, so Gabi Hollows recounts to me when they met was “Fear…., what sort of name is that for a mountain climber!”

In recognition of her fundraising and work with the Fred Hollows Foundation they named their new eye clinic in Spring 2021 • Issue 246 • The Old Barker • 71

Community Chaplain

From our Community Chaplain Rev Jeff Ware

Community Chaplain, On the road As Community Chaplain I’ve had some opportunity to hit the road and catch up with former students here, there and everywhere.

Making a trip to the Central West to help out with church services at Grenfell and Glenelg meant catching up with several people who have strong and meaningful Barker connections. It also gave me a taste of being back in parish ministry - which I’ve relished.

Passing through Orange, I met up with former student David Whittingham (96) and former Barker staff member Terry Nye. Both teach at Orange Anglican Grammar School (OAGS). Terry continues to be significantly involved in leading the cadet program which is offered to students from other schools as well as OAGS. Dave is one of a team of chaplains who are contributing in vital ways to this dynamic new Anglican school.

I have found that wherever I go there are people with Barker connections doing good and interesting work, contributing to their communities and trying to serve the common good even as they keep themselves housed and fed, often in challenging circumstances.

I’m reminded of those words of Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon ‘to seek the welfare of the city’ (Jeremiah 29:7). It’s what Barker people are doing marvellously in towns and cities all over the place in a myriad of ways.

72 • The Old Barker • Issue 246 • Spring 2021

Top to bottom Catching up with Naomi and Gordon Steinhardt, Barker grandparents, at Holy Trinity Grenfell; Meeting some of the farming community at St Margaret’s Glenelg; David Wittingham (96) and Terry Nye showing me around Orange Anglican Grammar School.

But not everyone is in a position to be thriving at the moment. I have bumped into and heard from people who are struggling in various ways. If I can once again commend the OBA Support for Life initiative which has now linked up with My Mirror to provide flexible and professional support to former students who are doing life tough in one way or another. Help is just a click away: https://landing.mymirror.com.au/old-barkerassociation.

Rev Jeff Ware Community Chaplain

Baptisms in the Chapel 20 June Francesca Susan, daughter of Jessica (Lamrock 07) and Chris Pearce (06) 20 June Remi Kate, daughter of Laura (Hayter 09) and Jarrod Walter

Obituaries

Obituaries (Number in brackets is the alumni year)

Richard ‘Dick’ John Orchard (49) 1932 – 2021

Dick attended Barker as a boarder from 1942 to 1949. He was a successful sportsman throughout his School years particularly in Swimming, Cricket and Rugby.

Dick was well known as a batter and run scorer in Cricket and was a member of the 1st XI Cricket team for three years. He represented the School in the CAS 1st XI Cricket team in 1949 and his name appears on the Cricket 1st XI Honour Board. Dick was also a successful try scorer in Rugby and was in the 1st XV Rugby team in his final two years and was awarded Colours in 1949.

He continued his association with Barker attending reunions and OBA Seniors events in later years.

Following Barker, Dick worked in the family business and then pursued a career in sales and marketing. His passion for sport, fostered at Barker, never waned.

He coached his two sons in cricket and was a keen spectator at his

children's and grandchildren's sporting events including rugby union, rugby league, Australian Rules, cricket, netball, hockey, and soccer. He also enjoyed playing golf after being introduced to the game by his father, Beau Orchard. Dick remained a member of Avondale Golf Club for over 72 years. In his later years, playing chess online with his grandson, Tim, and Bridge with his friend, Leon, at Lourdes Retirement Village, were highlights of his week.

Another of Dick's interests was travel. His particular interest was visiting First and Second World War memorial sites and battlefields, especially those in northern France, Belgium and Italy. He twice led a group of family members, including children and grandchildren, to this area; the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles being a special highlight.

Dick was married for over 60 years to Patricia and together they shared a wonderful life. During the last five years of his life, Dick was the carer for his wife.

Dick was a friendly and generous husband, father, grandfather and friend. He was also ready to stop and chat and laugh. He is sadly missed by everyone who knew and loved him.

