Issue 8 - December 2018

Newsletter Articles

Principal’s Report

As we near the end of year, it is always amazing to think how quickly the year goes by. We have farewelled our Year 12s at their Valedictory and our Year 11s are also finished now. There is still much activity at school as teachers finalise their assessments and prepare for the final reports. These will be available electronically in Week 10. Our year finishes with our reward activities and events which are something for our students and staff to look forward to.

School Community Survey – National Opinion Survey

Our school really values input from our parents and school community and regularly receive feedback through our parents, P&C, School Board and wider community. As part of seeking this feedback, we undertake this national survey every second year and information included is used to inform our planning and help set priorities. I encourage you to participate in this survey and help shape our school.

Youth Black Swan Prize for Portraiture

Congratulations to Poppy Ben-Ary (Year 10) who has won third prize in the esteemed Youth Black Swan Prize for Portraiture for the Year 9-10 High School Student category.

Darlington Arts Festival

Congratulations to Olivia Trimboli (Year 11) who won highly commended in Print/Drawing for her ‘Red Tail Cockie’ and Georgia Luderman (Year 11) who won First Prize in 3D for her ’Stone Tree’ at the Darlington Arts Festival.

Cause to be proud

Mitchell Bostock (Year 9) has been selected to represent Western Australia at the 2018 Australian All Schools Athletics Championship, Cairns in December 2018.

New Year 7s for 2019

On 23 November we held our Orientation Day and have also officially welcomed our new Year 7 students into our specialist programs at our Welcome Ceremony. We have another large group of Year 7s next year and as usual students come from many different schools to attend our Gifted and Talented Art program. We welcome all our new students and parents and look forward to working together over the next 6 years.

KPA Showcase

What a wonderful opportunity to showcase the talent of our KPA students. With such a range of talent in Dance, Drama and Music, it was great to see the diversity of items. To finish the evening, we were treated with a poignant representation of what it means to be displaced in an original production by our Year 9 students and a wonderful rendition of Revolting Children from Matilda the Musical by our Year 10s. Thank you to Anna Head and Michelle Vivien for working with the students and for support from Aundraea Stevens and Paul Heslop for the evening.

Christmas Hampers

Each year as a school we collect donations to bless families within our community for the Christmas festive season. We have done this for the past 7 years. Thank you to all the students and families who have made donations for our hampers. Desi will be arranging for these to be packed and delivered to families in need.

Farewells

At the end of the year we will be farewelling a number of staff and we wish them all the best. Denise Hewitt, our HOLA of English will be retiring after many years of amazing service, Jocasta Collier will be moving much closer to home and taking up a position at Applecross SHS and Ari Gazeas will be following his art passion and has won an art teaching position at Aspiri PS. We wish them all the very best in their new endeavours.

I wish everyone all the very best for the end of term and a wonderful Christmas holiday break.

Mrs Helen Deacon
Principal

Senior School Report

November is always an extremely busy time for all our Year 11 and 12 students, as they complete their respective years, and move on to new and exciting challenges. This year has gone by so quickly and I cannot believe our Class of 2018 have finished and preparation is now on the way for the Class of 2019.

The Year 12s had their WACE exams during November and as this is a culmination of the years’ work our thoughts and best wishes were with them as they endeavoured to do their best and achieve results that will enable them to pursue further study at University or continue along their chosen pathways. We also had our Year 12 Valedictory which was outstanding and an appropriate end to their studies. I was extremely proud of our Year 12s’ accomplishments and hope they all find happiness and success in whatever life pursuits they choose.

The Year 11s have completed their end of year exams, which ran very efficiently and I have to commend the students doing exams on their exemplary conduct. Work placements were also extremely successful and our students had many good experiences which will hopefully result in possible employment opportunities in the future. Reviewing of the Year 11 results has almost been concluded and we look forward to a very successful 2019. Our students are adapting to the requirements of the WACE and the school has to put into place some rigorous processes to help ensure the success of the students.

With weeks to go our Year 10 students are being transitioned into their Year 11 pathways, a particularly valuable experience, aimed at better preparing them for the challenges of Year 11. I look forward to working with and supporting them as Year 11 and 12s as they advance to become the Class of 2020, it will be here in no time at all.

