The students all put on a pleasing variety of items at the Mid-Year Concert last Thursday. It was well supported by parents, grandparents and friends and it was a great night. The students all played, sang, danced and performed at their best. They had a great time. Well done to all the teachers, students and parents who participated.

The picture on the left is of the Primary Class Item - cowboys and cowgirls!

Last weekend the Principals from the four Heritage Colleges around Australia (accompanied by their wives) assembled in South Australia for their Annual Conference. It was a very profitable discussion about the positive things that are happening in Heritage Colleges everywhere. The accommodation for the weekend was in the township of Goolwa, about an hour south of Adelaide and very near the mouth of the Murray River. The group spent the weekend in meetings and then we travelled to Adelaide to visit the Heritage College at Oakden, enjoying a luncheon with the staff. It was a really enjoyable and strengthening event. Thank you to our hosts for the weekend - Andrew and Kathy Johns.

The students in years 3-10 took part in the HRIS Cross Country Run yesterday. Students ran distances varying from 2km for the youngest students to 6km for the more senior students. There were 13 independent schools from the Hunter Region represented at the event. All our students who competed did their best and are to be commended for their efforts. Three students distinguished themselves in their achievements. Reuben Ryan came 3rd, Abigail Dodson came 5th and Patrick Tappouras came 12th. Reuben and Abigail will both qualify for the statewide carnival in Sydney on May 28. Well done, everyone!

The Annual Cricket match between Heritage College Sydney and Heritage College Cooranbong took place this week. We meet at an oval in the northern suburbs of Sydney, which enables both schools to travel conveniently to the venue. The 20-20 match was contended in a good spirit of sportsmanship. The two teams were well prepared and played really well. We are very pleased to report that Heritage College Cooranbong won the match for the second year in a row. The scores were: Heritage Cooranbong 110, Heritage Sydney 71. The top scorers were Nathan Dodson (33) and Jake Kirkwood (24). The best bowling figures were achieved by Patrick Tappouras who took 4 for 10. Well done to both teams. It was a great day. We look forward to the next year.

Senior's and Friends Day was held this week and it was a fantastic day. We had visitors from as far south as Sydney and Wollongong and as far north as Taree. The morning tea and lunch was provided by the Parents and Friends organisation and the concert included items from students of all ages.

The Food Technology class spent a morning preparing all kinds of tasty morsels for morning tea, and the students help was greatly appreciated.

We appreciated the support of many families and we thank everyone for coming and making the day so special.

See you all next year, God willing.

HRIS Regional Swimming Carnival Trophy WinnersThe High School Swimming Team took part in the HRIS (Hunter Region Indendent Schools) Swimming Carnival and all our students performed exceptionally well. Every student who participated did their best and they deserve to be congratulated for their achievements. Our team won the trophy based on school size and the team deserved the win. 

The trophy will be engraved and placed in the school foyer.

Many of the students have trained in their own time for the events they participated in. Some of these students won first place in their heats.

The students also participated in medley relays and performed really well.

Congratulations to all the students who took part. We hope to retain the trophy when it is contested next year. We thank the parents who attended to help officiate.

Surfing Lessons The High School students spent some fun time at Caves Beach taking surfing lessons during February. There were professional trainers in a patrolled environment and the students had a fantastic time learning to surf. It is great to see all the students having a go and many of the students were able to stand up and catch a wave. Balance and fitness is all a part of the activity and it certainly tests the physical skills of the students. It was lost of fun and the lessons over two weeks were hardly enough, but we hope to do it again next year.

The picture on the left shows one of our younger secondary  students standing up for the first time.

Gold Panning, Bathurst 2009 The Primary Students went on an exciting trip to Bathurst last week to experience life as it was during the Gold Rush in the 19th century. Students experienced a fun bus trip, a stop at the 3 sisters at Katoomba, an overnight stay in the Goldfields, gold panning, blacksmithing, steam engines, survival skills, as well as sharing the joy of spending some memorable times together. What a great trip!

The students behaved themselves impeccably and many commented on what a great bunch of kids they are! 

The bus even drove around the Mt Panorama Track and this was exciting for many of the students.