The Barker #137

Barker’s Rugby 1sts were invited by Rugby Australia to play in the inaugural fixture for the Manu Sutherland Shield against St Joseph’s Nudgee College, Brisbane in September.

Ross Jackson from the Class of 1978

An Education Worth Having

This privilege gave me a broad perspective on an important question: “what is an education worth having?” The pages that follow will serve to illustrate our answer to this question more fully than any letter of greeting that I might provide.

As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we awake to a vastly different set of circumstances where the old story of schooling seems less relevant to meet the needs of a more flexible and individualised future. The world of work and even the world of tertiary study has changed unstoppably and the coming decade will see this accelerate. I received a recent tweet that suggested “Remote work is for concentrating; head office is for collaborating”.

In order to gather data to help us find the best path to the future, the Barker Institute is rapidly becoming a vitally important arm of our academic program. We are researching how children and young people have responded to the digital world that the pandemic response made commonplace. Our Year 6 PYP Exhibition showed how our students put their big questions directly to scientists, artists, historians or explorers outside the School, many of whom responded generously with their time.

The return to “normal” after the pandemic involves more than resetting technology. The World Health Organisation advised in March 2022 that there has been a 25% increase in anxiety and depression worldwide since the pandemic. Maintaining a caring environment and promoting wellbeing in schools has never been more important. The education of character is rapidly becoming one of the most cherished purposes of our School.

While digital technologies are an important enabler of a new revolution in learning, they are not its only support. Research findings from neuroscience and the social sciences are influencing school programs and pedagogical approaches. For example, schools are taking into account the effect of emotional intelligence on students’ capacity to learn and actively seeking ways to develop emotional intelligence in teachers as well as students. Other schools are introducing programs to develop mindfulness in students and report gains in student cognition and academic achievement. Several Australian schools are now world leaders in the linking of applied psychology, particularly in relation to student wellbeing, to academic learning. The question remains, however, whether the world of learning changes further now that we are resuming after the pandemic. The challenge is to nurture the things we cherish.

I know from recent conversations with students and their parents that this movement is beginning to engage whole school communities. The almost unimaginable frontiers of the imminent future have created an appetite for discovery, change and innovation in schools.

To meet these great challenges of the present and future, Barker remains committed. Our students and families together with the heritage of the School deserves nothing less.

What is an education worth having? It is being forged right now. The pages that follow celebrate the breadth of opportunities to explore our humanity at this exciting time.

Phillip Heath AM Head of Barker College

Over the years in former roles such as National Chair of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia, I have spoken to many school leaders and teachers and was able to visit many schools.

From the Chair of Council

Leading the Way in Indigenous Education

In July, I attended the 2022 Garma Festival of Traditional Cultures, accompanied by six School Council colleagues, the Head of Barker College, staff members from the Hornsby campus, and 16 Student Leaders from Years 11 and 12.

It was an enriching and memorable experience.

The festival occurs at Gulkula, traditional ceremonial grounds of the Yolŋu people, about a 30-minute drive on an unsealed road from the township of Nhulunbuy, NE Arnhem Land.

Each year 2,500 guests from Australia and overseas are immersed in the rich cultural traditions of their Yolŋu hosts, experiencing miny’tji (art), manikay (song), bunngul (dance) and ancient story telling.

The Barker Hornsby students were chosen to attend Garma to support the Youth Forum activities, which ran in conjunction with the festival.

Barker’s Dhupuma campus is located nearby at Gunyangara in the former Annex of Nhulunbuy Primary School. The campus opened in April 2021 as a partnership between the Gunyangara Community of the Yolŋu people, the Yothu Yindi Foundation, and Barker College.

Our Barker delegation along with other ‘corporate’ visitors to Garma, including Her Excellency, the US Ambassador, Caroline Kennedy, were able to witness first-hand the operation of the Dhupuma Barker school. It was a delight to see happy children as they undertook their learning, including a robotics activity. It was a joy to hear them recite the Junior School’s kindness prayer in Yolŋu Matha, then in English.

The results at Dhupuma Barker have exceeded expectations - attendance and engagement are touching 90%, an exceptional achievement for a remote school. This has come from the excellent work of the Dhupuma Barker staff led by Tom Spencer and Lori Cross working alongside Yolŋu community teachers, and from the deep commitment of the Yolŋu leadership to support education on country in their community. Honouring the Yolŋu culture interwoven with the Australian Curriculum, so the children can safely walk and learn in two worlds.

Barker College is privileged to be involved in Indigenous education. The School Council wholeheartedly supports the Vision of Barker’s ninth Head, Phillip Heath AM, for learning on country keeping the children within their own families and culture.

The Vision embraces other Indigenous campusesDarkinjung Barker at Yarramalong on the NSW Central Coast, which commenced in 2016, and Ngarralingayil Barker at Wollombi in the Lower Hunter Valley, which commenced in 2020. Together with Dhupuma Barker, these campuses are connected tangibly and emotionally, and in prayer with our Barker Hornsby campus. Barker’s partnerships with the Darkinjung, Wonnarua, and Yolŋu peoples in regional, rural, and remote Australia, respectively, work in harmony to strengthen an understanding of a new way for our nation.

The Student Leaders were wonderful ambassadors for Barker at Garma. They will be at the height of their community responsibilities in the next few decades of this twenty-first century. On the final night, the Student Leaders joined us around the campfire for a friendly chat and to reflect upon their hopes and aspirations arising from the Garma experience. Their insights were beautiful and reassured that there is a way forward for non-Indigenous Australians and First Nations peoples on the Great Continent which we share.

David Charles (75) Chair of Council

A life of Service

At her funeral Archbishop Welby, quoted Elizabeth on her 21st birthday, “I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service … God help me to make good my vow, and God bless all of you who are willing to share in it.” For 70 years the Queen exemplified a life of service, a model that she drew directly from the life of Jesus. In her Christmas message in 2017 she described Jesus as the anchor in her life of service.

At School we long to foster a heart for service in our students. Looking at Jesus, the one who gave his life for others, is a great starting point. But we also need to see ourselves aright. Recognising the blessing and privilege we enjoy ought to foster a desire to serve others. A heart of service can be fostered by looking persistently to the world, identifying opportunities and needs in those beyond our immediate circle - not necessarily to provide a hand up, but walking alongside people and communities in partnership.

Our vision is that students are so shaped and inspired by their time at Barker that they go into the world with a heart to serve, taking the love modelled in Jesus as they go. I am so encouraged by the myriad ways I already see this - long may it continue.

Year 12 Farewell Tour

The end of Term 3 meant saying goodbye to Year 12 2022. We ended with the Barker "Farewell Tour" at Chapel, hearing thoughtful biblical encouragements from staff members who have played a significant role in their Barker journey. Many of our Year 12s were involved through music, service leading, interviewing staff and presenting their incredible major works. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate of the gifts of our students and pray for them as they go and inspire hope beyond the Mint Gates.

Spring Fair

Led by the always resourceful Joanna Yuen, the Chaplaincy team together with CRU student volunteers from Year 7 - 12 held a CRU stall at the Spring Fair. We saw so many friendly faces from our local community pop in to attempt trick-shots and the lolly guessing competition, enjoy the photobooth and Rev Tong’s magic tricks, and learn more about how they can be involved with CRU and Chaplaincy events. It was so encouraging to see our students working together to connect with so many people throughout the day.

CRU

Following Faith Week CRU invited the Barker community to see how the Christian faith stacks up to reason, wrestling with the big questions of life and faith. Lots of students joined us at CRU for the first time, with some eager to investigate the claims of the Bible for themselves. One highlight was seeing outgoing CRU Captain, Lucy Hood, share her answer to the question, 'If God is really there, why is there suffering?', offering profound insights from the Scriptures and her own experiences.

Senior CRU Weekend Away

Another highlight was our inaugural Senior CRU Weekend Away. Held in Katoomba with our Chaplaincy Staff and 25 of our Senior students. Our wonderful CRU Captains, Lucy and Micah Alley, also took the opportunity to exhort our Year 10 and 11s to keep perspective and continue prioritising the things of Jesus as they step into leading CRU. Through talks from Rev Tong on Ephesians, discussion groups, singing, open prayer, games, late night chats, and hearty meals, we witnessed God uniting our students in love for him and for one another.

Peter Tong Senior Chaplain

Rev

In September the world heard the news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Musical Joys

It has been wonderful this year to be able to see and hear gatherings of students at school preparing for the Junior School musical, Shrek the Musical JR.

It had been five years since a Junior School production, and it was certainly time to celebrate music, performance and the creative arts and bring a show to the stage! The production of Shrek the Musical JR was our first coeducational production and was a wonderful way to bring our community together! Musicals are an ideal way to celebrate talent and creativity and provide a sense of fun and collaborative atmosphere!

Children (and adults) certainly did recognise the title "Shrek"- who hasn't heard of that misunderstood, loveable green ogre? There were musical numbers, dancing and an eclectic cast of characters in Shrek the Musical JR. This show contained many jokes aimed at capturing our young audience's humour!

The musical was a delightful, fun, creative, wonderful story about love and acceptance ... a story about seeking what lies within rather than what appears on the outside. These are the very qualities that make us perfect. In our story, Shrek dreams of being more than an ogre... he dreams of being a hero. As everyone in fairytale land will tell you… “We are diff’rent. And united. You are us... and we are you!”

For a term, our enthusiastic and creative students have worked extremely hard, and it was a joy to witness their individual creativity flourish. The cast of 150 students rehearsed weekly to prepare staging, dances and songs for the show! The Musical included all students from Year 3 to Year 6 as part of our choral year choirs. This was a showcase addition to the Musical as students sang many of the songs in the show. Under the Musical Direction of Peter Ellis, the very capable orchestra including our very own

talented Music staff, tutors and Secondary School students provided the music which was outstanding!

Sincere thanks and gratitude to the Junior School staff who helped to produce the show. It would be impossible for an event like this to take place without the help and involvement of others.

Peachy the Therapy Dog even had a role in the musical as the ‘Deer’ in the song, Morning Person

There were five energetic performances of Shrek the Musical JR. What a spectacular production it was! Our students worked tirelessly to perform energetic shows for our audiences.

Well done on such a marvellous Musical full of energy, passion, and fun! We look forward to bringing the next Barker Junior School production to the stage!

Yvonne Howard Director

A celebration of a wonderful learning journey. The Year 6 Primary Years Programme Exhibition has not only been one of our Junior School highlights this year, but a moment in time, that has the possibility of being lived forever.

“We have learned so much, not only about our issues but also about ourselves and each other.’ Year 6 cohort

The exhibition enabled purposeful direction and engagement with big issues locally and globally that have personal relevance to each of our 166 students.

Supported by mentors from across our P-12 campus, students took student agency to the next level, owning the process, voicing their wonderings and ideas, and making personal choices into where they would seek further knowledge and understanding, and working out how best to present their information, and inform viewers of their action!

This year, the third PYP Exhibition for the Junior School and the first coeducational Exhibition, celebrated action and global citizenship linked to the Transdisciplinary Theme of Where We Are in Place and Time. This theme provided the opportunity for students to inquire into personal histories, homes and journeys, discoveries, explorations, migrations and their interconnectedness as human beings. They explored content using Mathematical and English skills, whilst gaining knowledge in science, history, geography, creative arts and technology.

Students found out that as time changes responsibilities and responses to challenges change too.

Guided by the enduring understanding of Humankind responds to challenges, risks and opportunities, students were able to delve into 46 different encompassing areas of inquiry, all linked to personal interests and big issues.

“Our Exhibition began with some inspiring stories from people who shared how they personally have responded to challenges, risks and opportunities. We heard from a former student who is active in reviving Indigenous languages, a sportswoman who is playing in the AFLW and a Federal policeman who serves the community with his specially trained dog, Fang.” Caitlin “Students worked on ways they could influence, persuade or change the public’s mindset, in order to improve the situation or issue they chose. Some teams designed solutions, constructed a prototype, wrote books, taught lessons to classes across the School or suggested a change in our school community.” Matthew “Teams are taking action by raising awareness about their issue, changing their own behaviour or even inspiring others to make a change.” Anabel

“When we connect International Mindedness with our learning we cannot help but enable the attributes of the IB Learner Profile to be demonstrated and at the forefront of our process. Thinkers, Communicators and Inquirers are three such examples that motivate us to go beyond our comfort zones and support us as lifelong learners.” Lisa Bonazza

A special thanks to all staff involved, including our mentors who gave up their time to help us, and especially the Year 6 teachers, Specialist teachers, Alex Cook and Paul Harmon. We really could not have done it without all of the support.

Lisa Bonazza Director of Primary Curriculum/PYP Coordinator

Humanitarian Project

During their preparation for the Year 6 PYP Exhibition, these young boys had the opportunity to listen to Year 12 (2023) student, Farhat Kohistani. Farhat has been a student at Barker this year continuing her education, after fleeing her home country of Afghanistan last year.

The students’ chosen area of focus was refugees and Farhat was able to recount her own experience.

The students asked Farhat searching questions about her life in Afghanistan and the circumstances which made her flight a necessity. Unsurprisingly, the discussion with Farhat made them think deeply about their place in the world as global citizens and how they can make a difference by raising their young voices. Farhat was amazed at their understanding of human rights and their passion to work for the rights of all humanity in practical ways.

Farhat is no stranger to raising her voice. In Afghanistan, she was an activist for the education of girls. Her campaign was called ‘Raise a Pen’ and her image was displayed throughout Kabul. Since those days, her vision has expanded to include a focus on education for all, not just women. The education she is receiving at Barker is preparing her to bring about positive change in the lives of those whose opportunities in life have been limited by poverty, political upheaval, or war.

Alex Cook, the mentor of these students, said, “it was moving to see a young Afghan woman teach and influence a group of boys. Something that would be unthinkable in her own country.”

Julia West Director of Humanitarian Programs

Eight Year 6 students enjoyed the unique and privileged experience of hearing a firsthand account of what life is like as a refugee when forced to flee your own country.

Book Week

This year’s Book Week theme, ‘Dreaming with eyes open...’ acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People and their rich story-based culture. Barker Junior School students immersed themselves into the dreamy nature of our 2022 theme and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the shortlisted books. To help us celebrate Book Week, we had two wonderful guest authors. Louise Park, the author of ‘Zac Power’, ‘D-Bot’ and ‘Boy vs Beast’ shared where she finds her story ideas to our Pre-Kindergarten - Year 2 students. Visiting our older students, we had the famously entertaining Tim Harris who had the students in fits of giggles talking about his characters, who they were based on and the real events that inspired his ideas.

This year, we also introduced ‘Mystery Reader’. Every day during Book Week, students listened to a different audio file and had to guess the title of the book, author and most importantly, guess the name of the teacher reading the story. Each stage had a different mystery reader and students were rushing to the library with their entries. Our daily winners

received a book prize of their choice. It was safe to say both teachers and students enjoyed our book week ‘Mystery Reader’.

The School was a swarm of colour and excitement with almost 800 students and staff taking part in the book parade. They came by bus, train and car, whilst some even dared to walk to school. Harry Potter, Willy Wonka, Madeline, Mr Men, Cinderella and the Very Hungry Caterpillar, were just a few of the characters who attended the book parade this year. With pride and enthusiasm and a little courage, the students paraded their favourite book character for all to see. What a way to finish the dream! We are already looking forward to the CBCA 2023 Book Week theme, ‘READ, GROW, INSPIRE’.

Alex Cook Junior School Library & Inquiry Integrator

Each year the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) brings the world of stories and illustrations into the hearts and minds of children.

State Athletics Relay Championship

The Junior School U/12 Boys 4x100m Relay Team won the NSWPSSA Athletics Championship at Homebush for 2022.

The team cruised through the heats and semi final to be the number one team going into the final. In the final, we were off to a flying start with Oscar DavyGriffiths exploding out of the blocks and running a great first bend. After a great change, Callum Gilchrist continued momentum down the back straight. The baton passed to Ethan Poon who put us in an excellent position to challenge for gold. It was close, but after another superb change and a burst of speed, Zack Yerbury took the lead finishing brilliantly and blowing our competitors away to claim the NSW Championship for Barker College. Their winning time was 53.49 seconds.

Congratulations also to our other relay teams who made their respective finals. The Barker Darkinjung Relay Team placed 9th in the Small Schools Mixed Relay. Team members: Oliver Champley, Jai Pringle, Skylah Sargent, Ruby Wilkins and Kyarne Pringle (reserve). Our U/12 Girls Relay Team placed equal 8th in their final. Team members: Sarah Jones, Emily Afonso, Tia McIntosh, Bree Hirst and Emma Lukell (injured).

Callum Gilchrist had a very busy program but nothing was going to stop his amazing performances at the Championships. After negotiating through the rounds in the U/11 100m and 200m events, Callum lined up for the final of the 200m. In the final, he ran a personal best time of 27.30 seconds to place 3rd, an outstanding achievement.

However, due to a protest from another athlete, the race had to be re-run, and with Callum competing in multiple events throughout the day, he was not able to match his effort in the original final, and placed 5th in a time of 27.62 seconds.

After an excellent start in the U/11 100m final, Callum’s drive phase was phenomenal, and he was in the hunt for a medal. With stronger closing speed than his rivals, he dipped at the line to win the silver medal. His time was 13.18 seconds and his 2nd placing earns him a spot on the New South Wales team to compete in both the 100m and the U11 Relay at the Australian All Schools Championships.