Dick, late of Killara, passed away on 10 May 2021 and is survived by his wife Patricia, children James, Stephen and Jillian, ten grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

David Wellesley Savage (66) 1950-2020

David boarded at Barker from 1958 to 1966 with his older brothers John (60) and Peter (65). He followed in the footsteps of their father RW (Bob) Savage (33) and his three brothers Eric (30), Colin (34) and Kenneth (39). The first from the Savage family to attend Barker was Dr Vincent Wellesley Savage (ca. 1896) at Kurrajong, and his son Vincent Wellesley Savage (1920), the most recent was David’s nephew David P Savage (92).

David together with his brothers was based in the country at “Julong” Binda NSW. His holidays were spent in the wide-open spaces assisting with the many jobs, with riding horses, mustering sheep and cattle. There was always time to go fishing for trout in the Crookwell River and making up for lost time with his dog “Beaver”.

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Obituaries

After leaving School David completed a course at Yanco Agricultural College before returning to “Julong”. After a short period of trying to advise his father on the finer points of breeding Merino sheep, he decided to apply for a job with the AMP Society.

After a couple of years working in AMPs Goulburn Office, he was transferred to AMPs Head Office at Circular Quay in Sydney, where he worked for some years in rural valuation and lending.

He subsequently spent the bulk of his career with AMP project management, involved in large scale commercial development.

David married Beverley Bourke in 1975 and settled in Pennant Hills.

David and Beverley both worked in the city and so moved to Lindfield in the 80s to shorten their daily commute. David continued his whole working life with the AMP Society using his Valuation qualification in Rural Lending and ultimately Project Managing Shopping Centre developments including Warringah Mall and the Macquarie Centre at North Ryde.

Retirement brought about a move back to the ‘Bush’ outside of Dubbo in 2003. This rural retreat on the Macquarie River became Dave and Bev’s base in the country from where they explored the world and Australia. David’s health began to deteriorate some six to eight years ago. David was accepting and stoic in the face of this adversity and was nursed to the end by Bev, his loving wife of 45 years.

David, late of Dubbo passed away on 23 November 2020 and is survived by his wife Beverley his two brothers John and Peter and their families. David was a kind and intelligent soul, who is greatly missed by his many friends and family.

Andrew Mark Chapman Smith (81) 1963 – 2020

He satisfied his fishing needs with a cottage in Tasmania, where Lisa, her father Bruce, his father Barrie and brother Antony would have a week’s fishing together.

A great friend.

Andrew sadly couldn’t win his two year battle with Pancreatic cancer.

After a courageous fight he died on 24 November 2020.

Andrew attended Barker with his brother Antony (78) and stayed connected through his nieces Ellie Orme (13) and Bek Smith (17).

Andrew will be remembered as a larger than life good guy, with a smile to match. Having excelled in Rugby 1st XV and Cadets at School, he then attended Sydney University and studied Mining Engineering.

Andrew’s passion was fishing and diving, in streams, lakes or the ocean – he loved it. He loved to camp and developed lifelong friends with his Scout and Rovers team.

The life of a mining engineer required him to travel to not so fish-friendly locations with stints in Broken Hill, Mount Magnet, Leinster, Kambalda and Kalgoorlie.

Never returning to Sydney to live, he was very good at keeping in touch.

He married Jane Buckley (81) in 1988 and they travelled extensively, with a trip on the Orient Express and meeting the silverback gorillas.

Unfortunately, this marriage broke up after they returned.

He established his underground drilling company, Perseverance Drilling carrying out underground drilling in Kalgoorlie and surrounding areas.

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He met Lisa Vella at Mt Magnet in 1995 and they married in a surprise ceremony in 2005 at Ouse in Tasmania, surrounded by their families.

Lisa and Andrew had bought a property in Bullsbrook, north of Perth and built a house there.

They shared a love of animals, and their property in Bullsbrook allowed them to stock cattle and look after a collection of rescue animals, which Lisa continues to do. Our daughter had the privilege of staying with them and it was special for her to share some of our ongoing memories.

