Week 1, Term 3 | 25 July 2025

“The future of AI is not about replacing humans, it’s about augmenting human capabilities.” – Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is technology that analyses its environment and acts with some autonomy to achieve goals.

AI is and will transform society, education, and the world. What we don’t know is exactly how! We do know that the landscape is changing very quickly, and that AI is not going away.

Opportunities in Education

AI brings great opportunities in education, such as:

• adaptive and personalised learning
• automated marking and feedback
• augmented and virtual reality
• AI-powered dashboards for learner analytics
• content generation
• teacher and learner assistants

However, we need to understand exactly how best to drive positive impact from these opportunities.

Risks and Considerations

AI also brings significant risks, such as:

• student usage and safety
• academic integrity
• data protection
• potential bias
• overreliance and reduced critical thinking

AI safeguarding training and general AI education for staff, students and parents is key.

Our Approach at Mosman Prep

Mosman Prep is committed to helping students, staff, and families interact with AI in ways that are ethical, safe, and educationally meaningful. Our internal AI Committee is guiding this work through our AI Action Plan (based on national education frameworks and aligned with our school values).

Five Key Focus Areas

• Governance and Strategy: Leadership structures are in place to guide how AI is introduced and used across the School.
• Risk Management and Security: We’re reviewing privacy, safety, and academic integrity risks before any tools are used with students.
• Policy and Human Oversight: All AI use will be guided by clear rules, with teachers making final decisions.
• Literacy and Community Engagement: We’re building AI understanding among staff and students, and will involve parents through ongoing updates, conversations, and upskilling.
• Compliance and Procurement: We will only use tools that meet safety, privacy, and educational standards.

What makes an AI tool ‘approved’?

Before any AI tool is introduced, we assess whether it is safe, age-appropriate, and educationally purposeful. Approved tools require school-managed accounts, with secure login details, and are used in supervised environments. These tools operate within a contained system, meaning student requests are not shared publicly or used to train AI models. As a Google and Microsoft school, we can also leverage our existing subscriptions to provide AI tools that meet enterprise privacy standards and are managed by us.

Staff have participated in professional learning and workshops, including exploring school-managed AI tools in supervised settings. No student use will occur without clear safeguards, guidance, and communication with families.

We’ll continue to keep you informed, and look forward to inviting families into the discussion in the near future.

“AI will not replace humans, but those who use AI will replace those who don’t.” – Ginni Rometty, Former CEO of IBM

Peter Grimes | Headmaster
Matt Blackband | Director of Technology

References:

Learn Fast Act More Slowly – Educate (2025), Emeritus Professor Rose Luckin, UCL Knowledge Lab

Recommended Reading: What Are Schools Doing with AI?

If you're interested in how schools across Australia are approaching AI, this recent study is a helpful read. It shares what school leaders are thinking about student safety, ethical use, and teacher oversight — many of the same ideas guiding our planning here at Mosman Prep.

Perceptions and Perspectives of Australian School Leaders on the Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Schools

“You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.”

These moving words from C.S. Lewis in his book ‘Surprised by Joy’, vividly describes his conversion to Christianity from atheism. Lewis finally and reluctantly accepted that ‘God was God’. That is, rather than seeking to be master of his fate, and captain of his soul (to borrow from Henley’s poem Invictus) Lewis came to realise, and then accept, that there was another who was master, another who was captain. This other is the God who made him and the world in which he lived. This other is the God who calls everyone to account for how they have treated him. This other is the God who in his Son Jesus, has stepped into his world to save those who admit that ‘God is God’.

C.S. Lewis brought these truths of Christianity to life in his Chronicles of Narnia, and we explored them with 80 local kids on Monday at our 'Journey to Narnia' holiday club. The journey continues this Sunday 27 July at 10:00am with a special service for all ages - Church at the Movies: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe! I’d love to see you and your family on Sunday, as we enter through the wardrobe into the world of Narnia, perhaps like C.S. Lewis reluctantly, to explore these great truths of the God who is God.

Rev. Andy Bleach | Mosman Village Church

P.S. I’m loving teaching Christian Studies to your boy(s) in Years 1-4, I hope they are enjoying it too!

What an incredible end to the School holidays for 11 of our dedicated Mosman Prep boys! They proudly represented our School at the Sydney Interschools Snow Sports competition held in Thredbo. With great weather and prime conditions, the slopes were set for some thrilling races, and our boys certainly rose to the challenge!

Our talented students, ranging from Year 2 to Year 6, showcased their skills across a variety of disciplines. They competed in Alpine, Skier X, Moguls, as well as Alpine and Snowboard Cross for snowboarding. With over 100 competitors in most races, the competition was fierce.