Unfortunately, Emma Lukell was diagnosed with injury less than a week prior to the NSW Championships and was unable to compete in the U/12 Girls High Jump, Shot Put and the Senior Girls Relay. Emma finished her season being crowned the ISA Senior School Girls U/12 High Jump Champion breaking the ISA record 1.46m; the CAS U/13 High Jump Champion beating the Year 7 boys at this event jumping 1.49m; and winning the NSWCIS U/12 High Jump and setting a NSWCIS Record 1.53m.

David Forster Junior School CCC Athletics

The Teacher Coaches Appreciation Society

On Thursday 8 September, Barker hosted

The Inaugural Teacher Coaches Appreciation Society Meeting.

The meeting took the format of a CoachMeet, where over forty teachers came together to network and share coaching experiences from their respective schools. A CoachMeet features a series of short, sharp presentations and promotes professional learning opportunities for teachers from their teaching peers.

The theme of the meeting was set as: A Roadmap for Coaching in Schools. It was wonderful to hear about the journeys other schools have been on, in their exploration and development of teacher coaching initiatives. A highlight of the CoachMeet came in the form of the acknowledgement that Barker can be viewed as a school that is leading the way in teacher professional learning through coaching conversations and training opportunities.

We were very fortunate to enjoy recorded presentations from two internationally recognised coaching champions.

Brian Sepe (USA, Instructional Coaching) spoke about Coaching in the Grey, where a person gives themselves time to develop their coaching skills and not be focused on the black and white, beginnings and ends. The development of habits and routines that have the greatest impact, was the foundation of a personal journey shared by Brian in his presentation.

Margaret Barr (Scotland, Growth Coaching International) focused on questioning as an important element in allowing people to think. She introduced and explained the contributing factors of questions as The 3 C’s: connection, context and care.

In all, nine presentations were made at the CoachMeet, covering topics such as: Building an Instructional Coaching Framework, Coaching Teachers for Accreditation, Mock Learning Conferences for Pre-service Teachers, Quality Coaching Conversations, Targeting the Development Stage of the Adult Learner.

The Inaugural Teacher Coaches Appreciation Society Meeting was a wonderful time of collegiality, collaboration and networking, where teachers and coaches from local schools and overseas came together to promote the importance of coaching in schools. Its success can be measured by the positive feedback received, the requests for the organisation of future meetings and support in exploring coaching culture development partnership opportunities.

Jacqui McLachlan Lead Teacher Coach - CoT

The Inaugural Teacher Coaches Appreciation Society Meeting Wednesday 14 September 2022

The Circle of Barker Life

As a school, Barker provides students with an unbelievable range of opportunities. It's a part of school life.

Besides undertaking sport as a compulsory component, it's not unusual to see students adding an element of Music, Drama, Debating or Cadets to their weekly routines. The Boys 1sts AFL team have taken this scenario to the next level. I was first drawn to this team by a post on social media celebrating one of their games. I recognised many of the players but knew them in other, mostly academic contexts. There were many high achievers in the group, da Vinci decathletes, and academic prize winners. This led me to speak with their coach, Jack Caspersonn. It turns out I didn't know the half of it.

Coach Caspersonn, in his own words…

I realised very early on in the winter season that these students were involved in many other activities and it made me appreciate this team was about exploring all that Barker had to offer. I tried to create an environment where the students could give their best to the team, but also support their many and varied other interests. I had to also be adaptable for students to miss a training or a match for them to pursue their co-curricular program. Of course, there would be many students in other sporting teams who are undertaking multiple co-curricular opportunities and pursuing them to a high level, but, in my experience as a teacher and a coach, this was a remarkable group.

The students were involved in the Year 11 Play, Barker Robotics, Footprint, Garma Festival, Mock Trial, Debating, Duke of Edinburgh, and CRU to name a few. Many of these students are now in formal leadership positions, including a School Captain and a ViceCaptain!

In speaking with some of the players, they provided the following reflections:

I take great joy in immersing myself into what Barker has to offer. I find these challenges engaging, rewarding and thoroughly enjoyable, extending my character, abilities and attitudes towards approaching life head on. I can spend more time with friends at school together, outside the classroom and with a variety of my peers.

For me, it is more a question of why not? They are available for you to do, and they are enjoyable. If I enjoy it, fit it in and make time for it then I will take part. I have found that learning to manage them all has been integral for my personal development in organisation, skills and attitude of commitment.

I have learnt not only the specific skills and abilities specific to each opportunity for engagement, but also, arguably, the more valuable lifelong skills of commitment, organisation and diligence. The best part of Barker is not the work, it’s the people.

Greg Longney Director of Teaching & Learning

Jack Caspersonn Middle School Head of Wailes House and Geography Teacher

Digital Wellbeing

In his book, Digital for Good, Richard Culatta, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education, writes

We schedule regular health checkups. We instruct children to put on sunscreen on a sunny day. We offer suggestions for new books that will broaden their interests and encourage them to try new foods in a balanced diet. We encourage children to participate in various activities, socialise, and connect with friends and family. We set boundaries and teach self-regulation to achieve balance in all aspects of their lives.

What is clear is that we have not put nearly as much effort into preparing young people for meaningful participation in the digital world, believing these skills will transfer from one context to the next. Cognitive science research explains that this is often difficult. Therefore, teaching behaviours and creating safe places to practice in an online world are essential. Culatta shares tips to help parents and teachers do just that, recognising that every child is different, and we should adapt strategies to suit individual cases.

1. Help children establish healthy digital routines by keeping devices out of the bedroom. An excellent way to do this is to hold the monopoly on charging cables and ask children to drop their devices off in a controlled location. If children use a device for their wake-up routine, it might be time to invest in a more traditional alarm clock.

2. Recognise the difference between active and passive engagement in the digital world. Encourage children to prioritise time on active online activities and focus on creativity, learning, or communicating with family.

3. Take an active role in researching and encouraging appropriate and fulfilling online activities, as we do for books or other physical activities.

4. Create a device-use agreement for the home to establish boundaries. Use positive and clear language and involve your children in the process.

Harry Fletcher-Wood, the author of Habits of Success, says, "Forming desirable habits is slow and difficult: we must choose powerful habits which are worth the effort". The upcoming holiday period is the perfect time to reset and develop healthy routines and habits for engaging in a digital world. The good news is that it is never too late to establish these habits. The payoff comes as students improve their ability to regulate online activity and contribute meaningfully to online communities. The Digital Learning Team are looking forward to further exploration in this area.

Dr Andy Mifsud Head of Digital Learning

that we put great effort into helping children succeed in the physical world.

Inspired and Equipped

Art Camp 2022 was an exciting two-day experience where Year 12 (2023) Visual Art students explored new skills, learnt techniques, and developed creative concepts for our upcoming Body of Work task.

There were many workshops and options to choose from over the two days, so each student had their own individual learning experience focusing on their favoured mediums and methods.

Upon arrival at the camp, we started our first workshop that all students participated in, a presentation with Sydney ceramicist, Ebony Russell. As a student with a strong passion towards ceramics, this was such a valuable experience and certainly my favourite workshop. I had already come across Ebony Russell's works before the camp. Her colourful, ethereal creations of piped ceramic resemble sweet cake frosting. She has similar interests to me, inspired by childhood nostalgia, Rococo art, and pastel colour palette. Ebony Russell spoke about how her life has affected her practice and explained the process of her innovative technique in depth. At the end of her speech, she led a workshop consisting of multiple timed challenges using clay. We dabbled in different hand-building techniques, such as using coils to create figures and organic shapes. I left Ebony's workshop feeling inspired and left the camp with a strong vision and concept for my Body of Work. It was such a useful and worthwhile experience, and I am so grateful for the knowledge Ebony Russell and the art staff shared.

Sarah Smith

The overnight Visual Arts camp was an enriching experience that inspired my peers and I. It provided a space to learn and grow. Each student was able to choose from a multitude of workshops and hands-on teaching sessions. A particular favourite of mine was a

workshop inspired by artist Chuck Close. In this workshop we expressively used charcoal to draw a section of Close’s face. We used a technique often used by the artist to grid up the artwork, individually we created a tonal drawing of our allocated square and then joined all the squares back together. The effect was a visually stunning large-scale portrait completed by many students, each square differed slightly in style but as a collective piece it was striking and connected. Another aspect I enjoyed was the art trivia night, with rounds like “guess the artist”, “guess the painting” from a small section, recreating a painting with a drama performance, and the collaborative decoding of anagrams of famous artworks. The Galston Gorge CRU camp location set a gorgeous backdrop for peaceful reflection on our initial gathering and exploring of ideas, and an inspirational natural space to create and develop art. At the end of the camp, I came away with greater assurance of not only what materials I wanted to work with, but how I wanted my concept to be portrayed. The collaborative sessions in discussing ideas and mediums helped to spark self-reflection on what I deeply loved about art, history and culture and how to portray this ultimately in my own work.

Anna Horner

The Visual Arts camp of 2022 was an extremely valuable experience that allowed me to focus on what I intend to make for my Body of Work and how to do this. Before the VA camp, I had way too many ideas that varied greatly. I was struggling to filter through these ideas and wasn’t sure what would work best for

the HSC. The camp was a great environment where I could solely focus on my Body of Work with no distractions from other classes.

There were three aspects of the art camp I found most helpful, the first being the elective workshops that focused on specific artmaking techniques. The elective artmaking activities allowed me to explore different materials and techniques that I hadn’t tried before or hadn’t tried in a long time. I specifically found the digital media seminar class with Mr Ryan useful for me. It allowed me to see the different ways in which I can present my photographs, such as laser etching or printing onto metal, making me think about how I could present my photographs in a physical space, something that I hadn’t previously considered.

On the second day we broke into small groups that focused on concepts. I found this very useful, specifically the class on “Titles” from Mrs Jongsma,

which showed me the effect that a good title can have in conveying the message more effectively to the markers. The final small discussion groups at the end of the camp were probably the most useful to me, allowing me to talk to my teacher, Mr Ingrey, about my ideas, getting suggestions from him and my peers on how to expand my concept.

Overall, Visual Arts camp 2022 was an extremely important and helpful experience, giving me the opportunity to narrow down my ideas, find out how to discern what is effective and what isn’t, while allowing me to experiment creatively and discover different artmaking practices that I can apply to my artworks throughout the rest of the year.

Oliver Mills

Tara Jongsma Head of Visual Arts

Clockwise Henry Wood - Mountain Bike Car Lift Assist; Phoebe Fortin - Pool Table; Amy Oaten - City of Sydney Urban Farming Precinct; Rosco Jones - Nostos De-orbit Module; Meg Boyce - Vacation Holiday Resort built specifically for people with disability and their family; Bryn Young - Modern Coffee Table; Nathan Blanchard - Spine Posture System

Responding to Problems and Opportunities

The provision of a new venue - ‘The Honda Centre’ enabled us to celebrate our students work alongside the work of our Visual Arts students. This made for a much more diverse and sophisticated exhibition, and we were grateful for the opportunity to acknowledge our students' efforts.

Head of Barker College, Phillip Heath and special guest OBA Ambassador, Chris Russell, opened the exhibition. Both Phillip and Chris acknowledged the importance of cultivating within our students a desire to create and develop solutions here in Australia and acknowledged just how well our students had achieved. Our Year 12 students have persevered whilst engaging in the creating and making process because their journey was disrupted over the past two years. They had to work hard to claw back a skill base in creating and making that was in part denied to them whilst learning online.

The ability to create and make provides enormous opportunity to our students and it is an essential part of being able to shape the world in which we live. The tacit knowledge required to be able to create is not acquired overnight; it takes time to foster. Our students have learnt through hands-on experience, (the hand informs the mind, and the mind informs the hand) and through the application of a range of mechanised and automated processes and digital applications. Students have acquired insight from their experiences to generate improvements and they have learnt how to respond to problems and opportunities.

Australia must produce students who know how to create and who know how to make; students who know how to think, and know how to recognise an opportunity, who know how to develop ideas and properly test and validate their solutions. The ability to do this will ensure that we can value add to our natural resources and use them in a manner that is most appropriate.

Congratulations to all of the Design and Technology and Industrial Technology students for completing a quality major design project. May this experience serve as a building block in your future endeavours, ‘Beyond the Mint Gates’.

Darren Woodrow Head of Design & Technology

For the first time in three years, we were able to gather collectively to celebrate the work of our Year 12 Design and Technology and Industrial Technology students.

Year 9 Play

They are faced with such utter despair, whilst surviving in a city under siege. Through a friendship that slowly builds, they find solace in each other’s company. Each character uses stories to support the other through some of the hardest challenges that they will ever face. This beautiful innocence of a child juxtaposes the brutal outside war-time reality, showing an incredible strength and resilience from two such fragile and vulnerable people. I felt these characters gave us all a lot to think about.

It was a wonderful adventure directing this Year 9 production of Stories in the Dark, where Keshini de Mel and I collaborated with our Year 9 artists in workshopping Debra Oswald’s script using Brechtian techniques. The narrative explores the power of storytelling, mingling the magic and earthy wisdom of folk tales with the hard-edged story of violence, conflict, and the struggle to survive.

The play was set between 1992 and 1995 during the siege of Sarajevo. The Serbian Army had the city surrounded for three years, 10 months and three days. Serbian leader at the time, Slobodan Milosevic ordered his army to bomb Sarajevo overnight - not to kill them but to send them insane. The snipers which sat above the appropriately coined “Sniper Alley” would not shoot the people on their way home after collecting water, just the pots they carried, spilling, and wasting the water which they had lined up for

hours to collect. All water, power, gas was cut off to the city. A tunnel was dug under the airfield (an area controlled by the UN) where power lines, gas, water pipes were run. Food was also trolleyed in on tracks that were made. In winter the snow, ice and mud were thigh deep and the tunnel was part of the reason they survived. The key though, was their strength of spirit. The people of Sarajevo did whatever they could to survive. Not only did they survive, but they flourished and soon after the siege ended, the arts and storytelling, the human spirit allowed people to not only cope, but to protest.

Stories in the Dark, is of course, not just a story. This experience of Anna and Tomas is a reality lived by many throughout the world. Particularly those presently in the Ukraine, which inspired our cast and crew. They all contributed their own ideas and creativity to bring this play to the stage, including the on-stage band (who even wrote some original pieces of music!). Thanks must go to Ms de Mel and Dugal Parker for their creativity, commitment, and talent (the puppets were amazing!). I am so proud of the work we brought to the stage offering hope in the darkness.

Jennie Bradbury Director

I was drawn to the play Stories in the Dark because of these gorgeous main characters, Tomas and Anna.

Theatresports

The Theatresports School Challenge brings young performers together from all over NSW. Competitors perform short scenes made up completely on the spot, following a set of quirky rules and based on a judge’s suggestion. With lots of energy and creativity, but not a lot of time, hilarity invariably ensues!

Earlier this Term, the Barker team competed in the first heat of the Junior Theatresports School Challenge. Pre-show, feelings were mixed: some were nervous, some were calm, some were just on a sugar high! At half-time, they had gone up against scenes with rabid fridges, escaped pigs, and crazy family dramas...and had performed the highest-scoring scene. At the end of the night, they had come in first place in their heat.

“We were all brand new to it. When we won, there was a lot of shock. We went in wanting to win, but we didn’t think it would be possible. It really started to hit us after… that we’re actually good at this.”

Thomas, Junior Theatresports competitor

“I’m feeling quite nervous for the semi-finals, but I’m very excited and I really want to put myself out there and do my best.”

Georgia, Junior Theatresports competitor

The students, parents and coaches couldn’t be prouder. Perhaps one of the competition judges put it best: “I like these guys, they’re very good.”

If you would like to learn more about Theatresports at Barker, email Keshini de Mel (Coordinator) at KDemel@barker.nsw.edu.au

de Mel Languages Teacher

Keshini

Who saves Christmas with fairy lights, prevents a nuclear attack, and protects Australia’s crocodiles from extinction… all in a tutu? The Junior Theatresports team of course!

Maths Idol

Maths Week brought the long-awaited return of Maths Idol. For staff and students, Idol is the highlight of the week; for many, it is the highlight of the year.

With the disruptions that COVID has brought us recently, it has been three years since Maths Idol graced the Leslie Hall stage and it returned triumphantly.

On the Thursday of Maths Week, students from Years 11 and 12 performed maths-based acts to enthral and entertain the excited Leslie Hall crowd. Morgan and the Stoodleys performed a variety act of musical parody interspersed with mathematical comic banter, while fellow Year 11 student and resident Barker magician, Taj Pereira, mesmerised with his mathematical mentalism.

The Year 12 cohort performed admirably with musical acts entitled Taylor Series (after the well-known mathematician Brook Taylor, and the lesser-known musician Taylor Swift), You’ll Be Back (to MathsPlus), after the Hamilton song, and a tribute to our esteemed Head of Mathematics, Graham Hanlon, entitled Thank You Sir. But the winning act on the day came from Year 11 with Caleb Stace and Nick Strachov performing A Thousand Trials, a rewrite of the Vanessa Carlton number of a similar name. The Maths staff gave the judges time to deliberate as they gave the final performance: a maths-influenced version of the Monkees’ I’m A Believer

Whilst the staff performance is a regular highlight of Maths Idol, fans were treated to a special performance that opened the lunchtime show. Barker’s resident mathematical sage and longestserving maths teacher, Boyd Carruthers, sang a special rendition of the Lou Reed classic, Perfect Day, with suitably mathematical lyrics. His performance was made all the more special since he was accompanied by a string ensemble made up of his own students and Music department colleagues.

