Calrossy Middle School FAQs

Our Secondary Middle School (Years 7-9) are located on the William Cowper Campus on the outskirts of Tamworth. The address is 242 Moore Creek Road, Tamworth, NSW, 2340. 

This campus is located around one kilometre from the Secondary Boys Boarding Facility (Simpson House) and a few kilometres from our Brisbane Street Campus where the Girls Boarding Houses are located.

The hours of operation on each campus differ slightly for our Secondary students. This is necessary to fit in with the local school bus timetables.

In Secondary there are five periods in each day as can be seen below. These periods run between 55 to 60 minutes.

Calrossy has its own intranet, called The HUB. Students and parents are given logins to this system when their enrolment at the School is finalised.

The HUB is the one stop shop for all information, from newsletters, assessments, daily notices, photo galleries, course ­class pages and extra-curricular activities including sport.

There is also the Calrossy Anglican School App for mobile devices that allows you access to most of the above information.

The modern world is a digitally connected world and as our students continue their learning in Secondary school, it is imperative that they develop their skills in the effective and safe use of technology. Students are issued with a 1:1 MacBook which remains under their care for their secondary schooling, being refreshed with a new device in Year 10. This device enables teachers to utilise a huge variety of learning resources and tools and students to gain explicit instruction in how to evaluate these resources for reliability and use the tools effectively and safely. The provision of a school-owned and managed device allows for a better and more uniform experience for students and teachers, in contrast to other schools using a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) model, which often results in wasted time as students and teachers struggle with technical issues or incompatibilities.

Expeditions are considered to be important parts of a student’s education at Calrossy Anglican School and students are expected to attend. Expeditions are important times for students to get to know each other, and staff, in a different context as well as providing opportunities for students to step outside their comfort zone and experience new ideas and challenges.

Expeditions are covered under the co-curricular fee and incur no additional charge.

In 2024 the expeditions were;

Year 7 - Tea Gardens
Year 8 - Pindari Life Adventures
Year 9 – Sydney/Blue Mountains
Year 10 – Action Learning Initiatives Pty Ltd - Jindabyne
Year 11 – Emu Gully Adventure Education Group

It is a legal requirement that all absences are explained.

Student absences can be reported to the school via email to attendance@calrossy.nsw.edu.au or alternatively by using the Absence button on the Calrossy App.

Please note: Once rolls are marked in period 1, SMS messages are automatically sent to the mobile phone of parents whose children are marked absent from school.

Students who become ill or who are injured should let their teacher or supervisor know immediately. Both campuses have a nurse on duty, who will assess and treat the student, and call parents and an ambulance if necessary.

Health Centre staff may also organise health checks, co-ordinate any vaccinations which may be made available by State Health and run special health information programmes.

Students (boarders) may request to see other health professionals (eg: doctor, dentist) and arrangements can be made through the Health Centre. Parents are responsible for payment for these appointments.

Each year parents are also asked to complete a Health Update/Excursion Health form. The information provided is used for the purpose of updating the main health form, and for staff to take on excursions. Students may not participate in any excursions until the form is returned.

In the case of boarders all medication, including common analgesics, must be handed to Health Centre staff and will be dispensed by staff. Day students’ parents should inform Health Centre staff when their child needs to take medications as arrangements will be made for this to be dispensed by staff. Some infectious diseases require exclusion from school. Further advice may be sought from Health Centre staff or a medical practitioner.

Parents must apply through the School Student Transport Scheme for a bus pass for their children to travel to and from school. Further information on this can be found on the parent’s page of The HUB once your child is enrolled at Calrossy.

Boarders are transported to and from their campuses, by the School, every day if required.

Calrossy's House structure has with four houses now representing all students from Prep to Year 12. These houses are named after prominent Australians who excelled in their fields. Your child will be allocated to a house and all family members will belong to the same house.  The houses are as follows

Nicholls - Named after Sir Douglas Nicholls, the first Australian Indigenous Governor, Christian charitable worker and AFL player. The Red and Black colours are taken from the Aboriginal Flag.

Sheean - named after Teddy Sheean, winner of the Victoria Cross for bravery in the Royal Australian Navy, with Sky Blue and White representing the ocean and sky.

Cuthbert - In honour of Betty Cuthbert who was a multiple gold medalist and advocate for disability. Green and Gold will be their House colours.

Hamlin - Named after Dr Catherine Hamlin, with Black and White representing cultural diversity and dignity for all people.