Andrew was known for his contribution to the community of Kalgoorlie, where he supported the Red Cross. He delivered meals to Indigenous communities and raised money through his mining contacts to improve the lives of those in the community. In September 2018 he was a finalist in the WA Regional and Community Awards, nominated by the Red Cross. The ABC ran several documentaries on Andrew’s contributions, especially to the Indigenous community - he even paid dog registration fees for some Indigenous owners to keep the dogs away from the pound and attended football games with an elderly lady who befriended him early in Kambalda.

Andrew was a great cook, taking after his mum Shirley, was generous and always fun loving and shared his time with his nieces and nephew.

Andrew is greatly missed by everyone fortunate enough to be in his life.

Paul Wilhelm (81)

Obituaries

Michael John Dubois Spooner (74) 1957 - 2021

was awarded the 2000 Olympic Games in 1993. Michael played guitar in productions of Grease and Spamalot for the Players Theatre and hoped to be involved in the upcoming production of the Queen musical, We Will Rock You. He also played in bands in Sydney and around the country and was a member of the 60s revival band The Daytrippers and was also a member of the Beatles tribute band Beatnix.

Michael Dubois Spooner attended Barker from 1969 to 1971, before finishing his schooling in Bathurst.

Michael, late of Port Macquarie passed away on 30 April 2021 and is survived by his wife Narelle, children Trent and Zoe, mother Barbara and sisters Jane, Robin and Kate.

The Great Lakes Advocate published a tribute sharing the following information about his life:

David Stanley Starr (63) 1946 – 2021

Just over a decade into his ABC career he took a chance to do a short stint as mornings presenter with the ABC in Port Macquarie.

He spent five years in the chair until his retirement from full-time broadcasting in 2017, but remained on the books as a casual presenter and producer. The bushfire and flood crisis saw Michael presenting many Emergency Broadcasting shifts.

Running parallel to his working life, Michael always had a guitar nearby. A highlight was playing at Circular Quay when Sydney

Dave moved to the United States in 1976 for further studies and lived there for the rest of his life. While there he gained additional specialist qualifications concentrating on advanced cardiac surgery. He was assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas before running the cardiovascular program at Mayo Clinic in Ohio.

Later in life, having retired from active practice, Dave studied law and specialised in medical malpractice matters. Also at that time he and his business partner turned to real estate development.

Together, they purchased parcels of land and built a range of residential properties around the Austin, Texas area.

Michael arrived at the ABC Mid North Coast after being a late bloomer to the radio industry.

Earlier he worked for the National Australia Bank for a decade and in the mid-80s he earned an honours degree in Australian literature from Sydney University.

Michael decided to stretch his wings and started cutting his teeth in community radio. In 1997 he joined the ABC in Rockhampton, which eventually saw him return to Sydney in 2001, working for 11 years at the ABCs Sydney headquarters at Ultimo.

Dave studied medicine at UNSW graduating with the university medal. During that time he maintained his sporting endeavours in rugby and cricket and joined the Coogee Surf Club which was near the family home. During his medical studies, Dave developed a keen interest in computing and was at the forefront in the innovative adaption of emerging IT applications to the medical field.

David (Dave) attended Barker as a boarder from 1957 until 1963. Dave was a most gifted and unassuming person who was popular with his peers and teachers alike. He had a dry sense of humour and was famous for giving many of his fellow students (and teachers) witty nicknames which many, some reluctantly, have carried for life.

He excelled both academically and in sport, especially Rugby and Cricket. In his final year at School Dave was Head Prefect, dux of his class, was ninth in the state in the Leaving Certificate, was the RSM of the Cadet Corps and was selected in the schoolboys’ representative Rugby team.

Dave was a most generous man always willing to help others with advice and assistance. Dave was just good at everything. His achievements were many and he leaves a legacy that matches that of his grandfather Sir Neville Howse (awarded Australia’s first Victoria Cross) and his father Sir Kenneth Starr (President of the AMA and renowned reconstructive plastic surgeon).