Maths Idol will return in 2024.

Finally, Austin Lin received the robe that officially crowned him ‘best mathematician at Barker’, and this includes the teaching staff.

Mallam Assistant Coordinator of Mathematics

Andrew

Steaming Up Geography!

In 2022, Year 9 Elective Geographers have engaged in a pilot program that has arisen from a partnership between property developer Celestino and the Association of Independent Schools (AIS). This has allowed our students to engage with a range of industry experts at Sydney Science Park. The program has run out of Celestino’s office at Luddenham, the location of a whole new suburb three kilometres from Sydney’s new Bradfield (Western Sydney) Airport.

Currently the site consists of rolling plains stocked by inquisitive cattle. However, tens of thousands of people will soon move into the area and Celestino are keen to have “the input of creative young minds”.

The program worked in phases:

Phase 1 - staff input - the AIS and Celestino hosted a day at Luddenham to gain insights and ideas from staff to tailor the program to our students.

Phase 2 - student piloting - a small group of students travelled to Luddenham to gain an idea of what lay ahead and to meet the industry experts.

Phase 3 - fieldwork day - the class travelled to Luddenham to engage in a range of fieldwork activities including water testing, kinetic and solar energy creation, virtual reality site examination, water purification and urban surface temperature testing.

Phase 4 - the build - students selected a “pillar” (an area of focus for the development of a suburb such as “Water” or “The Circular Economy”) and developed their ideas as to how build a better suburb. This included a visit from an industry expert. Formerly with the CSIRO, he now runs a consultancy in sustainable development in Brisbane.

Phase 5 - the pitch - students presented their ideas to their peers, the program director Angela Schumacher from the AIS and various members of the school executive.

Phase 6 - Sydney Science Park Challenge Day at The Powerhouse Museum. A day of interschool contests in creative town planning where one of the Barker students was in the winning team.

There was a high level of student engagement throughout the program. Some of the ideas that the students put forward were both creative and innovative and they impressed the judges.

“The students have had a marvellous opportunity to see the future, engage in it, learn alongside students from around the state. They have had their horizons broadened, and are now aware of a large range of vocations that their geographic skills will prepare them for,” stated classroom teacher Kylie McKnight.

We will certainly be back on-board next year as Luddenham starts to spring to life.

Matthew Lloyd Head of Geography

Sydney’s bursting at the seams - but you know that! A band of Year 9 Geographers have some answers.

Science and STEAM go to the FAIR

The Science and STEAM team were out in force at the 2022 Spring Fair, engaging our visitors with a range of hands-on science activities.

By far the most popular was our dinosaur dig - a 2m printed replica of a T Rex! Carefully buried under litres of crushed corn, the skeleton was carefully excavated to expose its majesty - with many little fossils found and souvenired along the way by all the children.

Liquid Nitrogen ice cream was a great hit - the faster the freeze, the smaller the crystals and the creamier the ice cream! Vortex bottles, minibeasts and microscopes, kaleidoscopes and periscopes rounded out a great day at the Fair.

Virginia Ellis Head of Science & STEAM

Pre-Kindergarten meet our new Year 12 Biologists

Our Year 12 Biology students were thrilled to host our younger scientists for their investigation into minibeasts for their unit of work on Australian animals. The older students delighted in helping the young ones to use the microscopes and explore the collection of animals. David Giltrap, our Head of the Senior School and stellar Biology teacher, enthralled them as they met our Children’s python.

Virginia Ellis Head of Science & STEAM

Music Program

The Barker music program is large, with hundreds of students in its many bands, choirs and orchestras, not to mention big bands, jazz groups and rock bands.

We see these groups performing in concerts, both at school and outside, having success in competitions and representing the School at public events. Within these groups are many outstanding individual performers who have achieved success in competitions and been awarded diplomas. Apart from the students listed, many of our students have achieved success in their AMEB exams, from Preliminary through to 8th Grade.

Having high-quality musicians enhances the Barker ensemble program, although that is not always the case at some other schools where one hears that such superstars can consider themselves “above” the ensemble program at their school! Not only are these students fully committed to the ensemble program at Barker, but they have also told us that being part of this program has enhanced their instrumental skills and musicianship and help them achieve these outstanding individual results.

Alicia Kim, an exceptional cellist who is only in Year 8, said that when she first arrived at Barker, she was placed immediately into the senior Chamber Orchestra. Although an accomplished cellist, she did not have much ensemble experience, and felt initially out of her depth. Her classmate, oboist Mimi Chen, had a similar experience, finding herself in the Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra. But they both flourished, and credit their experiences in these excellent ensembles to giving them some of the musical understanding that is necessary to be awarded Diplomas (both A.Mus.A with Distinction) and competition successes. For these students, the successes are important recognition of the work that they have put into the instruments. “Cello was just something I did as a kid” says Alicia. “But then I decided to take it seriously and winning competitions showed me I was on the right track”. Not that they are

uncompetitive “This year I got to beat my main rival for the first time,” says Mimi, with some satisfaction.

Ben Weatherall (Year 10) and Christian Martinez (Year 11) have been in the program for longer than Mimi and Alicia. They are both multi-instrumentalists, Ben having played double bass, saxophone, percussion and guitar on his Barker musical journey. He is now focussing on percussion and guitar. Christian is a pianist, drummer and percussionist. They both play in the Wind Symphony, Jazz Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra.

Christian says “Playing in ensembles, with other people, exploring different styles and genres of music has really informed my solo playing.” Christian starred in the NSW State Solos competition, being named Open Percussion Champion of Champions. “In the competition, it’s just me playing, but having all the ensemble experience helps me to keep a sense of how the drumming works when I am playing with a group of musicians”.

Ben takes all of his musical studies very seriously, and looks to develop them, not only through the Barker program, but also through the Sydney Youth Jazz Orchestra, and the Australian Youth Orchestra programs. “Our program offers us so many performance opportunities, and we are always learning interesting and challenging repertoire, which extends your skills and inspires you to go and do more practice!”

Alicia has the last word. “We love working with our conductors, who are all really experienced musicians. We learn so much from them every week.”

Saffir Director of Strings

David

Outstanding Individual Music Results

• Mimi Chen

» 20 and Under Woodwind Instrument Sydney Eisteddfod - First place

» AMusA with Distinction

• Alicia Kim

» 15 and Under Cello Sydney Eisteddfod - First place

» 13-15 Strings Ryde Eisteddfod - First Place

» 13-15 Strings St George EisteddfodSecond Place

» Open age Study St George EisteddfodSecond Place

» Open age Bach Ryde Eisteddfod - Third Place

• Leonard Tang - Semi Finalist in KPO concerto competition

• Hugo Abe, Violin - AMusA

• Sophie Ku, Viola - LMusA with Distinction

• Christine Lin, Violin - LMusA

• Eric Jiang, Viola - AMusA

• Lachlan Utteridge, Clarinet - AMusA

• Jeffrey Lu, Oboe - LMusA

New South Wales Band Association Results

• Lisa Butcher Memorial Award - Open Jazz

Harry James, Year 12 - First Place

• Open - Drum Kit

Christian Martinez, Year 11 - First Place

• Open Mallet Percussion

Ben Weatherall, Year 10 - First Place

Christian Martinez, Year 11 - Second Place

• Open Snare Drum

Christian Martinez, Year 11 - First Place

Ben Weatherall, Year 10 - Second Place

• Open Timpani

Christian Martinez, Year 11 - First Place

• Open Percussion Champion of Champions

Christian Martinez, Year 11

• Open Trumpet

Harry James - Year 12 - Second Place

• Stewart Douglas Trophy - Under 15 Slow Melody

Mirabelle Chen, Year 8 - First Place

• Under 15 Clarinet

Leo Peng, Year 8 - Second Place

Carlos Zhu, Year 6 - Third Place

• Under 15 Double Reed

Mirabelle Chen, Year 8 - First Place

• Under 15 Concert Champion of Champions

Mirabelle Chen, Year 8

• Under 15 Drum Kit

Kayla Zhao, Year 6 - Second Place

• Under 15 Mallet Keyboard

Kayla Zhao, Year 6 - First Place

• Under 15 Trombone

Sophie Liu, Year 7 - Third Place

• Under 19 Double Reed

Mirabelle Chen, Year 8 - First Place

• Under 19 Euphonium

Tim Wilson, Year 10 - Third Place

Chief of Army Cadet Team Challenge

Chief of Army Cadet Team Challenge (CACTC) is a standing annual national activity run by the Cadet National Headquarters.

CACTC is the highest-grade activity run by Australian Army Cadets nationally. Ordinarily, units from New Zealand and Great Britain would also partake in the event but were unable to due to COVID. Nine statebased brigade teams consisting of ten Cadets complete a series of military-based activities addressing many elements of the national Cadet Development Continuum such as Field Engineering, Navigation, First Aid and Medical Exercises, Initiative Activities and Teamwork. The Barker Cadet Team represented the NSW 2nd Brigade at the Chief of Army's Cadets Team Challenge held at Puckapunyal Barracks in Victoria on 4 - 9 July.

The Barker team represented both the School and NSW with distinction, placing 2nd overall and narrowly missing out on first place by a single point. As a result, each member of the team was awarded a silver commendation.

Ava Chitty was a key member of the 2nd Brigade Chief of Army Team, attending as a cadet stand operator and was commended by defence force assessors on her great contribution to the challenge and to the team. She demonstrated her considerable cadet knowledge by running several preparation and training activities for the competition team, both prior to the activity and during the concurrent training phase. During the activity, Ava took on a key welfare role and made sure all members of the team were looked after. This helped the team to stay focused on

the competition and achieve a very strong result for our Brigade. The directing staff she worked with were highly complementary of her attitude and willingness to help. She received a commendation award and medal from 2nd Brigade for her work helping the team.

The activities the team completed during the challenge consisted of many hands-on applicational activities such as vehicle roadblock, a bridge build and a trailer push. The activities were a balance between hands-on work, team building, problem-solving, and initiative. The competition was based on a scenario which involved the cadets stepping in to assist civilians in flood relief in the absence of emergency services. The very first activity the team completed was a roadblock aimed at directing oncoming traffic away from a flooded area. Through clear communication and recognition of each team member's strengths, we were able to construct a roadblock that was named most successful out of each team’s attempt. The activity set the tone for the field phase of the competition and our team loved the challenges that followed. Between each of the activity bases, we had to undertake navigation across large distances using military-style compasses and our own knowledge of navigation. Throughout the competition phase, we successfully made it to every location without missing a timing and managed to complete all but one of the activities.

Spending time on a military base is always a great experience, and with Puckapunyal being the School of Armour, we were able to indulge in planned activities such as a visit to the tank museum as well as a trip to the rifle range, where we had the opportunity to fire weapons in a controlled environment. We even got the chance to take a ride inside a bushmaster and learn about the vehicle from an experienced ADF member.

It was also a unique experience as we made our way through the bush with plenty of emu and wallaby sightings. The juxtaposition of the natural environment with the tank tracks, distant explosions and remnants of military training made the experience quite surreal. Additionally, spending time with members of the ADF with varying roles and experiences provided the team a rare opportunity to gain an insight into life in the Defence Force and the many different available opportunities the career has to offer. It was a great chance to talk to people of different skill sets, jobs and backgrounds as well as hear a few interesting anecdotes.

Despite the mix in age with students from three different year groups, the Barker team gelled seamlessly. The camp environment never fails to break down barriers between people, and CACTC 22 was no exception. Collaboration on problem solving activities, our eagerness to make the most of the opportunity and shared passion for cadets contributed to making the week one to remember.

Our team spirit and morale were stellar throughout the camp, something which certainly distinguished us from other teams. Our great teamwork and ability to function efficiently despite challenging conditions earned us many commendations from Cadet Staff and ADF members marking the activities.

WO1 Nic McGibbon and WO1 Zoe Samios

The Barker Journey gets ready to “go up the hill”

Four years ago, the researchers first met the 66 Year 3 students early in their Barker Journey. All cohorts are unique, and this group is the first to be coeducational all the way from Year 3 to Year 12.

Studying the Barker Journey

The vision was to implement a rigorous research process involving listening to these students’ stories about learning in the 21st century to influence how we do education at Barker and educational research more broadly. As part of the Barker Journey Study, each year we interview a core group of 30 students reflecting on their values, highlights, challenges, growth and aspirations. The whole cohort (now 160 students in Year 6) also contributes with large scale surveys or group interviews at key milestone years (Years 3, 6, 7 and 12). For the past four years this has all been taking place in the Junior School, except for 2021 where interviews were conducted online during Term 3 Online Learning. It continues to be a privilege to be able to share their story of their journey through the Barker College Junior School.

The value of the research

There is considerable interest in The Barker Journey study from other research-invested schools in Australia, Australian universities and educational research organisations, and from schools internationally. Its value comes from four factors:

1. The Barker Journey is school-based research, conducted by research-trained teachers, in school, for schools.

2. The Barker Journey focusses on student voice, allowing this generation to tell the world what education means to them in real-time.

3. The Barker Journey is a large-scale, longitudinal study (spanning a decade in total) tracking continuity and change through these students schooling.

4. The Barker Journey uses validated research methods based on grounded theory utilising qualitative thematic analysis.

The next milestone on the Journey

The students (and also the researchers) are now anticipating the next milestone, venturing up Chapel Drive to Barker Middle School Year 7. They told us they are nervous about the size of the Secondary School and the unknowns about that new environment, but their nervousness is outweighed by the excitement they have about new friends, teachers, subjects and opportunities. Year 6 is a reflective year, they are looking back with fondness on the love and care of their Junior School teachers but seem to recognise a purpose of school being to prepare them for the next stage of life, forming new communities and seeking to belong. We look forward to tracking how the 10-Year Barker Journey will prepare them for the final exit from the Mint Gates to form community and belong in the world.

Continuity

“Fun” was the most common and persistent adjective used to describe their school over every year from Years 3-6. It’s an enjoyable community to be a part of. Fun is also positively associated with effective learning and development.

Change

As students began at Barker the descriptors of Barker were affirmative but vague; “great”, “excellent”, “awesome”. Now they refer to characteristics related to supporting their development such as “caring” and “helpful”. As the students develop, they increase in their understanding of what a Barker education can provide.

A JOURNEY AT BARKER

The Study: by the Numbers

108,000 600 30 226 4

WORDS OF TRANSCRIPTS MINUTES OF INTERVIEWS ANNUAL INTERVIEW PARTICIPANTS

SURVEY RESPONSES YEARS OF STUDY

Acknowledgements

The researchers wish to thank and congratulate the students graduating Year 6, 2022. Thank you also to Junior School leaders and teachers who have supported the research.

Detailed methodology and analysis, along with additional findings will be presented at various conferences and will be published on the Barker Institute website.

Dr Tim Scott Barker Institute Research Fellow

Dr Matthew Hill Director of the Barker Institute

Continuity

The students have always loved events and opportunities (camps, carnivals, celebrations, sporting moments) but their reason for enjoying them has changed.

Change

Initially they valued the events and facilities, such as the Rosewood Centre, or high-tech classrooms. Now their most salient memories were how the events enabled relationships and community to be created and strengthened. “I remember my Year 5 camp and how I made three amazing friends that I didn’t have before”.

Continuity

The students can articulate ways to improve and they are motivated to “try harder”. They know they can draw on inner resources, and external relationships, for help, including drawing upon lessons from the Christian faith.

Change

Initially students would seek help from teachers and parents. Now they also turn to their peers for academic and social support, this was escalated during online learning in Year 5.

Initially students’ goals were academic. Now students are also recognising and articulating character and relational growth areas.

Continuity

From Year 3, kindness (e.g. helping someone who dropped their books) was most desirable student trait. The value has not changed but has matured as students see kindness as fundamental to developing or displaying other positive traits.

Change

It is fascinating that the second dominant, emergent trait is the sophisticated catch-all of “principled”, which students use in a similar way to the school value of “integrity”. Students have started talking about standing up for what is important and to live according to their and the school’s values.

Gold Dukes

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award equips young people for work and life. It’s about empowering them to “explore their full potential and find their purpose, passion and place in the world”, says the Award’s website.

“To achieve an Award, each young person must learn a skill, improve their physical wellbeing, volunteer in their community and experience a team adventure in a new environment.”

There’s Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards, with each featuring an ever more challenging adventurous journey.

And for those Barker Dukes seeking their Gold Award in 2022, the journey proved particularly adventurous.

Their five-day Blue Mountains hike across the rugged Grose Valley threw up challenges that staff from The Grange and the students admirably rose to meet.

One night at Wentworth Cave turned into two when unforeseen heavy September rain saw the Grose River and Wentworth Creek quickly rise, cutting advance and retreat.

To avoid a third night at the cave, Grange staff used ropes to rig a Tyrolean traverse that hauled students safely across swollen Wentworth Creek.

For student Aryn Ratwatte, the adventure was transformative.