Mosman Prep achieved outstanding results, with our team performing exceptionally well, and several boys earning a spot in the upcoming State Championships. This is a testament to their hard work, determination, and excellent sportsmanship.

The State Championships are set to take place in Perisher in Week 6. We extend our warmest congratulations to all the boys who competed in Thredbo, and we wish the very best of luck to those advancing to the State Championships. Go Mosman Prep!

Lisa Maiden | Snow Sports Coordinator

One of the Maths competitions for this term is the Australian Maths Competition in August (5th-7th). Maths Challenge students participate in this every year and collaboratively practice some past papers before the test. This exercise is very beneficial as students share their methods of solving problems with one another and much is either learned or consolidated during these sessions.

Some examples of the types of questions in this test can be found in the following link:

AMC-practice-problems-solutions-Set1-UPR.pdf

Our Upper Primary Maths Challenge students participate in the Maths Olympiad Competition (created by the Australian Problem-Solving Mathematical Olympiads – APSMO) every year, with 1 paper a month from May to August. The students will continue with this in Term 3. Due to our strong Year 4 cohort, these students are also participating this year, with excellent results so far! Additionally, the challenge has been opened to Year 6 students through self-nomination.

Children in Junior Primary Maths Challenge are receiving explicit teaching in problem-solving skills using content from APSMO, to assist them with i) these competitions (later on) and ii) general Maths problem-solving at school.

We look forward to a great term of inspirational challenges.

Colleen Elkins | Director Gifted & Talented Education

CALLING ALL BOOKS! Prep Charity Book Fair – Donate Today

Do you have any children’s books at home gathering dust?
We'd love to take them off your hands and give them a second life!

We’re collecting children’s books for the Prep Charity Book Fair, proudly raising funds for the Starlight Children’s Foundation.

How to Donate: Drop your books in the designated donation boxes in your son’s classroom during Term 3.

Deadline: We’re accepting donations until Week 4, Term 3—the Book Fair will follow shortly after (stay tuned for more details).

Questions or Large Donations? 

Reach out to Anna (0412 391 951) or Elisha (0405 811 772) for assistance. Thank you in advance for your support!

Year 6 GoodCHAP Initiative

Chatswood Coach is open for Term 3 bookings via the school website and can be made at School Transport | Private Coaches | Mosman Preparatory School

Additional Stop on Chatswood Coach Route
The new stop has been added at Miller St (opp. Abbott St) Cammeray. Please see the link below:2025 School Coach Bookings - Chatswood Route

To complement the academic and sporting program, a number of Enrichment Classes are available either before or after school for Kindergarten to Year 6. Bookings will open on Tuesday 23 September at 12:30pm.

Bookings can be made through the links in the attached Enrichment Schedule.

NB: Engineering Clubs are available for booking immediately through the link available in the attached Enrichment Schedule.

IMPORTANT! When registering your child please ensure they are in the appropriate year group as indicated for the class they are enrolling, as refunds are not possible.

Attached is an important letter from Mr Brendan Frost.

Jenny Carton | Admin

As part of our commitment to student safety and well-being, Mosman Prep adheres to the Child Safe Standards set by the Office of the Children's Guardian. To comply with these standards, all parent volunteers wishing to assist with the Canteen, Terrey Hills, or Excursions must complete the attached Volunteer Information Form.

The form requests the following details:

• Working With Children Check (WWC) number: For verification purposes only.
• Date of Birth (DOB): Required for WWC verification.

Please note:

The form includes references to relevant Mosman Prep policies, accessible on our website.

How to submit the form:

• Email address to send the completed form to volunteer@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au

Thank you for your time and cooperation in ensuring a safe and supportive environment for all our students.

Julie Shortland | EA to the Headmaster

Congratulations to Luke Yates (5B), who attended the NSWCIS Rugby Trials held over two days this week. Luke performed very well but unfortunately he narrowly missed selection in the team. Well done, Luke!

Steve Riddett | Director of Sport

The Senior Primary IPSHA Competition re-commences this Saturday 26 July (Round 8) and concludes on Saturday 9 August (Round 10). After-school training will conclude with House Competitions on Wednesday 13 August (Year 3/4) and Thursday 14 August (Year 5/6).

The slightly earlier conclusion of the IPSHA season compared to the district club season is due to the Boys’ Athletics season beginning and various Invitational and Representative Athletics Carnivals taking place on Saturday mornings involving Boys’ IPSHA Schools.

Summer Sport (basketball and cricket) will then commence during Friday Sport sessions but after-school training will not recommence until Term 4 when Rounds 7-12 will take place (Rounds 1-6 were in Term 1).