Dave suffered from Parkinson’s Disease for some years and was hospitalised in February following a stroke and passed away on 22 March 2021. He leaves behind his five children Alison, Kristin, Jonathan, Leah and Adam and three grandchildren.

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Obituaries

Barry King Timbrell (52) 1935 -2021

trips to help out on the farm near Gunnedah. Phil had a farming accident in 1979 and lost his lower leg, so Barry took nine weeks long service leave from his Actuarial office job in Circular Quay and “looked after the farm”, whilst Phil recovered in rehab hospital. Barry was always willing to help out.

Barry was incredibly grateful for his education and scholarship at Barker. In gratitude and as a way of making further scholarships possible for future boys, he contributed significantly to the Barker Scholarship fund for 50 years.

Barry attended Barker on a full scholarship as a boarder from 1948 to 1952. His brother David (45), son Colin (81) and daughter Sue (85) also attended Barker.

Barry excelled at School and in his final year was on the Library Committee, in Dramatics and was Head Prefect. He also received the Form V Mathematics Award and the Sir Thomas Anderson Stuart Medal.

Following Barker, Barry pursued his love of Maths by joining AMP and studying the Actuarial Course by correspondence from London (no Actuarial Studies were available in Australia at that time). In 1959, he married Joy and in 1960 they were transferred to the London branch for two years where Barry developed a love for travel around Europe and beyond. His favourite countries were Switzerland and Austria (visited around 20 times) and they travelled through all 50 States of America. At age 59, Barry took early retirement and fulfilled a lifelong dream of living on the beachfront at Forster for 20 years, swimming most days.

During his 5 years as a boarder at Barker, Barry shared a room with Phil Donaldson (52), son of a farmer from Gunnedah. They became lifelong friends with many

76 • The Old Barker • Issue 246 • Spring 2021

Barry, late of Hornsby, passed away on 3 May 2021 and is survived by his wife Joy of 61 years, his children Colin, Sue and Robyn and four grandsons – Benjamin, Samuel, James and Josh who all inherited Barry’s passion for Maths.

Terrance ‘Terry’ Harold Wright (49/50) 1933 – 2021

the top teams and in 1949 and 1950 was a member of the 1st XV Rugby team. In his final year Terry was a Prefect and was awarded Swimming Colours. He successfully completed the Leaving Certificate and was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship.

Following Barker and a year at university, Terry pursued a career in sales. He also became a very competent Bridge player, later becoming a Director with the New South Wales Bridge Association.

Playing Bridge became a shared passion with Sue, his wife, and they played regularly, competing in many club competitions over the years.

Terry and Sue were committed Christians, worshipping at the Salvation Army for some 30 years, then more recently at Wild Street Anglican Church in Maroubra where a wonderful service to celebrate his life was held.

After retiring, Terry and Sue travelled extensively. They had a particular love of India, visiting it on five separate occasions. Other favourite destinations included Myanmar, Kenya, Egypt, Israel, Borneo, Japan and China.

Terry had numerous struggles with his health in recent years, including two encounters with lung cancer.

He was in hospital recovering from a bout of pneumonia when he passed away on 27 March 2021.

Terry attended Barker from 1945 until 1950 as did his brother Donald (47, deceased). Terry was a strong swimmer throughout his time at Barker, winning many championships and representing the School at the Associated Schools Combined Sports in 1948 and 1949. Terry also excelled in other sports. He was always in

Terry was a gentle man, with a special sense of humour who was always concerned for others. He will be sadly missed by Sue, Sandy, Paul, Emily, Katie and his many friends.

Archives – Now and Then From its humble beginning, Barker College was a school built on academic excellence, passion and camaraderie.

In 1890, whilst Rector at St Stephen’s Church, Kurrajong, Reverend Henry Plume tutored five local pupils for the Junior, Senior and Matriculation Examinations. Their academic success encouraged him to establish his own school.