“After this camp, I have changed my perspective on the outdoors,” he said. “Things can happen out of nowhere and you need to find ways to get over that challenge and persevere. It was the final major challenge of the Duke of Edinburgh Award and was it tough. It challenged everyone in some way. We all had to give it our all and we had to all work together to get ourselves safely back home. My highlight of this camp was when everyone worked together to get ourselves over Wentworth Creek. Overall, this camp was one of the most enjoyable and fun moments of my life. I will not forget it.”

Emma Maltman has also loved her Dukes journey, saying: “Each stage we have learnt something new about ourselves and life, including a passion for adventure and the outdoors, the importance of friendships created through shared experiences, growth through being extended outside our comfort zones, being adaptable when things don’t go to plan, enjoying the journey as well as the destination.”

Dan Lewis Grange Teacher

Improving Student Wellbeing

Outdoor Education has never been more important for improving student wellbeing and academic performance, but climate change is turning the outdoors into an increasingly challenging work and play environment.

This was a key theme of the 2022 National Outdoor Education Conference held at the Fairmont Resort in the Blue Mountains recently. Among the 270-odd delegates who attended the three-day conference featuring dozens of fascinating speakers was staff from The Grange - Barker’s outdoor education facility in Mount Victoria.

Renowned Finnish education expert, Pasi Sahlberg, spoke of the crucial role nature play has in learning and connection while other speakers addressed things like gear repair and maintenance, nutrition, bushcraft, pay and conditions, and how to deliver authentic Indigenous outdoor education.

Dr Loren Miller, the executive director of outdoor education provider Outward Bound, struggled to fight back tears as she relived the toll fires, floods and COVID had taken on her organisation in recent years. She has now won $3.7 million of federal funding to establish a national centre for outdoor risk and readiness to help make the outdoor education sector more resilient.

The conference heard outdoor education was also struggling to deal with issues such as insurance and staffing, while other speakers urged the industry to do better when it comes to gender and race.

Among the select few honoured with an Outdoor Education Service Award at the conference was Grange team member Graeme Dawes for his outstanding dedication to the Duke of Edinburgh Award program at Barker College.

Dawesy, as he is affectionately known, is on track to soon witness the graduation of his 200th Gold Duke after about a decade in charge of the program.

As conference delegates heard, this is a milestone few, if any, have achieved before in Australia.

Dawesy’s citation noted that he inspired his fellow staff to facilitate deep connections and learning for young people in the outdoors via a boundary-pushing program that sees Barker Dukes go on long, remote journeys and experience adventures such as canyoning and multi-pitch abseiling.

“He believes in the work and sets impeccable standards, and he inspires individuals to shine,” the citation concluded.

Dan Lewis Grange Teacher

Garma Festival

The word Garma is a Yolŋu word meaning two-way learning, and it couldn’t be more apt for the event. The Garma Festival is an annual festival held in Gulkula, North-East Arnhem Land that is widely recognised as Australia’s premier Indigenous Festival.

The festival is hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation, with whom we have a lasting partnership in the establishment of our Dhupuma School in Gunyangara, NT. In recognition of this connection, the Yothu Yindi Foundation invited Barker students and staff to attend the Festival, and to assist with the coordination of the Youth Forum, a key component of the event. So, a delegation of seven members of the School Council, Phillip Heath, staff and 16 Senior students made the journey (approximately 2,800km as the crow flies) to Gunyangara, then on to Gulkula to the site of the Festival.

Over four days, the three key components of Garma run concurrently - the Key Forum, The Youth Forum and Cultural events and activities. It is a coming together of Yolŋu, other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Balanda (non-Indigenous) peoples to discuss key issues, learn together and celebrate Yolŋu Culture, miny’tji (art), manikay (song) and buŋgul (dance). The theme for 2022 was Nhaŋa Ŋathilyurra, a Yolŋu phrase meaning to look ahead towards the future.

Before the Festival, a historic first visit of Hornsby students to Dhupuma was a wonderful opportunity for the students to see the School and begin to understand the impact of the wonderful work being done by staff, Community members and of course the students.

“Garma is such an important event because it shows what is possible, and it is my hope that this spirit of collaboration and two-way learning between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples can be a defining part of the future across our Nation.”

Charlie, Year 12

The Key Forum and Cultural Events

The Key forum involves First Nations leaders, political leaders, and experts in fields of education, health, economics and other key areas discussing issues that are pertinent to First Nations people and our Nation more broadly. It was here that Anthony Albanese PM delivered the Key Address, a pivotal moment in time where he again committed to enshrining an Indigenous Voice into our Constitution and announced the proposed question for the referendum. It was both inspiring and humbling for our students and staff to be there for that moment.

“There is so much hope for the future of Aboriginal Culture if we walk side by side and open our hearts, minds and ears to change, led by Indigenous Voices.” Imogen, Year 11

Throughout the four days, Cultural workshops and activities were on offer throughout the program. Our students and staff learnt weaving, experienced ancient ceremonies, and learnt about Yolŋu traditional medicine, stories and language. Every evening as the East Arnhem sun set, we watched in awe as dancers took to the Buŋgul ground to perform traditional ceremonial dances. In these highly significant traditional ceremonies, Elders, men, women and children performed ancient dances while senior holders of the Yolŋu songlines shared their songs and music. It was truly a breathtakingly spectacular experience and one that our students and staff will never forget.

It was also an absolute highlight to see our Dhupuma students performing at the Festival, and watch the friendships and connection develop between the students from Hornsby and our Dhupuma Barker students and staff. COVID had prevented this in the past, but it was truly beautiful to see those connections begin to build. Our Hornsby students took every opportunity to play footy or dance with the many willing kids on the oval in between more official activities.

“Being able to walk on Country with the Yolŋu people, to hear stories about the land, the stars, the dreaming - it was so beautiful to share space with a people so honest and open with their knowledge and beliefs.”

Zali, Year 11

The Youth Forum

Sixteen Senior students, a combination of Year 11 and 12, had the great privilege of being invited to participate in and help coordinate the Youth Forum. Itself a mini-Garma, packed with activities and workshops for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students from across the Nation. A meeting of First Nations and non-Indigenous Youth from across Australia, the activities aimed to build confidence and capacity in young people, as the leaders of the future.

The Youth Forum kicked off with the Education Fair, at which our students facilitated a STEAM activity with the aim of building connections between the group. Students also participated in Yolŋu Cultural activities, in team building and personal development activities and engaged with the Imagination Declaration - a statement produced by the participants of the last Youth Forum in 2019.

“In the future, I hope to lead a generation not of empty talk, or mere speech - but of genuine and authentic action, causing real change in an area which must be addressed.”

Yue Hun, Year 12

The Youth Forum attendees agreed on one word to signify their experience, their feelings about Garma and the importance of moving forward towards reconciliation - that word was CHANGE. Symbolically, they created the word CHANGE with wicking rope and set it on fire, igniting the fire within each of the attendees to create change in their hearts, minds and in our Nation.

“We can learn so much from their Culture, but what does this mean if it remains within us and doesn’t change anything?”

Sophie, Year 11

We are humbled by our partnership with the Yothu Yindi Foundation and so honoured to have been asked to participate in the Garma Festival and specifically the Youth Forum. Each and every one of us felt the warm welcome of the Yolŋu people as they so generously shared their Culture and Land with us. We are very proud of the students that attended and the openness with which they embraced the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Garma Festival and in Yolŋu culture. We hope that they carry this experience in their hearts and minds for the rest of their lives and that the spark has been ignited within them to do what they can to walk with First Nations people to drive change.

Lucy Pitkin Dean of Indigenous Education

Communities Coming Together

We were thrilled to welcome a delegation of Yolŋu community members from Gunyangara, NT ahead of the Indigenous Education Fundraising Dinner.

The aim of the dinner was to raise much needed funds for the construction of a new permanent school for the students of Dhupuma Barker.

For the first time, we were able to have members from our Dhupuma Barker community meet our Darkinjung and Ngarralingayil communities for a wonderful morning of learning and sharing.

The Board and members of Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council joined us to welcome our guests, with the students of Darkinjung Barker conducting a beautiful assembly and sharing their NAIDOC dances. Lead by Jai and Ollie on the clapping sticks, students performed a welcome song, the girls performed a berry picking dance, the boys performed shake a leg, then they all shared a brolga dance, and a farewell song.

Later in the morning we travelled to Wollombi to meet Ngarralingayil Barker students. In a stunning outdoor assembly, the children performed the Honey Tree dance and an animal dance, Taba Naba a song from The Torres Strait and Djabarda led his peers by playing the yidaki for their all-time favourite “Red, Black and Yellow!”

Cedric Marika, Gumatj leader, showed the Ngarralingayil students how to divide for men’s dances and women’s dances leading the boys in a Brolga dance. The girls joined afterwards, led by Caroline Dhamarrandji, co-teacher of Dhupma Barker. There was much laughter as our Yolŋu friends thought Martin Lubrano was almost ready to fly away during the Brolga dance.

When we shared lunch with the Dhupuma community, Murphy Yunupingu, Gumatj elder and an integral partner in the development of the School, thanked Phillip Heath for such a wonderful welcome to Sydney. “Everything we do for education is about learning from one another. Two-way learning every day. In Yolŋu we respect that I learn from you, and you learn from me. Today we have learned together with the other Barker communities at Darkinjung and Ngarralingayil. We are one people, we are all brothers and sisters, and we are honoured to meet together today to see the djamarkuli learning on their country. “

Annelise Pearce Operations Manager Aboriginal Campuses

Career Mentoring Program

In Terms 1 and 2, the Careers Department in conjunction with the Alumni and Community Relations team, introduced a highly successful career mentoring program for Year 11 students. We were indeed privileged to have 65 professional ‘giants’ from our Alumni and parent community as well as some industry partners mentoring over 100 of our eager students based on their nominated career fields of interest. These professionals with extensive business, career and life experiences met with students for five breakfast sessions to discuss career stories, university options, challenges and opportunities, employability skills, resume writing and gain interview feedback. Many of our mentors were able to invite their Year 11 students into their workplace for a shadowing day, bringing the breakfast discussions to life.

A vast array of industries was represented including medicine, engineering, law, screen writing, cyber security, fashion design, international diplomacy, psychology, commerce, viticulture, environmental design, real estate and zoology just to name a few. Students described the program as pivotal in their career development and an opportunity to explore possibilities in an accessible way. The program offered mentees the time and space to:

• Gain insights into specific career fields, facts, myths, entry pathways

• Raise aspirations both while at school and beyond

• Develop employability skills - communication, leadership, collaboration, adaptability

• Gain interview/resume tips for specific industries

• Gain worthwhile experiences in the workplace where feasible

• Establish valuable networks

The program could not have happened without the selfless investment of time and effort from our volunteer mentors and we are deeply grateful to them. Mentoring is a dynamic partnership so it has been lovely to hear about the positive outcomes for mentors as well as our mentees.

We look forward to fostering more inspirational career journeys in 2023 with 120 students joining the program.

Melinda Bower Dean of Careers & Ext Programs Sally Key Careers Advisor

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” — Isaac Newton

Alumni Profile

Georgie Gibbins from the Class of 2009 shares her journey since leaving Barker and her current role as Clinical Midwifery Specialist and Team Leader of Dragonfly Midwifery Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) which provides a specific care model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women and Babies.

What has been your journey since finishing Barker and what inspired your choice in career?

After leaving Barker in 2009, I was ecstatic to have my 91.3 ATAR and therefore I began my Bachelor of Medical Science at USyd. I had always had a passion for health specifically physiology and anatomy and was thinking that postgrad medicine might be the path I'd take. In my third year of B. MedSci I attended volunteer work in Nairobi, Kenya through IVHQ. Little did I know this trip would change my passions and career choices for good. I worked in a women’s and children’s clinic providing basic healthcare to families who attended and gave support and education to local health workers, regarding HIV and other infectious diseases, reproductive health and contraception in Mathare Slum, Nairobi. I was then privileged enough in my third week to attend the labour and birth of one of

the women I had seen during my volunteering. This exhilarating and enlightening experience, showed me the power of a woman’s body and the incredible bond that can be formed with woman and midwife/doula in the birthing space no matter the language barrier. I came home and enrolled in B. Midwifery UTS pretty much immediately. In 2015 I graduated with Distinction as a Registered Midwife and was accepted into a New Graduate position at Coffs Harbour Base Hospital. Throughout my career as a Midwife I have always held high regard for the birthing space as a sacred space as well as championed continuity of care - that is, care of one woman throughout pregnancy, birth and postpartum by a known midwife or team of midwives. Following my New Grad year I became a Birth Unit Team Leader at Fairfield District Hospital, then after a sabbatical explored Agency Midwifery through HCA Australia until being asked to join the

Midwifery Group Practice at the newly formed Northern Beaches Hospital in 2019. I worked in this model for two years, becoming the Team Leader in my penultimate year, then moving to Westmead to further my passions in continuity of care for all women in December 2020.

Tell us about your current role with Dragonfly Midwifery WSLHD. My current role is Clinical Midwifery Specialist and Team Leader of Dragonfly Midwifery Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD). Dragonfly midwifery is an all-risk continuity of Midwifery care model for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women and Babies in WSLHD. I joined Westmead in 2020 and have developed alongside my midwifery and obstetric colleagues this model in collaboration with community elders in Western Sydney. In this role I have fostered a great knowledge of high-risk cases including being the Primary

Midwife for five sets of twins, cardiac mothers and babies needing heart surgery at birth, as well as supporting women through circumstances including poverty, homelessness, domestic violence and mental health.

Through quality improvement and model development, I became a Clinical Midwifery Specialist in early 2021 and my current role as Team Leader focuses on model development, mentoring new and junior team members, research presentation and high-risk case review. I recently presented our Dragonfly Midwifery work and the subsequent results reducing low birth weight babies and therefore

intergenerational health, at the Australian College of Midwives Annual Conference in Cairns September 2021.

Do you have a favourite memory from your time at Barker?

I joined Barker in Year 11 (2008) and have great fondness of the numerous new opportunities offered to me. It’s very difficult to pinpoint a favourite moment but becoming Lance Corporal on my first Bivouac at Singleton, singing solo in Hobart cathedral on a Chamber Choir Tour and winning the 1st Dance competition, are just a few.

Do you have any advice to share with current Barker students?

Say YES to every opportunity. Try new things and always accept the encouragement and offers to rise. School is your best time to explore your passions and Barker is an environment that encourages this. My other piece of advice is that you will fall where you are meant to even if your first steps after school are side steps - trust in the process!

You Serve!

a tennis article, rather an outline of the service aspect of Barker’s 32 year partnership with Bungan Beach Surf Life Saving Club. A summer sport, it also provides Service Learning opportunities for students.

First, the obvious, Surf Life Saving (SLS) patrolling. In 2021-2022, students and staff provided over 1682 patrol hours at Bungan. This despite COVID-19 curtailing sections of the season. Patrols occurred on Saturdays, but many of the Barker troupe volunteered on other holiday days, including Christmas Day!

Patrollers help do the core “business” of keeping eyes on the water, but they also help the wider beachusing community. Many members have provided first aid for non-swimming beach users. Several (some quite serious) fin chops have been patched and there are rolled ankles and blue bottles to be dealt with. Barker students also help provide water safety at the annual Malabar Magic Ocean Swim which raises funds for swimming lessons for children with disabilities.

Service does not stop at the beach. One advantage of our students and staff gaining various SLS awards is their ability to be a life saver off the beach. All do CPR; a great skill to acquire. Many members get advanced awards such as Advanced Resuscitation Techniques. Several Sydneysiders are alive today because of the swift, well-trained response of a Barker Bunganite!

Adding to this service, is the recent gazetting of Surf Life Saving as an Emergency Service. Many members of the Barker community at Bungan have undertaken swift water training and have been called out to assist with flood rescue events in the last two years,

including Hawkesbury-Nepean flooding on three occasions. Several Barker folk have been sent as far afield as Nowra, Nyngan and Wagga Wagga helping in partnership with the SES. We have the boats and we have the skills!

Year 12s have also given their time to the Club’s Nippers program. Captains, Charlie Edis and Nic McGibbon, gave up many of their Sunday mornings, to help the next generation learn the skills required to navigate the surf safely. They applied their skills and imagination to the program with aplomb. The Nippers loved having them about the place.

Another aspect of student’s involvement in SLS is its pairing with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme. Students are able to count surf life saving in a range of components of DEAS; skill, service and physical recreation. Different students count different aspects of SLS towards the awards that they are currently undertaking.

SLS is service for life. Barker students from the early years are still patrolling. What a great way to stay in touch with your cohort, at the beach! We are thrilled that the 2022 cohort are forming a completely new patrol.

Matthew Lloyd Coordinator Surf Life Saving

No, not

Dance Showcase

The stage in Leslie Hall burst to life with colour, lights, music, and exciting pieces in the inaugural Senior School Dance Showcase.

Both Dance Troupes and Recreational classes performed together for the first time in Barker’s history. The fast paced, hugely energetic program was a culmination of many hours of rehearsals, and entertained a huge audience. Dancers have worked throughout the year to develop skills, teamwork, and choreography, led by their highly accomplished Dance Instructors. There was a range of disciplines including Lyrical, Jazz, Hip Hop and Musical Theatre. This concert was a truly fitting celebration of that effort.

Troupes from the Junior School also joined the program with Years 1 - 2 performing as Teddy Bears, Years 3 - 6 as Conga Dancers, and Years 5 - 6 Putting on the Ritz. It was a wonderful opportunity for dancers from all years to work together.