I would like to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday and look forward to the New Year and all its possibilities.

Mrs Sharon Andrews
Head of Senior School

Year 10 Report

YEAR 10 TO YEAR 11 TRANSITION

The Year 10 students participated in a three day Transition Program to give students the opportunity to gain more information about the courses they have selected for Year 11. This took place in Week 9, Monday to Wednesday, 3 to 5 December 2018.

YEAR 10 DINNER DANCE

On Thursday 6 December 2018 we will be holding a Year 10 Dinner Dance to celebrate student achievements this year and come together socially as a year group. A note has been sent home with details about location, time and cost.

Please check your child’s Student Planner for information about maintaining Student Good Standing to ensure that your child will be included in the Dinner Dance reward at the end of this semester.

Thank you for your continued support and please don’t hesitate to contact me, your child’s Mentor Teacher or Learning Area Teacher if you have any questions. Nicole.Sijka@education.wa.edu.au

Mrs Nicole Sijka
Year 9 Coordinator

Middle School Report

Not long now and our Middle School students will be receiving their end of year reports, just in time for Christmas, which I am sure for most students it will be a good start to the holidays. The good thing about being in Middle School is that if you don’t do very well on a report, you still have time to fix it up by applying yourself next year.

The Year 7 Orientation Day was held on Friday 23 November. Next year will be our biggest Year 7 Cohort so far so Orientation Day was always going to be a big day. I want to say a huge thank you to all of the staff who assisted as it wasn’t just a case of teachers looking after Year 7s but staff who swapped rooms and covered for other staff, all making the day possible. No request for help was met with a negative response and this showed in how smoothly the day ran. The feedback so far has been really positive and if any parents want to contact me with any suggestions or feedback about the day please feel free to do so. Again, a huge thank you to all of the staff here for allowing the days to run so smoothly (especially our amazing team of EAs!!!).

The last group of people I also want to thank are our amazing Student Councillors. Their input was one of the major reasons the day ran so well. All the staff commented on how well they coordinated the classes and their active involvement was well appreciated.

Soon we will be running our end of year Reward Days for the students who have their Good Standing across Middle School. The Year 7s will be having a ‘Big Day In’ on Monday 10 December. The Year 8s will be attending a movie and rollerskating/blading on Tuesday 11 December and the Year 9s have their annual river cruise that night as well. The permission notes will cover all of the requirements for the day so please make sure you read all of the information on the letters so there are no surprises. One of the major things I would like to remind you of is that the Year 9s must attend the school all day on Tuesday 12 December. Any student who does not attend school that day without verification from the school will not be allowed on the boat.

As it is the last News Review for this year I would like to thank all of the Middle School Year Coordinators (Year 7 – Susan Archdall, Year 8 – Laura Cheetham and Year 9 – Karen Stuart) for all their hard work throughout the year. Ms Cheetham and Ms Stuart took on the roles this year and the rapport they have developed with their cohort is wonderful to see. They will become invaluable contacts for all the families as the students move through high school so please do not be afraid to get in touch with them to discuss any issues you may be having or that you foresee.

I guess with the holidays coming up, some of our students may be lucky enough to receive gifts that might help them stay connected with their friends over the holidays (eg. phones, tablets, computers). As a parent, if you have any concerns about this accessibility please log on to the Office of the eSafety Commissioner website as they have an amazing selection of resources to help you navigate this “minefield” of social media and on line interaction.

To all the families of our Middle School students, have a very safe and happy holiday and see you all next year.

Mr Mark Pettit
Head of Middle School

Year 9 Report

With the end of term and summer holidays fast approaching, it is the perfect time to reflect on all that has been achieved this year. It has been a pleasure to see the Year 9 cohort grow and mature through the challenges and triumphs of their final year as middle school students. This is also a good time for students to be setting goals for the following year and thinking about the pathways that they would like to see themselves walking in the future.