The following year, Plume moved to a guesthouse named ‘Stokesleigh’ in Kurrajong Heights and named his new school Barker College in memory of the second Bishop of Sydney, Frederic Barker. Accepting 18 children in the first year, including four sisters of the Bowman family, the School allowed both day students and boarders to be taught.

By 1896, Rev Plume and his wife Eleanor had decided to move their school to Hornsby due to a scarlet fever outbreak and the isolation of their current location.

Many of the students followed and continued to excel under Plume’s contagious enthusiasm for teaching and learning along with his care for student wellbeing.

Student numbers have risen steadily since Plume’s retirement in 1904. Buildings and facilities have increased and the transition to a fully coeducational school is underway, but over 130 years later the foundation of care and learning established by Rev Plume continues to flourish at Barker and we celebrate 2021 with a graduating class of over 350 students.

Jackie Rossington Barker College Archivist

Barker Community Events 2021 Class Reunions

OBA Events

1961 – 60 Year Reunion TBC John Meagher john@driftwoodfilms.com.au

2000 – 20 Year Reunion TBC Hayley Gatt barkercollege2000@gmail.com

1971 – 50 Year Reunion TBC Wolfgang Hofbrucker 0428 993 964 w.hofbrucker@gmail.com

Mel Tait Facebook: Barker College 20 Year Reunion

Mike Langford 0414 781 291 drifting@bigpond.net.au 1990 - 30 Year Reunion TBC Darren Perry Anna Brooks (Higgs) Lucinda French (Etherden) Nathan Deveson barkercollege1990@gmail.com Facebook: Barker College Class of 1990 1981 – 40 Year Reunion TBC Jo Camp (Fisher) 0407 951 356 jo.camp@pearson.com Jenni-Lee Williams (Lennon) 0412 412 726 jennilee13@mac.com 1960 – 60 Year Reunion TBC Geoff Sheppard 0407 951 356 Ian Nicholls 0412 954 971 Peter Hassall 0407 866 600 Rob Warneford 0407 489 657 Larry Tout 0457 063 658

2015 – 5 Year Reunion TBC Sami Novis 0422 576 275 Helen Shao 0423 260 990 1986 – 35 Year Reunion TBC Mark Cooper 0400 344 697 Gaille Smith (Yeates) 0412 784 221 Jodie Eliott (Conomos) 0457 724 099 2005 – 15 Year Reunion TBC Chris Mackenzie 0411 874 426 Daniel Courtnall 0416 080 892 Barker2005reunion@gmail.com https://fb.me/e/28M1Z4gmt 2010 – 10 Year Reunion TBC Annie Unsworth 0400 305 748 annaliseunsworth@gmail.com Henry Wells +61400 493 553 henrycwells1@gmail.com 1991 – 30 Year Reunion Sat 20 Nov Vanessa Bennett 0400 024 168 vanessa.bennett.sydney@ gmail.com 1965 – 55 Year Reunion Sat 4 Dec Doug Spencer 0404 888 085 dspencer@millernoyce.com.au

91 Pacific Highway Hornsby NSW 2077 Australia

t +61 2 8438 7999 f +61 2 8438 7609 w barker.college

OBA Meeting (Online) Tue 19 Oct Mandy Loomes (02) 8438 7229 mloomes@barker.nsw.edu.au

Regional Events Regional events provide a great opportunity to connect with members of the Barker community in your area.

Please contact Mandy Loomes, mloomes@barker.nsw.edu.au for information about regional events or to update your contact details if you are living in a different location to your Barker mailing address, so we can invite you too!

Privacy Due to changes in Privacy Legislation we are required to inform you that your contact details may be shared with OBA reunion organisers with the strict guidelines that they are only to be used for the purposes of organising your OBA reunion. Please contact the Alumni Office if you wish to keep your details private.

Photos Photos from your event may be posted on the OBA Website (www.oba.net.au) and the Alumni Facebook page (www.facebook. com/barkercollegealumni) and in The Barker magazine. For further queries please contact the Alumni Office.