Highlights from the program included a solo from our talented Tomas Barnett of Year 7. His effortless grace gliding across the stage in a lyrically inspired piece called “Happiness Does Not Wait” was moving and quite breath taking. Tomas has recently been accepted into the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne where he plans to head next year. We will miss him, but are in awe of him and wish him all the very best.

The Open Jazz Troupe had a successful season and won $500 at the Ryde Eisteddfod. It was decided by the dancers in the Troupe that they would like to donate the money to Lifeline. As Ocea Couzner, Dance Captain, said, “Lifeline provides compassionate support for people in crisis, particularly for people our age, who are struggling with mental health issues, abuse, suicide, and sexuality concerns. We are so happy to be able to support this incredible charity and to thank them for all the work they do.” It was an honour to have Ms Elizabeth Lovell, CEO of Lifeline, to accept the cheque during the concert. We are proud that the students chose to give their winnings to such a worthy cause.

The 2023 Dance season looks to be even bigger and better. More Eisteddfod Troupes are on offer, more styles of Dance and excitement to be had. Students can dance for sport, competitively, or just for fun. They can also choose Curricular Dance as a subject in Years 9 and 10. Keep an eye out for what is to come next in this exciting new chapter of Barker Dance.

Jennie Bradbury Acting Coordinator of Co-curricular Dance

State v State in Rugby Clash Sport

Barker’s Rugby 1sts were invited by Rugby Australia to play in the inaugural fixture for the Manu Sutherland Shield against St Joseph’s Nudgee College, Brisbane in September.

The match was streamed via Stan Sport and the night before the big match, the staff and squad were fortunate to hear from Barker Old Boy Nathan Spooner, Ben Te’o, a former professional rugby union and league footballer who is now coaching at Nudgee College as well as Nudgee Alumni and QLD Reds players Josh Flook and Dane Zander.

Manu Sutherland was a true ‘Legend’ of the game known by so many people and it is very fitting that the Manu Sutherland Shield has been developed to celebrate the skill, commitment, respect, and enjoyment seen in schoolboy and schoolgirl challenge matches played before major international and Super Rugby matches in Australia and other school rugby events. He had a big influence on rugby in Australia which started in the 1980s. Manu sadly passed away in 2019, and a farewell was held at the Waratahs versus Crusaders Super Rugby match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

One of Barker’s Captains, Isaiya Katoa, spoke to Stan Sport post-match ecstatic about being able to be part of this opportunity.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game, once we found out about the opportunity being provided by Rugby Australia, we started preparing and trained for four weeks in the lead up. What an opportunity it was to come and showcase schoolboy rugby here at Nudgee” said Year 12 student (Class of 2022) Isaiya Katoa.

Barker successfully brought home the Manu Sutherland Shield following a dominant 25-0 victory. We would like to extend our gratitude to Rugby Australia for the invitation and St Joseph’s Nudgee College for their exceptional hospitality.

McGrory Social Media Coordinator

Hannah

Running to the Para-Olympics

With three recent state titles at the NSW All Schools and a medal in the National Cross Country in Adelaide, Year 8 student, Cooper Robb-Jackson, is testament of his strong belief to get out there and have a go.

“You just never know what you might achieve,” Cooper said.

“It’s definitely a pretty good feeling. I love the competition and I really enjoy the social aspect of these events.”

Cooper has been racing competitively since he was nine and is a T38 classified athlete, which is a disability sport classification for people with cerebral palsy.

He wasn’t aware that he would be eligible to compete in the T38 category, but since his first event competing in the 100m, 200m and 800m races, Cooper has not looked back.

“The 800m race is definitely my favourite. It is a more enjoyable and tactical race to run,” he said.

Even though Cooper has been racing competitively for several years, he says he still finds it hard to control the nerves.

“I just try to remember the things that my coach and my parents have said to me and that helps to calm me as I prepare for the race.”

Being the fastest T38 Athlete in every distance ranging from 100m - 1500m ever in Australia for U16s shows that he is a very talented athlete with huge potential. His goal is to make the Para-Olympics and is trying to push for the 2024 Para-Olympics in Paris, running the 400m race.

Training four times per week, with a competition every Saturday means juggling school commitments in an already busy schedule.

“My school commitments have to come first and sometimes that might mean doing my homework in the car on the way to training, or at the track.”

Cooper is definitely an advocate for inclusion, diversity and the importance of raising awareness regarding anyone living with a disability and how that effects them socially and in a sporting environment.

As Head of Barker College, Phillip Heath, said, “Cooper has long been one of our most courageous, humble and talented students. To see his progress has been a joy and to achieve at this level against all comers, is truly magnificent.”

His truly proudest moments are always wearing the Barker Red and in fact he has posted two races to his Tik Tok account where he has had 6.2M views of him competing for Barker. This exposure and interest is enormous and such positivity in a world that is always craving positivity.

“As a family we were blown away with Dylan Allcott being named Australian of The Year as there is no bigger voice when it comes to those with a disability which also allows kids like Cooper a platform to create change in our world. As a family we are vocal in this area and will always have our children challenge the status quo and to be heard to make positive change and not for them, but especially for those whose voices don’t get heard,” Cooper’s father, Troy, had to say.

“As a family we appreciate any opportunity to highlight how amazing people with disabilities truly are - our family are the lucky ones to be surrounded by them all the time and we want everyone else to experience that.”

When asked for a final word, Cooper simply had this to say - “Don’t underestimate people with a disability!”

Julie McAllister Editor

Donor Impact Report

As the Foundation’s 40th anniversary years draws to a close, it is gratifying to be able to reflect on all that has been achieved in 2022, with the support of the Barker community - our current and past parents, our Alumni and our staff.

Each of these groups have contributed in their own unique way to the work of the Barker Foundation. Events such as the Moon Festival Lunch and the Captains’ Back to Barker Day provided opportunities for our community to re-connect and to learn more about the Foundation’s initiatives.

It was also pleasing to be able to relaunch the Travelling Fellowship for Barker staff in support of their professional development. Several staff applied for and were offered the Fellowship in March and again in September. The diversity of learning experiences is exceptional - providing opportunities to visit the School’s Indigenous campus, Dhupuma Barker in NE Arnhem Land, the Inclusion and Disability Summit in Brisbane; to an Indigenous Languages Conference in Canada. The Foundation is pleased to be able to support such initiatives and learning.

We are enormously grateful to the many donors who have continued to support the work of the Barker Foundation through the financial and ongoing commitment made to the Indigenous Education Fund, Scholarship and Building Funds and more recently the Future Fund.

Slack-Smith Foundation Chair

John

Donors

We would like to acknowledge the generous financial support of the members of the Barker College community - our Alumni, current and past parents, friends of Barker and our own staff, whose generosity demonstrates your desire to help inspire tomorrow’s Barker for us all. In

Maths and Senior Studies Update

As we near the conclusion of another academic year, the outline of the new Maths and Senior Studies building has become a lot more evident for visitors to our campus. The recent topping out ceremony in November also marked a significant construction milestone.

What’s the purpose of the building?

To provide new space for Senior students with special reference to HSC students. The first floor (ground floor) of the building will provide a large cafeteria and Dining Commons, which we intend to keep open into the evenings to provide services for students whose days are long and demanding.

Key design features?

Architectus, who have designed the building, selected “massed timber” construction materials. Timber will be featured prominently on Levels 2 and 3 and in some of the features. Additionally, the use of louvres and metallic shading structures is intended to give the building a sense of geometry as well as efficiency. After all, it is a Maths Building!

We intended to source the timber from local providers in Australia but tragically the bushfires of 2019/2020 destroyed the plantations. We have been forced to import the timber from Europe, which has been a challenge during the pandemic and the conflicts in the northern hemisphere.

Opening Date

We are told that practical completion will be at the end of Term 1, 2023. We will begin operating in this new building in Term 2.

Working closely with our award winning Rosewood Centre, this precinct will serve our students and staff well, provide new spaces for hospitality and be a magnificent asset for generations to come.

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Donovan Scholarship

In 2020, Barker Old Boys, John Donovan (1957/58) and Peter Donovan (1960) established the Donovan STEAM Scholarship in appreciation of their many Barker teachers, especially Gordon Miller (Head of Mathematics), who inspired them as students. Both gentlemen excelled at Mathematics, were both Dux of the School and won NSW Leaving Certificate prizes for Mathematics.

However, it was a presentation by Phillip Heath at an Alumni event in Canberra, where Phillip Heath shared the work being done by the School in Robotics and the achievements being made by some of the students, that gave John the initial idea of creating the Donovan STEAM Scholarship.

After approaching his brother, Peter, with the idea, John spoke to Phillip Heath about endowing such a Scholarship. This would be awarded to the Year 11 student who takes Extension Mathematics and then four units taken from the Sciences and/or Design and Technology. The scholarship would be awarded to the student scoring the highest on a scaled combined mark.

Earlier this year, John read about the Robotics’ students and the Hall of Fame Award that the team had won.

“After reading in the media and The Barker about what these students had achieved and that they had been recognised for this remarkable achievement by the Governor-General at Admiralty House, Peter and I felt that this deserved an additional award. We agreed to provide a further award of $10,000 to recognise the efforts of some of these Robotics students,” John said.

Last term, Peter and John were invited to tour Barker’s new Robotics Centre and to meet some of the students who are benefitting from this outstanding new facility.

“Although I knew that Barker Robotics had reached the highest international level, I was rather staggered by what was on display,” Peter said.

“Electronics was being used for creative design and metal work. Appropriate industrial machinery (which cannot be readily picked up from Bunnings) was in place.

“A substantial build-up of expertise was evident. This is not an activity for all students (the same can be said of tennis and music) but, like the advanced mathematics classes of 1960, very beneficial for some.”

Reflecting on why the brothers have chosen to endow such a scholarship, John recalls being a student at Barker and overhearing his parents discussing how Barker wasn’t nearly as well-endowed as some other nearby schools. Barker had little by comparison.

“I always knew I would give something at some stage,” John said. “It is now our hope that this inspires others to make similar endowments.”

Indigenous Education

In October, we held a highly successful fundraising dinner, hosted by Deloitte, to raise the final funds to build a permanent school for the Dhupuma Barker children in Gunyangara in Arnhem Land.

140 guests, including a delegation from the Gunyangara community and the Yothu Yindi Foundation, attended the evening where just over $500,000 was raised on the night.

“People have been so generous giving what they can and supporting us with encouragement and care,” Phillip Heath said.

“We are dreaming of a school that is worthy of the name and worthy of the people. At the moment the children are essentially in an atco shed. In remote Australia attendance at school is somewhere between 40 - 50%. Under Tom and Lori and the amazing Gumatj Yolŋu educators we are touching 90% attendance at Dhupuma Barker.”

“We are stronger together. We’re stronger in balance and we’re stronger when we work respectfully with one with another,” Phillip shared with guests at the dinner.

CEO of the Yothu Yindi Foundation, Denise Bowden, said in her address, “We are delighted to be a part of the Barker College red thread which now extends beyond the Barker campuses in NSW and travels all the way up to us in the country’s remote north.

“The partnership between YYF and Barker College began following the 2019 Garma Festival and it was forged out of the common spirit of committed people wanting to break the cycle facing our families today. It has worked because Barker understood that working hand in hand with local families, with genuine community buy in, was essential to success.”

“The YYF vision is for Yolgnu people of Arnhem Land and other Indigenous Australians to have the same level of wellbeing and life opportunities and choices as other non-Indigenous Australians,” Denise said.

Chair of the Barker College Foundation, John SlackSmith, shared how there was genuine energy and intent in the room on the night and that it is this shared vision of Phillip Heath’s and Barker that the guests in attendance all believe in.

“I was very fortunate to attend this year’s Garma Festival and to see firsthand the impact that Dhupuma Barker is making and can substantially make in the educational outcome for Indigenous students for the long term,” John said. “A permanent facility, a permanent home will make this a forever reality."

“The Barker partnership model of continuing to grow and develop learning ‘on country’ will deliver generational benefits and we all can ensure that this becomes a reality.

“A life of options, a life of opportunity is built on a foundation of education.”

Home Away From Home

Barker College has a long and proud history of boarding which continues to this day. Boarders spanning over a century have soaked in the history of this tradition in character-filled heritage buildings.

Founded in 1890, Barker College was formally opened as a small boarding and day school in 1891, in a building known as ‘Stokesleigh’ in Kurrajong, NSW. An outbreak of scarlet fever in 1894 persuaded Henry Plume to move the small school to Hornsby, a noted health retreat.

In 1895, Plume purchased six acres of land at Hornsby Junction and built a house modelled on ‘Stokesleigh’, with a small school room and dining room attached. In 1896, the Plumes together with 20 boarders, moved to the site and lived in 'The House' that would later be named 'Stokesleigh' after the original boarding house When William Carter purchased the School in 1905, it was exclusively a boarding school. Within a decade, enrolment numbers had jumped to over 50, so alternative accommodation became a priority. Senior boys were moved into a motley collection of cottages and wooden annexes on the School grounds and rented houses adjoining the School property. Junior boarders were moved to ‘Clarendon’ a weatherboard cottage which stood approximately where Leslie Hall is now located.

In 1920 with 93 boarders, the first dormitory block was built, initially known as the ‘Dormitory Block’ it eventually became known as ‘Carter House’ in 1937. The dormitories were open to the elements, as school hygiene strongly stressed the importance of fresh air. Boarding at Carter House was phased out at the end of 2006, along with Middle School Boarding.

The second dormitory block was built in 1929 to accommodate junior boarders and was first named ‘Junior House’, it became known as ‘Plume House’ in 1930 after Plume died. From 1955 Plume House accommodated senior boarders, until 1967 when first form and junior boarders returned. In 1991, girls' boarding was introduced, and Plume House was split between junior boarders and girls. In 1992 it became a dedicated girls’ boarding house, with junior boarders

moving to Carter House. In 1993, Junior School Boarding was phased out.

After the Memorial Junior School was built in 1955, the junior boarders from Plume House were moved to the top floor of the Junior School. It became known as ‘Leslie House’ in 1967, when it was converted into senior boarding accommodation. Boarding at Leslie House was phased out in 1983.

In 1984, 56 boarders were moved to off campus boarding across seven cottages acquired by Barker College in The Avenue. It was intended as a temporary arrangement while the School worked on master planning, however the cottages remained in use for senior boy boarders until 1998, when all ‘The Avenue’ boarders were relocated to the top floors of the ‘Clinic’ Building, and the ‘Palace/West Wing’.

The current Health Centre building was built in 1928 as Maids Quarters to support the boarders and staff living at the School. The building was used by boarding students over the years and by the sports department for storing gym equipment. In 1988 the first floor was converted to serve as the School Hospital. From 1997, the top floor of the ‘Clinic’ building has been used by senior boy boarders.

The ‘Palace or West Wing’ took nearly two years to complete after WWII construction shortages. With the closure of Carter House as a boarding facility at the end of 2006, the two upper floors of West Wing became accommodation for senior boy boarders and included a coed common room for all boarders.

Today, there are roughly 60 boarders that reside at Barker College, who are accommodated in Plume House, Clinic, and West Wing. The Head of Boarding and his family, reside in the original 1895 boarding house.

Rachel Byrne Senior Archivist

BCPA

A big thank you to our School community for making this year's Spring Fair one of the best ever! The stall convenors, the volunteers, the visitors and the staff - including the teachers brave enough to be dunked! - made this year's event really special.

People are always keen to know the bottom line, but to the BCPA our objective for this year's Spring Fair was always, first and foremost, to bring our community back together. After a six-year hiatus from fair events and two years of COVID shutdowns, it had been a long time since we'd been able to host the whole school for one day.

So whether you manned a stall for an hour, poured a coffee or two, spent the day organising volunteers or just came to enjoy the rides, food offerings, markets and other festivities we are so grateful to everyone that played their small role. A very special thank you to Kate our Fair leader who did an outstanding job leading us all. Our community is our reason d’etre. That said, we are thrilled our final net revenue is $74,000 and our plans are to use the net proceeds to make a meaning investment into school facilities during 2023. We will have more to report on this in our first bulletin in 2023.

We are also looking for more volunteers for 2023 so if you are interested in finding out more please contact anyone of the BCPA team.

BCPA@barker.nsw.edu.au

Warren Davis BCPA President

Old Barker Association Contacts

email: oba@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) 0426 751 165

Honorary Treasurer Andrew Hassall (86) 0412 610 434

Assistant Honorary Treasurer Benjamin Ho (09)

Honorary Secretary Josh Grace (90)

Assistant Honorary Secretary Dush Sharma (05)

General Committee

Vanessa Bennett (91) Georgia Breckenridge (18) Gemma Dywer (Davies 09) Declan Flaherty (16) Anthony Hearne (90) Jenny Kalaf (Melville 78) Simon Smith (91)

Nominees to School Council David Trayner (84) Meline Nazloomian (05) Anna Sutton (05)

OBA Ambassador Chris Russell (70)

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

School Contacts

Director of Alumni and Community Relations

Karina Drummond (02) 8438 7283 kdrummond@barker.nsw.edu.au

Archives Rachel Byrne (02) 8438 7290 archives@barker.nsw.edu.au

Events Manager Julie Fitzpatrick (02) 8438 7240 events@barker.nsw.edu.au

Interstate and International Barker Contacts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Japan

Carl Bastian (93) carl@rwo.okinawa

Middle East David Baker (85) +965 9950 1657

drwbaker2002@yahoo.co.uk

New Zealand Michelle McLachlan (Dooley 96) +64 27 838 7838

mmclachlan@trustwave.com Oceania (Fiji) Neil Underhill (75) (679) 336 3968 (w) neilunderhill@connect.com.fj Papua New Guinea Johnson Kalo (83) (675) 305 6703 (w) jhnsnka03@gmail.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

OBA President’s Message

As we close out an eventful 2022, I look back to the amazing work the alumni community has achieved. We have had individual triumphs on the sporting field, in the arts and in the workplace.