This is something that our Rite Journey students have just recently been reflecting on as they completed their final challenge of the year which was a camping expedition. The boys spent three nights camping in Pemberton where they completed a range of activities including hiking, fishing, and teamwork. Similarly, the girls spent two nights camping at Bickley where they participated in raft building, search and rescue, and canoeing. Both camps offered the opportunity for students to have some silent reflection time in natural surroundings and experience time away from their mobile phones and devices. All students had a fantastic time and were able to make some insightful and valuable observations about how much they have developed since the beginning of the year.

By now students should have brought home their letters for the river cruise which takes place on the evening of Tuesday 11 December. This is a lovely way for students to end the year and is always a real highlight, so please ensure permission forms are returned as soon as possible. In order to attend students must have Good Standing.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all families, staff and members of the wider community who put so much effort into supporting our Year 9 students to be the best versions of themselves. I wish you all a safe and restful holiday and look forward to seeing our students back refreshed and ready for another fantastic year in 2019.

As ever, if you have any queries or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail at karen.stuart@education.wa.edu.au

Miss Karen Stuart
Year 9 Coordinator

Year 8 Report

The end of the year is now upon us. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents, teachers and most importantly the Year 8s who have made my first year as Year Coordinator so enjoyable.

This year has been packed full of events and it nice to take some time to reflect on the year that was. Our Year 8s have grasped challenges with both hands and have made the most of the many opportunities available. The Bibbulmun Challenge was by far one of the absolute highlights of this year; watching the students build resilience and support each other throughout the trek was amazing to be a part of. I have loved seeing the students getting involved and being a part of our Kalamunda community at the Swimming and Athletics Carnival not to mention the awesome Kalamunda Day celebrations. As I reflect back to the start of the year when I challenged the students to make use of every opportunity that presents itself, I think that they took on those words and I hope that this message drives them forward in Year 9.

A super huge thank you to the Year 8 Student Councillors and House Leaders who have helped me throughout the year. It has been fantastic getting to know you and you have only just begun your leadership journey. Keep striving to better yourself and know that whatever you put your mind to you can achieve great things.

Have a relaxing and safe holidays to be ready for the adventures of Year 9. I cannot wait for what 2019 will bring and to help you navigate your way through the challenges of next year.

Ms Laura Cheetham
Year 8 Coordinator

Student Services Report

Support for the holidays

Please find below a link for the youth services resources.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of the Student Services team who have worked tirelessly throughout the year to support the students in their endeavours.

Have a safe and Merry Christmas season and I look forward to welcoming new and existing students and staff to Kalamunda next year.

Mrs Amanda Morton
Manager Student Services

Music News

Kalamunda SHS Students and Ex-students in a once in a Hundred Years Event

On Sunday 11 November at precisely 11am, 170 buglers sounded the Last Post and Rouse in Perth to Commemorate the Centenary of the end of World War 1. Among the 170 were Kalamunda music students, ex-students, prospective students and one of our teachers. The event, first conceived in 2014, was the vision of the RSLWA Bugling Think Tank and Peter Hind worked in conjunction with a four person steering committee to coordinate the event.

The Kalamunda buglers were positioned at The Perth Mint, Elizabeth Quay, in Langley Park and in Kings Park.

Their participation in this event was a testimony to the students’ hard work on their instrument and their commitment to achieve high playing standards. Well done to all of you.

Darlington Arts Festival

On the 3 and 4 November several of our Year 7 and 10 music students performed at the Darlington Arts Festival. This was an exciting opportunity for our students and both bands performed brilliantly, well done!

Lior

On Friday 23 November I was lucky enough to get hold of singer song writer Lior for a song writing workshop before his concert that night in the Kalamunda Performing Arts Centre. It was an amazing experience for the select Year 7 to 11 music students that attended. Lior talked to the students about the music industry and how he approaches song writing. The students broke off into small groups and were challenged to compose song ideas. Lior mentored them both providing feedback and ideas for them to try out. Lior also performed some of his songs to the students. It was an experience that will live with the students for many years to come I am sure.

Primary School Visits

On the 27 November Ms Vivian and I took the junior concert band and a small choir to some of our local primary schools to promote the music program and connect with future students. This year we ventured to Edney Primary School and Kalamunda Primary School. The day was full of fun, well done to all the students involved.