Calrossy Anglican School has a rich tradition of distinctive and sophisticated uniforms and students are expected to wear the Calrossy uniform with pride in themselves, their personal appearance and in their membership of our School community. Students wear our Summer uniform in Terms One and Four and Winter uniform in terms two and three. 

Calrossy adheres to a strict uniform policy and students are expected to be neat and well-groomed at all times. Only School approved uniform items are to be worn. Please visit our website for our full school uniform lists including sport and optional items. 

For enquiries or to make an appointment with The Uniform Shop for your child’s personal uniform fitting, phone 02 5776 5194.

The Uniform Shop is open three (3) days per week during the school term.

Monday 8am - 4.30pm

Wednesday 11am - 4.30pm

Friday 8am - 4.30pm 

Online shopping is also available.

Sports uniform is worn for some PDHPE lessons, organised sport, fitness and activities such as cross country. The sports uniform must only be worn during these periods and not to and from school.

A guide to wearing the uniform can be found on the HUB.

On our Brisbane Street and William Cowper Campuses, there is an extensive extra academic support program where staff are on duty at set times (lunch or after school) or by appointment in the resource centres on each campus. A timetable is issued each term (and can be found on the Secondary Daily Notices page on The HUB) so that students are aware which teachers are available on a particular day. 

These sessions are partly aimed at encouraging all students to take greater responsibility for their own learning. They are not lessons or tutorials but rather one-on-one assistance. Students who attend these sessions will need to bring assess­ments or homework for which they need further explanation or come with a particular aspect of a course which they have found difficult and which they wish to understand more deeply and extend their learning. These sessions are an excellent opportunity for students to increase the level of success they experience and to further their joy of learning.

Girls and boys share the playground and recreation areas on the campus during breaks. New facilities provide seating, shade and pleasant spaces, specially designed for students at this age and stage. Separate zones allow for passive activities and more active play.

The continuing needs of young adults at this important stage are important in our planning and program. Our unique model allows us to target the needs of each gender in the classroom and across school activities. Academic staff are able to tailor their teaching to the differing learning strengths of boys and girls, with flexibility to adapt to student needs. Confidence and courage are important to success at this stage. Community group programs support the healthy growth and identity development of boys and girls separately as they move towards independence, maturing as young men and women.

Students in Years 9 and 10 continue to have access to a wide range of electives. Student choice will determine class formation. Arrangements will be flexible to allow the widest possible choice.In order to offer the maximum number of electives in Year 9 girl and boys may be combined in a class. These decisions are based on student demand.

Year 9 is an important period of leadership development for students. Peer support programs, service activities and assemblies see strong involvement and active voice from students. The School’s commitment to the involvement of Senior students, service and leadership development will continue to encompass the breadth of opportunities across a P – 12 school.

Our unique structure allows our programs to cater for the specific individual needs of students in Year 7 – 9. Growth mindset, connected relationships, student voice and active involvement in School life support the students through this period. Mentor groups in 7 – 9 are specifically for boys and girls with a strong emphasis on supporting the growth and development of great men and women, supported by older mentors, a program designed to help students to understand themselves and others.

Calrossy is known for the wonderful modelling of character and leadership by older students. Our structure and location enable us to have strong links between Year 7 – 9 students and Primary students and with Senior Leaders in their final years. Traditional Calrossy activities such as House Music, War Cry Cup, Billy Cart Derby and house competitions continue to support leadership and promote a strong whole-school culture.

• English
• Mathematics
• Science
• Geography
• History
• PDHPE
• Visual Arts
• Technology
• Music
• Christian Studies
• Performance

Performance Studies aims to introduce Year 7 students to the world of Dance and Drama as performance styles. Students spend two terms on each artform learning key aspects of the subject. Performance Studies is based around movement and has little to no theory work, instead encouraging students to learn through action. Through Dance practical lessons, students will explore the Elements of Dance in conjunction with basic dance technique and styles (such as jazz and hip hop). They also work with others to choreograph their own routines to communicate ideas, gaining insight into the creation of Dance. In Drama, students are introduced to the world of performance through a range of theatrical activities. Drama encourages a cooperative approach to exploring the world through enactment. It is a form of action in which students take on a role as a means of exploring both familiar and unfamiliar aspects of their world. They will portray aspects of human experience while exploring the ways people react and respond to different situations, issues and ideas. The collaborative nature of both strands of Performance Studies engage students in a creative process of sharing, developing and expressing emotions and ideas through movement.