As a community we have come together in times of celebration, including the fantastic success of the Spring Fair and the OBA Annual Dinner, as well as to remember what it means to be part of our community through the celebration of the life of Trevor McCaskill and the legacy he left behind.

To all who have played a role in this - thank you. We are not an organisation or a community without the tireless efforts of all our constituent parts.

Thank you to the OBA Committee who has worked throughout the year to deliver our key projects and programs, including Support for Life and the launch of our new mentoring program. Thank you to the Alumni Office team led by Karina Drummond for all that you do to support the OBA and the broader Barker Community. Thank you to the School Council and the School under the leadership of David Charles and Phillip Heath who place the utmost value in the stewardship of the School as a leader in coeducation and all-round education.

This year we got the opportunity to celebrate our achievements at our Annual Dinner, which returned to Marks Pavilion. I love these events as it brings together a cross-section of our community, including recent leavers, those who are regulars back at Barker and those whose connection with the School grows stronger as the years go by.

Much as we get to look back at the year that was, I am also hopeful for the opportunities that 2023 offers. Our OBA Strategic Plan is focused on delivering services that matter to you and I am looking forward to seeing many of you participate in our affiliates, or our mentoring and networking events, or come and watch your friends embarrass themselves (or cloak themselves in glory) at the OBA Golf Day.

To you and your family, I wish you a restful end of the year, an enjoyable holiday break and a 2023 marked with abundance and happiness.

Angus Abadee (07) OBA President

Life Beyond Barker

Ross Jackson from the Class of 1978 shares highlights from his time at Barker, his success in business, mentoring young and talented business people, the importance of philanthropy and some advice for today’s Barker students.

What are some of your favourite memories from your time at Barker?

I look back on my years at Barker with great fondness. I started school at Barker in 4th Class, in 1970. I always remember how friendly my fellow students were to each other. I have great memories of time with friends during my nine years at school, including Geoff Houston, Michael Scott-Mitchell, Simon Lee, Mark McArthur, Claire Newman, Julia McLaren and Liza Peterson - plus many others. I really enjoy rekindling lifelong friendships at the Barker reunions, and despite working overseas for most of my career, I always ensured that I was back in Australia for these events, and I have not missed one yet.

The wider Barker community has always been important to us. My wife, Suzanne (80) and I met when she was still at school at Barker and have been together since then - we make a great team. We were married in the Barker Chapel, by Rev Don Hood. Our son, Thomas (07) and his wife Belinda Harris (06), were also students. Thomas was christened in the Chapel as was our daughter, Elizabeth. And many of our current friends are ex-students, including Judy and Andrew Learmont (79) and Angus Martin (79) and his wife Jenny. My brother, Ian (1980) was also a student. Even our house in Wahroonga, a modernist piece of architecture, was designed by talented architect and ex-Barker student Ross Thornton (74)

I was a member of the Electronics Club, the Debating Team and enjoyed playing Rugby. Simon Lee and I also did the lighting for school productions. I really enjoyed this, as it was an outlet for my interest in technology. Simon went on to have a very successful career in the film industry.

What has been your journey since finishing at Barker in 1978?

When I left school, I decided to go straight to work, rather than to university. I was keen to get into commerce and was lucky to get a job that satisfied my interest in Electronics, and work for someone who would become a very famous Australian and Australian of The Year in 1986, Dick Smith. We are still great mates 40 plus years later and share a love of aviation and philanthropy.

This business was embryonic when I joined, and I was on hand to witness the enormous growth and learned far more than I could had I followed a normal path and headed to university. It gave me a great background to start my own business, and something I would recommend to any Barker students today. Find a great company, go to work, and learn how it is really done.

I subsequently studied Marketing and Business at University whilst working full time, and hold a Marketing Degree and MBA from Macquarie University.

In 1983 Dick sold his business to Woolworths and I decided to leave the company, and start my own business, which grew to be a multinational group designing, manufacturing, and distributing electronics products in Australia, and then to the world. I loved designing new products and hold numerous registered patents to this day.

Jackson Industries is a diverse conglomerate, operating across the globe. I was one of the first foreigners to work in China, and we were one of the first Australian companies to set up in China, commencing our operations in the mid-1980s and eventually owning companies in China and Hong Kong, as well as manufacturing our products in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. Our group of companies have been in business inside and outside Australia for more than 40 years.

Four years ago we sold the Jackson Industries business to offshore investors, and since then I have focused my commercial interests in other companies. I am the Chair of a couple of technology businesses and a West End (London) production company. We still have numerous in-house business interests in technology, biotech, online learning, finance, the theatre and investment.

What are your interests outside of your work?

I am Chair of the Pennant Hills Golf Club Foundation, a role which is very rewarding and provides me with an opportunity to change and grow a Sydney sports institution and make it more relevant for today and the future. My focus is particularly on creating a multisports venue and making the club more accessible for children of all ages.

My wife and I have I lived in both London and Sydney for the past 10 years, splitting our time between the two. We are extremely keen travellers, and apart from our business travel, we enjoy visiting interesting countries and getting away from the tourists. We have spent a month in France every year for the last 10 years, and have travelled extensively throughout India and China. Highlights include a month in Bhutan, flying a helicopter up the side of Mount Everest above base camp 3, and travelling to the mythical Shangri-La in the Chinese Himalayas. Travel is the greatest learning experience, and I would encourage Barker students of today to travel as much as they can, and learn about the world.

I am passionate about aviation; I have held a Helicopter Pilots Licence for the last 14 years and own my own Jet Helicopter. We have explored much of Australia by helicopter, including the Tasmanian Wilderness. My wife calls this form of travel the “magic carpet”. I have also flown helicopters in six or seven other countries in the world.

Tell us why mentoring young people and philanthropy are important to you.

Throughout my career I have met an enormous array of very talented young people and I have a small group of these both in London and Sydney who I mentor. This provides me with great pleasure and allows me to share what I have learned over the last 40 or so years in business. I was fortunate to have had great mentors, and now I am very happy to pay this forward.

Philanthropy is also an important part of our lives, which does not just involve donations of money, but also of time. We are particularly passionate about animal welfare and allocate resources both in Australia and other countries to help animals in need. One of my friends says he is selfish when he gives away his time or money - “because it makes me feel good”. He is right, it does make you feel good to help others.

Do you have any advice for today’s Barker students? Much of what I have achieved I was told would be impossible. For example, I was told I could not open a company in China; I was also told I could not build a factory there. It became very much a challenge for me and my team to get around the impossible. Ten years ago, we built a large factory in China, employing more than a 1,000 people, which is still running and producing product for the world. This factory was a fully sanctioned Chinese government joint venture, which I was also told was not possible.

I was also told it was impossible to fly up Everest in a single engine helicopter, yet we did that too, flying to well over 21,000 feet, it was a beautiful clear winter today, and the view was incredible.

When I was young, we were always told that you can achieve what you wanted to. It sounded just like talk at the time; however it is true. The keys to success are to be motivated, driven, meticulous in the detail, and to focus on what will make you a success - regardless of your chosen pursuit. There is no 9 to 5 if you want to succeed, you need to work as hard as you can, all the time. If you want to be in business, make sure you know how much money you are making every month (or not), and never do any business for free.

Barker had a great influence on my life, and I am very fortunate that I was given the opportunity to go to school there.

OBA Groups

Old Barker Football Club

History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme. It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness. Game recognises game. 2022 was the culmination of two storied epochs.

The vernacular of Dickens, Twain, or any number of 90’s hip hop stars do an injustice to the Elizabethan era and Old Barker Football Club’s Premier League reign expiring in 2022. OBFC’s relegation from the Premier League may not have been accompanied by the fanfare of the late Queen Elizabeth’s passing, but parallels have been drawn.

Her majesty Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne at 25, not fully apprenticed for the rigours of state. Similarly in 2014, OBFC ascended to the NSFA Premier League, woefully unprepared for top-flight football. Shortly into her tenure as Queen, Elizabeth presided over ethno-nationalist ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. OBFC overcame not dissimilar challenges in a relegation tussle in their first season with Willoughby Dalley’s FC.

Through her reign the Queen was served by 170 Prime Ministers across the realms, and OBFC Premier League had only slightly fewer gaffers. Elizabeth lived in a castle and OBFC Premier League players considered their bodies a temple.

Perhaps the only difference will be that a new refreshed breed of players take over the reins of Division Two in 2023, while the same breed of royalty continues. As the Club seeks to demonstrate the value of genetic diversity, we pay our respects to outgoing Ned Robinson (05) and Gohto Saikawa (11), players who made 1st grade appearances in every season of Premier League competition.

A good general saves his toughest battles for his best soldiers. And so it was for Division Four in 2022. Finishing the season in 3rd place was a remarkable result for a short-staffed squad. If off-season recruitment nabs another handful of players, contention for division premiership is surely on the cards for 2023.

The inaugural season of 035’s competition was indeed the season of light. An undefeated season saw 035s crowned division premiers. Mike Evrat was coronated with the Craig Harris shield as best and fairest and golden boot. David Garrick (95) also scored his first goal in some decades, bless him.

September was a big month for Derek Brown (03). Not only did he feature in an article in this publication, he also picked up the Club wide most improved award. Most-improved at 36 is a bit like becoming King after retirement age… the symbolism is uncanny.

Pre-season football for season 2023 will commence with fitness the weekend following the Australia Day. Keep an eye out on our website for further informationwww.oldbarkerfc.com www.oldbarkerfc.com

Matt Vickers (05)

Old Barker Rugby

The 2023 year is set to be an exciting year for Rugby and Australia’s Golden Decade of sport with milestone events including the Men and Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2027 and 2029 respectively and the Olympic Games in 2031. Closer to home, Old Barker Rugby Club celebrates its 55th year in 2023.

Making the most of our new club facilities at Turramurra Memorial Park, we are already planning the rugby year and our pre-season social and fitness events. We are also set to welcome the next generation of leaders to the Club, with Sam Jackson (20), Jack Breden (19), Ben Peden (20) and Chris Locker (Dad of Sandy (17) and Elton (23)) all set to play roles in taking the Club forward, together with the continuing Board members.

Old Barker Rugby will field two Women’ Sevens teams and Men’s 1st Grade, 2nd Grade and Colts. We are also aiming to have a strong 3rd Grade in 2023 - and looking for 3rd Grade players to come and play with us.

We welcome everyone who has an interest in rugby (whether or not you are Barker Alumni).

If you would like be part of the Old Barker Rugby Club in its 55th year in 2023, or you know anyone who might enjoy being part of our Club, please contact us via our website at www. oldbarkerrugbyclub.com

Have a safe and happy festive season and best wishes for the times ahead.

Karen Penrose President

OBA Big Band

At the start of the year, the OBA Big Band recorded an album at Yap Yap Studios in Coogee. Since leaving the studio, the band has focused on new repertoire that revolved around improvisation with a smaller ensemble. Since the unfortunate cancellation of Barker Swings last year, we were thrilled to find ourselves back on stage this July! We opened the event with a handful of jazz standards including Herbie Hancock's Cantaloupe Island and the main theme from Monsters Inc. In September we performed more fan favourites at the Barker Spring Fair. This included

Horace Silver's The Preacher and a swinging piece from the 2010 Nintendo Wii video game, Donkey Kong Country Returns. We were also able to show off our new repertoire to our fellow alumni at the OBA Dinner in November.

Our studio tracks are still being mixed and mastered by members in the band. In the meantime, you can listen to our non-studio recordings and find out more at www.OBABigBand.com

Luke Davis (09)

OBA Christian Fellowship

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 by private messaging Georgia Breckenridge (18) or contact Karina Drummond kdrummond@barker. nsw.edu.au.

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, has recently

Please keep an eye on our Facebook page for upcoming events and reach out to any friends that might be interested in joining the fellowship!

Georgia Breckenridge (18)

partnered with My Mirror online 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 focused 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, 7 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-barkerassociation

Old Barker Association Theatre Group

After a resounding success in the performance of Candida by George Bernard Shaw earlier this year, the Old Barker Alumni Theatre Company is looking to next year’s production. We are immensely grateful for the support shown to us throughout the last few years with COVID impacted performances. It is as a result of the support and goodwill shown that excites us to come back even bigger next year.

We’ll be kicking off 2023 with a welcome drinks in early March to say thank you to everyone who has been a part of the OBAT journey to date. Whether you’ve been a part of a show or been to watch one, all are welcome. You’ll get a chance to meet the team and look forward to the mid-year performance for 2023 and maybe get the chance to be a part of the

OBA Seniors

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.

If you would like further information, please contact the Alumni and Community Relations Office on (02) 8438 7283 or oba@ barker.nsw.edu.au

Pont (63) Honorary Secretary

show. All the details for the drinks will be confirmed in the near future. To stay in the loop, follow us on Facebook and Instagram where we post regular updates on events and show dates.

As we are coming to a new year and new season, we’d love to hear from you! If you’d like to get involved in a show in 2023, now’s the time to get in touch and speak with us about how you’d like to participate. There are opportunities for both on and off the stage, big and small. If you’ve always wanted to give it a go and not gotten around to it, drop us a message and we will love to have you involved in any way you’d like to be.

See you all in 2023! www.facebook.com/oba.theatre www.instagram.com/oba.theatre

Adam Roberts (14)

Ian

Community Events

Class of 1967 Reunion - 55 Year Reunion

On 3 September in the Marks Pavilion some 30 1967 leavers gathered for a very successful 55-year class reunion.

It was my pleasure to convene the occasion, assisted by Peter McIntyre and Steve Rouvray. We included as our guest Stuart Braga, our History teacher from 1963 to 1967 and also a Barker Alumni from 1956. It has become something of a tradition to invite Stuart, who on this occasion was not required to render any speeches but to just enjoy being among us. However Stuart did reflect that we were pioneers, being the first Year 12 (6th Form) or first HSC candidates. Rev Dr Hugh Begbie very ably said Grace, as the only one of us with the appropriate licence.

Tim Heath travelled from Albury to deliver an enlightening talk on his experience over many years with livestock embryo research . It was also great to see Geoff Meates who travelled from Lesmurdie in South Australia, John Fisher up from Wollongong, Jac Cousin from Canberra, Max McCloy from Young and Dave Grant from Bowning near Yass.

Special thanks must be extended to Karina Drummond and the efficient Alumni team, without whose tremendous support the event would not have been possible. Pascale and his team did a wonderful job of the catering. The School boarders are very lucky to have him as their permanent caterer. It was mentioned that we wish he’d been there in the 1960s!"

Ralf Rendall

Class of 1977 - 45 Year Reunion

Barker's Alumni of '77 gathered at the Blue Gum Hotel for their 45th school Reunion on Saturday 10 September. Alumni from Cairns to Kiama enjoyed reminiscing of their time at Barker in the 60s and 70s. The luncheon was topped off with a wonderful speech from Brad Norrington about the metamorphosis of coeducation in '76 and '77. A great time had by all.

Don Gilchrist

Class of 2012 - 10 Year Reunion

On Saturday 17 September, 130 of Barker’s Class of 2012 met at Luna Park to celebrate our 10 year anniversary of graduating. There was a particular sense of nostalgia warming the evening as Luna Park was where our Year 12 formal was held.

There is something so special about catching up with the people that knew you when you were young, with whom you experienced some of your most formative memories. Everyone reverted back to their younger selves in the best way. The room was filled with raucous laughter, reminiscing and warm hugs.

Compared to the five-year reunion a lot had changed!

Class of 1981 - 40 (ish) Year Reunion

After a year’s delay, we finally had the opportunity to get together and celebrate 40 years on from our time at Barker. Despite competing with Grand Final night, we had 40 or so revellers who convened at one of our old stomping grounds: The Greengate Hotel.

After the initial, ‘wait, I know that face…’, it was as if we were right back at Barker, minus the teenage angst. It was a really great night with lots of reminiscing and story swapping. There were even photos (thanks Anne Cleary) of our Year 12 muckup day where we pitched tents around the old pool, and the first ever girl cadet camp (it was our year that started Female Cadets at Barker). Hard to believe we were ever that young.

The night was well worth the wait and many thanks to Barker, particularly Karina Drummond, for helping make it a memorable event.

Jo Camp and Jenni-Lee Williams

A big thank you to Bree Filipetto for helping me organise it, without her this event would have stayed a thought in my head. And a special shout out to Barker, not only for being the fabulous school that introduced us all, but for having such strong support of its Old Boys and Girls community. They really go above and beyond to help organise events like these, and we are all the more enriched for it.

Can’t wait for the next one!

Bel Larcombe

Where before we were just university graduates, now we are higher ranking employees, husbands, wives, mothers and fathers.

Class of 1982 - 40 Year Reunion

The Class of 1982 - 40 Year Reunion was held on Friday 23 September 2022. Seventy attended and a fantastic night was had by all!