Steve Riddett | Director of Sport

This term Mosman Prep will be sending a team to play in the NSTA Primary Schools Competition on the evening of Saturday 6 September. This is only a commitment to the Term 3 Challenge. Mr Johnston will be seeking teams each term.

Please see the flyer below and if your son is interested then reply to Mr Edward Johnston via email (ejohnston@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au) so that he can organise your son a tennis partner.

You are then required to go online and register and pay for the competition. All further information is notified directly to you from Northern Districts Tennis.

For more information please contact Mr Edward Johnston (ejohnston@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au).

Steve Riddett | Director of Sport 

Next term, we will be offering our Year 5/6 boys an opportunity to take part in some AFL training sessions at Middle Head Oval. If possible, we also hope to organise a mid-week game or two against other schools later in the term. Training will take place at Middle Head Oval on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30-4:30pm, commencing in Week 5. Rugby and Football training concludes on afternoons in Week 4.

AFL Training Dates (3:30-4:30pm at Middle Head Oval)

• Tuesday 19 August (Week 5)
• Tuesday 26 August (Week 6) 
• Tuesday 2 September (Week 7) 
• Tuesday 9 September (Week 8)
• Tuesday 23 September (Week 10)

Boys will be transported at the end of the day to training by School bus. Parents will need to collect boys from Middle Head Oval by 4:30pm. There will be no bus back to School at the conclusion of training. Boys taking part will need to come along to training dressed in their PE uniform (navy blue polo), winter sports socks, boots and mouthguard. The School tracksuit should be worn for warmth. 

Steve Riddett | Director of Sport

Congratulations to our boys who have been selected in the 2025 Athletics Squad. The boys are set to represent MCEPS in one or more of the following inter-school athletics carnivals next term. Squad training will begin next term before school.

Barker Invitational Athletics Carnival- Saturday 16 August

Shore Invitational Athletics Carnival- Saturday 23 August

IPSHA Athletics Carnival- Wednesday 27 August

Athletics team Link: 2025 Mosman Prep Athletics Team

Steve Riddett | Sports Director

Saturdays: On Saturdays the MCEPS Information Line will be updated between 6:30 and 7:00am. This number has the most up-to-date information the School can provide regarding matters of sport and excursions. Parents are to call this number and not the School Office. After heavy rain, Mosman Council often closes its grounds, so please check with this number for all school sport and excursion cancellations.

Weekdays: In case of inclement weather, please ring the Prep Information Line, which will be updated from 1:00pm. Ovals might be closed by Mosman Council on fine days, if the preceding days have been wet. It is therefore advised that parents should ring the School’s Information Line on training days if there has been recent rain. 

PLEASE NOTE:  if the message has not been updated, Sport is ON as scheduled.

Steve Riddett | Director of Sport

Dear Parents 

Canteen Volunteer Opportunity: Daily volunteers are essential to the School maintaining a cost-effective and smooth-running canteen service. As a parent volunteer, you'll work alongside canteen staff and serve the boys during busy recess periods, 10:20-11:20am. No kitchen or cooking experience required. Use this link to sign up for a 1-hour shift any day(s) during school term. Any questions about canteen volunteering, contact Jeff Brown @ 0400 410 737. 

As a matter of compliance, school volunteers must complete the Volunteer Form below, and have a current NSW Working with Children Check (WWCC). Send completed forms to volunteer@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au

LINK - Volunteer Signup Form

Jeff Brown | P&F Committee, Canteen

Mosman Prep prides itself on its service to community, guided by our motto, Non Nobis Solum – Not for Ourselves Alone. In this spirit, in 2024 in partnership with the P&F, a school community initiative called ‘Meals with Love’ was launched.

This service provides home cooked evening meals for Mosman Prep families in times of need. All meals are cooked by parent and teacher volunteers and are available for as many evenings as required. This service is anonymous, so meals cooked by volunteers will be delivered to the office for collection by the family as coordinated by the School. 

If your family has a need for this service, please contact Julie Shortland at the School Office at ea@mosmanprep.nsw.edu.au.

If you are also interested in being a volunteer and cooking the occasional meal for a family in need, please contact our new Meals with Love Coordinator, Georgina Ridhalgh at gridhalgh@hlbnsw.com.au. 

I'd like to thank Georgina for taking up the Coordinator role and also all the wonderful volunteers who have cooked meals this year. It has been a pleasure to create this service for the Mosman Prep community and have it continue.

Meals with Love Coordinator

For the schedule of school events, please refer to the online calendar, which can be found HERE.