Mr Marcus Roberts
Director of Music

Visiting School from Indonesia

On 15 November, KSHS hosted 15 students and three teachers from SMP Pembangunan Jaya 2, Sidarjo, and east Java, Indonesia. There were also three other adults accompanying these students.

These students were very impressed the facilities and grounds of our school.

They saw the daily functioning of our school and participated in the school activities for the day. The students were each provided with timetable for the day. They went to cooking, music, design and technology and computer classes. In the music class, the visiting students saw our students singing and playing the guitar and drums. Later, they presented an Indonesian dance where our music students got involved. It was great to see all the students getting on with each other. They baked Anzac cookies with Mrs McKenzie, made worked a making a boat with Ms Martin and did some computer work with Dr Collier.

They mentioned how the change-over of classes went smoothly and how quickly everyone just went to their classes after the siren.

The visitors were made very welcome by our school community. Four of our students, Josh, Ruby, Milan and Kareem showed the visitors around and answered questions on behalf of KSHS. The students mingled and tried to converse in English. They have requested to visit KSHS in 2019.

Benefits of Sister School Relationships contribute to:

• intercultural understanding within the school community;
• increased global awareness and internationalisation within the school community;
• opportunities to better understand one’s own culture/country;
• personal development of the student eg leadership, maturity, independence;
• improved ability of students to adjust to different situation;
• opportunities for sharing pedagogies and engage in joint curriculum development;
• opportunities for professional development;
• opportunities for reciprocal travel;
• enhancing the reputation of the school; and
• improved competence and confidence in the use of technology by teachers involved in the program.

Below are some photos the visiting school from east Java.

Mrs Kuldeep Kaler
Indonesian Teacher

Science Update – Hot Finish

As always, Science has finished with a flourish for the year; students have been challenged with a wide range of tasks and hands-on investigations to test their Science methodology and know-how.

Aiden McMahon and Patrick White blitzed the opposition with their canny Domino’s Pizza Box entry in the Solar Oven Cook-Off with Ms O’Brien. Reduced depth of entrapment chamber, solid blacking, and correctly angled reflective screening all helped boost performance to 91 degrees Celsius on the first test. Several other designs also worked well. Serene Halse preferred the shade and let her oven do all the work.

Xander Sabine’s parachute design proved a winner in the Egg Drop Survival Test, easily defeating the 3 metre drop off our veranda. Time prevented an attempt off the top Maths level where many an egg has died in the past.

Mr Lindesay Pound
Science Teacher

Act Belong Commit

As the school year comes to an end, the stresses and concerns we may face change from being school related to home and community based and these stresses can sometimes be heightened around Xmas time. However the Act Belong Commit initiative and strategies are still valid and can help us navigate through times that could become rough.

As the weather warms and we are spending more time in the community, our tip to help us stay positively and mentally healthy is:

Contact with nature—whether through parks, natural bush, pets or farm animals, helps us recover from stress and mental fatigue, helps us relax and puts us in a good frame of mind. Next time you are feeling blue, ‘act green’. Do some gardening, take a walk around the park or head down to the water for some time out.

For more tips visit Act-Belong-Commit

The Xmas holidays also gives us time to get out and about and connect with the community. There are usually plenty of events and places of interest around the area for us to go and visit. Check out the Weekend NOTES website to find lots of different events across Perth.

Another good idea is to get the kids busy in the kitchen over the break. One simple recipe that your child may like to make is:

Easy Christmas Jellies

These Christmas-themed jellies make a yummy festive end to Christmas dinner for the kids - just start two days before you want to serve them so they have time to set.

Ingredients

• 8 small glasses or plastic cups
• 1 packet of raspberry jelly
• 1 packet of passionfruit jelly
• 1 packet of lime jelly
• Fresh berries or Christmas lollies to decorate

Method

1. Prepare red jelly and pour 1/4 cup into each cup, refrigerate until set (will take about 4-6 hours).
2. Prepare yellow jelly, allow to cool and pour 1/4 cup gently on top of red jelly, return to fridge until set.
3. Prepare green jelly, allow to cool and pour 1/4 cup gently on top of yellow jelly, return to fridge until set. Just before serving, decorate with berries or lollies.

Mrs Jenny Edmonds
School Psychologist