Margot Renton

Class of 1987 - 35 Year Reunion

The Class of 1987 35-year reunion was held on Saturday 22 October at the Crows Nest Hotel with 60 alumni attending. A great night was had by all!

A big thank you to Micky Mylne, Gen Bayliss-Smith and Nicki Green for organising.

Class of 1972 - 50 Year Reunion

On the last Saturday in October, 50 gentlemen met at Killara Golf Club to celebrate it being 50 years since we left Barker. Nearly half those there came from overseas, interstate, country or regional NSW. Stories were shared and friendships renewed in a relaxed atmosphere. We also remember those who couldn’t be with us.

The slideshow and music from our time at the School jogged memories and those in denial remarked how little we had changed.

A hardened core of our contemporaries ended up at the Greengate to continue engaging and unwinding. We look forward to the next time we are together.

David Treloar

Volunteer Thank You Afternoon Tea

Phillip Heath welcomed all our 2022 volunteers to the Sue Field Room in the Rosewood Centre on Friday 21 October 2022 for an afternoon tea. Phillip expressed his gratitude to the many individuals and groups within the Barker Community who contribute in so many ways to enrich the current students’ experience.

OBA Annual Golf Day 2022

The OBA Annual Golf Day was held on Tuesday 6 September with a total of 80 alumni, current and past parents teeing off at midday at Pennant Hills Golf Club. Alumni participating this year ranged from the Class of 1958 up to the Class of 2021 and also included representatives from Knox. The OBA Support for Life program was promoted at this event with a raffle held raising $684.69 for the program. David Trayner (84) represented Barker College Council to provide further details about the program and also an update on the School. We were very thankful for the support of BMW Hornsby (Andrew Phillips, Class of 1996) and Noyce Bros Wines (Michael Noyce, Class of 1962) who generously donated all the prizes for the day.

OBA Seniors - Wollombi Visit

A group of 28 OBA Seniors enjoyed a wonderful day trip to Wollombi on 1 September 2022. The group toured Ngarralingayil Barker and attended their assembly which included special musical performances by the students. Head of Barker, Phillip Heath and Head of Junior School, Martin Lubrano were also in attendance. Alumni then participated in a reading session with the students which was a highlight of the day for many. A delicious lunch was provided at Capers Guesthouse hosted by former Barker parents. Michael Noyce (62) then guided a tour of the village and museum finishing with wine tasting at Noyce Bros Wines. All attending were very thankful Michael suggested the day and planned such an interesting itinerary.

Personal Notes

(Number in brackets is the alumni year)

Bruce ‘Kiwi’ Power (47) shared he was certainly lucky to go to Barker with his eight years as a boarder teaching him many great disciplines. Bruce credits reaching his age due to several factors. Besides being blessed with good genes, for the past 45 years he has followed a daily progressive meditation/relaxation routine using ‘isometric’ exercises, he regularly exercises playing lawn bowls, he has a morning lemon drink and drinks plenty of water throughout the day, practises conscious breathing and follows a mainly vegetarian diet. If you would like more information about his plan email brucepower1@iprimus.com.au

Diana Roberts (86) is living in Williamsburg, Virginia and works doing general labour in construction and landscaping. Her daughter Stephanie is 21 and doing well. Diana was unable to attend the Class of 1986 Reunion and sends her well wishes to all her classmates.

Bruce Davis (74) has enjoyed catching up with old Barker friends recently.

The following Sunday Bruce and Sharon met up for a lunch at Long Reef Golf Course organised by Sue Marks (82 Barker graduate and later member of staff) - daughter of Neil Marks (56 and very long term member of Barker College Council) along with her mother Kay and husband Arun, former Deputy Chair of Council Chris Russell (70) and wife Gill.

’74 and all good friends since Junior School days at Barker right through to Year 12, there were lots of memories and laughs from the “good old days”. A 50-year reunion in 2024 is on the horizon.

John Heath and Bruce Davis cycled up from Long Jetty on the NSW Central Coast to Norah Head to meet up with Steve Werner. All from Class of

Shaun Champion (17) has been selected to represent Australia's at the world short-course championships this year. The event, held in a 25-metre pool instead of the usual 50, will take place in Melbourne on December 13-18 after Russia was stripped of hosting rights for invading Ukraine.

There was an informal reunion of Barker students at the New York City Marathon in November with Simon Hennings (82) running with his daughter Stephanie. Becky Armstrong (nee Hartnett 81) supporting her husband Russell and two children James and Christopher, and Annalise Unsworth (10) and Andrew Unsworth (09) all crossing the finishing line.

CAS Lawn Bowls

The CAS Lawn Bowls team is seeking new players. They play on the 3rd Sunday of each month between May to November at Mosman. Please contact alumni@barker.nsw.edu.au if you are interested in joining the team.

Lion Cub Club

Here’s Beau with his Barker Lion Cub - welcome to the club!

Baptisms in the Barker Chapel

6 August, Lucy Enid Hancock daughter of David (02) and Kate (Powell 02)

8 October, Mary Ruth Thomlinson and Faye Elisabeth Thomlinson daughters of David (04) and Katrina Thomlinson.

Lion Cub Barker CLub

Do you have news to share?

We are keen to hear about recent engagements, weddings and for new bubs to join Barker’s Lion Cub Club. Also, career updates and achievements, travels, community service, hobbies, sports and other community news. It’s a great way for alumni to stay connected!

Please send contributions to alumni@barker.nsw.edu.au

Weddings in the Barker Chapel

24

September, Taylor John (15) married Sarah Middleton (15)

2 October, Matthew Bassam married Rose Tilley (13)

Obituaries

(Number in brackets is the alumni year)

David Anthony Ross Clark (1945/46) 1928 - 2022

During University holidays, David and Bill became Wool Classers travelling to Western NSW to make money during the break. One of his first and favourite purchases was a 1952 MG TD with a Black and Silver chromed engine. To which, he promptly removed the MG name badge and attached a Barker College bonnet piece.

David was born in Wahroonga on 2 May 1928, to parents Cuthbert and Barbara Clark. David grew up in Cherry Street, Warrawee and attended Barker from 1936 to 1946 as did his brothers John (43/44) and Roger (48). In his first year David was the Dux of his grade (albeit the only student in the grade) and this was his best academic result. Barker created many great friendships over the years in particular David Gamson (46) and a boarder from Bourke, Bill Crothers (45/46). They remained friends their entire lives.

Whilst clearly clever, education soon became a second interest to sport, David featured in Barker’s 1st XI Cricket team and 1st XV Rugby team and was awarded Barker College’s highest sporting award the Carter Cup in his final year. That may be why David repeated his last year at high school. He says they needed him for the sports teams, maybe he needed to improve his grades. Regardless his grades were sufficient to enter Sydney University to study Pharmacy in 1947.

David spent many an evening with his school friend David ‘Bas’ Gamson and Bas’ girlfriend Lyn Daniel. On one such evening, Lyn asked her sister Janet Daniel to join them as they had a spare ticket, so Janet went along although she had to start work at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children at 10:00pm. After the show and no taxi in sight David offered to drive Janet to work in the MG and soon after he called asking for a date. David Clark, aged 28, married Janet Daniel, aged 21, on 11 August 1956 at St James Church, Turramurra.

In 1958, as a qualified pharmacist, David joined Parke Davis as a representative covering the area from Helensburgh to the Victorian Border. David was often away for a week at a time, so they moved to Stanwell Park and then to Austinmer to be closer to Janet’s family and be near the beach with their two sons, Ross and Philip.

In 1961 David and Janet started Clark’s Pharmacy in Crown Street, Wollongong buying the building next to the Methodist Church. Some years later, David would partner with two other local pharmacists to establish the first 7-day a week pharmacy in Wollongong with great success.

David always had a very strong sense of community service, reflecting the Barker motto. He joined Corrimal Apex Club and was Club President in 1965 and 1966, becoming a life member in 1968. He was elected as an Alderman to Wollongong City Council for two four-year terms. Highlights included meeting the Queen in 1970 when the Royal Yacht Britannia sailed into Port Kembla Harbour, Gough and Margaret Whitlam, ACTU President Bob Hawke, and then Governor General, Sir John Kerr. David served as a Director of the Wollongong Showground Trust; Wollongong Salvation Army Advisory Board and was an active member of the Illawarra Pharmacy Association.

Building a house in Mt Ousley in 1964, David and Janet built a very social life and added a daughter, Robyn to the family. One of David’s finest qualities was his patience: an inherent ability to listen and to be readily interested in others, he made friends easily. Many legendary significant birthdays and progressive street parties were held in that street in Wollongong, bags of oysters were freshly shucked, kegs of beer cracked, barrels of red wine evaporated and many a blurry sunrise seen.

David and Janet loved travel and had many adventures traversing much of Australia from the length of the east and west coastlines, the Kimberleys to Cape York, across the Nullarbor and through the Central Deserts. They visited many islands of the Pacific Ocean, and also spent time in the UK and Europe.

On one driving trip with the Gamsons they hit a kangaroo near Menindee Lakes, limped into the old Quandong Hotel with David and Bas settling in for more than a few drinks while waiting for repairs and supervising the kids as they learnt to pour beers. During a 1982 drive up the NSW coast, David and Janet purchased a large block of land in the village of Cudgen as their retirement plan. With views of the coastal village of Kingscliff and the ocean they moved into their new Cudgen home in June 1984. They made a paddock into an orchard with three varieties of avocado trees, created a tropical garden by the pool and of course David loved his camellias and the roses he grew for Janet. Here they stayed for the next 35 years.

Not one to stay idle, David wanted to keep working and soon started as a locum at several Pharmacies, including Kingscliff, Murwillumbah, and Tweed Heads becoming well known and liked in the area. His colleagues often commenting that he was a great character but a superb Pharmacist able to serve customers, who mostly are not at their best, with patience and kindness. He decided on his 80th birthday not to renew his pharmacist licence. In David’s world that was easier than saying no.

After many years of golf in both Wollongong and Tweed Heads and his knees not being what they were, David joined Kingscliff Beach Bowling Club. He soon made many new mates and continuing his love of sport and being active competed at local and zone levels.

In 2016 with mobility issues catching up, David and Janet left Cudgen and moved to Thornlands, Queensland to be closer to their daughter. In later years David was often in pain, though you’d hardly know it when you called or visited. His face would light up, his handshake as strong as ever and always remembering what had happened, asking how everyone was and rarely speaking about himself.

David is survived by his wife Janet and three children, Ross, Philip and Robyn, grandchildren and great grandchildren. His nieces and nephews from the Gamson family, also Barker Alumni, fondly called him Uncle Tiger. Whilst David was the last of his family’s generation, he adored those who followed him. He loved each new family member with his trademark kindness and positivity. He will be greatly missed.

Robyn Rae (Clark) - Daughter

Captain John ‘Snow’ Ealey (45) 1928 - 2022

Sydney Harbour for the Australia Day bicentenary First Fleet reenactment.

In retirement Captain Ealey now had a lot of time to spend on his sailboat which included sailing his Clansman solo to Lord Howe Island (14 times), Noumea (4 times), Vanuatu once as well as numerous coastal trips. He was a proud member of the League of Ancient Mariners and enjoyed attending the annual Burns Philp reunions and the Barbound lunches. His greatest joy came from being a Grandpa to his three grandchildren, Cameron, Sean and Hannah which included babysitting, days on the boat and many family dinners.

Having been a resident at the RSL Lifecare ‘War Vets’ Retirement Village for 15 years, Captain Ealey passed away in August at Northern Beaches Hospital after a short illness just shy of his 94th birthday.

John Ealey attended Barker College from 1938 to 1945 with his brother Eric ‘Tim’ Ealey (44). He took part in all sides of school life and was made a school prefect. He was a sergeant in the Cadet Corps and was selected to attend the camp of instruction for potential officers but left school to join the merchant navy before his commission came though.

He left school in 1945 without finishing his leaving certificate to go to sea as a cadet on the Burns Philp ship, Marella. He sailed on many Burns Philp ships and met his future wife Pat (deceased) on the Malaita. He completed his ocean going master’s certificate and was given his first command by Burns Philp becoming master of cargo / passenger ships including the Bulolo and Tulagi.

Captain Ealey came ashore in 1971 following the birth of only child Hugh (82) and joined the Sydney and Botany Bay Pilot Service which included relieving stints in Port Kembla and Newcastle. He retired as senior pilot in 1988 after piloting the lead ship, Soren Larsen, into

Hugh Ealey (82)

Charles Leland Eslake (74) 1957 - 2022

Charles Eslake attended Barker from 1969 to 1974. His brother Alan (82) also attended Barker.

My father Charles Eslake was never very interested in sports. So I was surprised to learn that not only was he a member of the Barker College squash team - but said to be a very good player, too! Fast-forward a few decades, and he would return to the game, taking me to our local squash court in Tasmania where he'd teach me how to play; a fond childhood memory of mine.

While he didn't tell me much about his school years, his value for education was one that stayed with him for life. He would go

on to attain a Bachelor of Arts degree from Macquarie University, and later became a Certified Public Accountant. He worked as an auditor until his recent retirement, when he then pursued his passion for history and enrolled in a diploma at the University of Tasmania.

Sadly, he never finished his final studies, as this August he passed away unexpectedly. Among his most treasured possessions was the boater he wore as a student of Barker College those many years ago.

Stephanie Eslake, Daughter Peter Newton Francis (45) 1928 - 2022

at Barker and the friends he made there. He was an active attendee at Old Boys gatherings and reunions of the Class of ‘45. Peter had a distinguished medical career of over 40 years during which he served as an honorary teaching physician and in other capacities at Sydney Hospital, Hornsby and Ku-Ring-Gai District Hospital and Westmead Hospital as well as running his own private practice.

He retired at age 66 and together with Diane, travelled extensively in Europe, South America, South-East Asia, UK, Russia, China, Japan, USA, Canada, and Turkey to name some of the places they visited. They enjoyed visiting Stephanie and Gordon Fuller (79) at his various postings in Chile, Hong Kong and Bangkok. Some of these trips were as art tourists as they shared a keen interest in painting and art history in general.

grew older the short game came to the fore even though in recent years he would lament his game, often despairing that he had “played his last game!”. I can’t say when he played his last game but on 13 April 2021 Gordon Fuller and I witnessed his 160m birdie over a lake, to chip in from off the green at the 6th at Horizons Golf Resort at the age of 93! He also scored an eagle on the par 3 index 11 4th hole at Pennant Hills on 9 June 1999.

Peter was born at Eastwood in 1928 and attended West Epping Public School before enrolling at Barker College in 1938. He graduated in 1945 as a Prefect having also represented Barker in the First XV. His academic interests and success in science and biology led him to commence a medical degree at Sydney University in 1946 from which he graduated in 1952 with honours. A further 7 years of training in Australia and later in England (1957-58) followed and he passed the Membership of the Royal College of Physicians of London examination in April 1958. During this period Peter met and married Diane in 1954, remaining true to her until her death in 2015, a marriage of 61 years. Together they had 4 children, Michael (74), Jane (80), Stephanie (81) and Luke and were grandparents to Luke Fuller (10) and Mitchell Fuller, and Matthew, Laura, Emma and James Francis.

Peter was an old school gentleman and fondly remembered his days

As a founding member of the AAC Perisher Valley Club Lodge, Peter skied well into his seventies. He was a keen tennis player and regularly played at Hunters Hill Tennis Club until retiring from the game due to his deteriorating eyesight which proceeded faster than he could lower his standards. Occasionally he and I played together with my university friends, and they remember him as being a useful player, both competitive and capable.

Perhaps his greatest passion was golf. He joined Pennant Hills Golf Club in 1950 only resigning his membership in early 2022 by which time he was the second longest playing member of the Club. He celebrated his wedding and most recently his 94th birthday at the Clubhouse. He played regularly with the Wednesday Morning Golfers a core group of the older members. Since Peter’s passing they reminisced with me that Peter had been a good friend and was a good sport with whom to play. He was recognised for his short game even though he was quite dismissive of his competence in that aspect of the game. As he

Peter was a talented pianist, a self-taught ability which he honed over many years, commencing in his school years at Barker. He had no formal training, could never read music but could play by ear anything that he heard. He was an improvisor in the jazz style and loved to entertain at parties. The younger Peter was the centre of attention at parties not only for his keyboard skills but also for his golden age of Hollywood looks, his wit and charm. There is a snooker table in the seniors common room at Barker today which he donated in memory of his good times there. Peter was well respected by his peers, colleagues, friends and family. There was much he could do well as there were also things he did not do so well. He played chess badly. He could neither catch nor cook fish and his culinary skills were best produced on a BBQ. He did not take risks nor did he let a tradesman go without letting them take advantage of him. It was a matter of principle to be fair, almost to a fault.

His integrity was beyond reproach. He never let down family, his children, or a friend in need. Whether by a word of advice or encouragement, a charitable gift or criticism withheld. He was averse to conflict. He was an enabler as was born out in the years of support for his youngest son, Luke, who was born with congenital developmental issues.

He enabled his wife Di to explore her artistic abilities; and my children, his grandchildren, after the passing of their mother

Catherine, when they travelled to Perth on numerous occasions to care for them during school holidays so they would get to know their grandparents. His eagerness to engage with his grandchildren was always evident and he enjoyed their visits with him in the weeks shortly before he passed. Peter passed away at home on 25 August 2022 in the presence of his surviving children. He is greatly missed by family and friends.

Michael Francis

Ian Calder Gamson (48) 1948 - 2022

batsman for the 1st XI in 1948. He was a member of the Senior Debaters in 1947 and 1948 and a Prefect in his final year. He was also a member of the Cadet Unit, gaining the rank of Sergeant. After school he continued playing cricket with the Sydney University club.

It was during his time at Barker that Ian developed the characteristics that would stay with him throughout his life - dedication to faith, service and integrity - and inspired him to make education his career choice.

Following his graduation from Sydney University, Ian commenced his career by returning to teach at Barker in 1951 in Rosewood Cottage. The following year he moved to the Kings School which was then using Old Government House in Parramatta. In 1959, spurred on by his sense of adventure and natural curiosity, he set out to hitchhike around the world. He returned from this amazing experience with many entertaining stories that he told to family and friends for the rest of his life.

teaching of American history. Despite spending the majority of his life on the other side of the Pacific, Ian remained fiercely proud of his Australian identity, refusing to become an American citizen until dual citizenship became available in the late 1990s. He was always interested to hear news about Barker, keeping in regular contact with his close friend Bob Solomon. Whenever he was back in Australia, a trip to visit the school was always on the cards. He enjoyed showing his sons where he had spent his formative years and shocked them with stories about boarding school life in the 1940s. In retirement, Ian and Nancy moved to Washington State to be close to grandchildren and there they spent many happy years.

Ian was a humble and respectful man with the ability to connect with anyone. He had a generous spirit and a gentle kindness that made you feel supported and affirmed and reminded you of what you liked best about yourself.

Ian spent his early years in Fiji where his father managed a pineapple plantation for the Colonial Sugar Refinery Company, before coming to Sydney for his education, joining his brother David (46) at the now defunct Mowbray House at Chatswood. Both boys later moved to Barker to complete their education after their father, Claud, was impressed by meeting the Headmaster, Bill Leslie, saying he was the man he wanted to educate his sons.

With the outbreak of the war in the Pacific the boys were unable to travel back to Fiji for school holidays and did not see their parents for a number of years. Instead they spent their holidays with an aunt who lived directly opposite Bondi Beach. Despite contracting polio as a small boy, Ian was an enthusiastic sportsman and proudly represented the school as a wicketkeeper/

Ian was awarded an International Rotary Fellowship to attend Harvard University Graduate School of Education where he completed a M.Ed. Whilst at Harvard, Ian met Nancy Janes and, with Ian now back in Australia, a long distance relationship ensued. In late 1961 they married in Minneapolis, Minnesota and returned to Australia where Ian continued at Kings, whilst Nancy taught at Tara Anglican School for Girls. Ian was now Housemaster of the day boys and Master in Charge of cricket.

Having started their family, Ian and Nancy moved back to the US and Ian obtained a Ph.D in American History at the University of Minnesota. He later became a founding faculty member of Normandale Community College where, over a twenty five year career, he received numerous awards, bringing his unique Australian perspective to the

He passed away on 18 September with his family at his bedside. He is survived by Nancy, his wife of 61 years and his three boys, David, Jonathon and Andrew, and seven grandchildren.

Tony Gamson

(51) 1934 - 2022

Frank attended the Barker Junior School as a Plume House boarder from 1942 to 1946. These were some of the happiest days of his youth and he maintained his connection to Barker over the years, most recently visiting in 2013 when he endowed a new prize - the FBE Goodwin

Frank Brooks Edward Goodwin

Endeavour Medal awarded to a Year 6 student who consistently demonstrates honour, achievement and goodwill.

Following Barker, Frank completed an apprenticeship in carpentry and joinery and travelled all over NSW using these skills. Frank continued to work in the building industry until 1974 including six years running his own business. He then branched out into other areas including becoming a sales consultant for Norwich Union Life Insurance, established Perflex Pty Ltd which specialised in road safety products and clothes pegs. He joined American Express International in the mid 70s and was responsible for launching the Amex card throughout Australasia. His career also included importing soft toys, market research into timber products, and consulting. From 1994 he worked in Young for the Dept of Housing Maintenance, then BHP, and later returned to running his own business doing building and restoration work until his retirement in 2019.

He met his first wife Margaret through his local Church and they were married in 1955 and had four children - Malcolm in 1957, Geoffrey in 1960, and twins David and Suzanne in 1964. They divorced in 1972.

Frank married Pamela in 1973 and they settled in Belrose for 18 years. They travelled during this time and enjoyed the arts, classical music, opera, ballet and theatre. Both Frank and Pamela embraced Christianity in 1986 which only made them stronger. They moved to Young in 1994 and to Wirrimah in 2000.

Frank was an avid reader, had an excellent general knowledge, loved cooking and in his younger days was a keen photographer. He was Captain of Woodford Bushfire Brigade in the 1960s, was a skilled wood worker and an advanced driving instructor and model during

the 1980s and 1990s.

Frank passed away on 11 July 2022 and survived by his first wife Margaret, by his second wife Pamela, his four children, ten grandchildren, seven great grandchildren and his sister Elleanor and her family.

Christopher John Higgins (53) 1936 - 2022

On Boxing Day in 2001 Chris lost his house and car in the bushfires that spread through the mountains. Graham Hall (59) his friend of many years had hoped to buy that car from him. Chris then moved to Melbourne to be near his children and not long afterwards had a major heart attack and stroke which kept him in hospital for two months and led to ongoing health issues.

Chris passed away on 26 April 2022 and is missed by his family and friends.

William ‘Bill’ John Locke (46/47) 1930 - 2022

Christopher attended Barker for four years from 1948 to 1951. Following Barker he completed an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner. In 1959 he married Catherine and they moved to West Calder in Scotland where they had their two children Peter and Morag.

Chris worked for the Currie Line delivering goods across the North Sea before returning to land and joining BMC in Bathgate.

Chris and his family returned to NSW in the late 60s. He had a passion for all types of motor vehicles including trucks, motorbikes, trains, boats and his favourite, the Alvis. He was a member of the Alvis Club since September 1968 and was also a member of the Morris Cowley Club.

Chris became a TAFE teacher and in 1976 the family moved to Leeton, later working as Head of a school in Bega before returning to Granville in 1983.

Chris’ wife passed away after a short illness in 1997 and his car club friendships kept him going.

Bill Locke attended Barker from 1940 to 1947. Bill was first of many Locke family connections with the school, his brother Paul (59), sons John (80), Anthony (82) and Christopher (86), and nephew Robert (91) all alumni. Bill maintained his connection to the school over the years attending many Barker reunions and OBA Seniors events (formerly Over 70’s Club).

Bill was born in 1930, into the Great Depression, and was completing high school as the man of the family as World War 2 raged, particularly from 1942 when his father Reg and Uncle John were prisoners of war after the fall of Singapore. Bill came of age during both happy and hard times for Australia and the world and, like many others at the time, learned resilience from a young age; a strength and calm he carried with him throughout his long and happy life.

Bill often spoke fondly of his time at Barker and its stabilising influence on him. He excelled at sports during his time at Barker. Bill was in the Swimming Team in 1945 and 1946 when Barker were CAS Champions. In his final year Bill was in the 1st XV Rugby Team and was awarded Colours. He was made a Prefect in 1947 when he repeated the then “Leaving Certificate” at a time when high school studies ended in Year 11. By his own admission, Bill was not much of a scholar, even so he went on to have an interesting and successful career in the business world. However, from the outset Bill’s real pleasure was derived from helping others. He was interested in people and saw the good in people and always loved having a laugh with family, friends and everyone he met. Bill was always upbeat and optimistic.

The following are relevant excerpts from “Bill’s Story”- recollections he recorded in recent years.

The School was a very special place in wartime, which were my first five years in my stay of 1940-1947 inclusive. We were all conscious of these events by reason of the newspapers and stories of friends and families and also through the School’s structure and activities. First of all, the very fit masters were recruited into the armed services leaving posts to be filled by retired men and women. Further, the headmaster would make appropriate announcements in assembly concerning casualties among the Old Boys, most of whom he would have known, and the various measures laid down by the government for air raid precautions and drills and the taping of windows to prevent shattering during raids. Fortunately, these were not required but they were important measures and time consuming for the headmaster and staff. Barker suffered its share of casualties including the first two head perfects in my tenureRoss 1940 and Nelson 1941. One can imagine the personal loss

the headmaster shared with the families.

We all learned the delights of rugby and in particular the challenges of tackling on the Top Oval which had its share of stony and bare patches. We were fortunate to have a 25-metre pool and shared in swimming carnivals at the School and with other Associated Schools. I had some success in swimming and was included in the team for two years (until 1946). The Associated Schools swimming carnival was initially held at the Manly Harbour Baths on the eastern side of the ferry wharf, then later at North Sydney Olympic Pool.

Barker took the lion's share of my time with obligatory rugby, cricket (subsequently released for swimming) cadets and study. Prizes awarded at that time were certificates and the funds diverted to war effort. If you grew to at least five feet three inches by the age of fourteen the school could measure you and you would be entitled to additional clothing coupons. We soldiered in the cadets every week with 310 rifles (the 303s had been taken by the army at the outbreak of the war) and did our annual camp in hot dusty places such as Balgownie in the south of Sydney. Obviously, the enemy were dissuaded from invasion by the prospect of tangling with the Barker Cadet Corps.

Unfortunately, I was no scholar although I enjoyed maths (not calculus) and French. My good friend David Hobbs was a very fine scholar which was a source of envy to me, although it didn’t affect our friendship in any way. My unsuccessful scholastic career included real problems with Latin. However, relief came in 1944 when I was allowed to drop it in favour of Business Principles and Bookkeeping and this I took to.

“Take to it” he did. Bill’s curriculumchange spurred him to later sit his final exams to become a chartered accountant in London. Back in

Australia he went on to become a partner in Deloitte’s, a director of a variety of public companies, managing director of one, and chairman of others.

Bill’s real pride and joy, however, was the work he and his friends happily did through the Gordon Methodist (later “Uniting”) Church, and Sydney Rotary, where he was President in 1989-90. He also enjoyed, and was proud of, the many other charities and causes he supported and to which he offered his time and expertise over the years.

Opportunities at Barker had provided the basis for Bill’s lifelong love of sport and he continued to play many sports after school, in particular tennis, squash, golf and later lawn bowls. Above all else however, Bill was a lifelong rugby-tragic; firstly, when playing at Barker, then later when working in England in the late 1950s (often taking the field in the snow). In later years he remained an avid spectator on the sidelines at matches, plus many days, nights and overnights willing the Wallabies on from the comfort of his favourite armchair. Bill was never one to be starstruck, but for years after hearing him talk at Sydney Rotary, he would casually drop into conversation, “about the time I met the great George Gregan”.

Bill’s love of the game of rugby epitomised his “pick yourself up when you’re down” and “always look ahead to the horizon” attitude. This alongside his “team” of many friends, his strong Christian beliefs, and sense of humour was a driving force throughout his life. Rugby is the game Bill’s family and friends are certain he is now playing in heaven.

Bill readily acknowledged that he had “a fortunate life”. It was a life well lived and no one who knew Bill will forget him.

Bill passed away, aged 92, on 12 July 2022. He loved, and was equally loved by Pat, his

fabulous wife of sixty-one years, his sons Chris, Tony and John, grandchildren Pete, Romi, Ollie, Nicky, Sofia, Ryan and Fergus and daughters-in-law Julie, Lorena and Jodi; sisters Alison and Sue, and brother Paul.

John Locke (80)

Graham David Webb (64) 1947 - 2022

Graham played Cricket and Rugby while at Barker and passed the Intermediate Certificate in 1962.

In his final year, Graham attended a trip to Heron Island where the welcoming party consisted of 36 Abbotsleigh girls, which knowing Gra he would have loved that. Reefing, fishing, snorkelling and water skiing were the order of the day. He along with other school mates proved to be best fishermen making several good catches which were prepared by Roger the chef and enjoyed by all. The highlight of the trip was the combined Barker and Abbotsleigh concert, the hula could not have been better in Hawaii.

After leaving Barker Graham entered the building industry and remained in that industry on and off throughout his life.

After returning from the Arnhem tour Graham purchased a property in Epping and installed Chook, his sulphur crested cockatoo. Chook would wander around the house all day saying “The Bears, The Bears” after the North Sydney Bears. All Gra’s mates were Bears supporters. In the morning whilst making his coffee Graham would start coughing and Chook would mimic him. Everybody loved and spoilt Chook especially Al.

Graham attended Barker as a boarder from 1955 to 1962. He had two brothers who attended Barker, Barry (62, deceased) and Peter (69)

Ken ‘Chum’ Turner shares his recollections about Graham:

On the last day of Junior School, Mr Dowding the Headmaster of the Junior School organised a film day. Some of the boys didn’t want to go and went to Beaky Morris’s 6A classroom instead to recreate some of the battles of WWI. Cricket bats were machine guns, dusters were grenades and chalk were bullets. Tables were turned over and parapets were built out of chairs. The warring forces faced off against each other and the battle commenced. Desks and chairs were attacked, repelled and lost. Bullet dust was everywhere, some boys fell wounded by a cricket bat or duster. There was some artistic licence in the battle. Everything was going fine until Mr Dowding’s face appeared in the little window in the door. His expression was detonation. The boys were marched to outside his office to be shamed by all the Junior School boys and needless to say were caned, but it was so worth it.

Graham was known by various nicknames: Gra, Gra Gra, Uncle Gra, Mr G (on the keys), Hammy, Pop, Spider, and Red.

His love of classical music and the keyboard led him to play in many bands including Rubber Band, Flinders which included his first wife Kay Rankin, her brother Noel Taylor on drums, lifelong mate Alan Rowe playing bass guitar and vocals, Kevin McLaren playing lead guitar and singing. Graham also played the Hammond organ with Annie Kirkpatrick (daughter of Slim Dusty and Joy McKean). Gra went on to play with The Andy Gibb Band and became great mates with the younger brother of the Bee Gees. He also played in Interlude and Rock-Ola, a late 50s to early 70s band.

The band he loved most was Arnhem. They went on tour with Karen Pinney throughout NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory in their infamous bus which was plagued at times with no brakes, no accelerator and a gear stick that fell out of the gear box on a steep decline. Parking beside a river in Northern Territory they woke the next morning to find croc prints surrounding them.

Apart from music, Gra’s other interests included stock car racing winning many races. He had a stint on television with Blind Date. His other loves were gamblinghorses, dogs and harness racing. He studied horses and form religiously when the like of Paleface Adios and Hondo Grattan were pacing. One night at Harold Park he bet heavily on quinellas. Seven wins in a row. Time to go he said. And at a race at Eagle Farm he said bet Harbour Gold, the now infamous Fine Cotton affair. You have your good days and the not so good. Graham received a hot tip at Wentworth Park dogs. The boxes opened and seven dogs took off though sadly Gra’s hot tip left the box and promptly stopped to scratch a flea! One Melbourne Cup, I gave Gra $100 to bet on Tawrrific for the win. He came home and gave me the $100 back saying he didn’t think the horse could win. I knew then how Mr Dowding felt.

Graham is survived by his daughter Rachel, son Alexander, his brothers Pete, Joe and sister Barbara. He is missed by his lifelong mates Alan Rowe, Chum Turner and the boys from the band Arnhem.

Kenneth (Chum) Turner (69)

Meet our new

OBA Committee Members

Meline Nazloomian

(05)

Having an older brother at Barker, I felt I was a student well before starting in Year 10. I will never forget the pride and excitement I had putting on my school uniform for the first time. Whilst at Barker, I signed up to everything I could – from Mock Trial, to Choir, middle school camp leader, Duke of Edinburgh, Musicals, hockey, water polo and softball. I graduated from Barker in 2005 and studied a Bachelor of Business at UTS, was awarded the University Medal and later went on to complete my honours in Finance at the University of Sydney. Since graduating, I have built a successful career in investment banking, advising corporate Australia. Having worked in Sydney and New York, I am currently a Director at SMBC Nikko. My amazing school experience, coupled with my belief in the power of education has led me to join the OBA committee and School Council as an alumni representative.

Dush Sharma (05)

I joined Barker in Year 5 and finished Year 12 in 2005...I can’t believe that was 17 years ago! Many good memories including Middle School House Sport, Debating, and of course, many great teachers and lifelong friends. While studying Commerce at UNSW, I really enjoyed coming back to School and coaching Middle and Senior School Debating teams. Since Barker, I’ve enjoyed working in both the private and public sectors, and I’m currently a Policy Director at Transport for NSW. I’m still in touch with many schoolmates - and their young children! It’s wonderful to be more involved in the Barker community once again and be able to contribute back through the OBA.

Simon Smith (91)

Hello Barker community! After a long family history at Barker, it is a joy to have my three children currently at the school - Spencer (Yr 12), Eleanor (Yr 10) and Campbell (Yr 9). Since leaving Barker in 1991, I have been fortunate enough to travel the world with my career and have enjoyed living in London and New York. I am currently working in the energy industry helping businesses achieve Net Zero. Barker has provided me with many joys, not least of which is seeing my children thrive within the Barker community and, like me, take the bonds of friendship from Barker beyond the Mint Gates. I look forward to being on the OBA committee and giving a little back to the school that has given me so much.